The Beginning

Susie Mast’s Amish life in Lancaster County has been shaped by events beyond her control, from the deaths of close family to remaining a friend to the love of her life.

About The Beginning

“I wish there was something I could do,” Cousin Verena said, her voice cracking.

“But what?” Susie whispered, wiping her eyes. “The boy I’ve always loved thinks of me as his sister . . . and always has.”

Susie Mast’s Amish life in Lancaster County has been shaped by events beyond her control, with the tragic deaths of her Dat and close-in-age brother casting long shadows. Now twenty-two, Susie remains unmarried despite her longtime affection for friend Obie Yoder. 

Unfortunately, her concerns are soon multiplied due to her mother’s worsening health and her younger sister’s urgent desire for answers about her adoption. Once again, Susie faces the possibility of loss. Will long-held family secrets and missed opportunities dim Susie’s hopes for the future? Or is what seems like the end only the beginning?

My Thoughts

Susie is a beautiful person inside and outside – she has been dealt with very difficult life events including the death of her Father and her close brother. While hurting, she consistently puts her faith in God, and continues to live a good life, caring for others around her. She is just a genuinely good person, who cares about the welfare of others around her and is constantly caring for others, especially her Mother.

She has been in love with a young man who is her best friend for what feels like forever but both are just too shy to say how they feel. Susie doesn’t feel that he returns her feelings and wants him to be happy, as he is her best friend. As her Mother’s health continues to decline, Susie is faced with the possibilities of further loss – her family, her home and her even her future. She has some very important decisions to make but it feels almost impossible to know even where to start. She seems to have a few ‘guardian angels’ looking out for her and helping guide her future, without her ever realizing.

I loved this simple, yet beautiful story. Susie is a wonderful, kind, caring young woman who deserves so much. I also grew to cherish her sister, Britta, and loved the story that has started to evolve with her. Susie is a selfless person, who deserves so much but she is not the type to put herself first. She needs those in her life to put her first (even if this isn’t what she feels they are doing) in order for her to recognize the feelings in her heart and where she wants her life to go. The Beginning is a beautiful story of healing, forgiveness and finding the start of our stories right back at where we first started our journey.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5/5

About the Author

Beverly Lewis, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, has more than 17 million books in print. Her stories have been published in 12 languages and have regularly appeared on numerous bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today. Beverly and her husband, David, live in Colorado, where they enjoy hiking, biking, making music, and spending time with their family. Visit www.beverlylewis.com to learn more.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Continue Reading

The Unofficial Hogwarts Cookbook For Kids

Create magical recipes in the kitchen with the whole family using recipes from The Unofficial Hogwarts Cookbook for Kids.

About The Unofficial Hogwarts Cookbook for Kids

Calling all Harry Potter fans! It’s time to whip up something spellbinding in the kitchen.

With 50 easy-to-follow recipes, you and your kids will learn to cook all of the best wizarding world favorites. From breakfast all the way to dessert, this book makes any meal or snack extra special, with recipes like: 

  • Pumpkin Pasties
  • Cauldron Cakes
  • Muggle-Style Pizza 
  • Chocolate Frogs
  • Great Hall Sandwiches 
  • And many more!

Perfect for young fans of Harry Potter, The Unofficial Hogwarts Cookbook for Kids will have aspiring witches and wizards brewing potions, baking stellar treats, and cooking creative dishes in no time. With easy step-by-step instructions and spellbinding full-color photographs, this cookbook is sure to become a kitchen favorite.

Our Thoughts

I am a huge Harry Potter fan and love all things magical. While the cookbook is not associated with or authorized by JK Rowling, her publishers or Warner Brothers, it celebrates all things magical that we have come to love about this series.

I loved how the cookbook incorporates healthy eating while still presenting them in a fun, magical and spellbinding way. It is very important that young wizards look after their health and eat a balanced diet. The cookbook is divided into: breakfast, snacks and small treats, lunch, dinner, dessert and drinks. Alana takes the best of both British and American favourites to bring you fifty recipes that are sure to be a hit even with the most pickiest eaters, there is something for everyone in this book.

Some of my favourites from the book included Bath Buns, Witch Hat Quesadillas, Bubble and Squeak and Fizzy Whizbees. There were also quite a few that you will recognize right off the bat – chicken pot pie, mashed potatoes and gravy, chicken fingers and sheet pan pizza. I loved the variety of recipes – from the easy to a bit more complicated. It allows you to have a bit more freedom in the kitchen especially with the little ones so that they can gain confidence with the first few recipes and are able to build on this foundation. The recipes themselves are easy to follow with very clear instructions that are geared to both young and older cooks. The accompanying photographs of the final products were delicious looking and were actually what we looked at first when we were deciding on what to try making first.

The Unofficial Hogwarts Cookbook for Kids will be a huge hit this Halloween season (and all year round because lets face it, who doesn’t love a little bit of magic at home?!).

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

About the Author

Alana Al-Hatlani is a baker by morning and food writer by night. Her writing has appeared in SaveurEater, the Seattle Times, the Seattle Weekly, and the Independent. She is a cake stand collector, a very competitive bowler, and Great British Bake-Off zealot. She started baking as soon as she could reach the counter on a step stool and hasn’t left the kitchen since. 

Alana holds a BA in journalism from New York University and a pastry degree from the Seattle Culinary Academy. She lives in Seattle, where she can be found baking flaky biscuits and towering layer cakes as a pastry chef. To see more of her baking or writing, visit http://www.alanaalhatlani.com

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Continue Reading

The Lines Between Us

A WWII novel of courage and conviction, based on the true experience of the men who fought fires as conscientious objectors and the women who fought prejudice to serve in the Women’s Army Corps.

About The Lines Between Us

Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have stuck to their values as conscientious objectors. Much to their families’ and country’s chagrin, they volunteer as smokejumpers rather than enlisting, parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires in Oregon. But the number of winter blazes they’re called to seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don’t add up.

A member of the Women’s Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother’s pacifism, but she’s shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it’s wrong to lie; she’s willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done. As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover.

My Thoughts

War can divide people, friends and families. It tests our faith, our beliefs and our understanding of the world and the relationships we have with others. We see this in so many ways in this powerful novel of faith, forgiveness and healing.

What starts out as a potential romance between Dorie and Gordon, goes awry when the pair have very strong and opposite feelings about the war. One supports doing anything and everything they can to stop the war – including fighting while the other opposes everything against war, fighting and promotes peace. Neither can reconcile their feelings, especially when Dorie’s brother follows Gordon in the way of peace. The two friends join the smokejumpers to protect the forestry in Oregon and Dorie goes on to join the Women’s Army Corps. We are witness to both struggles during the war as they each do their own part.

While Dorie refuses to speak to her brother, he is injured quite badly and Dorie comes face to face with their difficult separation and her own beliefs. She is determined to uncover the truth behind what led to the accident but she will need to work with Gordon to do so. Can the two put aside their differences to uncover the truth? Can they find forgiveness and healing?

I loved this story and found myself unable to put it down. My heart broke for Dorie so many times in this story, and by the end I found myself in tears. Like so many of us, she has to deal with the consequences of her decisions and the way she treated her brother. Something like this can have a lasting impact on our mental and physical well being, and Dorie is no different. She is forced to really look at herself – her beliefs and her actions, in order to find healing and peace. Both Dorie and Gordon are faced with making difficult decisions based on their beliefs and how to move forward as they uncover the truth that led to the accident. What I really enjoyed as well is how the novel was based on true experiences – these could have been real people that lived through the same experiences. The ending was powerful and touching and suited the tone of the story. The Lines Between Us will be a novel that you cannot put down.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Amy Lynn Green is a publicist by day and a novelist on nights and weekends. History has always been one of her passions, and she loves speaking with book clubs, writing groups, and libraries all around the country. Her debut novel, Things We Didn’t Say, was nominated for a 2021 Minnesota Book Award and received a starred review from both Booklist and Library Journal. Amy and her husband make their home in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Visit www.amygreenbooks.com to learn more.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review, all opinions expressed are my own.

Continue Reading

A Warrior’s Heart

In A Warrior’s Heart, her heart longs for peace, but peace won’t keep them safe.

About A Warrior’s Heart

Brielle Durand is still haunted by the massacre that killed her mother a dozen years before. Vowing to never let it happen again, she’s risen to be the key defender for her people’s peace-loving French settlement living in hidden caves in the Canadian Rockies. When a foreigner wanders too near to their secret home, she has no choice but to disarm and capture him. But now, what to do with this man who insists he can be trusted?

Hoping to escape past regrets, Evan MacManus ventured into the unknown, assigned to discover if the northern mountains contain an explosive mineral that might help America win the War of 1812. Despite being taken prisoner, Evan is determined to complete his mission. But when that assignment becomes at odds with his growing appreciation of the villagers and Brielle, does he follow through on his promise to his government or take a risk on where his heart is leading him? Either choice will cause harm to someone.

Brielle and Evan must reconcile the warring in their hearts to have any hope of finding peace for their peoples.

My Thoughts

I fell in love with this powerful and unique plot of a young female warrior who would do anything to protect her family. Even though she has hardened her heart against outsiders, it is an outsider who begins to thaw it again.

Brielle is a strong, young woman who has witnessed more than many others could ever recover from – witnessing the death of her Mother at the hands of the British. She dedicated her life to protecting her people, her family and their way of life. While isolated from the rest of North America, they have a great way of life with a focus on nature, family and education (each member of the community learning at least three different languages!). Brielle takes on the lead role in defending her people and this is how she meets Evan – when she captures him! Talk about a first meeting to remember?!

Evan holds many of his own secrets that he is keeping from Brielle and her people. He is on a secret mission for America, a mission that if he is successful can bring an end to the misery and death that has ravaged the country in their battle for freedom. What he did not expect was to fall for this young woman, her people and their way of life. He is facing a conflict of whether he is loyal to his country or if he follows his heart. Or can he have it both ways?

I loved the plot of this novel, I have not read anything quite like it and could not put the novel down. I loved that Brielle was this fierce warrior who would do anything for her family and her people. And while she is tough and hard on the outside, inside she is quite vulnerable and looking for someone to love her. You can’t help but fall in love with her character, she is the best friend that everyone needs in their corner. Evan has faced his own demons in his past and he too is haunted by them daily. He struggles greatly throughout the novel – torn between country, love and making an ethical decision that is rooted in his own past. They play a game of tug and war in their battle to trust each other but beneath it all, you can see their feelings start to develop for each other and can’t help but root for this unlikely couple. A Warrior’s Heart is a definite must read novel – it does not disappoint.

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

USA Today bestselling author Misty M. Beller writes romantic mountain stories set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love. Her Southern roots run deep, and she lives in South Carolina with her husband and children. Visit www.mistymbeller.com to learn more.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Continue Reading

The Keepers

iRead Book Tours

In The Keepers, Beth can’t imagine a worse nightmare until she gets a call in the middle of the night with shocking news about her son!

About The Keepers

Despite struggling to raise a troubled teenage son on her own, Beth Marshall has no intention of selling her beloved vineyard and moving to the city where her ex-boyfriend awaits with open arms. She has strong ties to the land, where she is happy living with her granddad and aunt in the old farmhouse, so when she gets an offer to sell her property, she turns it down. Meanwhile, a writer recovering from a shattering past moves into the guest house, tugging at her heart. She’s not going anywhere.

But after her granddad discovers a dead body in their shed, Beth fights jail time. She can’t imagine a worse nightmare until she gets a call in the middle of the night with shocking news about her son!

You can purchase a copy of this book on Amazon.

Author’s Note

Children’s mental health is a growing concern in today’s schools. Often kids suffer in silence because of the stigma attached to their mental health needs. Mental health organizations such as the Canadian Mental Health Association work hard to change this mindset. It can’t come soon enough. As a teacher, I worked with troubled teens and saw firsthand the devastating effects of their silence. With this in mind, I began writing The Keepers, for if I could help just one “Alexandre” find his voice, my efforts would be well worth it. There are a few mature scenes and some bad language here and there, reflective of a character coming-of-age.  

Book Trailer

About the Authors

Joy Lynn Goddard teamed up with husband Daniel Pike to write contemporary adult fiction. Their first and second novels, Moonshadow and The Keepers, have global appeal and won Canada Book Awards. Besides novels, they wrote Buyers, Liars, Sellers and Yellers, a collection of humorous short stories about the real estate industry. Although she is well known for her young adult and junior fiction—starting with the award-winning Daredevils and including Hello, my name is Emily, Charlie’s Song, Jazz, When Pigs Fly, and Mrs. Maloney’s Garden—her adult novels are quickly attracting attention. Each book involves romance, mystery, and suspense genres.

Joy and Dan divide their time between Guelph and Belleville, Ontario, where they spend time with family when not working on their next book.

You can connect with them on their website, Twitter and Facebook.

The Giveaway!

Enter to win a copy of The Keepers here.

Disclosure: This is a spotlight tour, I did not receive compensation for this post. All opinions expressed are my own.

Continue Reading