Zero Visibility by Sharon Dunn

This is my first book by Sharon Dunn and I must say I was really impressed!  This is also my second Love Inspired Suspense and I have to say both were wonderful!  I will definitely be on the lookout for more by this author and more Love Inspired Suspense. 

 

In Zero Visibility, Merci Carlson wants to go visit her aunt over her college spring break and decides to accept a ride with Lorelei, a girl she knew from a class she took.  Merci thought she was nice to offer her a ride home.  As they are on their way, they decide to take a short cut.  On the mountain a bad winter storm has made the roads icy.  The car goes off the road and they cannot start it.  Two men come to help them.  But Merci learns they are really robbing them.  Nathan has come back to take care of some things after his parents' deaths.  He is out on his snowmobile when he sees the girls in trouble.  He rescues them and takes them back to his parents’ cabin. The robbers come back and take Lorelei hostage.  Nathan and Merci decide to go after her.  They go out the old camp that Nathan’s parents ran.  They continue to fight the robbers and try to get off the mountain for help.  There are lots of twists and turns in the book and a lot happens in a couple of days.  Can you fall in love with someone that you have only known a couple of days?  Can you fall in love with someone that you have gone though a frightening event with?   Read to find out if Merci and Nathan can find love.

 

At first I thought the title had something to do with the weather, but after reading, I so learned that it had a deeper meaning.  I think it meant more about how we see other people.  Sometimes our impressions of someone are so different than who they are.  I really think that you have to rely on the spirit to help you know how people really are.  There were several instances in the book where characters got the feeling this person or that was so different than they thought.  Sometimes the characters listened to the spirit but a lot of times they did not. 

This is a fast paced story.  A lot happens in a couple of days and you really get drawn into the story.  I thought at times that the author made you feel like you were right there and you could really image where the characters were.  The setting for the story was really interesting too. 

I really think this book would have been a fun read on a snow day.  It is interesting to me that it comes out in July when it is so hot.  Really enjoyed this book!

 

This book was provided by Netgalley and Harlequin.  I was given a galley of the book for review but was not required to give a positive review.

Wooing the Schoolmarm by Dorothy Clark

This is my first book by Dorothy Clark and I really enjoyed it. This book caught my eye because I love historical fiction about schoolmarms. This book is about Willa a woman whose father left her and her mother to fend for themselves. Willa has experienced heartbreak as days before her fiancé runs off. Willa decides that she will be single and teach and then help her mom with the laundry she does so they can stay in the cabin they live in. A new preacher comes to town with his brother's children that he is raising. Willa meets him as he brings the kids to school and you can tell from the beginning they really like each other. Willa's best friend decides she is going to marry him and tells Willa she is her intended. Willa's ex-fiancé also comes back and that also causes some trouble. Will Willa and the preacher find love? Read to find out.

I enjoyed this book and plan to read more in the series. I really enjoyed the town and the characters. There were a couple of things I would have liked better. First I love reading schoolmarm books but not much took place in the schoolhouse and that is what I like so much about those types of books. I also felt like the book dragged a few places and I got so annoyed at the characters for not seeing the truth and Willa and the preacher getting together. Other than that I still really liked the book.

I received a galley from Netgalley and Harlequin in return for this review. I was not required to give a positive review.

Missing

Lynette Easton writes the books I love.  Fast paced, action pact, who done it kind of book! This is the second book I have read by her and can not wait to read more!  When Lacey finds her daughter missing, she goes to the one person who she knows will help find her. The only problem is she has a secret that she has kept from him.  Will he still help her after learning this secret and will she ever be able to prove to him that she did not betray him?  The story goes through lots of twist and turns and finally the person I thought for sure had done it, did not! 
Wonderful story.  I have found that I really like this author!  Read this book for a Christian Fiction read through the Amish Fiction group on Goodreads.  Don't "miss" Missing for a great read.

The Wonder of Your Love by Beth Wiseman

The Wonder of Your Love is the second book in Beth Wiseman’s Land of Canaan Series. I fell in love with Beth’s first series that a lot of the characters come from.  I really liked Katie Ann in the first book of this series and felt sorry for her.  Her husband left her for an English woman.  Katie Ann discovers she is pregnant in the first book and now she has a son.  Her husband is killed and Katie Ann knows he was her true love and believes no one else will ever be for her.  An older English lady in the community has sort of adopted Katie Ann and spends a lot of time with her and helps Katie Ann out. 

Eli Detweiler comes to Canaan to attend his nieces wedding.  He lives in Ohio with his kids.  He raised them after his wife died and they are all older now and married.  So he is ready to experience life doing what he wants.  So when he meets Katie Ann he was never thinking about looking for anyone, but Katie Ann’s elderly friend plays matchmaker.  Katie Ann’s friend wants Katie Ann to din someone to take care of her and her son because her elderly friend knows that she will not be around forever.  The couple seem to like each other, but could they make it work?  Could Katie Ann let someone else in her life after all her first husband did to her?  Would Eli be able to leave his family in Ohio to be with Katie Ann?  So many things come into play in this book.  Read it to find out. 

I really enjoyed this book.  I have wanted to learn more of Katie Ann’s story since I last left Canaan.  I also enjoyed learning more about Katie Ann’s husband’s English woman who he left Katie Ann to be with. I loved learning how Katie Ann had to learn to forgive this woman, Lucy.  There was just so much love in this book.  You left it with a warm loving feeling!   I can’t wait for the next in the series!

I was given an advanced copy of this book through NetGalley and Thomas Nelson.  I was not required to give a positive review only an honest one.

A Life of Joy by Amy Clipston

A Life of Joy is the fourth book in Amy Clipston’s Kauffman’s Amish Bakery series.  I had been awaiting this book for awhile now.  This book focused on Lindsey Bedford.  Lindsey and her sister Jessica came to live with her Amish Aunt and Uncle after her parents die.  Lindsey decided to stay with her Aunt and Uncle and live Amish while Jessica went back to live with her parent’s best friends who were English like her parents.  Lindsey had been living among the Amish for 4 years now.  Lindsey’s friends start talking about taking classes in preparation to join the Amish church.  Lindsey does not feel ready to join yet.  Lindsey’s sister Jessica comes flying into town to tell them she is taking a big internship in New York and wants Lindsey to go with her. Jessica also is always onto Lindsey about taking her GED test.  Lindsey ends up having to go to help her parent’s friends that Jessica was living with before going to New York.  Her Aunt Trish as they call her has broken her leg and Lindsey must go and help her.  Will Lindsey be able to hold onto her Amish beliefs and customs while living with them or will she decides she wants to come back to the English world?  Lindsey goes on a discovery for what she wants out of life.

As with all these books I really enjoyed this one.  A lot of this book took place in the English world, so I missed all the Amish bakery scenes as in the previous books.  Even though I missed those bakery moments, I was really glad to get to go on this self discovery journey with Lindsey.  I think she really grows up and finds herself throughout this book.  It was a great chance to catch up with these characters and know what was going on with them.  I really liked how Rebecca allowed Lindsey to make the decision that she knew would be one of the biggest decisions of her life.  While Aunt Trish tried to allow her to make her own decisions, I felt like she also tried to push her into the English world as did her sister.  I am looking forward to learning more about Jessica and her relationship with Jake.  I’m hoping that will be the next book will be more about that, but we shall see.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley and  Zondervan.  I was not required to give a positive review only an honest one.

An Amish Family Reunion

An Amish Family Reunion by Mary Ellis is an e-book I reviewed through NetGalley.  I am not required to give a positve review, just an honest one.

This book started out really hard for me.  I think the main reason was because I have not read her other books.  I had to struggle to remember who the characters were, and there were a lot of them.  I think the author had to do this because they were all being invited to a reunion and we get to see in their lives before they come to the reunion.  The characters quickly grew on me and I really enjoyed this book.  By the end of the book, I know I needed to check out Ellis' Miller Family series.  This book has a lot of things to deal with a death, a near death, an unexpected pregnancy, a Rumspringa trip, a break up, a couple struggling to get along, Amish writting a book and much more.  I think my favorite parts of the book were the Rumpsringa trip to Niagra Falls and when the Amish write a book.  These were topics that I have not seen in other Amish fiction books that I have read.

I'm really glad I got the opportunity to read this book.  It was a really fun read once I gt all the characters figured out. This book is available on February 1, 2012.

Promise Me

I love reading Richard Paul Evans' new Christmas book each year. So when I found Promise Me at my library I quickly checked it out, even though it was from last year.  Promise Me is a story about a woman named Beth.  Beth tells the story if her life especially the loves of her life.  After the death of her second husband she meet Matthew, who changes her life forever.  Her and Matthew keep a secret.  Beth has had to keep that secret for eighteen years.  She has a 6 year old daughter, Charlotte, who is sick with an unidetifiable disease and after losing her first husband has a lot of issues with trust and love until she meets Matthew, only she can't fall in love with Matthew.  So, how will Matthew end up helping her.  You'll have to read to find out.
This Christmas story was really different than Evans' other Christmas books.  First, the story just seems too unreal.  Second, much of the book has nothing to do with Christmas.  Even with those two negatives, I really enjoyed this book.  I really like Evans' writing style.  the chapters are short, the pages turn fast and you feel like you are part of the characters lives.  While this is not one of my most favorites of Evans.  I still enjoyed it.