An Amish Country Christmas

"An Amish Country Christmas by best selling author Charlotte Hubbard who also goes by the pen name, Naomi King was asked to write a novel based on the characters from both of her Amish series where they get to mix and mingle, this is the result of that collaboration. The reader is bound to get a true gift when they can enjoy their favorite characters from both Willow Ridge and Cedar Creek together for the Christmas Season. With the fact that Charlotte (Naomi) have a book in each of her series all releasing just in time for Christmas, here is the chronological order for these stories: Amanda Weds a Good Man: One Big Happy Family by Naomi King; Winter of Wishes by Charlotte Hubbard; and then An Amish Country Christmas. This order will make sense, especially for Preacher Tom and Vernon Gingerich as they court the Hooley sisters and prepare to get married.

This novel, An Amish Country Christmas is divided into three sections, two of them, fantastic and charming additions to the bigger novels in the series based on Christmas and then the third section entitled, Sugar and Spice gives readers some amazing recipes that they have only read about not only in this book but in other books in the series, just in time for some Christmas baking.

In the first part of the book, The Christmas Visitors by Naomi King, shares the delight of what happens when Nate and Bram Kanagy head to Cedar Creek to pick up a courting buggy and a sleigh from Graber's Custom Carriages. While doing some shopping at the Cedar Creek Mercantile, the brothers have the opportunity to help a girl in need, Martha Coblentz who is struggling with some heavy mineral blocks she needs for her farm. Each seeing an opportunity to take a young girl out for a holiday trip, they both compete for her attentions. What they don't realize however is Martha already has plans for both very handsome young men and that would be to take them back home to meet her sister Mary, an identical twin in every way. What happens along the way is truly unforgettable and a delightful Christmas romance story between families.

In the second half of the book, The Bishop's Kiss by Charlotte Hubbard takes the readers back to Willow Ridge as the community decides what will happen now that the town's previous bishop Hiram was excommunicated for some under handed dealings within the community and now he has moved away to start his own community called Higher Ground, leaving the town searching for who their next bishop will be. Preacher Tom and Vernon Gingerich are about to encounter the Hooley sisters, Nazareth and Jerusalem who each have their sights set on a prospective man. What soon follows is bound to keep even the old at heart in awe as love comes to Willow Ridge in new and unexpected ways.

I received An Amish Country Christmas by Naomi King and Charlotte Hubbard compliments of Kensington Publishing Group and Pump Up Your Book Tours for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. I have LOVED every single novel that Charlotte and Naomi have written in the Cedar Creek and Willow Ridge series and this was such a delightful and charming way to take a trip back to these towns to see just how some of my favorite characters are spending Christmas this year. The best part are the amazing recipes I can't wait to try and add some new flavors to my Christmas baking this year. I would rate this book a 4.5 out of 5 stars and it truly does give you a Christmas treat you can enjoy in front of a warm fire on a cold night.

For more information about An Amish Country Christmas, Naomi King, Charlotte Hubbard or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

An Amish Country Christmas by Naomi King and Charlotte Hubbard

You can find Naomi King and Charlotte Hubbard on Facebook to stay up to date with all their latest novels.

To read more reviews on An Amish Country Christmas from the Pump Up Your Book Tour, please click here. 

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zebra (October 1, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1420131885
• ISBN-13: 978-1420131888
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches

Greetings From The Flipside

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Greetings from the Flipside

B&H Books (October 15, 2013)

by

Rene Gutteridge

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Rene is the author of seventeen novels. She also has extensive experience writing comedy sketches, and worked for five years as the director of drama for a church. She has a degree specializing in Screenwriting, for which she earned the Excellence in Mass Communication Award, and graduated magna cum laude.


She is married to Sean, a musician and worship leader, and has two children. They reside in Oklahoma, where Rene writes full time and enjoys instructing in college classrooms and writers conferences.


ABOUT THE BOOK

Hope Landon has been rewriting other people's greeting cards since she was six years old -- there's always a funnier caption. She's all set to chase those creative dreams with her musician fiance in New York City until he leaves Hope at the altar, deciding he must not really love this girl if he can't write a song for her. That may give her something to write about . . .


Hope disappears alone on what was supposed to be the couple's month long honeymoon. Upon returning she learns of her funeral -- everyone in her life concluded Hope must have killed herself after being jilted. Needing a fresh start more than ever, she heads for the Big Apple only to discover it's not that easy to rent a place when you've been declared dead.

Taking shelter at the YWCA, Hope soon lands a job at a Christian inspirational greeting card company as an assistant to Jake, a guy who shut down his organization's humor department. She has lost her faith in love; he needs to find something or someone that will make him laugh.

Is there anything in the cards for these two? Find out in the truly original Greetings from the Flipside by authors Rene Gutteridge (Boo) and Cheryl McKay (screenplay for The Ultimate Gift).

If you would like to read the first chapter of >Greetings from the Flipside, go HERE.

The Bargain

"The problem with the English is that everyone wants to lead. No one wants to submit to authority." ~ Betsie's Journal

Imagine a novel where an Amish woman makes a bargain with her cousin and winds up experiencing what life is like for an English family in the 1970's. That is just the premise for the latest novel by author Stephanie Reed, The Bargain, her first novel in the Plain City Peace series.

Betsie Troyer has made a bargain with her cousin Nelson to mind the harness shop while he agreed to serve in the Chicago military hospital without being drafted for two years. The arrangement would include her living with the Sullivans, an English family during her apprenticeship, while her own parents have agreed to leave behind their Amish way of life and heading to Belle Center, Ohio. They have agreed to allow their children however, to make their own choices about whether to leave or stay behind. Betsie is more that convinced her parents are making the wrong decision.

She meets Michael Sullivan, a college drop out, hippie and the only son of the Sullivan's she is planning on working for when he arrives to pick her up for work in his yellow-jacket colored Super Bee. He lives in the small town of Hilliard and is prone to the typical emotional outbursts that were common for teens dealing with all the issues surrounding the time in which this novel takes place. He is moved to the peace movement and tries to teach Betsie some of the slang words of the English as she attempts her first visit to their local supermarket in order to fit in. She clearly doesn't have a clue to what she is saying or doing and finds herself at odds in how to fit in with this very different family.

She is befriended by Michael's younger sister, Shelia who is 12, who she teaches the value of hardwork in taking care of the house, which is being left by the wayside by the now newly liberated Phyllis Sullivan, Shelia's mom. The family is used to such modern conveniences like a dishwasher, washer, and dryer and the television which occupies the late night hours after dinner, which they are use to getting out of a box or by making a TV dinner which is clearly unheard of in Betsie's family.

What ensues along the way is a blending of two very different cultures and two very different types of people. There are some great humorous scenes like Betsie watching an episode of Gilligan's Island and isn't sure why a "good buddy" is being hit with a hat by another man all the time, or why Michael seems upset when Betsie fixes his blue jeans and removes all his patches to make him look less like a scarecrow and more like a respectable man. This is truly an example of an Amish woman who finds her way into That 70's show!

I received The Bargain by Stephanie Reed compliments of Kregel Publications and Litfuse Publicity for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed are mine alone. There are some great quotes that are included at each chapter opens from Betsie as she journals what her life is like now living among the English family. This one was truly a different kind of Amish fiction for me than I have ever experienced and gave me new insight into what life would have been like for someone so different trying to fit in during a unique time in American history. I rate this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars and look forward to the next novel in this series.

For more information about The Bargain, Stephanie Reed or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Bargain by Stephanie Reed

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

To read more reviews on The Bargain as part of the Litfuse Publicity Book Tour, please click here. 

• Series: Plain City Peace (Book 1)
• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Kregel Publications (September 19, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 082544215X
• ISBN-13: 978-0825442155
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches

Stephanie L. Reed is celebrating the release of The Bargain, the first book in her new series, Plain City Peace, with a Kindle Fire 'Bargain Bundle' giveaway!

 
  One winner will receive a 'Bargain Bundle':

• A Kindle Fire
• The Bargain by Stephanie Reed

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on October 27th. Winner will be announced at the Litfuse blog on October 28th.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by the Litfuse blog on the 28th to see if you won. (Or, better yet, subscribe to their blog {enter your email in the blog sidebar} and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox)!

Redeeming Love

I love it when I find a great book because I simply want to tell everyone about it and hope that they strongly take my suggestion and pick it up. Some of these stories once you immerse yourself in them become a part of your body and soul. They live with you long after you read them because you find yourself thinking about the theme in so many different aspects of your day. When Francine Rivers got the notion for the storyline for her novel Redeeming Love it came directly out of the book Hosea in the Bible. It shows the way God loves us in such a profound and simply unconditional love that it is simply breath-taking and life changing. This novel and it's storyline will move you to tears and show you just how much God's love can change your life.

The storyline is very reminiscent of Les Misrables, in which a young girl name Sarah spends her life witnessing not only through words but in actions that she is worthless and unwanted. The only people who see her as anything as those who will exploit her beauty and cause her to build such walls that nothing, even the love of God will not be able to penetrate them. First learning that she was a product of an illicit affair her mother had with a wealthy married man, she over hears a conversation that he had wished she had never been born, that she was a mistake and one that he can never accept in his life. Yet Sarah's mother does all she can to protect and care for her child, but soon, life takes a terrible toll on her and she dies, leaving Sarah behind with a man she knows only as Uncle Rab.

Rab is simply a drunken man who loved her mother in between his lucid moments and now finds that taking care of Sarah is simply too much for anyone to handle. When he learns a wealthy man is looking for a daughter to adopt, he thinks he has found his way out. He sells nine-year-old Sarah to him, a man only known as Duke who will ultimately teach Sarah that he will be the only life she will ever know. He tells her that her name is now Angel.

Michael Hosea is a God-fearing man who believes God will show him who his future wife will be, but he never dreamed that would lead him to Pair-of-Dice, a brothel and find a soiled dove in desperate need of God's love. Michael simply can not believe that this is whom God would bestow His promises to find a wife in being the highest paid prostitute in town, one that only the highest bidder can see, but God offers him the opportunity to convince her that despite what she has been lead to believe her whole life, Michael is the real deal. Now if only those mile high walls she has constructed to protect herself against men can be brought down, Michael might just have a chance, but to Angel the only hope for a different life is if she dies and that is just what she has planned when Michael finds her.

I received Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers compliments of WaterBrook Multnomah Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions in this review are strictly my own. Once I received this to review, I didn't realize that this book had been written more than twenty years ago and the message contained in the pages is more relevant now to women who need to understand forgiveness, unconditional love and redemption in Christ. I literally read this in one sitting and could not put it down. I was beyond captivated by the eloquent words that Francine Rivers used to retell the biblical story of Hosea in this novel. I found myself in tears so many times, by the demonstration of Michael's love and commitment to Angel despite how many times she tries to push him away. It's like one reviewer shared, "Michael Hosea is the consummate hero; Angel, in one way or another, is every woman who has ever lived without love." You can not read this one and not be changed forever. Hands down a 5 out of 5 stars and will now hold a prominent place in my personal library. I KNOW I will read this one again and again.

For more information about Redeeming Love, Francine Rivers, or where you can pick up a copy of this incredible novel today, please click on the links below:

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

You can find Francine Rivers on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Redeeming Love, visit the WaterBrook Multnomah website. 

• Paperback: 479 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books; Paperback with Study Guide edition (May 9, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590525132
• ISBN-13: 978-1590525135
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches

The Cutting Edge

They say beauty is only skin deep, but is it really? Does anyone ever really bother to get beneath the skin and find the real person inside? Perfection was a look and that was it. So many "beautiful" girls look in the mirror and suddenly become dissatisfied with the way they looked. Many begin to dwell on one feature or another as the reason they hadn't become the latest cover girl. The end result is usually an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon and an attempt to improve on what most people would have thought of was perfection. Of course, rather did these fixes lead to bigger jobs, only bigger disappointments and lower self esteem. The fact was, a "look" couldn't be manufactured; it had to be a gift of birth.

That is just what Leslie Rhoads had, the looks that most would die to have. No cosmetic surgery was necessary and a true moment of opportunity sat literally right in front of her. The opportunity most models wait a lifetime to get and only rarely do few ever find. Now on the cusp of making a decision that might change her career, Leslie begins to count just what the cost is for great beauty and looks. Passion Nights, a perfume company wants her to be their spokesmodel but the photographs and ads leave very little left to the imagination. Raised as the proverbial girl next door, she wonders just what kind of message would she be sending taking on this project and signing a multi-million dollar contract. Her agent Carlee Middleton, reminds her that this doesn't come around too often and it is a guarantee to launch her career as a model to heights she had never dreamed before. No more struggling to make rent or live in less than desirable areas, this would literally be a life changing. But she can't accept without talking to her parents, the voice of reason in her life. What would God tell her to do?

When she arrives home from a late night flight from New York into Springfield, Illinois, the airport is mostly closed. Without wanting to wake her parents, she opts to call for a cab but since it's so late the cab will take awhile to get there since the driver is out on another call. When twenty minutes pass, Leslie sees an approaching unmarked car and believes that such a small town company has opted to send whatever they have left. Without thinking she opens the car door, only to be abducted from the airport by men she can't see. The only people who even know she is arriving home is her agent and it seems like that might be the last person who will ever know just where she went.

The men who have abducted Leslie have no idea who she is, and had hoped merely to gain whatever money and items of worth from her before abandoning her at the side of a dark road. But when a search of her baggage reveals her face on the cover of a magazine, the men realize Leslie might be worth a whole lot more. When she fails to give them what they want, they decide to take it out on her in a dark alley, cutting her beautiful face with a broken bottle and leaving her for dead. What will her beauty be worth now?

In the latest novel by best selling author Ace Collins, The Cutting Edge is one of those novels that once you pick up will embed its way into your soul. I literally inhaled this one and didn't realize that this novel is the sequel from Darkness Before Dawn. I remember reading a similar story that happened many years ago about a model who had her face viciously damaged and she was left for dead as well. I can't imagine the horrors she had to deal with much like Leslie's character whose whole life has been defined by her looks. Now she is left with nothing more but scars but it's the ones inside that may never heal. Can she find the beauty that lies within all of us before it's too late?

I received The Cutting Edge by Ace Collins compliments of Abingdon Press for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are mine. I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars because I believe it delivers more than just a great suspense filled story. There is a great message behind this story that is revealed by the time you get to the end, the one of what the true definition of beauty really is. Once again I feel that Ace Collins is definitely a "one to watch" author because everything he seems to do, turns to gold. He is utilizing his true God given gift of writing to transport us inside the story. It's compelling, believable and one that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. I simply can't wait to see what masterpiece he will create next.

For more information about The Cutting Edge, Ace Collins or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Cutting Edge by Ace Collins

You can also find Ace Collins on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Cutting Edge, please visit Abingdon Press' website.

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (October 15, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426714661
• ISBN-13: 978-1426714665
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches

Fields of Grace

"Why God? Why I am the only one left?"

These would be the same questions Hannah Luce would ask herself over and over as she began the slow road to recovery and healing being the only one to survive the plane crash that killed four of her closest friends and ones who were just beginning their lives working for Teen Mania Ministries. What Hannah shares in Fields of Grace, the book that chronicles not only what happened that fateful day that would forever change her life in more ways than she could remember but also shares how difficult her own road to discovery and faith has been being the daughter of a well known youth evangelist, Ron Luce, cofounder and CEO of Teen Mania Ministries.

This is the perfect book for anyone who is just beginning their spiritual walk or questioning where God is at in their dry moments when you wonder is this all there is in your faith walk. Hannah tells a very honest and compelling look at how she was raised and how she began at some point to wonder where God was at in all of it. She struggles with prayer and wondering why God doesn't answer her like she believes He should. She questions everything she has been raised to believe and wonders if there is something more out there than just what her dad has been teaching her.

She introduces us to Austin Anderson, the young man she meets while attending Oral Roberts University who is adored and charmed by countless women but has the most amazing friendship with Hannah because she is unlike anyone he has ever met since returning from two tours in Iraq and has been struggling to come to terms with his faith and seeing the horror of war. He and Hannah find themselves as true soulmates in every sense of the word even though they are not romantically interested in one another. It will be that same relationship that will be tested in the truest sense when their plane crashes.

Hannah tells how difficult it has been trying to find ways to reconnect with not only Austin but with Garrett Coble, the man that she believes was joining the flight that day to ask her to become part of his life, something that was shared between them but never honestly discussed until the day that would forever seal their fates and Hannah would never be able to tell Garrett her true feelings for him. She fondly remembers Austin's favorite quote from the movie Braveheart, "Every man dies, not every man really lives," and that is just how Garrett lived every moment of his life, a true hero to the end.

I received Fields of Grace by Hannah Luce and Robin Gaby Fisher compliments of Howard Books, a division of Simon and Schuster Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars because I truly believe in all of our hearts, we have all had moments of doubt and wonder where God is in the midst of personal trials, struggles or losses we can not explain. This book helps cast aside those doubts and helps us to realize that most of the time God is simply waiting to be invited in, and not asked to prove His existence in our lives. This book is a love story about three friends whose bond cannot be broken by death.

Hannah Luce has decided to donate all proceeds of the sale of Fields of Grace to the nonprofit organization she formed Mirror Tree to aid in the research and to create opportunities for people in the United States to help rehabilitate and reintegrate female refugees and others suffering from the aftereffects of rape, genocide and the loss of identity. This was a dream Austin had and she wants to do all she can to see this dream become a reality and as a tribute to him and the work he had hoped to achieve.

For more information about Fields of Grace, Hannah Luce, or where to pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Fields of Grace by Hannah Luce and Robin Gaby Fisher

To find out more about Teen Mania Ministries you can check them out on Facebook.

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Atria Books (October 22, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1476729603
• ISBN-13: 978-1476729602
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches

Audrey Bunny ~ Review and Giveaway

If you have ever fallen in love with the story of the Velveteen Rabbit, then you will definitely want to capture this children's book, Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith. It is a beautifully illustrated and wonderful story of a stuffed bunny who used to be one of twelve in the barrel in the toy story but now is only one of two. The bunny is struggling with wanting to find a forever home, but because of a smudge over the heart that she tries to hide whenever someone comes looking for a stuffed animal to take home, she is always tossed back because she is damaged or unwanted because of her mark.

Now that Caroline comes in looking for a birthday present, the bunny hides the mark in order to find a forever home and she succeeds in going home, but she knows that one day Caroline will see it and it's only a matter of time before the bunny, now named Audrey, is taken back to wind up in the barrel forever. Only like all of us, what makes us unique is something worthy in the eyes of those that can see it.

This is a delightful book that demonstrates to children who read it that were are all different in some way, but it's those differences that set us apart and make us special not undesirable. God made us all different and He uses those special characteristics in all of us to show how we are each a masterpiece not an imitation. There is even a great section in the back of the book called Parent Connect that allows parents to ask questions and garner a great discussion for children to learn what it means to be different but not an outcast and it's one of those books that your child will definitely read over and over again. 

I received Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith compliments of B and H Publishing Group and FlyBy Promotions for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own. I only wish I would have had this book when my children were younger to point out the lessons in differences in people and how God view them. We are all uniquely created and masterpieces instead of copies. It teaches them to see those differences in new eyes and creates such a great conversation between parents and their kids that they can refer back to the story over and over again. I rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars and have already gifted mine to a special little angel in my life that LOVES this story.

Angie Smith is the wife of Todd Smith (lead singer of Dove Award winning group Selah), best-selling author of Mended, I Will Carry You, and What Women Fear, and one of the most popular speakers and blog writers in the country. She holds a Master’s degree in Developmental Psychology from Vanderbilt University and lives with her husband and daughters in Nashville, TN.

For more information about Audrey Bunny, Angie Smith or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Audrey Bunny by Angie Smith

Written by: Angie Smith

Publisher: B&H Publishing

Hardcover with jacket:  32 pages 

Release Date: October 1, 2013

$14.99

Now for the best part, thanks to B and H Publishing Group and FlyBy Promotions, they are offering a giveaway copy to one lucky follower of my blog. Here are your guidelines to enter.

1. Be a follower of my blog, Reviews From The Heart. 

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

3. Leave a comment below telling me why you'd love to win a copy of this book along with your email address below so I can notify you if you're the winner of this giveaway. You can use the words (at) and (dot) instead of the symbols.

I will notify the winner by email when the giveaway ends on October 24th.