Blessing by Lyn Cote

This was a fantastic book. It was so interesting to read about a Quaker who marries a rich man and turns from the church. Then when she becomes a widow it is wonderful for her to use the money she inherited to help orphans. She also turns back to her true leanings and becomes a practicing Quaker again. She then meets Gerard Ramsey who is a wealthy man from Boston. She falls for him but tells herself she can do nothing about it because she will not jeopardize her standing as a Quaker ever again. This story has many wonderful characters and a lot of twists and turns . I loved this second book in this series as much as I loved the first. I look forward to the third book. I received this book from Tyndale for a fair and honest opinion.  Overview

An impetuous love swept Blessing Brightman away from the Quaker community, into the highest ranks of Cincinnati society. But behind the glitter of ballroom and parlor, her spirit slowly eroded in an increasingly dangerous marriage. Widowed young, determined never to lose her independence again, Blessing reclaimed her faith and vowed to use her influence to fight for women’s rights and abolition.
Gerard Ramsay, scion of a wealthy Boston family, arrives in Cincinnati hoping to escape his father’s clutches with a strategy that will gain him independence. His plan is soon complicated, however, by the enchanting widow. Never before has a woman spoken as if she’s his equal—or challenged him to consider the lives of others.
In a city nearly ablaze with racial tensions quickly dividing the country, can two people worlds apart possibly find common ground? Tyndale House Publishers

› Visit Amazon’s Lyn Cote Page

 Lyn Cote

Biography

In 1997, Lyn Cote’s first book, Never Alone, was chosen for the “new” Love Inspired romance line. Since then, Lyn has had over thirty-five novels published. In 2006 Lyn’s book, Chloe, was a finalist for the RITA, and her book Her Patchwork Family was a finalist for the Carol Award in 2010 and Her Healing Ways won in 2011. These are two of the highest awards in the romance genre. 
Lyn’s brand “Strong Women, Brave Stories,” always includes three elements: a strong heroine who is a passionate participant in her times, authentic historical detail and a multicultural cast of characters. Lyn also features stories of strong women both from real life and true to life fiction on her blog http://BooksbyLynCote.com 
Lyn also can be found on Facebook, Twitter and Goodreads. Drop by and “friend or follow” her. Now living her dream of writing books at her lake cottage in northern Wisconsin, Lyn hopes her books show the power of divine as well as human love. 
 

Balm of Gilead by Adina Senft

I really enjoyed reading this third installment in The Healing Grace series. I would recommend reading the first two books to know all the recurring characters but you can figure it out. I loved all the characters. These mainly follow Sarah Yoder and her trials but there are many other characters that you get to know and love. I received an ebook copy of this from netgalley for a fair and honest opinion.  Publisher’s Description

The third installment in the Healing Grace series finds young Amish widow Sarah Yoder facing her greatest challenge–herself.
Sarah Yoder hasn’t seen Henry Byler since he became engaged to an Englisch woman, which is best for her peace of mind. Since Henry never joined the Amish church, any relationship but a neighborly one is impossible. So she stays busy with her family, welcoming her son back from the ranch he’s been working on in Colorado, doing a little matchmaking for her sister-in-law, and making the teas and tinctures that heal the members of her church.
Then Henry seeks her out, desperate for a balm for his sensitive hands before his success as a potter is jeopardized, and Sarah must call on every ounce of strength to deny the cry of her heart. Yet there is Someone who just might have a special cure in mind-a healing balm with the power to change everything. But with Henry’s wedding only weeks away, is it already too late?

Author Bio
ADINA SENFT, author of the Amish Quilt series from FaithWords, earned an MFA in Writing Popular Fiction from Seton Hill University in Pennsylvania after leaving the plain church in which she grew up. Between books, she enjoys playing the piano and Celtic harp, making historical costumes, and spoiling her flock of rescue chickens. 
Learn more: AdinaSenft.comhttps://www.scribd.com/doc/271781025/Balm-of-Gilead-by-Adina-Senft

Not by Sight by Kate Breslin

First off, fantastic! This was so hard to put down. I learned new things about what went on in the English countryside. Grace loves her country and wants all men to fight so that the war will end sooner and her brother can come home. She does something that she almost regrets and than ends up joining the Woman’s Forage Corps. Here she and other women take over jobs that normally male farmhands do. While here she meets Jack Benningham, who is an aristocrat who has lost his sight. Grace begins driving him in his car and teaches him to join the world again and to face his scarring. I loved the storyline and all the characters, even the ones you want to hate. I received this book from the author fir a

fair and honest opinion. FANTSTIC!!  Overview

When a misguided suffragette hands a white feather of cowardice to an English spy, neither could have imagined the dangerous consequences that follow.A Florida girl who migrated to the Pacific Northwest, Kate Breslin was a bookseller for many years. She is the author of For Such a Time and lives with her husband in Seattle, Washington. Find her online at http://www.katebreslin.com.

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The Bachelor by Stephanie Reed

This is the second book in the Plain City Peace series. It is wonderful. There seems to be a bit of controversy in the Amish and Mennonite churches during this time period. I keep hoping that Betsies parents will come home or convince her to move. Betsie thinks she is in love with Charley or is she really in love with Michael? You will want to read The Bargain before reading this book so you know what is going on. I am looking forward to the next book to see how this all ends. I can’t wait. I received this book from book fun.org for a fair and honest opinion.  In this sequel to The Bargain, Betsie Troyer is back home in her Amish community where she knows she belongs, free from the confusing Englisher way of life. She and Charley Yoder have made promises to each other, and her life is back on track–until Gerald Sullivan shows up with his young daughter, asking for Betsie’s help. He’s on his way to find his estranged wife, and begs Betsie to take young Sheila in.

When she agrees, Betsie’s carefully planned life is shaken up again. Sheila’s newfound faith is troubling to Charley–and his attraction to another girl is beginning to be a problem. But how can Betsie confront him when she is still trying to confront her own feelings about Sheila’s brother, Michael? Keeping the peace between the Amish man she’s always loved, a twelve-year-old Englisher girl, and a draft-dodging hippie is more than she ever thought she’d have to deal with in her simple, orderly life. Still, Betsie is convinced she can keep things from falling apart completely.
Then during her best friend’s wedding, tragedy strikes and her world is upended. She has to make a decision: does she love Charley or Michael . . . or is she craving a deeper love that only God can give?
The compelling second novel of the Plain City Peace series, The Bachelor deftly weaves together the strands of a solid, simpler time with the turmoil of an era of change, revealing the strengths of both in its powerful narrative.Biography

Stephanie Reed lives on the outskirts of Plain City, Ohio, site of a once-thriving Amish community. She gleans ideas for her novels from signs glimpsed along the byways of Ohio, as for her books Across the Wide River, The Light Across the River, The Bargain, and The Bachelor. Like her Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/StefReedBooks/ and follow her on Twitter to keep in touch: https://twitter.com/StefReedBooks

The Fight by Luke Wordley

I am not sure exactly what I loved about this book but I loved it. The words just flowed smoothly. It was hard to understand Sam at first but you grow to really like him. I liked Jerry from the beginning. He made one mad a few times near the end but than made up for it. I received this book from book fun.org for a fair and honest opinion.  

Louie’s Big Day by Maria I. Morgan

This is a wonderfully written and illustrated children’s book about how a young lawnmower feels about his first time cutting grass. I received the ebook from book fun.org for a fair and honest opinion.  

Uncovering Secrets by Barbara Hinske

This is the third book in the Rosemont series and I do recommend reading 1 and 2 first so that you know all that is going on in this town. I love the main characters and am starting to like a few others a little more. I love all the kittens and dogs in this story. I look forward to seeing what happens next at Rosemont so look forward to the next book. I received an ebook copy of this from the author for a fair and honest opinion.  

The Love Letters by Beverly Lewis

Like most books by Beverly Lewis this one was wonderful. There are a few story lines in this book that are all wound together by love letters written to a man with Alzheimer’s that a young Amish boy finds and befriends. This has to do with people that are Mennonite and those that are Old Order Amish. Can they be friends?I had a hard time putting this book down and finished it very quickly. I had to know what would happen to each character. I received this book from Bethany House for a fair and honest opinion. 

 Product Description
Though from the Beachy Amish herself, Marlena meets Ellie Bitner, an Old Order Amish mother who offers quilting and needlepoint classes. They soon form a bond, and Marlena is drawn into the circle of Ellie’s family. Ellie’s handsome cousin seems rather taken with Marlena, but after her recent breakup, she is cautious where her feelings are concerned.

But things begin to change when Ellie’s young son Jacob discovers an older homeless man camped out in the nearby abandoned mill. Suffering from some cognitive disorder, the man has few prospects and fewer possessions–among them a small clutch of letters apparently from his own courting days. Could these letters be the key to the old man’s identity? And can they bring healing and hope to Marlena and Ellie as well?

The Joy of Success by Susan Ford Collins

This was a well written work of nonfiction about how to be a success. It does teach one some good techniques to use and how you should feel about yourself. I received this from book fun.org for a fair and honest opinion.