Book Review ~ Katie's Choice by Amy Lillard ~ 5/5!!!

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review as part of a Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Tour.  

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Title:  "Katie's Choice"
Series:  A Clover Ridge Book #2

Author:  Amy Lillard
Publisher:  B&H Publishing
Publication Date:  5/1/2013

Pages:  320

Buy From Amazon:  HERE

Book Description:

Katie Rose Fisher loved Samuel Beachy with an intensity that shook their Amish district. No one doubted they would one day marry, until Samuel turned his back on the church and joined the world of the English.

Alone now in Clover Ridge, Katie Rose dedicates her life to God and the school children she teaches each day. Although she secretly longs for more, Katie knows God’s hand is at work, and she is happy.

News correspondent Zane Carson never even knew Oklahoma had an Amish community until he got the chance to live among them and learn about their day-to-day activities. Their simple way of life is intriguing, but not half as much as the young teacher.

Katie Rose is flattered over the attention she receives from Zane, but she has resolved to never marry. Even if she were to entertain the idea, it surely couldn’t be with an outsider like Zane.

Never one prone to the restraints of organized religion, Zane finds a comfort in the rituals and blessings in the day to day righteous living of this small Amish community. He finds himself, God, and love with Katie Rose.

But as Zane draws closer to Katie Rose, Samuel comes back to repent his ways and return to his place at her side. Can Zane convince Katie Rose that he is committed to adapting to her way of life, or will Samuel win her affections back for himself once again?

My Overall Feeling of the Book:

It had been a while since I'd read an Amish story and I was looking forward to it. I was not disappointed! This book had everything I could wish for.

I loved how Zane, a war reporter, took to the Amish life so readily. Katie was such a wonderful character as well.

The author did a wonderful job with the setting, characters and flow. I was pulled into the story and couldn't wait to find out how it turned out. I was very pleased :)


A Brief Excerpt:

"Two neat beds sat side by side in a surprisingly large bedroom.  Each bed was covered with a quilt of vivid colors--black, red, yellow, orange and green."

 Page 15

The Cover:

The cover is very sweet.  It depicts Katie with the correct color eyes - green.  In the background Zane is plowing and Katie looks on.

Other Notes:

~ I didn't read the first book of this series and felt it in no way hindered my enjoyment of this, the second book of the series.

Rating

5/5

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On to the next book,

Book Review ~ A Healing Heart by Angela Breidenbach

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review as part of a Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Tour.  

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Title:  "A Healing Heart"
Series:  Quilts of Love

Author:  Angela Breidenbach
Publisher:  Abingdon Press
Publication Date:  4/2013

Pages:  240

Buy From Amazon:  HERE

Book Description:

Mara Keegan is an uber-successful workaholic mother of three, widowed three years ago. She's been chasing success and all the "good things in life" for her family to make up for the cruel whim God played on them by taking her husband. In an effort to be the perfect mom, she decides to make a photo memory quilt, a graduation present for her daughter, Cadence.

She’s not yet finished when she experiences a heart attack. While Mara recuperates, she visits the choices she's made that led to this physically and spiritually broken heart. The memory quilt must be finished in time for Cadence's big day, but Mara struggles with her burgeoning feelings for the man who must keep Mara's business going during her recovery, Joel Ryan. Can Joel find his way into Mara's heart and onto Cadence's quilt?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Angela Breidenbach is a speaker/coach in mental and physical health, author of A Healing Heart April 2013 from Abingdon Press in the Quilts of Love series, Gems of Wisdom: For a Treasure-filled Life, Creative Cooking for Simple Elegance, and Creative Cooking for Colitis. Other works by Angela include compilation books and devotionals from Guidepost, Group, and articles in magazines, ezines, and newspapers. She is certified in mentor/peer counseling as a CTA life coach, as a Stephen Minister, and a weight loss/nutrition coach. Angela serves as an assisting minister (worship/prayer leader) for her congregation in Missoula, MT. Not only did she walk the hard line of deciding to donate her mom’s brain for the study of schizophrenia, but she’s also on the brain donation list at the Brain Bank-Harvard McLean Hospital.

My Overall Feeling of the Book:

What a sweet story of family, love and quilts!

I really enjoyed reading about the process of making a memory quilt. The author is very detailed in her description and made me want to get my fabric out and play.

The love story aspect of the book develops nicely. Mara is just getting over the grief of losing her husband and Joel had a sad ending to his marriage. Together they discover if they can find love a second time around.

I really enjoyed the family antics written into the story. They are so real and true to life!


A Brief Excerpt:

"The nurse gave Joel five minutes and Jill acted as the witness as Joel read the power-of-attorney to Mara.  He hated waking her up, but without her signature, all fifty employees were going to miss paychecks in the morning."

 Page 106

The Cover:

It has fabric.  Need I say more?

Other Notes:

~  There was a lot of business talk that might scare a person off but stick with this sweet book :)

Rating

4/5

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On to the next book,

Book Review ~ Josiah's Treasure by Nancy Herriman ~ CFBA ~ 4/15/13

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review as part of a Christian Fiction Blog Alliance Tour.  

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Title:  "Josiah's Treasure"
Series:  N/A

Author:  Nancy Herriman
Publisher:  Worthy Publishing
Publication Date:  4/16/13

Pages:  320

Buy From Amazon:  HERE

Book Description:

In 1882, Sarah Whittier dreams of opening an art studio run by immigrant women. She plans to use the house left to her by family friend Josiah Cady as collateral for her studio. But will all be lost when the inheritance is challenged by an angry man claiming to be Josiah's son and legal heir? Rumor of gold nuggets hidden in the house, place Sarah's life in danger. Her future uncertain and her safety threatened, Sarah has nowhere to turn. That is, unless she can soften a vengeful man's heart-and they both learn that love is finer than any gold. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Nancy Herriman abandoned a career in Engineering to chase around two small children and take up the pen. She has been writing for longer than she would like to admit. Her work has been a finalist in several Romance Writers of America contests and she won the 2006 RWA Daphne du Maurier award for Best Unpublished Mystery/Romantic Suspense. In 2009, she was an ACFW Genesis finalist. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America.

When she is not writing, or gabbing over lattes about writing, she is either watching history shows on cable TV or singing. She lives in the Midwest with her husband and sons, and wishes there were more hours in the day.

My Overall Feeling of the Book:

This book is full of interesting detail about historical San Francisco and the life women who lived and worked there. There are also tons of interesting details regarding artwork and design during that time period.

I thought Daniel was very hard and vengeful in the beginning but his true self comes through in a wonderful way.

The author kept me guessing as to Sarah's mysterious past eluded to and I couldn't wait to find out her history.

Everything came together nicely in the end. This was a very interesting read.


A Brief Excerpt:

"Perhaps if I gave you my name, you'll understand.  I'm Daniel Cady.  Josiah's son."  Daniel swept his hat from his head.  "And I've come to claim my money."

 Page 21

The Cover:

I'm guessing that the cover is representing the artwork shop that much of the story revolved around.  I can also see how Daniel's arrival was a surprise.  Almost as if he snuck up on her.  Sarah's dress is gorgeous.  Overall, I really enjoyed the cover.

Other Notes:

~The characters, especially, Daniel were a bit hard to get a feel for in the beginning.  Stick with it and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Rating

4/5

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On to the next book,