Truth be Told by Carol Cox

Delightful, enjoyable read.

Carol Cox delivers another historical mystery that is easy to read.  Amelia Wagner heads back to her childhood home.  Upon her arrival, Amelia finds that her father is about to die.  Instead of folding up the town's newspaper and heading back to Colorado, Amelia stays to run her father's newspaper.  Her father also left some intriguing clues about the business that seems to be buying up all the land around town.  Amelia sets out to find out the truth and along the way discovers a friendship with someone who works for the "enemy".

I enjoyed this story.  Cox pulls you in immediately with the drama of Amelia's father passing away. Amelia's commitment to continue to run her father's newspaper with the same commitment to truth that her father has pulls at your heart strings.  The grit and determination of this character jumps off the page.

Ben works for Great Western Union.  He looks for potential land to buy.  He is happy to have a job, but this is not his passion.  As he befriends Amelia, he learns he has a love for the truth and will do what needs to be done to reveal it.

I like the conflicts in this story and how each character learns how to deal with their flaws in honest and truthful ways.  You feel their pain and struggle.  There are delightful moments in the story as you read about the time consuming way papers were printed back in the 19th century.

Take a trip back in time and enjoy a good mystery.

My thanks go to Bethany House Publishers and Netgalley for the free e-copy of this book to review.

Undetected by Dee Henderson

An enticing blend of Military action, romance and national security.

Henderson's characters once again,  walk off the page and into your heart.

This book is the second book about the Bishop family.  You do not have to have read the first book in order to understand this book.  Each book stands by itself.

While this book is filled with complex science, it doesn't bog down the reader or leave you feeling confused.  The glimpse into the submarine warfare and its complexities was enlightening as well as intriguing.  You walk away with a new respect for the "Bubbleheads".

Henderson also gives us a fascinating glimpse of the unique trials in the life of a genius.  Gina Grey is the genius.  Her brother gave her the nickname, "Gina the genius".  While I have come across geniuses in school, I have never thought what life is like for these people once they hit adulthood.  Gina takes complicated thoughts and dreams up simple ideas.  Her discoveries are both helpful and harmful to the military.  How does a person deal with ideas that are on one hand helpful and on the other hand highly threatening?  Do you hide your genius or let it play out?

I loved this book, it is an instant classic.  The characters walk off the page straight to my heart.  I feel like I could sit down for coffee with these characters and talk like old friends.  I love that Henderson paints a realistic picture of military life.  She doesn't sugarcoat it.  Life isn't easy for those at home or those at sea.  The ideas of how to handle the absences touch the heart.  I also love the conversational faith that is woven into the story.  The lessons I learn from the characters about their questions of faith help me in my own walk.  I look forward to the next book with great anticipation.

My thanks to Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

Wildwood Creek by Lisa Wingate

  A story of history and mystery rolled into one.  This story has a slow start that builds to a satisfying conclusion.  Two stories that slowly combine into one.  A haunting, historical past come to life in a docudrama television show that tries to re-create the past.

Ally Kirklund has a dream to be a Hollywood producer.  Her family has more realistic dreams for her. Ally's big break comes in a summer job working behind the scenes on a television show or so she thinks.  After working behind the scenes for a couple of weeks, Ally gets offered the role of playing the historical character of Bonnie Rose because she looks just like her.  Ally decides to take on this role.  Ally becomes the school teacher Rose in the 1860s.  Ally learns that living in a time warp is hard work. Ally is torn between following the rules and finding out what really happened to Bonnie Rose.  In trying to solve this mystery, her life is changed and she is challenged in ways she never thought were possible.

I wasn't sure if I would like this book.  The two story lines were confusing to start out.  As the storylines converged it became clear and I look forward to learning more about each character's story.  I was intrigued by Ally's mystery men.  I wanted to know more about them and how they fit into the story.  My guesses as to where the story was going were proven wrong.  I was pleasantly surprised by some of the twists in Ally's story.  Rose's story of struggle was captivating.  I enjoyed learning how Rose would deal with adversity in a town that hated her.  Rose's tenacity to care for her students was shown in how they eventually trusted her with their problems.

Wingate's complex story unraveled into a spell binding mystery that was fascinating and surprising.  I liked how the two stories melded into one.  I was pleased that every storyline came to a satisfying conclusion.  The reader can close the book and smile because you know that Ally is headed toward her future in the film industry, and Rose's mysterious life comes to a joy filled conclusion.

If you like to learn a bit of history while solving a mystery this is the book for you.

My thanks to Bethany House publishers and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-copy to read and review..

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen Classic Jane Austin

This is a charming, easy to read story that starts out simple and builds to a complex story.

Alec Valcourt is a displaced Dance master.  He lives with his uncle in the village of Beaworthy, Devonshire.  Alec needs to provide for his mother and sister.  His profession is frowned up-on in this village.  Julia Desmond is a girl desperate to get away her overbearing mother and boring village.  Will the Dancing Master tame Julia's flirtatious heart or will he have to leave town under a cloud of suspicion once again?

The Dancing Master piqued my interest because of the Victorian England setting.  This era always seems so romantic.  The story starts out as a sweet, easy to read story.  About two thirds of the way into the story, the reader learns of an intriguing twist in Julia's life.  Klassen does a masterful job of foreshadowing.  The reader starts to question and think which character could be involved in this new twist.  Alec also has a surprising twist in his life as well.  Both story-lines compliment one another as if they are following the stpes of a country dance.

I appreciated how Klassen dealt with the issue of adopting.  Being adopted myself, the sense of abandonment is something adoptees have to deal with at some point in their life.  The reassurances of love from the other characters is also an important part of life.  Klassen got this story-line correct.

This is a great story for people who love Victorian England.  Be forewarned you get more than a sweet story, you learn about the intricacies of families and a happy ending.

My thanks to Bethany House Publishers for providing the free e-copy to review.

Hope for your Fears

Life is filled with fears.  Dr. David Jeremiah takes a look at these fears as well as providing strong Biblical teaching on how to overcome these fears.  There are 10 types of fear that are discussed.  These fears are:  disaster, disease, debt, defeat, loneliness, disapproval, danger, depression, death, and God.  These are things that everyone deals with in themselves or in other people that touch our lives.  The hope and practical wisdom provided is motivating. 

I know this book will be a great reference tool to be used throughout my life.  Working with people on a daily basis will put these principles into practice.  I look forward to sharing this wisdom with the people in my life.

My heartfelt thanks to Netgalley and Tyndale House Publishers for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Cinderella meets Ruth in Once Upon a Prince by Rachel Hauck

This is a fun romantic "Cinderella" story.  There is a touch of the Bible woven in that reminded me of the story of Ruth.  All girls would love to find a true prince to marry and this was a fun read.
Susanna thought she had her life figured out.  She was going to marry her high school sweetheart.  After all she had waited 12 years for him, on the night of her "proposal" he tells her he has fallen for someone else.  Deep in her heart Susanna knows that this is the right thing, but what will her life look like now?!

Susanna runs into Nate after being dumped.  Things do not seem to go right, but Nate takes her to her family restaurant, where he is put to work scrubbing bathrooms.  Little does the family realize that he really is a prince.  Susanna and Nate form a friendship before Nate has to return to his duties as a prince.  Eventually the family finds out Nate's royal bloodlines.

Nate has to return home and take over the family business.  Susanna tries to start her own landscaping business, but that doesn't work out the way she had planned.  Everything seems to be falling apart for her when an invitation from Prince Nathaniel arrives to attend his "crowning ceremony".  Susanna and her sister arrive for the festivities.  Nate's family thinks that this is just a short lived romance, but as any good romance goes, Susanna gets her prince.  Lessons are learned along the way and once again we see how God does care about our lives.  His higher ways are always the best ways, so we learn to relinquish our trust to Him once again.

I loved this fun fast paced story.  I loved being reminded of how God does care for each of us.  Our lives tend to take unexpected turns that we can only understand in reverse. 

My thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for giving me the opportunity to read this story.  Rachel Hauck is an author I look forward to reading more from in the future.

Favorite author for a reason

  Bryce Bishop, owner of Bishop Chicago an old coin dealership, is bored with his life.  Little does he know that his life is about to become very complicated and busy.  Enter Charlotte Graham, who gets a nod of approval from Paul Falcon, Chicago's director of the FBI.  Charlotte sets up a new store filled with old coins and tells Bishop that he has a week to decide if he wants to buy all the coins or she opens her store and puts Bryce out of business.  Having no other choice, Bishop buys all the coins and begins to understand that there are alot more coins to buy and sell at a profit for his business.

As Bryce and Charlotte build their business relationship, their friendship begins as well.  Bryce learns that Charlotte was a part of Chicago's most famous kidnapping case.  Charlotte has built a new life for herself, things from her past still need to be dealt with, but she remains mute on the subject.  Find out how an unsolved murder case will bring full closure to Charlotte's kidnapping case.

This complex and compelling story captured my attention from the very first page.  I love how Henderson weaves together her characters.  It is like meeting up with old friends.  Charlotte's struggle with God is heart wrenchingly honest.  The reader can empathize with her and thus the characters become three dimensional and take on a life of their own.  These are real life struggles that do not have easy answers.  I love that the readers feel these struggles and hurt right along side all of her characters.  To me this is life, it isn't easy and sometimes gets messy and complicated.  This book is a book that needs to be read multiple times in order to understand the rich story line each time it is read. 

My thanks to Bethany House publishers and Netgalley for the free e-copy to read and review.