The Girl Who Could Breathe Under Water by Erin Bartels REVIEWED

 About the Book:

The best fiction simply tells the truth.

But the truth is never simple.

When novelist Kendra Brennan moves into her grandfather's old cabin on Hidden Lake, she has a problem and a plan. The problem? An inflammatory letter from A Very Disappointed Reader. The plan? To confront Tyler, her childhood best friend's brother--and the man who inspired the antagonist in her first book. If she can prove that she told the truth about what happened during those long-ago summers, perhaps she can put the letter's claims to rest and meet the swiftly approaching deadline for her next book.

But what she discovers as she delves into the murky past is not what she expected. While facing Tyler isn't easy, facing the consequences of her failed friendship with his sister, Cami, may be the hardest thing she's ever had to do.

Plumb the depths of the human heart with this emotional exploration of how a friendship dies, how we can face the unforgivable, and how even those who have been hurt can learn to love with abandon.

Review:

But novels are about looking through someone else's eyes, seeing what someone else sees when they look at the world and realizing, perhaps for the first time, that other people are jest as real and alive and hurt as you are.  (p. 277)

This novel is a wrestling match between people who are successful and well-loved on the surface - in the lives the world around them observes - and the real, heart-felt woundedness that lives on the inside.  In this story Kendra Brennan returns to a familiar childhood homeplace after a decade that has brought her great success as a first-time author.  She retreats to a place from her childhood that holds precious memories and anchors her to her truest self.

What she did not expect to find in the deepest part of her heart was a terror that is keeping her heart frozen in place.  As Kendra faces her own difficult journey through an impossible writer's block, she discovers that those people that are such a part of her DNA from childhood are also wrestling with their own terrifying demons.  Life on the surface is often a placid lake while a churning river of emotional trauma lies underneath the surface.

This book turned out to be deeply personal and provided a mirror to my own soul's wrestling matches. I was deeply moved by the bravery of this story and found healing within its pages.  I highly recommend this journey.  It will change your life!!  

About the Author:

Erin Bartels is the award-winning author of All That We Carried, 2020 Christy finalist The Words between Us, and We Hope for Better Things, a 2020 Michigan Notable Book, 2020 WFWA Star Award-winner, and 2019 Christy finalist. A publishing professional for nearly twenty years, she lives in Lansing, Michigan, with her husband, Zachary, and their son. Find her online at www.erinbartels.com.
 

 

 

A Heart Adrift by Laura Frantz REVIEWED

 About the Book:

It is 1755, and the threat of war with France looms over colonial York, Virginia. Chocolatier Esmée Shaw is fighting her own battle of the heart. Having reached her twenty-eighth birthday, she is reconciled to life alone after a decade-old failed love affair from which she's never quite recovered. But she longs to find something worthwhile to do with her life.

Captain Henri Lennox has returned to port after a lengthy absence, intent on completing the lighthouse in the dangerous Chesapeake Bay, a dream he once shared with Esmée. But when the colonial government asks him to lead a secret naval expedition against the French, his future is plunged into uncertainty.

Can Esmée and Henri's shared vision and dedication to the colonial cause heal the wounds of the past and reunite them?

Review:

"Her fervent prayers went the way of her hopes and dreams and became floating wreckage." (p, 69)

Esmee Shaw's inner dialogue regarding her failed relationship of the past collide with a reality that takes she and her family to the brink of war.  This is a story that draws your heart in and refuses to let go.  Laura Frantz drops breadcrumbs all along the path to lead the reader into a story that far surpasses what they could ever imagine!  Romance, history and intrigue combine in the most unexpected ways, and you will be hard pressed to lay the book aside!

As I write this, it's been a few days since I finished the book, and, as I thumb through its pages, I recall the characters and their relationships vividly!  Esmee's family became dear to me as did Captain Lennox and his lighthouse.  There are elements of relational conflict that work themselves out in sometimes painful ways.  The point is, that they work out as they need to, and not without consequences.  This book wove a close family dynamic into the story in a way that really appealed to me, and it worked to make the historical context all the more poignant.

I don't want to give away the plot, but I will say that I was thrilled over and over again with the personal integrity of the main characters and their selfless love for one another.  Their relationship had far reaching effects on everyone else in the story!

This is a beautiful, exciting, historically intriguing novel that will appeal to a large audience!  I am happy to recommend it to you!!

About the Author:

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award winner and the ECPA bestselling author of a dozen novels, including An Uncommon Woman, Tidewater Bride, The Frontiersman's Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, The Colonel's Lady, The Lacemaker, and A Bound Heart. She is a proud mom to an American soldier and a career firefighter. When not at home in Kentucky, she and her husband live in Washington State. Learn more at www.laurafrantz.net.

The Saving I Need by David Tensen and Friends - REVIEWED

About the Book:  From the bestselling author of The Wrestle comes another memorable poetry collection. 

The Saving I Need brings readers over forty new poems penned by David Tensen, accompanied by a generous selection of carefully crafted poems from fourteen emerging poets chosen and mentored by David himself. From its breathtaking opening piece 'Birthing God' through to its end, this anthology invites readers into a poetic meditation through beauty, tragedy, hope and spirituality.  

Acclaimed by theologians as a prophetic Psalter of these times, Tensen continues to write with expanding wisdom, love and empathy, echoing the silent cries of his lifetime and the Christian tradition. 

This book also features poetry from: Andrew Adair. Abigail Bucks. Brian Bucks. Carly Caprio. Kara Chidlow. Nicole Fisher. Matthew Hardy. Kaelan Kiernan. Victoria Kuttainen. Franki Maglaras. Jessica Mussro. Jessica Stevens Nicole Walker. Tineke Ziemer.

From the collection:

'Cracks'
by David Tensen

it's the cracks 
on the road to wholeness
you have to watch for

the novice avoids them,
scuttling with speed 
across the bitumen

hoping to reach
a promised land 
without tripping

but the wise slow down
knowing the road
has no end

the wise have learnt
the cracks are 
the way forward

going down 
into the narrows
where seeds fall

My Thoughts:

I discovered David Tensen's work last year, and I have been touched deeply by his poems.  When I heard there was to be a collection of work by a group of poets, I became curious.  I'm SO GLAD I did!!  This book has served as a healing touch to my soul, and I encourage everyone to be open to receive its words!  You'll meet folks from around the globe from a variety of backgrounds, and you will gain a book that you will be able to revisit again and again!

I am grateful for the collection and look forward to reading it for years to come!

BRAVO!!!

Avaiable EVERYWHERE!!

The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady by Sharon J. Mondragon REVIEWED

 About the Book:

A knitting group’s change of scenery changes lives in unexpected ways 

Margaret, Rose, Jane, and Fran had a good thing going: meet every week in the quiet of their peaceful chapel and knit prayer shawls. No muss, just ministry. That is, until their pastor boots them out of the church in his last-ditch effort to revive the dwindling congregation. 

Uptight Margaret isn’t having it. Knitting prayer shawls where people can watch is the most ridiculous idea she’s ever heard of, and she’s heard plenty. Prayer belongs in the church, not out among the heathen masses. How are they supposed to knit holiness into these shawls if they’re constantly distracted by the public? But with no choice, the others embrace the challenge. They pack their knitting bags and drag Margaret—grumbling the whole way—to the mall with them. She can’t wait to prove them all wrong when it fails miserably, and show the pastor that she always knows best. 

Without the familiar mold the group has been stuck in, their own losses, pain, and struggles rise to the surface. And the people and situations they encounter every time they try to sit quietly and knit are taking them a lot further out of their comfort zone than they ever imagined. Can they find the courage to tackle the increasing number of knotty issues they learn about in the community--or will the tangle be too much to unravel? 

Sharon J. Mondragon’s debut is warm and delightful, full of real laughter, grief, and personality. It beautifully illustrates the power of women across generations to reach people for Christ. 

To read an excerpt of The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady click here.

WIN A COPY OF THE BOOK!!!  CLICK HERE!!

My Thoughts:

"You're right, God is orderly.  But people are messy.  They have problems and wounds and fears and besetting sins.  Isn't that what prayer shawls are all about, though?  Trying to give people the comfort and strength they need to face and get through those things?"  (p. 64)

These words, spoken by Father Pete to Margaret as he tries to tell her that the prayer chapel will, indeed, be unavailable to the prayer shawl knitting group while being painted, did nothing to calm her anxiety.  Sharon Mondragon's book, The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady, spins quite the tale as she follows the four ladies that meet in the prayer chapel to knit prayer shawls as they go out into the community to knit while the chapel is undergoing renovations.  You would never BELIEVE that a group of knitting ladies could be so blessedly used of God, but let me tell you this story will convict a heart to open up to the most unexpected circumstance!

From the moment the women enter the bookstore café in the mall, it seems to attract the attention of everyone.  When they get kicked out by the manager and settle on the couches outside Macy's, they not attract attention, but they begin to gather people and prayer requests in droves.  Life does get messy, and the ladies of the Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry go to the gates of heaven with the most unlikely and unusual prayer requests you can imagine!  They learn, albeit reluctantly, that their own lives are not devoid of messes, and that when they join hearts and hands in prayer, God not only hears but answers in very amazing ways!

I could not put this book down!! It seemed as though every chapter the hearts of the characters broke open a little more toward all that God was doing in the lives of the people they interacted with in the mall, and in their own hearts as well!  Talk about transformation!  God is in the business of reaching people where they are, even if He has to kick you out of your comfort zone to do it!  You will come to love all of the characters in the book, and it will be a bittersweet but satisfying ending when you reach the last page. Please, bless yourself by reading this book, and then, find a way to reach others right where you are!  BRAVO!!!  This is a fantastic book!!

About the Author:

Sharon J. Mondragón writes about the place where kindness and courage meet. Her debut novel, The Unlikely Yarn of the Dragon Lady (originally titled The Heavenly Hugs Prayer Shawl Ministry) was the 2017 winner of the American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis award in the Short Novel Category, and she has also been recognized by The Saturday Evening Post where her short story, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas,” was an Honorable Mention Awardee in the 2014 their Great American Fiction Contest.
 
Mondragón has been active in prayer shawl ministry since 2008 and currently serves as facilitator for the prayer shawl ministry at her church, St. Paul Episcopal in Waxahachie, TX. She also knits with the Circle of Healing at Red Oak United Methodist Church. She is a Level 2 Certified Knitting Instructor through the Craft Yarn Council and teaches beginning knitting at a local yarn store.
 
Mondragón is the mother of five grown children and has four grandchildren. After 26 years as an Army wife, she has settled in Midlothian, TX with her hero/husband, her laptop, and her yarn stash.
 
Visit Sharon Mondragón’s website and blog at www.sharonjmondragon.com and follow her on Facebook (Sherry Mondragón) and Twitter (@SJ_Mondragón).

The Secret Keepers of the Old Depot Grocery by Amanda Cox REVIEWED

About the Book:

Present Day. Sarah Ashby returns to her childhood home, determined to finally follow her dream of running the family business alongside her mother and grandmother. So when her mother, Rosemary, announces to her that Old Depot Grocery is closing, Sarah and her grandmother, Glory Ann, make a plan to save the store. But Rosemary has worked her entire life to make sure her daughter never follows in her footsteps. She has her reasons--but she'll certainly never reveal the real one.

1965. Glory Ann confesses to her family that she's pregnant with her deceased fiancé's baby. Pressured into a marriage of convenience with a shopkeeper to preserve her family's reputation, Glory Ann vows never to love again. But some promises are not as easily kept as she imagined.

This dual-time story from Amanda Cox deftly explores the complexity of the mother-daughter relationship, the way the secrets we keep shape our lives and the lives of others, and the healing power of telling the truth.

My Thoughts:

"Maybe all their paths were lettered with mistakes and secrets that never should have been kept, but Sarah had faith that in the end, the truth would set them free."  (p. 293)

Amanda Cox weaves a multigenerational tale in her latest novel, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery.  For me, the generational nature of the secrets kept made sense, because I grew up in a generation that kept those same secrets.  Familial appearance was everything in a small, rural setting, and moral failings of any kind were kept shut away, when possible, in very dramatic ways.

This story tells the outcome of generations of secrets kept, and the residual fallout that naturally occurred over time.  I couldn't help but be struck by the fact that one's own perception of any given circumstance shapes how we interpret life changes in our future.  Glory Ann, Rosemary and Sarah's life intersect during a perfect storm of circumstances that could have very well destroyed them all.  There are moments in the story where I saw no way around certain annellation!  

God's grace is the only explanation I can give for the way these women find the truth about themselves and their "secret" circumstances that sets them free in ways they never imagined possible!  I was totally captivated by this story, and was a bit heartbroken when it came to an end.  I encourage everyone to take a dive into this story!  There is room for growth and transformation all along the way!!  

About the Author:

Amanda Cox is the author of The Edge of Belonging. A blogger and a curriculum developer for a national nonprofit youth leadership organization, she holds a bachelor's degree in Bible and theology and a master's degree in professional counseling, but her first love is communicating through story. Her studies and her interactions with hurting families over a decade have allowed her to create multidimensional characters that connect emotionally with readers. She lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee, with her husband and their three children. Learn more at AmandaCoxWrites.com.

 

Under the Bayou Moon by Valerie Fraser Luesse REVIEWED

About the Book:

When Ellie Fields accepts a teaching job in a tiny Louisiana town deep in bayou country in 1949, she knows her life will change--but she could never imagine just how dramatically

Though rightfully suspicious of outsiders, who have threatened both their language and their unique culture, most of the residents come to appreciate the young and idealistic schoolteacher, and she's soon teaching just about everyone, despite opposition from both the school board and a politician with ulterior motives. Yet it's the lessons Ellie herself will learn--from new friends, a captivating Cajun fisherman, and even a legendary white alligator haunting the bayou--that will make all the difference.

Take a step away from the familiar and enter the shadowy waters of bayou country for a story of risk, resilience, and romance.

My Thoughts:

"Maybe you crossed over something when you went through the tunnel.  Now you can see something yyou couldn't see before, but at the same time, you can't go back."  (p. 155)

Something magical and unforgettable happens between the first and last pages of this novel.  Truly.  Ellie Fields decision to leave her safe place of comfort and privilege that her familial home offered seems a non-event at first.  Many women have made that choice over time. It is her entrance into the bayou community facing unjust laws that threaten their unique way of life where the magic begins to happen.

Ellie leaves her heart open to be changed and challenged, and she is richly rewarded because of her openness.  The people of the community are suspicious and closed off to Ellie's presence at first, but, over time, she wins the heart of both the community and one very special Cajun fisherman.

As the story develops, it becomes clear that there is, in fact, a real threat to the community, and some lose much as the threat becomes visible.  There are many difficult choices to be made for both Ellie and her new community, and their journey....well, it's magically transformative if you leave your heart open to receive the life lessons lived out through the relationships within this story!

I LOVED THIS BOOK!! I'm sure you will too!!

About the Author:

Valerie Fraser Luesse is the bestselling author of Missing Isaac, Almost Home, and The Key to Everything, as well as an award-winning magazine writer best known for her feature stories and essays in Southern Living, where she is currently senior travel editor. Specializing in stories about unique pockets of Southern culture, Luesse received the 2009 Writer of the Year award from the Southeast Tourism Society for her editorial section on Hurricane Katrina recovery in Mississippi and Louisiana. A graduate of Auburn University and Baylor University, she lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband, Dave.

The Nature of Small Birds by Susie Finkbeiner - REVIEWED

 

About the Book:

In 1975, three thousand children were airlifted out of Saigon to be adopted into Western homes. When one of those children announces her plans to return to Vietnam to find her birth mother, her loving adopted family is suddenly thrown back to the events surrounding her unconventional arrival in their lives.

Mindy's father grapples with the tension between holding on tightly and letting his daughter spread her wings. Her mother undergoes the emotional roller coaster inherent in the adoption of a child from a war-torn country, discovering the joy hidden amid the difficulties. And Mindy and her sister struggle to find the strength to accept each other as they both discover who they truly are.

Told through three distinct voices in three compelling timelines, The Nature of Small Birds is a hopeful story that explores the meaning of family far beyond genetic code.

My Thoughts:

"It's the nature of small birds to sing their little hearts out.

  It's the nature of God to hear them."  (p. 323)

This is the first time in a very long while I must say that the synopsis doesn't begin to TOUCH the depth and breadth of all this story contains.  Yes, the adoption of a Korean baby in operation Babylift plays a major element, but the layers of this story cover everything from sacrificial parenting, to coming of age teens, to family rifts over political views....there is a LOT to enjoy in this story!

The different points of view covered through different points in time is the magic that ties this story to the deepest places in your heart.  You feel the fear in a parent's heart over bringing an adopted child into a family.  You feel the anger of a parent who has lost a child to war.  You feel a teenager's angst over first crushes, and summer jobs.  There isn't much that you don't see through the eyes of this precious family that you can't relate to on some level.

My heart stayed engaged from first page to last, and I cried at different points along the way.  This author tapped every emotion multiple times, and I came to love this family.  Oh how I hope the author continues their story!  Then again, I hope I'll just carry that last image in my heart and let my imagination tell me the rest of their story!  This book  is such a treasure!!  The author has captured the nuance of family in a real and poignant way!  Bravo!!

About the Author:

Susie Finkbeiner is the CBA bestselling author of All Manner of Things, which was selected as a 2020 Michigan Notable Book, and Stories That Bind Us, as well as A Cup of Dust, A Trail of Crumbs, and A Song of Home. She serves on the Fiction Readers Summit planning committee, volunteers her time at Ada Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and speaks at retreats and women's events across the country. Susie and her husband have three children and live in West Michigan.