The healing quilt, book #28

Ahh, it's not often you think of Amish and the beach, but this one does a nice mix of both.  This is the third in a series that follows Lamar and Emma Yoder to Florida for the winter.  While there, Emma begins to miss her family and friends and decides to get brave enough to start a Quilting Class, never sure of who the Lord is going to pull together for them. 

This class has Kim, a somewhat klutz, who moves from NC to FL by following a boyfriend.  However the boyfriend dumps her and she is stranded in FL with no friends.  She sees this as a chance to make new friends, never knowing a love interest was in the bargain also. There is also Jennifer, a very pregnant and struggling financially young lady whose husband has lost his job; Erika, a teen in a wheelchair paralyzed from a diving accident; Noreen, a widow looking for something to do; Phyllis/Mike who see what needs to be done to repair their marriage, and BJ, an older gentleman dying of cancer has not told anyone, wanting to live out the best he can with whatever time is left.

As always there are twists and turns, relationships made, connections they never would have guessed, and everything happens quickly in the last meeting.

The second book in the series is here and I know I read the first one but I can't find it back through my lists.  These books are good if you like lighter fare, a fair amount of detail, following relationships, and seeing how God can use everyday situations in ways you may never think!

Retired Amish newlyweds Emma and Lamar Miller have decided to buy a winter place in Sarasota, Florida. But it wouldn’t feel like home if Emma didn’t take her quilting materials and offer classes. Wounded and hurting people have a knack for finding their way to her classes for some quilting therapy: Jennifer, a pregnant new mom; Mike, a charter boat owner; Erika, a wheelchair-bound teen; Kim, a waitress; Noreen, a newly-retired widow; and BJ, an artist facing illness. And when Jan, visits from Indiana, romance is also added to the class discussions.  (picture and description from amazon.)


Now I think after several romantic/family books it's time for some lawyer/police/crime/murder/missing persons stuff!!  Bring on the new Robert Whitlow!!

Happy Reading!!

O:)
Melissa

Moms night out, book #27

 I saw the movie version two times in the theatre.  I laughed my head off both times.  I did a prebuy at LifeWay (you know, for the library...) and was holding my breath till it came out.  When it finally came out and I brought it home, I watched it with my kids.  They did not find in nearly as funny.  I still laughed hysterically.  

When I was able to download the book on my Paperwhite for next to nothing, I  couldn't wait to read it.  In most novelizations the author will add back stories and more life to make it more like a book.  I love Tricia Goyer.  It seemed like a match made in heaven.  

But alas ..... sigh.  Reading this book was just like watching the movie.  What little details "behind the story" she did add was so...so...so... pithy.  Like I'm sure my 13 year old could have written this and it would have been just as good.  Highly disappointed.  I know Tricia can write well, I have read some awesome books by her.  This was just not one of her better works.  Perhaps she should stick to made up fiction and not novelizations.  

An endearing true-to-life family comedy that celebrates beautiful parenting, Goyer's Mom's Night Out is a novelization of the film that portrays three harried moms, their husbands, a sister-in-law with a misplaced parlor owner, a motorcycle gang, and a bewildered cabbie whose lives intertwine after one momentous moms' night out. (picture and description at christianbook)

O:)
Melissa

Seagrass Pier, book #26

Yes, I did in fact read this book in three days.  Yes, it is 336 pages.  Yes, my husband and kids felt a little ignored.  Yes, I was up until midnight finishing it.  But sometimes an amazing book comes along and you just can't help it.  (Think Redeeming Love!)  Now, not that I would put this one up with Redeeming Love, but I guess I was just seriously in the mood for some mystery, police, love, throw in a cute kid kind of book.  

This is the third in a series Colleen Coble has written about Hope Beach, which is somewhere near Virginia Beach.  It is a quaint little community that sounds like Seaside, FL, but trouble still abounds.  I mean, why else would she write books about it?!?!?  This is one a little similar to another book I read about cell memory, where Elin had a heart transplant and the memories of the person whose heart she received keep coming back.  Like, who killed the person in question that allowed Elin to have her heart. Completely intriguing.  But the end, well, you just have to read it for yourself!!

In a secluded corner of Hope Beach, one woman must decipher a stranger’s memories . . . before they cost her everything.
Elin Summerall was one of the lucky ones. Not only did she get a heart transplant, but the donor was a perfect fit. A miraculously perfect fit.
But when Elin begins having violent flashbacks—and vivid dreams of being strangled—she realizes that she has been the recipient of more than just a new heart . . . Elin is remembering her donor’s murder.
Her strange affliction has attracted some unwanted attention: from the press, from the authorities . . . and from the killer himself. Now, living alone with her young daughter and aging mother, Elin is being stalked—by a man she’s only met in her nightmares.
The police are dubious of her story, but one off-duty FBI agent agrees to help her: Agent Marc Everton.
Now, in a remote cottage on Hope Island, Elin and Marc must probe the secrets buried in her borrowed heart. And there’s no time to waste. One man is desperate to silence her—before she remembers too much. (picture and description at amazon)

O:)
Melissa

Hurricane Allie, book #25

Well, I got my little first world problem figured out on my Paperwhite (PW), but it involved a little work on my end.  See, when you download all these great, inexpensive books on your PW and then you finish a book and want to see what you want to read next, you go to your home page to decide.  Only what happens is there are only two views for you to choose from: book cover or book title list.  So guess what?  Are you with me? 

YOU CAN'T TURN IT OVER TO SEE WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT!!!!!

So, I then spent a good amount of time on Amazon looking up each book I had downloaded and did a little copy and paste of the title, author, # of pages, and a summary on a document.  And how long is that little document? Oh, approximately 14 pages and counting.  Because I have now bought more books since this weekend.  But it is printed in small font.  Whatever.  

So, I haven't been able to read much lately with all of life craziness as it is, and while I did finish the last book rather quickly, I was debating if I had time to read another one before I needed to start reading the one for book club.  Since my new document has pages numbers on it, I found this little novella with only 97 pages and knew I could blow through it pretty quickly.  Ha ha ... get it, blow through it ... a book about a hurricane ... Yeah, that's where I am these days.

Anyhow, I highly recommend this little gem for a quick read.  It is by one of favorite authors who writes a lot about weddings, and if it got a little cheesy at times, and you knew exactly how it was going to turn out, I still didn't mind adding it to my list.  

Even natural disasters can't stop love!
Wedding bells are chiming for Allie Stetson and Kyle Landon. As Allie rushes through wedding preparations days before her wedding, Kyle makes a last minute trip to New York to secure a new client.
Meanwhile, a hurricane bears down on the coast days before their wedding. Is it a bad sign the storm is named Allie?
Stuck in New York, Kyle struggles to find a way home. Meanwhile, Allie scrambles to find Plan B. Her perfect wedding is ruined but not even the forces of nature can stop a wedding that was meant to be. (picture and description at amazon)

O:)
Melissa

The will of wisteria, book #24

Since I was having some first world problems with my Paperwhite, I decided to read this one from my dear friend Denise Hildreth-Jones.  We had a copy in our church library, but somehow we lost it so I finally ordered another one.  I started it just a few days ago and spent the first 1/3 of the book deciding if I had read it after all some other time.  I was starting to get grumpy about it, but about 1/2 way through I did indeed realize I had not.  What a relief!  There are too many books in this world I want to read that I don't want to waste my time reading one I have already read!!  I mean, hey ....

Alas, I digress.  Ok, about the book.  Ahhh... it is set in Charleston, SC which I have visited once in person and several times in books.  Reading this brought back to mind all those hot muggy days we were there, but also I could exactly picture where the characters were.  It is different than her other books, but now after having read all of them, I see what a diverse fiction writer she is.  The first ones I read were the Savannah series, which had me rolling in laughter the entire time.  The First Gardener had me tears the whole time.  Hurricanes in Paradise had me set right in my dream place in the Bahamas.  This one, however, took me a little time to get into.  I mean, yeah, getting kidnapped in the middle of the night and ending up in a dark room with your estranged siblings, it does "grab" you, but I just kept trying to decide if any of them really understood what was at stake.  Once the book got rolling, though, I'm pretty sure I read it in about 4 days because there was never a place to stop and leave these folks ... I HAD to see what was going to happen next!!!  

Thumbs up for this one, and actually anything my by good buddy!!

Four headstrong siblings must satisfy their father's dying demands--or risk losing his fortune. Let the clash of wills begin.

Charleston blue blood Clayton Wilcott "got religion" late in life; so late, it turns out his kids never took to it. So he's left a provisional will delivered in a highly unorthodox way.
Now they're going to have to honor Daddy's commandments from beyond the grave--for a full year--or be cut off from their substantial inheritances.The scent of wisteria lingers in the air as the four spoiled Wilcotts battle for their birthright. Told in Denise Hildreth's trademark blend of humor and heart, this Southern tale is about learning to love, learning to live, and learning to bend.

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(picture and description from amazon.com)

O:)
Melissa