Reviewing: A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher

...from the publisher...

Ben Zook had only two loves in his life: books and birds. In a stroke of good fortune, he'd stumbled onto a way to cobble together those two loves into a career, writing books about rare birds. He was as free as a bird--until a chase for a rare White-winged Tern takes him to the one place on earth he planned to never return: his Amish home in Stoney Ridge.

Desperate for photographs of the elusive tern, Ben hires a local field guide, Micah Weaver, and boards at Micah's farm, planning to "bag the bird" and leave Stoney Ridge before anyone recognizes him. But he neglected to plan for Micah's sister, Penny.

Ben. One long-ago summer, Penny had introduced Ben to birding, even sharing with him a hidden eagle aerie. That was when she knew true love. She'd always hoped he would come back to Stoney Ridge. Back to his Amish roots. Back to her. The only problem? Ben has absolutely no memory of Penny.

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher welcomes her readers to the Amish community at Stoney Ridge in this engaging story of discovering just who the rare birds are in life.

...my thoughts...

A Season on the Wind by Suzanne Woods Fisher is destined to become a favorite among her fans. Picking up this book is like coming back for a nice stay in Stoney Ridge. Micah and Penny Weaver are new to the area.  Penny had other ties to the area, having spent one particularly fine summer with her late grandmother.  During that summer, she met and spent time with Ben, talking about birds while creating beautiful art.  Micah may have the corner on finding the birds birders seek but Penny is the center of it all.  Knowledgeable too in the study of birds, she seems to be everywhere supporting her younger brother.  

Ben had no plans to ever return to this area but a pending book deal won out any reluctance he may have had before this trip.  Nothing went according plan.  The plan, in the end, didn't seem, in the end, to be as important as the real journey he took, within the walls, with the Weavers.  

One important thing in this book as well as Suzanne's other books is that she has characterization down to an art.  Challenging characters are her forte. Lives are changed and the endings are neatly wrapped up. I recommend this book to fans of Amish fiction, or those who want a good story without all the extra fluff so common today.  Good books are a treasure.  I enjoyed this one immensely! 

 

Reviewing: To Find Her Place by Susan Anne Mason

 ...from the publisher...

In the midst of WWII, Jane Linder pours all her energy and dreams for a family into her career at the Toronto Children's Aid Society. As acting directress, Jane hopes for a permanent appointment so she can continue making a difference in the lives of troubled children. But if anyone were to find out she is divorced, everything would change. 

Garrett Wilder has been hired to overhaul operations at the Children's Aid Society. He hopes to impress the board members with his findings and earn the vacant director's position. A war injury ended his dream of taking over his parents' farm, but with the security of the director's job, he'd be able to contribute financially and help save the family business. 

Despite their competing interests, feelings begin to blossom between them. But then Jane's ex-husband returns from overseas with an unexpected proposition that could fulfill her deepest desires. Suddenly at a crossroads, can Jane discern the path to true happiness?

 ...my thoughts....

 I fully enjoyed reading To Find Her Place. It is easy to connect to the characters and think about them when you have had to set the book down until that next moment when there is time to relax and read.  Susan Anne Mason has a gift for bringing the characters alive and she has certainly been successful with Jane and Garrett.  Both have issues that they feel prevents them from developing anything other than a good working relationship.

Both vying for the same job, each has a reason that compels them to seek the vacant director's job.  As a reader, of course I could see the obstacles they face but also the realization that life is full of things that can be overcome.  I admired Jane's dedication to both her mother and to a difficult career working with orphaned children.  Garrett, a casualty of the war, faced unusual challenges yet was devoted to helping his family financially. In the end, the charity and grace they showed to each other showed qualities we don't often see in today's society.  I highly recommend this book and if you have not read any of Susan Anne Mason's books, you don't know what you have been missing.

Reviewing the Heart's Charge by Karen Witemeyer

 ,,,from the publisher...

 Members of Hanger's Horsemen, Mark Wallace and Jonah Brooks arrive in Llano County, Texas, to deliver a steed, never expecting they'd deliver a baby as well. Left with an infant to care for, they head to a nearby foundling home, where Mark encounters the woman he'd nearly married a decade ago.

After failing at love, Katherine Palmer dedicated her life to caring for children, teaming up with Eliza Southerland to start Harmony House. From mixed ancestry, illegitimate, and female, Eliza understands the pain of not fitting society's mold. Yet those are the very attributes that lead her to minister to outcast children. The taciturn Jonah intrigues her with his courage and kindness, but there are secrets behind his eyes--ghosts from wars past and others still being waged.

However, when a handful of urchin children from the area go missing, a pair of Horsemen are exactly what the women need. Working together to find the children, will these two couples find love as well?

...my thoughts...

Loved this one. Hearts were definitely changed in this story. Two men, just doing their job find themselves acting as midwives to a crazed young widow. Left with a baby girl to find a home for, Mark Wallace ran headlong into the one woman who broke his heart before he left home for good. What Katherine was doing out west was a mystery.  All the details unfolded soon enough: that is, after Jonah Brooks was blindsided by a beautiful woman who captured his heart. Miss Eliza Southerland was even less in the market for a suitor than any of the others. What unfolded was a story wrapped up as only Karen Witemeyer can fashion.

I recommend this book for fans of pure old fashioned romance of the wild west nature. A little danger but a whole lot of fun with a happy ending.