Sarah’s Patchwork (Keepsake Legacy Series #1)

Sarah Biddle is a woman who doesn’t know her own strengths and abilities. This story is about her discovery of both. She faces tragedy from her childhood to adulthood. She struggles in dealing with those tragedies because she is a “Christian” who doesn’t depend on her savior.

She starts out as an orphan that has to watch out for her brother and keep the family together as they travel from town to town looking for adoptive parents. She struggles at each town because she won’t be separated from her brother, and many just want her. Her brother is a cripple and that also deters prospective parents.

As she and her brother start life in a new town, she discovers that not all folks are mean hearted. She starts to realize her need for a Savior instead of just the title of “Christian”. This town brings many blessings and sorrows upon her life.
I don’t want to give too much away so I will say that it was a pleasure to take this journey with Sarah Biddle. We could all learn from her example. Be ye not “Christians” in title only!

This is a story of a mother that reaches her wits end. She is fed up, tired and feels trampled on. After the last straw she decides to run away for Mother’s Day. She is feeling great in her hotel enjoying room service and feeling pampered. Then, her kids show up and need her help. She struggles with feelings that every mother has felt…she’s torn between helping her kids and teaching them a lesson.

It is a heartwarming story that strikes a cord in the heart of every mother. Through struggles and lack of recognition, this mother teaches us all a few lessons.

The Princess (Contemporary Romance)

This book was such a fantastic read! Shelby is an ordinary girl who is presented with the opportunity to become a princess through an arranged marriage. She really covers this decision in prayer. She and the prince go into this arranged marriage feeling that they are within God’s will for their life.

As events unfold, Shelby wonders if she has made a mistake. Prince Nick is making it difficult at first for her to know her roll in the palace. Eventually both realize their stubbornness and agree to strive to work on their relationship.

This book has intrigue, tragedy, love, family, and spiritual encouragement. This story makes you long to jump into the book and help. It is a great book!

The Winter Garden: A Novel

This is a story about a woman named Ika who travels back to the home of her childhood to confront the memories of her past. She longs to find out the name of her biological father and she commits to helping with the care of her dying mother with the hopes that she will give her some answers.

Ika has to deal with the social ramifications of refusing to speak with her family for years, and then being thrown back into that same family and even the same house! As she cares for her mother she strives to work out her feelings toward her sister. Ika meets her sister’s family and finds a connection.

This journey to Ika’s past was very depressing. I usually look forward to reading a book, but this one was a chore. I found her childhood very sad and that made it a hard read.

Winner Take All (Marcus Glenwood Series #3)

Kirsten is a woman with a past. She struggles with the acceptance that her fiancé is offering. Could a man really love her after he figures out what happened in her past?

Marcus is a lawyer who knows that Kirsten is hiding something, but he loves her anyway.

Dale is a father who loves his daughter. When his daughter is kidnapped, he hires Marcus to take the case.

Erin is an opera star. She loves opera more than her own child.

These characters are intertwined in the case of a girls kidnapping. They discover the strength they need only comes from God. Kirsten discovers that maybe Marcus can be trusted.

The Sound of My Voice

This book was so refreshing. Usually when you read a Christian Romance Novel you expect some romance and some religious fluff…just enough to make you feel good. This book is different. The main character, Jordan, lives in New York City and loves the city. She tries to spread grace, but doesn’t think of religion in the same way her father does. This is the story of a rift between a father and a daughter and how religion can help with every day life.

Jordan followed her passion that led her to the city…and her father didn’t approve. He didn’t think it was pious enough!

This book explores “stuffy” religion, “open minded” religion, and how God’s grace covers each person. If you are tired of the weak religion of other Christian fiction, then read this book. It’s like a breathe of fresh air.

Echoes (The Glenbrooke Series #3)

The story line is actually a love story that begins on the internet. The main character, Wren, is weighing the pros and cons of having a relationship on-line and of sharing that information with her friends and family.

If you’ve ever met someone on-line and it turned romantic then you know the emotions that Wren is dealing with. Her judgment and all of her friends are warning her of the possibilities of meeting KC in person. She tries to weigh her options. The author does a great job of answering all of your questions and keeping you in suspense.

I won’t spoil anything for you, but it’s a really modern story. I enjoyed reading it.

Submerged (Perry Sachs Mystery Series #3)

This is a great book for those of us who love Science Fiction with a little romance thrown in. It’s like a treasure hunt, but at the end of the map the treasure is answers to the questions the characters have.

Have you ever wondered what the government is hiding? The main characters in this book stumble upon a lake that is not supposed to exist. Two local cops discover the lake while searching for a missing man. When the characters are stopped forcefully by military personnel, the questions start flowing. Why would the military be so concerned about a lake? Why is this lake on none of the current maps? When a local man returns home and remembers the lake, he puts together a group, including the cops, and they set out to solve the mystery. What they discover is intriguing.

Gansky raises so many questions with his writing. If you are one of those readers who have to have every detail answered at the end, this is not the book for you. Questions are answered, but you’re left with so many questions after you close the cover.

This is one of those “four in one” books. You know the one’s where they try to tie in at least one character to the next story and so on. This one is not well done at all. It’s what I call a “fluff” book. They really didn’t successfully make the story between the characters seamless. I felt like they just placed the previous character’s name into their story.

Twice Loved by Wanda E. Brunstetter- This is a story of a widower and a widow and how they help each other during post war times. A romance grows and the connecting thread is a quilt that the widower’s previous wife made.
Everlasting Song by DiAnn Mills- A teacher loses her earthly belongings in a fire. The fireman continues to check on her and a romance blooms. The characters from the previous story send her the quilt in the mail.
Remnants of Faith by Renee DeMarco- A wife desperately tries to take care of her two girls while the husband leaves them to look for work. Through homelessness, emotional turmoil, and loss of hope God takes care of them all. The quilt from the previous story keeps them warm on cold nights.
Silver Lining by Colleen L. Reece- A pilot crashes and wonders if his fiancé, a nurse, will still want to marry him. While he recovers from his crash, dealing with the fact that he will never fly in the Air Force again, he receives a quilt in the mail just when he needed comfort.

A. Gail

As an enthusiastic reader of Christian Romance Novels, I can honestly say that this book did not disappoint. Usually, in a Christian romance you know which way the plot is going to turn just a little ways into the book…this book is different. You are longing for a happy ending, and you’re not positive it will come.

The plot and subject matter in this book, I’ll try not to spoil, is very mysterious. I have never read a Christian romance book that dealt with this particular problem before and it was refreshing to read deeper into the mystery and gain a deeper understanding of the characters and all they went through.

The author weaves a love story around the main characters Melanie and Joel. They fall in love and Melanie only knows the vaguest basics of Joel’s life. This leaves Melanie wondering how well she really knows the man she claims to love. Someone from the past arrives and Joel is forced to demonstrate his love for Melanie in the most painful way imagineable.

This book is a very entertaining read as you try to figure out:

• What is Joel hiding?

• Will Joel and Melanie’s love survive?

• Will there be that “Happily Ever After” that CRN readers crave?

I hope you enjoy A Scarlet Cord as much as I did.

A. Gail