Tuesday, May 29, 2012

An Exciting Story Based on Real Life Events

Sweeter than Birdsong, Rosslyn Elliott




Sweeter Than Birdsong is the second book of The Saddler’s Legacy, but don’t worry if you haven’t read the first one, Fairer Than Morning, this story stands on its own.  This is a fictionalized account of actual events that took place in the lives of a real couple from Westerville, Ohio, Ben Hanby and Kate Winter.

Ben, the son of a former slave, is making his way through college and deciding where his future lies.  At the same time, Ben also helps his family with their work with the Underground Railroad.  When Ben recognizes Kate Winter for her talent and the good heart she has, he is smitten.  But he is not rich enough to please Mrs. Winter, nor does he want to involve Kate in the dangers involved with the Railroad.  Ben learns to trust God with the matters of his heart.

Kate Winter is a brilliant student at Otterbein College, except for the fact that her extreme shyness threatens to keep her from graduating.  Determined to escape her overbearing Mother and alcoholic Father, Kate plans to run away and start a new life.  She makes haste when the opportunity to leave presents itself, but things do not go as planned.  Instead of making her way to freedom, she gets caught up in the escape of a slave family, which will forever change Kate’s life.

This is a great story and the fact that it is based on real people and the events is their lives make it so much more intriguing.  Notes at the end of the story fill you in on what happened in real life and what was added to the story for this family.
For more information about this story, click here or the title above.

I received this book free of charge from Thomas Nelson Publishers through NetGalley for an honest review.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

A Good Resource, Especially for New Mother’s


This is a great book with a ton of information about children, newborn to age 4.  The information is given in the precise manner, typical of a doctor, nothing superfluous, just to the point.  That is probably why Doctor Reisser is able to include so many topics concerning small children.

Each chapter is broken down to the basic stages of development—First Three Months, Three to Six Months, etc.  Each chapter provides insight into the physical, mental, and emotional needs of children at each of the stages covered.  Nursing, formula feeding, night terrors, immunization, discipline, how children interact with each other—it is all in there. 

This is a great one-stop book to have for solid information.  It is not meant to diagnose or treat sickness in your child.  However, it will help you to realize what is normal and what you might need to talk to your pediatrician about.
For more information and to read an excerpt from this book click here or the title above!

I received this book free of charge from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

I Wanna Give One Of These To Each New Child Who Visits Our Children’s Ministries Program






This is a great book that introduces children to the wonders of the Bible.  Josh McDowell and Kevin Johnson seek to teach children the importance of reading the Bible for yourself in order to learn God’s Word and obey it.  Children will learn why we have the Bible, it’s truth, and what we are to do with it through chapters such as, Your Map to the World’s Most Awesome Treasure: God!, Truth Isn’t Something You Make Up, Jesus Lives in You through the Holy Spirit, and You Can Put the Bible into Action. 

Each chapter is only a few pages long and is easy to read.  Even though this is specifically geared toward children their parent, particularly if they have not read the Bible, will get some great insight and hopefully will be encouraged to begin reading together as a family.  The Amazing Bible Adventure would probably be a great way to start family devotions.
For more information and a look inside this book click here ore the title above!

I received this book free of charge from Harvest House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Want to Know More About Quakers than the Nutritional Value of Their Oatmeal?


Messenger, The, Siri Mitchell, 978-0-7642-0796-9



Well, I would say this book is a good place to start.  Other than Nathanael Greene, the “Fighting Quaker” of the Revolutionary War, I really don’t know anything about the Society of Friends.  In fact, I was confusing the little I remember from school with the little I knew about another group, the Shakers.  By the way, there seems to be a pretty big difference.  While not an in depth study, you will get a good idea of how the Friends worshiped and lived their lives.

Friend Hannah Sunderland is a good Quaker girl whose twin brother is in prison after being captured with the Colonial rebel army by the British.  Hannah is forbidden to visit him since his imprisonment is seen as punishment by God for joining the rebellion.  Hannah struggles with the faith she has grown up with.  Is the Meeting truly obeying God’s Voice or are they just setting rules to follow.

Jeremiah Jones has been nursing a grudge against the British since an ill-fated battle in the French and Indian War.  He now spies for the Colonial Army with the specific mission of helping the Colonial Rebels escape from prison.  Jeremiah needs Hannah to help him accomplish his plans and vice versa, but Jeremiah is not sure he can do anything with a pseudo-spy who will not compromise her principles.

It took me a couple of chapters to get into the story, mainly because it is told in the first-person narrative, which is not my favorite, with each chapter being told by either Hannah or Jeremiah.  Once I got into it, I thought the story was engaging and I really wanted to know how it was going to end.  Hannah and Jeremiah both have to struggle with the right thing to do, and to do it in the right way—or at least as right as can be when you are spying and rebelling against the established authority!
For more information about this book and to read an excerpt click here or the title above!

I received this book free of charge from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review.

Thursday, May 10, 2012



I like the premise of this book, or at least what I thought this was book was going to be about.  I thought it would be more about the differences between the different views.  However, this is more of an apologetic on the subject to the Pretribulation Rapture.  Much time is spent proving the pretrib rapture is not a relatively new concept, having sprung up in the 1800s, but has been around as a belief since the beginning of the Christian Church. 
This book has good information, but I have to admit that I didn’t find it as interesting as I hoped to.  I think I would have enjoyed it more as a Bible study of the opposing view of the Rapture and Second Coming of Christ, than as a defense of the Pretribulation Rapture.
For more information and to download a sample chapter, click here or the title above.
This book was provided to me free of charge by Harvest House Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Will You Be Able To Tell They Are Amish If No One Has Electricity?

Arms of Love, Kelly Long


 Yeah, you will, because they are the ones getting picked on and having their stuff confiscated by soldiers for use in the American Revolution.  It doesn’t seem too profitable to be peace-loving and refusing to enter the fight.  In fact, if an Amish man joins the army, he will be shunned.  That’s the prospect Adam Wyse faces after promising a dying woman not to marry her daughter and thereby keep her safe from his abusive father.  Adam tells his beloved Lena that he will not marry her, so Lena tries to go on without Adam.  She chooses to promise herself to Adam’s older brother, Isaac. 

The story, while not bad, didn’t live up to its potential.  I am a firm believer in letting the reader have an idea of the passage of time throughout a story.  Things seemed to be happening in a short period of time making the characters appear fickle.  Adam, battling years of abuse and a horrible memory he can’t quite remember, waffles back and forth between expressing his love for Lena and pushing her away.  There were a couple of, what felt like to me, contrived disasters near the end of the story that felt more like filler than actually adding anything to the story.

The story itself is not bad, but I think it could have used some retooling to make it great.
For for information about this book click here or the title above!

This book was provided to me free of charge by Thomas Nelson Publishers through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.