Books You Can Feel Good About

Saturday, October 9, 2021

A Deep Divide by Kimberley Woodhouse

Set in the early 1900s. Emma Grace is the daughter of an extremely wealthy man, whose ambition for more money took him over. When she was still 17 she ran away from him and being his pawn. She became a Harvey girl, strove to be her best, and was able to transfer to the new restaurant at the Grand Canyon. She was tired of disguises and hiding, hoping she had run far enough away for them to find her. She had learned that her father had been murdered after she left, and she was afraid.

Ray was the son of another extremely wealthy man who was obsessed with getting more. He wasn't like his father, and little by little Emma Grace began to see him as he really was, a man of God and faith, who wanted to help others, and not like other men of their social status.
Kimberly Woodhouse is so good at creating fully real, lovable characters with great depth. Excellent story that I didn't want to put down. Beautiful Christian lessons that give a strong foundation throughout. Interesting information about the Grand Canyon and Hopi Indians from the area. Looking forward to the next in the series!
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.
#ADeepDivide #NetGalley

My reviews:

Christian Book

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Thursday, October 7, 2021

Yours Is the Night by Amanda Dykes

A story set in the last days of WW1, in France near and in the Argonne Forest. Bringing together a few people, quite different from one another, yet whose lives become entwined. A girl has been living in the forest, raised by her Father and Grandfather, who were escapees from another previous conflict. Found by a few soldiers, all vastly different men, now coming together, each with their own strengths and weaknesses to help her get to Paris and her family's great home. What a journey and learning of people, growing in strength and love, much because of their bond with one another.

"We’d scorned one another and needed one another and had left that battle-gouged land with battle-gouged hearts."

Deep, heartfelt lessons of life and faith, building of personal strength from shared experience and support.
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.
#YoursIstheNight #NetGalley

My reviews:

Barnes and Noble

Friday, October 1, 2021

The Librarian's Journey by Patty Smith Hall; Cynthia Hickey; Marilyn Turk; Kathleen Y'Barbo

Excellent romance collection about saddlebag librarians. Very diverse stories even though they share a common profession. These were new jobs that opened up in a time when jobs and money were scarce. Many men had to leave home to search for jobs. People who lived in the mountains didn't have access to a library, some didn't have schools. These librarians brought books to them, often in perilous conditions. Many of the people were reclusive and untrusting, at least at first. The books gave them many benefits, including education. Entertaining read, nothing boring here! Christian historical.

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.

#TheLibrariansJourney #NetGalley

My reviews:

Christian Book

A Picture of Hope by Liz Tolsma

Riveting. Heart wrenching. Nellie is a photographer/reporter from America, anxious to make a difference and get the message to Americans about what was happening in the war Hitler had brought. The story starts as D-Day takes place. They didn't give permission to women to go into France, so she blended in and got herself there. The things she found once there were unthinkable, including a village where the Germans forced the women and children into a church and set them on fire. But she also found a little girl hiding, a girl with Down Syndrome. One that the Germans considered imperfect and needed extermination. She was able to get a perfect photo of her in front of the burned out church after the village was deserted again.

There she ran into Jean Paul, a member of the French resistance fresh out of prison. His father was a German officer who was angered that he stayed with his French mother and fought against him. Together they get to a convent where they housed a few other children with Down Syndrome and they all worked to get the small group out of France and across the border into Switzerland. Not an uneventful process. Constant danger and tension.

Both Nellie and Jean Paul are also fighting an internal battle from things in their own lives that motivate them to make a difference and not accept the way things were, not just stand by even though they risked their lives.

Excellent read of love and sacrifice with a Christian message throughout. Showing true beauty where others rejected, hope and love, innocence shining through. Often I didn't like Nellie because of stupid, headstrong choices that she made, but Jean Paul liked her (wink), and the end results turned out well.

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.
#APictureofHope #NetGalley

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Tuesday, September 14, 2021

The Matchmaker's Lonely Heart by Nancy Campbell Allen

This was not what I expected. It's a murder mystery that's up there with the rest. Told with a great sense of humor. It is a bit of a page turner. We take working women for granted these days. In this time it was not common at all, and was socially frowned upon by the upper class. Great story, well told and engaging.

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.

#TheMatchmakersLonelyHeart #NetGalley.

My Reviews

Friday, September 10, 2021

The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox

One wrong decision...for Sarah, her mother and her Grandmother. And the secrets they all kept. The Old Depot Grocery is a way of life for each of them as they grow up. The story time slips from the Vietnam war era to present day and through the years between, revealing what each of the women are holding in their hearts and minds. Interesting the way it unfolds. Full of heartache and misunderstanding, but also love. A messy sort of family. Sarah, widowed, has come back to her family and the store, trying to hold on to what is good. The store is failing though. And there are lots of layers to the relationships there. Good 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.

#TheSecretKeepersofOldDepotGrocery #NetGalley

My Reviews:

Christian Book

Tuesday, September 7, 2021

The Healing of Natalie Curtis by Jane Kirkpatrick

Another gem from Jane Kirkpatrick. She always gives us a story that teaches life lessons, a look at life and shows us depth of human character. This one includes life and beauty, taking something broken, mixing it with new clay, and making a new thing that is much stronger for the experience. Natalie Curtis was a real person, this is based on her life and fictionalized. She traveled the West with her brother and created a book of Native American songs and art, shining light on the people and their ways, the Code that restricted their lives. Through this she brought a change for them, even through President Roosevelt. There is so much wisdom within, both from the Native Americans she spent time with and from Jane herself. A worthwhile and enriching journey to 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.

#TheHealingofNatalieCurtis #NetGalley

My Reviews:

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