Love's Reckoning

Loves Reckoning
Laura Frantz
Revell Publishing
Fiction, Romance, Historical

On a bitter December day in 1785, Silas Ballantyne arrives at the door of master blacksmith Liege Lee in York, Pennsylvania. Just months from becoming a master blacksmith himself, Silas is determined to finish his apprenticeship and move west. But Liege soon discovers that Silas is a prodigious worker and craftsman and endeavors to keep him in Lancaster. Silas becomes interested in both of Liege's daughters, the gentle and faith-filled Eden and the clever and high-spirited Elspeth. When he chooses one, will the other's jealousy destroy their love? 

In this sweeping family saga set in western Pennsylvania, one man's choices in love and work, in friends and enemies, set the stage for generations to come. "Love's Reckoning" is the first entry in The Ballantyne Legacy, a rich, multi-layered historical quartet from talented writer Laura Frantz, beginning in the late 1700s and following the Ballantyne family through the end of the Civil War.
  
This book was excellent. I was very quickly swept into the saga. Frantz does an excellent job of developing characters that you love and hate. Eden and Silas's romance is sweet and intriguing. They meet on the stairs and around quiet corners while trying to hide their feelings from Eden's family. Eden's sister Elspeth is reprehensible and a character you'll dislike immediately. My only complaint was it was very obvious that initially things were not going to work out for Silas and Eden. I also personally despise when books jump 7 years with no warning. Other than that I highly recommend this book and loved it. It's a keeper and I look forward to the rest of the series! 

I received this book free in exchange for my honest review. Available September 2012  at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Where Lilacs Still Bloom

Where Lilacs Still Bloom
Jane Kirkpatrick 
Waterbrook Press 
Publication Date: April 17, 2012 
Christian Fiction, Historical 

German immigrant and farm wife Hulda Klager possesses only an eighth-grade education—and a burning desire to create something beautiful. What begins as a hobby to create an easy-peeling apple for her pies becomes Hulda’s driving purpose: a time-consuming interest in plant hybridization that puts her at odds with family and community, as she challenges the early twentieth-century expectations for a simple housewife.

Through the years, seasonal floods continually threaten to erase her Woodland, Washington garden and a series of family tragedies cause even Hulda to question her focus. In a time of practicality, can one person’s simple gifts of beauty make a difference?

I think it's clear by now that I am a sucker for books based on actual events. Whether it's historical fact or based on an actual person's story it draws me in immediately. This book did no less. Kirkpatrick is an accomplished and vivid storyteller. She is able to weave stories in a unique way. I did get a bit bogged down with this story. There were some characters that were a little hard to keep track of. I'm also not a big fan of gardening and much of the story does revolve around planting. While this story may not keep you riveted it is an easy and interesting read.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books program. I was not required to write a positive review.

Bees in the Butterfly Garden

Bees in the Butterfly Garden
Maureen Lang
Tyndale Publishers
July 1, 2012
Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Bees in the Butterfly Garden
Maureen Lang
Tyndale Publishers
July 1, 2012
Fiction, Romance, Mystery

Meg Davenport has spent most of her life at an exclusive boarding school in Connecticut far from the father she wishes would acknowledge her. She has every worldly comfort a girl could want and her learning has been superior. What she truly wants, however, is a relationship with her father. When word of his death reaches Meg she is both devastated and indifferent. She goes to the funeral with hopes of learning more about the father she never knew.   


In New York she learns that her father's profession was that of a thief, a very successful thief. Ian Maguire, Meg's father's protege, would like to keep Meg away from her father's profession but he can't deny that her connections are worthy of note. Realizing he can't stop Meg's entry into thieving he decides to make sure she doesn't come to harm.


What follows is an intricate story that will keep you intrigued and interested. Lang is an excellent historian and I always appreciate reading her meticulous research. The gilded age is well explained in this novel as you would expect from Lang. The characters and developed but not particularly likeable. I found myself getting very bogged down with the story about a third of the way through, I was glad I kept pressing on for it is indeed a good read. While you may not be able to relate to the story line you will surely be able to relate to the character's angst and victories.


I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers.   I was not required to write a positive review.

Raising Financially Confident Kids

Raising Financially Confident Kids
Mary Hunt
Revell Publishing
Parenting
Publication Date: 8/2012 Purchase Here

About the book:
One of the most important lessons you can teach your kids is how to handle their money. Unfortunately, for most of us, giving our kids a financial education is an afterthought. Where do you start? And what if you don't feel financially confident yourself?

In Raising Financially Confident Kids, financial expert Mary Hunt draws from solid statistics and her own hard-won knowledge and experience as a mom who made it back from the brink of financial ruin to help you teach your children how to handle money responsibly. From preschool through the teen years, every stage of your child's development is covered, including how to talk to them about money at each age, how to help them start saving money and giving it away, and how to avoid the pitfalls of easy credit and a culture built on debt.

Money can't buy your children happiness. But giving them the skills to manage their money will allow them to take control of their future and work toward successful and satisfying lives.

My thoughts: 

I was immediately hooked into this book during the introduction when Hunt wrote this:

"It seemed to me if we could teach our children not to touch a hot stove, we could train them not to get burned by the lure of credit-car debt. If we could train them to look both ways before crossing the street, we could teach them to carefully the fine print. If we could instill in them the value of delaying gratification, that could become a lifetime behavior."  

To me it just made sense. Of course we can train up kids to be smart financially and we should be. Hunt draws from personal experience throughout the book making this a very credible and easy to read book. I very much appreciated her honesty and openness throughout. While her methods may at times seem a little much you can not argue with the outcome. Her boys didn't learn without bumps along the way but they thrived on trust, information and responsibility.

I highly recommend this read for parents. Very practical information. Here are some quotes I pulled out of the book. 

"Credit-card companies are desperate for new customers, and they have their big guns pointed at your children"

"Giving proves the condition of my heart. It's a thank-you note for all that I am and all that I have."

"Debt-proof kids are guided by a set of values having to do with money, credit, and debt." 

"Financial awareness shapes responsible kids."



I received this book from Revell Publishing in exchange for my honest and real review. 

The Book of Life Recovery

The Book of Life Recovery

Stephen Arterburn

David Stoop

Tyndale Publishing

Christian Life/ Personal Growth

Publication date: 9/2012

Whether you yourself are going through recovery or you know someone who is this book is a must read. Arterburn and Stoop have done an excellent job of breaking down the 12 steps to recovery into small manageable bites.

The twelve steps clearly identify a high power. The authors of The Book of Life Recovery take those twelve steps and that higher power and bring a Christian perspective to the road to recovery. Gripping personal stories run throughout the entire book. Stories of people reaching the bottom and deciding to make a change; the stories are both sobering and encouraging.

Each chapter highlights one of the twelve steps.  Stories introduce the chapter and then a particular insight to each step is offered. Four Bible studies end each chapter. Each of the Bible studies is designed to take the reader deeper into the step to recovery from the Christian perspective. Psalms, Abraham, and Jesus all give insight and hope for the recovering reader.

I found this book to be extremely helpful and insightful. I myself do not struggle with an addiction but I have close friends who do. Beyond that I am a pastor and counselor. This book will definitely sit on my shelf and will be a go to book as I work with people. Clearly laid out and very easy to read this is a resource worth having. 

Thanks to Tyndale Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this title in exchange for my honest review. 

The Gifted

The Gifted
Ann Gabhart
Revell
Historical Romance
Available July 2012

Jessamine Brady has been in the Shaker Village for half her young life, but in spite of how she loves her sisters there, she struggles to conform to the strict rules. Instead she entertains dreams of the world outside. When Tristan Cooper seems to step out of those dreams to entice her into the forbidden realm beyond the Shaker Village, her life turns upside down.

Will Jessamine be able to survive the storms of the world? Or will she retreat back to the peace of Harmony Hill?

Ann Gabhart is an author I always enjoy reading. She has a way of making history and different cultures come alive. I always find her Shaker books particularly intriguing. I was excited to dive into The Gifted.  Jessamime as a character has quite a lot of depth and as a reader I felt her very real struggle. Tristan lacks depth at the beginning but gains it as the story moves along.

For some reason this book wasn't a favorite of mine. There was a lot of Shaker theology in the book and it ended up making me a little uncomfortable. Hearing so much about "Mother Ann" seemed to take away from the story. I am definitely walking away with a much better understanding of the Shaker faith, I'm just not sure that's what I was looking for.

Either way Gabhart is an excellent story teller who will grip you right away. Her characters are real and well developed and the underlying story of Jesus throughout is always beautiful. The way the characters long for something more is so true of how God is always gently wooing his children.


I received this book from Revell Publishing in exchange for my honest and real review.

Band of Sisters

Band of Sisters
by Cathy Gohlke
Tyndale Publishing
September 2012
Genre: fiction, historical

It's 1910 in Ireland and Maureen O-Reilly's mother has just passed away. Left to care for her 13 year old sister, Katy Rose, and with a very serious threat looming Maureen and Katy Rose flee to America. Trying to get through Ellis Island proves to be extremely daunting and Maureen has to leave her ill sister to find work and establish herself in the new land. She has a 30 year old letter from an American friend of her father promising an inheritance and a place to live. When Maureen goes to the now deceased Colonel Wakefield's house she is quickly dismissed by a son-in-law. What she doesn't know is that her visit will begin a remarkable journey in herself and also in Olivia Wakefield (daughter of the Colonel).

Alone, desperate, and scared Maureen lies about her references to connive a job at a prominent department store.  She quickly realizes that underneath the polish and glamor there is something very mysterious and dangerous going on. When girls begin disappearing from the store Maureen starts to ask questions. Little does she know the danger in her questions and the danger that lurks for every vulnerable woman in the city.

Olivia Wakefield knows very little about Maureen or her father but decides to read through her father's old journals to gather what information she can. As she reads she finds out about the influence of Mr. O-Reilly in her family's life. Determined to honor her father's wishes she begins to search for Maureen. She also is in the process of gathering her group of friends and having them ask the question, "what would Jesus do?" that will ultimately be the basis for how they live their lives. 

As more information regarding the missing women is discovered a band of sisters emerges that fights for injustice and for answers. Thrust into danger and evil Maureen must decide whom she will trust and if that God she keeps hearing about could truly love a person such as herself.

This book is rich with characters and story lines. I could keep typing for hours and still have more to say. Beyond the mystery and danger there is of course a theme of romance throughout. It is well handled and well developed.  Gohlke has written an extremely intricate and compelling story. Pulling stories from modern headlines and placing them in 1910 is very clever and works. I was hooked. Band of Sisters is a very well-written book. I was up late reading this one. Maureen is excellently developed and is a clear picture of a very wounded person in need of grace. There are times where her character seems overly filled with angst but that's easy to overlook. The story of grace and love throughout is really quite beautiful. The historical aspects regarding Ellis Island and the challenges of immigrants at that time is done well. This was my first read from Gohlke and I am already anxious to read more from her. She is well on her way to being an excellent story-teller.

Thanks to Tyndale Publishing for providing me with a free copy of this title in exchange for my honest review.