The Heart's Journey by Barbara Cameron

This is a charming story about Naomi, an Amish girl who runs a shop with her two cousins and grandmother.  She quilts, and the others knit, weave, and make crafts.  She's soon to be married, but she's started having doubts because John seems more and more controlling.  She jumps at the chance to go with her grandmother to Pinecraft, Florida for a vacation.  Nick, their English driver and friend, offers to drive them down there; he also has a secret crush on Naomi even though he knows nothing can come of it.  Will Naomi return his love or stay with her Amish fiance?  What kind of future could they have?

I found the story line about John intriguing.  How do the Amish view controlling men? I love road trips and enjoyed traveling along with Naomi on her first one!  The community of Pinecraft is a real place a lot of Amish and Mennonite visit and I liked the unique setting for this Amish story.  I wished there was a little more explanation of what the characters were physically doing sometimes; a character would be there one minute and gone the next with no mention of them leaving.  There were also some contradictions in what a character thought or said.  The romance is cute and I enjoyed the different characters.  This is the second book in the Stitches in Time series and, while it works as a stand-alone, there are minor characters I felt like I should already know. I'm excited to read the other two books about her cousins and you should check out this story, especially if you like Amish fiction!

I received this book free from Abingdon Press in exchange for an honest review.

Cheaper, Better, Faster by Mary Hunt

  This book is a gold mine!  It's full of ideas to save money and time using cheaper alternatives or items you probably have around the house.  It has everything from cleaning tips to making your car last longer to saving money at the store.  There are sixteen sections with topics covering pretty much every aspect of life.  It's organized alphabetically with larger sections devoted to automobiles, cleaning, etc., then alphabetically by item or topic within the chapter.

Some of the tips seem more like common sense, but most of them I wasn't aware of.  I especially liked the money and finances and shopping sections, and the cleaning section had so many innovative ideas!  This would be a handy book to keep close by because it would be pretty difficult to remember over 2,000 tips.  I would definitely recommend this book, especially if you like to save time and money!

Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received this book free from Revell in exchange for my honest review.

The Tainted Coin by Mel Starr

If you're looking for a mystery or like the medieval time period, look no further!  It's 1367 and Master Hugh is both a surgeon and the bailiff for a lord, so when a man dies on the lord's land he determines it is murder and starts to investigate.  When an ancient coin falls out of the man's mouth, Master Hugh suspects it is the key to his death.  As he searches for clues, he encounters powerful men who wish to stop him.  Add kidnapping and surgery; this book is never dull!

It was interesting to see how a murder could be solved in a time period without our modern gadgets or even DNA.  I especially liked learning about the different culture, including what they ate and how they lived.  There's a handy glossary in the front of the book to explain some of the terms.  There's a bit of dry humor at times that I enjoyed.  A fascinating thing I learned was that surgeons were taught not to perform surgeries during certain times of the year because of the movement of planets and stars.  They felt a surgery wouldn't be successful and even some of the church believed this!  This is book five in the series about Master Hugh, but I wasn't confused at all when reading this first.  It's worth checking out!

I received this book free from Kregel in exchange for an honest review.

Kindle version is on sale through Jan 27 for only $5!  Amazon

Check out Kregel's site: Kregel

Everything by Mary DeMuth

Mary DeMuth has been through the ringer.  She knows what she's talking about when she points out that trials are to help us grow and that we need to surrender everything to God.  In return, Jesus will become our everything.  The first section asks us what we think about God and ourselves.  The second section looks at our hearts. Have we let Jesus in to change our hearts or are we living with unforgiveness, control, or other things that impede our growth?  The third section looks at our actions.  How do we spend our money, live in community, or show Jesus to others?  These are just some of the topics she has in each section.

This is an important and challenging book.  Some of the topics really spoke to me, especially the issue of control.  I appreciated Mary's stories to illustrate her own struggles with these topics and that she doesn't feel as if she's arrived.  It feels more like she's coming alongside to encourage you on your faith journey.  She uses plenty of Scripture to illustrate her points and this is a book you'll want to highlight passages of, so you can go back and reread when you need encouragement.  I would definitely recommend this book to every Christian or anyone interested in spiritual growth!

I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.

Check out a cool video and more info here:
Thomas Nelson Publishers

The Dilemma of Charlotte Farrow by Olivia Newport

If you like Downton Abbey, then this book's for you!   Charlotte Farrow is a maid for a wealthy family in Chicago and she has a secret that could cost her her livelihood.  She has a baby.  When the woman who cares for Henry drops him off at the house and heads out of town because of a family emergency, she doesn't know what to do.  If she tells the family he's her child, she'll be fired and then how would they survive?  If she keeps her secret, would Henry have a better life with a family who can give him everything she can't?  Add to her confusion a forbidden romance with a fellow servant, a man from her past, and a new maid with an attitude and you have a book with plenty of drama.

I love the time period of this story and found it fascinating to learn about the working conditions that led to eight-hour workdays, among other reforms for the working class.  I like getting into the heads of the different characters to see what they're thinking and I felt for Charlotte. This is book two in the Avenue of Dreams and though it works as a stand-alone, it seemed that there was some back story I missed not having read The Pursuit of Lucy Banning.  Overall, I enjoyed this story very much and hope there will be more to come!

Available January 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

I received this book free from Revell in exchange for an honest review.

A Cast of Stones by Patrick W. Carr

  This is an interesting medieval fantasy about the transformation of a young man and his possible future role in the kingdom.  Errol Stone is a drunk who is pretty much ignored in his village of Callowford when he volunteers to deliver a message to a priest who lives in a treacherous woods for a fee.  He's almost killed by an assassin and has to run for his life with the priest and a few others.  Along the way we discover important insights into his past, meet people who would try to influence him for good or evil, and watch him mature into a true hero.

This is the first book in a trilogy and it was interesting to follow Errol through his adventures and see how he changed throughout the book.  I haven't read too many books considered to be medieval fantasy, so I wasn't sure quite what to expect.  I found it a little hard to get into it at first, but as Errol changed and the action continued, I became more interested.  I liked the different characters and the abilities shown were interesting to see.  The church is a powerful force in the story, with some priests good and some evil.  The Trinity is mentioned in the story and we clearly see good and evil, but a relationship with God isn't shown.  There's a lot of action and hints of romance.  I am interested to see where the next two go and if my guess about Errol's future comes true!

This book is available February 2013 from Bethany House Publishers.

Great Program to Earn Free Books!

25 points for signing up! http://www.tyndalerewards.com/signup/?pc=5og9-n4pt-mqdf-j79h