Category: book review

In Sister Dear, all Allie Marshall wants is a fresh start. But when dark secrets refuse to stay buried, will her chance at a new life be shattered forever?

About Sister Dear

Convicted of a crime she didn’t commit, Allie watched a decade of her life vanish — time that can never be recovered. Now, out on parole, Allie is determined to clear her name, rebuild her life, and reconnect with the daughter she barely knows.

But Allie’s return home shatters the quaint, coastal community of Brunswick, Georgia. Even her own daughter Caroline, now a teenager, bristles at Allie’s claims of innocence. Refusing defeat, a stronger, smarter Allie launches a battle for the truth, digging deeply into the past even if it threatens her parole status, personal safety, and the already-fragile bond with family.

As her commitment to finding the truth intensifies, what Allie ultimately uncovers is far worse than she imagined. Her own sister has been hiding a dark secret–one that holds the key to Allie’s freedom.

My Thoughts

Family is always the most important thing, right? In this story that unfolds sometimes it is family that hurts us the most. This is a thrilling tale of lies, pain and what I would think is some undiagnosed mental health conditions.

Allie was convicted of a crime that she has pleaded her innocence to. The only evidence convicting her was being at the wrong place at the wrong time and trying to help a man who was on his last breath. This decision to help him altered her life permanently. She went to jail and missed out on a decade of her daughter’s life. Her sister stepped in to help raise her daughter and when she is released she realizes her daughter and sister share the mother-daughter bond that should be hers. Her daughter wants nothing to do with her, her community has turned against her and her parents have felt the judgement of the community as well. Allie is determined to prove her innocence and takes us on a journey of deceit, assault and murder.

As the story unfolds, my heart broke for Allie and her sister. Their bonds are so strong or so Allie thought! I feel like this novel also portrays how an undiagnosed mental health condition can change the way an individual sees the world and interprets this in turn. Her sister on the outside is a kind, loving person but on the inside she struggles with pain and loss that has consumed her life.

Sister Dear is an excellent novel from start to finish, where you never really expect the ending but find it mind-blowing none the less.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Laura McNeill is a writer, web geek, travel enthusiast, and coffee drinker. In her former life, she was a television news anchor for CBS News affiliates in New York and Alabama. Laura holds a master’s degree in journalism from The Ohio State University and is completing a graduate program in interactive technology at the University of Alabama. When she’s not writing and doing homework, she enjoys running, yoga, and spending time at the beach. She lives in Mobile, AL with her family.

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

In Song of Silence, music taught Lucy love and beauty. Could silence teach her hope?

About Song of Silence

Lucy and Charlie Tuttle agree on one thing: they’re committed to each other for life. Trouble is, neither of them expected life to look like this. Charlie retired early, but Lucy is devoted to a long-term career until the day she has no choice.

Forced to retire from her position as music educator in a small Midwestern K-8 school, Lucy can only watch helplessly as the program her father started years ago disintegrates before her eyes. As the music fades and a chasm separates her from the passion of her heart, Lucy wonders if her faith’s song has gone silent, too. The musical score of her life seems to be missing all the notes.

When a simple misstep threatens to silence Lucy forever, a young boy and his soundless mother change the way she sees and hears everything.

My Thoughts

A beautiful story of hope, understanding, forgiveness and possibility. My heart broke, I laughed and more importantly I felt very connected Lucy and her family.

When Lucy is forced to leave her position as a Music Educator, she is lost. She no longer has the one thing in her life that gives her purpose and meaning. Helping children was her lifelong goal. I can completely relate to those feelings. I don’t think it would be easy to give up on something you love and definitely not by choice, and thrown into early retirement. This is not the life she envisioned for herself nor the one that will make her happy. She puts a lot of her blame at the feet of one woman in particular (which ends up having a very unique twist about halfway through the novel!). She is lost, angry but worse she keeps it inside. When what appears to be a minor accident at first, changes her whole life once again, Lucy must learn to accept her trials, forgive and to see the world in a whole new way.

I loved every turn of the page of this novel. There are so many life lessons in it that we can adapt to our own lives. Not every disaster in our life is the end, even if at the time it definitely feels like that! There can always be something more awful that could have happened. It teaches us to trust in our family, to love but to also not be afraid to speak your own needs. The ending was so full of hope and I would love to see the next steps in this beautiful family’s life.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Cynthia Ruchti tells stories hemmed in hope. She’s the award-winning author of 17 books and a frequent speaker for women’s ministry events. She serves as the Professional Relations Liaison for American Christian Fiction Writers, where she helps retailers, libraries, and book clubs connect with the authors and books they love. She lives with her husband in Central Wisconsin.

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

In The Inheritance, the death of the clan patriarch has thrown the tiny Shetland Islands community of Whale’s Reef into turmoil.

About The Inheritance

Everyone assumed MacGregor Tulloch’s heir to be his grand-nephew David, a local favorite, but when it is discovered that MacGregor left no will, David’s grasping cousin Hardy submits his own claim to the inheritance, an estate that controls most of the island’s land. And while Hardy doesn’t enjoy much popular support, he has the backing of a shadowy group of North Sea oil investors. The courts have frozen the estate’s assets while the competing claims are investigated, leaving many of the residents in financial limbo. The future of the island-and its traditional way of life-hangs in the balance.

Loni Ford is enjoying her rising career in a large investment firm in Washington, DC. Yet in spite of her outward success, she is privately plagued by questions of identity. Orphaned as a young child, she was raised by her paternal grandparents, and while she loves them dearly, she feels completely detached from her roots. That is until a mysterious letter arrives from a Scottish solicitor.

My Thoughts

A wonderful, historical novel based in the Scotland Shetland Islands. A remote location that is beautiful and harsh in its existence for the people of this small community that has not quite been touched by time. I love the beauty of Scotland and its people, their heritage that they carry with them. Throughout the novel, we have constant glimpses of this strong and proud culture. What I found the most amazing was the continuance of the Chief and Laird titles – I first thought I was reading a moment in the past but was pleasantly surprised to see us in the future. We get a wonderful glimpse into the daily lives of the people and how the Chief David plays a strong role in keeping the people united and well taken care of. Even if this mean supplementing their own income from this own!

When the titles and estate comes in question, their small world is thrown upside down. You have a family member, Hardy, who never cared (and still doesn’t) who emerges on the death of MacGregor. Everyone does not want him to be the leader but the courts are leaning towards him until a distant closer relation in Loni Ford is found.

Loni has no knowledge of her relations and has always grown up feeling alone. I love that she discovers this whole new family and community to belong to.

I loved the history, the characters and the way the story evolved. The ending left a little bit wanting and unsure if this is how the story ended, but it was still a great story from start to finish that anyone can get into. The Scottish language may take a while to get used to though! But I love reading it and imagining the accents as I read it.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Michael Phillips is a bestselling author with more than 70 of his own titles. In addition, he has served as editor/redactor of nearly 30 more books. He is known as the man responsible for the reawakened interest in George MacDonald of the last 30 years. In addition to the MacDonald titles adapted/edited for today’s reader, his publishing efforts in bringing back full-length quality facsimile editions also spawned renewed interest in MacDonald’s original work. Michael and his wife, Judy, spend time each year in Scotland but make their home near Sacramento, California.

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