Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar

All that glitters is Tessa Afshar's newest book Harvest of Gold. This is a continuation of Sarah and Darius's love story that began in Harvest of Rubies. The story begins with a summons to the King's court. Darius and Sarah rush to arrive on time to the King's summons. During their travel they are set up by thieves. Darius barely escapes with his life, and Sarah discovers a man with tattoos on his head that reveal instructions about an upcoming attempt to assassinate the King. Sarah's uncle, Nehemiah is granted his wish to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem. Darius is charged with finding who wants the King dead. Sarah doesn't wish to be separated from her husband for more than a year, so she keeps a secret from her husband. Keeping secrets from her husband was something she had promised to never do again, but her fears win the battle. When Sarah's secret is discovered through a tragedy, Darius once again shuts her out of his life. We see God's amazing grace in a strange twist of fate for Sarah, but will this be enough to bring Darius back to Sarah? Will Darius learn how to take down his walls protecting his heart and open it fully to his wife? Will Nehemiah be able to overcome the opposition to having Jerusalem's walls rebuilt?

I am so grateful that I was granted the privilege of reading an advanced e-copy of Harvest of God through Netgalley. I loved the continuation of Sarah and Darius's story. Afshar has a unique talent for weaving together a story that makes Biblical history come alive. Harvest of Rubies focused on the female psyche, while Harvest of Gold gives insight in the male psyche. Many marriages could learn a few things from this story on how fears can take over and bring problems without it being someone's original intent. The baggage each of us carry is shared with such care and insight. All of us need a Nehemiah in our life to help us see the walls we have built that need to be taken down, while learning which walls need to be built to protect us. This is why this book belongs on everyone's favorite shelf. I know that I will read this book again and again.

A Nobel Groom by Jody Hedlund

A Nobel Groom is a story about a German immigrant settlement in Michigan in 1881. A young widow, Annalisa Werner, has a daughter to care for another baby on the way and six months to raise the funds to pay off her land debt. These are overwhelming tasks for someone so young. Annalisa's father knows that she needs a husband, so he sends for a distant cousin from the old country to come and marry his daughter. When Carl shows up with a letter in hand, people think she is the long awaited cousin. Carl has to scramble to avoid being forced into marriage. The community finds out that he isn't the long awaited cousin, but someone from the "Old Country" that is willing to help out until the cousin arrives. Carl carries a secret that he is not a poor teacher, but a nobleman. He had to leave his homeland after escaping from prison. He was falsely accused of murder. After a life of ease, the life of an immigrant proves there are many things to learn and some secrets to keep. Will the crops get in on time, will the land go to the evil man, Ward, who threatens Annalisa on different occasions?

This book captured my attention from the beginning. I wanted to find out about Annalisa and her little girl. Could they survive alone in the frontier on their own? The book has some german sprinkled throughout the book that add to the flavor of the story. I only wish I knew German to understand the words. The struggle of farming in the 1880s came alive under Hedlund's pen. I found myself holding my breath--- hoping the next page would bring the long awaited rain for the crops. The murder mystery brought about a surprising resolution. I am so glad that Hedlund continued the story after the murder was solved. It was a complete story that comes full circle and ends with a satisfying resolution.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for this free e-book to read.

A Cast of Stones by Patrick Carr

Errol Stone, an orphan and town drunk, is tapped for an adventure that changes his life. Errol is asked to deliver a message to a priest in order to gain enough coin to pay for the ale he so desperately craves. Errol soon finds himself running for his life. People and creatures are attacking him wanting to end his life and he doesn't know why. Errol soon learns to defend himself not with the sword, but the stick. With the patience and precision of a warrior, he soon learns how to defend himself and best some of the best swordsmen in a traveling merchantman's caravan. Follow Errol on this grand adventure to learn how he ends up impressing and defending a king.

This high fantasy is written in the style of Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I found this book to be like a train pulling out of a station, it slowly gathered steam until it was roaring down the tracks at full steam. I wish that I had the second installment of this story to read right now. The cast of characters is long and detailed. I loved how Carr was able to introduce so many characters and bring the reader to understanding and wanting to learn more at the end of this book. I loved the action that he brought about with a simple flick of the word and sword. I was taken by surprise with some of the attacks just as a warrior might be taken by surprise. The details of the story helped to move the action along. I loved how the final battle came to a stunning conclusion and then wrapped up with the reader asking questions about who will take the throne when the king dies. This book was a great adventure and I want to read more.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with this book to read and review.

Love finds you in Glacier Bay, Alaska by: Tricia Goyer and Ocienna Fleiss

A friend of mine asked me if I would read her book and write a review on my blog. I was happy to do it and loved the book.

Two love stories are intertwined in a beautiful way. We start out meeting an up and coming singer, Ginny Marshall, who is on the verge of becoming the new "it" girl in the music industry. She is living the life in Los Angeles when thoughts of a old boyfriend send her to Glacier Bay, Alaska. Ginny goes to this quiet, remote town to talk to the only person that has ever gotten to know the real Ginny, former fiancee Brett Miller. Ginny survives the culture shock of this small town and learns to love these simple, joy-filled people. Brett's grandma gives Ginny some intriguing love letters to read. While Ginny gets caught up in these letters, she rediscovers her heart's desire to serve the Lord and love for the special man God placed in her life a few years ago.

I must admit that I was swept into the story the love letters brought as well as the lessons Ginny was learning about in her own life. The authors did a beautiful job of interweaving the letters into the story in a way that the reader was never confused. I like how the letters were italicized so you could tell instantly you were reading a letter. The characters and their struggles felt real. Hearing about this quaint small town makes me want to travel to Glacier Bay and get to know the people there. This was a great read and I look forward to reading more from Tricia Goyer and Ocienna Fleiss.

The Air We Breathe

By Christa Parrish

Molly is a young girl who never ventures out of the safety of her home and place of work. Her home is attached to the wax museum where she works. Molly's mom is extremely protective of Molly. One day a woman from Molly's past comes into the museum with her family. They tour the museum and this sets off a series of events that no one seems to be prepared for.

This book is rather confusing. The chapters jump in time and the characters while they are introduced by name there isn't a good description to help the reader understand how these characters fit into the story. About half way through the book, the pieces start to fall into place and the fog starts to lift for the reader. The book comes to an abrupt end. I was just starting to enjoy these characters and there was no more writing.

While there were parts of this book that I enjoyed, the disjointed feeling I had while reading the story made it easy for me to delete this book from my collection.

My thanks go to Bethany books for providing me with this free e-book to read and review.

Elizabeth Camden is fabulous

Lydia Pallas has the perfect job. She is a translator working for the U.S. Navy. It is very unusual for a woman to hold such a position, but Lydia is grateful for her job. At a young age, she became an orphan when her parents and her younger sibling were lost at sea.

Alexander Banebridge is a driven man. He moves around a lot so that the person that is after him can't pin him down to any one location. Alex's life goal is to end the opium trade. He has seen how innocent people become addicted to this horrible drug by using a supposedly safe tonic that is used to sooth crying babies.

Alex and Lydia's lives cross at the Navy yard in Boston. Lydia helps Alex translate some papers. This simple act is the cause of the loss of her beloved job, but is that all she will lose?

Camden's storytelling pulls you into the story quickly. Lydia has a need for order in her life. Alex passes through the office and moves something on Lydia's desk just to upset that perfect order. Lydia never sees Alex move anything on her desk, she only sees the disarray afterwords. This is how their friendship begins. Camden introduces you to her characters slowly. You get to know them and care about them before she muddies the water with another character. This helps to move the story along without confusing the reader. Camden also weaves subtle humor in the characters that bring about bursts of laughter from the reader. The mysteries to solve unveil themselves one after the other. Just when you think things will right themselves another plot twist appears. The book resolves on a final happy chord. This is a book that will go onto my "to be read again" book shelf.

Thank you to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with this complimentary copy to read and review.

Harvest of Rubies

Harvest of Rubies by Tessa Afshar
Sarah is a scribe working in the Queen’s court in Persia. Sarah happens to be the cousin to Nehemiah, the cupbearer to Artaxerxes. Sarah loves her job and does it very well. She has not learned the art of being a woman or interacting with people as well as she should. When the Queen arranges for Sarah to marry a cousin to the King, Sarah has to learn her worth comes from God and not her work. Sarah learns how to be a woman in the Persian court. Darius, Sarah’s husband, finds that he enjoys his wife. Read Harvest of Rubies to see how an ordinary gardener can teach Sarah and Darius about the ways of God.
I loved this book. This is the second book that Tessa Afshar has written. Both books are filled with wonderful historical facts. Afshar breathes life into some lesser known people from the Bible. The story that she weaves makes it easy to feel like you were actually there. The lessons that Sarah learned about herself worth are lessons that most women need to learn. So often we put our worth into our work or our beauty. When God is waiting for us to realize that He is the one that gives us worth even before we ask for it. He loved us before we first loved him. This is a timeless lesson that I will treasure in my heart for many years to come.