Harvest of Gold by Tessa Afshar

Harvest of Rubies was the first book I had read by Tessa Afshar.

Harvest of Gold picks up with some of the same characters. No longer a scribe, Sarah is married and a friend of the Queen. Sarah and her husband Darius, are trying to understand their relationship. Sarah would like a baby, (that is good because she is with child and didn't know yet!) but now they need to travel. She is afraid to tell her husband yet, her relationship with Darius feels very touch and go - married or not! After all, arranged marriages don't always have true love, and just because you are married doesn't mean you have a marriage. Darius is proud, and often stand-offish towards his wife, and yet he is drawn to her on every level. Will being with Nehemiah change his heart and his mind, or is Sarah in for a long unhappy relationship?
Love does NOT make a man weak. It makes him stronger than most men, but only if he can figure it out in time before he looses his wife's heart.

Relationships are being built while Nehemiah works on building Jerusalem's walls. (For those who didn't read the last book, our fictional but very wonderful Sarah is a cousin to the prophet Nehemiah.)
This story is in both Persia and Jerusalem, and we get lots of daily life and activities brought to life for us to enjoy. Restoration, Grace, forgiveness, patience, all are inter-wound. Like the other book there is a lot going in, including some plans for a certain person's assassination! The outcome is going to depend on hearts turned toward, and tuned into God.

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing

Harvest of Gold

River North; New Edition edition (July 1, 2013)

by

Tessa Afshar

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


TESSA AFSHAR was voted "New Author of the Year" by the Family Fiction sponsored Reader's Choice Award 2011 for her novel Pearl in the Sand. She was born in Iran, and lived there for the first fourteen years of her life.  She moved to England where she survived boarding school for girls and fell in love with Jane Austen and Charlotte Bronte, before moving to the United States permanently.  Her conversion to Christianity in her twenties changed the course of her life forever. Tessa holds an MDiv from Yale University where she served as co-chair of the Evangelical Fellowship at the Divinity School.  She has spent the last thirteen years in full-time Christian work.

ABOUT THE BOOK

The scribe Sarah married Darius, and at times she feels as if she has married the Persian aristocracy, too. There is another point she did not count on in her marriage-Sarah has grown to love her husband. Sarah has wealth, property, honor, and power, but her husband's love still seems unattainable.

Although his mother was an Israelite, Darius remains skeptical that his Jewish wife is the right choice for him, particularly when she conspires with her cousin Nehemiah to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Ordered to assist in the effort, the couple begins a journey to the homeland of his mother's people. Will the road filled with danger, conflict, and surprising memories, help Darius to see the hand of God at work in his life-and even in his marriage?

A hidden message, treachery, opposition, and a God-given success, will lead to an unlikely bounty.

Tessa can be reached through the Contact link on her Website 

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Harvest of Gold, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0802405592 

A Big Year for Lily by Suzanne Fisher and Mary Ann Kinsinger (Book Three - Adventures Of Lily Lapp)

This is the third book in this delightful series. 
First - Life With Lily
Second - A New Home For Lily
And now we reach this review, for the third book - A Big Year For Lily. 

Lily is about to be ten! That is a big time for an Amish girl, she gets to take her first step towards being a woman, growing up! But before Lily can get to ten years old, she has lots of challenges occurring  Someone is swapping out her lunch items, and Teacher Rhonda things she could be a sandwich thief  Yes, that is truly awful! No good Amish girl would swap out lunches with out asking someone, and while Lily's lunch might not be all she wants it to be, she wouldn't do that. How can she clear her name? 

So very much to do when you are the oldest and only girl in a family. Floors to wax, bats to get away from, little brothers to take care of, or avoid. Effe who keeps tormenting her at school, and Arron Yoder - he is still mean and does the most discussing things, but it seems that Cousin Hannah is smitten with him. That is just about unbearable. How will Lily make it through this? 

You just have to read this book, because it is too much fun and a wonderful third book in this series. I'm waiting for the 4th book! 

Carol :) 

About the Book:

Lily Lapp’s family has settled into their new home in Pennsylvania, but life still holds big changes and big steps for Lily. Good changes, like once again living close to her beloved cousin and best friend, Hannah. Bad changes, like a mean girl who plays tricks on her. And no change at all where Lily would most want one–Aaron Yoder sits near her in school and relentlessly teases her. Surprises are in store for Lily as she learns, with Mama and Papa’s help, to manage the ups and downs of growing up Amish.

The third of four charming novels that chronicle the gentle way of the Amish through the eyes of a young girl, A Big Year for Lily gives children ages 8-12 a fascinating glimpse into the life of the Amish–and lots of fun and laughter along the way. It combines Mary Ann Kinsinger’s real-life stories of growing up Amish and the bestselling writing of Amish fiction and nonfiction author Suzanne Woods Fisher. With charming line drawings in each book, this series captures the hearts of readers young and old.

Get ready for more fun and friendship with Lily! 
Every day brings new adventures for Lily! With cousin Hannah at her side, life is filled with surprises--including a rotten school trick played on her by Effie Kauffman and a surprising change of heart in the worst boy imaginable, Aaron Yoder. But tears turn to laughter as Lily turns ten, wears grown-up clothes, sits with her friends at church . . . and turns the tables on Effie.

You'll adore this tale of love, laughter, forgiveness, and ties that bind an Amish family together.

Now...time for the Giveaways! Lily is giving away an iPad Adventure pack and several special hand-picked-by-Lily goodies during the A BIG YEAR FOR LILY GIVEAWAY EXTRAVAGANZA! Click the button for more details.

  

http://adventuresoflilylapp.com/

http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/books/fiction/the-adventures-of-lily-lapp-series/

About the Authors:

Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She met and married her husband, whom she knew from school days, and started a family. After they chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog, A Joyful Chaos, as a way to pass on her warm childhood memories to her own children. From the start, this blog found a ready audience and even captured the attention of key media players, such as the influential blog Amish America and the New York Times. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, A Lancaster County Christmas, The Keeper, and The Haven, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Christy Award finalist and a Carol Award finalist. She is the host of internet radio show Amish Wisdom, which boasts 15,000 downloads a month, and a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking; Such magazines. She lives in California. Find out more

at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com.

The book link is:

http://www.amazon.com/Year-Lily-Adventures-Lapp-ebook/dp/B00B85M4RS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1374375395&sr=8-1&keywords=A+big+year+for+lily

Available July 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Dolled Up To Die by Lorena McCourtney (The Cate Kinkaid Files Series)

I really enjoyed Dying To Read. Dolled Up To Die  is the second book in this series. Cate Kinkaid is now an assistant PI, working for her Uncle. Cate's cat, Octavia, she inherited from the first book is trying to help her, but cats aren't helpful with all things, or always in ways we need them to be.

She can't carry a gun yet, but she can file reports, work on subpoenas, and wind up smack in the middle of a murder investigation! All she did was try to go rescue a lady who said there was a triple murder, but that the police wouldn't come help. Arriving at the scene, the victims are elaborate life like dolls. Jo-Jo, their creator has put so much work into them, having them shot and be-headed in her own home is extremely hard on her. Jo-Jo is suspecting her ex-husband or his new wife or Mother-In-Law of this crime. Just as the police finally do show up, and Cate's boyfriend arrives to be her back up, Jo-Jo and Cate find her ex-husband's body in the back bedroom! Well it is on from there!

Cate has a whole list of suspects that are growing, and motives are anywhere from clear, to very murky, a complication that she and Mitch are falling in love, a wedding she was asked to be a Bride's Maid in because someone else couldn't, and a killer on the loose. She is going to have to pray and work her way though this very carefully, and with a good bit of help if she is going to solve this case and find out who is destroying Jo-Jo's dolls and killing people.

Another really good read. I'm really enjoying this series!
Carol :)

About The Book:

Cate's not sure just what she expected . . . but she knows it certainly wasn't this.
When Cate Kinkaid receives a frantic call about a triple homicide, she drives to the scene against her better judgment--aren't triple homicides more up the police department's alley?--only to find that the victims are not quite who she expects. Now she has a new rule to add to everything she's learned in her short stint as an assistant private investigator: always find out if the victims have human DNA. Because these three do not.

But who would shoot this nice lady's dolls? What possible reason could the shooter have? And then there's the startling discovery of another victim, who definitely does have human DNA . . .

With tension that is matched only by humor, Dolled Up to Die is the exciting second book in Lorena McCourtney's Cate Kinkaid Files. You won't find a place to stop and take a breath in this fast-paced story.

About the Author - Excerpts from her web site: 

My husband and I live in southern Oregon. 

I have one son and a granddaughter. Jim has two daughters and three grandchildren. Our family is fairly well scattered, so we do not see them as often as we’d like.

I started writing in the fifth grade. All my stories were about horses. This love of horses carried me through a degree in agriculture from Washington State University. My first job out of college, however, was with a big meat-packing company in the Midwest, where I quickly discovered that writing about hogs and sausage making was not my life’s calling.

Marriage and motherhood intervened, and by the time I got back to writing, I knew fiction was what I wanted to write. I started out doing short stories for children and teenagers, mostly for Sunday-School publications. Then, primarily because of financial pressures, I wrote women’s short stories and romance novels, all the time promising the Lord I would get back to Christian writing. Finally, after 24 published romance novels, the Lord made plain that it was time to make good on that promise. It was time to become a Christian author and write exclusively Christian fiction. The first 6 of these books were with the Palisades line of Christian romance, but with my 7th book of Christian fiction, WHIRLPOOL, I turned to a stronger emphasis on mystery.

One of the nicest perks of being a Christian author is hearing from readers, and I’d be delighted to hear from any of you. Contact me at lorena2@earthlink.net.
Her web site:
http://www.lorenamccourtney.com/

The book link is:
http://www.amazon.com/Dolled-Cate-Kinkaid-Files-ebook/dp/B00B85M50Y/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

Available July 15, 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Storm by Evan Angler (Book 3 of the Swipe Series)

This is the first book I have ever ready by this Author. At first I was a bit lost, even though some background was given to try to get us up to speed. For a while I felt like I wish I had a list of the names and places to refer to, but after a little bit I felt up to speed.

There is this group of un-marked kids, called Dust. (I'm guessing because we are made from dust.) They are fighting to stay free because they refused The Mark. (Yes, this is set in end-times or maybe Revelations here.) This group of young teens are on the run from DOME, who is fit to be tied because they didn't take The Pledge, and get The Mark. So you have the Marked, and the Markless. Recently they lost a member when they broke in a facility to get out another member's sister. Instead of getting her out, she stayed and one of their own is now being re-programmed, ie--- tortured.

Meanwhile, the whole planet is "at peace" because of the IMPS. They are "peacekeepers". Please read that as fighters in training, an army for the probably civil war that keeps being whispered about. Two major rulers are each over one half of Earth, but rest assured (not!) they are in perfect unity. Oh so much unity, only it isn't. The weather is now being controlled by the government, and they have turned off the rain. No one knows why yet, and the people who are sabotaging the rain stations are basically black-ops.

Topping all off that off, Dust had hacked some messages and they know about Project Trumpet. That is suppose to be a way to kill off all the Markless, only it seems to have backfired and a Marked is very sick. This is nanobot controlled and there isn't an off switch. It is only activated by certain special agents, so how did Erin, one of the Marked who is with the Dust group get infected with Trumpet anyway? The possible cure is even farther out than anticipated, and the unrest, tension and suspense are always underlying.

This book has some fun things in it, mixed it with the stress of surviving a world going to - well pretty much you know where it is going! I did enjoy it, but I did really wish I had been able to read the first two books so that I wasn't so very lost for a while. It is not overly "Christian" in the preachy way like some books are, but instead Evan Angler was writing about surviving what was left of the world after The Mark and massive changes.

Carol :)

About The Book: 

In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark lets citizen shop, go to school, and even get medical care—without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he’s been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In Storm, Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis’ army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation—and the world—the weather has become less stable and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined.

Who is Evan Angler?
Evan Angler is safe, for now. He lives without the Mark, evading DOME and writing in the shadows of Beacon. As a kid he was quiet and well-behaved, having grown up in a town not unlike Spokie, where he enjoyed music, drawing, hover-dodge, astrophysics, hiking, virtual reality . . .  None of that matters now. Evan Angler is the author of SWIPE. But if anyone asks, you know nothing about it, and you didn't hear anything from him. Don't make eye contact if you see him. Don't call his name out loud. He's in enough trouble already. And so are you, if you've read his books. Evan Angler

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. 

Storm - http://www.amazon.com/Storm-Swipe-Evan-Angler/dp/1400321972
Author’s website - http://www.evanangler.com
Participants’ links -
Julie Bihn
Beckie Burnham
Keanan Brand
Pauline Creeden
Emma or Audrey Engel
Sarah Faulkner
Victor Gentile
Ryan Heart
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Joan Nienhuis
Writer Rani
Chawna Schroeder
Jacque Stengl
Jojo Sutis
Jessica Thomas
Steve Trower
Phyllis Wheeler
Rachel Wyant

Pieces Of The Heart by Bonnie S. Calhoun

This is my second book by Bonnie S. Calhoun. While very different than Cooking The Books , Pieces Of  The Heart is not totally disconnected from Bonnie's first book. I must stay that I wasn't prepared to feel attached Grammy in this book as deeply as I did, but it hasn't been very long since my own Grammie headed for Heaven.

Cordelia fell in love with Bernard the first time he became her hero. Growing up a bit different than the children around her, Cordelia was often called "high-yeller", and she struggled to fit into her own life. Her Mom didn't get along well with her Grammy, her Father's Mother. To top that all off, her Dad is the Preacher, so she is the proverbial "preacher's kid". If all that wasn't enough, the time are getting worse, and Cordelia is trying so hard to understand why God feels so far away. To help her, her biggest fan and confidant is her Grandmother.

Cordelia's Grammy is a quilter, a talent passed down to her from her family. It is an heirloom and a way of life that Cordelia's Mother didn't grow up with, and doesn't understand or really approve of. Grammy is working on a huge quilt in the Pinecone or Pine Burr pattern. Grammy has one, and she has been working for years now on Cordelia's quilt. She calls the quilt a "life covering" because each triangle is put in covered in prayers for that person's life. But things aren't always just what they seem. Bernard's Mother is an abused wife, and her story gets deeper and deeper as Cordelia's relationship with Bernard progresses. And just when everything looked like it was falling into place, then came the drafts, and the war. With Bernard gone to war, will God really answer Cordelia's prayers? Can she connect to the faith that the generations before her have tried to help install in her? No one can live on someone else's connection to God and with all that has happened to Cordelia, she will not make it with out her own personal connection to the power of God.

This is a very deep book, with common threads pulled together throughout the entire tapestry which was carefully crafted and woven with a purpose. This tapestry covers pride, pain, prejudiced, love, hate, and redemption and end the very end ties to the background of the Author's first book in very beautiful ways.

I don't want this to be a spoiler - so stop here if you are worried about that! I have to say how impressed and grateful I was for the PTSD portrayal of certain characters in this book. It is something that strikes home with me in ways that I haven't shared yet.

I am just waiting till I get to read the next book by Bonnie S. Calhoun!

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Pieces of the Heart

Abingdon Press (June 1, 2013)

by

Bonnie S. Calhoun

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year,” President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network, and Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (CCWC) and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference(GPCWC).

For the last six years she has taught workshops in Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and creating Social Media promotions at both CCWC, and GPCWC, and in 2011 at the Montrose, Pa Christian Writers Conference. She also taught a Facebook workshop at the 2012 ACFW conference.

Bonnie and her husband live in a log cabin in upstate area of New York with a dog and cat who think she’s wait-staff. Her sites are:
https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhounsnarkandsuspense
https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun

ABOUT THE BOOK

Cordelia Grace watched Bernard Howard, the love of her young life, go off to fight for our country in WWII. And she has spent the last three years creating the Pine Cone quilt that will grace their marriage bed when he comes home. Each row of triangles signifies a layer in her life, sets of memories, hopes, dreams, and prayers for her future, enough spoken words to cover them forever. Her image of their “happy-ever-after” grows proportionally as the quilt expands.

But is the man that returns from the war, the same man that she remembered? Are the dark shades of color that she had to use for the outside edges of the beloved quilt prophetic of her life to come? Can love and faith overcome all?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Pieces of the Heart, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1426752725

Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel by Melody Carlson (Dear Daphne Series )

I must say that Melody Carlson's books are always fun for me.

Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel is fun also!

Daphne is in New York, working for the New York Times writing wedding announcements. She has been stuck in the same apartment, and the same job, for the last 10-12 years. Suddenly, her Aunt Dee passes. Daphne heads to Appleton for her Aunt's funeral. Being back in Appleton, Daphne's home town, started making Daphne wonder about her live back in New York. She didn't get long to wonder, because after the funeral was the reading of Aunt Dee's last will and testament.

Aunt Dee had some major secrets, and now, Daphne knows what they are. She also knows why, but what to do with a few of them is another issue. They are life altering! To top that, she gets the classic car, the beautiful Victorian house complete with garden grounds, the two sweet cats, a new line of work, and a sizable inheritance,  with a few catches included. She has to move back home, take over a few things where her "Aunt" left off, and most of all, she only gets the whole package if she falls in love and gets married in the next 365 days! What a stipulation!!! How do you pray your way through finding the right man in less than a year??! Her only other option is to loose it all, and that isn't a great thought either. Indeed, Daphne is Lock, Stock and very much Over A Barrel with everything in her life!

Faster than she knows it, Daphne has caught the eye of several eligible bachelors in Appleton. So now what is a girl suppose to do? Worse yet she was left hurt and gun shy from Ryan, the man she was falling in love with. Finding out quite suddenly that he was married left her alone and out of the dating field for quite sometime. Now it is time to give herself some good solid advice, to trust God and to see what His plans are for her.

I'm looking forward to the next book!
Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel

B&H Publishing Group (April 30, 2013)

by

Melody Carlson

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Over the years, Melody Carlson has worn many hats, from pre-school teacher to youth counselor to political activist to senior editor. But most of all, she loves to write! Currently she freelances from her home. In the past eight years, she has published over ninety books for children, teens, and adults--with sales totaling more than two million and many titles appearing on the ECPA Bestsellers List. Several of her books have been finalists for, and winners of, various writing awards.

She has two grown sons and lives in Central Oregon with her husband and chocolate lab retriever. They enjoy skiing, hiking, gardening, camping and biking in the beautiful Cascade Mountains.

(I made edits to the About The Book write-up. The first name was not matching my book. In the write up below I have changed the first name of the leading lady so that it matches my book!)

ABOUT THE BOOK

With high hopes, Daphne Ballinger lands her dream job at The New York Times. But it's not long until writing about weddings becomes a painful reminder of her own failed romance, and her love of the city slowly sours as well. Is it time to give up the Big Apple for her small hometown of Appleton?

When her eccentric Aunt Dot passes away and leaves a sizable estate to Daphne, going back home is an easy choice. What isn't easy is coming to terms with the downright odd clauses written into the will.

Daphne only stands to inherit the estate if she agrees to her aunt's very specific posthumous terms -- personal and professional. And if she fails to comply, the sprawling old Victorian house shall be bequeathed to . . . Aunt Dot’s cats.

And if  Daphne thinks that’s odd, wait until she finds out an array of secrets about Aunt Dot's life, and how imperfect circumstances can sometimes lead to God's perfect timing.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Lock, Stock and Over a Barrel, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1433679302 

Slow Moon Rising by Eva Marie Everson

I did read Waiting For Sunrise, but manged to miss a book in this series. With Slow Moon Rising, readers find themselves back in Cedar Key. In this book the story is told from the view point of five main Clayborne women. Because of this it jumps about a bit, so keep that in mind when reading! These women are Kimberly, Jayme-Leigh, Heather, Anise, and Ami. 

Their over all story works its way down a time-line but through the eyes of several people. Each woman has at least four or so chapters written from their view point. As you keep reading you start seeing family secrets, big ones that threaten families, and relationships being exposed.

It is hard to loose me in a book, so I didn't get lost, just a bit frustrated at times. Like watching a series on TV that picks up somewhere else when you see the next episode leaving you wondering, but wait! What about? I think I really NEEDED the other book to make more of this fit together for me.

Carol :)

About The Book:

Cedar Key has long been a place of rest, healing, and release in the Claybourne family. But it might also be the birthplace of a lie that is poisoning the family from within. Join the strong Claybourne women--Anise, Kimberly, Jayme-Leigh, Heather, and Ami--as they each confront the truth. Their unique paths will lead them through heartbreak, misunderstandings, and pain. But their journeys will also bring reconciliation with each other and renewed love in their own lives.

In her lyrical, evocative fashion, Eva Marie Everson weaves a tapestry of complicated relationships that, when complete, reveals the most beautiful work of art there is--family.

Author Bio

Eva Marie Everson is a successful speaker and the award-winning author of Things Left Unspoken, This Fine Life, Chasing Sunsets, and Waiting for Sunrise. She is coauthor of the Potluck Club books and the Potluck Catering Club series. She lives in Florida.

Find out more:

http://www.evamarieeverson.com or http://www.evamarieeversonauthor.com/

The book link is:
http://www.amazon.com/Slow-Moon-Rising-Book-ebook/dp/B00B85M3LK/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1

“Available June 2013 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”