Yogo Sapphire

An old west, gold mining story, A Treasure Concealed by Tracie Peterson, tells of Emily Carver and her father living in Yogo, Montana. Emily dreams of escaping the harsh lifestyle of moving from mining camp to mining camp as her father mines for gold. Her father gets an offer to sell his claim but he refuses. Mr. Carver believes his treasure is just around the corner. While on a visit to Utica, Mr Carver meets a young geologist working for the government, Caeden, who is headed to Yogo, Montana. He invites Caeden to stay with him and his family. Although Caeden is intrigued by Emily, his painful past won't let him dream of marrying. But through hardships, poverty, and danger, God is with the Carvers and Caeden-changing their lives in the process. Intrigued by this story, I looked up sapphires as this gemstone plays a pivotal role in the story only to learn that Yogo, Montana in 1894 is actually where they were found. This gemstone was even found by a man named Jake Hoover who in this story is a friend of the Carvers. The blue pepples were later called Yogo sapphires. I found this bit of history to be interesting. So if you enjoy historical romance then this is a great novel to read.

I received this book free to give an honest review from Bethany House Publishers.

Forever Love

Nick Vujicic is back with another story about his life and this time his wife, Kanae, joins him. Love Without Limits is the remarkable story of how Nick and Kanae met, their courtship, and eventually their marriage. The reader is also introduced to Kiyoshi, their first-born son. Nick tells of his struggles in relationships as a teen and later as a young adult. His dream of finding his true love. And his relationship with God. Nick and Kanae offer pointers about the courtship process and planning a wedding. For new parents, the chapter on a parent's survival guide for that first year after the birth of their baby is most noteworthy. Highly recommend this book for those seeking a relationship, starting a relationship, planning a wedding, and/or new parents. Or if you are not any of these like me, I would still recommend this book for the inspiration it provides.

, I received this book for free to review for Blogging for Books.

Belief

The underlying story has been told throughout the ages, but the perspective is a fresh take on this age old story that is the foundation of Christianity in Angela Hunt's new book Risen. This novel is based on the movie with the same name - Risen - by Paul Aeillo and Kevin Reynolds

. Clavius is a Roman Tribune in Rome's Tenth Legion stationed in Jerusalem. This is his perspective of what happened during the passover, Jesus' crusifixation, and after his burial. Clavius is a devoted follower of the god Mars. So when he is sent to investigate what happened to the body of Jesus, the reader is given an inside view of his thoughts, his inner turmoil, and his final decision: "By the time I had finished relating my encounter with the Nazarene, my next step became clear: I would return to the Antonia Fortress and testify truthfully when questioned..."(2015, p.306). Also, interwoven into the story is the story of a widowed Jewish woman, Rachel. Rachel relates her secret and her quest to discover if Jesus is the true messiah. This is a fictional account what could have occurred during this time period so Hunt has taken a few liberties for the sake of the story. I found the story rivoting and fast paced. Now I want to see the movie to see if it is just as gripping. I reviewed this book from Bethany House Publishers for free to give an honest review.

Irish Dreams

Intrique. Drama. Strong female protagonist. These are the words that come to mind when describing Susan Anne Mason's second book in the "Courage to Dream" series A Worthy Heart. Maggie Montgomery is newly arrived in America from Ireland leaving behind a broken relationship. She plans on a fresh start although her family believes this trip is only a visit with her brother, Rylan. To her surprise, and dismay, her former beau, Neill, has followered her to America. In the beginning, she tries to keep this from her family. Into this storyline, Mason weaves the story of Adam O'Leary, newly released from prison and brother-in-law to Rylan. Needless to say, Adam is attracted to Maggie but feels it is a loss cause due to his past. There are a few other family members whose stories are also woven into the main story. This is a story of forgiveness, unconditional love, and self-worth as a person. A wonderful historical, Christian fiction that draws the reader in and keeps you wanting more. I look forward to the next installment. I received this book free to review for Bethany House and give my honest opinion.

Fabulous Recipe

One fabulous, delicious recipe: four authors, add an Amish genre, one snow storm, and mix in four babies. Put in Christmas tin. Bake for 25 years. Garnish with mystery, intrigue and love. This recipe is accomplished in Amish Christmas at North Star by authors Amanda Flower, Katie Ganshert, Mindy Starns Clark and Cindy Woodsmall. So if you like these authors as stand alones, then you will want to read this book with the combined talent of each of them in their own novellas. The four authors focus on one of the four babies born in 1990 during a snow storm in North Star and where life has taken them in the 25 years since then. I found each story captivating, making one believe in the magic of Christmas and love. I received this book for free to review for Blogging for Books.

Dethroning Super Mom

Becky Kipitzke takes on the challenge of dethroning "Super Mom" in her book The Super Mom Myth: Conquering the dirty villains of motherhood. Moms in todays culture find themselves doing the comparison game- trying to live up to the Norman Rockwell picture perfect family. Kipitzke takes the reader on a journey, describing eight villians of motherhood and how to overcome them: housework, comparison, fear, anger, busyness, neglecting ourselves, neglecting our husbands, and exhaustion. The beginning of each chapter lists the villian, the related evil power of the said villian, and the "kryptonite" or Bible verses that empowers or shows us the real truth. She does all of this in an easy, conversational, and humorous read. My only wish was that this book had made its appearance several years ago when my children were much younger as I saw myself having fallen victim to many of these villians back in the day! I received this book for free to review from Barbour Publishing's Review Crew.

Running From the Past

Joline's Redemptionis the story of Joline Jensen who has made some rash desicions that have caused her much pain. The only joy to come of her pain is her son Jamie. As the story opens Joline must make another decision- to stay or run away from the bordello and return to her family. When it comes to making good decisions Joline does not do a good job even though she says she is putting others first. There is much pain in Joline's telling of her story but there are times it bogs down the storyline. In many ways I am reminded of the Bible story of Hosea particularly when Baron realiazes he has feelings for Joline and tries to put them in context with Joline's past history and her son. This book is the second in the series. Although I read it as a stand alone, I think reading the first book may help explain Joline's character more. I received this book free from Barbour Publishing to review and give an honest opinion.