Nancy Drew meets Mary Stirling

Through Waters Deep
by Sarah Sundin

America is on the brink of joining the allies in WWII, in 1941 tensions was high and opinions was many. Mary Stirling is a young Boston Navy yard Secretary that is not looking for love. Then along comes an old childhood friend, the handsome and outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery. As evidence starts to pile up that someone is sabotaging the ships in the navy yard. Mary starts to see a mystery brewing that she needs to solve just like her childhood heroine Nancy Drew. She goes to Jim and shares her thoughts and he agrees to help her uncover the culprit that is doing the sabotage. As the time passes and the list of suspects grow, it seems that they are not getting any closer to finding out who is trying to push for america to go to war. the challenges grow as Jim and Mary grow closer to finding out that they love each other.

If you love reading a WWII novel this is the one for you. I love that it mentions the Nancy Drew series, which was one of my favorite series to read growing up.

A big Thank you to revell reads for providing this book for free for exchange for a review.

A historical read!!!

The Mapmakers Children by Sarah McCoy

Two women from very different eras lives interconnect across the generations. Sarah Brown the vibrant and talented daughter of abolitionist John Brown finds her life turned around when she starts to work with the Underground railroad. Watching as her family deals with the loss of her father and brothers, she resolves to continue her fathers work with the help of a friend. Using her artistic talents to provide hidden maps for the fleeing slaves to follow north to freedom.
Eden Anderson is a modern day woman facing some struggles of her own, having not been able to have a child and moving to a new home. The discovery of a old doll head leads her on a search for information about the house she lives in. Sarah and Eden connect across time thru the dolls head and letters that are found connecting to the house.

This book takes us back to a time when war was brewing between the states. It shows a side to the John Brown story that I have never thought about.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for free.

Breaking the Shame!!!

Unashamed by Jessie Minassian

We  as girls and women all struggle with many secret sins that we hide behind a mask or facade. Jessie Minassian breaks the silence by admitting to a secret sin and silent shame in her life. She touches our heart by reaching deep down in and forcing us to look at what has us trapped in that dark place in our lives. By sharing her story and how she found victory thru our Heavenly Father she shows there is hope out there for all of us. If you have a young lady,a daughter, a granddaughter in your life pass this book on to her to share with another hurting girl. Lets break this damaging cycle of silence from shame of secret sins and help others find healing.

Received this book for free from Tyndale bloggers

Love at first sight!!

In FireFly Valley by Amanda Cabot

The second Book in Texas Crossroads series brings back Rainbows End Resort and Greg and Kate as a background characters.

Marissa St George is headed back to the one place she has run away from, the town where she grew up at. After losing her job to a downsizing, she has chosen to take a huge pay cut and has accepted a position as the business manager at the struggling Rainbows End Resort. A new guest to the Resort, Blake Kendall has come to his friends resort to find his muse. But unbeknownst to him, he will find more than thoughts for his next book. Meeting the very interesting Marissa leads him down a very different road then he ever expected in his life. For Marissa she never thought she would fall in love at first sight, but after meeting Blake it seems that there is some truth to it. Will they both be able to overcome secrets and the dark past that haunts Marissa?

I received this book for free for a review from Revell Reads.

To be chosen, To be loved, To be Free!!!

The Choosing by Rachelle Dekker

The long awaited day that Carrington Hale has prepared for has arrived and standing along the wall she watches as all the others are chosen in the Choosing Ceremony. As her heart falls she realizes that her worst fear has happened, now she has to spend the rest of her life as a Lint, part of the unwanted women; the lowest part of society. Never to have another chance to have a family of her own or to see her family again. Walking as if in a fog, she hears of rumors of a rebellion that is stirring up feelings all round her. The whispers going around her makes her feel that the way of life that she has been taught is wrong and there is a chance for her to have a new life. When Carrington is offered a second chance for the life she has longed to have since she was a child, she can’t shake the feeling that something is not right here. Is what the Authority says to do the right way to live their lives or is what Aaron is teaching a lifeline for all who believe? Also how can a killer keep on running free picking off Lints one by one? Will Carrington be able to uncover the truth behind everything in time to save herself from death?

Q and A with Rachelle Dekker:

1.Throughout the book, Carrington struggles with understanding her identity and worth and what is true. Why did you decide to write about the theme of identity?

Someone once asked me. If you could leave one message for your younger sisters, what would it be? The answer was always the same: I would pray they knew what they were worth. Identity is everything. There isn’t a theme that doesn’t start with identity or circle back to identity. Knowing who you truly are is the greatest journey we face. Am I enough am I worth it? I believe everyone faces these questions, and I sought out to explore them through this story.

2.Do you think women tend to struggle with identity more than men?

I don’t think women struggle with identity more then men. Not at all. I just think we struggle differently. As a woman I understand the identity struggle from a female perspective more, but I think most men wonder if they’re enough just as much as women do. WE are all the same at our core, really. We are on this earth for a short time, trying to figure out our

purpose and worth. Searching for recognition, usually in all the wrong places. The truth I am

discovering is that there is no need for searching. The truth already resides inside of us. The Father has already marked us as chosen, worth it; He has already given us a purpose. It’s

only a matter of looking inward to the soul and to the Creator of that soul to find our worth.

3. What would you say to the person who is struggling, trying to find their identity in

temporary, unsatisfying places?

I would say we have all been there, and that those places will only serve as a prison in the

end. They may seem like happiness now, but eventually they will become suffering. But

that’s just part of the journey of identity. Some people need to learn the hard way-I did for

sure! I searched for significance in darkness and somehow the Father still led me to the

light. So when I see people gong through what I did, I empathize, but also know that in a single moment  they can discover their true identity.

A Big Thank you to Tyndale and Rachelle Dekker for including my blog in on “The Choosing Blog” tour. I enjoyed getting the chance to review an amazing read, that I could not put down without wanting to get right back to reading it. Can’t wait for the second book to come out to see what is in store next for Carrington.

Peacemaking and Forgiveness

The Heart Of The Amish by Suzanne Woods Fisher

This book is a very powerful read for everyone, it opens your eyes up to how much the Power of forgiveness affects our lives. There is so many lessons that can be learned from the Amish culture, if there is only one we learn it should be this one-Forgiveness. Compiled up of several stories each of them deal with many different situations in life and a couple we may have heard of on tv. I recommend for everyone to take the time to read this amazing book, it will bless you and can be very much a life changer.

I received this book for free in exchange for a Review from Revell.

Wedding Dreams!!!

Every Bride Needs a Groom by Janice Thompson

The First Installment in the Brides with Style Series, hooks you from page one. It pulls your heart strings as you follow a small town girl on a journey toward foloowing her heart. Katie Fisher has been planning her fairytale wedding as long as she can remember. When the chance comes to win the wedding dress of her dreams, she enters the contest. The day she gets a phone call saying she has won the contest, is the same day her long time boyfriend breaks up with her. With her world turned up-side down, she has to choose does she go thru with the dress or let her dream go. Does she go to Dallas and hide the truth from the son of the wedding dress designer?

A Delve into the Story of Moses.

“The Pharaoh’s Daughter ” A Treasures of the Nile novel by Mesu Andrews

The Pharaoh’s Daughter is the first installment of the “A Treasures of the Nile” series. It follows the life of the daughter of Pharaoh who found the little baby Moses in the Nile River. Delving deep into a very dark time period of the Hebrews journey toward freedom, this story follows the life of the one who saved the bay Moses from a pending death. Growing up in a culture that seen their king as a God and with a fear of being snatched to the afterlife, Anippe has carried a dread of childbirth. The time has come for her to marry and start a family of her own. To protect herself from the gods, she chooses to create many deceptions and lies, while involving a slave people  called the Hebrews. While bathing in the river, she finds a baby, which it seems that the gods had answered her prayers. But unbeknownst to her she was chosen to protect the leader of the Hebrews from death, the very same thing she feared.

As time passes, bloodshed increases, politics change with the death of a ruler, Anippe starts to wonder if the child she rescued could become the next ruler of Egypt or does the one true God, El Shaddai have bigger plans for the boy she calls son.

Mesu Andrews takes deep into the culture and world that the boy Moses would have grown in.

The Legacy!!!

The Legacy by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

In a search for independence from his parents, Doug Anderson chose to go to school away from home. At school he chose to become a very different person then the one his parents had see at home. The more his parents reach out to him, the more he seems to be pulling away and going down a very dangerous path. Christina understands more than Doug realizes about taking the wrong path in life. Taking a big step, she reaches out to him and offers her friendship even if there is a possibility of her heart being broken in the midst. Will Doug be able to see what he is missing and turn from the path that is leading him toward danger?

The Woods Edge!!

The Woods Edge by Lori Benton

This book takes us back to the time during the French and Indian war in the 1757 New York frontier the home to the Oneida tribe and the British colonists. It opens around the time period when Fort William falls, Major Reginald Aubrey is struggling with the grief of the death of his newborn son. When he comes across a Oneida mother with her newborn twins one white and one brown. Making a choice that is going to haunt him for the rest of his life, he choses to take the white child for his own leaving behind his dead son. His wife and his foundling daughter Anna never suspect the truth behind the boy they call son and brother. Over time Anna crosses paths with her brothers twin Two Hawks not knowing the true reason he has come seeking her family. One father being torn apart by a dark secret and while another father is being tormented by a lust for vengeance. A mother grieving for the lost of a child, while watching her other son grow into manhood. A brother who feels his twin’s abscence and longs to meet his brother, while his brother is very unaware of his existence. Anna, who loves both of the brothers, one like a sister and the other as the one she chooses to marry. Will each of these find the peace they need, while forgiving the other for hiding the truth.