Tag Archives: Tricia Goyer

Spotlight on Contemporary Amish Romance — On The Golden Cliffs

22 Mar

On the Golden Cliffs JustRead Blog + Review Tour
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for On the Golden Cliffs by Christen Krumm with Tricia Goyer, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Title: On the Golden Cliffs
Series: Big Sky Amish #2
Authors: Christen Krumm with Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Sunrise Publishing
Release Date: March 21, 2023
Genre: Christian Contemporary Amish Romance

One wrong post has sent influencer Lyla Taylor’s social media empire crashing to her feet. To save it, she’ll have to escape to rural Montana. Six weeks in a high-end spa won’t hurt…except, she’s not booked into a spa, but at a rustic Amish B&B. Suddenly, her roommates are racoons, and her daily activities include hanging laundry. Thanks, but no thanks. Lyla is ready to hit delete and head back to civilization.

Amishman Reuben Milner has a secret…one that could destroy his world. For now, however, he’s kept his life as a novelist under wraps, focusing on providing for his family after the tragic passing of his father. Renting the dawdi house seems the right move—until the wrong woman moves in. However, she comes with ideas to help improve their B&B, and that, along with her feisty personality, is something Reuben can’t ignore. Even if the elders want him to focus on joining the church and finding a wife.

When going home isn’t an option, Lyla decides to help the Milners spruce up their rental. It does help distract her from her problems online. The more Lyla works on the rental with Reuben, the more she wonders if returning to her former life is worth it. However, is it the simple life that Lyla’s heart longs for—or a particular guarded Amishman with secrets of his own? And when those secrets are discovered, what will it cost them both?

Book two in the delightful and sweet Big Sky Amish Collection.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookBub | IndieBound

Excerpt

He, Reuben Milner, was an author. He held the evidence in his hands.

A breeze pushed up from the lake below, and the sun rose a little higher in the sky, its rays warming his face. Smoothing the pages of the book—his book—Reuben clutched it a little tighter so it wouldn’t end up in the lake below.

It was abnormally warm for April in West Kootenai. Last week they’d had a snowstorm, evidence still sparkling on the ground, and this week they were pushing the upper fifties. Another breeze blew, sending Reuben clutching for the straw hat on his head. At least the wind coming off the Canadian Rockies was still cold, still predictable.

Cold wind, rain, a snowstorm couldn’t keep him away from his cliff. It was where Reuben came when he needed to think or process or just be out of the house and away from his five sisters. Today he was here to celebrate. His gaze fell back to the object in his hands.

Hidden Hero, the title read. A real book that he’d written. His finger brushed the woman on the cover, who wore a long skirt similar to the ones his mem and sisters wore. Only this woman’s hair was free, blowing in the wind as she looked into the distance. A biblical story set in an old Western town. He still couldn’t believe this was what had captured the attention of a New York publishing house.

More Books in This Series

Beyond the Gray Mountains Under the Blue Skies

About The Authors

Tricia Goyer

Tricia Goyer writes out of her passion for God and her love for family and others. The author of more than 70 books, she writes both historical fiction and nonfiction related to family and parenting.

This USA Today best-selling author has won a two Carol Awards and a Retailer’s Best Award. She was also an ECPA Gold-Medallion Nominee and a Christy Award Nominee and won Writer of the Year from the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference.

Tricia’s contemporary and historical novels feature strong women overcoming great challenges. She is a beloved author of Amish fiction, having written the Big Sky and Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series.

Whether for fiction or nonfiction, Tricia’s writing style is vivid and heartwarming, allowing readers to take home more than engaging stories, but also messages that inspire faith and hope. Her goal is to write stories that matter.

Connect with Tricia by visiting triciagoyer.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Christen Krumm is the author of the young adult romcom It Happened At Christmas. She lives with her husband and three barefoot wildings in the middle of the world, Oklahoma. She drinks way too much coffee and reads too many books, but creating stories with her Creator is her favorite.

Connect with Christen by visiting christenkrumm.com to follow her on social media, subscribe to email newsletter updates, or listen to her podcast, Exploring the Blank Page.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a print copy of On the Golden Cliffs and a $10 voucher to the Sunrise Shop!

On the Golden Cliffs JustRead Giveaway

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight March 20, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 27, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Publicity Tours

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Spotlight on Amish Romance — Beyond The Gray Mountains

1 Mar

Beyond the Gray Mountains JustRead Blog + Review Tour
Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Beyond the Gray Mountains by Tricia Goyer, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Beyond the Gray Mountains

Title: Beyond the Gray Mountains
Series: Big Sky Amish #1
Author: Tricia Goyer
Publisher: Sunrise Publishing
Release Date: February 28, 2023
Genre: Christian Contemporary Amish Romance

Marianna Sommer always dreamed of a simple Amish wedding, but there’s nothing simple about marrying rock star Ben Stone. She loves him—but what about her traditions? Worse, suddenly Ben has questions—the kind that have him putting their wedding on hold.

Ben loves Marianna, but he has regrets—and fears—that are suddenly getting in the way of his happy ending. He doubts he’s going to “hear from God” in the high mountains like Marianna’s father suggests. But sure, he’ll go…

But he might not return. Because high on the continental divide, trouble finds them. Now, it’ll take a miracle for Ben, Abe, and Abe’s brother, Ike, to make it down alive. Maybe Ben will hear from God after all…but if he does, can he become the man he needs to be to save them…and keep Marianna’s heart?

When a runaway horse with a bloody saddle shows up, not only is the media alerted, but Marianna fears she’ll lose them all—her uncle, her father, and her beloved Ben. Suddenly she doesn’t care what the wedding looks like…as long as Ben makes it home.

But is there more to Ben than she knows? And when she discovers his secrets, what sacrifices will she make to save…and marry…the man she loves?

Fall in love with the first book in the cherished Big Sky Amish Collection.

EXCERPT

Saturday, June 24, Kalispell, Montana

“How hard can it be to plan one wedding?” Marianna Sommer mumbled to herself as she strode down Main Street in Kalispell toward the dress shop—the Englisch dress shop. The warm spring breeze blew softly, ruffling strands of light-brown hair that, for most of her life, had been neatly secured under her kapp.

But no longer.

On one side of Marianna paced her friend Annie Johnson, wearing her typical jeans, flannel shirt, and cowboy boots. In her mid-forties, Annie was the owner of the Kootenai Kraft and Grocery. Along with providing a location where one could buy anything from bulk flour and garden seeds to fencing and fishing supplies, Annie was also known to provide a listening ear and a boost of moral support. And this was why she’d offered to take Marianna and her mother dress shopping today.

Marianna had never attended an Englisch wedding, much less planned one. Yet now that she was marrying Ben Stone—the handsome musician with his dark hair, bright blue eyes, and easy smile—many changes would be taking place.

Starting with choosing a wedding dress.

Mem padded on the other side of Marianna in a typical Amish dress, apron, and kapp. She walked with her head lowered and shoulders slumped. She crossed her arms over her chest and uncrossed them as if she didn’t know what to do with herself. It was partly because Mem didn’t have baby Joy on her hip. Yet Marianna also knew this wasn’t how Mem had planned her life. First, losing her oldest two daughters years ago in a buggy accident, and now, having Marianna marry an Englischer. Every Amish mother dreamed of her daughters growing up and following in her footsteps. For Mem, this wouldn’t be so.

Lord, help me to get through this with peace…marrying the man I love yet also honoring my family and Amish friends. Was that even possible?

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes and Noble | BookDepository | IndieBound

Other Books In Series

On the Golden Cliffs Under the Blue Skies

About The Author

Tricia Goyer

Tricia Goyer writes out of her passion for God and her love for family and others. The author of more than 70 books, she writes both historical fiction and nonfiction related to family and parenting.

This USA Today best-selling author has won a two Carol Awards and a Retailer’s Best Award. She was also an ECPA Gold-Medallion Nominee and a Christy Award Nominee and won Writer of the Year from the Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference.

Tricia’s contemporary and historical novels feature strong women overcoming great challenges. She is a beloved author of Amish fiction, having written the Big Sky and Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series.

Whether for fiction or nonfiction, Tricia’s writing style is vivid and heartwarming, allowing readers to take home more than engaging stories, but also messages that inspire faith and hope. Her goal is to write stories that matter.

Connect with Tricia by visiting triciagoyer.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a print copy of Beyond the Gray Mountains and a $10 Amazon gift card!

Beyond the Gray Mountains JustRead Giveaway

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight February 27, 2023 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on March 6, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Publicity Tours

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If You Liked The Land Beneath Us . . .

31 Mar

My book club was unanimous in their approval of The Land Beneath Us by Sarah Sundin. Many said it was their favorite of the three books in the Sunrise at Normandy series. This WWII-era novel is set on the US homefront and in the war theater giving the reader a good perspective of what everyone was experiencing during that time. If you like this one too, then here are a few more reading recommendations for you.

 

Nightingale by Susan May Warren

Nightingale Esther Lange doesn’t love her fiancé—she’s trapped in an engagement after a mistaken night of passion.  Still, she grieves him when he’s lost in battle, the letters sent to her by the medic at his side giving her a strange comfort, so much that she strikes up a correspondence with Peter Hess, an Iowa farmboy.  Or is he?  Peter Hess is not who he seems.  Indeed, he’s hiding a secret, something that could cost them both their lives, especially when the past comes back to life.  A bittersweet love song of the home front war between duty and the heart…a battle where only one will survive.

Secrets of A Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades…beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden–one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, hundreds of thousands of children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed . . . .

A Songbird Under A German Moon by Tricia Goyer

The year is 1945. The war is over and 21-year-old Betty Lake has been invited to Europe to sing in a USO tour for American soldiers who now occupy Hitler’s Germany. The first nights performance is a hit.

Betty becomes enthralled with the applause, the former Nazi-held mansion they’re housed in and the attention of Frank Witt, the US Army Signal Corp Photographer. Yet the next night this songbird is ready to fly the coop when Betty’s dear friend, Kat, turns up missing.  Betty soon realizes Franks photographs could be the key to finding Kat. Betty and Frank team up against post-war Nazi influences and the two lovebirds’ hearts may find the answers…in each other.  But will they have a chance for their romance to sing? The truth will be revealed under a German moon.

 

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Reading Road Trip — Washington State

24 Jul

This week’s road trip is to a state I have not visited, at least not in real life. I have gone there through some wonderful books though. The State of Washington (its official name) was admitted into the Union in 1889 as the 42nd state. It is quite diverse with mountains, coastal areas, and in the eastern region, some arid deserts. I am really looking forward to seeing it in person. If you live there or have visited, let me know the best thing about Washington. And if you, like me, can only travel there in a book, take a look at my list. There is something for just about everyone!

 

Road Trip Reading — The State of Washington

 

The Road to Paradise by Karen Barnett

It’s 1927, and the National Park Service is in its youth when Margie, an avid naturalist, lands a coveted position alongside the park rangers living and working in the unrivaled splendor of Mount Rainier’s long shadow. 

But Chief Ranger Ford Brayden is still haunted by his father’s death on the mountain, and the ranger takes his work managing the park and its crowd of visitors seriously. The job of watching over an idealistic senator’s daughter with few practical survival skills seems a waste of resources. 

When Margie’s former fiancé sets his mind on developing the Paradise Inn and its surroundings into a tourist playground, the plans might put more than the park’s pristine beauty in danger. What will Margie and Ford sacrifice to preserve the splendor and simplicity of the wilderness they both love?

Love Finds You in Victory Heights, Washington by Tricia Goyer and Oceianna Fliess

The Second World War has stolen Rosalie’s fiance from her. But rather than wallow, Rosalie throws herself into her work at the Boeing plant in Victory Heights, shooting rivets into the B-17 bombers that will destroy the enemy. A local reporter dubs her Seattle’s Own Rosie the Riveter, and her story lends inspiration to women across the country. While Rosalie’s strong arms can bear the weight of this new responsibility, her heart cannot handle the intense feelings that begin to surface for Kenny, the handsome reporter. Fear of a second heartbreak is a powerful opponent – but will it claim victory over love?

True to You (A Bradford Sisters Romance, book 1) by Becky Wade

After a devastating heartbreak three years ago, genealogist and historical village owner Nora Bradford has decided that burying her nose in her work and her books is far safer than romance in the here and now.

Unlike Nora, former Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient John Lawson is a modern-day man, usually 100 percent focused on the present. But when he’s diagnosed with an inherited condition, he’s forced to dig into the secrets of his past and his adoption as an infant, enlisting Nora to help him uncover the identity of his birth mother.

The more time they spend together, the more this pair of opposites suspects they just might be a perfect match. However, John’s already dating someone and Nora’s not sure she’s ready to trade her crushes on fictional heroes for the risks of a real relationship. Finding the answers they’re seeking will test the limits of their identity, their faith, and their devotion to one another.

Critical Reaction by Todd M. Johnson

After turning out plutonium for the Cold War, the shuttered Hanford Nuclear Facility’s poisoned buildings may be a bigger risk than ever. The men who guard the facility from sabotage or monitor its buildings are told the dangers are under control. But then the worst happens–a thunderous explosion in the dead of night.

Kieran Mullaney survived the blast, but when threats and silence meet his attempts to discover what really happened, he reconnects with an old friend–inexperienced lawyer Emily Hart. Convinced Hanford is hiding something, they also realize their case is sunk without more help.

Emily’s estranged father, Ryan, has the courtroom experience they need, but he’s grown jaded and weary of the profession. Still, it’s a chance to rebuild ties to Emily, and the deeper he digs, the stranger — and more dangerous — the case gets.

The View from Rainshadow Bay (A Lavender Tides Novel, book 1) by Colleen Coble

After her husband, Jack, dies in a climbing incident, Shauna has only her five-year-old son and her helicopter charter business to live for. Every day is a struggle to make ends meet and she lives in constant fear of losing even more than she already has.

When her business partner is murdered, his final words convince Shauna that she’s in danger too. But where can she turn? Zach Bannister was her husband’s best friend and is the person she blames for his death. She’s barely spoken to him since. But right now he seems her only hope for protecting her son.

Zach is only too happy to assuage his guilt over Jack’s death by helping Shauna any way he can. But there are secrets involved dating back to Shauna’s childhood that more than one person would prefer to stay hidden.

In The View from Rainshadow Bay, suspense, danger, and a longing to love again ignite amid the gorgeous lavender fields of Washington State.

 

Where will a book take you next?

 

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Top 10 Tuesday — The Novella

17 Jul

no·vel·la

noun
1. a short novel or long short story.

Yep, that is the official definition of novella, the subject of this week’s Top Ten Tuesday. As in the case of their longer cousins, novellas span genres and styles — historical, contemporary, suspense, romance — there is something for everyone! Looking at the varying forms novellas take, I have come up with a few categories. What do you think?

Don’t forget to check out other bloggers favorite novellas at That Artsy Reader Girl.

 

 

Top Novellas

The Complimentary Novella — books that are written to introduce or compliment a novel series. These help to fill in the blanks, as well as entice a reader with a quick read. They are often prequels to the main story.

An Awakened Heart (An Orphan Train Novella) by Jody Hedund

Then Came You (A Bradford Sisters novella) by Becky Wade

 

Interrelated Novella Collection — these 2-4 novella collections often have several authors all writing within a continuing storyline. The examples I have chosen either follow different members of a family, involve characters connected with a place, and/or tell the story from different characters’ points of view.

Austen in Austin, volume 1 by Susan Dietze, Gina Welborn, Anita Mae Draper, and Debra E. Marvin

Invitation, Cycle One of The Harbingers Series by Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, Bill Myers, and Alton Gansky

Where Tree Tops Glisten by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman, and Sarah Sundin

 

Serialized Novellas — a series of individually published novellas (not part of a published collection) that follow a character, or group of characters, and are written by a single author.

Boo series by Rene Guttering (there are 4 in the series)

In The President’s Service series by Ace Collins (there are 14 books in this series, I have included the covers of the first 2)

Summer of The Burning Sky series by Susan May Warren (a third is due out in August)

Thematic novella collections — several novellas published together and united by a common theme or subject matter. They often involve several authors.

Among The Fair Magnolias by Tamera Alexander, Dorothy Love, Elizabeth Musser, and Shelley Gray

Sins of The Past by Dee Henderson, Lynette Eason, and Dani Pettrey

 

Standalone Novellas — a complete, unto itself story, just in novella length. I have found that there are lots of novellas published with Christmas themes — great for quick reading during a very busy time of year.

12 Days at Bleakly Manor by Michelle Griep

An Endless Christmas by Cynthia Ruchti 

Remembering Christmas by Dan Walsh

Silent Night, Deadly Night by Richard Mabry, M.D.

 

What is your favorite novella?

 

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If You Liked The Sea Before Us . . .

29 Jun

My book club was unanimous in its approval of The Sea Before Us by Sarah Sundin. Although many of us have enjoyed lots of great books by Sundin, this was the first time we have read as a group a novel by her. It won’t be the last! In fact the only thing we didn’t like about the book was the fact we have to wait until next year for the next installment of the Sunrise at Normandy series, The Sky Above Us. So what should we and you read in the meantime? The following are my recommendation for WWII novels that feature strong women actively engaged in the war, either in official capacities or as a part of an underground network. Hope you enjoy!

 

Chasing Mona Lisa by Tricia Goyer and Mike Yorkey.

It is August 1944 and Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country, stealing countless pieces of art. Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all, the Mona Lisa, as a post-war bargaining chip to get him to South America. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue DaVinci’s masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get readers’ adrenaline pumping as they join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh country chateau, the race is on – and the runners are playing for keeps.

Flame of Resistance by Tracy Groot.

Years of Nazi occupation have stolen much from Brigitte Durand. Family. Freedom. Hope for a future, especially for a woman with a past like hers. But that changes the day American fighter pilot Tom Jaeger is shot down over occupied France. Picked up by the Resistance, Tom becomes the linchpin in their plan to infiltrate a Germans-only brothel and get critical intel out through Brigitte, a prostitute rumored to be sympathetic to the Allied cause. D-day looms and everyone knows that invasion is imminent. But so is treachery, and the life of one American pilot unexpectedly jeopardizes everything. He becomes more important than the mission to a man who cannot bear to lose another agent and to a woman who is more than just a prostitute, who finally realizes that her actions could change the course of history.

Snow on The Tulips by Liz Tolsma.

A stranger’s life hangs in the balance. But to save him is to risk everything.

The war is drawing to a close, but the Nazis still occupy part of the Netherlands. After the losses she’s endured, war widow Cornelia is only a shadow of the woman she once was. She fights now to protect her younger brother, Johan, who lives in hiding.

When Johan brings Gerrit Laninga, a wounded Dutch Resistance member, to Cornelia’s doorstep, their  lives are forever altered. Although scared of the consequences of harboring a wanted man, Cornelia’s faith won’t let her turn him out.

As she nurses Gerrit back to health, she is drawn to his fierce passion and ideals, and notices a shift within herself. Gerrit’s intensity challenges her, making her want to live fully, despite the fear that constrains her. When the opportunity to join him in the Resistance presents itself, Cornelia must summon every ounce of courage imaginable.

She is as terrified of loving Gerrit as she is of losing him. But as the winter landscape thaws, so too does her heart. Will she get a second chance at true love? She fears their story will end before it even begins.

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If You Liked The Amish of Summer Grove Series . . .

31 Oct

The Amish of Summer Grove series by Cindy Woodsmall was a big hit with my book club. Whether you are a fan of Amish books or are new to the genre, I can recommend the following series. All are great!

The Sister’s of The Quilt series was Cindy Woodsmall‘s debut. As a book club we read it and were hooked on anything by Woodsmall. Here is the blurb from book 1, When The Heart Cries.

Despite being raised in a traditional Old Order Amish family, seventeen-year-old Hannah Lapp desires to break with custom, forgo baptism into the faith, and marry outside the cloistered community. She’s been in love with Mennonite Paul Waddell for three years, and before returning to college for his senior year, Paul asks Hannah to be his wife. Hannah accepts, aware that her marriage will change her relationship with her family forever.

On the evening of their engagement, tragedy strikes and in one unwelcome encounter, all that Hannah has known and believed is destroyed. As she finds herself entangled in questions that the Old Ways of her people cannot answer, Hannah faces the possibility of losing her place in her family, in her community– and in the heart of the man she loves.

 

Tricia Goyer writes in a variety of genres, but her Big Sky series is one of my favorites. It is unique in Amish fiction, because much of the series is set in an Amish community in Montana. Check out book 1, Beside Still Waters.

Raised among the Amish of Indiana, 18-year-old Marianna Sommer plans to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and set up life in the only community she has ever known. But when her older brother chooses the world’s path following his rumschpringe, and a younger sibling begins showing interest in Englisch ways, Marianna’s parents move the family to Montana.

Although she is also in her rumschpringe years and not obligated to move, Marianna makes the journey to dutifully help her mother who is expecting another child. Surprisingly, from strangers on the cross-country train ride to the less rigid stance of the new Montana community, many Englisch influences awaken within Marianna—and even her father—the desire to pursue a deeper kind of joy and love for God.

After an accident, Marianna tells her friend Ben a defining story about the Sommer family, and his response further illumines the active relationship God seeks with His followers. In due time, she learns the move from Indiana was not about losing anything, but finding out who God really is. Despite all the shake-ups, Marianna feels a sweet peace, like still waters, in her soul.

Suzanne Woods Fisher writes Amish contemporary and historical fiction. For something a bit different check out her Amish Beginnings series. The first book is Anna’s Crossing.

On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna König reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home–assuming she survives. She’s heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.

Ship’s carpenter Bairn resents the somber people — dubbed Peculiars by the deckhands — who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him.

Delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to the beginning of Amish life in America with this fascinating glimpse into the first ocean crossing — and the lives of two intrepid people who braved it.

 

What’s your favorite Amish series?

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If You Loved . . . The One True Love of Alice-Ann

31 Aug

I have found that when I finish a book I really, really like, I want to read more books just like it. So I am starting a new feature on By The Book. At the end of each month, I will recommend books based on By The Book’s monthly book club selection. In August we read The One True Love of Alice-Ann by Eva Marie Everson. We loved it! It is set on the American home front during WWII. If you haven’t read it yet, you need to! 🙂 If you have and want to read more like it, check out the following recommendations.

Books Set On The American Home Front During WWII

The Discovery By Dan Walsh

Gerard Warner was not only a literary giant whose suspense novels sold in the millions, he was also a man devoted to his family, especially his wife of nearly 60 years. When he dies he leaves his Charleston estate to his grandson, Michael, an aspiring writer himself. Michael settles in to write his own first novel and discovers an unpublished manuscript his grandfather had written, something he’d kept hidden from everyone but clearly intended Michael to find. Michael begins to read an exciting tale about Nazi spies and sabotage, but something about this story is different from all of Gerard Warner’s other books. It’s actually a love story. As Michael delves deeper into the story he discovers something that has the power to change not only his future but his past as well.

A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval even marry a man she doesn’t love. Lt. Walter Novak fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt’s muddy bomber base in England and Allie’s mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart?

Nightingale by Susan May Warren

Nightingale Esther Lange doesn’t love her fiancé — she’s trapped in an engagement after a mistaken night of passion.  Still, she grieves him when he’s lost in battle, the letters sent to her by the medic at his side giving her a strange comfort, so much that she strikes up a correspondence with Peter Hess, an Iowa farmboy.  Or is he?  Peter Hess is not who he seems.  Indeed, he’s hiding a secret, something that could cost them both their lives, especially when the past comes back to life.  A bittersweet love song of the home front war between duty and the heart . . . a battle where only one will survive.

Where Treetops Glisten by Tricia Goyer/Cara Putnam/Sarah Sundin

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

In Cara Putman’s White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and His plan for a future?

 

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Book Review: Where Treetops Glisten

15 Nov

426483The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime.

Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas.

Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America’s involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

In Cara Putman’s White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop. Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements—until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

Abigail’s brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theater in Sarah Sundin’s I’ll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded. But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete’s friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he’s no longer the bully she once knew?

In Tricia Goyer’s Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, “Merry” to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands. Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that’s precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

The Turner family believes in God’s providence during such a tumultuous time. Can they absorb the miracle of Christ’s birth and His plan for a future?

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Tricia Goyer is the bestselling author of more than 45 books, including fictional tales delighting and entertaining readers and non-fiction titles offering encouragement and hope. She is a two-time Carol Award winner, as well as a Christy and ECPA Award Nominee. A popular blogger, Goyer contributes to a number of homeschooling and Christian parenting sites. She and her husband, John, live in Little Rock, AR, and are the parents of six.

Cara Putman, the award-winning author of 19 books, including Shadowed by Grace, graduated high school at 16, graduated college at 20 and completed her law degree at 27. She is a lecturer on business and employment law to graduate students at Purdue University and also practices law. Putman is currently pursuing her Master’s in Business Administration at Krannert. She lives with her husband and four children in Indiana.

Sarah Sundin is the author of six historical novels, including In Perfect Time (Revell, August 2014). Her novel On Distant Shores was a double finalist for the 2014 Golden Scroll Awards. Sarah lives in northern California with her husband and three children, works on-call as a hospital pharmacist.

 

My Impressions:

Three authors, three Christmases, three heartwarming and nostalgic stories to add warmth to your holiday reading — that’s what you get in Where Treetops Glisten by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman and Sarah Sundin. Various members of the Turner family of Lafayette, Indiana face the uncertainty of life in the face of war, both on the homefront and overseas. Through the voices of the three authors, a unique and cohesive story is created. Perfect reading for the cold nights leading up to Christmas.

The Turners of Lafayette, Indiana are a typical wartime family. The three adult children are making their way in life and trying to find the best way to serve their country. Fear, grief and broken hearts are tempered by faith, love and a hope for a future. Each novella in the collection is set during the Christmas season of the war years. The reader gets a glimpse of what it must have been like to live through rationing, Gold Star families and family members far away. All three novellas are good, but I especially connected with the characters in I’ll Be Home for Christmas by Sarah Sundin.

Faith in God to make things new, to overcome our fears with love, to restore and redeem are significant themes in Where Treetops Glisten. The faith message flows naturally in the narratives, but is never preachy. Characters are easy to love and connect with. And the authors did a great job in making the war years and the Greatest Generation come to life. I recommend Where Treetops Glisten — sweet, warm and cozy with spiritual truth, it is a book you’ll savor. Added bonus: the cookie recipes at the back!

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(Thanks to LitFuse and Waterbrook for a review copy. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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Book Review: Mom’s Night Out

16 Jun

684821Moms’ Night Out is a novelization of the hilarious family comedy that celebrates real family life—where everything can go wrong and still turn out all right.

All Allyson and her friends want is a peaceful, grown-up evening of dinner and conversation . . . a long-needed moms’ night out. But in order to enjoy high heels, adult conversation and food not served in a bag, they need their husbands to watch the kids for a few hours—what could go wrong?

Chronicling one night out gone awry, three harried moms, their husbands, a sister-in-law with a misplaced baby, a tattoo parlor owner, a motorcycle gang, and a bewildered cabbie all learn to embrace the beautiful mess called parenting. This book spotlights the unfulfilled expectations and serial self-doubts many moms feel . . . then reassures us that the key is raising kids in a loving home. Mom’s Night Out is an endearing, true-to-life comedy.

 

tricia-looks-up-2-2209Tricia Goyer has written more than thirty-five books, including both novels that delight and entertain readers and non- fiction titles that offer encouragement and hope. She has also published more than 500 articles in national publications such as Guideposts, Thriving Family, Proverbs 31, and HomeLife Magazine.

Goyer’s fiction and non-fiction books have won awards from the American Christian Fiction Writers and Mt. Hermon Writers’ Conference. She is also a two-time Carol Award winner, as well as a Christy and ECPA Award Nominee.
Tricia has authored several books on family and parenting, as well as co-written with Max Lucado and Robin Jones Gunn. She collaborated with Ken Blanchard and Phil Hodges for Lead Your Family Like Jesus, published by Focus on the Family/Tyndale.

Tricia’s contemporary and historical novels feature strong women overcoming great challenges. She recreates historic wartime eras with precise detail through perseverant and comprehensive research. Tricia speaks to groups interested in these eras, with the intention of preserving and honoring the memory of the men and women who served.

She is a beloved author of Amish fiction, as well, writing the Big Sky and Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors Series. Tricia is currently working on The One Year Book of Amish Peace: Hearing God’s Voice in the Simple Things and a true Amish story co-written with Ora Jay and Irene Eash (contracted to release in 2013 and 2014 respectively).

Tricia is also the visionary force behind the new website, Not Quite Amish. Inspired by the writing process of her Amish releases, she wanted to create a community where Amish and simple living experts can become contributors. Launched in the fall of 2012, the Not Quite Amish lifestyle blog features daily posts about recipes, repurposing, simple style, beautifying your home, sewing Amish proverbs, and more. In addition to having more than fifteen regular contributors, readers are also encouraged to submit ideas, questions, and posts for topics they’d like to see written about.

In addition to Not Quite Amish, Tricia also posts regularly at her personal blog and is a contributor to other family and homeschooling blogs, such as The Home Educating Family, The Better Mom, Allume and MomLife Today. In 2010, she was selected as one of the Top 20 Moms to Follow on Twitter by SheKnows.com.

My Impressions:

I think it must be really hard to write a novelization of a movie. After all, film is all visual, giving the viewer what you want him to see. Books allow the reader to add his/her own imagination to the story. I have not seen Mom’s Night Out, the movie, but I did read Tricia Goyer’s novelization by the same name, and I think she did a great job with it. Filled with plenty of laugh-out-loud moments and some great aha moments, the story follows 3 friends and mothers looking to unplug from their busy lives. What ensues is definitely not what they expected, but perhaps it was what they needed.

Allyson is a mommy-blogger wannabe who feels the need to fix everything around her. Phobic about messes she is surrounded by them. Sondra is a pastor’s wife who feels the need to be perfect even if it means shutting down who she really is. Izzy is a mom dealing with a husband who doesn’t have a clue what to do with his twin children. All need a quiet night out to connect and relax. What they get is a missing child, a snooty restaurant hostess, and a biker/tattoo artist, among other things. There is non-stop action, plenty of noise and revelations of who they just might be in Christ.

I liked Mom’s Night Out. While my kids are past the baby and teenage stages, I could really relate to the women who are all things to all people, except themselves. For all the busyness, craziness and mayhem that accompanies life, the message that God has it all in His very capable and loving hands is clearly articulated. I recommend this book to all who have or haven’t seen the movie. (I did find the abundance of grammatical errors to be a bit of a distraction, but the book overall outweighs that.)

Recommended.

(Thanks to B&H for a review copy. The opinions expressed are mine alone.)

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