"The Widow Of Saunders Creek" by Tracey bateman

I loved this book! It had me on the "edge of my seat" so to speak! 

  This book is Corrie Saunders journey through pain to God, the ultimate Healer of our hearts! It is a reminder that we as people sometimes get sidetracked in our walk with God, He does not make us "jump through hoops"  to get to Him. He really is just a prayer away! There is no "magic" or "conjuring" involved! And we have to be careful to not fall into that trap.

Thank-you Tracey Bateman for this wonderful book!!! 

Backcover:

A grief that knows no boundary.
A love without any limit.
A need that doesn’t end at death.

Corrie Saunders grew up in a life of privilege. But she gave it all up for Jarrod, her Army husband, a man she knew was a hero when she vowed to spend her life with him. She just didn’t expect her hero to sacrifice his life taking on an Iraqi suicide bomber.

Six months after Jarrod’s death, Corrie retreats to the family home her husband inherited deep in the Missouri Ozarks. She doesn’t know how to live without Jarrod—she doesn’t want to. By moving to Saunders Creek and living in a house beloved by him, she hopes that somehow her Jarrod will come back to her.

Something about the house suggests maybe he has. Corrie begins to wonder if she can feel Jarrod’s presence.

Jarrod’s cousin Eli is helping Corrie with the house’s restoration and he knows that his dead cousin is not what Corrie senses. Eli, as a believing man and at odds with his mystically-oriented family members, thinks friendly visits from beyond are hogwash. But he takes spirits with dark intentions seriously. Can he convince Corrie that letting go of Jarrod will lead to finding her footing again— and to the One she can truly put her faith into?



"This Scarlet Cord, The Love Story of Rahab" by Joan Wolf

I have never really read historical fiction set in biblical times and I found this quite refreshing!  It was a completely different world in this book. (I am also very glad I did not live in these times.)

Joan Wolf has wirtten an amazing book and I thank her very much for it!

  The story of Rahab is very fascinating, and it shows the redeming love of God. He can take the bad things that have happened to us and turn them into good.  Rahab was raised a pagan, but found the truth of God and was redeemed through His love. She is also on geneology of Jesus, Our Lord and Saviour.

"To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."

~Isaiah 61:3~

Back Cover:

Within one of the Old Testament's most famous battles lies one of the most tender love stories.

Hidden within the battle of Jericho is the story of Rahab, a beautiful and brave young Canaanite woman who aided the Israelites by hanging a piece of scarlet cord from a window. This act of faith changed her life by placing her in the genealogy of Christ.

Rahab is the youngest daughter of a Canaanite farmer, taken to Jericho for the pagan New Year so her father can find her a wealthy spouse. Sala, the Israelite boy who had once saved her from being kidnapped, is also in Jericho. When the two young people meet again they admit their love for one another, but their different religions make marriage impossible.

Their love story plays out against the background of Jericho's pagan rites. It is only when the One True God of Israel comes into Rahab's life-and she realizes what He is calling her to do-that she and Sala can come together.

Witness Rahab as a young woman determined to find her destiny as she follows her heart toward true love . . . and the One True God.

Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren

This is an amazing book about mercy and love, forgiveness and redemption.

And second chances.

I loved this book, I started reading and could not put it down! It's an amazing story and the characters are so real!

It made me want to call my mother and just talk for no reason.

You will not regret reading this book! I loved it!

There are no second chances. Or are there?

Krista Mueller is in a good place. She’s got a successful career as a professor of history; she’s respected and well-liked; and she lives hundreds of miles from her hometown and the distant mother she could never please. It’s been more than a decade since Alzheimer’s disease first claimed Charlotte Mueller’s mind, but Krista has dutifully kept her mother in a first-class nursing home.

Now Charlotte is dying of heart failure and, surprised by her own emotions, Krista rushes to Taos, New Mexico, to sit at her estranged mother’s side as she slips away. Battling feelings of loss, abandonment, and relief, Krista is also unsettled by her proximity to Dane McConnell, director of the nursing home—and, once upon a time, her first love. Dane’s kind and gentle spirit—and a surprising discovery about her mother—make Krista wonder if she can at last close the distance between her and her mother … and open the part of her heart she thought was lost forever.

"Beauty For Ashes" by Dorothy Love

" She's a beautiful young widow.

He's a southern gentleman with a thirst for adventure.

 Both need a place to call home."

 

 

This is a very well written book.

Although I did not realize that it was the second book, "Beyond all Measure" being the first "Hickory Ridge Romance".

It was very hard for me to not hate the character named "Mary" . I think we all know someone like "Mary" in our lives. But I don't think I would have been as kind as "Carrie" was!

All in all it was a good book and I am looking forward to the next one, and looking to buy the book before this.

Great job Ms. Dorothy Love!!!

After losing her husband in the Civil War, Carrie Daly is scared she will never have the family she longs for. Eligible bachelors are scarce in Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, but Carrie has found love. Not the weak-in-the-knees kind, but something practical. Still, she isn't quite ready to set a wedding date with Nate Chastain.

Griff Rutledge is a former member of Charleston society, but has been estranged from his family for years. He's determined to remain unattached, never settling in one place for too long. But when asked to train a Thoroughbred for an upcoming race in Hickory Ridge, he decides to stay awhile.

Despite objections from the townsfolk, and her fear that true happiness has eluded her, Carrie is drawn to Griff's kindness and charm. It will take a leap of faith for them to open their hearts and claim God's promise to give beauty for ashes.

Heart of Gold By Robin Lee Hatcher

I loved this book! It's the story of a young women, Shannon Adair, whose minister father moves them from Virginia to Idaho in 1864. She at first is not too happy about it. She seems to be living in the past with all her happy memories, but finally starts to move on while nursing a critically ill woman.  She falls in love with stagecoach driver Matthew Dubois, but all is not as it seems. This is a wonderful story, and it has the "Woman Of Faith fiction" stamp on the front cover.

Back Cover Quote:

"The truest treasure is found deep in the heart."

"Back in her beloved Virginia, Shannon Adair loved nursing injured soldiers back to health. But in Grand Coeur, Idaho-the rough-and-tumble place where her father has been called to lead the church-she's not sure where she fits in. Then a critically ill woman arrives, and Shannon knows her place at last: to care for this dear woman and ease her pain.

Matthew Dubois is the fastest and most reliable stagecoach driver on Wells Fargo's payroll. But his widowed sister is dying and he's about to inherit his young nephew. So he takes a job at the Wells Fargo express office in Grand Coeur until he can find the one thing he needs to get back to driving: a wife to care for the boy.

What neither of them knows is that God is at work behind the scenes-and is lovingly bringing them together to discover the true desires of their hearts."

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.



Beyond Molasses Creek by Nicole Seitz

"Before I was humiliated I was like a stone that lies deep in the mud, and he who is mighty came and in his compassion raised me up and exalted me very high and placed me on top of the wall." ~Saint Patrick~ (page 115)

From the back of the book: Three lives are bound by a single book . . . and the cleansing waters of Molasses Creek.

Having traveled to the ends of the earth as a flight attendant, Ally Green has finally returned to the Lowcountry to bury her father as well as the past. But Vesey Washington is still living across the creek, and theirs is a complicated relationship--he was once her best friend . . . and also part of the reason she's stayed away so long. When Ally discovers a message her father left behind asking her to quit running, it seems her past isn't through with her yet.
As Ally's wandering spirit wrestles with a deep longing to flee again, a young woman on the other side of the world escapes her life of slavery in the rock quarries of Nepal. A mysterious sketchbook leads Sunila Kunari to believe there's more to her story than she's ever been told, and she's determined to follow the truth wherever it leads her.

A deep current entertwines the lives of these three souls, and a destiny of freedom, faith, and friendship awaits them all on the banks of Molasses Creek.

  This book was wonderful, I could not put it down once I started to read it!  

 Beyond Molasses Creek is the story of Ally Green's life. It's the story of her heartaches and romantic love that could not be fulfilled. It is a story about time, love and how we deal with the things that happen to us that are beyond our control.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Sherman The Ruthless Victor by Agostino Von Hassell and Ed Breslin

"General William Tecumseh Sherman led a controversial and contradictory life.

 He undoubtedley fought with superior skill and strategy toward the preservation of the union, but, like his Confederate adversaries, he was proslavery.

Many historians consider him a military genius whose superior strategy,

 tactics, and logistics spared the lives of many of his troops;

but he simultaneously granted them free rein to wreak havoc upon innocent civilians."

If you are a Civil War history buff, you will love this book!

I found this book very easy to read, it was very informative as

I knew almost nothing about William Sherman before I read this.

He led a very interesting life even before the Civil War broke out. One example being he was in California before and during the gold rush of 1849!

This book also has a some archival photes in it.