"Behond These Hills" by Sandra Robbins

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's 1935, and Laurel Jackson fears the life she's always known is about to become a memory. The government is purchasing property to establish the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and nearly all the families in Cades Cove have decided to sell. Laurel is determined to save the land her family has lived on for a hundred years.

Andrew Brady, the son of a wealthy Virginia congressman, arrives in the Cove to convince the remaining landowners to sell. Sparks fly when he meets Laurel, the outspoken young woman who is determined to thwart his every effort. Will they ever be able to put aside their differences and accept what their hearts already know?

I really enjoyed this book, especially as I live by the area it is set in. The characters feel real, like people I would enjoy knowing. They are not portrayed as perfect christians, always making the right decisions, but rather as flawed human beings with a deep love for God and desire to follow Him. This really draws Andrew both the to family and ultimately to God.

I had one definite issue with this book. When Laurel's mom and brother are having an argument in the kitchen and the dad walks in the mom says they're just having a difference in opinion. As they've been yelling at each other, the dad asks what it's all about and the mom actually says, "It's nothing for you to worry about, Matthew." His son is yelling at his wife--I would definitely call that something for him to worry about!! That dropped my review to only 4 stars.

I received a digital copy of this book from Harvest House through NetGalley.com for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Tangerine Morning" by Rita Garcia

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jezzica has returned to Serenity Cove, a place of childhood memories, to recover from murder of her husband. His death is still an unsolved case leaving Jezzica with a bad opinion of law enforcement, which makes it hard going for Zack as he tried to draw her out. Jezzica's sister, Catylen, is battling her own issues while helping her sister get settled into a new life.

Serenity Cove draws you in and makes you want to move there! Great people, beautiful setting--it sounds like a little paradise on earth! A little romance, a little mystery and a nice cast of characters make for a pretty enjoyable book.

However, there are some downsides. The end of the book seems rushed. There are some hard times in the book for some of the characters, but then everything seems to fall in place for Jezzica, her sister and her nieces in a matter of pages. Zach and Jezzica go from basically one date to a proposal in hardly any time at all. I realize some may not agree with me, but crazy name spellings are a negative for me when I'm reading a book, especially if it's a major character. It's as distracting as if I'm reading a book filled with typos.

I received a free copy of this Ebook to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

I'LL BE BACK! :-)

I'll be out for a couple of weeks as a loved one is having surgery and I'll be helping take care of them.  I'll still be reading, though, so I should have several reviews to post when I return.  If I can get some good internet, I'll try to post as I can.

Happy Reading!!

"Not Guilty" by Teresa Pollard and Candi Pullen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Carrie Shepherd has everything going for her. She's a pastor's daughter, college senior and engaged to the man she loves with plans to go to Africa as a missionary after their marriage. Everything comes crashing down around her when she is attacked by a masked assailant on her way home from college one day, and brutally raped. Traumatized, she hides the fact from everyone until she discovers she is pregnant. Now this secret could tear apart everyone she loves along with her future.

On the whole, this is a well-written book. The trauma and emotions feel very believable. Some of her parents reactions when faced with a daughter who is obviously severely upset yet not pushing to find out what happened to her were a little less believable. Carrie decides not to tell anyone she doesn't have to about the rape even after finding out about the pregnancy, not wanting to deal with the shame. Unfortnately, that was not a good decision, and had far-reaching consequences.

The biggest negative to this book for me was the epilogue. On one hand, it's nice to know what happened to these people later in life, but it felt very fairytale-ish in that out of the 27 people covered, only about 3 of them were negative as far as how their lives played out from that time forward. That dropped this review down to 4 stars out of five. I understand it's fiction, but I prefer an underlying line of reality in this type of fiction.

This book is recommended for teens and young adults.  There is a section of resources and one of discussion questions for each chapter in the back of the book.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookCrash.com book review program, which requires an honest, though not necessarily positive, review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Cookbook giveaway!!

For those of you who may not know, I actually have two blogs.  My second blog is "Sandra's Kitchen Nook" and is a cookbook review blog.  I love cooking and cookbooks and wanted to share that love with others.  I'm giving away a beautiful copy of "French Classics Made Easy" by Richard Grausman.  Just go to http://sandraskitchennook.blogspot.com/ and enter using the rafflecopter.  This giveaway starts at midnight.

Good Luck!!

"Dandelions on the Wind" by Mona Hodgson

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When Maren Jensen took a job on Elsa Brantenberg’s St. Charles, Missouri farm, she never expected to call the place her home. As she grows to love Mrs. Brantenberg and her granddaughter, Gabi, Maren is transformed from a lonely mail-order bride-without-a-groom to a beloved member of the Brantenberg household. But when Gabi’s father, Rutherford “Wooly” Wainwright, returns to the farm unexpectedly, everything changes for Maren. Despite the failing eyesight that caused her suitor to reject her, she can see that Wooly desperately needs to reconnect with the family he abandoned when his grief sent him running toward the army—and into the Civil War. She also senses there could be something more between the widower and herself, if either can move beyond their past hurts.

Comforted and counseled by the wisdom of the women in her beloved quilting circle, Maren begins to discover the cost such decisions demand of her heart. Are her choices in obedience to God, or is she running from His plan? Is it too late for love to be stitched into the fabric of her life?

I was really disappointed to find this a novella. This could be fleshed out into a full-size novel easily, and I think the story would be better for it. It seemed to skim over the top of the characters and not dig down deep, and that kept most of the characters feeling more two dimensional. I've only read one other of Mona Hodgson's books, and I loved it. This one just felt lacking to me.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.com for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

"Long Trail Home" by Vickie McDonough

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As a young girl, Annie is forced by her father to steal becoming an expert pickpocket. When her father finally abandons her in Waco, TX, she comes across a school for the blind and decides to pretend to be blind to have the safety and love the children there know.

Fast forwarding a few years, Riley Morgan returns from the war to find his parents dead and his fiance married. Taking a job at the Wilcox School for the blind, he finds himself becoming more and more interested in the pretty, blind young woman that works there.

This is book #3 in the Morgan Family Series, a series which I am thoroughly enjoying reading. I like the characters and the story lines. However, this one dropped a star for trying to convince you that for all of these years, Annie has been able to fool everyone in town except the two women who work at the school. Incident after incident should have completely given it away, especially to Riley. That was just unbelievable. Over all, though, it was a good story that I enjoyed reading.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.