The Way Life Should Be

Being single and living in New York with a busy Italian family can be difficult enough as Angela Russo already knows. In her family, they always want what is best for her and have no problems letting her know their opinions. As an event planner, she is waiting to make her mark in her job so that she can take on bigger projects. That is why it is critical that she pulls this one off without a hitch. Not only that but her best friend Lindsey has found her soul mate through the wonders of internet dating and believe Angela should give it a try. So much is changing around her that it is hard to please everyone especially in her family and it seems her once peace of mind comes from cooking with her Italian grandmother known as Nonna who conveys a love of cooking while dispensing out bits of sage wisdom.

Is it possible that life hands things to you and at times we simply let them slip through our fingers without thought that our happiness may have been right in front of us through a series of chance encounters all along? So Angela decides to give it a go and dreams that her match might just live in the coastal charming cottage she has on her office bulletin in Maine, so they is where she begins her search. She never imagines that she might one day be telling her own children and grandchildren how their parents met, through a internet dating site that spelled love at first sight and would lead to happily ever after. Ah but not everything is as it appears and even though Angela has a date scheduled to coincide with her arriving in New York to meet some very influential clients, she isn't prepared for the disaster at her job that will leave her questioning everything. Is falling in love really all it's cracked up to be even though everyone around her seems to have no problem finding it but her?

In the latest novel The Way Life Should Be from Christina Baker Kline, she gives readers a glance at the world of Internet dating for a struggling single woman living in New York. The characters she writes about feel like real people as they weave in and out of Angela's life. My favorite is definitely Nonna, who shares her passion for cooking as well as her passion for life in the time that they spend together. She makes Angela realize that all her choices need to be hers and not at the whims of well-meaning family and friends, because in the end, it will be the life she is left with. She can be happy or unhappy but only she can be the one to make that choice. Along the way, Angela makes some brave choices leaving her entire life and family behind to follow a dream even though it doesn't materialize the way she dreamed. It teaches her more than advice does and along the way she meets some really great people who will be there for her when she needs them the most.

I received The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline compliments of William Morrow, a division of Harper Collins Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained in this review are strictly my own. There is a reader discussion guide and some fantastic recipes I can't wait to try at the conclusion of this novel. I give this novel a 4 out of 5 stars. There is some sexual content and profanity but overall the story is well written and I easily read this in a couple of hours it was simply that great!

For more information about The Way Life Should Be, Christina Baker Kline, or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Way Life Should Be by Christina Baker Kline

You can find Christina Baker Kline on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Way Life Should Be, please visit William Morrow's website. 

A Love Undone

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
A Love Undone
WaterBrook Press (September 9, 2014)
by
Cindy Woodsmall


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times and CBA best-selling author who has written fifteen (and counting!) works of fiction and one of nonfiction. She and her dearest Old Order Amish friend, Miriam Flaud, coauthored the nonfiction, Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women. Cindy’s been featured on ABC Nightline and the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and has worked with National Geographic on a documentary concerning Amish life. In June of 2013, the Wall Street Journal listed Cindy as one of the top three Amish fiction writers.

She’s won Fiction Book of the Year, Reviewer’s Choice Awards, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, as well as one of Crossings’ Best Books of the Year. She’s been a finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards, Christian Book of the Year, and Christian Retailers Choice Awards.

Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest.

(Since that last line sounds sad and bare, I thought I’d add an “epilogue” of sorts. Our two oldest sons are married and live only a couple of miles from my empty nest, and below are my three adorable grandchildren! ♥)

ABOUT THE BOOK

A husband and son abandoned to forge a path alone.

A young woman who sacrificed her dreams.

How will the God of grace and hope help them find their way?

At nineteen years old, Old Order Amish Jolene Keim was on the brink of happily-ever-after when everything changed, stealing the future she expected and burdening her with an unbearable decision. For the next ten years, Jolene throws herself into family life—and then she meets Andy Fisher. The horse trainer and father to a sweet nine year-old challenges her and holds up a mirror to issues Jolene has been unwilling to face.


Andy is cautious about his deepening friendship with Jolene, but he believes she knows the truth about him – that he is a grass widower. As a man whose wife has abandoned him six years past, he is unable to divorce or remarry according to the Amish ways. Andy has wrestled with God concerning his reality, and he had found peace with the solitary future facing him…until he met Jolene.

As Andy and Jolene find themselves confronted by difficult choices, will they trust in God's guidance—or will the allure of their deepening friendship only lead to further temptation?

If you would like to read the first chapter of A Love Undone, go HERE.

The Mason Jar

While some have compared James Russell Lingerfelt's novel, The Mason Jar to Nicholas Sparks, I would beg to differ. While the story does deal with a love between college students Clayton Fincannon and Eden Valmont, I was missing something in the story that connected me to the plight that these two faced. Like all great love stories, Clayton, known as Finn, falls in love through a series of dates at Pepperdine College with Eden Valmont. They learn they share the same desire to work with underprivileged children in third world countries and both vow that their futures will be in the mission field.

The Mason Jar begins as Eden learns that Finn has written a book about their love story as she has made her way back to Pepperdine for a homecoming of sorts for alumni's and wonders if Finn still hold hard feelings towards her for abrupting ending their relationship in the form of a "Dear Finn" letter, never fully explaining the reason for leaving. The novel showcases that story as Eden spends time reading about his interpretation of their college romance and how he struggled to cope with the loss without really knowing why.

You learn that Finn tried to resolve some of those feelings by leaving for a mission trip to Africa to begin a microlending program there in hopes of truly helping the people. It turned out to be one of the most successful programs to date with a 98% success rate. But through it all, he could never resolve the feelings of love he still had in his heart for Eden. Something he tries hard to figure out in a series of letters he writes to his grandfather. When he was growing up they shared questions and answers by leaving a series of notes for one another in a glass mason jar. Those sagely letters are ones that Finn keeps with him as he tries to find a coping mechanism that will work to get Eden out of his head and heart. But like all great advice his grandfather dispense out, that isn't the case. He learns a lot from his grandfather in the process and finds himself coming home when his grandfather grows ill and subsequently passes away. It isn't until he is going through his grandfather's office that he finds the final letter that may allow him to finally move forward without simply forgetting the past.

I received The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt compliments of William and Keats Publishing and Litfuse Publicity as a complimentary copy for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own unless otherwise notated. I wish the novel were a bit longer to allow for further character development between Finn's grandfather, and between Finn and Eden. I am also confused by the issue that one back cover of the book it refers to Eden as Savannah when that name isn't mentioned in the book. A bit confusing for me as I began my journey into this novel at first.

There is some great advice I love that Finn's grandfather dispenses in his letters to Finn, my favorite being, "Remember we become what our minds dwell on. It's proven in cognitive psychology that if we dwell on negative thoughts, we become negative people. 'A man reaps what he sows." If we live in the past, in a world that we cannot change, we only grow estranged from the present. We stop growing and decay. If he past brings good memories, let them brighten your present day, but do not long for their return or dwell on them. For it is the present day that must be taken care of if we are to expect to live fruitfully tomorrow. "(pg 202).

With that being said, I rate this novel a 4 out of 5 stars and plan on keeping it on my permanent shelf not so much for the story content but for the advice I found in Finn's grandfather's letters. For more information about The Mason Jar, James Russell Lingerfelt, or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

You can find James Russell Lingerfelt on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Mason Jar, please visit Litfuse Publicity's book tour page.


James Russell Lingerfelt's debut novel, The Mason Jar, is hot-off-the-press and causing quite the buzz. It's even been optioned for a feature film and is in pre-production.

Catch the spark by entering James' Kindle Fire giveaway!

 
One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• The Mason Jar by James Russell Lingerfelt

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 19th. Winner will be announced October 20th at James Russell's blog, Love Story from the Male Perspective. 

Hannah's Hope

I can't imagine a more challenging Christmas than the one 15-year-old Hannah Robertson is finding herself facing. Managing a full schedule as a freshman in high school would be difficult enough, but her parents are beyond busy serving as the ambassadors in Sweden. The one thing Hannah has been able to count on is that her parents have always managed to be home for Christmas. Even though most of the time, they are busy with political meetings and dinner plans, it was still nice to be able to spend time with them. But this is not what is going to happen this year. The email response from her mother was simply that they could not find the time to make it home this year. They hope she understands. Hannah's response? "Fine, Mother. How completely understandable that my parents would choose parties in Sweden over Christmas with me. Love you, too."

When her mother received Hannah's email response she found herself feeling a bit guilty believing that Hannah had come to accept the busyness of how involved they were in Sweden and had hoped she might be relived not to have to attend all those parties and gathering if her parents had come home. Guess not after all. The one thing her mother believed might just help was if she finally came clean with the truth about Hannah's real father. That her biological father was not the man she married, but the man she left when Hannah was four. She had hoped to tell her when she turned eighteen, but now might be the perfect time to tell her. So she packaged up a few photos of Mike Connor, Hannah's real father, a pair of pilot wings and shipped off a letter she had hoped would explain her decision to walk away from him 11 years ago.

To Hannah, realizing that Jack was not her real father explained how he acted around her and filled in all the missing holes in Hannah's heart. She dreamed of the man who had read to her, played with her and one she fondly loved and now she had to find a way to find him against all odds based on what little information she had. The man she was looking for was serving in Iraq and had been searching for her all his life. Now all they needed was the perfect Christmas miracle.

I received Hannah's Hope by Karen Kingsbury as a free copy for my honest review compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions contained here are strictly my own. I've been a huge fan of Karen Kingsbury's novels since my very first one. She gets right to the heart of the reader's emotions and inspires such a feeling of hope and love, you find yourself smiling as you finish each book. It makes you want to be a better person and inside changes your heart. Included in this book at the conclusion are a list of projects you can involve yourself with to help our service men and women serving our country this Christmas which evokes the meaning behind this series of books. This is the fourth book in the Red Glove Series and can be read in any order or as a stand alone. What a perfect gift to give someone this year for Christmas and one I rate a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Hannah's Hope, Karen Kingsbury,  or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Hannah's Hope by Karen Kingsbury

You can find Karen Kingsbury on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Hannah's Hope, please visit Faith Words website. 

Promise to Cherish

I had a rare moment to read an outstanding novel that shares the love of nursing in a state hospital alongside an Amish man who was sent to the Civilian Public Service Unit during World War II in Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts. There is so much realization poured out in the words you read that you can imagine what it felt like as nurse Christine Freeman tries to find a way to manage the healthcare of so many patients in Hudson River State Hospital. Since so many of the men and women have been called to active duty, there only last resort is to take in the conscientious objectors from the CPS unit. This one filled with Mennonite and Amish young men who are serving their time in the war in obligation to their religious faith.

While some might claim they are dodging their duty by not serving in the war, Eli Brenneman knows it is what he must do even if he is already experiencing his prejudice from the Amish in Sunrise as well. At least this way he is fulfilling his military obligation and not taking lives that go against the Amish faith. Now if he can only manage to convince others of this as well. But the life of aiding the mental patients at Hudson River is something he can do beside digging pointless ditches for the government. From helping them bath, custodial duties, and even keeping patients busy reading to them or playing games makes him feel like he is doing what God has called him to do.

What he isn't prepared for is the attraction he feels towards Christine. Yet he manages to keep his distance because in her eyes, he is one of the reasons her brothers Nathaniel and Peter died, so that men like Eli could avoid going to war in their place. All Christine wants is to find a way to help her struggling family financially since her father was left crippled from the war and unable to find work. She had hoped that one day she might find the perfect man and begin a family of her own, but for now her duties as a shift nurse fulfill that calling. But life is about to change abruptly for both Christine and Eli and ways that neither ever anticipated. For both of them, their lives would never be the same and the hopes and dreams they had will not work out as they had planned.

I received Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own. I absolutely love the blending of WWII and Christian Amish into this wonderful novel. It is the second in the Promise of Sunrise Series and I can't wait for the third book in the series. There is so much detail in the treatment of the patients at Hudson River that you literally feel like you are part of the staff as well. The author utilizes her own families history to breath life into this novel and the result you will find is pure perfection. For lovers of WWII, Christian Amish and of course romance, trust me, this is the novel for you. Even though this is part of a series, each can be read as a stand alone. But once you read this one, you will want to pick up Promise to Return. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and literally read it in one sitting, I simply couldn't put it down.

For more information about Promise to Cherish, Elizabeth Byler Younts or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Promise to Cherish by Elizabeth Byler Younts

You can also find Elizabeth Byler Younts on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Promise to Cherish, please visit Howard Book's website. 

The Sacred Year

How could staring at an apple for over an hour help you to change your focus? How could digging a grave help give you a deeper understanding of what our own mortality means? How long could you sit in a room in utter silence until you had to do something or engage in another activity? How can you learn to appreciate all that life has to offer when you can't seem to find hope and happiness anymore?

I found some amazing insights into one man's spiritual walk, Michael Yankoski during one year he entitled in his book, The Sacred Year. In meeting with a man known as Father Solomon, he engaged Michael to take his own spiritual journey to find deeper nourishment, deeper encouragement, and deeper hope in a book that follows, through the ups and downs of one honest questioner's year of spiritual practice. There are simply so many amazing things that my poor copy of this book is more dog-eared than not. From outstanding quotes that open each chapter to the insights Michael discovered in so many profound ways, causes the reader to stop and pause at their own life, and realize how much we are truly missing. From learning to appreciate a great meal simply by fasting for 24 hours gives you a greater sense of the food you are eating. A good meal is never more appreciated than when you have gone without food for a few days. How too often we simply give up appreciating the abundance of food and flavors we have available to us simply by walking into a grocery store.

How when challenged to learn how to reclaim items that too often we simply discard not because we can't use them any longer but because we don't want them anymore. "We humans throw away such an astonishing amount of stuff every year, especially in the developed world. Resources are scarce, clean air and water and land are precious, and perhaps one of the ways of protecting what remains includes reclaiming what we might throw away, like lumber scraps, clothing or furniture. If we truly don't want them, and they are perfectly good, why not consider donating them instead? Michael actually spent time dumpster diving to see just what we so often throw away that still has value left in it.

How learning what is really important instead of the stronger overtaking the weaker, building something bigger, better and bolder, when you consider what is the point of it all anyway? "Is everything we build just destined to become rubble in another's ambition? For all the power and wealth here, for all the cultural influence and clout these culture-makers possess with their red carpets and private jets, they will all - we will all - one day be six feet under." (pg 111). He gains an insight into his own mortality digging a grave by hand. "The fact that I'm going to be down there someday. That we're all going to be down there someday. And the whole world will just keep on going about its business above us, like we were never even here."(pg 114).

He uncovers how God views us all not as a harsh judge looking for the moment to wipe us off the planet but in discovering through a close friend who is dying of cancer, how God views sin in our life like as a father views cancer taking the life of his daughter. The father hates cancer with an absolute, burning passion. So sin is like cancer, eating us alive, diminishing what we're made to be. It's a cancer of the mind, a cancer of the heart, a cancer of the soul. And it has spread out like a tumor throughout our whole selves. And, like the Bible says, "the wages of sin," are like the effects of untreated cancer, "is death." "And God like the father of the child with cancer, hates sin, hates the cancer that is eating us alive. He loves us and so he hates whatever it is that is killing us. He doesn't hate us, though, He loves us. He loves us and hates cancer, hates cancer because He loves us. God desires for us to live, to flourish, to thrive. That is why He made us. That is why God keeps us in existence from moment to moment." (pg 131).

I received The Sacred Year by Michael Yankoski compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed here are strictly my own unless otherwise notated. There is simply so much to be gleaned from Michael's book and in his own year long search for something more than simply making it through this life doing the best we can with what God has given us. For those of you looking for a little bit more insight as the world grows at an exponential rate leaving us as debris in its wake, you just might uncover a true diamond in the rough tucked between the covers of this book.. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and can't wait to begin my own journey!

For more information about The Sacred Year, Michael Yankoski, or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Sacred Year by Michael Yankoski

You can also find Michael Yankoski on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest books.

To read more reviews on The Sacred Year, please visit Litfuse Publicity's book tour page.


God is at work everywhere. And every-when. We only need to open our eyes and take the time to notice.

Michael Yankoski became jaded and disillusioned with his life as a Christian motivational speaker, feeling as though he was another act in the “Christian Carnival.” Religion started to become a façade instead of a deep, nourished, lived experience of faith. He knew he needed to stop talking about his faith and begin living and practicing it. In a sort of desperation, Michael dedicated the next year to engaging various spiritual practices, and The Sacred Year is a firsthand account of the downs and ups, the failures and successes of an honest search for answers to the human yearning for life, love, and God. It’s time to stop talking about your faith and begin living and experiencing it.

Join Michael and #EmbraceTheSacred—seek out God at work in the mundane and attend to what God is doing in your life. Share those moments on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and make sure to use the tag #EmbraceTheSacred.

As a thank-you for ordering The Sacred Year, Michael is giving away a free ebook! Email your proof of purchase of The Sacred Year to TheSacredYear@gmail.com, and you will receive A Straightforward Guide to Three Essential Spiritual Practices ebook for FREE! Learn more here.

 

Maggie's Miracle

 For those of you that have ever loved so much at one time but had to watch that time in your life slip by, there is hope that you will one day find it again. Best-selling author Karen Kingsbury takes readers into the hearts of Maggie and Jordan Wright who are finding themselves trying to find a way to get through the death of her husband and Jordan's father due to a sudden heart attack. Jordan is dealing with it much harder as an eight-year-old boy who was loved dearly by his father, but the love Maggie shared with him was simply a business transaction in the marriage. She only had that perfect love once in her life as a young girl searching for answers and finding it on the shores of a lake one summer.

Maggie has since resolved to give up on love forever and find a way to move forward in her life as a busy district attorney. But she can see that Jordan needs more time than she can find to give him. His grades are suffering and he has now taken his problems directly to God in a letter. Knowing his mother always has the right answers, Jordan believes that his special prayer for a new daddy must be written out and mailed by his mother. He knows beyond a doubt that God will hear him and answer his prayers.

Casey Cummins understands that level of grief that Maggie and Jordan are feeling. He too, lost his wife Amy and his unborn son due to delivery complications. He knew that he would never find a love like that again, but there is still an empty place in his heart for helping others. He learns about Healing Hearts, a program that places grieving children with single adults as a way of helping them through their struggles and that feels like the perfect answer for managing his own grief. Now he prays that God will provide him with just the right child for him and hopes he won't have to wait too long.

I received Maggie's Miracle by Karen Kingsbury compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions here are strictly my own. This is the second book in the Red Glove Series and is bound to ignite a spirit of love and hope in your heart this Christmas season. It is about believing not only in miracles but the power of prayer to restore those broken places in our hearts and find hope once again. There is also a list of activities to inspire you to incorporate them into your Christmas season and give back some hope and love to those that are hurting. I love the idea of reading this book a chapter a day starting at Thanksgiving as a way of encouraging and inspiring us all to be better people. I easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars. While these are part of a series, they can be read as a stand alone and in any order.

For more information about Maggie's Miracle, Karen Kingsbury or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Maggie's Miracle by Karen Kingsbury

You can also find Karen Kingsbury on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

To read more reviews on Maggie's Miracle, please visit Faith Word's website.