A Christmas Gift for Rose

"Rose couldn't get Jonathan off her mind. He'd captured a large slice of her thoughts since that first evening three years ago when he'd stared at her over the fire pit at the Yoder's place during a Singing. Distance had not lessened her care.

When he'd gone overseas, Jonathan had written and told her he worked at the hospitals away from the front lines. Rose should have been thankful, but as a pacifist he should have had no part in supporting the war - not even in the hospitals. If Jonathan had been drafted, that would have been one thing, but he'd volunteered. And while other young Amish men waited out the war on the home front, growing gardens in the small county prisons or working for the Conservation Corps, Jonathan had left their Amish community and traveled to a distant county with armed soldiers. He'd trained in their camps and made friends with outsiders. The shame! And she was the one left to see the disapproval in the gazes of her fellow Amish. To hear the women's comments around the sewing circle. She was the one who'd received a visit from a very unhappy bishop upon the discovery of what Jonathan had done and where he'd gone.

Pretty soon he's going to stop being Amish. Most likely he's already made that choice," the bishop had commented after it was discovered that Jonathan was in France. His disapproval had been clear. Though they were friendly with their English neighbors, there was a dividing line. Though invisible, the barrier was all Rose had been raised to know. There was "them" and "us." Rose knew there was no middle ground.

Being among the English had no doubt changed Jonathan. Supporting the war most likely did too. In all their months apart her feelings for him had never waned, yet how could she continue loving someone who had chosen to follow the world's way?" (pg 8).


In the latest novel from best selling author, Tricia Goyer, A Christmas Gift for Rose, takes us back to the Amish community located in Berlin, Ohio during 1945, where we see the struggle that is working in the life of Rose Yoder when Jonathan left the Amish to join in the war efforts as a medic. It goes against everything they both were brought up to believe. Now that he has returned home, she has assured herself that their relationship is over but why do these feelings for him continue to linger? What will happen when Rose discovers that she too was born English? What will happen to the feelings she still has for Jonathan or will the faith she was brought up on as an Amish woman be too hard to let go of?

I received A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer compliments of Zondervan Publishing and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation and the review is based on my personal opinion of the book. I love getting the opportunity to review books that bring not only a love for reading during the Christmas season but also share a wonderful message that lasts long after you finish the final page. Tricia Goyer is definitely one of my favorite authors so I LOVED being able to review this book just in time for the upcoming Christmas season. Trust me, you'll want to pick this one up if you love Christian Amish Romances set in the 1940's during a time of war for both the Amish and English communities. This shows what it really means behind sacrifice, deep love and discovering one's own true identity. The answers might just surprise you. I easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars!

For more information about A Christmas Gift for Rose, Tricia Goyer, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

A Christmas Gift for Rose by Tricia Goyer

You can also find Tricia Goyer on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on A Christmas Gift for Rose from the Litfuse Publicity Tour, please click here.

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 24, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310336783
• ISBN-13: 978-0310336785
• Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 5.2 x 0.8 inches

Pieces of the Heart

"You know how some people can pinpoint when their lives changed for the better or worse?"

"Yes, baby. I've heard tell about folks like that. For me, I just personally felt it all began the day I was birthed." Grammy Mae, with her hair pulled back in a perfect chignon, wore tailored housedress; she had looked prim and proper every day Cordelia could remember. Even her black Hill and Dale stack-heel oxfords were polished to a high shine. Grammy loved shoes. She had taught Cordelia the brand name of every pair, though, to her grandmother's chagrin, Cordelia preferred to go barefoot.

Cordelia rubbed her hand over the red material that was close to the center of the quilt. "Well, this is when I was reborn."

Grammy smiled. "I knew the day you brought that bloody shirt in here, something was burnin' in your belly."

"That day I met Bernard." She sighed, remembering the whole jumble of feelings from that day. Her mind had raced to find excuses for the dirt on her play dress. She didn't want to tell about being pushed to the ground. A bicycle fall always seemed a handy excuse. Sometimes she was sure Grammy had guessed the truth. And then there was her Superman, Bernard Howard.

In the latest novel to find its way into the Quilts of Love Series, author Bonnie Calhoun takes her turn with Pieces of the Heart. In the beginning we get a snap shot at the life changing even that Cordelia believes changed her life, one that many young adults like myself could easily relate to. Grammy shares pieces of Cordelia's life as they continue to work on completing her Pinecone Quilt. With each piece there is a story to tell that chronicles an event in Cordelia's life, life moments according to Grammy Mae. Not only would it cover her with warm but the quilt itself would become what Grammy would call a life covering and one that has been passed down from generation to generation. But then again most quilts have their own stories to tell and perhaps that is our draw to them. This novel is that story retold once again by Grammy Mae of Cordelia's life.

Going back through the generations, each young lady is presented with her life covering on her eighteenth birthday. It holds the prayers, dreams, and wished spoken for her and her life as a woman, wife, and mother. Each girl gets their own special quilt. Each quilt holds its own blessings just like Elijah and Elisha, that have been prayed over as each piece of material has been added.

I received Pieces of the Heart by Bonnie Calhoun compliments of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Abingdon Press for my honest review. I received no monetary compensation for a favorable review. It never fails not only do this novels capture my heart and soul, but they inspire me to want to create my own memory quilt and none more so than this one. I love how Grammy Mae has been collecting this pieces of Cordelia's life, slowly cutting the pieces out, folding them just so and praying a special blessing over each piece. When it's finally complete, not only do you have a lifetime of memories but a lifetime of blessings covering you as you lay beneath it's warmth.The added bonus is that this takes place during World War 2, once of my favorite genre's to have story take place because of the added tension that comes between couples who have to be separated.  I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Pieces of the Heart, Bonnie Calhoun or where to pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Pieces of the Heart by Bonnie Calhoun

You can also find Bonnie Calhoun on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Pieces of the Heart from the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Tour, please click here. 

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (June 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426752725
• ISBN-13: 978-1426752728
• Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.5 x 8.3 inches

Frozen in Time

"Greenland makes no sense.

First there's the name, which as most schoolchildren know should be Iceland, but that was already taken. Almost nothing green grows in Greenland, where more than eighty percent of the land is buried under deep ice. Deep, as in, up to ten thousand feet, or two solid miles. If all of Greenland's ice melted - a worst-case scenario of climate change - the world's oceans would rise by twenty feet or more.

Greenland's strangeness is compounded by it's great politically inconsequential size; its almost complete emptiness and it unconscionable weather. More than sixteen hundred miles from north to south, and eight hundred miles at its widest point, Greenland could swallow Texas and California and still have room for a dessert of New Mexico, Arizona, Florida, Pennsylvania, and all of New England. It's three times the size of France, and it occupies more than twice the area of the planet's second largest island, New Guinea.

Even more than its size, Greenland's most defining feature is its climate. Temperatures vary along a spectrum of discomfort, ranging from bone-rattling to instant frostbite. In many places, temperatures regularly reach the only place on the thermometer where Celsius and Fahrenheit agree: 40 degrees below zero. For much of the year the north of Greenland is ringed by solid pack ice, and the waters to the south are beset by the storis, a twenty-mile belt of floating icebergs. In the fall and winter, devastating blizzards known as piteraq storms race more than a hundred miles across the broken landscape. The wind blows glacial dust that can scour glass or blind eyes left unprotected."

This is the setting for a rescue mission of epic portions that will span over 70 years and is still ongoing. In the book Frozen in Time by author Mitchell Zuckoff, he chronicles the first plane crash in November of 1942 of a C-53 cargo plan that slammed into the Greenland ice cap. Four days later, a B-17 assigned to the search and rescue mission became lost in a blinding storm and also crashed. Miraculously all nine men on the B-17 survived. With the weather worsening, the U.S. Military launched a daring rescue mission, sending a Grumman Duck amphibious plane to find the men. After picking up one member of the B-17 crew, the Duck flew into a severe storm, and the plane and the three men aboard vanished.

The author was part of the current research and exposition in 2012 to travel to Greenland in search of the missing planes and to recover the bodies of these military heroes and attempt to bring their bodies back. He takes the reader back to 1942 to tell exactly what happened based on digging through newspaper archives for hidden treasures, collecting declassified documents, maps, photographs, interviews, and previously unknown journals seeking information to put this book together as well as capturing the ongoing search for the remains of these planes and the men aboard. It is written as a narrative, but this is a work of nonfiction. Because the story moves between past and present, date markers such as "November 1942" and
"October 2011" signal which tale is being told.

I received Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff compliments of Harper Collins Publishers and TLC Book Tours for my honest review. I could not put this one down. I was captivated by the past and present day stories that I didn't even know existed. It was one thing to know about Greenland but to know so many died while attempting rescue missions in spite surviving the initial crash. The brutality of the island itself is not to underestimated and even with the modern technology we have today, the search is still ongoing. The island of Greenland it seems does not want to give up its captives. Through this book are countless black and white photographs detailing both the past and present day histories. If you love true survival stories against all the odds, then you will definitely want to pick this one up. Hands down one of the best books I've read this year and hope this one gets pick up by the motion picture industry or reality television. It's time to find our boys and bring them back home. This one rates a perfect 5 out of 5 stars!

For more information about Frozen in Time, Mitchell Zuckoff, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Frozen in Time by Mitchell Zuckoff

You can follow the expedition on Facebook to stay up to date with all the latest information by clicking here.  There is a ton of great information from this site including pictures and articles from the local news about the ongoing expedition.

You can also visit the author's website to learn more about Frozen in Time and his other books by clicking here. 

For more review on Frozen in Time from the TLC Book Tour, please click here. 

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: Harper (April 23, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0062133438
• ISBN-13: 978-0062133434
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.4 inches

Next To Love - Giveaway and Review

"In the last 3, 421 years of recorded history, only 268 have seen no war." - Will Durant, 1968.

A story of war, love, loss and the scars they leave behind, Next to Love, follows the lives of three young women and their men during the years of World War II and its aftermath, beginning with the men going off to war and ending a generation later, after the man have finally returned to a nation changed beyond recognition.

Beautifully crafted, moving, and unforgettable, Next to Love by Ellen Feldman, depicts the power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history.

I received the book, Next to Love by Ellen Feldman,compliments of TLC Book Tours for my honest review and got so much more than I expected. I didn't realize just how different each person related their experience to war. From the men who saw it as a sense of duty and honor, so leaving for them even though it was difficult was an adventure of sorts, a way to protect the lives of the families and friends they left behind.

While for the women, they tried so many times to put up the brave face of a woman who supported her man. They wanted the last remaining memories of their time together with their loved ones to be positive and filled with love. So many times, they held back their fears, afraid to voice their concerns that the moment they left, might be the last time they saw them.

Told through the lives of Babe Huggins, Grace Gooding, and Millie Swallow, we see how each of them deals with the men they love as they head out to war. This is a personal struggle for each of them and along the way, they will be forever changed by the circumstances that the war will impose on them all.

This book rates a 4.5 out of 5 stars and does contain some profanity that may offend some readers but overall, I truly believe this is a true story of how many women and men dealt with the war, and the aftermath that follows when some return home and others do not. For more information about the book, the author and where to purchase a copy, please click on the link below:

Next to Love by Ellen Feldman

Thanks the the generous folks at TLC Book Tours and Ellen Feldman, they are offering a giveaway copy of this book to one lucky reader of this blog. Here are your guidelines:

1. You must be a follower of this blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. You must be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address.

3. I must have a way to contact you if you are the lucky winner, so please make sure to include your email address along with your comment. You can use the words (at) or (dot) instead of the symbols.

4. Leave a comment telling me why you'd love to win a copy. The giveaway will end on June 16th and I will notify the winner by email at that time.

How Huge The Night - Giveaway and Review

Sometimes we fail to see just how dark some parts of our life can be. Some times hate for one person's race can be just as dark, or how people can judge you based purely on the company you keep, while others will be blinded that all men are truly evil.

In the novel How Huge The Night by Heather and Lydia Munn we are called as witnesses into the lives of three very unique children thrown together by the circumstances of World War II. This novel is based on actual events and you, the reader will be held spell bound to see how each of them fare in the end.

First we meet, Julian Losier, whose family has just relocated to his father's hometown from Paris, France, fleeing Hitler's advancing army. Praying that his family will be safe, he begins attempting to live a normal life by attending school. However once people there learn that he is from Paris, he becomes treated as an outcast at school. Left all alone on the school ground, he only ally, is his roommate Benjamin, whose parents have left him in the care of the Losier family. He is a Jewish-German and his parents hope for a normal life and education for him.

However, Julian finds that he can quickly work his way into the social group of boys since they have treated him and Benjamin as outcasts. When he informs them of Benjamin's race and religion, it will cost Julian more than just being one of the in-crowd. Julian will have to chose which side he will stand with.

Meanwhile, Nina and Gustav have just lost their father as sickness claimed him in the middle of the night. Leaving them with instructions to burn their resident cards declaring themselves Jewish, he makes them promise to flee Austria and find a way to Italy where he hopes they can find safety. He makes Nina promise to cut her hair and assume the identity of Niko, a boy and warns her that men are evil.

Fleeing for their lives, they are befriended by a man who only asks to be called Herr. He agrees to show them the gaps in the fence lines between Austria and will get them to the border of Italy for 50,000 francs. When Niko fears that there is more to his intentions than helping them cross the border, the children make a run for it in the middle of the night, not realizing that Herr has their pack with all their money and food inside. How will they make it alone in the midst of the war to safety?

I received this book compliments of Litfuse Publicity for my honest review and couldn't put it down. I can't imagine being a young teen in any of the circumstances and try to find a way to make it through the impending war that is looming on the horizon, not sure how or if you or your family would make it out alive and who would you trust to help you along the way. This is an amazing story of survival in the most difficult circumstances and truly worth reading. For anyone who has a love for historical Christian fiction, than this one is a 5 out 5 star book.

Here's even more great information about the book, the authors and even where to purchase a copy of this wonderful novel.

How Huge The Night by Heather and Lydia Munn

For one lucky follower of my blog, I am offering a giveaway of this amazing book. Here are your guidelines to enter the giveaway.

1. You must be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart.

2. You must be a resident of the US or have a US shipping address. Please No P.O. Boxes.

3. I must have a way to contact you, so please include your email along with your comment. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

4. Leave me a comment and tell me why you would love to win this book. The giveaway will end on June 3rd. I will contact the winner by email at that time.