Hardcover FeedBack 1st Blog Anniversary

i just wanted to remind you that the giveaways are still going on at http://hardcoverfeedback.blogspot.com for her Blogoversary.  Today's interview is with Lorna Seilstad and she is giving away a choice of one of three books

Giveaway on Hardcover Feedback

Wouldn't you love, love to own this novel by MaryLu Tyndall? Head over to http://hardcoverfeedback.blogspot.com for a chance to win. Megan is having a blogoversary going on right now.

Beauty for Ashes - Dorothy Love

Book Description

She’s a beautiful young widow. He’s a Southern gentleman with a thirst for adventure. Both need a place to call home.

After losing her husband in the Civil War, Carrie Daly is scared she will never have the family she longs for. Eligible bachelors are scarce in Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, but Carrie Daly has found love. Not the weak-in-the-knees kind, but something practical. Still, she isn't quite ready to set a wedding date with Nate Chastain.

Griff Rutledge is a former member of Charleston society, but has been estranged from his family for years. He’s determined to remain unattached, never settling in one place for too long. But when asked to train a Thoroughbred for an upcoming race in Hickory Ridge, he decides to stay awhile.

Despite objections from the townsfolk, and her fear that true happiness has eluded her, Carrie is drawn to Griff's kindness and charm. It will take a leap of faith for them to open their hearts and claim God's promise to trade beauty for ashes.

My Review

I found this novel to be a very tender-hearted and realistic one. Although I had actually met the characters in the first novel of the series, not having done so would not spoil the story. The story is told with rich word imagery, bringing the country side and small town folk to life, from Carrie trying to think of anything but the wedding at the beginning of Beauty for Ashes, to the last word.

I must admit I was angry at Mary, a secondary character for her whiney and childish behavour, but I guess some people just never grow up, and I think it might have changed after she had to take care of her children on her own. Carrie is a strong farm woman, intent on being in control of her own life. Griff comes from the city of Charleston, of a family rich in resources, but with a questionable past. Although the characters deal with losses, this is not a story of discouragement, but rather encouragement. These people have realistical problems of anger, disallusions, gossiping, and the other things that torment the rest of us. Throughout all of the trials, though, the Love of God and friends, shines through.

I would recommend this Hickory Ridge Romance to anyone who enjoys a good romance novel.

I received this free book from Thomas Nelson Publishers through their Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review, which I have given. The opinions are my own.  

This book is available where ever good fiction romances are sold, Amazon.com; Barnes and Noble, Christianbook.com, and your local bookstore.

Another Giveaway

Hi http://socratesbookreviews.blogspot.com/ has a great cozy mystery giveaway by Denise Swanson - Little Shop of Homicide. Yvonne has done a great interview and review of this book. Read about it there. Thanks.

Great Giveaway on Legacy of a Writery

HI...just to let you know that Katie McCurdy on Legacy of a Writer   http://katie-mccurdy.blogspot.com has a great interview and giveaway for Cathy Gohlke's Promise Me This. Please check out her blog and post!

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms - Cindy Woodsmall

The Scent of Cherry Blossoms
Coming February 21, 2012!

Annie Martin loves the Plain ways of her Old Order Mennonite people, like those revered by her beloved grandfather. Retreating from a contentious relationship with her mother, Annie goes to live with her Daadi Moses in Apple Ridge.

But as spring moves into Pennsylvania and Annie spends time amongst the cherry trees with the handsome Aden Zook, she wishes she could forget how deeply the lines between the Old Order Amish and Old Order Mennonite are drawn.

Can Annie and Aden find a place for their love to bloom in the midst of the brewing storm? To read more, go here>>

MY REVIEW

 Both Aden and Annie are very strong characters - strong i n their convictions, strong in their beliefs, loyal to their families and church. Both come from heartaches and trials. Aden from a family where both the father and two sons are physically handicapped, and Annie from a dysfunctional family. Cindy does a great job of bringing these into the story without condemnation, but with true heartfelt emotions and you ache with the characters as they struggle and rejoice with them as they overcome.

The scent of cherry blossoms has a very important position in the novella, and is a perfect title to draw the reader in. The whole novel is full of sensory details - obviously the smell, but also the vivid scenes in this Amish/Mennonite community.

i was wondering how Cindy would resolve this dilemma of bringing the two faiths together. I belong to what might be called a conservative Mennonite sect, and know how extremely hard it is for the older members to accept true friendship with those not of our faith, and yet, how little really separates us. For us, intermarriage is also not sanctioned by the church, and I love how Cindy delicately handles this fact.

This is a great novella, and am eager to recommend it to my friends. Cindy consistently brings us super reading material.

This book was sent to me free of monetary charge from Waterbrook Multnomah Publishers through their Blogging For Books program in exchange for an honest review, which i have done. The opinions stated in this article are my own.

A Sound Among the Trees - Susan Meissner

Product Description

A house shrouded in time.
A line of women with a heritage of loss.
As a young bride, Susannah Page was rumored to be a Civil War spy for the North, a traitor to her Virginian roots. Her great-granddaughter Adelaide, the current matriarch of Holly Oak, doesn’t believe that Susannah’s ghost haunts the antebellum mansion looking for a pardon, but rather the house itself bears a grudge toward its tragic past.
When Marielle Bishop marries into the family and is transplanted from the arid west to her husband’s home, it isn’t long before she is led to believe that the house she just settled into brings misfortune to the women who live there.
With Adelaide’s richly peppered superstitions and deep family roots at stake, Marielle must sort out the truth about Susannah Page and Holly Oak— and make peace with the sacrifices she has made for love.  

My Review

Susan Meissner is a writer with divergent topics, but I would say that most of her novels deal with women relationships. A Sound Among the Trees deals with numerous women spanning the time from the Civil War to the present time, though really it is mostly about Susannah (Civil War time) and Adelaide. I had heard many positive reviews about this novel before I requested it as an ebook from Multnomah Publishers through their Blogging For Books program, and I must say it lived up to it's reputation. She tells the story in Five parts, and the epilogue.

The novel starts off with the wedding reception of the grandson-in-law and his bride. It doesn't take long until we find out...the mystery. The story is told mostly through the life of Adelaide (third person point of view) until we enter the cellar, where we find letters that Susannah wrote during the War. These letters are, well, letters with dates, etc. as Susannah would have written them.

The novel is very compelling, very absorbing. So much in fact, that when I came up from reading the letters I blinked, surprised that not more time had passed. Susan also had a very satisfying closure.

I received this ebook free from Multnomah Publishers for the purpose of writing an honest review. A postive one was not manditory, and the opinions expressed are my own. Actually, to be further honest, although I did not pay money for this ebook, I paid with the time and effort I put in to bring you this review.