Showing posts with label homestead. Show all posts
Showing posts with label homestead. Show all posts

Friday, March 8, 2024

Reverence in the Wilderness by Andrea Byrd

 

Right from the beginning both Keturah and Daniel are alone and had been in families that had abusive people. They both need to be loved. They are opposites in many ways but each works hard to achieve their goals. There is a lot they have to learn to get to the lives they need, but they stick with it. Nice read, seems to go fast. 

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#ReverenceInTheWilderness #AndreaByrd #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FiveStarNovel 


About the Book

Book: Reverence in the Wilderness

Author: Andrea Byrd

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: March 5, 2024

She’s desperate to save the homestead she’s poured her life into…but is a marriage of convenience with him the answer?

Alone in the Kentucky wilderness, Keturah Elliot finds herself bereft of family and facing the looming threat of losing all she has left. After toiling alongside her demeaning father for two years, she cannot bear losing the homestead they built with their own hands. Keturah has no choice but to trust the Lord’s urging—she must marry to protect all she holds dear. But when a candidate presents himself in the form of a wealthy dandy from back East, can she find enough redeeming qualities to accept him?

Haunted by his mother’s death and a lifetime of failure and isolation, Daniel Scott sees little hope of a better situation when he’s sent to a remote Kentucky station. But when he meets a captivating Scottish woman in need of a husband such as he, he’s determined to break the cycle and prove himself once and for all.

Brought together by circumstances beyond their control, can these two opposites overcome their challenges to build the future they both crave?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Andrea Byrd is a Christian wife and mom located in rural Kentucky, who loves to spend time with her family in the great outdoors, one with nature. Often described as having been born outside her time, she has a deep affinity for an old-fashioned, natural lifestyle.

With a degree in Equine Health & Rehabilitation gathering dust and a full-time job tethering her to a desk eight hours a day, Andrea decided it was time to show both herself and her children that it is truly possible to make your dreams come true. Now with over 1,000 contemporary Christian romance novellas sold, Andrea is pursuing her passion of writing faith-filled romance woven with a thread of true history. 



More from Andrea

In many ways, Reverence in the Wilderness is deeply personal for me.

To read about Daniel Scott is to receive a glimpse at my own husband. Dark hair and a golden-brown gaze…and my complete opposite in nearly every way. He is also talkative, entertaining, and gentlemanly. He definitely shares Daniel’s fun-loving and caring nature. Just as God blessed Keturah with Daniel, God blessed me with a man who perfectly complements me while keeping life interesting.

And, not to provide spoilers, but the miscarriage was drawn from one of my own experiences. During my most recent pregnancy, I experienced a threatened miscarriage. I just knew without a shadow of a doubt that I had lost my baby, and in that moment, I glimpsed the hopelessness one would face during a miscarriage. Thanks to the prayers of others and the good Lord above, I was blessed with a healthy pregnancy from then on out and now have a beautiful, healthy baby boy. However, there are so many women who must face that grief and loss in full force. And for always, my heart will break for them. As soon as I returned home from the hospital that night, I knew I had to represent their plight within these pages.

This book is dedicated to every woman who has ever experienced a miscarriage or threatened miscarriage.

Blog Stops

Giveaway


To celebrate her tour, Andrea is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/2a550/reverence-in-the-wilderness-celebration-tour-giveaway





My reviews

Friday, February 9, 2024

A Season of Harvest by Lauraine Snelling

 



I want to live in this town. I love these people and swear I prayed all through it right along with the characters. Gosh I love spending time with them all. Frustrating, joyful, tearful, breathless at times. You have to love them and how it all plays out. Extra excellent read!

I received this book free from the author, publisher and CelebrateLit book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

#ASeasonOfHarvest #LauraineSnelling #BooksYouCanFeelGoodAbout #CelebrateLit #KierstiGiron #ChristianHistoricalFiction #FiveStarNovel 

About the Book

Book: A Season of Harvest

Author: Lauraine Snelling

Genre: Historical Fiction

Release Date: January 30, 2024

Can her dreams for the future–and a budding romance–survive the trouble that comes calling?

Larkspur Nielsen is determined to keep her family homestead running and to fulfill their dream of starting a seed catalog, with or without her siblings’ help. With Isaac McTavish back in town, Lark finds herself at odds with her own heart and her determination to shoulder the burden of carrying her responsibilities alone. But Isaac is set on convincing her that he’s here to stay and she doesn’t have to carry everything by herself.

As a new romance blossoms between Lilac and an old schoolmate and the other Nielsen sisters are busy caring for their families, Lark bears more and more responsibility on the farm. When a long-feared threat returns and Lark approaches the breaking point, the life she has always dreamed of is in danger of disappearing forever.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Lauraine Snelling is the award-winning author of nearly one-hundred books, fiction and nonfiction, for adults and young adults. Her books have sold more than five million copies. She makes her home in Tehachapi, California.

More from Lauraine

Please provide a brief summary of your new novel, A Season of Harvest.

Lauraine Snelling: With her three sisters all finding their own paths of life and love, Larkspur Nielsen determines to shoulder their family farm and business dream herself and stay single—even if drifter Isaac McTavish, claiming he’s back in town for good, now seeks her heart. When danger from the past comes knocking, Lark must choose whether to insist on going it alone or accept the love and support God—and Isaac—hold out.

Each of the previous books in your current series, Leah’s Garden, follows a different Neilsen sister as the main character. What led you to save Larkspur’s story for the series conclusion?

LS: I’d actually planned Larkspur’s story to be first since she’s the oldest. However, once The Seeds of Change started coming together, Forsythia took over the story! So the first book became hers.

Loyalty plays a key role in A Season of Harvest. Without giving spoilers, can you hint at why loyalty is at the core of the story?

LS: Loyalty threads through the whole series. These sisters are loyal to each other, to their friends, and to everyone they know. Through all the books, they take care of each other so faithfully. Even their initial departure from Ohio stems from drastic action they take to protect each other and their family. Loyalty then streams over into other characters in the series, especially Isaac McTavish, who really grows into loyalty in this book. Even our villain stays loyal to his purpose all the way through.

Which of the four Neilsen sisters do you personally resonate with the most?

LS: Truth be told, I resonate with each of them. But really, I tend to identify with whichever one I’m writing at the moment! 😊

A Season of Harvest returns to a major conflict from the first book in the series, The Seeds of Change. Was it always in your plan to circle back and address that conflict again in the series conclusion?

LS: It wasn’t always in our plan, but as the book came together, it became inevitable. One benefit of a great editor is that they sometimes contribute ideas, and my editor, Jessica Sharpe, pointed out how key it would be for Ringwald to confront Larkspur at the end of the series. As the book went on, it became so important to resolve that conflict, and we kept the villain in the stories just enough to keep readers from forgetting about him.

What do you hope readers learn or take away from this series?

LS: A reminder of how important our families are. The Nielsens stood by each other in so many crises, and that’s what I would hope readers take away—just a reminder of how important your family is and how absolutely critical faith in Christ is. Salton becomes a place of healing, a place for people to recover joy. That we have so many joys and things to learn in this life is a theme that weaves through all my books.

What led you to set these stories in the homesteading period? How was the setting important to the story you wanted to tell?

LS: It’s one of my favorite periods! The homesteading era was such a time of change and adventure. As for why Nebraska, I hadn’t set stories there very much yet. For Kiersti, it was special to join in on The Seeds of Change and get to write about Nebraska homesteaders living in a soddy because her great-grandfather, a son of Danish immigrants, was born in a soddy in Nebraska in the late 1800s.

Is this truly the last your readers will see of the Neilsen sisters and the rest of their community?

LS: As far as we know!

Now that you’ve wrapped up the Leah’s Garden series, what are you working on next?

LS: A series set in 1889 near Decorah, Iowa. Six-year-old Ruth and twenty-one-year-old Amalia are thrown together on a ship crossing over from Norway when their families die of cholera. Ruth’s dying mother gives her daughter into Amalia’s custody, and the two orphans travel to Iowa to take over the family boardinghouse Ruth will inherit. They must battle a greedy relative trying to claim the property and somehow make ends meet for the motley band of orphans who gather under their roof, while finding a way to make this new land home.

Blog Stops

Wishful Endings, February 5
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, February 5
Locks, Hooks and Books, February 6
Texas Book-aholic, February 7
The Avid Reader, February 7
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, February 8
Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, February 9 (Author Interview)
Books You Can Feel Good About, February 9
She Lives to Read, February 10
Jeanette’s Thoughts, February 11
Mary Hake, February 11
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, February 12
For Him and My Family, February 13
Splashes of Joy, February 13
Holly’s Book Corner, February 14
Cover Lover Book Review, February 15
Connie’s History Classroom , February 16
Paula’s Pad of Inspiration, February 16
Live. Love. Read., February 17
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, February 17
lakesidelivingsite, February 18
Pause for Tales, February 18

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Lauraine is giving away the grand prize package of a $15 Amazon gift card and a paperback set of all four books in the Leah’s Garden Series: The Seeds of Change, A Time to Bloom, Fields of Bounty, and A Season of Harvest!! (US Only)

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/29c4f/a-season-of-harvest-celebration-tour-giveaway



My reviews

Tuesday, February 8, 2022

The Homestead Brides Collection 9 Pioneering Couples Risk All for Love and Land

 



Christian Historical Romance. Wow. What unique stories. A book of substance. The only thing in common between the stories was women who left home to make a new start. Interesting information contained in them, like what it took to make a soddy. Different areas of the country, each with pluses and minuses, each with beauty and danger. Nothing simple about any of the situations. It's easy to become completely immersed in each tale. Special people involved in quite individual lives, using their skills and adapting as needed, each with special people to love. Excellent, deep read.
I received this book free from the publisher and NetGalley book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. 
#TheHomesteadBridesCollection #NetGalley

My reads