Winner of To Die For...

The Winner of To die For is.....

Beth  bharbin07(at)gmail.com.  Beth's name was picked using a random name picker.  Thanks everyone for playing and joining in the fun.  I wish I had a copy of this book to give to all of you, it's that good.  Blessings and happy reading! - Cheryl

"To Die For" Giveaway!

TO DIE FOR GIVEAWAY!

Ok Friends this is Sandra Byrd's latest novel and it was very well done.  If you are an avid reader of "Tudor Times" or not, I think you will enjoy this wonderful historical fiction novel by Sandra Byrd following Ann Boleyn's life from the perspective of her best friend Meg.  Here's what you have to do:

1.  Leave a comment answering this question- what other time period besides the present, would you like to live in? (1 entry)

2.  Become a follower of my blog and leave a comment that you did. (please leave email address) (additional entry)

The winner for this contest will be chosen next Tuesday - August 23rd.

Thanks for playing and happy reading!

Review on The Healing

Well here’s the thing, there are times when I have favorites at a certain restaurant- you know like every time I head down to that one place down by the water I have to get the Chocolate Peanut Butter milkshake (that is to die for) because it’s delicious and it’s my favorite, so I know exactly what I am going to get. It can be a good thing to know exactly what you are going to get ahead of time if that’s exactly what you want or it can be a little bit repetitive depending on your take of what you are consuming. I’ll let you decide for yourself.

“The Healing” by Wanda Brunstetter opens with Samuel Fischer, a young Amish father burying his beloved wife Elsie after she suffered an accident falling down her stairs.  She also took with her their unborn child.  So you can imagine the grief that Samuel and his four young children are dealing with.  In that grief Samuel up and moves his kids to Pembroke Kentucky with the hopes that it will be easier on Samuel to manage his grief as he won’t be thinking of Elsie every minute of every day. He is a truly saddened man and finding it very difficult to take care of his children while simultaneously trying to start his life over.  With his brother Titus living in Kentucky, he makes the break and moves himself and 4 young children into his home in Pembroke so he can have some help with his “kinners”.

  This story is all about Samuel’s “healing” as the title alludes to.  He is able to find work from a young woman who has just moved to Kentucky herself as she is refurbishing an old home that belonged to her recently deceased Grandmother into a B&B. Samuel is helping with the painting and renovations.  His 4 young children are being watched during the day by Esther Beiler, a young unmarried Amish woman that is just as sweet as can be and the children quickly fall for her kind ways as well as excellent cooking skills.  Esther quickly falls for Samuel, but with Samuel still enveloped in his massive grief, it takes a while for him to come around.  He is able to throw himself into his work, but is sadly lacking with all of his relationships around him, children, etc.

On the whole I would say that I enjoyed this story.  Honestly, it felt very similar to the first novel in this series-, The Journey, so it was starting to feel a little “formula writing” to me.  Boy moves to Kentucky- doesn’t notice girl at first at all as he is still getting over previous girl, starts to come around, crisis happens and he pulls back and then comes around and happy ending.  So if you don’t mind that both stories are rather similar then you will enjoy this book just as much as the first one.  For me it was just a bit repetitive, that’s all. 

  That being said, it was a sweet Amish love story, good scriptural truths and charming Amish characters.  If you are a fan of Wanda Brunstetter’s Amish fiction series, I think you will enjoy this book. 3 Stars.
  
A digital copy of The Healing was provided for me from the Publisher through the Netgalley program.   This was in exchange for a an honest review.  All opinions expressed were my own.




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Review on To Die For

 “Hank the V-I-I-I put poor Katie by and married young Ann Boleyn who tried to please but she soon went wrong by singing her song all out of key, it was his masterpiece”. Well, these are the lyrics to a ditty that kept humming through my head from my Jr. High concert in 8th grade as I read this story about the ill-fated 2nd wife of King Henry the VIII.  Admittedly the lyrics from this song were a bit on the corny side, with some “ hey nonny, nonny” type lines thrown in for good measure, but I assure you nothing about this book “To Die For” by Sandra Byrd was corny, but beautifully written from a new point of view.  That would be from the point of view of Anne’s long time best friend, Meg Wyatt, as she is by Anne’s side while they are teens with crushes on boys all the way to the royal court and becoming her wardrobe mistress, watching Anne become a queen and staying loyally by her side until her unfortunate death. 

  This story was beautifully woven together with wonderful intricacy in keeping the historical life of Anne Boleyn intact, while adding the wonderful fictional elements of the girl’s friendship as well.  The English Reformation element to the novel were very well done and interesting to read as Sandra Byrd’s comments about the strength of Henry and how “God often uses the strongest beast, not the gentlest to plow the hardest fields” and “how “what might have been intended for selfishness or evil and certainly did cause pain to those involved, eventually yielded a harvest of goodness.”  These comments were taken from the Authors Q&A found at the back of the book and so very well said.  I highly recommend the reader takes the time to read that section- so informative and interesting to read.  One can shake their head at Henry and his utter selfishness, or see that good was accomplished in the middle of all the pain that transpired.

The character of Meg Wyatt is one to be admired for sure in her dedication to Anne Boleyn as a true and faithful friend.  That’s not to say that she is not without her challenges and wrong turns here and there.  Her life is not an easy one with an abusive father, a vindictive brother and at the outset of the novel finds out that the man she loves has chosen the route of becoming a priest.  But even in the midst of all of her trials, she becomes a character that you are rooting for and one who is selfless until the very end, a tried and true friend.  Since the story is told from Meg’s point of view, you really are hoping that all will be well for her in the end which makes the story so enchanting, because you obviously know what Anne’s fate will be, but with Meg being the heroine of the story it gives the tale a newness and intelligence that I fell in love with.

  If you are a fan of “Tudor England” I have no doubt that you will truly enjoy this book.  It was very well told and an engaging story that historical buff or not, I sincerely believe all would appreciate the writing, characters, and fascinating storyline presented in To Die For.  Sandra Byrd has written many great YA fiction books that my daughters have thoroughly enjoyed in the past.  It is a wonderful thing that we can now all share Sandra Byrd as an author whose work, we all have read and loved. 5 stars.



I graciously received a free copy of this book for review purposes from the publishing company. I was not required to write a positive review.  All opinions expressed are my own.

 

 

Review on A Marriage Carol

Cheryl Olson's review

Aug 02, 11 · edit

Read from July 25 to 26, 2011

What happens when you combine the brilliant minds of Charles Dickens, Gary Chapman of “The Five Love Languages” fame, and 2 time Christy award winning author Chris Fabry? Why, you get the novel “A Marriage Carol, of course. The book opens this way- “I know what you will say. You married the wrong person. I know because it is what I said”. I’m sure that this is a common sentiment across the world in many marriages today. Somehow, Gary Chapman and Chris Fabry bring this sentiment to light and explore the possibilities of hope even in dire looking circumstances in a wonderful Christmas novella whose story unravels like a kitten batting at a ball of yarn.

David and Marlee Ebenezer (the nice Dickens’s nod there) are literally in the car driving to meet their divorce lawyer to sign on the dotted line on Christmas Eve, which also happens to be their anniversary- a little irony there in that they were choosing to end their journey together as husband and wife on the very day that they started it 20 years previously, but desperate times call for desperate measures. Unfortunately, there is an accident and suddenly Jacob is nowhere to be found and Marlee finds her way to a special house owned by an old man, where very interesting things start to happen. There is no ghost of Christmas past, present or future, but the same idea is written into the story- I’ll let you discover it for yourself. Marlee goes on quite a journey and faces the things she needs to face in herself that have gotten a bit off in her 20 year old marriage. During the course of this journey she learns many things, particularly about choices made, they either lead your heart towards your husband or away. But like in Dickens’s Christmas Carol with Ebenezer Scrooge, perhaps it’s not too late for Marlee and Jacob.

I have to say that I am a big fan of the work of Dickens, Chapman and Fabry, so I pretty much thought this would be a treat to read and it definitely was. But even more than being a great Christmas fictional read, this is a wonderful book to give to any married couple because after reading the story, you can’t help but ask yourself- “Am I making choices that are helping my marriage or hindering it?” I love it when fiction has the power to reach in and actually achieve positive outcomes in your own life. I also think that the author’s did a nice job of weaving great marriage principles into the story without it hitting you over the head with them, the story kept me reading and hoping for this couple that all would be well and offered hope and a glimpse at what unconditional love looks like. I will definitely be picking up a few of these books for Christmas for the married loved ones in my life. 5 stars.

I was graciously given a digital copy of this book through the netgalley program by Moody Publishers in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to give a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own

 






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Tag- you're it!

I WANT MY CHRISTIAN FICTION!

Tag - you're it! That's right, you've been chosen as someone very special and unique in our Christian Fiction Devourers Group on Goodreads! ...And we'd like to know more about you. So please share 7 unique/little known facts about yourself and the best book you've read in the past 7 months.

1. I am a stay-at-home mom of 4 girls- 1 in college, 1 will be a senior in high school, 1, 9th grader and 1- 7th grader.
2. I grew up in Monterey, CA- absolutely beautiful- but I didn't appreciate it when I was little- it was just home.
3. Ever since I was little I have had the acting bug- Goldilocks was my first role (I was blonde then haha) now I use it in ministry at my church.
4. My husband Dave is my best friend.
5. The courtship of that same husband Dave was 6 months from 1st date to "I do" and 3 months after I do, I was pregnant with our first daughter :)
6. I now live in the Pacific Northwest in Washington state- I miss the sun :)
7.  And just like my friend Jodie, I cry over movies, tv shows,  commercials  and BOOKS!

My favorite book in the past 7 months would have to be: Save the Date by Jenny B Jones.  I think I liked it so much because it took me by surprise- it was sooo funny and yet still touched on some important issues- loved it!  You can see my review  here.

And now, very quietly so I can surprise her, I'm going to go tag Rachel R. over at Thoughts from a compulsive reader .

Review on Never the Bride

Never the Bride: A Novel by Rene Gutteridge

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I know you don’t know me, but I’ll admit it –I’m a drama queen. Hopefully, I am not a drama queen in the negative sort or connotation that this label elicits, but in the very fact that I’m in charge of the drama program at my church. Why do I tell you this? It’s because of the advice that my pastor always gives me- he says, “Please pick the comedy skits, because you get to people’s hearts through the back door with them, not hitting them over the head with the heavy stuff, it just sort of gently comes to them through their own laughter.” And so I comply with his requests- you will find this concept brilliantly executed with Cheryl McKay’s and Rene Gutteridge’s novel Never the Bride. There is no hitting you over the head, but lots of laughter and great insight if you pay attention.

We meet Jessie Stone broken down on the side of Pacific Coast Highway with a flat tire bemoaning the fact that there is no guy in her life to take care of these frustrations for her. Yes, the title of the book "Never the Bride" sums up her attitude on life in spades. After failed online dating services, failed speed dating, and just plain old failed relationships, Jessie Stone is at the end of her “forever single” rope. And then enters a tall, dark and handsome man with gorgeous blue eyes. Hmmm the answer to her dreams (?) - Oh yeah, but maybe not as she thought. It’s God Almighty in the flesh trying to get Jessie to see things His way, that He might have a few ideas on how to handle her love life. Does she listen to Him? Well, sort of, with a few detours of her own.

This story is told with a wonderful sense of humor, a brilliant fresh writing voice and is a plain, absolute joy to read. As this was written as a screenplay first (Cheryl McKay) and adapted to a novelization later (Rene Gutteridge), it is easy to see how it would make a great movie, but trust me it works as a great novel as well. The scenes are very easy to visualize, especially the scenes where God shows up in various times and places and completely un-nerves our heroine Jessie Stone. His timing is always off according to Jessie and right on time according to God. He manages to get her completely outside of her comfort zone with regards to her ideas on her profession, her beliefs with regards to Him, as well as, of course, her love life. But isn’t God like that- His ways are always better than ours, if we will just listen.

So from this drama queen to you I say ”Bravo” on “Never the Bride” and I will be rushing to the Movie theaters if this is made into a movie. It was darling, winsome, and full of great spiritual messages. I can think of quite a few friends to recommend this book to and I truly hope to see Cheryl McKay and Rene Gutteridge team up again- they are a formidable force. 5 stars.






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