Category: Litfuse

Book Four in this series, Blue Ribbon Trail Ride, find them raising funds to help support her autistic brother.

About Blue Ribbon Trail Ride

Thirteen-year old Kate and her friends came up with the perfect way to raise money for her autistic younger brother and others to attend summer camp, a horse scavenger hunt! As local businesses donate money and prizes, Kate keeps the entry fees in her mom’s antique jewelry box.

But when the box and the money disappear, Kate and her friends must unravel the clues, hold on to hope, and solve the mystery along the Blue Ribbon Trail Ride.

My Thoughts

An amazing series of novels for young adults. The novel is well written and thought out with characters that young adults (and even adults!) can relate to.

Kate is like many thirteen year old girls, who struggles with independence, her own wants and needs. She struggles at time with being patient especially with a younger brother who requires a high amount of care due to his autism. A lot of her parent’s time and money goes in to his care, and while she understands this as any  normal child would she also struggles with sometimes having her needs put second. I love that Miralee shows this vulnerability and how Kate works through it and shows her understanding and love for her brother.

She comes up with creative solutions to solve her problems and uses her religious teachings to help guide her. In this particular story – first raising money through a scavenger hunt and then solving the mystery of the stolen box and money. I love how her faith is lightly woven into the novel to help guide and how easily young adults can relate this to their own lives.

This novel (and the whole series) will be a great addition to the young adults in your life personal library. They are well written and funny while teaching valuable moral and faith-based lessons.

You can find more reviews on the Blue Ribbon Trail Ride on the Litfuse Blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Miralee Ferrell is the award-winning author of more than a dozen novels. She and her husband live along the Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington State, where she enjoys riding the wooded trails and spending time with her grown children. In addition to horses and dogs, Miralee once owned two cougars

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

When a water vessel is filled with dirt and stones, it cannot be used to quench a thirst.

About Come Empty

When our vessel is emptied, there is an opportunity to fill it until it overflows with fresh, cool, life-giving water. Water that quenches, refreshes and soothes.

Our souls are the same: they can be filled with fear, doubt, and disappointment. Running over with unanswered prayers and lingering questions. When we empty the mess of our lives in the presence of God, we are offered an invitation to come. An invitation that allows us to come empty so that we can be filled until we overflow.

Come Empty: Pour Out Life’s Hurts and Receive God’s Healing Love guides you through fifty days of experiencing the fullness of God’s love and His ability to overcome life’s hurts. Each day, you will receive assurance of God’s presence in your difficult situations. Each devotion gives new vision and perspective when you’re hindered by emotional blind spots, and leads you to experience God’s peace and wholeness. When His invitation is accepted, He will set your captive mind and heart free to live fully by His grace. The question is not if you will get an invitation. The question is, will you come?

My Thoughts

Come Empty provides you with a daily five-minute readings and question work to help you understand the “empty” you are feeling at the current time and how to work through these feelings. There is actually eighty days of readings which is perfect for you to set out a time each day whether it be in the morning or evening, to reflect on your emotions and how you are feeling. She provides  you with a scripture reading and helpful questions that really get to the root of your emotions. Each day is devoted to an emotion or feeling and I like how she organized the devotional. The beginning of the book starts with a great introduction to not only the subject matter but her personal life. We see how she struggled as a physician trying to be the support her patients needed but still feeling empty inside. It is a feeling so many of can relate to . I find even myself struggling at times and when I can work to empty my mind, thoughts and heart of these feelings and emotions, only than can I be at peace. Come Empty is an excellent daily read that you can start, pause and always come back to certain passages. It will become a book that you will need more some days then others but one you will always find yourself drawn back to.

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

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Dr. Saundra Dalton-Smith is a Board Certified internal medicine physician. She shares with audiences nationwide on the topics of eliminating limiting emotions, finding grace in difficult places, and experiencing personal renewal by drawing near to God. Dr. Dalton-Smith is a national and international media resource on the mind, body, spirit connection and has been featured in Women’s Day, Redbook, and First For Women magazine. She is the founder of I Choose My Best Life. Her other books include award-winning Set Free to Live Free: Breaking Through the 7 Lies Women Tell Themselves.

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

When life changes drastically three months ago, Darla’s whole life is turned upside down. It is up to A Son’s Vow to help her during this time.

About A Son’s Vow

Darla’s father was responsible for a terrible fire at Charm’s lumber mill which killed five Amish men. And though he, too, lost his life, the town of Charm hasn’t looked at her family the same since. Even Lukas Kinsinger–with whom Darla used to have a close friendship.

Now her brother’s anger at the town is spilling over onto Darla, and she has the bruises to prove it. The accident already cost five lives, but if something doesn’t change soon, Darla fears it will cost her–and her family–even more.

Lukas Kinsinger wants to mourn the loss of his father, but he can hardly find the time to breathe. Suddenly the head of his father’s lumber mill and responsible for taking care of his three siblings, he’s feeling the pressure. He has also never felt more alone–especially with the new tension between he and Darla. But when he learns of her troubles at home, Lukas knows he can’t simply stand by and watch. Someone has to help her before another tragedy occurs.

As Lukas and Darla attempt to repair their families, they discover something deeper than friendship growing between them. But will Lukas and Darla’s love be accepted after so much loss? Or will the pain of the past overcome any chance of future happiness?

Shelley Shepard Gray’s first book in her Charmed Amish Life series is set in the quaint Amish village of Charm, Ohio, and tells the stories of the Kinsinger siblings who are each struggling to find both forgiveness and love in the face of tragedy.

My Thoughts

A Son’s Vow has so much depth and emotion. A small town is devastated by a fire that killed five of their own community members. Some of the community can’t help but point the finger at Darla’s family, some are so full of hate and anger at the loss of life that it now consumes them.

At the heart of this novel is Darla. Darla is the daughter of the man who has been blamed for the fire. She faces daily struggles with her community, she is verbally harassed in the book and on top of that has the responsibility of caring for her younger family members. Her life is consumed with the care of others without ever looking at her owns emotions and pain. She ignores the struggle she feels on the inside and puts on a brave face for the outside world. To top it all off, her brother is so angry and takes it out on her – sometimes physically!

Lukas would do anything for Darla, he has always been her teacher, her friend and her support. He feels they can only heal and move forward if they speak about their loss and join forces. He misses his friend. Slowly they find their friendship is changing, maybe into a more romantic feel???

I don’t want to spoil anything for you! But definitely check out this wonderful book from Shelley Shepard Gray.

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

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

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

In Keeper of the Stars, it’s not always love at first sight, sometimes we have to heal ourselves and forgive the past to feel love.

About Keeper of the Stars

When her mother died from pneumonia, Penny Cartwright was heartbroken. But now, after burying her younger brother just 12 years later, she is devastated. Anger, guilt, and sorrow cloud Penny’s mind, and the last thing she wants is to be reminded of her pain–but that’s exactly what happens when a stranger comes to town.

Trevor Reynolds has been chasing fame for more than a dozen years, but his musical career can’t get off the ground. While on the road, an accident kills his young drummer, Brad Cartwright. Trevor wasn’t behind the wheel, but he still blames himself . . . and so does Brad’s sister, Penny. Now Trevor finds himself in Kings Meadow, determined to follow through on his final promise to his friend.

Still feeling the pain of Brad’s death, Penny and Trevor must learn that forgiveness is the only thing that can heal their hearts. And if they do forgive, something beautiful may rise from the ashes of heartbreak.

My Thoughts

An extremely powerful, touching story of faith, forgiveness and healing. My heart was so sore for Penny, the pain she must have felt going through so much loss. She carries so much resentment and pain in her heart and lashes out at certain people who she feels are the cause of her pain, such as Trevor.

Trevor, who made a vow to visit Kings Meadow to his dying friend, has no idea what he is doing in Kings Meadow. He doesn’t feel like he belongs and doesn’t know quite how to act in such a different environment the small town of Kings Meadow is. He finds that he is more at peace in this small town then he has ever been in Nashville. He actually becomes close to God and finds his faith, not the faith that he grew up with (going to Church for show) but the faith that you feel deep in your heart, a faith of love, trust, hope and belief in God.

Their characters evolve and continuously grow throughout the novel. They may take two steps forward and one step back but we see this constant test of faith, hope and small acts of love. Keeper of the Stars was an awesome book from start to finish.

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

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heart-warming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction, the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance, two RT Career Achievement Awards, and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over sixty novels.

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

In Beyond The Silence, the shadows over this olive grove hide more than just the truth.

About Beyond The Silence

Lillian Porter has always wanted to fulfill her mother’s dream of going west, so when she hears about a nanny position in Angels Camp, California, she defies her grandfather and takes a chance on a new future. But she quickly wonders if she made the right choice. Murky rumors swirl around Woodward Colton, her new employer, but the gossip doesn’t match the man Lillian comes to know.

Still, something dark did happen in the family’s past. Lillian’s seven-year-old charge hasn’t spoken in over a year. Gently, Lillian tries to coax him out of his shell, hoping he’ll one day feel safe enough to share what scared him. But the Colton olive farm is no longer a safe place. Lillian encounters suspicious characters on their land and mysterious damage done to the farm. When the housekeeper is brutally attacked, the town once again suspects the worst. Will discovering the truth help Lillian clear the name of the man she has come to love–or will it endanger her even more?

My Thoughts

In this story we have several key characters and stories woven around them. We have Lillian who yearns for independence and freedom – to follow her parents dream. This dream forces her to defy the only family she has known and head out on her own (something not heard of much in those days!). She is forced to learn about herself and simple life skills she never had to deal with being from a wealthy family.
Woodward Colton her new employer has been plagued by vicious rumours and a terrible tragedy. The small town he lives in is awful to him and we witness this through out the story and how he holds his head above it all. The worst tragedy for him is that his son will no longer speak due to the family’s past tragedy.

It is this history that is brought to the forefront of the story as the novel progresses. We learn more about the past and how it is woven  into the future. We watch our characters grow in emotional and spiritual strength as they cling together in order to make it through the most difficult times that they have ever faced. Beyond The Silence was a fantastic story from start to finish, that I just could not (and did not want to!) put down.

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 Authors

Kimberley Woodhouse is a multipublished author of fiction and nonfiction. A popular speaker/teacher, she’s shared her theme of Joy Through Trials with over 150,000 people at more than a thousand venues across the country. She lives, writes, and homeschools with her husband of twenty-plus years and their two awesome teens live in Colorado.

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 100 novels. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

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