About Me

I am a wife, mother and grandmother. I am a Christian and try to live as Jesus did.

Thursday, April 14, 2022

Among the Innocent by Mary Alford

 I was pleasantly surprised by this book. It is Christian fiction, mystery/suspense novel. It is set between the Amish community and "regular" society.

The main characters were quite well defined. The main character, Leah, was the main focus. She was the center of the mystery. The main supporting character is Dalton. His character was cloaked in a bit of mystery until the end of the book.

The story flowed well and kept my interest. The editing was quite well done until the last chapter or so. At the end, the editing was like the editor had gotten tired and sloppy. Names were wrong, i.e. the name of the person speaking or doing was wrong or in one instance, the name was not even in the book before. Also, there were some loose ends that were not addressed. These issues were the only downside and not very many of them. This was also an ARC book so hopefully, these errors will be caught and fixed in the final edition.

If you like a good murder mystery that is Christian without being preachy, you will enjoy this book. The main characters prayed in a very Christian way, that is how you know it is a Christian book.

I was given this book through the LibraryThing Early Reviewers Program. This review is freely given and my own thoughts and opinions.

Sunday, April 10, 2022

Strength in the Storm by Laurel Blount

About the Book

Book: Strength in the Storm

Author: Laurel Blount

Genre: Amish Romance

Release date: February 22, 2022

In this touching Amish romance, a brokenhearted woman and a steadfast man discover that the safest place to weather tragedy is in each other’s arms.

                                                                                                                                           


After the murder of both her parents, Emma Hochstedler returns to the small community of Johns Mill, hoping to resume her quiet existence. Reclaiming her place proves harder than expected—especially now that a movie is being made about her family’s loss. But then, an old friend offers her a lifeline that gives her new purpose.

Amish builder Samuel Christner is the biggest—and the strongest—man in town. In fact, the gentle giant has only one weakness—Emma. Even though she broke his heart, he won’t let his childhood sweetheart face her troubles alone. He hires Emma as a nurse for his elderly aunt…and finds himself falling for her all over again.

But while romance blooms, storm clouds gather. And when darkness falls, it will take all Sam’s strength—and all their love—to see them through.

 

About the Author


Award-winning author Laurel Blount writes inspirational romances full of grit and grace—with characters who’ll walk right off the page and into your heart! She lives on a farm in Georgia with her husband, their four fabulous kids, and an assortment of ridiculously spoiled animals.

A enthusiastic multi-tasker, Laurel writes for both Berkley/Penguin Random House and Love Inspired/Harlequin. She’s the recipient of ACFW’s Carol Award, The New England Reader’s Choice Award and GRW’s Maggie Award. She’s represented by Jessica Alvarez of Bookends Literary Agency.

Strength in the Storm is Laurel’s seventh book—and four more stories are in the works! Stay tuned!

 

More from Laurel

A word from Laurel:

Oh, I can’t wait for you to meet Emma and Sam—they’re one of my all-time favorite story couples! And what an intriguing combination they are: a gentle man known far and wide for his physical strength…and a heartbroken woman—his boyhood sweetheart—who’s his one and only weakness.

Don’t you just love a good second chance romance? I know I do! There’s something so satisfying about seeing a broken love story beautifully mended. Of course, it won’t be easy.  Emma and Sam’s story is mixture of joy and sorrow, laughter and tears—lots and lots of bumps on the road for these two. But they’re about to discover that love and faith shine their brightest in life’s darkest moments—and that trouble only makes a hard-won “happily ever after” even sweeter!

Blog Stops

lakesidelivingsite, April 1

Bigreadersite, April 1

The Avid Reader, April 2

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 3

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 3

Texas Book-aholic, April 4

SusanLovesBooks, April 5

Lighthouse Academy Blog, April 5 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Inklings and notions, April 6

Writing From the Heart Land, April 6

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, April 7

Remembrancy, April 7

deb’s Book Review, April 8

Miriam Jacob, April 8

Bizwings Blog, April 9

Locks, Hooks and Books, April 9

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, April 10

Mary Hake, April 10

Books I’ve Read, April 11

I luv the books, April 11

For Him and My Family, April 12

Maureen’s Musings, April 12

Connie’s History Classroom, April 13

Pause for Tales, April 13

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, April 14

Click here to get your copy!


Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Laurel is giving away the grand prize package of a $75 Amazon gift card and a copy of the book!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/1c570/strength-in-the-storm-celebration-tour-giveaway

MY REVIEW:

I was given an ebook through NetGalley to read and review. This review is freely given, and my own, honest opinion.

Most books like this have a "happily ever after, all is well" ending. The ending of this book was not what I expected.

The book was well written and in the Christian fiction genre. It did a great job of showing how a person/persons use their faith in hard times. It also shows that even though you are a Christian, you may not always live as you should.

The characters were well developed, good and bad. The story flowed well. My biggest disappointment was that I felt not all the sub-stories were wrapped up. I felt there were loose strings, so to speak.

If you like Amish books, you will like this though it is less about being Amish and more about using your faith.

I give this book a 4 out of a 5-star review.