Jaded – Varina Denman

Jaded

Varina Denman

David C. Cook, Mar 1 2015, $14.99

ISBN: 9781434705457

Thirteen years ago in Trapp, Texas, Daddy Hoby Turner deserted his wife Lynda and their seven year old daughter Ruthie.  The townsfolk led by the church the family attended blame Ruthie’s Momma for Daddy leaving them; as they accept she committed adultery with one of the elders without a second thought.  The good Christian flock shuns Momma for breaking one of the Commandments and her guilt by association child.  Over the years Ruthie placed a fierce shield around her heart and soul to distance the religious accusers from further hurting her; though the constant mistreatment of Momma from their Good Christian former friends bothers her.

Arriving from Fort Worth, Dodd Cunningham, accompanied by his high school senior brother Grady and their mother, arrives in Trapp as the new pastor.  Distrusting Christians as two-faced phonies, Ruthie keeps her distance from the Cunningham family, especially Dodd.  However, the new pastor and his sibling ignore her desires that they and their false God leave her alone; instead the Cunningham siblings begin to breach her barriers.

The first Mended Hearts Christian romance is a pleasant inspirational showcasing a bitter woman and a true-believer pastor reaching out to her; though he never quite understands until very late how the love of his life feels about being a pariah.  Although elements seem over the top of Guadalupe Peak, subgenre fans will appreciate this tale of first comes love (of God and man) and then comes redemption.

 

Harriet Klausner

The Amish Clockmaker-Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner

The Amish Clockmaker

Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner

Harvest House Publishers, Feb 1 2015, $13.99

ISBN: 9780736957380

In Lancaster County, as construction to expand Zook’s Feed and Tack is about to begin, proprietor Matthew Zook reflects back to the 1950s when his Grossdaedi established the successful store that decades later his Daed almost bankrupt.  However, a legal dispute with the Starbrite owners of the nearby under construction hotel arises.  Their lawyer Purcell insists the Raber and Sons Clockmakers land that Zook’s Grossdaedi bought from the Raber matriarch six decades did not include this acre as she did not own that piece; her son Clayton did.  They plan to find and buy the land from him.  .

In 1955 facially scarred with a severe limp Clayton fell in love with his next door neighbor Miriam, but she treated him like a friend.  Not long after his father died, when she became pregnant out of wedlock, he married her though she carried someone else’s baby.  She lost the child and behaved weirdly until she fell from a cliff.  Though there was a lack of evidence his Amish community believed Clayton pushed his wife so treated him as a pariah until he left never to be seen again.  Matthew plans to prove Clayton’s innocence, find the man and obtain his signature.

The third Men of Lancaster County drama (see The Amish Groom and The Amish Blacksmith) is a fantastic entry in a fabulous series.  The storyline consists of three tremendous subplots: a short look at Matthew; his family and his expansion plan; an extended 1950s glimpse into Clayton and the Raber family; and a short present day Matthew cold case search for a self-exiled man excommunicated by family and neighbors six decades ago.

Harriet Klausner

Swept Away-Laura V. Hilton and Cindy Loven

Swept Away

Laura V. Hilton and Cindy Loven

Abingdon, Nov 18 2014, $13.99

ISBN 9781426796173

In the Appalachians at the Heritage Festival, Sara Jane Morgan panics when she loses track of her beloved grandmother Sari who suffers from Alzheimer’s.  Trying to stay calm during her search for her missing relative proves difficult until she finds her grandma alone with a Neanderthal.  His business card states: “starving artist/pay the bills handyman”, but Sara Jane tells Sari they need a real repairman.  Sari lectures her granddaughter for being rude while Drew Stevenson enjoys the show of the elderly feisty woman tearing into the beautiful snob.

As the prehistoric throwback works on Sari’s house, Sara Jane collaborates with her grandma on a ballad quilt in which Drew soon joins them.  With Sari matchmaking the recalcitrant pair, each fear commitment to a person and somewhat less to God.  Drew has used the trail to overcome his once paralyzing grief and Sara Jane blames herself for what happened to her late parents.  With time running out on her mentally, Sari turns to the Lord asking for a miracle.

Swept Away is a delightful inspirational romance with a wonderful lead trio.  However, what turn the fascinating storyline from a simple first impressions misunderstanding into an awe-inspiring contemporary are the separate intense reflections by Sara Jane and Drew on the personal impact of deaths and disabling dementia of loved ones.

Harriet Klausner

A Path Made Plain-Lynette Sowell

A Path Made Plain

Lynette Sowell

Abingdon, Nov 4 2014, $14.99

ISBN: 9781426753657

In Ohio, with her dream dead, Amish Betsy Yoder struggles to keep her smile glued on her face while serving food to guests at the wedding of widower dad Jacob Miller to Englisher Natalie Bennett (see A Season Of Change).  At the reception her mom asks her to stay here, but Betsy cannot wait to return to the Pinecraft area of Sarasota, Florida where she lives in the home of her Aenti Chelle and plans to open up a bakery.  Having fled Columbus when the mob gunned down his employer Dish and Spoon restaurateur Mitch Gabryszeski, Jacob’s third cousin pastry chef Thaddeus Zook arrives for the farmyard reception on a Harley before heading to Florida.

In Sarasota, Betsy and Thad are attracted to each other.  Whereas she is afraid to offer her heart so soon after it was burned, he has doubts about belonging to the Amish world he left almost a decade ago and besides most of his former community do not welcome him back.  As he falls in love with Betsy, Thad must leave because what happened in Columbus could occur in Pinecraft to his beloved and other innocent Amish and Mennonites.

Seasons in Pinecraft Book 2 focuses on Betsy who played second fiddle to Natalie in the first drama.  Thad is an intriguing lead as a rebel while Betsy feeling fickle remains somewhat confused with what love is.  Although the climax feels abrupt, the subgenre audience will relish this Amish romance.

Harriet Klausner

Snowfall: A Days of Redemption Christmas Novella-Shelley Shepard Gray

Snowfall: A Days of Redemption Christmas Novella

Shelley Shepard Gray

Avon Inspire, Oct 21 2014, $12.99

ISBN: 9780062204547

Twentyish Ruth Stutzman enjoys being a care provider to retirees at a nursing home.  When her position is abolished and Ruth let go due to budget cuts, she is despondent because she likes being with the elderly.

When sexagenarian Lovina Keim quits as nanny to widower Martin Rodes’ six horrible children, she recommends he hires Ruth to take care of his kids whose ages range from four to nine.  Initially Ruth feels overwhelmed but sympathetic towards her six motherless wards since she lost her parents as a young child.  The preadolescents slowly warm up to her cheerful enthusiasm; but perhaps not as much as their concerned father who keeps his distance out of guilt and memory of his late wife, and for the sake of his brood though attracted to his new employee.  However, when Ruth is offered her former position, she feels pulled in two directions as she loves and adores Martin and his munchkins while they cherish her for bringing a Ray of Light back into their grieving lives.

The latest Days of Redemption entry is an engaging Amish Christmas family drama.  The ensemble cast includes returnees from previous novels (see Eventide and Daybreak); while the two nurturing adults try to help the six troubled children as they struggle to accept being without their beloved mother.  Shelley Shepard Gray authors a delightful holiday story that needs a miracle delivered by six impish elves.

Harriet Klausner

The Covered Deep-Brandy Vallance

The Covered Deep

Brandy Vallance

Worthy Publishing, Oct 14 2014, $14.99

http://www.worthypublishing.com

ISBN: 9781617953750

In 1877, Bianca Marshal fears she is doomed to be a spinster as the book she reads claims women between eighteen and twenty-four years old have a 52% chance of marriage; twenty-five to thirty the odds drop to 18%.  Bianca is about to turn twenty-five and realizes her prospects of finding a husband who meets her seven criterion in Portsmouth, Ohio are much less than what the book states.

When she wins a contest that includes a trip to the Holy Land, Bianca’s mood dramatically improves as she believes Jesus steers her towards her soul mate.  At the London home of her host, Sir Adrian Hartwith, Bianca meets another contest winner British historian Paul Emerson; both immediately feel they met their life-mate.  They have fun in the city together before they journey to the Holy Land.  All seems perfect until Paul confesses his sins to his beloved Bianca; she eliminates him as a husband due to his violation of her number one consideration.

This is an entertaining Christian historical romance based on the premise that a deep faith in Jesus includes forgiving sinners as “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”  The 1870s in the Holy Land is vividly described to armchair readers delight and the stopover in London amusing.  Although rigidly religiously moralistic Bianca’s desperation for a husband seems to contradict her belief in the Lord (though I may be committing historiographical sin by bringing twenty-first century values to the late nineteenth century), fans will want the heroine to learn in time Alexander Pope’s admonition: “to err is human; to forgive, divine.”

Harriet Klausner

Finding Mercy-Michael Landon, Jr. and Cindy Kelley

Finding Mercy

Michael Landon, Jr. and Cindy Kelley

David C. Cook, Oct 1 2014, $14.99

ISBN:  9780781408707

In 1866, needing to know who she is, amnesiac Mercy leaves the safety of Captain Elijah Hale in search of her past; as even her name, given to her by Mother Helena at the Little Sisters of Hope in St. Louis because of the medallion she wears (see Traces Of Mercy), is not truly hers.  Bounty hunters pursue Mercy to bring justice for her alleged treasonous activity though a judge exonerated her.  While Mercy hides inside her boardinghouse’s chimney, one of the four pursuers falls off a roof.  His dad Gus has a stronger motive to hang Mercy as he stares at his dead son.  She escapes by going down a fireplace to pick up her journal and face the wrath of her landlady Mrs. Kline who read the entries.

Captain Hale also seeks Mercy to bring her home.  However, as she eludes her raging adversaries, Mercy also dodges her protector.  Meanwhile she follows clues that take her into the middle of Klan country as she has a new mission to right a wrong she did before she became a confederate soldier.

The second Mercy Medallion Post Civil War drama is a profound Americana that provides readers with the immediate aftermath on people from the recent hostilities; for instance Mrs. Kline in a few paragraphs remains acrimonious towards the Confederacy for what it caused to her marriage.  The cast enhances the plot while amnesiac yet three-dimensional Mercy having more layers added to what we previously knew of her from the first book.  Michael Landon, Jr. and Cindy Kelley collaborate on a powerful historical.

Harriet Klausner

The Action Bible: The Battle Begins – The Story of Creation-Caleb Seeling

The Action Bible: The Battle Begins – The Story of Creation

Caleb Seeling and Sergio Cariello (illustrator)

David C. Cook, Oct 1 2014, $12.99

ISBN: 9780781411424

Michael and Lucifer agree that his plan is brilliant.  Both look forward to the creation of a new creature, but Lucifer has trepidations that the Lord may no longer love his Bright Ones.  The two angels watch him as he creates the earth filled with flora and fauna, and finally mankind in his image to rule the planet.  He assigns Lucifer to be their guardian.  However, Lucifer becomes increasingly upset and jealous as God spends all his time with the new species while ignoring them.  Though he insists to Michael that God’s work is perfect, he wonders to his friend how the Lord would react if they enriched the plan.

Targeting middle school students, the first Action Bible graphic comic provides an entertaining interesting adaptation of The Story of Creation.  Enhanced by Sergio Cariello’s wonderful illustrations, Caleb Seeling brings to life the all-male quintet and their reactions to what happened in the beginning when God created humanity.

Harriet Klausner

In The Field Of Grace-Tessa Afshar

In The Field Of Grace
Tessa Afshar
River North, Jul 1 2014, $14.99
ISBN: 9780802410979

Her family scorns Ruth as the Great Disappointment because they needed a son not another female, much taller than her father; her four older sisters and her parents would not miss her and prefer she leave. In the marketplace of Kir-hareseth, Ruth the Moabite meets widow Naomi of Bethlehem who complements her beauty including her height and her kindness. Naomi’s two sons (Mahlon and Chilion) bring home from the field Orpah where they meet reticent Ruth. Not long afterward, Ruth and Mahlon, and Orpah and Chilion wed. Due to a famine, they decide to head back to Judah, but the two men die. Naomi tells her widow daughters-in-law they should go home; Orpah does but Ruth vows to stay with the older woman to keep her safe.

In Judah Ruth works the field of widower Boaz who still misses his late wife Judith though she died five years ago. Boaz protects the chosen daughter of his cousin from those who consider her an inferior Moabite, but increasingly his attraction to hardworking Ruth grows.

This is a pleasurable rendition of the biblical tale of Ruth that provides a remarkable backstory of her life in Moab as a doormat unable to accept complements. However; that fascinating premise proves a double edged sword as it adds perceptiveness, but also subtracts from her unselfish decision as the crap she receives is no worse than what she took as a child from her family. Still biblical fiction fans will delight in Tessa Afshar’s wonderful portrayal of Ruth toiling with grace and faith in a field where most detest her being a foreigner.

Harriet Klausner

Somebody Like You-Beth K. Vogt

Somebody Like You
Beth K. Vogt
Howard Books/S&S, May 13 2014, $14.99
ISBN: 9781476737584

In 2012 in Breckenridge, Colorado, architect Stephen Ames proposes to Elissa who says no. A few days later in Fort Collins, his boss informs Stephen they must let go Jenkins; Stephen volunteers to quit so that the man and his family does not starve. Bad luck comes in threes as his hysterical mom Miriam calls Stephen with news his estranged brother Sam died in Afghanistan.

At the shooting range where she teaches, Sam’s widow Hal explains to her boss she is quiting because a client complained of her pregnancy being inappropriate for this place. When Hal gets home, she sees Sam standing on her porch. She jumps into his arms, but he says to Haley he is Sam’s twin. A stunned Haley never knew he existed; as neither her husband nor her mother-in-law mentioned Stephen. She points a gun at him so he leaves. Miriam explains to Haley that the brothers had a falling out when they were eighteen and had not talked to each other since in spite of her prayers they would reconcile. Remaining persistent, Stephen continues to pray to God for help while he keeps visiting and doing things for Haley. When they fall in love each feels they betray Sam.

Somebody Like You is an intriguing inspirational romance starring two flawed individuals linked by grief and guilt (for her husband his twin) as much as their love. The support cast (especially his divorced parents, Sam and her BFF) adds depth in understanding the lead couple. Beth K. Vogt writes a wonderful second chance drama.

Harriet Klausner