Sarah Holman's Blog, page 31

A Love to Come Home To: A Book Review

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Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback 

I was a little worried going into this book. After all, some of my friends who loved the other two books didn't like some of the things in this one. I enjoyed it a lot. Don’t get me wrong, parts of it had me banging my head against a wall, wondering why some people (*ahem* Grace) did what they did. That isn’t to say I was confused about their motivations but, just frustrated. Yet, I totally understood why people were doing what they were doing.

Does that sound confusing to you? Well, Ruggieri writes complex stories with complex characters. You have to read her stories to truly understand them. When you have read the story, you feel as if you have met real people. They make mistakes, the sin, yet they also find the grace of God.

This story kept me reading, flipping the digital pages, and I was very happy with the ending. I was really worried until the end. A couple of times, I thought about giving up because I was worried about where the author was going. In the end, she wrapped everything up in a satisfying way, but also in a way that made it clear that the characters had growing and changing to do in the years to come.

The romance? It was sweet, clean, devoid of many elements that have made me give up on so many modern Christian fiction romance books. Are the character perfect? Without temptation? Not at all! They do choose to do what is right.

I highly recommend this book to those who have enjoyed the first two in the series, like realistic characters, and stories deeply rooted in God’s amazing grace.

What Makes us Love Jane Austen?

I love books, both old and new. As a writer and as a reader, I'm always fascinated by what makes a book last. Jane Austen is an author that continues to be read, rewritten, and loved even these many years after her books are published. While I'm sure there are many books and articles that utilize a lot of research, here are just a few of my thoughts on the subject.

Whether it is Emma's well-meaning mistakes, Lizzie's quick judgments, or Fanny's seeming inability to speak up for herself and others, Jane Austen wrote characters with believable faults that many of us can identify with. It's always nice to have characters that are inspiring, but not so perfect we feel we could never emulate them.

Personally, I think Jane Austen's greatest skill (and the reason we still get so much from her books) was her insight into human emotions. All of her characters are complicated. Having recently reread Mansfield Park and Sense and Sensibility, I was once again struck with her complicated characters. They have emotional highs and lows. The longer I live, the more I realize how each character has depth and you can find people around you that are a lot like them.

While her writing was solid, I do think her setting made her books stand the test of time. The manners and beauty of the Regency era are captivating. Sometimes, I just read a passage that is steeped in the customs of the time and I sigh happily, soaking up the gentility. Other times, I laugh or poke fun at it. However, the time in which she wrote really adds to the charm of her stories.

While flawed, I think all her main characters were good people who you feel you can always root for. While I love a good redemption story, I sometimes get tired of books where the characters seem to be more flawed then good. Just as they have flaws we can relate to, I feel they also have goodness that we can aspire to.

Lastly, the struggles each of her characters face are normal but compelling. Anne chose to follow advice that could cost her marital happiness for her life, Lizzie struggles to navigate her life in a proper way despite how some of her family members act, Fanny wants to do what is right but struggles to communicate her deepest feelings, and Emma wants everyone to be happy but thinks she knows best how to do it.  While normal struggles, Austen presents them in a compelling way.

Why do you find Jane Austen compelling?

Saturday Snippet: Black and White Pages

*this post contains affiliate links*“I don’t understand how you can read all the time. The pages are flat, lifeless, and in black and white. Life, real life outside of the pages of a book, has color and shape that no page ever captured.”
“They are only flat and lifeless because you want them to be,” Fredrick said, running his hands over the cover of the book he held. “Pride and Prejudice is hardly a lifeless story. I read it myself.” He cleared his throat. “Don’t tell my brother. John says it’s a feminine book, and hated it when your sister made him read part of it.”
“I don’t make books lifeless,” Emmeline protested, snatching her book away from him and letting it fall open on her lap. “Look, it’s flat, no color, no people that stand up and are real. I would much rather just sit at the diner at the corner of Main Street and watch people go walk about. Observing people or talking with friends is much more interesting than reading black words on white paper.”
“You’re the one making it so,” Fredrick repeated. “You’ve so much imagination when it comes to parties and matchmaking. Put that same effort into your books and you’ll see them for what they were meant to be. The black and white words will quickly change to living people and events that will sweep you away in their tide. Perhaps you ought to try something modern.”
Emmeline gave an impatient sigh. “Please, do not recommend Magnificent Obsession again. It didn’t take me but five pages to find vulgar speech and a confusing number of people trying to speak all at once.”
“I was actually going to suggest that author your mother loved so much. Remember that book that you read while you were sick? TheObsession of Victorian?”
“It was The Obsession of Victorian Gracen by Grace Livingston Hill, and it was good, but I’m just not into reading. Wouldn’t you rather play a game?”
He smiled and stood. “I’ll get the checkerboard.”

Or go ahead and get the Paperback, Kindle book, or Audible book.

First Week of 2020

*post contains affiliate links*I started off my year with a minor cold (I came down with it on December 28th). However, I was happy that for the first time in a while, I was not sick on Christmas. The beginning of this year was packed!

My friend Kelsey came and spent the New Year with us. We took some long walks, stayed up and greeted 2020 while sharing stories of God's goodness, and recorded the second season of Classics with Kelsey and Sarah. It was a wonderful way to start off the New Year. I especially enjoyed getting to show Kelsey where I worked and all the wonderful, deep conversations we had. Perhaps my favorite conversation was on how important we both feel the Sabbath is.

I was very blessed that Kelsey came and spent time with me even though I had a cold and my coughing interrupted us a couple of times.

 I drove for three hours while listening to Treasure of the Snow to spend a couple of days with my dear friend Michelle. We met many years ago at a political convention. We kept up via Facebook and phone calls through the ups and downs of her single years. I got to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, spend some time with her when she went through a health challenge, and I've been able to be part of her little boy, Asher's life. It was fun to be able to spend her birthday with her. On the way home. I started listening to An Untamed Heart by Lauraine Snelling. It was a very sweet book. I was really grateful to spend Tuesday at the zoo with three of my sisters and my Mom. I hadn't been in a long time and the weather was perfect for it! The sloth was the most active I've ever seen it, as were the lions. The Camron Park Zoo is really such a wonderful place. If you follow me on Instagram (@thedestinyofoneuathor) you probably saw some of the fun photos I posted.Yesterday was full of a lot of work. I finally cleaned my room, packaged up some books for shipping, started a baby quilt for a friend, and a few other chores that had been hanging over me for a while. While not exciting, or photo-worthy, it was nice to accomplish a lot of little things.

Yes,  this is a reread. I read it only a few months ago, but I wanted to start off the year with the powerful reminders this book contains. I loved the audiobook! Buy it HERE.

This may be for younger readers, but I got a lot out of it. It is well-written and powerful.Buy it HERE
This was a gentle story of farming life. It was a very nice read.Buy it HERE

This is a book I got for review. I was a bit sluggish in reviewing it, but it was still wonderful. Thomson is one of my favorite writers. I love her insight into the book of Matthew.Buy it HERE.
What have you been up to this week?

What is Compelling About the Great Depression?

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What is compelling about the Great Depression? I asked this question on my Facebook page an here are a couple of the responses I got: 
"The priorities were so clearly different back then. While living so close to starvation and scraping by, characters' true natures come clearly to the forefront."

"It's historical - but not so far back in the past that it feels disconnected from the present (in other words, we're still reaping the results of what happened/decisions made/etc. from that time) - so I love the connection combined with the nostalgic feeling those books often have, too.
Additionally, the courage that the characters often display...girds up my own courage to face the troubles of today."

I loved these responses because I think they sum up why we love to read fiction set during the Great Depression so much. Perhaps you've read Emmeline or one of the other books in the Vintage Jane Austen series. Maybe you've enjoyed The Fragrance of Geraniums or a Grace Livingston Hill novel. Whether these or something else, the time of the Great Depression is fascinating to you.

You're not alone. Many of us find this time in history to be compelling. Why is that? While I think the answers I received on Facebook were eloquent, I'll go ahead and add a couple thoughts of my own.

We all go through times of hardship, big and small. Often, reading about something that is removed from us, yet similar, helps us to process things we have gone through ourselves. This can be true for all fiction, and it the main reason I write. I know that growing up in a family that struggled financially, I really appreciated stories about families that also struggled or lived through the Great Depression. I didn't feel as alone and it reminded me of how much I still had.

While all of life shows character, in extream situations like the Great Depression the best and worst in a person is brought out. Good, godly people rise up with courage,  faith, wisdom, and fortitude (I love that word, don't you?). In contrast, those people who are shady, or without morals descend to new depths. Hard times are a litmus test of character.

Of course, one of the more interesting things is the "what if" question. How would I have handled the Great Depression? How did my ancestors handle it? What if something like that happened again?

When writing Emmeline, I got to think about what not only I would have done, but what would Jane Austen's characters have done. How would Emma Woodhouse (Emmeline Wellington in my story) have dealt with the financial world collapsing?

Of course, there are a lot of reasons we find this time in history fascinating. Why do you? Leave a comment and tell me.



Click HERE to read Emmeline free on Kindle Unlimited.Find it on Audible HERE.Find out more about the Vintage Jane Austen series HERE

Researching Recent(ish) History

Hello fellow writers!
Today, I'm going to share a few tips for researching recent-ish history. I think there is a special challenge in researching something that is within one-hundred years of our time. Often, we almost feel like we know some things because we've heard about it from people or have seen it depicted in various media forms. In writing Emmeline, and in helping with the research for The Vintage Jane Austen series, I learned a few things.

I think the biggest thing I learned is that even if you think you know something, look it up. There were so many facts I thought I knew about the early 1930s because of what I had read and talked with my grandparents. Some of them, I was right about, a few things, I was wrong about. Recent history is great a fooling you into thinking you know more then you do.

The best resource for recent history is people. Since we were sharing what we learned as we researched for The Vintage Jane Austen series, we were all able to share what relatives and older people we knew had to say. I tell you, some of those details may not have been huge, but they added so much realism to the story.

While there are many books and movies depicting the time, I spent a lot of time reading books that were written by people who lived during the time. Grace Livingston Hill was my favorite author,  but I read a couple of others. No, they don't have a completely accurate view, but they captured the feel of the time, what scared people and gave them hope, better than anything else because they lived it.

Oddly enough, one of the things I found to be most helpful in getting a feel for the time was finding out slang words of the time. Slang changes rapidly so including period-correct slang words (in moderation) really helped bring out the flavor.

I always look at the source of my information. There are a lot of good books and online articles, but every once in a while, in looking up the source of the information, I find it not to be a reliable source. Along that same line, make sure to keep good notes on where you get what information for future reference.

This is the first in a new feature of Wednesday blog posts just for writers! Next week, I'll be giving five tips for retelling an old story. 

All Our Empty Places ~ A Book Review

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Find it on: Goodreads | Kindle | Paperback 

Okay, I’m ashamed to admit that it took me a while to read this book because I thought the end of the last book might end up being a quick and easy solution to the major problems with the Picoletti family. I was wrong. Once again, Ruggieri has written a story that reflects real-life struggles, hurts, and joys. Ultimately, this is a story about how God can fill and redeem the empty places in each of our lives.

All the characters have struggles they are facing. Nothing is easy or simple for them. Financial strain hits the Picoletti family hard. While a way out is provided, it comes with its own challenges. As in life, there is nothing that suddenly makes our life happily-ever-after. Yet Ruggieri shows that there is hope in Christ.

Ruggieri’s characters are vivid and all of them are complex, like in real life. You feel as if you have met real people who have their own motivations, pasts, and challenges. Yet, the thing that remains the same in all Ruggieri’s books is the amazing way all of it is brought to the foot of the cross.
As I don’t want to give anything about this story away, I’ll leave it at that.

This book is powerful. I highly recommend it to those who like life-like characters, faith-building stories, and solid historical fiction.

10 Historical Fiction Novels to Read in 2020

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Still deciding on what to read this year? Here are some historical fiction books you might want to consider. 1. Christy by Catherine Marshall
This is the fiction book this has been my #1 favorite for years. I get new things out of it every time I read it. Read my review HERE.
2. With Every Letter by Sarah Sundin  This is a sweet love story and full of wonderful lessons on the backdrop of World War II.Read my review HERE.
3. A Holy Passion by Alicia G. Ruggieri  This book not only is faith building and well researched - it's also an emotionally powerful book.Read my review HERE.
4. The Lost Heiress by Roseanna M. White  White is a talented author and this book shines. I've already read it twice.Reach my review HERE
5. The Heavens Before by Kacy Barnett-Gramckow This is a powerful story of faith, and what it might have been like before the flood.Read my review HERE.

6. Friendship and Folly by Meredith Allady This book, this series, is like having new Jane Austen books to read. It's written in the 
7. Grace Triumphant by Alicia A. Willis This is a powerful story that deals with the slave trade and the grace of God.Read my review HERE.
8. The Fragrance of Geraniums by Alicia G. Ruggieri  This is a story of a broken family, struggling during the great depression. It's also about how the grace of God transforms us.Read my review HERE.
9. The Messenger by Siri Mitchell
A spy book where one of the spies refuses to lie? This Revolutionary War novel that deals with tough questions and tests of faith.
Read my review HERE.

10. Suit and Suitability by Kelsey Bryant
I love all the books that are part of the Vintage Jane Austen, but this is a favorite.
Read my review HERE.

Saturday Snippet: The opening

Upon entering the old-fashioned parlor, Emmeline took a deep breath, inhaling dust and the faint smell of her father’s pipe-tobacco. These were the smells of memories.One of her earliest memories was of peeking through the crack in the door of this very parlor, her small fingers picking at the chipping paint of the doorframe. She could see her papa and Mr. Carter smoking their pipes by a cheerful fire. She should have been in the playroom with her sister, Cassandra, and Miss Carter (as Geraldine, the pretentious daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carter, insisted on being called). However, Emmeline preferred to be with Papa.“George,” Mr. Carter declared. “You allow your wife too many liberties. She is making all the decisions for your house.”Her father’s deep, rumbling laughter filled the parlor. “This is the twentieth century, Clement. Women now have the right to vote and all sorts of things. Besides, the Good Book says that we are to love and care for our wives. She is a good woman, and I don’t mind giving in to her whims. I have to admit that the electric lights she had put in last year have helped my eyes very much.”“Progress isn’t all it is cracked up to be,” Mr. Carter grumbled.It was the only memory Emmeline had of her father’s joyous laughter, or of his best friend, Mr. Carter. Clement Carter, along with Emmeline’s own mother, had died of the influenza epidemic that fateful year of 1919. They were only two of the many the epidemic had claimed in the small Pennsylvania town of Ashbury.Emmeline reached out and caressed a vase that had stood on the mantel where her mother had always kept it. While the rest of the house had been redecorated and modernized as much as she could persuade her father to allow, this room was like a time capsule of twenty-five years before, when her mother and father had moved into the house.“Deep in your own thoughts, I see,” a deep, masculine voice said.Emmeline didn’t even turn around, but continued her dusting. “Most people knock when entering a home that isn’t their own, Fredrick,” she said dryly.
Or go ahead and get the Paperback, Kindle book, or Audible book.

Top Ten Books of 2019

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I read a lot of books this year. I found there were about twenty books I wanted to put on my top ten list. It was a really good book year. However, I made myself stick with ten. Before we get to that, here are my reading stats for this year.




You can see my year in books by going HERE.
Now, to the list...

10. Fervent by Priscilla Shirer
I got some Amazon book credits that could only use it on certain books. This was one of them so I snapped it up. I read it at a time I really needed to be reminded who my enemy really is and how to do battle through prayer.
My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
9. The O'Malley Series by Dee Henderson 
I read all of these one December a few years ago. I loved them so much. I reread this series this year. They are powerful, movie stories.Amazon | Goodreads
8.Choosing Gratitude: Your Journey to Joy by Nancy Leigh DeMoss
I'm struggling to be joyful and grateful in all things. My mom recommended this book to me a while back I finally read it. Nancy's words always correct and encourage me. I really enjoyed the audiobook.
My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
7. Cleftlocke by Nicole Sager
I finally got caught up in reading Sager's novels. This one really stood out. Not only was the massage amazing, but the storytelling was also superb. The setting and the twists really made the book.
My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
6. The Mark of Zorro by Johnston McCulley
Read by B.J. Harrison 
Okay, this book was just a blast to read. It was a light, enjoyable read. It was clean, funny, and narrated so well. I've loved many versions of Zorro I've watched, it was fun to finally read the story that started it all.
My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
5. You Can Trust God to Write Your Story: Embracing the Mysteries of Providence
by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and Robert Wolgemuth
I was very privileged to be part of the promotional team for this release. It is a powerful reminder that no matter what I face, God is in control of my life story and He is writing something good. My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
4. Confessions by Augustine of Hippo
Wow! I was blown away by this autobiography of an early church father. He truly gave God all the glory. I was very blessed to read this with my friend Kelsey. If ever I write my biography, I hope to do it in this style. (I highly recommend the Penguin Classics edition.My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
3. Hinds' Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard
This is another book I read with Kelsey this year. Actually, it was the first book we read together this year. It was full of reminders I needed to hear. This is one of those books that I get new things about it every time I read it.
My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
2. It's Not Supposed to Be This Way by Lysa TerKeurst 
I was having a really rough time and questioning whether God was good. I didn't like that I was, but I couldn't deny my struggle either. Mom had bought me this book and a friend pushed me to read it. It ministered to my soul in a profound way. I was crying, I was nodding my head, and I wanted to give TerKeurst a hug. God is good. While things AREN"T how they are supposed to be, God is working them for my good.
My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
 1. Devotedly: The Personal Letters and Love Story of Jim and Elisabeth Elliot by Valerie Shepherd
I didn't agree with everything Jim and Elisabeth did. However, their devotion to God inspires me. I appreciated how Shepherd let us see a less filtered version of her parents. The reader gets to see that God took two flawed people and used them greatly, not because they were perfect, but because they were devoted to Him. I continue to think back to this book and then ask how I can be more devoted to Christ.My ReviewAmazon | Goodreads
What were your favorite books this year?