Showing posts with label Christian Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian Fiction. Show all posts

Friday, 27 January 2023

The Bookshop of Secrets

Finished January 22
The Bookshop of Secrets by Mollie Rushmeyer

This novel is set in present day but is influenced by events of the past. Hope Sparrow arrives in the small town of Wanishin Falls, Minnesota looking to collect the books her mother left her when she died. They were held by a friend of her mother's for safekeeping, but Hope has discovered the friend passed away and thus followed the trail to the friend's hometown. The books are part of what Hope has come in search of, but she also remembers childhood stories of treasure and wonders what truth there is to them. 
When she arrives at the bookshop, Dusty Jackets, she finds the owners Ulysses and Margaret Barrick unable to locate her books quickly, partly due to the onset of dementia in one of them, and she agrees to stay and help for a place to stay and some payment while they search. With a timeline of two months set, Hope finds herself getting to know the people of the town, and exploring not only her own past, but also her future. Her dreams of owning a combination food and book truck are shared and begin to become real, but she has to decide whether her life will keep her running as she has or whether she can deal with her past and build a future that includes others. 
There are other young people here also stuck in their own ways, with expectations and baggage from others defining their present. From the bookshop owners' grandson Ronan to cafe manager Kat, to troubled teenager Tate Morgan, they are all finding their place in the world and looking for community. There is an underlying Christian theme to book that doesn't overpower the plot but plays a role in guiding it. 
I enjoyed the story, the book elements and the message of forgiveness and optimism that it held. 

Tuesday, 9 November 2021

Autumn Brides

Finished November 4
Autumn Brides: A Year of Weddings Novella Collection by Kathryn Springer, Katie Ganshert, and Beth Vogt

This is a collection of three novellas, all Christian romance stories taking place in the fall. The novellas here are "A September Bride" by Kathryn Springer, "An October Bride" by Katie Ganshert, and "A November Bride" by Beth Vogt.
The first story features Annie Price, new manager of a bookstore in the small town of Red Leaf. Jesse Kent is a police officer in town and pulls her over for a couple of vehicle issues. He's recently been away and wasn't aware that his mother Lorna had hired someone to run the bookstore she owns. In that short time, Annie has made friends, joined a church and several community groups and started to find a home where she feels welcomed. This is something she's never had in her life before. But Jesse is suspicious by nature and wants to ensure that his mother hasn't acted rashly. As he and Annie get to know each other, things develop quickly.
The second story has Emma Tate, who has recently called off her engagement to Chase when her dad was diagnosed with cancer. The story opens with her parents taking a vacation and her looking after their cat Oscar. On her dad's desk, she disturbs his journal and something falls to floor, a bucket list. On it are several things, some crossed off, but one that isn't is walking her down the aisle. She is hit by a lot of feelings and when she gets back to her own house, she finds old friend Jake there. Jake's dad owns the local hardware store in their town, Mayfair, Wisconsin, and has come by to fix an issue with her plumbing. When she confesses what she's seen to him, he offers to be her groom in a staged wedding that her father will be there for. As the wedding plans and preparation continue and the two go on dates, Emma finds herself thinking of Jake in terms beyond a friend. Could this turn into a real romance for them?
The third story has Sadie McAllister in Colorado, who runs a business as a personal chef, making a week's worth of meals for her clients in their own homes and leaving them set for the following week. She loves her job and dreams of her own television show. As the story opens, she gets dumped by text by her boyfriend. Old friend Erik Davis is also an entrepreneur and he's just landed a big project. He calls Sadie to ask her to make a meal to celebrate with him, and during the meal, reminds her that they dated briefly in high school, and even kissed. Sadie puts him off when he suggests dating again, saying she doesn't want to ruin their friendship, but her best friend makes her change her mind and Erik's friend, a local pastor, has a conversation with him that gets him thinking about his relationship history and what he really wants. 
All three of these stories have interesting scenarios, but all three seemed rushed near the end, as if they were shortened to fit this collection. Things go from chaste dating to marriage very quickly, and feel like some of the plot is missing after the long buildup. 
All three stories include discussion questions.

Monday, 17 February 2020

Lake Season

Finished February 15
Lake Season by Denise Hunter

This novel is the first book in a series at Bluebell Inn, in the town of Bluebell, North Carolina. Molly, Levi, and Grace Bennett are stunned whenever their parents are killed in a car accident. Their parents had been in the midst of plans to renovate their family home back to its early use as an inn. Grace was in her junior year in high school. Levi worked as a project manager for a construction company in San Francisco, and Molly was going into her final year of a hospitality degree, looking forward to a placement in Italy, something she'd worked hard towards, even learning Italian.
But Grace is determined to stay in Bluebell to finish high school, and so the siblings agree to take on their parents' project, finish the renovations of the inn over the winter to be ready to open for the season, and build the inn over a couple of years to make it a more appealing property for buyers.
The book then jumps ahead to near their opening time, with a young man, Adam Bradford showing up hoping for a room on the Memorial Day weekend, just in time to help Molly with the translation of some furniture kit instructions.
Adam is a writer, successful but not confident. He has chosen to write under a pseudonym to both protect his privacy and to create a safe space for his image of himself. He has chosen Bluebell as a spot for his new novel, on the advice of his mother, but is having an episode of writer's block, something he's never had until now. He only identifies himself as a researcher to Molly and her family.
At one time, the inn was used as a post office, and Molly discovers an unsent letter within the wall by the old mail slot. This sets her on a hunt for the sender and recipient, and she involves Adam as a research guide.
This had an interesting plot and I liked the characters of all three Bennett family members, and of Adam. There is a small town intimacy here, as well as a strong closeness between the siblings despite their differences.

Sunday, 16 February 2020

Secrets at Cedar Cabin

Finished February 14
Secrets at Cedar Cabin by Colleen Coble, read by Devon O'Day

This is the third book in a series, but the first that I've read. Bailey Fleming is working as a geriatric nurse in a seniors home in Michigan. She is still reeling from discovering her husband was already married, and then she gets the news that her mother has been murdered.
Bailey is mourning the sudden death of her mother, trying to figure out who would have killed her, and processing the aftermath of her fake marriage when she discovers that her mother had a big secret, and that someone is now after her with murder intended as well.
Bailey runs with only the bare minimum: the secret stash her mother left her, her handbag, and her cat. She is smart enough to hide her trail, and she runs to the cabin that her duplicitous husband gave her as a settlement to try to get her to keep her mouth shut about their relationship. It is several states away, in Washington, and when she gets there, the place has had the utilities shut off and is a mess.
She also discovers that she has an unexpected connection to the town of Lavender Tides, and as she begins to research her past, she also finds that the FBI are looking at her and her property as well.
This is a book with lots of secrets that need to be uncovered, with women being trafficked to high bidding renters and buyers, and with people who have faith that things will work out.
With a fast-moving plot, and interesting characters, I enjoyed the book, especially Bailey's cat Sheba, who is attached strongly to her.

Saturday, 15 February 2020

The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club

Finished February 10
The Coldwater Warm Hearts Club by Lexi Eddings

Lacy Evans has returned to her home town from the big city with her life feeling broken. She made some bad judgements there, and she lost her business and her fiance. She also still has a huge debt hanging over her due to the betrayal of the man she thought she could trust.
She can't handle living with her parents, so she takes an apartment that comes with a resident cat, one that doesn't seem to like her much at first. But she finds old friends, and a job that she can enjoy, and begins to settle in. Coffee shop owner Jacob Tyler seems different from the charming but flirtatious boy she knew, maybe partly due to his military experiences. Her ex-boyfriend Daniel Scott seems friendly, but what is going on with his marriage?
Lacy begins to get to know these people from her childhood as an adult, and finds more beneath the surface than she thought. When one of the locals noticed a need and responded to it with an offer of assistance, a group was formed, the Warm Hearts Club. The members identify needs and work together to meet those needs, whether it is for the basics of life, a little respite for a tiring caregiver, or a new way forward for someone who's been stuck in a rut for far too long. Lacy joins this community and finds herself considering a future in town, but her past has a way of coming back after her, and she might be in more trouble than she realizes.
I liked how every chapter had a quote at the beginning from one of the characters in the book. It gave me more insight into some of the more minor characters in a charming way.
A nice read.

Wednesday, 17 August 2016

Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus

Finished August 11
Harriet Beamer Takes the Bus by Joyce Magnin

Harriet Beamer was expecting her son Henry and his wife Prudence just before Christmas, and while preparing the house she fell and hurt her leg. Insisting that she wasn't badly hurt against her daughter-in-law's worries, Harriet agreed to move out to California from her home in Pennsylvania if she had truly broken something. And so the motivation for the plot of the novel is set.
As she is doing the final preparations to give her house up to the new owners and hand over her belongings to the mover, Harriet is suddenly struck by the realization that she has never really been anywhere. Her late husband Max wasn't a big traveller and so they only did an annual trip to the Jersey shore each summer, and she hasn't gone anywhere since his death fifteen years ago. As she packs up her large collection of salt and pepper shakers, she sees that they have all been given to her by others who travelled to these places. And so, she sends her aging, beloved dog Humphrey out to her son by plane and decides to travel west her own way, using local buses and trains as much as possible to see the country.
Henry, more than Prudence, worries about her travelling alone in such a way, but her friend Martha is supportive. As she wanders west, seeing the sights, purchasing more salt and pepper shakers and sending them ahead, and making new acquaintances, Harriet gains confidence, knowledge and rich experiences. She documents her trip in her journal, writing to her late husband there, and relying on a higher power to take her where she needs to go.
This is a novel of faith, of adventure, and of independence. Harriet is a real character, and I enjoyed her moments of discovery, her quiet calmness in adversity, and her sense of adventure.

Sunday, 1 May 2016

The Consciousness of Cats

Finished May 1
The Consciousness of Cats by Nigel J. Borthwick

This short novel tells the story of Nathan Blakemore, a young man with a master's degree in philosophy, who, as the story begins works as a part-time professor of philosophy and as a salesman for music equipment. When he was a bit younger, he was a sound engineer for a moderately successful rock band. He has a good friend that he talks philosophy with, Charmaine, who is a few years younger than him. Charmaine works as a cocktail waitress and is at university studying psychology. Her mother has had some issues with alcohol as well as psychological challenges. Charmaine is a very calm, reasoned young woman, and even as the two become closer, she holds Nathan at a distance.
Nathan feels his life is missing something, so he is determined to move on and not wait for Charmaine to tell him what is holding her back. He volunteers for a long-term assignment in the Philippines and enjoys the projects there and the people he meets. When a crisis occurs that changes his life forever, Charmaine re-enters his life briefly, and then leaves him to recover on his own. As Nathan learns strategies and tools to help him live with his new reality, he also finds that his life has grown larger and more satisfying.
This is a book of a man learning how to deal with his life more thoughtfully, taking a step back to control his impulses and gaining something for that.

Sunday, 17 April 2016

Lead Me Home

Finished April 9
Lead Me Home by Amy K. Sorrells

Set in the small town of Sycamore, Indiana, this novel follows two families. James Horton is a local minister, still not recovered from the loss of his wife Molly in a car accident more than a year earlier. Now he is dealing with the death by suicide of one of his parishioners, Frank Whitmore. Faced with a prolonged electricity outage impacting his dairy farm, Frank apparently felt he had no where to turn, and short 30 of his cows before turning the gun on himself.
The remaining cows will be taken in by another small dairy farm, with about 60 cows, nearby run by Laurie Burden, along with her sons Noble and Eustace. Laurie's husband Dale, a long-distance trucker left them a few years back. Eustace is a unique young man, intelligent and sensitive, but non-verbal. He has faced discrimination yet maintains his own priorities despite outside views.
James is also facing the foreclosure of the church itself, a result of dwindling attendance and debt owing on a structural repair a few years earlier. James' 17-year-old daughter Shelby, has been withdrawing from her friends and James since the death of her mother, She has been going out with a local bad boy, worrying those who care about her.
This is a tale of the economic pressures on a small farming community, added to some personal tragedies It is a story of faith, resilience, and community. Even when people feel that their situation affects them alone, because of their ties to the community, others are aware and respond in meaningful ways to make a difference. I like the nuances of the characters. There are no saints her, just real people struggling with their issues, supporting each other as best they can.

Saturday, 12 March 2016

Anomaly

Finished March 12
Anomaly by Krista McGee

This novel is a meld of science fiction and Christian fiction. Thalli is the third generation of humans born after a nuclear war in an underground bunker community. She is part of a group her own age, and has been bred to have a role, that of Musician. She has trained from her first memories to learn music to entertain her peers to motivate them as they work. She has seen what happens when someone has a physical weakness, but she is aware that she has a mental weakness and must be careful to control her curiosity and thwarting of rules to guard against being removed.
When she is tested with a piece of music and cannot control her emotions, her worst fears seem to be realized. When she awakens, a elderly man, John, is with her and she begins a friendship, one that teaches her about the world before and about faith. As she is tested further, she also has the time to learn more about Christian faith from John, and prepare herself for what awaits her.
This is a novel of science versus hope, about the stifling of feelings, and about the reemergence of faith despite the controls.
An interesting premise on a dystopian future.

Saturday, 16 January 2016

Rosemary Cottage

Finished January 14
Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble, performed by Devon O'Day

This novel is part of a series of novels set at the fictional town of Hope Beach, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. As the book opens, Amy Lange, a midwife, is returning to the cottage she owns at Hope Beach, the Rosemary Cottage in the book's title. She is still mourning her older brother Ben, who co-owned the cottage with her, and who disappeared months ago while surfing in heavy seas. His body wasn't found, but his surfboard was found with the marks of shark teeth.  She recently received an email leading her to believe that Ben's death was not as everyone believes, and that it may have been murder. Coast Guard officer Curtis Ireland lost his sister Gina around the same time as Ben died. She was killed by a boat while swimming offshore, but the boat was never identified. Curtis is raising her daughter Raine, and he hasn't told Ben's family that Raine was Ben's daughter.
As Amy finds out the truth about Raine, finds herself becoming drawn to Curtis, and starts becoming comfortable in the town again, she decides to stay permanently, addressing the need for someone with her skills in the community. She and Curtis begin working together to look into Ben's death, and soon they also believe Gina's death may be related. But do their actions put them in danger as well, and is another threat looming that could take Raine away from both of them?
This book has romance, danger, a strong faith by both main characters, and through Amy, a leaning toward natural healing methods.
A short commentary at the end of the book gave background on how her interests contributed toward the inclusion of some plot elements, and gave me information on the unusual pronunciation of the author's first name as ko-lean.

Thursday, 20 June 2013

The Sky Beneath My Feet

Finished June 20
The Sky Beneath My Feet by Lisa Samson, read by Rebecca Gallagher

This novel centers around Beth, a pastor's wife. Her husband Rick is the men's pastor at the evangelical megachurch called The Community in Baltimore. Rick didn't seek out this position and it isn't what he wants to be doing. When old friends of the couple who've moved away visit, they surprise them by offering Rick a job as lead pastor at their current church. Rick is about to start a month's sabbatical, and Beth was hoping to use the time to reconnect with him, particularly since a friend from church has offered up a beach house in Florida. But this sudden offer has Rick retreating from everything and everyone into the backyard shed to hope for divine guidance. Beth is frustrated and angry, and she finds herself taking risks and finding herself in new experiences. From a protest rally in Washington DC to the inner city of Baltimore, to a Florida beach in a storm, Beth finds her life taking her in a new direction, but struggles to figure out what she should do. She is   left dealing with issues in the lives of their teenage sons without Rick beside her for support and she isn't sure where to look for help.
This is a story about faith, about looking closer to home for those needing help, and about taking that first step.

Saturday, 28 April 2012

Promise Me This

Finished April 27
Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke

In the early twentieth century, Owen Allen is determined to make a new life for himself and his younger sister Annie, away from the influence of their Aunt Eleanor. Eleanor is a woman so immersed in unhappiness she cannot bear others' good fortune, particularly her niece and nephew. Owen places Annie in a boarding school as he goes to America ahead of her to find a life with his late father's brother. Before he leaves he encounters young Michael, an orphan struggling against mistreatment and poverty and offers him kindness and income.
Michael is struck by Owen's attitude and drawn to him to the point where he follows Owen onto the ship, the Titanic, stowing away until Owen discovers him.
But a tragedy occurs and Michael is the only one of the two to make it to America. He is determined to fulfill Owen's legacy and bring Annie over to join the family, and the two begin to correspond. Annie's life is difficult and when the First World War begins, she finds herself forced to distance herself from those she loves to protect them. But Michael is determined to find her, even if it means risking his own life.
This is a tale of love, faith, and forgiveness that resonates. We see Annie and Michael grow up and discover their strengths and find faith to keep going.
With love, adventure, and troubled characters, this story will keep you turning the pages.

Saturday, 28 January 2012

Lost Melody

Finished January 28
Lost Melody by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith
Almost a year ago Jill was injured in a subway accident in New York. She had dreamed of playing at Carnegie Hall, but the injury to her hand has meant she hasn't touched a piano since the accident. She's been living with her grandmother in the small Nova Scotia town where she grew up. Her boyfriend Greg, a local lawyer, is running for town council and ready to get serious about their relationship.
But Jill starts having a dream, over and over again, to the point she is afraid to go to sleep. Her dream seems to be about a disaster threatening her town. Tired, and wanting to stop the dream, Jill gives into the dream and announces publicly the perceived threat to the town.
The town is divided about Jill. Is she crazy, stressed by her accident last year, or is it a real prophecy? Even Greg isn't convinced. Will he stand by her and risk his campaign for council on association with her? The suspense builds. An interesting story about faith.

Monday, 27 June 2011

The Last Christian

Finished June 26
The Last Christian by David Gregory
Proselytizing through fiction is what I came away with from reading this book.
It's a thriller set in the year 2088, a time where Christianity has disappeared from North America. Abigail Caldwell emerges from a jungle village in Papua New Guinea, the sole survivor of a mysterious illness that killed the other villagers. Abby's parents were missionaries to the local Isisi tribe, and Abby lived her whole life there. Abby is assisted in making her way back to her parent's home country of the United States by an American doctor working in the country. She is forwarded an old message left for her at the mission offices by her grandfather saying that he and her grandmother felt that her mission was to reintroduce the Christian faith in America.
There is also another force at work in the US. The leading manufacturer of artificial intelligence has perfected a technique to download the human brain to a silicon device. Brain transplants have begun and the manufacturer is looking to enlarge his market by getting government funding for the operation. How determined are these people to achieve their goal? And is the technique really perfect or does it come at a cost? These two questions are the core of the plot, and keep things moving along.
Abby is an intelligent person with a one-track mind. Her intensity and focus moves those around her to assist her in her actions.
An interesting plot, but a bit forced at times.

Saturday, 30 April 2011

An Eye for Glory

Finished April 30
An Eye for Glory: the Civil War chronicles of a citizen soldier by Karl Bacon
I picked up an advance copy of this title at a conference earlier this year and once I started reading it, I couldn't stop. The citizen soldier here is Michael Palmer, a married father, who feels compelled by his religious feelings to fight in the war against slavery. He knows that others are fighting for other reasons, but that is his reason. He doesn't want his children growing up in a country that allows slaves.
He enlists voluntarily after feeling that God wants him to fight, and his best friend John joins along with him. His story is told after the war, as a record for his children, put together from memories, his journals, and letters to and from his wife. He was in the war for several battles including Gettysburg. He sees friends die, sees both good and bad leadership and decisions, and sees the horrors of war firsthand. At first he isn't sure he can kill, but finds that in the heat of battle he can. It is only when he encounters an enemy soldier that he has mortally wounded, and that takes his last moments to find comfort in the Bible, that he begins to question himself. He internalizes these issues, sharing them with no one, and just goes on with his duty. But it changes him deeply, and it is only when he returns the bible to the soldier's widow that he finds a change he can live with.
This was an interesting view of the war from the view of one soldier, an educated man with a strong sense of  morals. We see his questions and struggles and how he deals, or doesn't deal with them. We also get a sense of the futility of battle often felt by those in the ranks, who simply obey orders. With this year being the 150th anniversary of the beginning of the war, it seemed a good time to read more about it.

Monday, 11 April 2011

When Sparrows Fall

Finished April 8
When Sparrows Fall by Meg Moseley
This is a novel I would classify as domestic fiction with elements of romance and Christian fiction. I received an advance copy of this book through Library Journal, and I always like to expand my knowledge of what fiction is out there. This book is set in rural Georgia, and gives us two viewpoints. One is Miranda Hanford, a young widow with six children. Miranda is part of a small leader-centred church, a church she is starting to feel uncomfortable about, especially since the pastor, Mason, is asking them all to sell up and move with him to a different state. Mason seems to have some sort of information about Miranda that he threatens her with exposure of if she doesn't comply and she feels isolated.
The other point of view is Miranda's brother-in-law, college professor Jack Hanford. Jack becomes involved in Miranda's life when she takes a serious fall and her oldest child calls him for assistance as he is listed as guardian for the children. Jack's brother, Miranda's husband, had not wanted him around and Jack is surprised and touched about being called on. He steps into the family's lives and finds that there is much more here than he knew.
We see some interesting commentary around some of the extreme Christian churches around, and the isolation that they can bring to their congregation. We also see how the community can become helpful when they are allowed to be. Lots to think about.

Monday, 19 April 2010

Romantic Thriller

Finished April 17
Indivisible by Kristen Heitzmann
I received a copy of an uncorrected proof of this novel through Library Journal. It will be released May 4. The book is set in a mountain town in Colorado. When a pair of mutilated raccoons is found the chief of police, Jonah Westfall, is worried about what this sort of crime can lead to. He is finding that as the town expands, more serious crimes, like drugs, are coming to it.
Piper is new in town, and working as Sarge's assistant in his bakery. She is renting a room from Tia, who runs a local candle shop. Tia is estranged from her family, and living a solitary and sad life. Piper brings a breath of fresh air, and all sorts of things start to happen. Also new to town is Miles, also a solitary man, but one looking to overcome his demons. When Sarge takes a hit to his health, Piper really comes through and shows that young as she is, she knows about responsibility.
As the various storylines unfold, the reader gets drawn into them, caring about what happens to each of the characters, and seeing the links between them develop.
This was a good read and I would recommend it.

Sunday, 6 July 2008

Christian Romance

Finished July 6
Coming Unglued by Rebeca Seitz
This is the second in the Sisters, Ink series, about four adopted sisters who run a scrapbooking networking group. This book focuses on Kendra, who underwent a rough life before her adoption, with a disinterested mother who had a string of boyfriends. Kendra still has some issues with her self-worth, based on her earlier life. Even though she has a man who seems very nice and is interested in her, she is still drawn to an inappropriate relationship.
The dynamics between the sisters are good, and here they are all preparing for the wedding of the youngest sister, Tandy. Tandy is big on planning, and a wedding is the ultimate in plans. As the sisters help each other through the issues in their lives and celebrate the joys, they also look at the role of God in their lives, and how he sends things into their lives they don't always expect.
I wasn't sure that I would enjoy this book, but I really did. I also have an adopted sister that I feel close to (although we live thousands of miles from each other), and this brought that relationship to mind for me.