New Release - The Lost Loves of WWII - Bruce Judisch & Sharon Bernash Smith

Dear Readers,

I am not a fan of novellas.  I love a big long book that takes more than a couple of hours to read.  That said I also have to say, I have read some novellas that are just delightful, but left me wishing for a little longer story.   So I don't usually write about novellas even the 3 in 1 type books.  This one seems a bit different.

The Lost Loves of World War II by Bruce Judisch and Sharon Bernash Smith is, as the subtitle says, 3 novels of questions unanswered since World War II.  I guess that is what caught my attention the most.  The telling of living through WWII through the eyes of those who were there. 

Katia by Bruce Judisch - Katia wants to tell the truth about her family members that have left their Berlin to never return.  She has waited years to tell the story and now she is ready, even if the young lady she hires to help her thinks she can do it.

For Maria by Bruce Judisch - Madeline finds out that she has twin Aunts that no one has heard from of seen since they were babies.  She wants to reunite her grandmother with her long lost children, but it is a race against time as Grandmother is failing.

The Train Baby's Mother - Sharon Bernash Smith - Fritz Miller lived a quiet life on a remote farm in war torn Germany.  That all changes when he finds a baby that was tossed from a moving train full of people.  He is forced to give her up, but still wonders what ever happened to that child.

Each story has a different view of life and yet they all tie together in that they each have a story that needs to be told.  Sometimes it is hard to imagine how anyone survived the war, but there are always stories of how people did the right thing even at the risk of their own lives. 

Never easy reads, stories of WWII are ones that need to be read and remembered.  Remembered so that we don't allow it to happen again and if it does, may we gain courage from these stories and do the right thing.

Happy Reading,

Katie Ganshert

Dear Readers,

Every once and a while an author surprises me with a book I really didn't expect from them.  Katie Ganshert did that with her newest, A Broken Kind of Beautiful.  Now I expected it to be good, don't get me wrong about that, but it was such a beautiful story about a little girl's search for love in all the wrong places. 

Ivy is only 24 but her modeling career seems to be at its end. She has burned some bridges and now the only job that seems to be opened to her is one back in Greenbrier South Carolina, the last place on the planet she wants to go to. 

Davis gave up what was his calling.  At least he thought it was his calling until a terrible tragedy struck and he figured if his sister couldn't do what she wanted then he could no longer be a photographer, but why does it seem like God is calling him back to it?

We have all heard it, "God meets us where we are at."  We don't all truly believe it, we think we need to 'fix' ourselves first before God will except us back.  We need a reminder that God really does love us even when we are not really loveable and that he never checks to see if we are picture perfect first, he just loves us as we are. 

Katie does that in this book for us.  She reminds us gently that we just need to return to him and he will take us as we are.  In a book you will end up wanting to share with others, you will find yourself in the pages and your heart will find a gentle nudge that He is there all the time.

Happy Reading,

New (re) Release - At Home in Mitford - Jan Karon

Dear Readers,

I fell in love with the Mitford books the minute I met Father Tim.  I wanted to move to Mitford and enjoy the pleasure of all the quirky characters you meet between the pages.  I mourned the loss of several of the wonderful characters and even more so the slow death of the little town tucked into the hills of North Carolina.  I waited months for the new book to arrive and would savor every moment in the company of some of the best people I knew. 

Whether in Mitford itself or following Father Tim and Cynthia around the world, the books of Mitford have always felt like coming home.  So when word got out that there was going to be a new Mitford book this fall, Somewhere Safe with Someone Good, I put it on my must read booklist where I am sure it will pop right to the top when the book arrives.


In the mean time, the first book of the series, At Home in Mitford has been re-released.  Not only in honor of the new book, but also because it is the 20th anniversary of it's first release.  20 years of pulling up a chair, grabbing a cup of tea, putting your feet up and relaxing while a delightful story washes over year and clears the dust off your soul.

If you have never read the Mitford books there is plenty of time to find your way to the world of Father Tim, fall in love and eagerly await the next one with the rest of us.

Happy Reading,

New Release - Undetected - Dee Henderson

Dear Readers,

When Dee Henderson decided to return to the world of fiction writing, it caused a giant ripple.  Readers couldn't wait to get their hands on her books and each new release generates excitement that has people wandering into the fiction department to look for the new title weeks in advance hoping that it is out already.

Undetected has been no different.  Readers have eagerly awaited this book since finishing Undisclosed this past fall.  This time Dee takes us below the surface of the ocean in to the dangerous world of submarine warfare.

When Mark Bishop is asked what he does for a living, he always answers "I'm in the Navy."  He doesn't go into great detail, but he is the commander of a nuclear sub and that is not a job to be taken lightly.  The only thing missing from his life is some one special to come home to.

Gina loves the idea of being married, but a bad break up has made her a little gun shy.  She is focusing on her career of ocean science research and is about to make a breakthrough.   She just needs to talk to Mark and get his understanding of what she has found because it will change his job forever.

Once again fans of Dee will find themselves lost in the land of intrigue and mystery wrapped around a romance that we all know will happen, well everyone but the two people involved.  Dee has a gift for writing books that make you want to walk along side of the character and help them to see that love is staring them right in the face, they just need to open their eyes. 

Happy Reading,

New Releases - April 28 - May 3

Dear Readers,

In the past few weeks I have gotten great news.  News I could hardly wait to share with you.  Most of you probably already know that Jan Karon has a new Mitford book coming this fall.  Which is something to be excited about. 

The second bit of news I got was one of my favorite authors is writing again.  Jamie Langston Turner has a new book releasing in September and I can hardly wait to get my hands on it.

But until then there are these great titles to read! 

Happy Reading,

Meant to be Mine – Becky Wade – After a whirlwind wedding, Celia is ready to be Ty’s wife, but Ty is not ready to be a husband.  After 5 years, Ty returns to the woman and child he left behind.

Silenced – Dani Pettrey - #4 Alaskan Courage series – Kayden is out for a relaxing climb when she comes face to face with a dead body.  Is it murder? 

Here to Stay – Melissa Tagg – Blake is ready to settle down, but Autumn is ready to be anywhere but Whisper Shores.  Her dream job in Paris is waiting, until Blake asks her to help him with planning the Christmas festival.

Undetected - Dee Henderson - Mark is a commander of a ballistic missile submarine.  The discovery that Gina has made is going to change his job forever. 

At Home in Mitford - Jan Karon - Recover 20th anniversary - The book that started it all.  If you haven't met Father Tim, come home to Mitford, put up your feet and enjoy.

Raptor 6 - Ronnie Kendig - The Quiet Professionals #1 - Captain Dean Watters and his team have to reach Zahrah before the terrorist do.  The terrorists need her expertise in quantum cryptology and America's military secrets depend on Dean reaching her first.

A Stitch and a Prayer - Eva Gibson - Quilts of Love series - With only a note to tell her he left,  Florence doesn't know where her husband is gone.  She decides to make a quilt to grace the bed she is sure they will share again. 

The Lost Love of World War II - Bruce Judisch & Sharon Bernash Smith - (from the back cover) - For too many years, families were torn apart in Germany.  And the horrors of World War II didn't end when the peace treaties were signed.
 

New Release - Critical Condition - Richard L. Mabry M.D.

Dear Readers,

In the past few weeks we have had several medical mysteries release.  Richard L. Mabry's Critical Condition is the latest to join the party.  Richard uses his medical experience to add to the realistic feel to the story.  He knows what he is talking about when he writes about the medical field.

Dr. Shannon Frasier's life is coming apart at the seams.  Her alcoholic sister shows up needed a place to stay, her father is diagnosed with cancer and then there is that dead body in her front yard.  When the phone calls start demanding to know what the person said before he died, Shannon's life slips over the edge.

When recommending medical mysteries, Richard's books are always on that list, he writes a fast paced book, that you don't want to lay down until the last page, but that last page arrives way to soon.

Happy Reading,

Francine Rivers

Dear Readers,

It has been a short, or long depending on your perspective, 3 years since Francine Rivers' last book.  Bridgeto Haven didn't take as long to release as the two-book set she wrote before this, that time we had to wait 8 years.  Thank goodness she doesn't always make us wait that long.

In the golden age of Tinsel town you find Abra. She is now known as Lena Scott, someone her agent created to make her a star.  She hates her life, she is sick of being told what to do, what to eat and how to act.  She is ready to call it quits. Not to head home, as no one there cares what has happened to her, but to find a different life.

Now I don't want you thinking this is a story of the poor little starlet that is sick of the fame and fortune, but it is very much the story of a young women who has had a very different life that has lead her to the place that she found herself in.  It is the story of how we sometimes misunderstand why people do what they do.  It is the story of how God and his love never leave us even when we believe we are completely unlovable and never will be able to be forgiven for what we have done.

There is something about Francine's stories that make me disappear into them.  The way she writes her characters and the settings she puts them in them make me feel like I am living right along side them.  I have known a few other authors who do this also and they rank in my favorites also.  It is a gift when a writer lets us walk along side their characters and find ourselves mixed up in their lives. 

Of course now that I have read Bridge to Haven it is another long, or short I hope, wait for Francine's next book.

Happy Reading,