Gathering of Sisters by Darla Weaver

I was so excited to receive this book in the mail for several reasons. First of all, I love stories about the Amish and Mennonites. I find their intentionality about life challenging and I want to incorporate that into my life....like making time to visit with others and cooking with my kids.

Second, the cover of this book is beautiful. I carried it around many places and was always asked what book I was reading simply based on the cover. The contrasting colors really grab a reader's eye. I know we don't judge a book by its cover, but I do enjoy a beautiful book cover!

Since reading this book, I feel like the term "simple living" doesn't apply to them. They aren't living simply. Their lifestyle requires a lot of work. They definitely aren't chosing the simple way. However, I do see an intentionality in which they are living. Right in the opening pages of the book you learn of  Darla's intentionality by spending every Tuesday with her family.

There's not action plastered on the pages of this book but there is real life. I love getting to see the daily interactions and chores that are on their to-do list. I like seeing how parenting differs, too. Darla has 3 kids herself. But combined, there are more than 20 cousins! I can't even imagine the fun they all have together! No screens, only creativity!

Another thing I absolutely loved is that there are recipes! I love to buy food at the local Menonite store, so I can't wait to try the recipes!

This is a book that you can get lost in very quickly, as it takes you to another world that's a lot slower than my world. It's a world of intentionality and a world of peace as they remember who they are ultimlately living for. I've learned a few things from this book to put into my life!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

Fit to Be Tied by Debby Mayne

I am absolutely enjoying the Bucklin Family Reunion series. I cannot wait for the third book to come out. Everything about this series shouts southern charm, from the cover to the story. It has everything you could want, from drama to humor. Needless to say, this is one family that won't let you down when you're needing a good laugh or just some good characters that you can't help but love.

Staying true to the format of her first book, each chapter tells the story of a different character. She balances going back and forth seamlessly, never leaving the reader feeling frustrated that things are left undone. She gives the reader time to adjust to the characters so it flows nicely.

I really can't pick out a favorite character, but Bucky surprised me in this book. I was so proud of his wife and the changes she had decided on. And I really didn't expect the ending to be like she chose. Picking up where this book ended, I'm curious to see the romance and drama in the next book! I'm so excited for what I lovingly call "my girls," meaning the three cousins in this book....Shay, Sally, and Sara. I feel that the story was more focused on the twins this time, but you do get your fill of all of the other characters that you grew to love from the first book.

Debby Mayne has a hit with this series, in my opinion. It was a fantastic idea with great characters and so many places that you can go. Please don't make me wait long for Book 3 and don't stop yet!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

The Hawaiian Discovery by Wanda Brunstetter & Jean Brunstetter

     Welcome to Hawaii! For someone who would absolutely love a vacation at this moment, this book takes me on a little escape to the islands.  Having not read the first book in this series, the Hawaiian Quilt, I decided to read that book before I read this one. While you could definitely read this as a stand-alone novel, I don't think it would have the same level of meaning unless you started with the Hawaiian Quilt. I felt like it really built off of the first book and you would be missing half of the story if you didn't start there.

     The Hawaiian Discovery starts on the mainland, where the first book ends at, and then they find themselves over on the islands for some unexpected reasons. Without giving too much away, this story does carry on with the story of Mandy, but it really focuses on Ellen. Ellen is Mandy's best friend and she is willing to sacrifice a lot for her best friend. I kept thinking how different our world would look if everyone had a best friend like her!

    The writing style in this book felt different to me. I'm not sure if it's because of the different characters and short chapters or if it was something else. I liked the short chapters, but I felt like just as I was getting into the new character for that particular chapter, it would switch. I don't think that I would have changed anything, except maybe put a little bit more of each person together to give the reader some time to adjust.

    I really enjoy books on the Amish and Wanda Brunstetter has been one of my top authors for Amish fiction for a long time. I appreciate that she thought out of the box for the setting of this book. It set itself apart and told a sweet story in a fun setting. I hope that she does more books like this, as far as a setting that is unique where you wouldn't really picture the Amish going.

   I'm looking forward to reading her Christmas book that is coming out really soon!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

The Solace of Water by Elizabeth Byler Younts

What first drove me to this book was the cover. It was beautiful and relaxing and had a curious title. I wanted to know what water had to do with a story! That led me to reading the back of the book to get a synopsis of the story. I was immediately interested and couldn't wait to receive it!

This book did not disappoint. The story matched its beautiful cover. I was hooked on this story from page 1 and found myself sneaking away for a few minutes throughout my day just so I could read another chapter. I loved that the chapters were short because it made justifying "I'll just read to the next chapter" a lot more doable with a busy schedule.

This story was a beautiful telling of two unlikely people becoming friends. Your heart is broken at the beginning as Delilah has to leave her son's grave when they move to a new place. Her husband is hoping for healing but Delilah just doesn't think that's even a possibility. Not to mention, she is holding a lot of anger in and it's all directed at the one she thinks is responsible. Your heart can't help but break over the loss and the relationships damaged.

Then we follow Emma, who is Amish. Her family has known deep loss, too. Her family has also learned to keep deep secrets and her family isn't exactly all that everyone thinks it is. She's left in a marriage where she's left with what seems like little choice.

The way these stories come together is beautiful. It focuses on the 1950s and the division between the white, black, and the Amish communities. I really have never thought about the Amish communities being a part of this division during this time, so that was interesting.

With all of the secrets each family is holding near to their heart, they have to learn to trust. Whom will they trust? Can they learn to forgive or is reconciliation impossible? Will relationships be mended or destroyed?

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

Minding the Light by Suzanne Woods Fisher

This whole series fascinates me in several ways. As I mentioned in my review of Phoebe's Light, the first book in this series, this is not my usual genre that I prefer. I don't tend to like books focused on the Quakers. However, for some reason, I have fallen in love with these stories. The more I think about it, the more I think that it's because of the setting and the strong story centered around a journal. The setting is in Nantucket and I have loved learning more history about this place. Also, Suzanne Woods Fisher does a fantastic job making the Quaker part of the story, which is strong and so hard to put down! I'm hooked from the very first page!

Minding the Light focuses on Captain Reynolds Macy who got married and then left his new bride, Jane, a month later. He's a whaling captain and had to head out to sea to make money. Neither of them knew it would take 6 years for him to come home. Nothing is the same as he left. His family has grown, unbeknownst to him. When he returns, it turns into a welcome he never anticipated. He realizes what he did to Jane and wishes he could make different decisions that would have protected her more. You can't live in the past, though. So as his life is totally flipped upside down, he has a choice to either stay, run, or move forward. It's not an easy decision in light of the tragic event that he has just faced.

Minding the Light can be read separately, but it adds more depth to the story if you read Phoebe's Light first.There's not a lot of the same characters, but there are a few. It makes the story so much sweeter when you see the thread of the Mary Coffin Starbuck's journal. She's said to be the wisest person on the island and was thought to be like Deborah the judge in the Old Testatment. In fact, Phoebe's Light gave a little history into the journal, which I could fascinating. 

There is so much history wrapped into this series that I've found myself researching places and now I long to visit there and see the beauty. I am excited for her to release the third book in this series!

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I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

I Can’t Believe You Just Said That! by Ginger Hubbard

I was first introduced to Ginger Hubbard when a friend told me that I needed to read her book “Don’t Make Me Count to Three!” I really enjoyed that book and was so excited to see that she had written another book.

First of all, I LOVE the cover to this book. It got moved up on my reading list simply because I couldn’t resist the fun cover. The subtitle to the book also got my attention: “Biblical Wisdom for Taming Your Child’s Tongue.”

There is so much wisdom packed into the pages of the book. I loved how she encouraged her readers to focus on the child’s heart. I loved it when she said “Jesus’s questions caused people to evaluate themselves which led to the realization of their own sin and need for the Savior.” I loved this because it made me think about my conversations with my children. How often do my questions cause them to evaluate themselves instead of lecturing them and pointing things out to them.

This book covers 14 issues that children face. They face more things than that, obviously, but it’s 14 of the most common things that come out of their mouths. There was so much wisdom and several things that I had never linked together. I liked how she pointed out that “whining is an issue of self-control.” But she doesn’t just leave it at pointing out struggles. She gives ideas of how to help your child realize what they are doing and how to get to the heart, which is what ultimately leads to change and not behavior modification.

I really hope Ginger Hubbard is working on another book. Her books stay on my shelves and I loan them out because I don’t want to be without them!

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

Saving Each Other by Stacy Mitchell

I'll admit that I wasn't hooked on this book in the first few pages. I didn't like the way that the prologue started, with scenes that didn't necessarily have to be in the book. I wish the first prologue had been a different story from Ean's life. I almost set the book aside because I thought it would be too much of a romance book, and I'm not a lover of a lot of romance.

I appreciated the raw emotion that filled the pages. I felt like I could easily place myself there and feel what each of the characters were feeling. I was a little surprised at how easily I was able to do that within the first couple of chapters.

This is a story of two people who have had their lives torn apart by a drunken driver. Dani Adams loses her husband on her anniversary. Ean Montgomery loses his pregnant wife and son during the same accident.  This has pushed them to visit a grief counselor to help them process what has happened and to help them learn how to move forward.

I don't particularly like to read a lot of books with colorful language, simply because I think words are beautiful and there are other words that you could use to get the same point across. This book does have some colorful language, so that was something that I struggled to get through. It would be a great book with the same level of emotion even if they had been left out. I didn't feel like they enhanced the moment at all. Each person is different, but that's just my opinion and how I felt reading.

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I received this book free from PR by the Book and Stacy Mitchell in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.