The Englisch Daughter

Old Order Amish wife and mother Jemima has put her marriage and family ahead of herself for years. She's set herself aside. Raising four children, she's followed all the rules and has been patient in looking forward to her time to chase a dream of her own.

But when she finds out that her life savings for pursuing that dream are gone--and her husband, Roy, has been hiding a child with another woman--her entire world is shattered. Will she be able to listen to God and love Roy's child? With so much at stake, how can she and Roy fix their relationship before their lives come crashing down?

My Review: My attention was fully captivated by the story of, The Englisch Daughter, by Cindy Woodsmall and Erin Woodsmall. The story was unlike any I have read in Amish fiction with a few twists and turns and a bit of mystery. All of the characters are well developed and the story is richly-layered with emotions that tug at your heart and demonstrate a faith determined to honor God despite circumstances. With each unexpected event, shattered dream, or moment of heartbreak, these characters, especially Jemima, turn to God... albeit, sometimes after trying to fix things themselves with poor results. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves fiction.
 
Disclosure: I received a complimentary copy of this book from Waterbrook-Multnomah. This in no way affected my opinion. 

Buy the Book:
AMAZON 
BARNES&NOBLE 
BOOKS-A-MILLION 
CHRISTIANBOOK 
PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE 
WATERBROOK MULTNOMAH  

CINDY WOODSMALL is a New York Times and CBA best-selling author of twenty-five works of fiction and one nonfiction book. Cindy’s writing has been featured on ABC’s Nightline and the front page of the Wall Street Journal. She lives outside Atlanta with her husband.

ERIN WOODSMALL is a writer, musician, wife, and mom of four. She has edited, brainstormed, and researched books with Cindy for almost a decade. More recently she and Cindy have co-authored five books.

Core 52 - Mark E. Moore

With Mark E. Moore's Core 52, you can learn the 52 most important verses in the Bible in a year. If you devote fifteen minutes a day, you can master one verse per week.

"While there are lots of one-year Bible reading plans, few help you understand the words that you're reading. What if we could introduce you to a Bible reading plan that would dramatically increase your mastery of the Bible in one year? Mark Moore coaches you through 52 of the Bible's most important verses. These are the "core" of the Bible. Each verse clears the path to master and manage dozens of other verses that run along the same principle path. At the end of this journey, you will move from curiosity about the Bible to competence in the Bible. It is the quickest onramp to understanding the whole of God's Word for your life."

My Review: This book is an excellent resource to use for memorizing new Scripture weekly, and for putting it into practical use. Ranging from topics like Creation, Jesus and Moses, Covenants, Communion, Baptism, Leadership, Racism, Resurrection, and more... there are answers to many of the questions people ask about Christian faith. We know that various denominations interpret some things differently than others, but this book does not appear to sway the reader to a particular denominational belief but explains what God's Word says while including diverse viewpoints to give a deeper understanding.

Each of the 52 chapters provides a verse to go with the topic along with several pages of in-depth study as well as sharing the key points. For those who want to pursue the subject further, there are 5-day plans with additional info. Do you want more? Check out the Overachiever Challenge! Finally, if the reader still wants to dig deeper, Moore gives you a Bonus Read suggestion of another book source on the particular topic.

Basically, you can put in as little or as much as you wish each week, but at the end of a year you will be more knowledgable about Scripture for your own personal growth or to share with others who ask about your faith. I definitely recommend it for your personal library as a study resource.

As part of the Waterbrook Launch Team, I received a copy of this book at no cost to myself for review purposes. I am not required to write a positive review but asked if I will give my honest opinion.

#Waterbrook #PenguinRandomHouse

Room For Hope by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Room For Hope is a stand alone novel from best selling author Kim Vogel Sawyer. Neva Shilling is a devoted wife and mother of 14 year old twins who willingly devotes her time to taking care of their family business during her husband's trips to other communities to sell items from his wagon and get supplies to replenish their store, Shilling Mercantile. Despite the hardships brought on by the Depression, he is able to bring luxuries home for the family and is always home in time to take care of the paperwork, place orders, and spend time with his family.

As she and the twins are preparing supper for Warren's return from his latest business trip, they hear a wagon pulling up. She is stunned when a deputy explains to her that Warren and his wife have both passed away, and that Warren's final instructions were for their 3 young children to be raised by "Aunt Neva." An orphan herself, she can't make them go to an orphanage, but can she daily face the evidence of her husband's deceit...and protect her family from the shame of Warren's betrayal? 

 

Based on true events from Sawyer’s family history, Room for Hope is a beautiful story of God’s powerful redemptive work in the midst of struggle, betrayal, and heartbreak.

 

My Review: I always enjoy Kim's books, but there was just something special about this one that drew me in from the beginning and held my interest captive. Times and attitudes have changed over the past 80 years, and I appreciated that she was not presenting a story through modern eyes, but kept in character with reactions that would be typical of the 1930s. Neva was also a strong woman of great character who wanted to do the "right" thing, but did some more out of obedience rather than genuine love. A great reminder that obeying God, even when you don't feel like it, can and will create a change of heart when you allow Him to mold it despite your own stubbornness and pride. Her twins reflected more extreme attitudes with Belle being accepting and willing to love and Bud being angry and resentful about the changes in their life.

The characters evolved along the way and not everyone changed along a predictable pattern. Several times throughout the book, I would think, "No, that's not the direction you should be heading!", but the added layers and changing attitudes were exactly what the book needed. A wise reminder that people can change and that things are not always what they seem. The characters also became people I cared about and I hated to come to the end of the book. The end was satisfying, but I was still left thinking, "What happened next? Tell me more!"

I highly recommend this book to lovers of both historical fiction and those who love to see lives transformed when surrendered to God.

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for my participation in the blog tour by WaterBrook-Multnomah.

GIVEAWAY: Two readers (USA & Canada only) can win copies of Room For Hope by leaving a comment. Deadline to enter is Midnight, Sunday, March 6, 2016.