Lynn Austin event

New Release - Priceless - Joel and Luke Smallbone

Priceless - Joel and Luke Smallbone


The powerfully compelling novelization of the major motion picture (October 14, 2016) by Joel and Luke Smallbone of the band for KING & COUNTRY.

James Stevens was, at one time, a good man with a great life. After the tragic death of his wife and losing custody of his little girl, James is at the darkest crossroad of his life. Angry, desperate, and unable to hold down a steady job, he agrees to drive a box truck on a shady, one-time trip cross country for cash -- no questions asked.

 When he discovers what he is delivering is actually a who, the questions in his mind begin haunting him mercilessly. James becomes an unlikely hero who must fight to save the lives of two young women and finds himself falling in love with one of them.

Can love, strength, and faith redefine his past and change the course of his future?

Lynn Austin

Dear Readers,

I have been reading Lynn Austin books for a few years now.  I have loved each and every one of them.  I think what I like the most about her books is that she writes about a variety of topics.  She has covered everything from Biblical stories all the way to contemporary, series and stand-alones.  They all have been so interesting to read.

Lynn's newest release, Waves of Mercy, added a bit of a twist I wasn't expecting.  With the story set in West Michigan, Holland to be exact, I knew I would be very comfortable with the storyline.  What I didn't really expect was how familiar the characters were.  I knew I could have stepped right onto the pages and known what was expected of me.  I knew how each character was going to react and I understood why one of the characters rebelled.  

The setting for the book is the 50th anniversary of the settling of Holland, MI, and Geesje is asked to write what she remembers of that time.  So we get a blend of Geesje's story at the time of the anniversary, but also 50 years earlier.  It makes for a wonderful blend of past and her present.  

We learn about why the immigrants left the Netherlands and the kind of persecution they experienced. We learn how when the little group set out they were headed for Wisconsin and because of a delay they decided the prices of land here in West Michigan were too good to resist.  We learn that the first winter was brutal and yet they worked hard to survive. 

I could go on how much fun stuff I read about, but that will ruin the story for you and I want you to be able to find those things out for yourself.    

I have read books set in West Michigan before.  They are few and far between, but they are out there.  I have to admit that I was never very comfortable with how the locals were portrayed in these books.  Usually stiff necked, cheap and with little humor.  Well most of that is true, but they are also loving, caring, kind and will help you with no questions asked.  For some reason people leave that out.  Oh, and yes they do have a grand sense of humor, even if it is a little dry once and awhile.  

So reading this book where all that comes through was so much fun.  I could easily picture my relatives mixed into the story.  I knew how to fit in and I understood how their ways may seem strange to those that didn't grow up in their community & may see them as a bit strict.  (I did and I grew up with it.) 

A wonderful and delightful book that will make you long for the lakeshore.   I really had a hard time stopping with what I wanted to say about this book.  I really just had a fun time reading it.   Take the time to read it and get to know the Dutch community a little.  

Happy Reading, 

P.S. She will be here at the store on October 4th at 7:00pm and at Christ Memorial on October 6th also at 7:00 pm.  

Saffire - Sigmund Brouwer

Saffire - Sigmund Brouwer

I reminded myself that once you start to defend someone, it’s difficult to find a place to stop. But I went ahead and took that first step anyway. . .

  
For President Teddy Roosevelt, controlling the east-west passage between two oceans mattered so much that he orchestrated a revolution to control it. His command was to ‘let the dirt fly’ and for years, the American Zone of the Panama Canal mesmerized the world, working in uneasy co-existence with the Panamanian aristocrats.  

It’s in this buffered Zone where, in 1909, James Holt begins to protect a defenseless girl named Saffire, expecting a short and simple search for her mother. Instead it draws him away from safety, into a land haunted by a history of pirates, gold runners, and plantation owners, all leaving behind ghosts of their interwoven desires sins and ambitions, ghosts that create the web of deceit and intrigue of a new generation of revolutionary politics.  It will also bring him together with a woman who will change his course—or bring an end to it.
  
A love story set within a historical mystery, Saffire brings to life the most impressive-and embattled- engineering achievement of the twentieth-century.

New Releases September 19 - 24

Dear Readers,

September is quickly coming to a close.  I am not ready for the weather to turn cold, but I have to admit Mother Nature dresses beautifully this time of year.  Hopefully you can find a couple of titles to help pass those cooler fall days.

Happy Reading,

Priceless - Joel and Luke Smallbone - James Stevens had it all until the death of his wife and lost of his daughter in a custody case, James hit rock bottom.  To earn money he agrees to drive truck across country, no questions asked.  When he does find out what he is carrying, he begins to see things differently. 

The Hawaiian Quilt - Wanda Brunstetter - Join Mandy Frey as she and three friends leave their Amish community in Indiana for the trip of a lifetime to Hawaii. But when Mandy and one of her friends miss the cruise ship after a port of call on Kauai, how will they adjust and get back home?

Mount Hope - Sarah Price - Based on Jane Austen's Mansfield Park - When her father can no longer provide for his large family, Fanny Price is sent away from her small Amish community in Colorado to live with her aunt’s family in Mount Hope, Ohio. Fanny immediately feels out of place at the Bontrager farm but finds a friend in her aunt’s stepson, Elijah Bontrager.

Just a Kiss - Denise Hunter - Watching the love of his life fall for his brother was enough to send Riley straight to boot camp. But over a year later, he’s officially a marine, and Beau and Paige are no longer an item. When Riley’s tour in Afghanistan is up, he intends to confess his feelings to Paige and win his best friend’s heart once and for all.

Saffire - Sigmund Brouwer - A mystery set within the digging of the Panama canal.  Did you know that Teddy Roosevelt thought controlling the east-west passage was so important he was willing to start a revolution?  

I call it collecting

The saying that goes with this is "You say obsessed like it is a bad thing..."

Happy Fall