march - april 2017

a note from me:

happy spring, dear reading friend!!!

we had an incredibly mild winter, beautiful warm temps here and there and lots of rain. and rain. and more rain. this is never good news for our basement and we are so over the experience of water removal with all the mini floods we've been having. i am trying to remain thankful because pouring rain means a continuously washed car and we haven't experience 5.5 feet of water in our basement again... yet! i'm thankful that the rain will keep all the beautiful flowers, trees and gardens watered and the allergens subdued for a while! i'm thankful that God's faithfulness is something we can depend on and it's new every morning (lamentations 3:22-23)! so, what are you thankful for?

i am really excited about sharing these five star reads with you---thank you for reading and sharing my blog site with your friends and family!!! i'll close with one of my favorite bible verses from psalm 36:5... "your unfailing love, o Lord, is as vast as the heavens; your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds."

blessings & happy reading!!!

susan, your reading mom
jer. 29:11


fiction:

sandpiper cove is all about second chances in this third installment of the series, a hope harbor novel by irene hannon. i love this story that's set in a charming little seaside village with a host of warm-hearted characters that reside there like father murphy, charley, bj and reverend baker. it's a town where an ex-con like adam stone and a mother and son duo, brenda and brian hope to find a fresh start. hope harbor police chief lexie graham is focused on keeping her hometown safe and being a good mom to her little boy so she's caught off guard when sparks begin to fly between her and someone who is her polar opposite! this story of faith, love and second chances will definitely warm your heart!!!

still life is the second book in the series, chesapeake valor by dani pettrey. as always, pettrey delivers a gripping story that is full of life-threatening danger, suspense and twists and turns that will have you on. the. edge. of. your. seat. when i read, i get so absorbed in the story that it becomes my reality until the phone chimes or someone in my family tries to get my attention! and it's probably why i don't like to read suspense and mystery books before going to bed! but pettrey's writing has a way of drawing you in (against my will!!!) that makes you want to stay up through the night to race against time with crime-scene photographer avery tate and her former partner, crime-scene analyst parker mitchell. a replaced masterpiece in a black dahlia-inspired photography exhibition and a missing model are just the tip of the iceberg in this mystery. the last three paragraphs on page 341 are highly disturbing and that can only mean that there's more life-threatening danger ahead. stay posted for the review of book three that's due in october 2017!!!

stolen heart, a takes you back in time to 1880 to texas hill country and this is the first book in a new series called the cimarron creek trilogy by amanda cabot. fans of cabot's texas dreams trilogy will get to see what happened to some of those characters from that series and meet a whole new group of people in here! by all appearances, cimarron creek seems like an idyllic town to former school teacher lydia crawford but the resentment of northerners comes across loud and clear. but lydia is on a mission and she intends to find her fiancee edgar ellis who is somewhere in this little town. but lydia gets the shock of her life when she finds out edgar is missing. and that's not the only thing. get ready to fall in love with this town and especially with Aunt Bertha (she's the best!!!)!!!

trail of crumbs, a: a novel of the great depression is a story of hope in the midst of devastation by susie finkbeiner. this is book two in the pearl spence novels series (a cup of dust was reviewed in an earlier blog entry) and the more i hear pearl's strong young voice, the more i absolutely love this kid! pearl is a ten-year-old living in oklahoma in 1935. she's smart, fearless, inquisitive and fiercely loyal to the ones she loves. she's gone through more in her ten years than the average person and what hurts the most is the lost of her meemaw (book 1). but pearl knows that things are not always easy in life so she clings on to her faith and the memories of the lessons she's learned from her meemaw. and she'll need everything she's learned because the tragedy that occurs in chapter two is just the beginning of things to come for the spence family. since reading a cup of dust, susie finkbeiner has quickly become one of my favorite authors and i can't wait to review book 3 for you!!!

when tides turn by sarah sundin captures the patriotism of women serving during world war II. this third installment finishes the series, waves of freedom and you'll get to follow glamour girl quintessa (tess) beaumont in her journey with the navy through the waves program. tess longs to be seen for more than just a pretty face. she wants to make a difference and maybe even capture the respect and the eye of a certain man who thinks the navy is no place for a woman... with a princess name.  you're going to love tess!!! she's beautiful, spunky, sparkly and determined!!! and she's the only one who can coax a smile out lt. dan avery and maybe even change his mind about romance interfering with his naval goals. this story is a blend of friendship, romance, intense battle scenes and intrigue that i know you'll love!!!

you'll think of me is the newest release from robin lee hatcher that includes a personal real-life issue she shares with the main character brooklyn myers. this is a moving story of a women's return to her hometown where most of her memories hold only heartache and abandonment. unusual circumstances bring her back home with her ten-year-old daughter and brooklyn has her work cut out for her. her next door neighbor blames her for ruining his plans for expanding his business, her father wants nothing to do with her, the house she inherited is a mess and she desperately needs a job. what's a girl to do? brooklyn knows that she is not the same person she was a decade ago and has to depend on her faith to get through her challenges. don't miss the note from robin, the discussion questions (perfect for your reading group) and the excerpt from a paper she wrote years ago about this real-life crisis in our society. robin always writes from her heart and i know you're going to love this one as much as i did!!!


youth fiction:

good news, friends! the trailblazer books (action-packed adventure novels where christian heroes are introduced) by dave and neta jackson are back in print!!! there are 40 books in the series so think ahead about summer reading! i remember my daughter reading this series when she was younger and i'm excited that a whole new generation of children will get acquainted with these christian greats from history. thank you, dave and neta!!! another thing i love about this versatile series is that there are eight free curriculum guides available for any home educator interested in building lesson plans.  you can order your books directly from www.trailblazerbooks.com.


non-fiction:

overcomer: breaking down the walls of shame and rebuilding your soul is a must read book by aubrey sampson which help women dismantle seven lies shame tells women. sampson shares some painful memories and takes you on a journey with her toward healing and restoration.  sampson is authentic, vulnerable (so inspiring!) and hilariously funny (check out her "an open letter to the latest media darling who lost all her baby weight at warp speed on pp.44-45!)! i like the practical tools (the chart on pg. 65 is powerful!) along with the biblical truth she teaches. there are incredible quotes, discussion questions after every chapter, a prayer and an inspirational story which makes this a great candidate for your next book club or women's bible study!

spoonful of grace, a: mealtime blessings in bite-sized pieces by annette hubbell is a collection of 366 scripture, prayers and a discussion starter called "grace notes" that will add to your family's prayer life and give you something to talk about during mealtime. each one takes about two-minutes to read through (no one is going to starve to death during the reading) and i love that it works for any age. there are topics such as holidays, birthdays, etc. i absolutely love the idea that the grace notes section will allow you to launch a discussion from that segment covering topics such as ways to be kind to difficult people in your life, expecting great things from God, etc. this is a one-of-a-kind book that will definitely make family time more meaningful!