The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson - A Book Review

  

The Mountains We Call Home is Richardson's third book about Book Woman Cussy Lovett and her family. Cussy has an inherited blood disorder called methemoglobinemia which causes her skin to have a blue tint. This means that due to the miscegenation law prohibiting one from marrying a person of another race, a law that both she and her husband have broken, thus losing their freedom. When forced away from home and family, one quickly realizes what thing is most important in life. One also becomes aware of what they will do to protect it and to get it back.

Richardson not only tells a poignant story with wonderful character development, she displays her own love for Kentucky and her own family's heritage there. Richardson honors our state's history not only through her novels, but also by campaigning for a historical marker to honor the contribution of Kentucky's pack horse librarians, leading an initiative to place free little libraries in county courthouses across the commonwealth, and highlighting authors and teachers who positively impacted Kentucky's literacy efforts over the years.

I highly recommend The Mountains We Call Home, and suggest readers also read The Book Woman of Trouble Creek and The Book Woman's Daughter. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed herea re my own. 

Where We Belong by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

Where We Belong is an Orphan Train novel, but the two children on whom the story focuses are not truly orphans. When their mom passed away during the younger sister's birth, their father was unable to care for them while trying to hang onto a job during the Great Depression. With their care home closing and an inability to reach their father, the girls were placed on the Orphan Train heading west. Where We Belong is the story of the girls' lives with the lady who adopted them as well as a young boy from the train, the oldest sister's struggle to get back to New York City where their father can find them, and a desperate father's search for his daughters. While the ending is easily predictable, readers will enjoy following the emotional journey of the girls and the people who love them. Vogel has done a wonderful job generating empathy, developing her characters, and painting vivid word pictures of times and places I have never personally seen, but can now readily visualize.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Where We Belong from WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Lumber Baron's Wife by Lynn Austin - A Book Review

  

The Lumber Baron's Wife is a dual-timeline story. The common element is the setting: two Craftsman style homes built in the 1870s in a town on the western coast of Michigan. In the 1870s Kate, the young wife of Lumber Baron Henry Abernathy, resided in the larger of the two homes. Kate had been brought up in poverty and was unprepared to be the lady her husband wanted her to be. The smaller home was the residence of her unlikely friend Harriet and her husband, Dr. John Benson. The lives of these two women became tangled together sometimes supporting and helping one another, other times lost in their own sorrows, until Kate's disappearance.

The current day storyline focuses on Ashley Gilbert a new bride who moves to Michigan, giving up her job at a history museum to go where her husband has been hired for his dream job. Fearing they never would find a home they would agree upon, Ashley and David finally come to an agreement, purchasing Dr. and Mrs. Benson's 150 year-old home, with great reservation on David's part. As Ashley seeks employment, she stumbles upon the run-down Abernathy mansion and the volunteers who are striving to restore it. In no time she is hooked, and becomes enthralled with the unsolved mystery of Kate Abernathy's disappearance.

Lynn Austin does a wonderful job developing these three women's characters as well as those of the men in their lives. She skillfully draws compassion from her readers, well except for maybe that one character that elicits a more negative reaction. Themes of allowing God into one's tough times, and seeking His will are well-developed. The dialogue is well-written, and the things left unsaid speak loudly. I highly recommend The Lumber Baron's Wife and am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from Tyndale House Publishers via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

The Bookshop of 99 Doors by Jaime Jo Wright - A Book Review

  

This dual-timeline novel tells the story of Ambrose Fields, a home built not long before the American Revolution, that survived the Civil War, and was now an historic site. Minnie Tipton moved to Ambrose Fields twenty-five years after the Battle of nearby Gettysburg. Minnie had lost her mother at seventeen, and could not understand why her father had uprooted them to move to this estate which was home to a gruesome past and the ghost stories that generated. Triss Billamy moved to Ambrose Fields in current times in an effort to flee her family and their joint livelihoods focused on the supernatural and paranormal. She was on a quest for truth and to know God. Her part in her family's profession had left her frightened and confused. At Ambrose Fields she would be among her favorite things, books, as the manager of the sites's bookshop and having been tasked with cataloging the library as well. When Triss' brother and his crew show up to investigate the paranormal sightings at the estate, Minnie's and Triss' worlds collide.

Jaime Jo Wright has once again successfully guided readers through a spine-tingling tale filled with things that go bump in the night and people who behave in unexpected ways. As things begin to fall in place, she reveals insights into God and how one may come to know Him. There is another prominent theme, but revealing that here would classify as a spoiler. So, I will leave that to my fellow readers to enjoy discovering that for themselves.

I am very grateful to have received a complimentary copy of The Bookshop of 99 Doors from Bethany House Publishers via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.  

Witness Protection by Robert Whitlow - A Book Review

 

 

Witness Protection may be a slow-paced suspense story that does not contain a great deal of action scenes with high speed chases and guns blazing, but there is indeed action. The action actually occurs in the supernatural realm of spiritual warfare. The main warrior is an elderly, arthritic aunt backed up by her prayer partner. Their attention to the soft voice of the Holy Spirit, their discernment of the needs of others, and their obedience in prayer drives the outcome of the story and is a great model for readers.

While the story contains realistic dialogue, it is driven by the author's description of what is occurring. Whitlow's writing gives readers adequate time to consider the message, the themes, and the plot direction. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Witness Protection from Thomas Nelson via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins - Some Thoughts

  

While Sunrise on the Reaping may be Haymitch Abernathy's story, I was more enthralled with his girlfriend Lenore Dove's story. Much like her ancestor Lucy Gray, Lenore Dove is an independent thinker who loves nature, music, and literature. Both young ladies have a tendency to speak, or sing, their opinion of those in charge of the government and society. Haymitch is Lenore's true love. He is smarter and braver than he knows. He also becomes more abused and tormented that he could ever have imagined. 

Sunrise on the Reaping is an intense story. In my opinion, the violence in this book seems a tad more excessive that in the previous Hunger Games books. Emotions run high before, during, and after the games for both characters and readers. I look forward to seeing the soon-to-be released movie version, and to discovering which I prefer most, the book or the movie. 

Hemlock and Homicide by Bruce Hammack - A Brief Comment

 

I got an e-copy of Hemlock and Homicide when it was offered for free on Amazon. It is a cozy mystery that my husband and I enjoyed listening to for several days over breakfast. We were unaware that it was the thirteenth book in a series until after we had finished listening to it, but we had no difficulty following the story. The author provided enough background information to fill in the gaps for us. Hammack is adept at writing dialogue, and the humor found in the interaction between his characters in enjoyable. We will likely listen to other books in this series.