Stories That Bind Us by Susie Finkbeiner

I have always enjoyed the books I've read by Susie Finkbeiner and this book is no exception. The story is easy going and on the bland side, but that is not a criticism but that it is not action-packed.  It shows what a regular family is like when bad things happen. The main character, Betty, goes through a couple of really bad experiences in a very short time and this story shows how she deals with the situations and how her family helps her.
The story is set in the early 1960s, in lower Michigan. I can relate to these descriptions as I live near the areas described. I understand the background and surroundings.
This is a Christian book, but it is not preachy in any way. It shows how a Christian woman uses her faith to get through rough times. It also shows how weak our faith can be at times.
Towards the end of the book, there were a couple of historical happenings that were incorporated that I felt could have been left out. I felt like they were added to lengthen the timeline of the story but were not really needed. This is my biggest criticism of the book.
The editing was very well done. This is very important to me as poor editing can ruin an otherwise good book.
This review is my own, personal opinion and I received this book through the Revel Reads Blogger program. A positive review is not required. I give this book a 3 out of 5-star rating.

What Momma Left Behind by Cindy K. Sproles

  I have never read anything by Cindy K. Sproles and I hope this is not the last book I read. Her style is very unique and I found it very enjoyable.

The book is set in the Smokey Mountains in the late 1800's and is written in the vernacular of those people. Some may find this unenjoyable, but to me, it made the story more like listening first hand. The story has a bit of mystery and intrigue and kept my interest throughout. In fact, I read through this in just a very few evenings.

This is a Christian book, but not preachy. It shows the faith of a few of the characters, the lack of faith in some, and the growth of faith also.

The story flowed well but did leave a few questions even when the story ended. The editing was quite well done and the characters were very well developed. The style is a bit different, and I enjoyed that.

I was gifted this book through Revell Reads Blogger Program. I am not required to leave a positive review and this review is totally my own opinion. I give this book a 4 out of 5 star review. I would give it 5 stars if all the questions had been addressed. I would recommend this book to my friends.

The Black Midnight by Kathleen Y'Barbo

I was excited to hear of another book in the series True Colors. I was also excited that it was written by Kathleen Y'Barbo. I have enjoyed this series and I have always enjoyed books by Kathleen Y'Barbo and this book did not disappoint.
Most of the books in this series are true crimes committed in America. This book covered both America and England. It covers the murders in Austin, TX and "Jack the Ripper" in London.
The book was an ARC and so the editing wasn't perfect but very well done. It is also a Christian series and I'm sad to say there wasn't much in the way of Christianity in this. It was a very clean book but not preachy in any way.
The main characters were quite well developed. I was a bit confused at first to realize that the book started in one year and then jumped to another year and I didn't catch it, but that was my fault as it was listed at the top of the chapter when it did change. Other than my missing the time jump, the story flowed well. It was well written and entertaining. I would recommend this book to my friends. I give this book a 4 out of 5 stars. Five stars are reserved for superbly excellent books.
I thank Barbour Books and Netgalley for giving me the ARC copy to read. I am not required to leave a review and this review is my own opinion.

Books I've Read: The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski

Books I've Read: The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski: About the Book Book:  The Socialite Author:  J’nell Ciesielski Genre:  Historical Romance Release Date:  April 14, 2020 Glam...

The Socialite by J'nell Ciesielski

About the Book

Book:  The Socialite

Author: J’nell Ciesielski

Genre:  Historical Romance

Release Date: April 14, 2020

Glamour, treachery, and espionage collide when an English socialite rushes to save her sister from the Nazis.

As the daughter of Sir Alfred Whitford, Kat has a certain set of responsibilities. But chasing her wayward sister, Ellie, to Nazi-occupied Paris was never supposed to be one of them. Now accustomed to the luxurious lifestyle that her Nazi boyfriend provides, Ellie has no intention of going back to the shackled life their parents dictate for them—but Kat will stop at nothing to bring her sister home.

Arrested for simply trying to defend himself against a drunken bully, Barrett Anderson is given the option of going to jail or serving out his sentence by training Resistance fighters in Paris. A bar owner serves as the perfect disguise to entertain Nazis at night while training fighters right below their jackboots during the day. Being assigned to watch over two English debutantes is the last thing he needs, but a payout from their father is too tempting to resist. Can Barrett and Kat trust each other long enough to survive, or will their hearts prove more traitorous than the dangers waiting around the corner?

Click here to get your copy!

My Review: I was pleased to be able to read and review this book through Celebrate Lit. I truly enjoyed the book. It is listed as a Christian book, but there truly wasn't much about being a Christian at all. But, it is a mostly clean book. One sister is living in open sin with someone but that is as "bad" as it gets.

The story has a new twist on living during WWII. It told a little about the French resistance, it told a little about the Nazi's but it was mostly a love story. It was well told and the characters were very believable. It was a story that draws you in and you are pulling for the heroine throughout.

The editing was done well. This was very encouraging to me. I enjoyed this book and would recommend it to my friends. My review is totally my own opinion and I am not required to leave a positive review. I give this book a 4 out of 5 star review.

About the Author

With a passion for heart-stopping adventure and sweeping love stories, J’nell Ciesielski weaves fresh takes into romances of times gone by. When not creating dashing heroes and daring heroines, she can be found dreaming of Scotland, indulging in chocolate of any kind, or watching old black and white movies. Winner of the Romance Through the Ages Award and the Maggie Award, she is a Florida native who now lives in Virginia with her husband, daughter, and lazy beagle. Learn more at www.jnellciesielski.com.

More from J’Nell

I blame Pinterest. Too many hours are spent chasing rabbit holes of glorious pictures of fashion from eras gone by, Highlanders in kilts, WWI ambulances, and fairytale castles. One day I was browsing something super important (or possibly escaping from the actual work I was supposed to be doing, er, we’ll never know) and stumbled across a black and white picture of six beautiful girls. Who are these lovely ladies? I wondered. A quick search brought up the Mitford sisters. Six gorgeous daughters born into an aristocratic English family, each girl with a different passion: Diana the fascist, Jessica the communist, Unity the Hitler lover, Nancy the novelist, Deborah the duchess, and Pamela the poultry connoisseur. Whoa. You know dinner time around their family table was interesting. How could such different personalities belong in the same family? What would you do if your sister got moon-eyed over Hitler??

Bam. An idea was born.

In the beginning, my little rebel Ellie was going to be a full-fledged Nazi ideology lover, but she quickly informed me that it wasn’t so much the Nazis or their crazy ideas she loved, but one man in particular. One twisted Nazi who had fallen completely under her spell, and she under his. The ideas of love can often be more difficult to break as Kat finds out when she tries to rescue her naïve sister. Luckily, she has a hunky Sottish bartender to help her while providing a few romantic intentions of his own. With everyone hiding past hurts and true identities, how will they ever hope to find the love they each long for when war rages under the bright lights of Paris? Guess you’ll have to read to find out

Blog Stops

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 22

Emily Yager, May 22

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 22

Back Porch Reads, May 22

Inklings and notions, May 23

Breny and Books, May 23

Stories By Gina , May 23

For Him and My Family, May 24

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 24

Connect in Fiction, May 24

Simple Harvest Reads, May 25 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 25

Life, Love, Writing, May 25

Livin’ Lit, May 26

Robin’s Nest, May 26

All-of-a-kind Mom, May 26

For the Love of Literature, May 26

Betti Mace, May 27

Maureen’s Musings, May 27

Where Faith and Books Meet, May 27

Genesis 5020, May 28

Book of Ruth Ann, May 28

Remembrancy, May 28

Read Review Rejoice, May 29

Quiet Workings, May 29

Mia Reads, May 29

The Christian Fiction Girl, May 30

Rebecca Tews, May 30

deb’s Book Review, May 30

Older & Smarter?, May 31

Texas Book-aholic, May 31

Books I’ve Read, May 31

Batya’s Bits, June 1

Blossoms and Blessings, June 1

Splashes of Joy, June 1

Through the Fire Blogs, June 2

Locks, Hooks and Books, June 2

Moments, June 2

Pause for Tales, June 3

Andrea Carmen, June 3

Just Your Average reviews, June 3

To Everything There Is A Season, June 3

Fiction Aficionado, June 4

Lis Loves Reading, June 4

Hallie Reads, June 4

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, J’nell is giving away the grand prize of a book and a book sleeve!!

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/fa09/the-socialite-celebration-tour-giveaway

The Mockingbird's Song by Wanda E Brunstetter

This book is the second in the series Amish Greenhouse Mysteries. I read the first book and agreed to read this one to see if any of the unfinished business of the first book was addressed or cleared up. Sadly, it was not. I gave the first book a 2-star rating for this. I give this book a 3-star rating as it was better written in my opinion. Most books get a 3-star rating, a great book gets 4 stars and a really fantastic book gets the elusive 5-star review, just for reference.
This book did continue the story but it did not address the mysteries going on or give a definitive answer to who or why the problems were occurring. It also still had the neighbors that live across the street in the story but their part did not do anything for this except as filler as far as I could see. Another thing I did not like was so much repeating from the first book. This was done a lot in the first 1/4 to 1/3 of the story. I guess it helps if you didn't read the first book but even so, it was too much unnecessary information, which again seemed like more filler than needed information.
Now, on to what I did like. The story was interesting and the new character introduced was nice. It was focused more on the relationship between the oldest daughter and the new character than anything else. Once the story got started, without the references to the previous book, things flowed pretty well. But, again, it ended without coming to any conclusions.
The copy I received was an ARC and the editing was mostly well done. It does need another review/clean up but hopefully, that will be done. I was given a copy through Netgalley by Barbour Publishers and Shiloh Run Press. The review is totally my own and not required nor influence.

The Crow's Call by Wanda E Brunstetter

I hate to leave a less than a praiseworthy review. I have always enjoyed Wanda E. Brunstetter's books but I have to say I was totally disappointed in this book. Not that the book itself was a bad read, but because it ended so abruptly without resolving a lot of things. I feel that when an author does this, it is to force you to purchase the next book.  Because of this, my rating will only be 2 stars.
The story itself was well written and kept my interest, another reason the ending was so upsetting. The characters were fairly well developed although there were a few characters in the book that didn't seem to play any part but to lengthen the book.
I enjoyed that it was a Christian book with a lot of reference to prayer and Bible verses.
The book was an ARC so the editing may not have been fully finished but it is in need of another review. There were extra words as the main problem and it got worse the more I read. The last quarter of the book was the worst and the beginning well done.
I was given a copy of this book through Netgalley and Shiloh Run Press and the opinions are totally my own.