A Sparrow in Terezin by Kristy Cambron

I remember seeing the first book in this series by Kristy Cameron, called The Butterfly and the Violin. I had really wanted to read that book, but didn't get a chance to do it before this book came out. After reading this one, though, I am definitely purchasing book 1 in this series.

This book was more than I expected it to be. I hadn't read anything by Kristy Cambron before and am always a little curious about authors I haven't heard of. Some are pleasant surprises and get added to my favorites list. That's what happened to Kristy Cambron. I have no intention of missing a book written by her from now on!

Set against the backdrop of WWII, the reader is taken into the lives of two people that seem to have nothing that would connect them together. In present day, we meet Sera and her fiancé William. William is accused of committing a crime that he didn't do and Sera deeply believes he didn't do it. So much so that she goes on her own quest to prove him innocent. Since William doesn't want to share thing about his own family, Sera is left uncovering things on her own about her new husband.

The parallel story is from 1942 where Kaja Makovsky is sent away by her parents to escape Nazi-occupied Prague. However, after ending up in England and experiencing the ravages of war there, she gets news that makes her uproot her life and her newfound love for a man. She exchanges that to return to Prague to try to help her parents get smuggled out alive from Prague. Of course, life doesn't go as planned and neither does this trip to Prague. Instead of reading about what is happening to the Jews, she suddenly finds herself thrust into the life that the Jews are now experiencing.

This is a captivating story that has had me thinking about the story long after I've closed the pages to the book. Now I'm immersing myself in the The Butterfly and the Violin and see how the two connect to each other.

Read more reviews on this book by going to http://litfusegroup.com/author/kcambron.

_________________________
A Sparrow in Terezin (Thomas Nelson, April 2015)
Bound together across time, two women will discover a powerful connection through one survivor’s story of hope in the darkest days of a war-torn world.
Present Day—With the grand opening of her new art gallery and a fairytale wedding just around the corner, Sera James feels she’s stumbled into a charmed life—until a brutal legal battle against fiancé William Hanover threatens to destroy the perfectly planned future she’s planned before it even begins. Now, after an eleventh-hour wedding ceremony and a callous arrest, William faces a decade in prison for a crime he never committed, and Sera must battle the scathing accusations that threaten her family and any hope for a future.
1942—Kája Makovsky narrowly escaped occupied Prague in 1939, and was forced to leave her half-Jewish family behind. Now a reporter for the Daily Telegraph in England, Kája discovers the terror has followed her across the Channel in the shadowy form of the London Blitz. When she learns Jews are being exterminated by the thousands on the continent, Kája has no choice but to return to her mother city, risking her life to smuggle her family to freedom and peace.
Connecting across a century through one little girl, a Holocaust survivor with a foot in each world, these two women will discover a kinship that springs even in the darkest of times. In this tale of hope and survival, Sera and Kája must cling to the faith that sustains and fight to protect all they hold dear—even if it means placing their own futures on the line.
Learn more and purchase a copy at Kristy’s website.

Kristy Cambron

Kristy Cambron fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal Reviews’ “Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction)” for February 2015. Cambron is an art/design manager at TheGROVEstory.com storytelling ministry. She holds a degree in art history from Indiana University and has nearly 15 years of experience in instructional design and communications for a Fortune-100 company. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three football-loving sons, where she can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good Christian fiction read.
_________________________

I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group and Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

From the Start by Melissa Tagg

The thing I remember most (and look forward to the most) about a book write by Melissa Tag is how she inserts her humor into a book. Her stories are always so enjoyable to read and hard to put down. It's a great summer book! This book has it all--humor, romance, real-life issues, imperfect families and lives, redemption.

Kate Walker is a girl that I liked from the beginning. However, she did frustrate me a little because of her inability to just let go. I understood why, of course, but I wanted her to come to terms with herself and realize what the reader had already figured out about her! She could be happy, if she just chose to take a few risks.

Colton seems to have lost it all. However, it was in losing what he thought was all, where he actually gained more than he could ever imagine. He fit in so well at Maple Valley and there's no way he could go back to his old way of life. Of course, I liked how Colton stayed by Kate's side in the good and the bad. However, he does have to find a way to convince Kate that he's worth taking a risk on. That's not easy to do, by all means, when someone is dead set against it.

I still remember each book I've read by Melissa Tagg. For some reason, they have become unforgettable in my head. I'm not for sure if it's because of the covers or the stories, but she has etched a mark in my memory. Definitely looking forward to her next book!

___________________

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Barkley's Great Escape by Wanda Wyont

Learning water safety has never been more fun than when there are animals involved. I purposefully wanted to review this book because I wanted to talk about water safety with my children. We just had a baby and I wanted them to have a memorable story to learn from.

I liked how the story centers around a dog, Barkley, who gets out of his fence on goes on a grand adventure around his neighborhood. He comes to a pool and decides to get in. However, he drifts to the middle and he's not a strong swimmer. He grows tired and thinks he'll never make it out of the pool. He does eventually make it to the side of the pool to hang on until the pool owner's come out and rescue him.

My daughter liked the illustrations that told the story very clearly, without even having to use words. She also liked that the next time Barkley went swimming, he wore a life jacket. 

The illustrations were definitely eye-catching for a child and I enjoyed them, as well. At the back of the book, there are conversation starters and questions about water safety that allows you the chance to talk more to your child about the importance of water safety.

With summer coming up, this is a great book for those little guys to read and learn from.

_______________

I received this book free from Ambassador International in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

How Far Away is Heaven by Margaret Davis Ledford

Our children have experienced the death of 4 loved ones in the past year. Each were Christians, so we know they are in heaven. We have had the question "Where is heaven?" asked to us many times. I was thrilled to see a book about this question that I could read to my children.

I appreciated that the book doesn't speculate where heaven is. It doesn't say it's "up in the clouds" or anything like that. In fact, it doesn't answer the question of how far away heaven is. We don't know how far away it is and I'm glad that it pointed children in the right direction and didn't deviate from what Scripture teaches.

In the book, Zachary's Papa dies and Zachary wonders where his Papa is. He is told that his Papa is in heaven, and of course, he wonders where heaven is. Zachary learns that heaven is a place with no more sickness and his Papa is glad to be in heaven with Jesus. He also learns that Jesus is in heaven, too.

The story was a little choppy, in my adult opinion. However, the kids liked it and it didn't seem to bother them. I struggled with the flow because it felt like it left out some important information.

Having lost my grandfather, the kids related to this book very easily since the grandpa dies.

______________

I received this book free from Ambassador International in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Chasing Sunsets by Karen Kingsbury

After reading the first book in the new Angels Walking series, I was really excited to read the second book. I was glad there wasn't a long wait between the first and second book.

This book stays true to the same style of writing that I have come to love by Karen Kingsbury. It is a real life scenario and though the characters may not be into the same job as I am, their struggles are ones that are easy to relate to. They each have such a unique story that it's impossible to forget.

I like that this book tied back into the first one where we first met Tyler and Sami. It was good to get an update and to watch their story continue to grow. That's the thing I liked so much about the Baxter series... although the stories focused on different people, we never lost contact with our old favorite characters! The same is true in this series and I love that about this series.

Mary Catharine did frustrate me some, although I can understand why she made some of the decisions she did. I'm assuming that the next book will be focusing mostly on Mary Catharine. I hope I get the ending that I really want!

Marcus is a sweetheart and I couldn't help but like him. He was easy to feel his heart. He hadn't made the best choices in life, but I think we all can say that about a time in our own lives. For him to know he was forgiven was a wonderful celebration.

I'm not normally a person who likes to read fiction about angels because I feel like sometimes authors let their imaginations run wild with what angels can and can't do and it becomes less based on what Scripture says angels can and can't do. I appreciate that Kingsbury doesn't do this. She uses her imagination, of course, but does stay true to what Scripture says about angels. I'm thankful she doesn't compromise on this.

I am definitely looking forward to getting my hands on book 3. I hope there's not a long wait for it!

___________________

I received this book free from Howard Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Creole Princess by Beth White

I have always enjoyed reading books with characters that overcome adversity or the "cultural norm" and forge their own paths through life. There were times in this book where my heart broke for Lyse as she had to put up with people who were not very nice to her. I know it was the "cultural norm" back in the 1770s, but I still hated that anyone was treated that way.

As for Rafael González, he can make any woman swoon and he knows it. I liked him, but I always had my guard up with him. It took me a bit to figure out how I really felt about him. I was never sure as to whether or not I could trust him, but eventually I did come to my conclusion.

I really did appreciate the story line and plot of this book, but the part that I most appreciated would have to be the historical facts. I don't know much about the 1770s, but I felt as though I had learned quite a bit just by reading this book. It was quite a fascinating time in history, but it was also a difficult time if you weren't like the people that was acceptable to society (i.e. from the right race, culture, social status, etc.).

The Créole Princess is the second book in the Gulf Coast Chronicles. It follows the Pelican Bride, which is also an excellent book.

_______________

I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book. 

Where Trust Lies by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

Janette Oke holds a special place in my heart and on my bookshelf. Her books were the first ones I ever read in Christian fiction. As a teen, I was given the Canadian West series to read, as well as some of the other books she wrote. I was hooked from the moment I began reading. To this day, she is still one of my favorites and the Canadian West series is one that I still remember despite it being years since I've last read the series. Needless to say, I was very excited to continue on the journey with the Return to the Canadian West series. I had been looking forward to book #2 being released.

The story picks up with Beth Thatcher and Jarrick. Beth takes a cruise with the women in her family and has to remind herself to be excited about the opportunity. Jarrick and Beth have to figure out a way to make the long distance work.

I enjoy the Thatcher family. I was surprised to realize that the character I came to love the most was Mrs. Thatcher. There was one sweet, tender moment between Mrs. Thatcher and Beth that I just loved. Her conversation with her daughter, along with her father's advice, was a special moment in the book.

The book has some suspense, romance, and wonderful family moments between the Thatcher family. They come face to face with having to choose whether they will give in to their fears or if they will hand their fears over to God.

Now I'm hoping that book #3 comes out relatively soon and I don't have to wait a year to read it!

______________

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.