Category Archives: Book Talk

Love Finds You In Miracle Kentucky By Andrea Boeshaar

Love Finds You In Miracle Kentucky by Andrea Boeshaar

“Anything can happen when you live in Miracle…” After her life in Chicago falls apart, Meg Jorgenson arrives in the small town of Miracle, Kentucky, with plans to start over. She moves in with a grandmother she barely knows and takes a teaching position at the local elementary school. Meg soon garners the interest of Miracle’s eligible bachelors, but it’s eight-year-old Cammy Bayer who instantly wins her heart. Cammy has spent most of her young life in a wheelchair, but she firmly believes that God will miraculously allow her to walk again someday. Although Meg admires the girl’s optimism, she pities Cammy for believing something so impossible.

Vance Bayer has always made Cammy his first priority. Though delighted by the attention his daughter receives from her pretty new teacher, the shy widower is embarrassed by Cammy’s not-so-subtle attempts to play matchmaker.

Both Meg and Vance want the best for Cammy, but will they see eye-to-eye when it comes to an experimental surgery that might grant Cammy the use of her legs? Will they open their minds to the miracle of healing and their hearts to the miracle of love?

Love Finds You™ is a series of full-length romance novels that give readers a peek into the flavor of local life across the United States. The novels are uniquely named after actual American towns with quirky, interesting names that inspire romance and are just plain fun! This means that each fictional story draws on the compelling history or unique character of a real place.

Our fresh, original love stories will feature everything from romance kindled in small towns, to old loves lost and found on the high plains, to new loves discovered at exciting vacation getaways.

This book was a charming, romantic, feel-good read. The book had great characters that you’ll grow to love, and you’ll really fall for Cammy, the little girl who is wheelchair-bound due to an accident.

Widower Vance Bayer is still grieving over the loss of his wife due to a car accident. This accident has also left his daughter bound to a wheelchair. Caring for his crippled daughter and working full time takes a toll on Vance, and Cammy’s new third-grade teacher creates an interesting twist to his busy days.

Meg Jorgenson runs away from Chicago, wanting to leave an emotionally-destructive relationship and to seek greener pastures in the small, quaint town of Miracle Kentucky. When she arrives, she finds herself getting to know her grandmother, who she’s never gotten to spend much time with over the years since her parents’ bitter divorce. Meg also finds herself getting to know the townspeople. She’s not used to staying in one place and forming personal relationships with others, however, in Miracle, she finds her life taking a turn for the better, both romantically and spiritually.

This book was a good, enjoyable read and I highly recommend it. I enjoyed and savored every page, and I’m sure you’ll probably enjoy it too.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Intervention by Terri Blackstock

Rooms By James Rubart

Finding Jeena By Miralee Ferrell

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I mentioned this book on this blog post, but promised a review later.

I thought this book was good, and it also shows the moral that we can’t rely too much on money and finances. I know it’s easy to fall into a trap of relying on money and worldly goods during our daily lives, but, we need to learn to rely on our faith in God in order to make our lives complete.

Jeena Gregory is sitting on top of the world – or so she thinks. She has a great, new coveted job, she had a nice home, she’s financially secure. All of her material needs are met, so, why should she rely on God? Having faith in the Lord is for weaklings and she doesn’t need Jesus in her life. However, Jeena’s world slowly crumbles and her finances dwindle and there’s nothing she can do about it. She’s in trouble with the law, through no fault of her own, and she doesn’t know who to turn to. God tries to get Jeena’s attention and it takes awhile for Jeena to listen.

A good portion of this book took place at a women’s homeless shelter. I emailed the author, Miralee Ferrell, about the setting:

You did a great job creating the setting of the women’s homeless shelter. What kind of research did you have to do for that type of setting? Did you visit a shelter, or did you talk to people who were in that situation and they were able to describe what it was like in a women’s shelter?

This is the author’s response:
My sister worked for several years at a men’s shelter where they had a long term program similar to the one I depict. There was also a women’s shelter run by the same group and she put me in touch with a woman who volunteered there. I visited the men’s shelter but was unable to visit the women’s, but had several phone calls with the volunteer, who’d also lived at that same shelter before turning her life around. She lined me out on the rules the women had to follow, the class and work requirements, etc. She was much like Jeena in that she was a working woman who made some very poor choices in her life that caused her to lose not only her home, but her family and end up on the streets. She had a hard time fitting in at the shelter and only made a couple of friends, as most of the women didn’t trust her since she came from a different world than what they had known.

One reason I was drawn to this book was because the author focused on money and financial matters, a subject that I enjoy exploring in my own writing. A very good read with a slightly suspenseful thread.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Katy’s Debate By Kim Vogel Sawyer

The Seeker By Ann Gabhart

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The Seeker by Ann Gabhart

I wanted to thank Baker/Revell for providing me a review copy of this enjoyable book!

From Amazon.com
Charlotte Vance is a young woman who knows what she wants. But when the man she planned to marry joins the Shakers–a religious group that does not marry–she is left dumbfounded. And when her father brings home a new wife who is young enough to be Charlotte’s sister, it is more than she can bear. With the country–and her own household–on the brink of civil war, this pampered gentlewoman hatches a plan to avoid her new stepmother and win back her man by joining the Shaker community at Harmony Hill. Little does she know that this decision will lead her down a road toward unforeseen peace–and a very unexpected love. Ann H. Gabhart brings alive the strikingly different worlds of the Southern gentry, the simple Shakers, and the ravages of war to weave a touching story of love, freedom, and forgiveness that sticks with readers long after they have turned the last page.

I enjoyed this book, especially since the story took me inside the walls of the Shaker community and I learned a lot about the life of this religious sect. Charlotte is used to doing things in a planned, orderly way. When her fiancé breaks off their engagement to join the Shaker community at Harmony Hill, Charlotte is stunned by his decision. Although there are no romantic sparks between the couple, it is hoped that they can marry and join their families’ wealth together – more like a business arrangement. Charlotte is floored when Adam, an illustrator for a prominent magazine, is hired to paint the portrait of her new, extremely young, stepmother. When Adam kisses her, she finds herself aroused from the unexpected kiss and she can’t get her mind off of the attractive gentleman (Adam) now staying in her home.

Charlotte finds herself practically banned from her house once her new stepmom takes residence and she vows to forget about handsome Adam and win back her fiancé by joining the Shaker community that’s located up the road from her house.

While you’re reading this novel, you learn a great deal about the Shakers. There are several things about this sect that I found disturbing, but this does not reflect on my review of the story! The book is a good read and I recommend it. I just felt a bit unsettled with The Shakers because their beliefs don’t match up with what I consider true Christianity. They believe that matrimony and reproduction are sins and they also don’t encourage familial relationships. In their commmunity, once you join, you pretty much break ties with your entire family unless your family decides to become Shakers. Even if your family joins the community, you wouldn’t be able to communicate privately with family members since they live in a communal place and the sexes are separated at all times. The Shakers believed that their founder, whom they call Mother Ann, was the second coming of Christ in female form. I’d recommend this book to anybody who wants to get a good feel for the Shaker way of life. From what I can tell, most of the Shakers are gone and the sect pretty much disbanded not long after the Civil War.

This book also delves into the state of the country during the Civil War and you get a taste of what the troops suffered through when Adam goes amongst the soldiers, drawing emotional pictures for his magazine editor. He also tries to convince his younger brother to leave the Army since Adam fears for the youngster’s life.

This was a good book and I encourage all to read it. I read it quickly and found it hard to put down since I was so caught up in the story and the characters lives. This is the third Shaker book by this author and I reviewed the second book in the series, The Believer, here. The first book, The Outsider, is available as a free Kindle download and I plan on reviewing that novel at a later date.

To top off this review, I asked the author how she happened to choose the Shakers as subject matter for her books:
Why did you decide to use the Shaker community in your books and have you always been fascinated by their lives?

Here’s Ann’s response:
I actually started out writing historical romance for the general market and had a couple of books published by Warner Books in 1978 and 1980. I then wrote my first book about the Shakers because I thought it was an interesting historical subject and one I could drop my characters down into and tell a good story. Unfortunately my editors at the time didn’t think my story suited the market and other publishers turned it down too as too quiet and too religious for the general market in that era of historical romance. So eventually the story ended up on a shelf in my closet. Then years down the road I wrote my first inspirational novel, The Scent of Lilacs. That story, set in the 1960s, has nothing to do with Shakers. It’s a family drama with interaction between a whole town full of characters. But my editor, just in general conversation, mentioned that she was an admirer of the Shakers since she knew there was a Shaker village near where I live that has been restored as a living history museum. Pleasant Hill Shaker Village in Mercer County, Kentucky is a beautiful place that exudes peace and history to the visitor and that’s the village I transform into my Shaker village, Harmony Hill. But back to my Shaker beginnings. So when she said that about the Shakers, I offhandedly remarked that I had written a book about the Shakers once. When she said she’d like to read the book, one thing led to another and after some rewriting that story became The Outsider. At that point I had no intention of writing more Shaker novels, but pre-sales were good and the publishers asked if I would consider writing two more novels set in my fictional Shaker village. I agreed and delved into researching the Shakers and their ways once more and wrote The Believer and The Seeker. I didn’t plan to write more than three, but then I had this character that I thought would be perfect for another Shaker story. My book about her, The Blessed will be out next summer. And I’m contracted for a couple more. But Revell will also be publishing some of my other historical fiction too. Angel Sister, set during the 1930’s, will be out in February 2011 and is another family drama without any Shakers among the characters.

I don’t know if I can say I’ve always been fascinated by the Shakers and their communities, but their history is very interesting and I think, unique. They were extremely disciplined in all they did other than their worship. In worship they opened themselves up to the spirit and were open to many ways to express their faith. They would shake, whirl, dance, hop, skip, sing, do most any expression of worship. And so my research into their beliefs and the amazing things they accomplished with dedicated lives did open up their world to me even though I would have always been one of the “world” that they tried to block out of their villages and lives.

Actually they did believe Jesus came from God the same as they believed Mother Ann was the daughter of God but they certainly didn’t look at things the way most Protestants of the era did. They were often at odds with the people in the community because of their beliefs and the way they worshiped. In fact if a man or woman joined the Shakers, his or her spouse could get a divorce granted with no further proof of any wrong.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Lady Jasmine By Victoria Christopher Murray

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Lady Jasmine by Victoria Christopher Murray

***Note, I consider this a great book with a church setting, moreso than an inspirational novel.

Juicy Jasmine Larson Bush is at it again — battling her past in order to save her future.
With her own lies, she nearly destroyed her marriage to Pastor Hosea Bush. Why, Jasmine was forced to reveal every secret she’d ever kept from her husband, right down to her real age, weight, and shoe size! She thought she had told Hosea everything.

But when Jasmine is blackmailed with a terrible truth from her past that she “forgot” to tell Hosea, more than just her marriage is in jeopardy.

Surprisingly, her first instinct is to tell the truth. Jasmine knows, however, that this is one part of her life that can never be exposed. Determined to keep the life she fought so hard to save, Jasmine is willing to commit any sin — even murder — to leave her past behind her. No one can know the truth about the First Lady of City of Lights at Riverside Church. No one can know that beneath the veneer of a redeemed Christian wife, there lies a sinner — especially not her trusting husband.

When Jasmine Cox Larson’s past comes back to haunt her, in the form of anonymous letters, she wonders what’ll happen to her marriage. Will Pastor Hosea stay married to her when he discovers that she used to be a stripper? When her father-in-law is shot, Jasmine’s husband, Hosea, steps up into the pulpit to fulfill his role as pastor. However, there are those who want Hosea out of the pulpit for various reasons and Jasmine finds herself on a mission, trying to figure out who’s trying to blackmail her and why they’re trying to do it. In the meantime, she’s enjoying her role as First Lady and wants all of the congregation to address her as Lady Jasmine.

I enjoyed this book and like most of Victoria’s novels, this one was a page-turner. My only problem with it was that I wanted to shake Jasmine and get her to stop lying so much! I wished she’d learn to stop lying all the time to cover herself! The characterization of Jasmine is very effective because she’s been through several novels – this is something I don’t see authors do very often, use the same character – as the main character – for several books. Usually when I see the same person in several books, they’re only the main character in one book and then they may be a secondary character in other novels. Having the same main character in several books shows that the person is very well-developed and you feel as if you know them well. Great job in effective characterization.

If you like edgy books in a church setting, then this one is for you.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

This Fine Life By Eva Marie Everson

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This Fine Life by Eva Marie Everson
Product Details
Pub. Date: May 2010
Publisher: Baker Publishing Group
Format: Paperback, 352pp
Sales Rank: 176,399
ISBN-13: 9780800732745
ISBN: 080073274X
Edition Description: Original

It is the summer of 1959 and Mariette Puttnam has just graduated from boarding school. When she returns to her privileged life at home, she isn’t sure where life will take her. More schooling? A job? Marriage? Nothing feels right. How could she know that the answer is waiting for her within the narrow stairwell of her father’s apparel factory, exactly between the third and fourth floors?

In this unique and tender story of an unlikely romance, popular author Eva Marie Everson takes readers on a journey through the heart of a young woman bound for the unknown. Readers will experience the joys of new love, the perseverance of true friendship, and the gift of forgiveness that comes from a truly fine life.

This book surprised me. I thought it started off a bit slow, but, after a little while, I got into the characters and their lives. Mariette has lived a privileged life and after she returns from boarding school as a recent high-school graduate of a presitigous Catholic academy, she doesn’t know what to do with herself. Her parents argue about her future, and she’s unsure about going to college, getting married, etc. She finds her future spouse in the stairwell of her father’s company. Thayne is a mail-clerk and it’s love at first sight for these two. They only share a couple of dates and her parents strong objections before they do the unthinkable.

The story focuses on their lives as they get married young and Thayne follows his dream of becoming a pastor and going to seminary. He feels called to do this, but, Mariette has a hard time understanding what a “calling” really is. How do you have a close relationship with God? She never prays alone, and thinks that God is somebody who is far away, and that we can only speak to him in church on Sunday.

When the couple arrives at the small town of Logan’s Creek for Thayne’s first pastorship, their lives change forever. Most of the town’s women hate Mariette. Also, Logan’s Creek has a dirty, haunting secret that proves traumatizing to one of the residents. Once this secret is exposed, the town is greatly affected.

This story was mesmerizing and you will want to read on to find out what happens between this young couple. Also, there are things that happen that are so totally unexpected, a lot of twists and turns that keep the story interesting. The story was also unique because of the time that it took place. Seldom do you see books out there that take place during the sixties.

I found this book to be a much better read than this one that I read by the same author about a year ago. Although Things Left Unspoken was a fairly good story, I felt this one was much better, more riveting, and it also kept me up late at night reading.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

Only Uni By Camy Tang

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Only Uni by Camy Tang

Senior biologist Trish Sakai is ready for a change from her wild, flirtatious behavior. So Trish creates three simple rules from First and Second Corinthians and plans to follow them to the letter. No more looking at men as possible dates, especially non-Christians. Second, tell others about Christ. And third, she will persevere in hardship by relying on God. And just to make sure she behaves, she enlists the help of her three cousins, Lex, Venus and Jennifer, the only Christians in their large extended family.

But Trish’s dangerously tempting ex-boyfriend, Kazuo the artist, keeps popping up at all the wrong moments, and her grandmother, who has her eye on his family money, keeps trying to push the two of them back together again. Then there’s Spencer, the hunky colleague at work who keeps turning Trish’s thoughts in the wrong direction.

It just isn’t fair! She’s trying so hard, but instead of being God’s virtuous woman, she’s going nuts trying to stand firm against two hunky guys. Trish thought following her three rules would be a cinch, but suddenly those simple rules don’t seem so simple after all.

I’m afraid I’m doing this review based upon memory since I read this book over a month ago and never got around to blogging about it! The story was entertaining and there were a lot of twists and turns, things that happened that you totally did not expect. Trish has decided to make some changes in her life and to be a better Christian. She even wants to go to divinity school to get her degree among other things. She’s also been assigned a new office mate, Spencer, who’s driving her crazy with his good looks. However, she thinks that Spencer is not a Christian because she’s seen him flirting with female colleagues. Trish is shocked when she discovers Spencer’s true nature. Also, she finds it necessary to join a new church and to become more involved with more ministries. Amidst all this new turmoil in her life, she finds her ex, an artist, has made it his mission to stalk her, begging her to come back. Trish’s grandmother assists Kuzuo, the artist, to win her granddaughter’s affections.

This story was humorous and you’ll also learn a few things about Asian culture. I don’t see many novels in the Christian market with Asian characters. I’d never heard of a K-drama until I’d read this story. It’s an entertaining read that you’ll finish in a few days because it’s written in a way that’ll keep you turning the pages.

I reviewed the first book in the series here.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

The Sweets

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I’ve recently read the following Love Inspired novels. These are what I call sweet, inspirational, endearing romances that aren’t too complex. The storylines are simple, and you can enjoy one in a few hours since they are so short.

The Pastor Takes A Wife by Anna Schmidt
Everyone in Singing Springs, Wisconsin, is talking about the handsome new pastor. Except single mother Megan Osbourne. With a checkered past, she knows not to speculate about others. Or think for one dreamy minute that Jeb Matthews would even notice her. Yet there she is, telling him about her life and not feeling judged. Soon she’s even helping him set up a church youth center and becoming more a part of the community than ever. And when Jeb slowly opens up to her about why he gave up his former life, she hopes the pastor will soon take a loving wife—her.

Megan is the town outcast. She got pregnant in high school and the father of her baby (a high school star football player) abandoned her, going to college on scholarship and convincing the town that Megan has lied about the paternity of her baby. Devestated, Megan continues to live in the town although she doesn’t feel well-liked or well-respected. Plus, she doesn’t have high self-esteem and she’s always putting the needs of others before her own needs. When the new pastor comes to town, she feels drawn to the newcomer. However, why would Jeb, a handsome pastor with a doctorate degree, want to be with her, an high-school educated single mother who’s never been married before. As they spend time together, they find themselves drawn to each other, and Megan finds that Pastor Jeb has some secrets of his own lurking in his past.

The Baby Bond by Linda Goodnight
Firefighter Nic Carano relishes his bachelor lifestyle. Then he loses his heart to a rescued baby. And when he meets the infant’s lovely aunt–suddenly a mother–Nic starts considering love, marriage…and a baby carriage.

Yet Cassidy Willis isn’t convinced. Nic’s been a lifesaver with all that he has done, along with his big-hearted family and fellow firefighters, to help the new mom. But after all she’s been through, could she really be happy with someone whose life is always in danger? Now it’s up to Nic to show Cassidy that his bond with her and the baby is forever.

Cassidy’s life takes a drastic turn when her sister and her sister’s husband are suddenly killed in a fire. Firefighter Nic Carano rescues Cassidy’s nephew and Cassidy suddenly finds herself the new single mother of her infant nephew. Nic discovers that Cassidy is all alone and he vows to help her through her plight. He bonds with Cassidy’s infant nephew, and finds himself drawn to Cassidy as well. However, Cassidy, orphaned at a young age, is hesitant about having a relationship with Nic. He’s a firefighter, and she’s had more than her fair share of brushes with traumatic fires and natural disasters. Nic has a dangerous profession, and she doesn’t want to love him, only to lose him in the blazes of a fire. Also, Nic is a playboy – he has more female friends than Cassidy can count, and she wonders if he could seriously handle a mature romantic relationship. Both of these two lovebirds need to learn trust God with their romantic intentions and not worry about their fears.

A Family Forever by Brenda Coulter
A DAMSEL IN DISTRESS When her fiancé was killed just three weeks before their wedding, violinist Shelby Franklin’s “happily ever after” dreams were shattered. The discovery of her unplanned pregnancy guaranteed those dreams would never be rebuilt.

A KNIGHT IN A BIKE HELMET Tall, husky cyclist Tucker Sharpe promised his dying brother he’d look after Shelby. When he learned there was a baby on the way, a marriage of convenience seemed his only option. But would love for the unborn child be enough to bring them — and keep them — together?

Shelby was in love and on her way to the alter…now she’s alone – her fiance killed in an accident. Tucker has promised his deceased adopted brother that he’d care for his fiancee if anything should happen to him. Tucker finds he has to keep that promise, and with the promise comes more responsibility – Tucker also needs to care for Shelby’s unborn child.

Shelby is initially appalled at the idea of marrying Tucker. However, she does, eventually, find herself drawn to the big attractive biker. She also finds herself resenting Tucker because she’s always felt that Tucker thought she was not good enough to marry his little brother.

Shelby has secrets lurking in her past, and this book has a subtle suspenseful thread. Shelby feels as if she’s being watched and followed, and she has no idea who’s sniffing around, trying to scare her.

A tragic event occurs, and it appears that it may shatter Tucker’s and Shelby’s relationship.

Shelby finds that she needs to face the fears of her past in order to have a happy, fullfilling life.

Rainbow’s End by Irene Hannon
Shelter from the storm… To lessen the pain of his wife’s death, Keith Michaels headed cross-country. Yet though he had reached the Pacific Northwest, he still felt broken, empty and alone. When a sudden storm stranded him with the local widow, who was no elderly matron, but a reclusived young woman. What was it about shy Jill Whelan and her charming cottage that made Keith want to stop his wandering ways? Did faith and love await him at Rainbow’s End?

A vagrant, Keith finds himself staying overnight in an empty cottage on a young widow’s property. The young widow, Jill, lives in the town of Rainbow’s End. She lives alone, and has minimal contact with people. Due to an accident, half of her face his terribly scarred, and she’s resorted to spending the rest of her life all alone. In spite of her scars, Keith finds himself attracted to the young widow, and she hires him to build an art studio on her property.

As the story unfolds, Keith and Jill find themselves helping a practically homeless boy, and falling in love with one another. However, Keith has secrets about his past that Jill doesn’t know about. Can she trust him? Why has he suddenly appeared in Rainbow’s End, broke, as if he’s running away from something? Keith needs to learn to face his own fears and to tell Jill the truth about his past.

This book was different than most romance novels because the heroine is severly disfigured. Usually in romance novels, the heroes and heroines are attractive…and that’s not the case in this story.

All four of these romances were heartwarming, simple reads that you’ll enjoy.

~Cecelia Dowdy~

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