Corner of Blue by Sharon McAnear

What a fantastic read!  Set in Texas, this story deals with the issue of romance and prejudice in a loving and heart-warming way.

Jemmabeth is a girl trying to find her way in life and this book is about her journey through romance.  She has known love, but decides that she wants to see if there is anything or anyone more exciting out in the world.  She finds excitement, but happiness still eludes her.  When she returns home to nurse a broken heart, she realizes that what she had in the past wasn’t so bad.

While staying with her grandma, Jemmabeth discovers a blossoming friendship from “across the tracks”.  She strives to change the towns point of view by refusing to care what others think about her new friend.  Will their friendship survive the prejudice of the town?

This book touches on many issues in Jemmabeth’s life.  McAnear does a great job of bringing Jemmabeth to life and making you love her.  This was a book that is well worth the time to read it…but be forewarned that it is a series.  Be sure and have all the books in The Jemma Series so you won’t be left on the edge of your seat with no conclusion!

I decided I would read and write a review of this book for the website, but I couldn’t do it.  The book is full of the worst kind of violence from beginning to end (at least until I stopped reading…I wasn’t able to finish it!).

If you are thinking of reading it, be forewarned that it is filled with extreme accounts of and memories of violence.

The Brethren by Beverly Lewis

Annie’s People 3

Secrets in the Amish community…this novel will uncover them all!

Annie is itching to paint again…and there is only one face that comes to mind.  Will she be able to keep her promise to her father?  Will she ever see Ben again?  Of all the secrets around her, why can’t she forget the tragedy of Isaac Hochstetler?

Ben is struggling with a secret revealed.  His first reaction is anger.  His second reaction is seeking answers.  Will he find what he’s looking for by returning to the Amish community he’d recently fled?  Will Annie be pleased to see him?  What will her reaction be to the news he has to share?

Louisa is getting back into the grind of her English lifestyle.  While she settles back in she begins to wonder if there is a way to keep the peace she found while in Amish country with her all the time.  Will Julia have the answers Louisa seeks?

Lewis does a great job of bringing all the mysteries to light in this novel.

The Englisher by Beverly Lewis 

Annie’s People #2

Lewis presents a continuation of Annie’s life in this novel.  Annie is torn by so many desires…she loves her art, she’s discovering and interpreting her feelings for Ben, and she’s trying to figure out how the church fits into her life.  Will the rules of the ordnung be enough to make her submit?  Will her future hold love and happiness?

Ben is always trying to do what is best.  In this novel he is trying to decipher the feelings in his own heart.  Could he love Annie?  Is there any way to make that love work if she decides to join the church?  Will he be strong enough to give her up if she needs him to?

Louisa is struggling to soak up the peace that is all around her.  She’s having man troubles.  Trey, a long lost affection, is striving to get Louisa to give him a chance to discover all they had lost in the past.  Louisa is pleased by his attention.  Will she choose to love again?  While she is on her extended stay in Amish country, are there no other “love” interests?  Could an Amish boy catch the eye of an English girl?

Lewis does a great job of continuing the story and answering several questions readers may have.  I really enjoyed this book.

Shades of Blue by Karen Kingsbury

Brad lives and works in New York City.  He has everything he needs to make him happy…a great job and a loving fiance.  He thought he was going to be happy for the rest of his life until memories of Emma kept creeping into his mind.

Laura is planning the wedding she’s always dreamed of…the invitations are sent, the dress fitted, and the groom perfect.  Yet, she has this nagging feeling that Brad is hiding something.  He couldn’t be having second thoughts, could he?

Emma is living day to day trying to forget her past mistakes.  As she teaches her class she tries not to think of Brad and what could have been.  If only she could go back and change the past.

This is a heartwarming story about searching for forgiveness no matter what the cost.  Kingsbury did a great job on broaching a hard subject that needs to be discussed more openly.  On that note, I didn’t feel like this was one of Kingsbury’s greatest works…it didn’t grip me the way that many of her other works do.  It is worth the read and I commend Kingsbury for taking the time to write it!

Karen Kingsbury’s latest novel, Shades of Blue, is set to release today!  It is a story of a man striving to find forgiveness for his past mistakes before he moves on with his future.  I hope you all enjoy.  I’ll have a review coming soon.

On another note, now that Kingsbury is finished with this novel, she is working on Take Three in the Above the Line series.  It’s set to be released on March 23, 2010.  I know I’m ready for the completion of this story!

Take Two by Karen Kingsbury

The second book in the Above the Line Series…and it’s a great one!

Keith and Chase are finishing up all the details on The Last Letter and their lives as producers seem to be falling into place.  When the author of a best selling novel approaches them to produce her book, they thank God for his many blessings and provisions.  Alas though, Hollywood has a way of making dreams hard to accomplish.  Problems begin to arise as they strive to continue to seek God’s will in this endeavor.

Chase is facing a temptation that could ruin his work in film making and his home life.  Will he be able to stay focused and faithful to the God he serves?

Andi and Bailey are living the college life.  Andi is beginning to branch out from the “old, stuffy” views and beliefs she was raised with.  She wants to live life to it’s fullest and Taz may just be the man to show her how.  While she works on her acting, Taz helps her explore being a “spiritual thinker”.  Will Andi give up God to be able to live the “exciting” life that she sees everyone else living?  Will Taz be her key to this life?

Bailey and Tim share a dream of acting on Broadway, but for Bailey things are beginning to shift.  Torn between Tim and Cody, she struggles to hear and follow God’s will for her life.  Will she be patient enough to wait on God?

Cody is struggling to do the right thing.  He knows Bailey is with Tim and he doesn’t want to get in the way, yet he still wants Bailey’s friendship.  Will he be able to find a way to be a friend and not harm her relationship with her boyfriend?

Kelly can’t go on this way anymore.  She is tired of Chase never being home.  She longs for some help in the everyday living at her house.  She worries about everything constantly.  Why should she have to do it all alone?  So, she starts eating…  Will she be able to overcome this gray cloud that is hovering over her life?

This is a fantastic book in this series.  You really become immersed into each of the characters stories.  I just wish I had book three right now so I could finish the story!  But, alas, we’ll have to wait a little longer!

Kingsbury is going to be working on an unrelated novel, Shades of Blue, set to release on October 20, 2009.  After this she will continue the Above the Line series with book three:  Take Three.  This third book is set to be released on March 23, 2010.  So…you might want to hold off until March and read the entire series together!

LONESTAR SANCTUARY by Colleen Coble

Allie, a frightened mother on the run, has to leave her rodeo life to protect herself and her daughter, Betsy.  Allie hopes that getting away will help heal her daughter, who hasn’t spoken since the death of her grandparents.  This ranch is the last place Allie has to go where she hopes she and Betsy will be welcomed.  As she sets out for Bluebird Ranch, she considers the only living relative she has…Will he be able to help them?  Will he want to?

Rick, a ranch foreman at Bluebird Ranch, is suspicious of this woman who just shows up out of no where.  He doesn’t trust that her likeness to the ranch owner’s daughter is an innocent coincidence.  What if she is out to hurt Elijah, the ranch owner?  Rick will never let that happen.  As he spends time with Allie and Betsy, he begins to soften…a little.  Suspicions still remain as he carries out a promise long forgotten.

Although this story is a romance, it is mysterious until the end!  The storyline that Coble created keeps you guessing and rooting for the good guys.

The Inheritance by Tamera Alexander

McKenna, a provider for her younger brother, is determined to make this work.  This move is their last chance at a fresh start…they can’t afford to move again.  When she and Robert, her brother, arrive in Copper Creek they receive an inheritance that is unexpected and challenging.  As McKenna tries to deal with Robert as he “sows his wild oats”, she also has to constantly consider her inheritance.  What will the future hold for them?  Will Robert ever come to appreciate all that she has given up for him?  Will this inheritance be a blessing or a burden?

U.S. Marshal Wyatt Caradon has been doing this job for years.  He is starting to tire of life on the trail and criminals.  When he meets McKenna, his heart is stirred and he struggles to leave the pain of his past in the past.  He is reminded of all he has lost, as God gently reminds him of all that could be.  Will he be able to trust and open his heart?  Is McKenna the woman to help him do that?

Alexander creates very realistic characters with realistic struggles.  You truly are able to feel empathy for McKenna and Caradon.  This book definitely fits the category of INSPIRATIONAL romance!  The characters spiritual and emotional struggles connect with the reader and pull them into this world of ranching and romance.  Well done Alexander!