Mercy Come Morning - Lisa Tawn Bergren

In this poignant story, reprinted from 2002, Lisa deals with some hard issues. First and foremost is the issue between mothers and daughters. Although i have what i think is a close relationship with my mother, i see myself many times reacting to the same things the main character in this novel does.  Another issue, closely related to the first, is forgiveness, and we all need it. Third is relationships between friends, and those are things we all deal with. Also is the issue of Alzheimer’s.

I have always loved Lisa’s novels, and this was no exception. Told in the first person, present tense throughout, with the past brought in through notes that Charlotte (Krista’s mother) wrote in her Christmas Carols book, instead of a journal.  The novel  starts with Dane (administrator of the facility where Charlotte lives) phoning Krista to summon her to her mother’s bedside before her mother’s death.  Not a suspense story, this tugs at the reader’s heart as issues come close to home. We are drawn into the story by Lisa’s apt use of words and we can feel the rough flooring of the adobe building, see the barren desert ground of New Mexico, smell the luscious Spanish foods, and the heart tugs of regrets and the joy of forgiveness.

A story with lessons i will not soon forget.

I received this ebook free from Waterbrook/Multnomah  through their Blogging For Books program. I was not required to give a positive review, just an honest opinion.

An Amish Wedding - novellas

An Amish Wedding, a collection of three novellas by three Inspirational Amish writers – Kelly Long, Katherine Fuller and Beth Wiseman, follows the stories of three young friends as they contemplate their wedding day.

A Perfect Secret by Kelly Long is Rose Bender’s story. She knows who she loves, but does she know who he is? The share some common interests, and they are both Amish, but the secret she and the reader stumble upon one dark night causes both the question what do these two share? And who is the thief in the community? Secrets in a relationship are seldom healthy, and these need to be resolved quickly.  Kelly carries the reader along with Rose as she finds answers to the questions she has, and both she and the reader learn that pretending to be who you are not, is harder than it looks.

In A Perfect Match by Kathleen Fuller, Naomi is not only a baker but a friend who wants only happiness for her friends even if it brings her heartache.  Having helped Rose overcome her insecurities, she turns her attention to her friend and assistant Margaret, who is painfully shy when she becomes the attention of young men.  Regardless of what her heart tells her, or the young man, for that matter, she feels Margaret needs to pay attention to the stranger from out of the county.  Hearts win out, and when Margaret finds someone who loves her, right beside her, maybe Naomi can pay attention to her own happiness.

When Beth Wiseman wrote “A Perfect Plan” she wrote about something i think all young brides hope for...that nothing will go wrong for the couple. Priscilla thinks that if the perfect plans she makes go on without a hitch, she must be living in God’s Will, but when things don’t turn out in the order she wants them to, or even turn out how she wants them to, she begins to doubt.  A perfect life does not necessarily doing God’s Will, nor does one of hardship mean the opposite.

I loved all three novellas, though felt that each one could have stood on its own as a novel with more depth being given to the characters. However, each story is clear in its message, and together, they bring an inspiration to living...God is ultimately in control, and we need to rest in this truth, whether we are contemplating marriage, our life’s work or any other situation. Through all three novellas trust is a major issue.

I received this ebook from Thomas Nelson Publishers through the Booksneeze program for review.  I was not required to give a positive review just my honest opinion in exchange for a free book/ebook.

Lonestar Angel - Colleen Coble

Eden's hope is rekindled when Clay delivers astounding news: their daughter has been found.
Five years ago Eden and Clay Larson's baby was stolen and never found. Eden blamed herself, Clay lost himself in work. Their young and rocky marriage ended. Or so Eden thought.
Now Eden's moved to a new town. She's found faith and is trying to rebuild her life. She's even dating again-a sweet guy who plans to marry her someday. But then Clay arrives out of the blue and delivers shocking news: they're still married. What's more, Clay has been searching for Brianna all this time. And he believes he's found her: their daughter is in Bluebird, Texas, at a youth ranch.
Lonestar Angel by Colleen Coble

To say i devoured this novel would be stating it mildly. From an upscale restaurant in Charlie Creek, to the desert of Texas, Colleen had me sitting on the edge of the seat the whole way! This book is Intense, to say the least.

Her vivid descriptions have the reader seeing the allusive roadrunner, the beautiful sunsets and sunrises that only the desert can provide, the cacti and their flowers, tasting  the dust , hearing the happy squeals of  little girls, smelling the chilli cooking.  I felt the fear towards the rattler that gave no warning, the uncertainty of tarantulas, and the anguish of seeing abused horses. The challenges of counsellors dealing with children in foster homes are huge, and this is brought out in a very enlightening and positive way.

Many times i had to put the book down and leave it, just to bring myself back into the reality of life in my own living room as opposed to the Bluebird Ranch, only to be drawn back to the story to find out what happened next. And just when i thought i knew where the story was heading, someone or something happened to make it all change direction again.

Once again, Colleen has lived up to my expectations of her writing.

The Keeper - Youtube -

i've never posted a youtube item on my blog before, but i'm excited about Suzanne Woods Fisher's new series coming out in January and would like to share. Hope this works

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FqZVG_rNHM8&feature=share via @youtube

The Little Shadows - Marina Endicott

Here is the eagerly anticipated new novel from a brilliant writer whose last book, Good to a Fault, was shortlisted for the prestigious Giller Prize and won the Commonwealth Prize for Canada and the Caribbean.

The Little Shadows revolves around three sisters in the world of vaudeville before and during the First World War. We follow the lives of all three in turn: Aurora, the eldest and most beautiful, who is sixteen when the book opens; thoughtful Clover, a year younger; and the youngest sister, joyous headstrong sprite Bella, who is thirteen. The girls, overseen by their fond but barely coping Mama, are forced to make their living as a singing act after the untimely death of their father. They begin with little besides youth and hope, but Marina Endicott’s genius is to show how the three girls slowly and steadily evolve into true artists even as they navigate their way to adulthood among a cast of extraordinary characters – some of them charming charlatans, some of them unpredictable eccentrics, and some of them just ordinary-seeming humans with magical gifts.

Using her gorgeous prose and extraordinary insight, Endicott lures us onto the brightly lit stage and then into the little shadows that lurk behind the curtain, and reveals how the art of vaudeville -- in all its variety, madness, melodrama, hilarity and sorrow -- echoes the art of life itself.  

MY REVIEWS Less

A beautiful poetic novel of what the vaudeville or theatre might have been in historic western Canada and the northwest U.S.A., in particularly Montana. The story follows three girls and their mother after the death of the father as they go into the world their mother knew before she met their father.  Each scene and each character is portrayed in vivid colors, both their good attributes as well as the eccentric.  Although i don’t know much about the world of actors either then or now, it seems like the author did a lot of research to make it authentic.

Personally i found it very dry, tedious reading, with so much attention to detail, and a lot of conversations.  There really wasn’t any plot, unless you consider the everyday life of people aspiring to stardom through entertaining others a plot.

I received this novel from the publisher through Netgalley for review. I was not required to give a positive review in order to receive it, just an honest one.

October 21, 2011

I am a reader, not a writer, and i just want to sit here and read (both of those are names of blogs i follow, and so i won't use that as a title for my book reviews, though they both fit me to a T, and i wish i had got one of them first) However, i do want to sit down and write reviews. i have a bunch of books i have read (recieved from other blogs where i entered to win, bought books or library books) but writing doesn't come easy to me. i think on what i will write about a certain book as i'm dozing off at night, too tired to get up and write down my thoughts and by morning, i have to start all over again. But i will get to them, because they are too good not to share. Thanks for understanding. We had a rain on Wednesday that shut down combining for a few days. Yesterday was sunny, but not really warm, but the swaths might be ready to try again today. We shipped 4 super B loads of wheat to the elevator yesterday, so that was a good days job. So until next time, with love Mitzi (aka Marianne)

Diary, October 14, 2011

I know it's been a while since i posted...and wouldn't be posting this morning if we had been on the field harvesting till 1:00 a.m. either. But it's been raining the last few days. Not a lot, but enough to keep everything too wet to combine. That's not a bad thing, we do need the moisture for next year, and we have enough stuff going on that we don't sit idle even now.

We have about half of the wheat crop in the bin, which makes us about one quarter done our harvest, since we have a little less acres seeded with canola than we did of wheat. The bushels are awesome...we have never seen a yield of 70 to 80 bushels per acre on our farm before, and don't expect to in the future. We are so Thankful to God, for He it is that gives the increase.

So what are we spending our time doing? Well i've been doing a bit of much needed baking, cookies for my lunch bucket, sticky buns for just so. When it started raining, i was on my way to Manitoba. Mom's cousin there passed away and she was close to him and his family. That's a long drive from where we live now. We did a bit of visiting, going to my BFF's place. She had made a throw i bought in Tennessee into Roman Shades for my bedroom window. That's a bit awkward to ship, so was glad i could do that. In the almost two weeks since then, we've had doctor's appointments, grocery shopping, parts runs (simply picking up parts? No such luck. we've been on runs that take us on 70 mile runs just to gather them) and repairing. Doesn't sound exactly interesting, but it's what keeps our days busy.

Right now, the grain cart is down, needs some work, and the combine has a couple of bearings that are running hot. If the weather holds, and the crops dry we can run it the way it is, just keeping an eye on the problem, but likely there will be no combining until middle of next week! Farming may be a waiting on God occupation, but we keep busy all the same.

So until next time, Take care.