A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

A Home For My Heart Anne Mateer Bethany House Publishers I was definitely looking forward to this book from Anne Mateer. Her previous novels, Wings of a Dream and At Every Turn , were sweet and fun, and that’s what I was expecting with A Home For My Heart . However, while A Home For My Heart was without a doubt a very sweet story, it didn’t live up to my expectations. The main reason this book didn’t click with me was because of the main character. I just couldn’t warm up to Sadie, even though I wanted to. Mateer’s heroines always have some flaw they have to overcome, of course, but in this one the way Sadie caused a mess just made me annoyed rather than sympathetic to her character. I did find it a little odd at first that this is my least favorite of Anne Mateer’s books when it’s also the one that has the most endorsements by popular authors, but I do think there are a lot of people who will like this book, even if I didn’t. I, personally, just had a hard time getti...

Rebellious Heart Jody Hedlund Bethany House In 1763 Massachusetts, Susanna Smith has grown up with everything she's ever wanted, except one thing: an education. Because she's a female, higher learning has been closed to her, but her quick mind and quicker tongue never back down from a challenge. She's determined to put her status to good use,reaching out to the poor and deprived. And she knows when she marries well, she will be able to continue her work with the less fortunate. Ben Ross grew up a farmer's son and has nothing to his name but his Harvard education. A poor country lawyer, he doesn't see how he'll be able to fulfill his promise to make his father proud of him. When family friends introduce him to the Smith family, he's drawn to quick-witted Susanna but knows herfamily expects her to marry well. When Susanna's decision to help an innocent woman no matter the cost crosses with Ben's growing disillusionment with their...

The Governess of Highland Hall Carrie Turansky Multnomah Books Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents' financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn't sure what to make of the estate's preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey. Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin Randolph's two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from the financial ruin. The last thing he needs is any distraction coming from the kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith. The book descri...

Harvest of Gold Tessa Afshar Rover North The scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage-Sarah has grown to love her husband. She has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband's love still seems unattainable. Although his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother's people. Will the road filled with danger, conflict, and surprising memories, help Darius to see the hand of God at work in his life-and even in his marriage? I came into this novel with rather high expectations, because I really enjoyed the previous book, Harvest of Rubies . However, though this book did have its high points, I can...

The Tale of Mally Biddle M.L. LeGette Smashwords When Mally Biddle agreed to spy upon the King of Lenzar and his overbearing knights she knew she was heading into danger. She didn't know she'd find a family unlike any other. Posing as a servant in Bosc Castle, Mally serves tea and restocks the fires for the most dangerous men in the kingdom. Her goal is to learn the truth of what happened sixteen years ago, when the infant princess met her death ... a death that has more questions than answers.  Along her search for the truth, Mally meets the energized Lita Stump, the strict and matriarchal Meriyal Boyd, and the opinionated Archibald Diggleby. Then of course there are the knights: Sir Leon Gibbs who is slicker than a greased hog, Adrian Bayard, hot tempered and violent, and the worst of the lot: Sir Illius Molick, Captain of the Knights. And then there is Maud, a mysterious woman who just might know everything... I decided to try this book because it seemed lik...

Rules of Murder Julianna Deering Bethany House Publishers I was so excited when I discovered this book: it sounded just like a combination of Jeeves and Wooster and an Agatha Christie mystery! Rules of Murder intentionally breaks all the "rules" of mystery writing- a fact its own characters seem completely aware of. This book was just, despite the murder theme, really fun. True, sometimes it seemed that the author was trying almost a little too hard to get into the 1930s British vernacular, but this was mostly near the beginning, and the book eventually won me over. The romance between Drew and Madeline developed fast; however, I did appreciate the fact that despite the flippant culture and time period, the were serious about their relationship. I do think that the setting did influence me on their relationship: most of the time I don't care for "whirlwind" type relationships, but with the rest of the book, it just seemed to fit . And of course, t...

A Bride For All Seasons Margaret Brownley, Debra Clopton, Robin Lee Hatcher, and Mary Connealy Thomas Nelson I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m just not a fan of novella collections- at least, not when they are romances. The romance aspect just ends up feeling way to shallow, because there is so little time to give the characters a well-done relationship. The stories themselves weren’t terrible; I didn’t find them memorable, but I didn’t feel like it was a complete waste of time (although I admit I would have much rather been reading something else). And I will admit the concept behind each of the novellas was interesting: it’s a about a mail order bride service that “tweaks” it’s clients letters so they sound more desirable- which causes a lot of problems and misunderstandings once the bride and groom finally meet! Out of the four stories, I probably liked the second ( An Ever After Summer ) and fourth ( Winter Wedding Bells ) the best; I found they had the more likable a...