A Harvest of Hope by Lauraine Snelling

I enjoyed this book. I read the first one in this series and I wasn't too impressed but this book was much more enjoyable. What I love most about this book are the stories of faith through hardship. There are deaths, physical healing, a town tragedy, and serious town drama, but through it all, the characters of this book show faith in God's mercy and incredible strength. They seek to do what is right no matter the cost and encourage each other along the way. The synopsis of the book is focused on Miriam and Trygve's struggles and relationship. This story line is a good portion of the book, but there are a few other stories within that theme which really bring depth and goodness to this book. I recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.

Where Trust Lies by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

I usually enjoy books by Oke, but this book was hard to read. I found myself skipping large areas and skimming. To me the book was more about the scenery and the Canadian cities than it was about the characters and their stories. The story line kept dragging on with the story line not going anywhere except to different city ports and the same similar conversations happening between characters. The book became interesting around the last quarter of it. I really can't recommend this book. Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.

Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden

Truly enjoyable book! Everything from the description of the setting, to the strong characters, to the captivating story line, and you are locked into an excellent read. Camden's female character, Anna O'Brien, is a sweet girl who has a stable job at the Library of Congress, but she is unsettled about the events which led to her father's death. An intriguing Congressman, Luke Callahan, offers to help Anna connect all the missing pieces to her mystery, but trouble seems to be following them and neither one is sure it will be worth all they have worked for and protected. I highly recommend this book. You will never want to put it down! Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.

The Secret of Pempbrooke Park by Julie Klassen

When I received this book in the mail, I was a little worried about the length of it. My first thought was, "This better be good!" Well, it was. I was reading this book every moment I had and late into the night. There is nothing better than great characters, a beautiful setting, love stories, and mystery. Abigail Foster is a dutiful older daughter and loving sister. When the family runs into money problems, she takes the lead and secures the family an estate to rent which belongs to a distant relative. From the moment she arrives, there is much mystery in the condition of the house, the secrets and the hush, hush and warnings of the neighboring community. All of these things intrigue Abigail and her curiosity can not be squelched. Along with figuring out the mystery of the estate, Abigail is also dealing with her personal life. Desperately trying to come to the realization that she is well over traditional marrying age and watching in the shadow of her younger sister as she has no problem catching the eye of every eligible young man. I love how Klassen intertwines old love interests with new love interests and the powerful friendship of women. I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.

To Everything a Season by Lauraine Snelling

I was excited to get a chance to review this book because I have read all of Snelling's books about the town of Blessing and the Bjorkand family. Overall I enjoyed the book, but what I found somewhat disappointing and strange was that the write up about the book and the summary on the cover was only what the last quarter of the book was about. It really was mostly about familiarizing the reader with the characters of Blessing, crime moving into the town and about the matron of the Bjorkland family and her trials during this chapter of her life. Trygve and Miriam's story entails a small portion of the book with a cliff hanger at the end which leads me to believe that her next book will be about their story. I do enjoy Snelling's writing so I will be anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. Thank you the Bethany House for the pleasure of reviewing this book.

The River by Beverly Lewis

I am big fan of Beverly Lewis. I'm pretty sure I have read every one of her books. I enjoy them because I love the Amish and her books are delightful stories. This book is a wonderful story about a family dealing with tragedy and forgiveness. When tragedy happens in a family, it can be very destructive to a family, and sisters Tilly and Ruth are no strangers to a broken and hurting family. These two Amish raised sisters both decide to leave the Amish and live in the English world. They each had different reasons for leaving, but their heartache is the same. After many years, they return home for a celebration and find themselves dragged back into the troubled past. I found this book by Lewis to have a slow start. I had some difficulty enjoying the story line and it took a while for me to be interested in the lives of the characters. In the end, I enjoyed the message the book relayed and the happy ending. Thank you to the publisher for this book to review.

Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer

I enjoyed this book. It did take a few chapters for the story to get going, but once it did, it was a good read. I liked the main character, Nicole Renard. She is smart, beautiful, compassionate, committed and very feisty. She is a young woman who loves her father very much, so she sets out to find an heir for his successful shipping company; a husband for herself. She runs into trouble along the way because she is protecting something which is very important to her father and finds herself short on funds so she becomes desperate for a job. Nicole attains a secretary job with a peculiar scientist who is fascinated with boilers. Their relationship blooms, but Nicole knows that she has a responsibility to her father and his company and she must find the right man for the job as her husband and heir and protect her father's valuable possession. This was a cute, but somewhat predictable story. Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.