Reviewing: Home All Along

Home All Along ,Book 3 in the Amish Secret Series  by Beth Wiseman is not your typical novel about an Englisher living among the Amish. Charlotte has made a home for herself in her late brother Ethan's house.  It is quite a change from her first visit, posing as an Amish woman searching for answers about Ethan's death.

Life has had far too many ups and downs for such a young woman.
As a child she and Ethan lived in foster homes with time off to be returned home now and then when their parents were released from rehab or jail.  And now, she just wants to live quietly, join the church and marry Daniel.   The past, however, has a way of stirring things up. For Charlotte, the past included a sister she hadn't thought of for a very long time.  As a baby, Charlotte's sister Andrea was also placed in foster care but never saw her family again. Until, that is, when she tracked Charlotte down at their mother's funeral. It didn't take long for her to get herself moved in with Charlotte, along with her baby.  For Charlotte, having her family near was a blessing and she was determined to make them a home together.

In the beginning, it seems the book is about Charlotte and Daniel's love for each other.  It is more than that, however, as three families grapple with love, death, illness and how difficult it is to understand God's will under the modern marvels of medicine.  The questions Beth Wiseman raises in this novel are complex. I liked how the decisions were made. Sometimes we need someone to nearly hit us with a two by four to wake us up about putting others needs before our desires.

Daniel family struggles with major family decisions.  He loves Charlotte but is pulling away from her. Charlotte's beloved friend and motherly mentor Lena faces yet another bout of breast cancer. Andrea is slowly learning from Charlotte's love that life can be different.  So many trials are faced in this book yet through it all. Is there enough faith and love for Charlotte and her Daniel to marry?  This book is for readers who are looking for characters who are resilient and not willing to give up when life gets hard.  Once again, Beth Wiseman has delivered!

Sunday Review: Where Hope Prevails

If you follow Janette Oke you are no stranger to wonderful stories that capture our hearts and beg to be read again and again. Where Hope Prevails is just such a story.  Fans of the Hallmark series When Calls the Heart will delight in this companion tale of Elizabeth Thacker and her dashing Mountie Jack Thornton.  Where Hope Prevails, book 3 in Return to The Canadian West is a collaboration with Lauren Oke Logan.

Our story begins as Elizabeth returns to her beloved Coal Valley  to find some unsettling changes. While she was visiting her family over the summer, many new families have settled in Coal Valley causing is a housing shortage. Her room at Miss Molly's has been rented to someone else. She will be living alone for the first time in her life in a small apartment.

More families meant more students. As she pondered how to teach so many extra pupils she discovered that an additional teacher was hired. Not just any teacher but Mr. Robert Harris Hughes. A man with two last names whose beliefs are vastly different than Beth's with teaching style including a modern philosophical method delivered in a superior manner.  She is determined that his modern philosophical ideas will not suit her Coal Valley students.  Hang onto your seats as sparks fly with pure entertainment between Elizabeth and Mr. Harris Hughes.

Adding all these new things to the mix, she is still waiting for Jack (Jarrick) to propose.  He is notably absent in Coal Valley as his work takes him along to other small towns in the area.  It is just one more adjustment to make.  All in all she has not had the desired return she longed for when she got off the train in her beloved Coal Valley.

This is a story about change and how one young woman faces all the new and very uncertain things in her life. As she faces each change she is reminded of her hopes, dreams and her faith. In true Janette Oke fashion, we are given some life lessons.  Elizabeth learns that she can't control everything in her life. She would like to have everything in its place. People don't always embrace life the same way we would like them to. All in all, there is good in everyone, even those with whom we disagree. How much better it is when we learn to discern their good qualities and give loyalty where it is deserved. If you read just one of the books in this series, I recommend that you chose Where Hope Prevails.  Elizabeth Thacker is a wonderful heroine and in this book particularly she grows in wisdom and faith.  Four s

Anchor In the Storm

For Lillian Avery, life couldn't be more exciting.  Her Pharmacy School days are over and she has a job waiting for her in Boston. As a woman pharmacist, she is embarking on a career traditionally filled by men. She is undaunted by the challenges of competing with men for jobs because she has met other obstacles head on, including getting through life with one leg after a childhood accident. The accident changed her life but it didn't hold her back despite being a beautiful young woman who wore a prosthesis.  She was driven to become the best in her field and make a difference to her patients.

World War II is just about to begin in Sarah Sundin's latest, Anchor In The Storm, Book 2 in her Waves of Freedom Series.  Lillian is joined in the story by her brother Jim, his Naval Academy friend Arch Vandenberg and Jim's girl, Mary Stirling.  Lillian is put off by Arch, only son in a wealthy family. In her eyes, the handsome young man must be insincere and full of himself. In his eyes, she is a beautiful woman who, unlike other women he met, was independent and indifferent to his wealth.  All three travel back to Boston together where the men are assigned to a new destroyer, the U.S.S. Ettinger and Mary has a job as a secretary at the Naval Yard.  Lillian planned to room with Mary, so much to her chagrin, she would be thrown into Arch's company when Jim came to see Mary.

 On Lillian's first day at Dixon's Drugs when Mr. Dixon discovered her artificial leg. He let her know he hadn't wanted a woman in the first place but a cripple was the last straw. She convinced him to try her for a few weeks and he agreed only if she kept behind the counter so nobody would see her leg.  With that hurdle behind her she was determined to keep her job. Right away Lillian noticed an unusual amounts prescriptions for Phenobarbital.  She was determined find out why such high amounts of the drug were prescribed. Mr. Dixon, however, didn't want discrediting the drug store with her nosing around on things that she had no business questioning.

In the meantime, Arch was having his own difficulties on board the Ettinger.  He suffered from Battle Fatigue, what we now call Post Traumatic Stress.  When the Atwood was attacked just before the war began, he was injured in the engine room and still had nightmares and trembling hands.  He sought help, was prescribed Phenobarbital and after one groggy dose decided he would fight this on his own. It didn't take long, however, before he began to notice the symptoms among his men. He also recognized signs that some of the men were taking the drugs he had been prescribed.  These men were impaired on duty and Arch was going to make it his business to get to the bottom of who and how the men got these drugs.

It was only a matter of time before Arch and Lillian discovered they shared a concern: he for the men who were taking the drugs and she because she knew the high volume of drugs prescribed was above safe limits for anyone.  They began an investigation on their own to uncover what had to have been a drug ring.

By joining forces, they also fell in love, something they were both avoiding. She didn't want to trust any man again after a bitter breakup and he was on guard for any woman who preferred money more than the man he was.  Both rely on their faith to grapple with the many odds they face in such a turbulent time.

Intrigue, romance and some dangerous waters are what you will find in this book. I was hooked from the beginning. If you read Through Waters Deep, you will enjoy reading more about Mary Stirling and Jim Avery while getting to know Arch better as he and Lillian tread toward their own Anchor In The Storm.  A good mystery mixed with romance make for a good book to enjoy with your favorite cup of tea. Many thanks to Revell for the opportunity to review this book, which ended too soon!  I am waiting already for Book 3 in this series, When Tides Turn coming  March 2017.

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