Sarah Holman's Blog, page 97

Adventure Between the Pages: When Courage Calls

Buy it HereAge Appropriate For: 11 and up for reading level and mildly scary scenesBest for Ages: 15 and up
Description: Her courage and her heart will be tested in ways she never expected... Beth Thatcher has spent her entire life in the safe, comfortable world of her family, her friends, and the social outings her father's wealth provides. But Beth is about to leave it all behind to accept a teaching position in the rugged foothills of western Canada. Inspired by her aunt Elizabeth, who went west to teach school several years ago, and gently encouraged by her father, Beth resolves to put her trust in God and bravely face any challenge that comes her way.  But the conditions in Coal Valley are even worse than she'd feared. A recent mining accident has left the town grieving and at the mercy of the mining company. The children have had very little prior education, and many of the locals don't even speak English. There isn't even a proper schoolhouse. In addition, Beth's heart is torn between two young men--both Mounties, one a lifelong friend and the other a kind, quiet man who comes to her aid more than once. Despite the many challenges, Beth is determined to make a difference in the rustic frontier town. But when her sister visits from the East, reminding her of all the luxuries she's had to give up, will Beth decide to return to her privileged life as soon as the school year is over?
It has been far too long since I have read any book by Janette Oke. I read her entire Love Comes Softly series, Seasons of the Heart series, The Canadian West series, and a couple others of her stand-alone books. However, over the past few years I haven’t read any of them. I had forgotten how much I had loved her books.
This story was a refreshing change from the books I have been reading. Beth was neither shy or submissive to a fault, or so strong and boyish as to lose her femininity. Beth was sweet, but was also courageous. She wanted to teach despite her mother’s protests, without hating her parents. She wanted to have a job, without thinking that homemaking was stupid. She wasn’t a stereotype character.
The story itself was a slower pace than many I have read lately. There isn’t any heavy romance, or heart-stopping action. It is about the day-to-day struggle of Beth trying to teach in primitive situations, and help a mining town that has been devastated by a recent cave-in. There isn’t much action, yet the story pulled at my heartstrings and kept me turning the pages.
The cast of characters was rich and diverse. From the kind hearted, Italian miner, to the kind and wise woman who runs the boarding house, to the children in the class room; the characters were so real.I really enjoyed that the romance, although a part of the story, wasn’t the main element of the book. As much as I love a good romance, it is nice to have some books that are not all about passion and romance.
I highly recommend this book for readers who love Jennet Oke, light romance, and stories of courageous women.Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon.

I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.



Other posts you might enjoy:
          Adventure Between the Pages: Dear Mr. Knightley
          Adventure Between the Pages: Wren
          Adventure Between the Pages: Just Jane

Everyday Life

I was planning on writing a real post with some thoughts today, but yesterday, I got only a couple of paragraphs edited. So today, I am busy with my minion (editing minion that is) and working on  editing A Different Kind of Courage. I have sent out the first couple of chapters to two dears girls who are helping me in the early stage of editing. I hope that by the end of the month, I will be sending this book out to my editing team.

Yes, it is cold today in Texas (I can hear you laughing, my  Minnesota friends) and I am enjoying hot tea and a warm fire as I work on editing, book reviews, and this blog post.


Other posts you might enjoy:          Multitudes on Mondays: Blessed Grey Days          Everyday Life: Editing         The Cry of My Heart

Devotionals

I like to start my morning with digging into a devotional. I love reading the Bible, but first thing in the morning, I am not ready to digest scripture. I normally start by reading in a book or devotional then reading a couple chapters of the Bible. I enjoy a wide variety of devotional books, including books that weren’t intended to be so.
As you can see, most of the books shown are not your typical devotional book. All of these books have been a great blessing to me however, in the recent years.

Digging into a book about my faith, first thing in the morning helps me start my day. What do you start your time with God with?

Posts you might also enjoy:
         It is all in the Roots
         Dealing with Anxiety
         Adventure Between the Pages: Your Beautiful Purpose by Susie Larson

Writing Saturday: How to Write a Book Review

Other posts you might enjoy:          Writing Saturday: D is for Dialogue: Character voices that sparkle          Writing Saturday: F is for Feedback          Writing Saturday; Weaving Life Lessons Part 1

Finds of the Week: 2/7/14

Things I have read
Timeline~I enjoyed this article by a friend of mine~
What Are Bible Gateway’s Most “Bible-Minded” Cities?~This is very interesting~

The Perfect Christian Woman … According to Christian Publishing
~I laughed so hard!~


Book lovers giveaway!


Word of the Week - Doorknob
~I learn so much for this lady~
Thing I have written elsewhere10 Things You Should Know Before you Self-Publish

Is Self-Publishing for You? The 10 Best things about Self-Publishing


Images used may not be mine and are used to promote the links only.

Pieces of my Life: My Bookshelf

I have decided to start a new series, sharing bits and pieces of my life. I am going to start with a series on my bookshelf.
Today, I would like share probably one of the oddest things I have on my shelf: These two figures.They aren’t pretty and don’t go with my room, but they are very special to me. Our family has some dear missionary friends from Africa brought them back for me on their last visit to the states.
The missionary couple works on translating the Bible into the language of the unreached people groups of Africa, especially in Sudan.

Next week, we will find out what is inside this box.

Other posts you might like:            Top 10 Books of 2013            Growingyour own Herbs            Is it Okay?

Adventure Between the Pages: A Match Made in Texas

Buy it HereAge Appropriate For: 13 + for romanceBest for Ages: 15 and up Description: In Dry Gulch, Texas, 1893, a young woman with a tender heart that longs to help those in need takes it upon herself to meddle in the affairs of three acquaintances who are in dire straits. Wanting to stay anonymous, she relies on unusual methods to hire men and women of good character who she thinks can solve the problems facing her “targets.” How was she to know that her meddling would turn into a cupid’s arrow? And what will she do when her friends turn the tables on her with a matchmaking scheme of their own?
I have been looking forward to this collection of stories since I first heard about it. Not only is it set in my home state, two authors I adore (Witemeyer and Cox) are in this collection. I was so excited when my copy finally arrived and I was able to dig in.A Cowboy UnmatchedThis story was the first and my favorite. Karen Witemeyer is on my top 10 favorite author list, and it is mainly because of the Archer brothers. I so enjoyed Short-Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher because of the strong male characters. Neil was no disappointment. He was every bit as wonderful as his brothers.
Clara was a wonderful heroine and matched perfectly for Neil. I wish this had been a full length novel so I could have gotten to know her even better. However, the story flowed so well it is hard to see how it could have been better.An Unforeseen MatchThis was my first introduction to Regina Jennings, and I will be reading more by her in the future. The story of Grace, a school teacher that has gone blind, and the cowboy Clayton, who is helping her to earn money for a horse, was so sweet. I really enjoyed how Clayton pushes Grace to cope with her blindness. At the  time it made him seem a little mean, but in the end you see that he is only trying to help her.
No Match for LoveI really loved the last book I read by Carol Cox. She is a master of humor, mystery, and romance. This story felt a bit rushed. It seemed that the author had a hard time fitting the story she wanted to tell into the allotted word count. However, it was very enjoyable. It was my second favorite, probably because I like feisty old ladies.
I laughed as Lucy learned how to make tea and other chores she had never done in her privileged growing up years. She was a delightful character and made up for all the story’s shortcomings. It was a wonderful little story.
Meeting her MatchI have a lot of friends on Goodreads who review the same books I do. When I read the first part of this story by Mary Connealy I could not understand the negative reviews and then I kept reading. I sadly have to concur with many of my reviewing buddies: this story was bad.
Although subtle, this story seems to take a stab at large families. It made it sound like the reason people had more than four is if the father was an ogre who wanted boys. Now I understand that may not have been the author’s intention, and I might have been able to overlook that but, there was another huge issue.
I found the romance in this story disturbing. At first it is sweet. An awkward guy and sweet girl like each other but don’t say anything. However, it quickly turned from sweet to uncomfortable. *Spoiler alert* They somehow spend half an hour in a locked room. Everyone assumes they have slept together, and so they are forced to marry. *End Spoiler alert*
Overall this is a delightful collection of romance stories. There is some kissing, nothing too excessive. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves good, clean romance stories and westerns. I would, however, caution you about the last story in the collection.
Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon.
I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.
Other reviews you might be interested in:            Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer            Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer            Love in Disguise by Carol Cox
            

Adventure Between the Pages: A Match Made it Texas

Buy it HereAge Appropriate For: 13 + for romanceBest for Ages: 15 and up Description: In Dry Gulch, Texas, 1893, a young woman with a tender heart that longs to help those in need takes it upon herself to meddle in the affairs of three acquaintances who are in dire straits. Wanting to stay anonymous, she relies on unusual methods to hire men and women of good character who she thinks can solve the problems facing her “targets.” How was she to know that her meddling would turn into a cupid’s arrow? And what will she do when her friends turn the tables on her with a matchmaking scheme of their own?
I have been looking forward to this collection of stories since I first heard about it. Not only is it set in my home state, two authors I adore (Witemeyer and Cox) are in this collection. I was so excited when my copy finally arrived and I was able to dig in.A Cowboy UnmatchedThis story was the first and my favorite. Karen Witemeyer is on my top 10 favorite author list, and it is mainly because of the Archer brothers. I so enjoyed Short-Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher because of the strong male characters. Neil was no disappointment. He was every bit as wonderful as his brothers.
Clara was a wonderful heroine and matched perfectly for Neil. I wish this had been a full length novel so I could have gotten to know her even better. However, the story flowed so well it is hard to see how it could have been better.An Unforeseen MatchThis was my first introduction to Regina Jennings, and I will be reading more by her in the future. The story of Grace, a school teacher that has gone blind, and the cowboy Clayton, who is helping her to earn money for a horse, was so sweet. I really enjoyed how Clayton pushes Grace to cope with her blindness. At the  time it made him seem a little mean, but in the end you see that he is only trying to help her.
No Match for LoveI really loved the last book I read by Carol Cox. She is a master of humor, mystery, and romance. This story felt a bit rushed. It seemed that the author had a hard time fitting the story she wanted to tell into the allotted word count. However, it was very enjoyable. It was my second favorite, probably because I like feisty old ladies.
I laughed as Lucy learned how to make tea and other chores she had never done in her privileged growing up years. She was a delightful character and made up for all the story’s shortcomings. It was a wonderful little story.
Meeting her MatchI have a lot of friends on Goodreads who review the same books I do. When I read the first part of this story by Mary Connealy I could not understand the negative reviews and then I kept reading. I sadly have to concur with many of my reviewing buddies: this story was bad.
Although subtle, this story seems to take a stab at large families. It made it sound like the reason people had more than four is if the father was an ogre who wanted boys. Now I understand that may not have been the author’s intention, and I might have been able to overlook that but, there was another huge issue.
I found the romance in this story disturbing. At first it is sweet. An awkward guy and sweet girl like each other but don’t say anything. However, it quickly turned from sweet to uncomfortable. *Spoiler alert* They somehow spend half an hour in a locked room. Everyone assumes they have slept together, and so they are forced to marry. *End Spoiler alert*
Overall this is a delightful collection of romance stories. There is some kissing, nothing too excessive. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who loves good, clean romance stories and westerns. I would, however, caution you about the last story in the collection.
Was this helpful? Please vote it up on Amazon.
I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review. I was under no obligation to write a positive review. The opinions in this review are entirely my own.
Other reviews you might be interested in:            Short-Straw Bride by Karen Witemeyer            Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer            Love in Disguise by Carol Cox
            

Everyday Life: Editing

Today, I am very busy today. Editing A Different Kind of Courage.  Here is the first promotional image for the book.

Starting the Week Right

The beginning of another week. Mondays are dreaded by many as the day they have to go back to work, back to school, back to normal life. The weekend was so much fun. We got to hang out with friends, go to church, and enjoy ourselves after a week full of work and chores.
Most of the time, I enjoy Mondays. But there are days I don’t want to get out of bed. There are Mondays when I just wish I could pretend it was still the weekend. It is for those kind of Mondays, that I plan to start a new series of Monday posts. Ones about faith.
These posts will very in their depth and length. Some of them I will share about my spiritual journey, some of them I might re-post some thought I have written down in the past. Some of them I just might post a verse that has encouraged me of late.
Starting the week and day of with time with God is so important for me. I have started spending my first waking minutes with God. I pray and I read. Sometimes I read my Bible, I always am working through a book or devotional. But I have decided I need to make sure that Mondays, I spend some extra time focusing on God to prepare me for the week.

What do you do to start your week off right?