Treasuring Emma by Kathleen Fuller

From the Publisher


Emma has put everyone else first in her life. Now at nearly 25, has she missed her chance at marriage?

Emma was Adam's first love but circumstances made them both choosedifferent paths in life. Emma's heart breaks all over again when Adamreturns to the Amish community of Middlefield, Ohio, years later.
For the past ten years, Emma has been raising her siblings aftertheir parents' untimely death. She's put their needs above her own andnow, with them grown, she can focus on herself and her dream of openinga yarn store in the vacant cider house on her land.

With Adam's return come feelings Emma's long buried. They're olderand life hasn't turned out the way they thought it would. Adam'sfeelings for Emma are stronger than ever, but will he be able toconvince her to put others aside and give their love a chance?



My Take

I love books about the Amish. For some reason, their lifestyle & faith are very interesting to me. I imagine what it would be like to live that life but then realize it would be impossible after growing up Englisch.

Treasuring Emma adds a twist to the usual Amish book. It's not the straight-forward young Amish girl looking to find a husband and how they make their romantic journey together. The "bann" has always intrigued me and how the Amish people can disown their own family. And if they have "banned" that person, how they can take them back into the fold and not cause disharmony among them. I believe in forgiveness and that people can change but treating them as if nothing happened is hard for me to comprehend.

As with non-Amish, Emma grows through turmoil and seeks God's help in her life's plan. We think that Amish families are perfect and don't know heartache and family issues, but we see in Treasuring Emma that it's just not true. Emma's faith will help her through these issues and she realizes it's HIS plan and he will reveal it to her eventually.

While the story line was good, there were a couple disconnects with a couple characters. I think the author could have done more with with a couple story lines about Emma's sister's relationship as well as Adam's mother. Maybe they are left open for a second book in the series? But like many Amish novels, the ending seems to get all wrapped up in a bow and is over in an instant. Life doesn't always happen that way but then again it may be that another book may be coming to clear it up.


I'd like to thank BookSneeze for making a review copy available via NetGalley. All opinions are my own and unbiased. A positive review was not required. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Promise of an Angel by Ruth Reid

Surprising and Fascinating—not your traditional Amish tale

From the Publisher

In Mescota County, Michigan, an angelic visitor's words inspire Judith to a future she never imagined. After a barn raising accident, Judith Fischer's convinced she's met an angel. However, her attempts to convince others end up frustrating her Old-Order Amish community. Only Andrew Lapp believes her, but the rest, including Levi Plank, the man's she's waited to marry, demand she forget the nonsense.  Meanwhile, her younger sister Martha has taken a fancy to Levi and sees her sister's controversy as a perfect distraction for turning Levi's head.

In a dream, the angel tells Judith she must choose her path. As her faith continues to grow, so do her feelings for Andrew. Will she continue to place her hope in the angel's message, even if it means losing all she knows and loves?

My Take

I’m a junkie for Amish fiction—let’s just get that out there.  So when the opportunity came up to read The Promise of an Angel, I was excited to read a new perspective on the Amish.  At first I was a little surprised with the addition of the angel Tobias, especially when Judith began having real conversations with him. Amish beliefs are so strict that it was hard for me to imagine how talking to an angel was going to fit in with those beliefs. After getting more and more into the book, I realized Tobias represented Judith’s deep faithfulness in God. Why couldn’t the “elders” in the community see that?

Family and community is the most important concept in the Amish lifestyle. So when Judith’s stories of the angel began to spread, the community banded together against Judith—just because the elders said they should. It surprised me the community would do that when she was only expressing her belief that God was speaking to her.

Another surprise to me was the relationship between Judith’s sister, Martha, and Judith’s beau, Levi. I guess there are many sects of Amish but normally these teenage relationships are pretty hush-hush. Through the entire book, the boy-girl interactions were completely public.  In addition, the way Martha was visibly treating Judith was a little startling to me—the envy, rudeness, and disrespect is so out of the ordinary for the Amish. 

Overall, The Promise of an Angel was a good summer read (I had the e-book version)—a story of faith, acceptance, and love with a couple twists and turns. I’m not sure if I’m going to read the next book in the series—guess we’ll have to wait & see what Ms Reid comes up with! I give The Promise of an Angel a 3 out of 5 stars.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

About the Author

Ruth Reid is a full-time pharmacist who lives in Florida with her husband and three children. When attending medical school in Stanwood, Michigan, she lived on the outskirts of an Amish community and had several occasions to visit the Amish farms. Her interest grew into love as she saw the beauty in living a simple life.

UNSINKABLE by Abby Sunderland

 WATERLOGGED!!

FROM THE PUBLISHER:
 A stirring narrative of Unsinkable tells sixteen-year-old Abby Sunderland's remarkable true story of attempting to become the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world. 

More people have flown into outer space than have sailed solo around the globe. It is a challenge so immense that many have died trying, and all have been pushed beyond every physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual limit. In Unsinkable, readers follow Abby Sunderland into those depths. This biography delivers a gripping and evocative firsthand account that starts prior to her departure, travels through her daring (and sometimes near-death) encounters on the open sea, to her dramatic rescue in the remotest corner of the Indian Ocean, and the media explosion that happened upon her safe return to dry land.

Along the way, readers discover what it means to boldly face any challenge, to strive after something great, and to plumb the depths of faith, fear, and desperation only to emerge changed, renewed, and emboldened. In this day and age, when the most productive thing a teenager may do is play videogames, Abby's ambition and tenacity is a real-life parable of what can happen when we choose to exceed our own limits, embrace faith, and strive after what all the naysayers say is impossible.

MY TAKE:
Unsinkable is the autobiography of Abby Sunderland—a 16-year-old young woman whose dream of sailing around the world by herself finally comes true. Normally, I don’t read autobiographies---they just don’t keep my interest. But when I read the overview of Unsinkable, I was surprised at how interested I was to read this book. I love to read about mature, courageous young people who have a clear goal and purpose in life. Many teenagers don’t have these traits and expect the people around them to hand them everything they need without truly working for it.

I enjoyed how the book was laid out—from three different points of view. The narrator helped by filling in the technical information and also giving background on media involvement, family history, and technical sailing information. Abby’s point of view is more detail oriented about how she felt during the preparation of the trip and the day-by-day experiences she endured. After the  grueling premature conclusion of her trip, there is also the point of view of view of those who helped save her. This is a unique way of putting the book together and it was just right for telling Abby’s story.

Abby is a lucky girl to have such a supportive family for her lifelong dream. There aren’t many parents who would let their child go into a feat such as this. Can you imagine sending your teenager out—alone—to navigate one of the most powerful elements on earth? The sea is unpredictable and volatile and there’s no control over its erratic behavior. I’m sure Abby was completely prepared for most contingencies, but let’s face it, you don’t know if you are until the situation arises. 

On the flip side, I’m sure her father was very protective and concerned about her trip. However, I got the impression that he subconsciously pushed her decision for the fame and notoriety that comes with such an attempt. He’d felt it before when his son made the same trip and it’s almost like an aphrodisiac—he wanted that feeling again. You could feel his ego creeping in to almost every decision.

I found the book mostly interesting but it was a very difficult read for me. I have no knowledge of sailing and even though the authors spell out many terms and technical points, parts of the book were like reading a manual. I’d start getting into a section of the book when the authors would throw in paragraphs to pages of detail and I would just zone out. 

You could tell Abby’s point of view was told by a typical teenager with the jargon & lingo inherent in a 16-year-old. I would have liked to have seen more in-depth, maybe spiritual (since they professed to have much faith) insights during her journey. Yes, the experience made her see she was strong and courageous, but what made that happen?

I’m going to give this book 3 out of 5 stars. The overall story was pretty good if you could get through the technical portions and the father’s desire for recognition. However, if you enjoy sailing or more technical reading, I think your rating might be higher.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

The Band that Played On by Steve Turner

From the Publisher

The never-before told, inspiring stories of the 8 brave musicians who played as the Titanic sank.
When Titanic collided with an iceberg on April 14, the eight members of the band had already retired for the evening. Still, they put on overcoats and came out to play in the lounge.

When most of the First Class passengers had taken to their lifeboats, the musicians moved to the deck and continued to play as the ship sank. One passenger said: “Many brave things were done that night, but none were more brave than those done by men playing minute after minute as the ship settled quietly lower and lower in the sea.

The music they played served alike as their own immortal requiem and their right to be recalled on the scrolls of undying fame.” But who were they? What journeys brought them to this deck on this icy ocean? Who did they leave behind? Historian and biographer Steve Turner delves into the lives of these brave men, revealing eight unique portraits of bravery.

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My take

For some reason, I have always been enamored with The Titanic---shows on The History Channel, the movie, and anything else I can find. So when this book became available for review, I thought it would be another bit of information for my fixation. Never has there been a book all about the musicians. This should be interesting!

Starting the book, there was a lot of foundational information interspersed with the last hours of The Titanic's voyage. It was fascinating to learn how the cruise ship industry obtained musicians and crew in the early 1900's. It's quite a bit different that what we know now. Once the foundation was set, there was so much detailed historical information, I kind of thought I was back in school again. I found myself skipping over sentences to get to the "meat" of the chapter.

Each of the musicians' lives are chronicled in their own chapters. From a young age to the time of their deaths, the author detailed their lives. Sometimes a little too much. None of the musicians lead extraordinary lives so the fascinating story I was anticipating didn't pan out.

In my opinion, the best part of the book came at the end during the ship's sinking. Most of the information was speculation from witnesses and because of the traumatic situation, their versions were varied. The only semi-consistent theme was the final song heard while the ship went down. Most of the witnesses heard Nearer My God to Thee but that still wasn't agreed upon. Unfortunately it became somewhat tedious reading the descriptions over and over.

While Steve Turner definitely did his research, I felt the book was dry in places. It was not meant to be sensationalic or romanticized, it was meant to be factual. Regrettably, because of that, I had a hard time reading it. I have to give it a 2 1/2 out of 5---more than a 2 because of the information presented but less than a 3 because of the monotony.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Save the Date by Jenny B. Jones

From the Publisher

When the funding for Lucy's non-profit job is pulled, she is determined to find out why. Enter Alex Sinclair, former professional football star and heir to Sinclair Enterprises -- the primary donor to Lucy's non-profit organization.

 

Both Lucy and Alex have something the other desperately wants.

 

Alex has it all...except for the votes he needs to win his bid for Congress. Despite their mutual dislike, Alex makes Lucy a proposition: pose as his fiancée in return for the money she desperately needs. Bound to a man who isn't quite what he seems, Lucy finds her heart -- and her future -- on the line.

 

My Take

Jenny Jones is a new author to me and I love to read new authors on my bookshelf. When I began reading Save the Date, I thought it was going to be the typical “boy meets girl, boy gets girl” story line. But then the book took an unexpected turn—there is a deeper plot involved.  True Christian values are shown with Lucy’s heartfelt involvement with Saving Grace—the home she runs for homeless girls. But although Lucy does the right thing and is constantly talking to God to help her girls, she is by no means your perfect do-gooder. She’s a clutz, both physically and socially, and it’s so easy to relate to her antics. Lots of her unexpected activities made me laugh out loud.

Then there’s Alex—the wealthy, socially adept, and good looking guy who walks into Lucy’s life and literally sweeps her off her feet for a mutually beneficial partnership. They don’t really like each other but have to put up a good front to make people believe they are in love. Their conversations are  bantering interactions that have quite a lot of spunk to them. I always wished I had the ability to deliver good comeback one-liners. Lucy has that ability down to a science. Conversations between Lucy and Alex certainly aren’t boring!

Put Lucy and Alex together and you get a story of faith and overcoming life’s curveballs. Both of them have had challenges in their young lives---Lucy was dirt poor with a mom who cleaned houses and Alex was trying to live in his twin brother’s shadow. Although there is lots of discussion of faith and how God really does keep our lives on track, the book is never preaching religion. It makes you reflect on your own life and realize you ARE good enough to deserve a rich life.

This is one book I would highly recommend---it’s funny, touching, and totally believable. Any book that makes me both laugh and dig deep into my own faith is definitely worth reading. I give Save the Date 5 stars and look forward to more of Ms Jones’ books!

I received this book free from Booksneeze as part of their book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."