The Blooming of Delphinium by Holly Varni REVIEWED

 About the Book:

Making the perfect match is like arranging the perfect bouquet--and no one is better at it than Delphinium Hayes. Except when it comes to making a match for herself.

As far as hidden talents go, she is blessed with one of the more unique ones. With the slightest passing whiff, she knows someone's most admirable or weediest characteristic. This peculiar perception never fails to give her an advantage in understanding people--except for one man, whose scent doesn't seem to match his demeanor.

Prim and proper Elliot Sturgis, director of Moonberry Lake's Gardens Assisted Living and Senior Care Facility, carries the scent of violets--meaning love and loyalty--yet is strict and unwavering in his determination to stop a group of his wily residents from sneaking over to Delphinium's shop to play cards in the flower cooler. But the more glimpses Delphinium gets of the soft side beyond Elliot's harsh exterior, the more she understands his scent--and her intrigue deepens as sparks fly.

The crowd in her cooler isn't Delphinium's only problem. Behind on the mortgage payments and on the verge of losing her shop to foreclosure, Delphinium isn't sure where to turn for help. But God has a funny way of putting the right people in the place at the right time . . .

My Thoughts:

"Without community to give the feeling of home, a person feels only displaced and loneliness." (p. 79)

When Delphinium speaks these words to Elliott Sturgis, she was not only explaining the unusual behavior of the seniors under his care, but she was also talking about her own place in the community she'd come to love as a child through her grandmother in Moonberry Lake.  She was also addressing her place on the square as a business owner struggling to make a difference and realize her ow dreams.  Holly Varni brings more characters to life in her second installment of the Moonberry Lake novels, and she does it in ways that will both surprise and delight you! I never dreamed there were so much adventure to be found by mixing such diverse elements of the human story!

Varni choses to mix eldercare with floral arranging in a way that I daresay no one could anticipate! She even throws a red herring love interest in the mix that only serves as emotional fuel to keep the pages turning with rapidly increasing anticipation. Folks like Henri and George, Arlene and Gurdy make me laugh out loud, and Mason made me frustrated and angry more than any fictional character should! Once I got to know Elliot, I had so much respect and interest in what he'd do next, I found myself frustrated with both he and Delphinium in ther effort to connect.

In short, I felt like I was a resident of Moonberry Lake while I read the novel, and I was left satisfied by the realistic way folks came together.  I love being reminded that hope and love, friendship and community still matter.  I am privileged to have enjoyed community all of my adult life, and it was fu and engaging to be able to become a member of Varni's fictional town!  I can't wait to see what happens next!

About the Author:

Holly Varni is the author of On Moonberry Lake. A native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, she was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast, where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at HollyVarni.com.

Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox - REVIEWED

 About the Book:

Every family has its secrets. Josephina "Joey" Harris wouldn't mind if her family still had a few of their own after a lawsuit tarnishes their name. When an opportunity opens to become a temporary keeper of a decommissioned lighthouse on a North Carolina island, she takes the opportunity to escape the scrutiny of her small town to oversee its restoration.  
 
Soon Joey discovers strange notes tucked deep in the crevices of the lighthouse's old stone walls--pages torn from a keeper's log recounting harrowing rescues at sea. When things start to go amiss on the island, locals are convinced that it is the ghost of the lighthouse keeper and his daughter who were lost at sea during World War II.

As Joey sifts through decades of rumors and legends and puts together the pieces of the past, a love story emerges--one that's clearly not over yet.

My Thoughts:

“I’m not sure going backward is ever the answer.  We learn what we can from the hard tame and keep moving forward.” (Joey pg. 263)

Joey encapsulates the heart of the matter every single character in this novel wrestle with throughout the entire narrative.  What appears to be a questionable and seemingly pointless pursuit to elderly Walt, to his grandson, Finn, questioning life foals and relationships to Joey’s u-turn in her career and family dynamics – Amanda Cox has built a story on the universal truth of everyone’s search for purpose and meaning.  Cox vividly illustrates the forward march of time in spite of the willingness to receive the gift offered to us through circumstances – chosen or forced upon us.

Choosing an historic lighthouse restoration project a literary and spiritual focal point for the reader to embrace.  The two families on the main stage of the novel are similar in their dysfunction and throw Joey and Finn together to navigate Walt’s literal and physical restoration. The uncertainty that thrums through the storyline rolls back through decades and includes myth, legend and a world war that played itself out along the East Coast of the U.S in the 40’s.  Cox uses an unexpected source of chaos on the worksite to tie all the threads of the story together and enables multiple mysteries to be solved as the pieces of the puzzle fall into place.

There are many moments along the journey where the reader will be both encouraged and challenged to examine their own responses to hardship and consider the possibilities that lie ahead if honesty and forgiveness are given and invitation to blossom.  Cox’s writing will draw you in quickly and create character you will really love.  Recorded history is rich in revealing the best and worst of the human condition, and Amanda Cox offers an honest, hope-filled and redemptive story! I am so grateful to all this beautiful story to my bookshelf!!

About the Author:

Amanda Cox is the Christy Award-winning author of The Edge of Belonging, The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, and He Should Have Told the Bees. 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.

Until Our Time Comes by Nicole M. Miller REVIEWED

 About the Book:

When her hopes are shattered by war, one woman will risk everything to save those she loves.

American horse trainer Adia Kensington is living her dream of working at the famous Janów Podlaski stables in Poland, where the best Arabian horses in the world are bred. But her plans to bring a priceless stallion to the US are derailed when the German army storms into her adopted country in 1939. Little does she know this is just the beginning of six long years of occupation that will threaten her beloved horses at every turn.

 Bret Conway is at Janów Podlaski under the guise of a news reporter, but his true mission is intelligence gathering for the British. That and keeping Adia safe, which is harder and harder to do as she insists they must evacuate two hundred and fifty horses to save them from being stolen, sold, or eaten by the invading forces. What follows will test Bret's and Adia's physical, mental, and emotional strength, as well as their faith in God, humankind, and each other. 

This epic story of escape, capture, resistance, and love is based on true events of the uncommon heroes in World War II Poland.

My Thoughts:

"The guilt of survival.  The disbelief of the loss.  The sliver of hope that it was all just a bad dream." (p.135)

Bret Conway is a spy gathering intel just prior to Germany's invasion of Poland, and the thoughts he expresses at this point in the novel, capture the essence of everyone's struggle. To be in Poland as both Germany and Russia are invading and fighting for territory was unbelievable volatile! The last thing Bret ever anticipated was to meet American horse trainer Adia Kinsington! Talk about bad timing! To be tasked with getting her safely out of Poland seemed like a huge inconvenience! 

The introduction of Adia into Bret's life was more than an inconvenience, and, over time, it became evident to both of them that there was a much broader and significant purpose to their relationship.  Adia is breeding and training pure bred horses she hopes to bring back to America, and she is solely focused on the outcome of the years of hard work she has poured into her program.  She can't begin to comprehend the chaos breaking out across the world.  Bret encounters the full strength of her resistance when their attempts to move the horses to safety showcases Adia's willingness to do whatever it takes to protect her horses.  In his effort to save her life, he begins to be drawn to her passionate, headstrong way of navigating impossible circumstances.

It's had not to admire Adia's passion to protect what she loves, especially in tandem with Brent's love of his native Europe.  As the story unfolds, it is this specific combination of gifts and talents that not only draw them to each other, but onward toward a much farther-reaching, life-threatening and long-term commitment to the world around them.

Nicole Miller takes the reader through six war-torn years in the most unexpected and intriguing way imaginable! I don't know what astounds me more - the fact that this story was planted in her mind 20 years before it came to fruition or the astounding way she presents the historic preservation of the Janlow horses! She spares no details of the hardship of war, the painful loss of life, and the fact that people on both sides of the conflict were able to retain their humanity and feel deeply for their country and each other.  

I could go on for pages about the spy network among the local partisans, the efforts made to save the children....every page of this story taught me something new and interesting about the characters and the history surrounding this fascinating time in world history. I can't recommend this book enough! You won't be able to stop reading, and you'll be left hungry for more!

About the Author:

Nicole M. Miller lives in Washington State with her husband and two sons, along with her Arabian horses, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, and guinea pigs. As a longtime horse owner, she's been involved in many horse organizations, including serving on the Clark County Fair Court and as Miss Teen Rodeo Washington. She's received national and regional awards for her nonfiction from American Horse Publications and the Society of Professional Journalists. See her stories in The Horse of My Heart, The Horse of My Dreams, The Dog Who Came to Christmas, and Second-Chance Horses. Learn more at NicoleMillerWriter.com.

The Song of Sourwood Mountain by Ann H Gabhart - REVIEWED

 About the Book:

The doors she thought were closed forever are starting to open up . . . just a crack

Though the century began with such promise, it is 1910 when Mira Dean's hopes of being a wife and mother are dashed to pieces. Her fiancé dead from tuberculosis, Mira resigns herself to being a spinster schoolteacher--until Gordon Covington shows up.

 No longer the boy she knew from school, Gordon is now a preacher who is full of surprises. First, he asks Mira to come to Sourwood in Eastern Kentucky to teach at his mission school. Second, he asks her to marry him. Just like that. 

With much trepidation, Mira steps out in faith into a life she never imagined, in a place filled with its own special challenges, to serve a people who just might end up becoming the family she always yearned for.

My Thoughts:

“Sometimes sorrow and joy could shoe up at the same time in a person’s life.” (p 282)

Ann Gabhart’s character, Mira Dean, gets introduces into your heart already struggling with this emotional dichotomy.  In 1910, if you weren’t married young, had a job you loved you were old-maid material still subject to second-class treatment by men.  Mira had suffered an untimely loss, was settled into her only life-choice, teaching  - until she wasn’t.  A series of events over a period of a few short days finds her seemingly impossible circumstances!

Mira finds herself taking marriage vows to a complete stranger in a town with a stranger name – Sourwood.  Just like that, she’s married to a preacher of a mission in the middle of the mountains of Eastern Kentucky.  I have to say, right off the bat, that I’d never have been strong enough to make that move! After her wedding night, I’d have been on the first train or buggy out of there!!

However, Ann Gabhart’s characters are so believably real and brave, I found myself reading faster and faster to discover what would happen next!  Mira turns out to be one of a host of characters to open up your heart in this tender story.  Like the quote I opened with, these characters weave their days together through both joy and sorrow, and I experienced it all – right alongside them!

I’m pretty sure I loved Gordon long before Mira, and the folks of Sourwood won my heart soon after!  I love a book that literally takes me away for hours! If you enjoy historical fiction, you will love The Song of Sourwood Mountain!

About the Author:

Ann H. Gabhart is the bestselling author of many novels, including In the Shadow of the River, When the Meadow Blooms, Along a Storied Trail, An Appalachian Summer, River to Redemption, These Healing Hills, and Angel Sister. She and her husband live on a farm a mile from where she was born in rural Kentucky. Ann enjoys discovering the everyday wonders of nature while hiking in her farm's fields and woods with her grandchildren and her dogs, Frankie and Marley. Learn more at AnnHGabhart.com.

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt REVIEWED

 About the Book: 

A richly rendered portrait of courage, sacrifice, and resilience

On a golden August morning in 1939, sisters Antonina and Helena Dąbrowska send their father off to defend Poland against the looming threat of German invasion. The next day, the first bombs fall on Warsaw, decimating their beloved city and shattering the world of their youth.

When Antonina's beloved Marek is forced behind ghetto walls, along with the rest of Warsaw's Jewish population, Antonina knows she cannot stand by and soon becomes a key figure in a daring network of women risking their lives to shelter Jewish children. Meanwhile, Helena finds herself drawn into the ranks of Poland's secret army, joining the fight to free her homeland from occupation.

But the secrets both are forced to keep threaten to tear them apart--and the cost of resistance may prove greater than either ever imagined.

My Thoughts:

"So faith is all that is left to us, then."  (p. 321)

When I reached the end of this novel, I could feel the gut punch of trauma and loss in my heart and soul.  I could feel the lost desperation that Helena felt in that moment as her heart broke open under the weight of battle and loss and hopelessness.  This novel revealed a battle within a battle that I was unaware existed in the broader scope of WWII.  The author tells the story from the viewpoint of two sisters who, unaware of what the other chooses in the heat of battle, decide to fight for their home with the heroic bravery that breaks the reader's heart over and over again.

War makes heroes out of ordinary people, and rips heroes out of our hearts and into eternity before we are able to comprehend the loss. Antonina and Helena are very close as sisters before ward comes to their homeland.  Antonina chooses to become involved in the war effort for very different reasons that Helena, but, over time and as the war intensifies, their love for each other bears them up under excruciating circumstances.  That anyone survived this experience is a miracle, and the survival of these sisters is something very tenuous...and I won't reveal anything more.

This book is a beautiful tribute to heroes that I never knew existed. My hopes and dreams for the future was and is strengthened after reading this story. I can't encourage you strongly enough to add this to your reading list!  You won't regret it, and you'll probably feel compelled to share it with others!  I did! 

About the Author:

Amanda Barratt is the bestselling author of numerous historical novels and novellas, including The White Rose Resists (a 2021 Christy Award winner) and Within These Walls of Sorrow. She is passionate about illuminating oft-forgotten facets of history through a fictional narrative. Amanda lives in Michigan. Learn more at AmandaBarratt.net.

On Moonberry Lake by Holly Varni REVIEWED

 About the Book:

Cora Matthews's life is a mess. A broken engagement and the unexpected death of her mother have left her wondering if things will ever return to normal. Whatever "normal" is.

It certainly isn't what she finds at Moonberry Lake. After she receives her family's dilapidated lakefront lodge as an inheritance--with a surprising condition attached--Cora finds her life overrun by a parade of eccentric neighbors who all have something to say and something to teach her.

As Cora works to put her life back together, she must decide if she is willing to let go of the past, open her heart to love, and embrace the craziest version of family and home she could ever have imagined.

My Thoughts:

"It was amazing how, in stepping out of her comfort zone and getting to know people who live a bit "outside the box," she was discovering a new self.  A better self." (p 229)

This book was such a delight in so many ways, because it took ME outside my box, and helped me reach out to others in a new way!  It was such an unexpected experience!  Cora Matthews' go to answer when life because overwhelming was to leave the situation.  Life intervened in a very unusual way, and brought Cora into a community and circumstance that was almost more overwhelming than the situation she was running from!  Confused?  Don't be!

Instead, pick up this delightful, thoughtfully written book - a book filled with the most eclectic bunch of characters - and enjoy the story as it unfolds!   The character development is believable, the circumstances difficult at times, and the growth you'll experience right along with the characters in the story will surprise and satisfy you!  I had a hard time putting this book down, because I came to care about Cora and her community.  

This is not unlike some of my own life experiences, and I left these pages encouraged to embrace my own unique friendships and circumstances and lean into them for all of the hope, strength and joy they bring to my life!  Moonberry Lake exists in each of our lives in some manner, and I challenge you to enjoy this story and use it as a doorway to enter fully into your own life in with a deeper sense of gratitude and purpose! 

About the Author:

Holly Varni is a native Minnesotan of strong Norwegian descent, who was raised in the Lutheran Church that Garrison Keillor made a career depicting. Between the lutefisk, grumpy grandparents, and crazy neighbors who mowed their lawn wearing pajamas, the seed to becoming a storyteller was planted. Though she, her husband, and their three sons live along the Central Coast of California, her beloved Midwest roots continue to haunt everything she writes. She hosts the Moments from Moonberry Lake podcast where she shares more stories of her beloved characters. Learn more at www.hollyvarni.com.

He Should Have Told the Bees by Amanda Cox REVIEWED

About the Book: 

Beekeeper Beckett Walsh was living her dream, until her father's death sent her world into a tailspin. She suddenly finds she must deal with a new part owner of the family apiary--one who is looking to sell the property--and she cannot fathom why her father would put her in the position to lose everything they built together.

When Callie Peterson is named in the trust of a man she's never heard of, she's not sure what to do. Her fledgling business has just taken wing and her mother has reentered her life asking for help, making Callie's financial situation rather . . . precarious. She's sure she has no right to someone else's farm, but the money from the sale could solve her problems and give her the stability she's always craved.

With an entangled past behind them and an uncertain future ahead, Beckett and Callie must discover why they've been thrown together before all is lost. 

My Review:

"While there are some pungent smells, it smells like life here.  I don't know how to explain it, but it's different."  (p. 149)

When Callie spoke these words to Beckett, she never dreamed how truth laden those words would turn out to be!  I came to love and appreciate both young women in this novel, as well as the cast of characters that Amanda Cox uses to tell their story.  I never dreamed that this novel would tell the story that it did, and that it would impact my own life story is such a meaningful way!

Both Callie and Beckett struggle with having to share their lives with someone suddenly thrust into it by Samuel Walsh's untimely death.  As the story unfolds, each character presents her own unique circumstances that pull at your heart strings.  Neither of these young women have had an easy life experience, and when sorting through grief and loss - from very different standpoints - it was hard to imagine that any of this would or could end well.

Amanda Cox threw a few red herrings along the way that kept me guessing, and, once revealed, keep me reading!  There are many layers to this story, and if you skip any of it, you'll be so sorry you missed the journey!  Callie and Beckett couldn't be more different, but the similarities of what they long for in life are beautifully and almost prophetically captured in Callie's fist impression of Walsh Farm.  It did smell like life to her, but she could have never dreamed how much healing those sights and sounds would bring to her life!

I encourage you to make time for this story in your life!  The novel is beautifully written, and you'll be thinking of the characters long after you read the final words!  You'll learn a lot about bees, the human heart, and how God weaves it all together in unimaginable ways!  Happy reading!

About the Author:

Amanda Cox is the author of The Edge of Belonging and The Secret Keepers of Old Depot Grocery, both of which were the Christy Award Book of the Year in 2021 and 2022, respectively. 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.