Sunday, February 26, 2017

Time Search by Danele Rotharmel (Book #3 The Time Counselor Chronicles)

Danele Rotharmel—Time Search

My Review:
This is as series I don't like to have to put down at all. My review of book #2 is here if you want to see that. I'm already looking forward to the next books, as well as being able to back up and read book #1. Now that is really rare for me, I don't start series in the middle, but let me tell you, this series is worth starting! It does help to have read the last book though, they are made to interconnect and they do! 

This book opens up and quickly we are into action. A man is shredding a woman's house, she is missing. The TV is on in the house, and the newscaster is talking about a missing Dr. Ember, and his mysterious burned patient he was guarding. Looks like this is a clue to the person this man wanted dead. Who is this guy and why does he want TEMCO destroyed so badly? Was he someone he thinks they should have helped and didn't? Does he just hate good and love evil? It it really so simple as he is angry because his girlfriend is missing and he is sure they "rescued" her? 

Many of the characters from the last book are in hiding, because of the super evil guy who is stalking and leaving a trail of death in his path. The new ones are all good ones to get to know, some of them were more minor characters in the last book. This series, like real life if you walked into a large work place, and the world at large, has many, many people. I really like that in this case. 

This book has it all, which is hard to do! Action, Sci-Fi, romance, hate, love, forgiveness, grief, anger, the entire gambit of emotions, along with time travel, a Christian background, a clean read, a well crafted villain, and there isn't anything not to like in this book as far as I'm concerned! I love the premise of going back to be able to help people, although it would change the timeline, the way this series works it's awesome. The movie and music references are fun and it makes it like a conversation with family or friends. This series makes me wish I worked at TEMCO! 

I'm happy to give this book 5 huge happy stars, and to wait for the next books in this series to become available. 





Danele Rotharmel—Time Search 

I’ve always loved to read, but I hate that horrible moment when a good book comes to an end. It’s torture saying goodbye to characters I’ve come to love. One of the best things about being an author is having control over your own stories. I wrote The Time Counselor Chronicles while I was extremely ill and enduring seven years of quarantine. During that time, I didn’t have control over many aspects of my life, but I did have control over my fictional characters. I found extreme pleasure in the fact that since I was the author, I didn’t have to say goodbye to the TEMCO crew—I could just write them another story. 

Time Search is the third book in my series, and it was written because I was enjoying myself and didn’t want to say goodbye to the people I’d created in Time Tsunami and Time Trap. And that’s why the other books in my series were written as well. By the time I finally sought publication, I’d completed six books. Writing, for me, was an act of pure enjoyment. When I began, I wasn’t thinking about publishers or reading audiences, I was simply thinking about what type of adventure I wanted to write next. My books brought me joy, and that was all that mattered. For years, I didn’t let anyone know I was writing. TEMCO was my personal world—my escape hatch from illness and pain. I was afraid that if I let others into my imaginary world, it would crumble away. As it turned out, the exact opposite was true. Knowing that people were enjoying my stories filled my life with incredible happiness!

I always fill my books with suspense, romance, action, faith, and comedy. I keep them clean, and I work hard to make them full of page-turning fun. Communication is such a wonderful thing. I love that fact that we can relay our ideas, hopes, and dreams to each other. My books are more than just stories, they symbolically chronicle the way I stood up to my illness and fought it. They speak about the value I place on love and friendship. They show that humor can be found even in the midst of great difficulty. And most of all, they demonstrate that a crisis of faith isn’t the end—it’s simply the first step to understanding God on a deeper level. Life isn’t easy, but I’ve learned that even in the middle of tragedy, God is faithful and trustworthy. That’s what each of my characters eventually learn, and that’s what I hope my readers will take away from my books. 



Social Media Links:

Danele Rotharmel’s Blog: https://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/
Danele Rotharmel’s Testimony: https://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/welcome/


Time Search’s Purchasing Links:




Time Search’s Back Cover Blurb:

Time Search—The Time Counselor Chronicles #3

A nameless evil lurks in the shadows…

In the wake of a recent wave of violence, TEMCO employees are left reeling. While some of the staff are put into hiding, others are left behind to discover the true identity of the mysterious nemesis who is determined to destroy them all. While Crystal, Marc, and Zeke search for clues to unravel the mystery of his real name, their enemy is lurking in the shadows searching for TEMCO’s missing leaders. It’s a race against the clock! And as the hours and seconds tick away, it’s anyone’s guess whose search will be completed first. It’s a classic battle of good versus evil, and the stakes couldn’t be higher!



Danele Rotharmel’s Author Bio:

Danele Rotharmel grew up with a love of the literary word, and by age five, she knew she wanted to be a writer. However, her life took an unexpected turn when a mysterious illness brought her close to death. Eventually, she learned that a low-level carbon monoxide leak from a faulty furnace in her home was slowly poisoning her. This poisoning triggered severe Multiple Chemical Sensitivity and partial amnesia.

During this time, the hardest thing she faced was a crisis of faith. She had to quit her job and stop going to church. She couldn’t write, couldn’t drive, and could barely remember who she was. To say she was upset with the Lord was an understatement. She began reexamining her faith in light of her illness, and eventually, she came to the firm conclusion that God is real, God is good, God is interested and involved, and God is trustworthy regardless of tragedy.

When her illness became even more severe, she was put into quarantine and could only talk to friends and extended family through the glass of a window. This quarantine lasted for seven years. During this time, she wrote the first six books in The Time Counselor Chronicles.

Danele currently lives in Colorado where she continues to write. Although her journey back to health was long and difficult, it provided her with the opportunity to grow closer to God and to write her books. For that, she is forever thankful.


You can learn more about Danele by visiting her blog at https://dragonflydanele.wordpress.com/

Thursday, February 16, 2017

Amish Wanderer by Laura V. Hilton

amishwandererfbheader
Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book 

amishwanderer
Click to purchase
Book: Amish Wanderer
Author: Laura V. Hilton
Genre: Amish Romance
Release Date: February 14
Bethany Weiss is ready to leave town. Tongues haven’t stopped clacking in Jamesport, MO, since her daed, the bishop, was admitted to a mental hospital after hurting their small Amish community. But her sharpest wounds Bethany hides from prying eyes, quietly biding her time until she can take a chance at a new life—away from Jamesport and away from God.
Silas Beiler was kicked out of his own home. Dogged by a rough childhood and a family who blames him for each new disaster, he begins hitchhiking across the country, sleeping in barns where he can, working for food when possible—headed for Pennsylvania in the hope of some stability.
When Bethany spies a man asleep in the hayloft, she first fears the return of an unwelcome suitor. But when it is Silas who turns and speaks, the memories flood back: a happy summer six years ago full of lemonade, long walks, and budding courtship. Now, however, those months of bliss seem naïve and idyllic. Was their old love strong enough to overcome new pain? Or will hurt and rejection continue to haunt their path?

My Review:

I liked the first book I read by this author. This book is much deeper hitting. It is very well written, but covers a topic that can trigger some people. That said, it could also help heal. It's the story of an Amish girl, almost old maid age, who has been forced to date a man she can't stand by her father, who happens to be the Bishop of their district. It's also the story of a young man running from his past, and abuse, who was in love with Bethany before he left. Now Silas has wandered back home, and it seems he is just in time to either drive Bethany off, or help her find God's love and to work thorough her issues. It's full of Scripture, tears, cookies, healing, forgiveness, coping with complicated family issues, and it was a very moving read. I throughly appreciated the work the author put into this book, and the depth of the characters and the plot. The twist at the end was a good one, that I actually didn't see coming. That is highly usually for me. I liked that. This is a good read for anyone who needs to understand some about date rape, and how God heals that too. It is handled very well, and that is not an easy task. 5 Star read for sure and certain, ain't it so? 

About the Author 
laurahilton_icrs2016Laura V. Hilton
Amish fiction lovers responded positively and immediately to Laura V. Hilton’s debut novel, Patchwork Dreams, when she burst on the scene in 2009 with her unique series, The Amish of Seymour, set in the tiny town of Seymour, in Webster County, Missouri. Fans of the genre immediately recognized Hilton’s insider knowledge, not only of the Webster County community, but Amish culture in general. Her natural speech and writing patterns, she says, are uniquely “Amish,” acquired from her Amish maternal grandparents. The Amish of Seymour, includes Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts, and Promised to Another. Her second series, The Amish of Webster County, is comprised of Healing Love, Surrendered Love, and Awakened Love. A stand-alone title, A White Christmas in Webster County, was released in September 2014. The Amish of Jamesport includes The Snow Globe, The Postcard and The Birdhouse. In spring 2016 she released The Amish Firefighter with the setting in Jamesport, MO, the same as for The Amish Wanderer.
Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer. Laura and her husband, Steve, have five children, whom Laura homeschools. The family makes their home in Horseshoe Bend, Arkansas.
 Guest Post from Laura Hilton
I didn’t intentionally set out to write an Amish story loosely based on a true story. If fact, when people asked me if I would write my maternal grandparents’ story, I told them no.
But when time came to write Bethany’s story, all I knew was a short paragraph blurb about it. Bethany and her once-upon-a-time boyfriend Silas who left that particular Amish district and her before their relationship became serious. I didn’t know their backstories, really, and had no idea how the story would proceed. And since I don’t plot, I spend a lot of time praying about the story, because really, I want to write what He says to write. He knows who He wants it to reach.
So I sat down to pray about it. And God gave me a verse. Which is unusual at the beginning of the story. Usually, for me, it’s at the middle when God reveals His theme for the book. But this time, it was at the beginning. The verse is:
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (KJV)
And the verses caused more prayer. What am I supposed to do with it?
I was driving to Melbourne (Arkansas, not Australia) to pay property taxes and get my vehicle tags renewed, listening to the radio as we (my three daughters and I) drove down Larkin Road (that’s not the real name, just what everyone calls it—we have a lot of those around here: Day Road, Moko Road, etc—because there are ghost towns on these roads so they are called by the name of the ghost town). A song came on the radio and I don’t remember the name of it, or even who the singer was, but when I arrived in Melbourne, I had the opening line to my story.
The sky is falling and I’m searching for somewhere to hide. 
I’m sure the people at the county clerk’s office might have been a little concerned about the state of my mental health when they saw the words scribbled at the top of my bill. I did get a strange look. I didn’t offer an explanation. And they didn’t ask.
When I got home, I started writing and paying close attention to Bethany’s mental clues (and Silas’s) to figure out what their stories were. And how they tied into the verse God had given me.
And then, without even realizing it until it hit, I knew who’s story I was writing.
My grandmother’s. My grandfather’s.
Except they are different. My grandmother wasn’t date raped. It was a member of her own family. And she wasn’t in love with my grandfather. She just discovered he was leaving the Amish and she wanted—needed—to escape.
Neither were Christians at the time. My grandfather was saved on his death bed. My grandmother’s youngest child was a teenager when she was saved. My mother, her sister, and all their girlfriends went to a tent meeting for a United Brethren Church and my grandmother attended one of the meetings with her daughters and was saved as a result. And their testimonies ultimately led to the salvation of my uncle and my grandfather.
Both of my grandparents had a lot of issues to work through as to why God allowed the bad things in their lives to happen. That they eventually came to Christ is a miracle but I’m glad they did, as I was raised in a Christian home.
Why does God allow bad things to happen to people? The short, pat answer is: because sin entered the world. Yes, God could stop them. But what if He uses the bad thing to refine a person’s faith, to draw them closer to Him as a result?
How a person reacts to the bad things directly ties in to how they affect them. In my story, Silas chose to trust God even though he feared for his life. No, he didn’t like what had happened, but even though he didn’t see how, he trusted God was working behind the scenes to bring Silas to where he needed to be, spiritually and physically. On the other hand, Bethany believed God had rejected her. Pushed her away and didn’t care about her. If He didn’t care for her, why should she care about Him? So she went into a stand-off with God. 
The lessons ultimately learned, for both my grandparents and my characters, brought them to their knees before the living and holy God who was, and is, and is to come. And I trust God will use this story to help a reader out there who might be questioning something terrible that happened in their life.
You might not see how now and may not know why until eternity, but God has this. Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep believing.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 (KJV)

Blog Stops

February 14: inklings and notions
February 15: A Rup Life
February 15: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS
February 15: Lane Hill House
February 16: Daysong Reflections
February 16: Blogging With Carol
February 17: Bigreadersite 
February 17: Rockin’ My Mom Jeans
February 18: Rhonda’s Doings
February 18: Jeanette’s Thoughts
February 19: A Greater Yes
February 19: A Holland Reads
February 20: Blossoms and Blessings
February 21: Eat, Read, Teach, Blog
February 21: Mom Is Forever
February 22: Splashes of Joy
February 23: Moments Dipped in Ink
February 23: Carpe Diem
February 24: Pause for Tales
February 24: Quiet Quilter
February 25: For The Love of Books
February 25: Donna’s BookShelf
February 26: Christian Bookaholic
February 27: Giveaway Lady
February 27: Autism Mom

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Laura is giving away  Amish Wanderer, Patchwork Dreams (Amish of Seymour #1), Snow Globe (Amish of Jamesport #1),
a 10 x 17” canvas banner: “Do justly, love mercy, walk humbly” (Micah 6:8), and
Abba Scripture Candle (3” natural, clean-burning wax, scented) – “With God All Things Are Possible”! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/b0d8

Friday, February 10, 2017

The Newcomer by Suzanne Woods Fisher

the-newcomer-fb-cover
Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Book




the-newcomer
Click to Purchase

Book: The Newcomer
Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Genre: Historical; Amish
Release Date: January 31
In 1737, Anna Konig and her fellow church members stagger off a small wooden ship after ten weeks at sea, eager to start a new life in the vibrant but raw Pennsylvania frontier. On the docks of Port Philadelphia waits bishop Jacob Bauer, founder of the settlement and father to ship carpenter Bairn. It’s a time of new beginnings for the reunited Bauer family, and for Anna and Bairn’s shipboard romance to blossom.
But this perfect moment cannot last. As Bairn grasps the reality of what it means to be Amish in the New World–isolated, rigid with expectations, under the thumb of his domineering father–his enthusiasm evaporates. When a sea captain offers the chance to cross the ocean one more time, Bairn grabs it. Just one more crossing, he promises Anna. But will she wait for him?
When Henrik Newman joins the church just as it makes its way to the frontier, Anna is torn. He seems to be everything Bairn is not–bold, devoted, and delighted to vie for her heart. And the most dramatic difference? He is here; Bairn is not.
Far from the frontier, an unexpected turn of events weaves together the lives of Bairn, Anna, and Henrik. When a secret is revealed, which true love will emerge? 

My Review:

This book steps back in time and yet, is perfectly in time for today. This book was a strong story for me. Don't pass it over because Anna is trying to decide between two men, because I think to do so would cause you to miss out on a wonderful read.  Anna has to figure out what she really wants, what is in heart, and what is God's best plan. That's not easy for any of us, and in this case, it's compounded by the time frame, which is in the 1700's. It's an excellent read and one I needed right now. This is the second book in this series, and it was even stronger than the first one. I absoulty enjoyed this book.

About the Author

suzanne6Suzanne Woods Fisher
 is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than a dozen novels, including Anna’s Crossing, The Bishop’s Family series, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and The Heart of the Amish. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Twitter @suzannewfisher.

Guest Post from Suzanne Woods Fisher

Pennsylvania of 1737, the setting for The Newcomer, is like a foreign country. Parts of it might seem familiar—the same hills and creeks and blue sky, but we’d hardly recognize the settlers. People like Anna, or Bairn, or the mysterious Newcomer. We wouldn’t be able to understand their language, their customs and traditions. Their world was that different from our modern one.
The first group of Amish immigrants (first written about in Anna’s Crossing and followed up in The Newcomer) settled northwest of Philadelphia, then a vast wilderness, and relied on each other for safety, security, building projects, and church. In nearby Germantown, settlers were tradesmen, so they clustered houses together in small knots. The Amish farmers took out land warrants for sizeable properties and lived considerable distances from each other.
In The Newcomer, Anna cooked food in a cauldron over a large hearth. One-pot meals can trace their beginnings to open-hearth cooking when ingredients for a meal went into a large kettle suspended over the fire. Traditional dishes—ham and beans, pork and sauerkraut—used sturdy, available, and simple ingredients that improved with long, slow cooking. The dishes could be easily expanded when the need arose to set a few more places at the table. And it did, often. Large families and unannounced company inspired Amish cooks to find ways to “stretch the stew.”
Noodles (including dumplings and rivvels) could be tossed into a simmering broth to make a meal stretch. Most farms had a flock of chickens, so eggs were easily at hand. Today, homemade noodles are still a favorite dish.
Another “stew stretcher” was cornmeal mush, originally eaten as a bread substitute. Early German settlers who made their home in eastern Pennsylvania roasted the yellow field corn in a bake oven before it was shelled and ground at the mill. The roasting process gave a nutty rich flavor to the cornmeal. Mush is still part of the diet the Old Order Amish—cooked and fried, baked, added into scrapple, smothered in ketchup. Dress it up and you’ve got polenta.
Now here’s one thing we do have in common with 1737 Pennsylvania immigrants…a love of good food and a shortage of time! Here’s one of my favorite one-pot recipes—probably not the kind of stew Anna might have made for ship carpenter Bairn or the mysterious Newcomer (ah, which man one stole her heart?)…but definitely delicious. Enjoy!
Lentil Chili
Here’s one of my favorite “stew stretchers.” You can expand it even more by serving over rice.
Ingredients:
1 onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
10 c. water
1 lb. dry lentils
1 tsp. cumin
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt (season to your taste)
½ tsp. pepper
2 c. salsa (your favorite variety)
29 oz. canned tomatoes, crushed

Blog Stops

February 7: cherylbbookblog
February 7: Moments Dipped in Ink
February 7: inklings and notions
February 8: Just Commonly
February 8: D’S QUILTS & BOOKS
February 8: Ashley’s Bookshelf
February 9: A Reader’s Brain
February 9: Genesis 5020
February 10: Lane Hill House
February 10: Blogging With Carol
February 10: Eat, Read, Teach, Blog
February 11: Quiet Quilter
February 11: Daysong Reflections
February 12: Christian Bookaholic
February 12: Jeanette’s Thoughts
February 13: Karen Sue Hadley
February 13: Just the Write Escape
February 14: Rhonda’s Doings
February 14: Bigreadersite
February 15: Blossoms and Blessings
February 16: Bibliophile Reviews 
February 16: Book by Book
February 17: Pause for Tales
February 17: A Holland Reads
February 18: A Greater Yes 
February 18: The Power of Words
February 19: Lighthouse Academy
February 20: By The Book
February 20: Giveaway Lady

Giveaway

1e65427e-33ac-4955-a6ee-529c217f6bb1
To celebrate her tour, Suzanne is giving away a Kindle! Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!https://promosimple.com/ps/b0d1

Thursday, February 9, 2017

Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig (The Tox Files #1)

I have read a good handful of Kendig's books. I'm usually interested in the titles or the book description, and I thought I knew, at least more or less, what this author writes like. Instead, I got a read that took everything up a notch. Multiple characters that I liked, adventure, romance, military, drama, plot, it really managed to have it all. That is a hard to thing to do. I liked so many of the characters that I can't share it all without doing another one injustice. 

The Warrior's Seal is the prequel and it's free in most places I looked. It's a thriller and it has archeology and Biblical history and while I don't like to use a cliche to compare a book to a movie, it's true in this case. I love things in the style of Indiana Jones, and things along that line. This book didn't disappoint me one bit. 

My thoughts; Page turning I-don't-want-it-to-end-read = 5 Stars. My copy came from Bethany House Bloggers. My review is entirely my own, and of my own free choosing. 


About

This Is the Way the World Ends. 
Four years after a tragic mission decimated his team, Cole "Tox" Russell has been disavowed by the United States. And that's fine--he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed, Tox is lured back into action.
 
Tox and his former Special Forces team regroup to work with FBI deception expert, Kasey Cortes, and fiery archaeologist, Tzivia Khalon, to search the globe for answers--and a cure. As the mission leads from one continent to another, it becomes clear they're not just fighting a plague but battling an ancient secret society whose true goals remain hidden.
 
With time running out and the threat for a global pandemic rising, Tox and his team realize their sole chance might be to reach back through centuries of silence to find the only answer that can save them all.



Ronie Kendig


Ronie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author who grew up an Army brat. She's penned over a dozen novels, including The Quiet Professionals series and the A Breed Apart series. She and her hunky hero hubby have a fun, crazy life with their children and a retired military working dog in Northern Virginia.


Reviews

"This fast-moving, roller-coaster thriller, with its powerful clandestine society, ancient secret, nefarious conspiracies, search spanning the globe, and under-pressure romance is sure to please fans of romantic suspense and military ops romances."
Booklist
"Kendig's first book in her Tox Files takes readers on an explosive, action-packed global journey to stop a terrorist from releasing a deadly toxin with biblical origins. Kendig has pulled out all the stops in this highly entertaining read that has plot elements of a Tom Clancy or Dan Brown novel. This is a thrill ride with a story that barely stops to catch its breath before the action revs back up again. The hero, Tox, is riveting, the heroine is strong, the secondary cast is well developed and the romance is light but sweet. Kendig has out done herself."
RT Book Reviews Top Pick
"Kendig keeps the tensions high and the pace lightning fast, with military action scenes worthy of Vince Flynn. Especially noteworthy is watching the character development of elite modern warriors forced to confront and accept ancient history, faith, and supernatural power. Kendig fans will love this opening novel in her new series."
Publishers Weekly
"Bestselling author Kendig has written an explosive adventure, raising the level of military adventure to new heights."
Christian Market
"Launching a new suspense series, Kendig's action-packed military thriller has overtones of Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code crossed with Robin Cook's Contagion."
Library Journal