The Story Keeper by Lisa Wingate

I so enjoyed both stories in this book. A New York book editor is handed a story that she needs to find the author of. She has many troubles but ends up back in the Appalachian mountains. She grew up here but was happy to leave. This time trying to find the author of the story helps her to get over her troubles that she had whoile growing up. I received this book from book fun.org for a fair and honest opinion.  Selected among BOOKLIST’S Top 10 of 2012 and Top 10 of 2013, Lisa Wingate skillfully weaves lyrical writing and unforgettable Southern settings with elements of women’s fiction, history, and mystery to create stories that Publisher’s Weekly calls “Masterful” and Library Journal refers to as “A good option for fans of Nicholas Sparks and Mary Alice Monroe.”

Debbie Macomber says, “I am in awe of Lisa Wingate’s talent. The Prayer Box is a masterpiece of storytelling and skill.”
THE OFFICIAL BIO: Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, inspirational speaker, and the author of over twenty mainstream fiction novels, including the national bestseller, Tending Roses, now in its nineteenth printing. She is a seven-time ACFW Carol award nominee, a Christy Award nominee, an Oklahoma Book Award finalist, and a two-time Carol Award winner. Her novels are known for taking on gritty subjects while offering redemptive and uplifting themes. Recently, the group Americans for More Civility, a kindness watchdog organization, selected Lisa along with Bill Ford, Camille Cosby, and six others, as recipients of the National Civies Award, which celebrates public figures who work to promote greater kindness and civility in American life. More information about Lisa’s novels can be found at http://www.Lisawingate.com or on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/LisaWingateAuthorPage?fref=ts

IN THE WRITER’S OWN WORDS: A special first grade teacher, Mrs. Krackhardt, made a writer out of me. That may sound unlikely, but it’s true. It’s possible to find a calling when you’re still in pigtails and Mary Jane shoes, and to know it’s your calling. I was halfway through the first grade when I landed in Mrs. Krackhardt’s classroom. I was fairly convinced there wasn’t anything all that special about me… and then, Mrs. Krackhardt stood over my desk and read a story I was writing. She said things like, “This is a great story! I wonder what happens next?”
It isn’t every day a shy new kid gets that kind of attention. I rushed to finish the story, and when I wrote the last word, the teacher took the pages, straightened them on the desk, looked at me over the top, and said, “You are a wonderful writer!”
A dream was born. Over the years, other dreams bloomed and died tragic, untimely deaths. I planned to become an Olympic gymnast or win the National Finals Rodeo, but there was this matter of back flips on the balance beam and these parents who stubbornly refused to buy me a pony. Yet the writer dream remained. I always believed I could do it because… well… my first grade teacher told me so, and first grade teachers don’t lie.
So, that is my story, and if you are a teacher, or know a teacher, or ever loved a special teacher, I salute you from afar and wish you days be filled with stories worth telling and stories worth reading.

Knowing My God series starter set by Callie Grant

These books are well illustrated and well written.  They are board books for children that teach them about Jesus.  I really enjoyed the bible verses that were used.  This is the starter kit and there will be more in the series. I received these from Bookfun.org for a fair and honest opinion. 

 

The Joseph Blessing by Jordan Rubin and Pete Sulack

This was an interesting book. It is a nonfiction book that tells about two men and how God told them to be more like Joseph from the bible. It is well written and interesting. I received a copy of this book from Bookfun.org for a fair and honest opinion.  

Brightest and Best by Olivia Newport

This is a wonderful story that shows how the Amish people worked together to get the right to teach their children in their own one room school houses. It also shows their perseverance to not have their children formally educated past the eighth grade. It has great characters in Ella and Gideonand​  

with Margaret. It showed how some Englishers worked with the Amish to keep their education and religion intact. I received this book from Barbour Publishing for a fair and honest opinion. The collapse of a schoolhouse puts pressure on Amish families and their long-held educational values. Ella Hilty anticipates marrying Gideon Wittner and becoming a mother to his children. In a whirling clash of values, Ella seeks the solid ground that seems to have slipped away. Margaret Simpson, an English schoolteacher, wonders if she is losing her last chance at love. As the local authorities draw lines in the sand, Margaret puts romance at risk one final time. All eyes turn to Ella to make a sacrifice and accept a challenge that can bring unity to the Amish and understanding to the English.

Trial Run by Thomas Locke

This is a good beginning to a new series. I don’t know a lot of computer language so I would get a little confused here and there but I always got caught up. I love the characters and look forward to reading the next in the series It would be nice to be able to move without moving your body. I look forward to seeing where Thomas Locke will take us next. I received a copy of this book from Revell reads for a fair and honest opinion.  In this high-concept thriller, three competing interests race to master a dangerous and mind-bending technology even as time itself twists in unexpected directions. As perception and reality become entangled, no one escapes unscathed.  

Together with You by Victoria Bylin

This is a wonderful story about how a family and a nanny deal with a child with Fetal alcohol Spectrum Disorder.. This is a story of a man trying to raise his two sons and a daughter who has FASD. They hire a nanny , Carly Mason, who has dealt with other children with this disorder. She and the father , Dr. Ryan Tremaine fall in love but are not sure how to handle it. This is a wonderful romance and it is great how the disorder can be worked out and dealt with. Lots of love in this story. I received a copy of this book from Bethany House for a fair and honest opinion.  Biography
Victoria Bylin is a romance writer known for her realistic and relatable characters. Her books have finaled in multiple contests, including the Carol Awards, the RITAs, and RT Magazine’s Reviewers Choice Award. A native of California, she and her husband now make their home in Lexington, Kentucky, where their family and their crazy Jack Russell terrier keep them on the go. Learn more at victoriabylin.com.

My Townie Heart by Diana Sperrazza

This is a well written book with a very good storyline. I did not like the use of drugs so much but I got passed that as the story unfolded. I had to find out what Laura was going to do with her life. There were ups and downs for her. I really liked how it ended. I received a copy of this from Smith Publicity for a fair and honest opinion.  About the Author
Emmy-award winning journalist Diana Sperrazza was raised in a blue-collar neighborhood in West Springfield, Massachusetts. She was the eldest daughter in an alcoholic family. In and out of college for many years, she waitressed, cleaned houses and made various forays into the counterculture until she moved to New Mexico and discovered journalism.
She settled in Washington, D.C. where she spent nearly thirty years working in television news and production. She currently lives in New York City and work as a senior executive producer for the crime channel Investigation Discovery. She is also grateful member of St. Marks in the Bowery, an Episcopal church in the East Village.

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke

So wonderful. This book really makes you think. I could not put it down. Hannah loses her mother and really never liked her much or knew who she really was. She must go from North Carolina to Germany to learn who her family was. She learns things that she really wasn’t ready for and needs to learn a few lessons. It is very hard for her. The book goes back and forth between the 1970’s and during WWII Germany. This can make you cringe when you learn some of what happens to her mother, Lieselotte. I received a copy of this book from Tyndale blog network for a fair and honest opinion.  Cathy Gohlke is the two-time Christy Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed novels Saving Amelie, Band of Sisters, Promise Me This (listed by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2012), William Henry Is a Fine Name, and I Have Seen Him in the Watchfires (listed by Library Journal as one of the best books of 2008), which also won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Award. 
Cathy has worked as a school librarian, drama director, and director of children’s and education ministries. When not traipsing the hills and dales of historic sites, she, her husband, and their dog, Reilly, divide their time between Northern Virginia and their home on the banks of the Laurel Run in Elkton, Maryland. Visit her website at http://www.cathygohlke.com

Who Buries the Dead by C.S. Harris

This was another fantastic addition to the Sebastian St.Cyr novels. I did not want to stop reading this book. I love him and Hero being together and having a child. This story just keeps getting better with each book. Each time you turn around brings another twist to the mystery.  

Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin

This is a great romance with a little spying included. These two friends from high school meet up again a few months before the war starts. Mary works at the Boston Navy Yard and Jim is a sailor who will be shipping out soon to be an escort for British Convoys. This is a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor. There is sabotage going on and Mary decides to spy a little because most people tend to overlook her. What will happen to her and Jim?I really had a hard time putting this book down. I received this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion.