Blog tour stop for Laura V. Hilton's Healing Love and Giveaway!!

Welcome to the Blog Tour for Healing Love, the first in the new series, The Amish of Webster County, by Laura V. Hilton. To celebrate this tour, Laura is giving away a basket of goodies, on her blog, all comments left on this blog or on her blog during the blog tour (November 1 -22nd) will be entered for the drawing of the Grate-Fall Basket. Click on the picture below to go to Laura's blog to learn more about the participants and to enter the giveaway. Don't forget a comment here also will give you an entry. This book was provided by Whitaker House for review purposes, Blog Tour promoted by LovenGod Promotions

 

 

Laura's Blog

 

 

 

 

 

From back cover:

A Midwife with a Major Injury

 

Life gets a lot harder for Amish midwife Kristi Lapp when a buggy wreck lands her in the hospital and leaves her with a pronounced limp.  Among her biggest concerns is the well-being of her dog, Chinook, as she is no longer able to keep up with the high-energy Siberian Husky.  Adding insult to injury, Krisiti fears she'll never marry for love, for what man would willingly wed a woman who needs help with even the most basic of household tasks?

 

A Vet with a Void in His Heart

 

Shane Zimmerman moved to Seymour for a fresh start.  The veterinarian is still reeling from the loss of his wife and his unborn child.  The coroner deemed aneurysm as the cause of death, but Shane still blames the Amish midwife--specifically, the herbal remedies she presribed.

 

A Difficult Decision to Make

 

Shane meets Krisit when he discovers her wrecked buggy and takes her to the hospital.  Soon, what started as common courtesy turns into a strong mutual attraction.  Yet the obstacles that bar a relationship between them are many.  Will they find a way to stay together?  Or will their differences prove too divisive to resolve?

 



 

 

My Review:

 

This is the first book I've read by Laura V. Hilton and I really enjoyed it.  I'm a very huge fan of Amish fiction and this one ranks up there with the best. 

 

I really feel for Kristi and Shane as they try hard to fight their attraction to each other.  Krisit feels she'll never find someone to love her because of her limp, but Shane loves her despite her injury, but they can't be together because of their cultural differences.  Throw in a hyper Siberian Husky who loves them both, and Shane's pregnant sister, who, by the way, wants Kristi to deliver her baby,  this is a great story.  You have to stay tuned to the next book to find out what happens for sure with Kristi and Shane.

 

Great job Laura, you did a great job with this story, you definitley leave the reader wanting more.

I received my review copy from Whitaker House for an honest review.  This tour is sponsered by LovenGod Promotions.

 

 

From the book:

About the Author

 

Laura Hilton graduated with a business degree from Ozarks Technical College in Melbourne, Arkansas.  A member of the American Christian FictionWriters, she is a professional book reviewer for the Christian market, with more than a thousand reviews published on the Web.



 

Healing Love is the first in Laura's second series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Webster County.  Her first series, The Amish of Seymour, included Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts, and Promised to Another.  Previously, she published two novels with Treble Heart Books, Hot Chocolate and Shadows of the Past, as well as several devotionals.

 

Laura and her husband, Steve, have five children, whom Laura homeschools.  The family makes their home in Arkansas.  To learn more about Laura, read her reviews, and find out about her upcoming releases, readers may visit her blog at http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/.


 

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Review of Mona Hodgson's Twice a Bride

  

About This Book

Love lost doesn’t mean love lost forever.
Can unexpected romance deliver a second chance for two deserving widows?

Full of resolve, young widow Willow Peterson decides to pursue her dreams to be an artist as she settles into a new life in the growing mountain town of Cripple Creek. When she lands a job working as a portrait painter with handsome entrepreneur and photographer Trenton Van Der Veer, the road before Willow seems to be taking a better-than-anticipated turn.

With questions tugging at several hearts in town, including the Sinclair Sisters’ beloved Miss Hattie, change is traveling down the tracks as several unexpected visitors make their way out West. Will the new arrivals threaten the deep family bonds of the Sinclair sisters and the roots of love that are just taking hold for Willow?

Filled with the resonating questions that all women face, this romance awakens hope against grief, love against loss, and dreams against life’s unexpected turns.

My Review:

This is the first book that I've ever read by Mona Hodgson and I really enjoyed it.  I wish I would have read the first three books in the Sinclair Sisters Series first, but I will definitely get to reading them.

This book was the charming story of widow Willow Peterson.  She loves to paint and gets the job as a portrait painter for the new photographer, Trenton Van Der Veer.  They don't really hit it off very well at first, but they learn to respect each other, and that turns into a little more.  The characters in this book are so wonderful.  You finally get to meet the father of the Sinclair Sisters, Harlan.  And he brings a surprise with him from France.  He and Miss Hattie have an altercation at first, but are they destined to be together?  Then you  have the rest of the Sinclair family, and it grows as the story goes along.  I loved the setting of this story as well.  I especially like how this family always relies on GOD and how Willow leds Trenton to realize that he needs GOD in his life.  This book was very well written and I highly recommend it.  Good job Mona.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Mona Hodgson

Over the last twenty-five years, Mona Hodgson’s publishing credits have grown to include nearly thirty children's books, contributions to more than ten books for adults, and four historical novels, including her debut, Two Brides Too Many in The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series. Mona is a popular speaker for women's groups, schools, and educators’ and writers’ conferences. She lives in Arizona with her husband and has two daughters and several grandchildren.

Where to buy this book:  Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Christian Book Distributors


Twice a Bride by Mona Hodgson (Chapter 1 Excerpt)

Review of Susette William's-Maid for Murder-Deadly Business

Maid for Murder – story synopsis

A Clean Investigation

When country girl, Bailey Tucker inherits her grandfather’s maid business, she learns that good help really is hard to find. After running an employee over with the floor cleaner, she ends up covering his evening shift and stumbling across a murder scene. The police find it awfully suspicious that she’s wearing latex gloves. While Bailey is cleared of this double homicide, she can’t help finding body—parts.

Bailey discovers a hand near the dumpster at the funeral parlor. She wishes it was attached to a body, especially a body as handsome as Detective Max Wellington. With help from her employee, Nate, she learns what’s going on behind the scenes when Nate taps into company and home video surveillances. With Nate’s handy computer skills of turning on web cams if a suspect’s computer is connected online, they help Detective Wellington catch a killer . . . maybe even a whole lot more!

An Awful Lot of Motives

 

As Bailey Tucker discovers more about murdered victim George Thompson, she becomes convinced that if he hadn’t already been dead . . . she would have killed him! Thompson was a womanizer, an opportunist and not afraid to take out the competition—literally.

The question isn’t ‘who wanted him dead’ it’s ‘who didn’t?’

Even though Thompson had been unfaithful, his wife wouldn’t have gotten anything if she divorced him because she signed a prenuptial agreement. His partner had been embezzling from the company. An ex-employee he fired wanted revenge for Thompson stealing the woman of his dreams. And then there’s the business deal that went wrong.

Bailey can’t seem to keep her nose out of a good mystery and with help from Nate she can go where no policeman is allowed. Okay, so it’s not totally legal, but who’s going to tell the police? She doesn’t plan on telling them any more than what direction they can look.

If you wanted to get away with murder, there’d be nothing like having your own crematory to do it in. Lucky for the Westmeister brothers they have this and other valuable tools at hand.

 

When Bailey stakes out the Westmeister’s funeral parlor, she gets a little too nosey. Should caskets be recycled? The one she finds herself in has been used to transport other bodies before, only they were dead and that’s where she might end up if someone doesn’t save her.

When she finds out what funeral parlor handled her grandfather’s funeral, she can’t help but wonder if there was foul play or if he really did die of natural causes. Especially when the Westmeister brothers imply it isn’t her grandfather’s ashes in the urn.

Detective Max Wellington has his eye on the attractive snoop, even though his boss wants him no where near her so that he doesn’t jeopardize his career or the case. If Bailey turns out to be a part of any of his murder investigations, all of the cases he’s ever worked on could be appealed. But how else can he prove her innocence, other than to keep very close tabs on her. If not for tracking her cars GPS, he might not have known Bailey’s whereabouts. When he finds her abandoned car outside the funeral parlor, he quickly puts two and two together. If not for his intervention, Bailey would have become toast—almost too literal for his liking.

 

My Review:

 

I was given a copy of this book by the author for my honest review. 

 

I love cozy mysteries, and this one did not disappoint me at all.  It left me guessing right up till the end which is what I really like in a mystery.  The heroine was a strong, spunky  Christian woman, but she also realized that with helping out a murder investigation, she would have to do some things she normally wouldn't do, but she still held strong to her values.

 

Bailey has recently taken over her grandfathers cleaning business, and has a problem with finding dead bodies, or body  parts while on jobs.  She gets to meet Det. Max Wellington because of it.  They have a strong attraction to each other, but Bailey doesn't want to date him because he is not a Christian.  She ends up getting herself in hotwater and he has to rescue her.

 

I can't wait for the next book in this series, as the author kind of left us hanging as to what will happen with Bailey and Max, she does ask him to go to church with her and he agrees.  Also, there is a question about Bailey's grandfather that needs to be resolved.  But that is a good way to end the book, that way you'll be sure to read the next book.  Great job Susette,  I loved it.  Once I started it, I couldn't hardly put it down.

 

 

Where to purchase this wonderful book:  Amazon

Review of Sonrise Stables-Carrie and Bandit by Vicki Watson

    Pictures,  Synopsis and Author info from CWA website.

Carrie and Bandit continues where Rosie and Scamper left off.
Carrie can't believe it—she has a horse of her own and is only weeks away from being adopted by the most loving family she's ever known. But Bandit is harder to manage than she first imagined—and the adoption might not go as smoothly as she thought either. When a bad decision jeopardizes everything, Carrie learns what it means to be forgiven and truly loved.

My Review:

I really enjoyed this book.  It is geared for young girls, but I think anyone could enjoy this.  It is a charming story of a youg girl who is being adopted into a loving Christian family.  This family has a love of horses, as does Carrie, the girl being adopted.  Carrie has some pitfalls in this story, but finds out that her new family loves her no matter what.  After her adoption, Carrie,  Rosie, mom and grandma, Carries's new family, go on a trail ride.  Grandma and her horse get into an accident, but alas all will be well with a little time.

This is a great series to reinforce to young girls the importance of GOD's love and the love of family.  Anyone who has a love of horses will enjoy this book.  Great job Vicki Watson, keep up the good work.  Can't wait to read the next book in this series.





About the Author: Vicki Watson
My love of horses began when a teenage neighbor offered me my first ride, on the back of her horse. From my 8-year-old perspective, it seemed like the biggest horse in the world. From that moment on, I was addicted. Horses were to become a very important part of my life, although I never could have imagined, at the time, how much God would teach me about Himself and my relationship to Him through these wonderful animals.
The Sonrise Stable series combines my love of God and horses in stories that I hope will help children learn more about both. I have a vision for ten initial books in the series, taking the main characters through one year. Beyond that I'll see where God leads me.
I have been blessed with three daughters and homeschooled each of them through high school. I enjoy trail riding my Rocky Mountain mare, Nikki, hiking, photography, and playing guitar. I work from home as a and computer programmer and enjoy the variety and flexibility that allows.


Link to Main Website: http://www.sonrisestable.com/

Facts about the Series: http://www.sonrisestable.com/sonrise-stable-faq.php

Link to a Bio for an Author: http://www.sonrisestable.com/horse-books-author.php

Twitter: http://twitter.com/christ_cowgirl

Linkedin URL: http://www.linkedin.com/in/vwebwebdesign

Purchasing Product directly from Vicki or on Amazon

Review of Be-Tween You and GOD Devotions for Girls

This is a devotional geared toward pre-teen and early teen girls.  I asked a girl at my church to look over this book and to give me her opinion, since I don't have a daughter.  She is the daughter of our Pastor and is very faithful.  She told me she really liked the book and that it helped her out a lot.  She doesn't talk a lot, so that is about all I got out of her.

I think this book is great for girls.  It is set up easy for them to understand.  It covers topics that girls struggle with like, I study hard, why don't I get A's and God how will I know the right boy to like?   The answers are easy for the girls to understand.  If I had a daughter, I would definitley give her this book to study.

I recieved my review copy from Tyndale for an honest review.

Review of A Marriage Carol by Chris Fabry and Gary D Chapman

   Picture and Synopsis from Amazon.com


On Christmas Eve twenty years earlier, Marlee and Jacob were married in a snowstorm. This Christmas Eve, they are ready to quit, divorce is imminent. Their relationship is as icy as the road they're traveling and as blocked with troubles as the piling snow. They take a shortcut to get to the lawyer's office, on a slippery, no-fault path. She thinks they need to stay on the main road. He disagrees. They fight. Story of their lives and they slam into a bank of snow , spinning, drifting, falling, out of control. Just like their lives. Reluctantly, freezing cold, hungry, scared, she trudges up the hill. Jacob is nowhere to be found. Her ears frozen, fingers and hands red, she comes to a house on the hillside, built like a Bed and Breakfast, a green wreath on the red door and the door-knocker is in the shape of a wedding ring.

The red door opens and the first thing she notices is the fire in the room, blazing hot, a warm, inviting, friendly place and the voice of an old man welcomes her in. There are three golden pots on the hearth, shining, glimmering things. The old man claims that they are used to restore marriages. She laughs-and begins a journey through her past, present, and future that will test how she views her lifelong love. There are two futures available. Which will she choose?
 

My Review:

Let me just say, I love Christmas stories, but this one was different.  It is a depiction of  A Christmas Carol story, but instead of ghosts visiting Marlee, she is sees her past, present, and future in three gold pots.  It starts out with Jacob and Marlee Ebenezer, notice the names, on their way to their lawyers office on Christmas Eve.  It is snowing and Jacob decides to take a short cut, which Marlee advises against.  They end up in an accident.  When Marlee wakes up, Jacob is no where to be found, so she sets out and finds a house.  An older man answers the door.   He tells her the house used to be a funeral home then a couples retreat.  He gets her warm and goes out to find Jacob.  He comes back, not being able to find him.  There are three pots on the hearth and Marlee asks what they are.  He explains they help couples restore their marriage.  He tells Marlee to go out and get some snow and put in the first one.  What ensues as Marlee puts snow in each pot is her being able to she the past, present and future of her life.  After Jay, the old man, goes back out to find Jacob, Marlee ventures upstairs and meets someone who helps her make a very important decision.

Alas, Marlee wakes up in the hospital, but was it all really a dream.  This will be a great book for couples who are struggling in their marriage, but it is so charming that anyone would benefit from reading it.  Too bad we really can't see how decisions we make affect everyone in our lives.  This book makes you think about decisions you make and if they were right or not.

I received a complimentary copy for review from Moody Publishers.

Review of Karen Arnpriester's Raider's Vendetta

  
Charley knew what God wanted from her. She was willing to trust and obey as she protected the others in the bank. Then He would save her from her captor. There was no way she could have anticipated the rage that would be unleashed in response to her prayers and her faith in God.
Raider was desperate, hardened, and his past had set the stage for an insane game of survival and spiritual warfare. The vendetta was in motion and Charley discovered that she needed her God to provide extraordinary miracles to keep her alive.

My Review:

Wow! Everyone, I mean everyone needs to read this book, it is amazing. If you don’t believe in GOD after reading this book, then you never will. Karen did such a good job portraying how a loving GOD protects his children and how he uses even the most unlikely people. When I was given this book to review I was skeptical, because I thought it was something I wouldn't like. Boy, was I wrong!

There was a major plot twist that you didn’t even see coming! I won’t give it away, but it truly shows the power of GOD, and how he works all things for good for those who love him.

This book made me cry, but they really weren’t tears of sadness, they were tears of joy. Tears because GOD came through like he always does, he used people that most people would write off to accomplish his victory of winning souls to him.

This book will definitely stay with me for a long time and it is one that I’m sure I’ll revisit time and again.

I received my copy of this book from the author for my honest review.

AUTHOR WEBSITE: www.raidersvendetta.com

TRAILER: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cP5QrISKUx8&feature=relmfu

KINDLE: http://www.amazon.com/Raiders-Vendetta-ebook/dp/B00927CRAI/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347431927&sr=1-2&keywords=raider%27s+vendetta

AMAZON PAPERBACK: http://www.amazon.com/Raiders-Vendetta-Mrs-Karen-Arnpriester/dp/1466274743/ref=la_B004S394AW_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347431544&sr=1-1