G.R.I.T.S.
~Sorry yall about how long this took, I've been at college, so I haven't had time to upload this. sorry for the wait....Enjoy :)

Falls Like Lightning by Shawn Grady

Back Cover:
Smokejumper Silas Kent never expected to see pilot Elle Westmore again. In fact, reuniting makes him realize what a mistake he made all those years ago. But before he has a chance to try and to make amends, he’s called to lead a new crew into battle against a massive fire in the Sierra Nevadas.
And then things go very wrong, very quickly.
A suspicious engine explosion forces the crew to parachute early while Elle barely survives a crash landing. Silas reaches the ground safely, but in beginning a desperate race to reach the downed plane, he soon realizes he has more to fear than just a raging forest fire.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?
Hey y’all, sorry this has been so long in waiting, but I’m at college, and I can’t get on blogger unless I’m off campus. But ok back to the Book. Falls like Lightning is a good book, I have to admit I thought it was slow, and not quite a page turner till about 2/3 of the way through. Would I pick it up to read it again…Probably, but not as often as some of my favorites. Silas broke Elle’s heart a long time ago when he couldn’t commit to their relationship, and now he realizes that this was the worst thing he could have ever done. Especially when he sees what it did to Elle after all these years. Sure she has been married, has a beautiful daughter, but the memories still are there along with the hurt.
Since this book was kind of slow at the beginning it’s hard to write a review without giving it all away. I will say, there is treasure involved in the story line…and not just finding the treasure of your heart either  Even though there is that too  And there is some murder, and LOVE  so all in all a good book, but if your looking for a page turner, you may not want to pick this one up….








To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book from Bethany House Publishers. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by Bethany House to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.
Surrender the Dawn by MaryLu Tyndall
Book 3 of the Surrender to Destiny Series

Back Cover:
When the War of 1812 robs Cassandra Channing of her father and brothers, she must find a way to support her mother and younger siblings without being forced to marry a man she does not love. Determined to remain independent, she hires a privateer, captained by the town rogue.
Tortured by guilt over his parents' death. Luke Heaton spends his time drinking and gambling. when Cassandra offers him enough money to fix up his ship, he sees an opportunity to redeem his reputation and help the lady he has loved from afar. Things go well until the British blackmail him into selling supplies to their ships. Still Luke cannot allow Cassandra's family to be tossed on the streets.
When Cassandra begins to suspect Luke's nefarious activities, she is heartbroken. Hoping to prove her suspicions wrong, she sets out to catch him in the act. But what she doesn't expect is to get caught up in a massive British invasion...and one of the most decisive battles of the war where lives, liberty, and the future of a nation are at stake.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?
Another great adventure from Captain MaryLu Tyndall! This story captures a lot in it. The part of women having the right to do business, forbidden love, and the tug of loyalty between family and Country. Which one should come first? And how much can one handle before the other breaks?
Cassandra is deperate to get a privateer going, but no one will let her go into buisness with them. Thinking she would 'jinx' their ship. The only person as desperate as Cassandra was, was Luke...Who needed the money to make sure his brother wouldn't be turned out on the streets. The only glitch was...Cassandra insisted that he be sober on board ship...Was he that desperate?
Until his brother is kidnapped by the Redcoats, causing him to be a traitor to his country and to Cassandra.
I LOVE THIS story, and I highly recomend this book to anyone, and everyone!




To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book by MaryLu Tyndall. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by MaryLu to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.




The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser

Back Cover:
The Singleton family’s fortunes seem unaffected by the Great Depression, and Perri—along with the other girls at Atlanta’s elite Washington Seminary—lives a life of tea dances with college boys and matinees at the cinema. When tragedy strikes, Perri is confronted with a world far different from the one she has always known.
At the insistence of her parents, Mary ‘Dobbs’ Dillard, the daughter of an itinerant preacher, is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with her aunt and attend Washington Seminary. Dobbs, passionate, fiercely individualistic and deeply religious, enters Washington Seminary as a bull in a china shop and shocks the girls with her frank talk about poverty and her stories of revival on the road. Her arrival intersects at the point of Perri’s ultimate crisis, and the tragedy forges an unlikely friendship.
The Sweetest Thing tells the story of two remarkable young women—opposites in every way—fighting for the same goal: surviving tumultuous change.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?

Hey Y'all,
This is one of the best books yet! I always enjoy reading Elizabeth's books, because of the fact they are based in my great city of Atlanta!!! (Best place on earth btw) And they christian undertones that they always have.
Perri, now this girl has it all, money, servants, parents that adore her, and friends that worship her. That is until her father suddenly dies...Leaving their mom to find work, and eventually Perri as well.
One day, Perri's mom makes her meet a girl at the train station names Mary Dobbs coming in from Chicago to Stay with her aunt for the year, that way she could get a decent education...And her first impression is that she a a poor girl who is in need of charity...Little did she know she was looking at her best friend.
Mary Dobbs, now this girl is opposite of Perri in every way...Her hair is long, she doesn't have designer clothes, and she's wanting to become a preacher's wife that lives day to day wondering where their next meal is going to come from...that is until she gets a taste of the 'high life'.
If you pick up The Sweetest Thing, you are going to be transported in time to the depression Era, and follow these two young girls the the trials of being teenagers in the 1930's!!!





This is going to be on my 'favorites' shelf for awhile...shoot i've already loaned it out to someone for them to read :)



To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book Bethany House Publishing. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by Bethany House to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.


Earth is not Alone by John Knapp 2

(click photo to read an excerpt)


Back Cover:

Adventure that includes Assassination. Abortion. Adoption. Attempted rape. Acrophobia. Agnosticism.Atheistic honor vs. Christian honor. Barter economy necessitated by disaster. Burying those suddenly killed. Cheating suspected among Christian honor students. Calendars in other worlds. doubting. Deception. Demon possession. Defending a mountain fortress against impossible odds. Dying in the line of duty. EMP(electromagnetic pulse) Exorcism. Emryss and Elphia as planets?



Fairness. Faith asking for facts. Fallen humans from other worlds. God in other worlds. Horrible natural disaster. Hatred of killing and war. Interplanetary romance. Justice. Jesus' death and resurrection for salvation everywhere? Kidnapping. Killing to survive. Missionary responsibility-how far does it go? New laws and rules. Numbers and logic. New important stories and records discovered. Order vs. anarchy. Passion. Princes, Princesses, and other royalty. Prophecy from another planet. Quick, necessary marriages. Risks of commitment. Redefining time.



Survival without electricity. Substance abuse in a "fairy-tale" world. "susquehanna" behind walls. Speaking in tongues. Stories within stories, carefully analyzed. "Sci-fo" format. Tabloids and truth. Travel to other planets? UFOs. USA shrinking in size (to 47 states) and power. Vows to win at all costs. Visions that language can't explain. WDSS. Witches. Worship In other worlds. X with the "hanging spikes" -a legitimate symbol? Young - too young - love, necessary but dangerous. Zareba's best secret.



A mysterious global crisis seen from the mountains of northeaster Pennsylvania- from Aeron to Zareba- in 500 pages with several illustrations by Dominic Catalano It's all here and more.




A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?

I have to be honest, I didn't think I would like this book at first...What with it being Sci-fi! I'm not that big into that genre...But I decided that I should give it a whirl, especially when John said it had romance in it...What girl could turn it down...Then I thought that it was going to be really 'alien-y' but they are basically regular people like you and like I.



Once you get started with this story, your not going to be able to put it down!!! I started reading thinking it was going to take forever, but then I couldn't stop reading, and I ended up staying up WAY to late :) Now the first part, is kind of slow, but once you get to the heart of the story it just gets better and better!!!



It starts with the Story of Death of the Tavern...This is the story of the beginning! And then the Secrets of Zareba is the end of the beginning...



I have to say, this has to be the hardest review to write...I'm trying to figure out what I can say, without giving away the good stuff :)



It all starts with Micheal and Triana, getting accused of cheating during a history project, because their stories are very similar, causing the teacher (Mr. Cample) to suspect them of talking to each other during the course of their projects.
So Mr. Cample calls a meeting of the Children and their guardian/parent... Dr. Jonas Harwell, adoptive father of Michael, and guardian of Triana, sits down and starts explaining everything...How these two kids who have never heard of the opposite story, could have been so alike...It takes you through reading both stories, and lets you in on some secrets of Triana, and Dr. Harwell!!'


I would say this is a must Read!!!!!!




To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book from the Author. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by The Author to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.


Another Dawn by Kathryn Cushman

click on book cover, to read an excerpt

Back Cover:
When life gets complicated, Grace Graham runs. She's left romantic relationships, friendships, and even her family after the death of her mother. But now her sister, Jana, is giving her one last chance: Come home and help care for their father-whom Grace still blames for her mother's death_or never show her face in Shoal Creek, Tennessee, again.

With her son, Dylan, in tow, Grace returns home from California. But is she returning for the right reasons? And when costly decisions from the past suddenly put her son's life and the lives of other children in town at risk, will she have the strength to stand strong and await Another dawn?

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?
This is a great book, now it doesn't really have the romance factor that most of my books I review have. But it's a great story!! Grace has been running from things her whole life, when something got sticky she left. But when circumstances make it impossible for her to run, she must 'face the music' for her actions in the past.
When Dylan gets sick, at first she thinks nothing of it...until someone mention Measles! Which she never vaccinated Dylan for, since she was scared of the chemicals it would be putting into his body, when they were practically non-existent in the U.S. what she didn't factor on, was someone who was just visiting across the seas...bring it home to her...which she brings home to the infants of Shoal Creek, Tennessee...
What will Grace do when the whole town is turned against her, how will she cope? Will she lean on God? Or will she run at the next possible timing?






To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book From Bethany House Publishers. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by Bethany House to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.


The Girl in the Gatehouse by Julie Klassen
click on cover to read a chapter from the book
Back Cover:
Banished from the only home she's ever known, Mariah Aubrey hides herself away in an abandoned gatehouse on a distant relative's estate. There she supports herself and her loyal servant the only way she knows how-by writing novels in secret.
When Captain Matthew Bryant leases the estate, he is intrigued by the beautiful girl in the gatehouse. But there are many things he doesn't know about this beguiling outcast. Will he risk his plans-and his heart-for a woman shadowed by scandal?
Intriguing, mysterious, and romantic, The Girl in the Gatehouse takes readers inside the life of a secret authoress at a time when novel-writing was considered improper for ladies and the smallest hint of impropriety could change a woman's life forever.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?
This was a great book. As you can tell from the back cover-or at least you should know- who she will end up with in the end. But the main reason we all read Romantic Fiction (well at least I do) is to see how the can end up together. What struggles do they go through, and how do they overcome difficulties. Now this was the first book by Julie Klassan that I have ever read, and I have to say, I was impressed. Her style of writing kind of reminded me of a modern day Jane Austin. Especially with how she has the struggles and obstacles of the characters unfold.
Mariah Aubrey, A Young-ish girl (young for now-a-days, but not for then necessarily) has been cast out of the family, because of a scandal she was involved with at a house party. Thinking to be able to get away from all of that, she moves onto her aunt's estate and lives in there gatehouse. The only thing she wasn't counting on was the passing of her aunt, and the new tenant at the main house. Who may be the person that will release her where abouts to the world.
Captain Matthew Bryant. A Rich-from-spoils-of-war kind of guy with one mission in life...Get back the girl he couldn't have because he wasn't suitable for her. So he leases this estate with an intention of buying it, and has guests over just to impress this girl (who happens to be engaged) I won't go into to much of that otherwise the plot will be gone. But has he invited the one person who could turn Mariah's world & His upside down? And will he ever admit that he has feelings for The Girl in the Gatehouse?







To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book from Bethany House Publishing. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by Bethany House Publishing to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.
Surrender the Night by MaryLu Tyndall
Book 2 in the Surrender to Destiny Series


Back Cover:

When British soldiers invade Baltimore amid the war of 1812, rose McGuire, alone on her family farm, is prey for a brutal lieutenant. In the midst of the attack, she's saved by British 2nd lieutenant Alexander Reed. Will she now have to heal, as well as hide, this wounded enemy soldier?

Alex hadn't meant to kill his superior or get shot in the process. Now badly wounded, he's at the mercy of this tomboy who obviously hates him. Can he trust her, or will she turn him over to the Americans?

Rose is having trouble keeping Alex hidden from her family, the townspeople, and the man intent on courting her. Will the discovery of Alex's presence force her to accept an abhorrent proposal?

As their love blooms, trouble looms, for the British are on the move again. This time, their target is the city of Washington. Will these young lovers at heart find themselves enemies at war?


A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?

A great book by MaryLu, but I woudln't expect anything else from this great author! Even though there wasn't any pirates (well maybe a privateer) this was another Swashbuckling Romance! And it happened to be set in one of my favorite wars of America...not to mention my favorite First Lady was mentioned! Dolly Madison!!! Rose meets the famous lady and helps her out in Washington....but that's getting ahead of the story :)

As the back cover states, Rose was being attacked by Garrick...Lieutenant Reed steps in and accidentally kills his superiour, and getting shot in the leg as well. Causing him to have to stay at Rose's farm until he can walk again...and return to the British Navy.

But before he could return, he got himself stuck as their hired man...so now he does all this manual labor, that he is not accustomed to. Causing Rose and him to have to spend more time together, endagering their hearts...and their families.


This is a great book, and it can stand alone...doesn't have to be read witht he previous book in the series. I recommend you go out and get this book!





To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book from MaryLu Tyndall. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by MaryLu to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.

Hey y'all,

I know it's been like FOREVER since I've posted....well since January :) That's in part because of my getting ready to head to college in the fall, so I have a ton of things in the process for that. But something really cool, I have officially received my student e-mail address...makes it seem so real right? Can't wait!

Anyway, back to the title of this post! lol, I'm just rambling on and on :) But I was at Goodwill the other day with my mom and little sister, and as always, I check out the book situation ($1.50 for a book, can't beat that!) since I never pay full price for a book...And low an behold, someone donated a ton of Karen Kingsbury books!!! Of course there were a few I already owned, but I am now the proud owner of : Oceans Apart, Even Now, and books 1,3-5 of the Firstborn Series, all for $9! Seriously, You can't beat that!!!


So the point of this post is, If your on a budget and you notice you haven't read any new books for what seems like forever, Check out your local Goodwill! Maybe you'll stumble on some 'new' books! (I always find christian authors, it's just finding ones I don't already own:)




G.R.I.T.S.

Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce



ABOUT BOOK:
Amy Gallagher is an aspiring writer who, after countless rejections, has settled for a career as an English professor in small-town Ohio just to pay the bills. All her dreams suddenly start to unravel as rejections pile up—both from publishers and her boyfriend. But just as Amy fears her life is stuck in a holding pattern, she meets the mysterious, attractive, and unavailable Eli.

She struggles to walk the fine line between friendship and something more with Eli, even as staying true to her faith becomes unexpectedly complicated. When secrets, tragedy, and poor decisions cause rifts in Amy's relationships, she must come to terms with who she's become, her unrealized aspirations for her life, and the state of her faith. Can she dare to hope that she will find love and fulfillment despite it all?

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?

I have to say, this wasn't one of my favorites. This was one of my books from Bethany House. I mean I enjoyed it, but I would necessarily go out and tell my 10 closest friends, 'You have to have it'. I thought it was kind of slow in getting started. And then when it did get to the good part...It was like the end of the book.


Would I say , Never pick up this book? No, by all means, it was a good book. But it's not my favorite read of 2010! But I suggest, you pick up the book, and decide for yourself. :)


To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book from Bethany House Publisher. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by Bethany House to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.
G.R.I.T.S.

A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

This is a review, of the newly revised copy of A Rush of Wings.

BACK COVER:
Though her panic is real, Noelle St. Claire is uncertain what danger she is fleeing. Fragmented images and slivers of memory have driver her to abandon her wealthy, sheltered life in new York for the hope of a haven-remote and safe.

Noelle's arrival at the Rocky Mountain horse ranch owned by Rick Spencer and his brother Morgan causes more than a little stir. Beautiful, vulnerable, yet strangely secretive, Noelle is an enigma the two contrasting brothers seek to unlock. But as their attentions breach the wall she hides behind, the past becomes a menacing threat from which Noelle can no longer hide.

A PENNY FOR MY THOUGHTS?
I fell in love with Rick Spencer! He is like my dream man!! Mountain, Rugged, Good looking, and some sort of Cowboy! And did I mention Romantic? He's the quite one of the two brothers, God-fearin, and a real sweety! Morgan Spencer, He's the 'bad boy' sorts...You know the one you secretly like, but would never really marry? Yep, That's him! :) He brings Noelle out of her shell some, but can never get her to like the real him. Now Morgan is just as good looking as Rick, but he's not the Cowboy type...You all know what I'm talking about ;) He's the business man of the family. Flying everywhere for his job. Too much like Noelle's life before she ran away!

Noelle, To put it bluntly...the girl has problems! She's been through a traumatic experience when she was a child, which her brain choose to keep hidden in her memory. And then when her Fiance got mad that she was breaking it up, parts where coming back to her, but she didn't know that it wasn't from that horrific time in her past...she thought it was the present. So she grabs all her cash she can find, and starts riding the bus.

All I can say is, Read this Book! I loved it! It was moving in the fact that, in her darkest hours, God was able to help her, and how that no matter how much we tell ourselves, just ignoring it will help, it really doesn't. It sometimes (most of the time) makes it worse!

~ Sorry for how long it's been since I last posted...Maid to Match will be coming shortly...I've been on Vacation, and working Long Hours...so again I am sorry, and I hope to have it more regular again here soon!

Rae Byuel

To the FTC and whomever else it may concern, I received this book Bethany House Publishers. In return, I have promised to review the book but have been given the freedom by Bethany House to give my honest opinions whether they be positive or negative.

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