Pursuing Gold by Cynthis Simmons

Pursuing Gold (Elk Lake, October 2016)

With his father dead and his business partner incapacitated, Peter Chandler inherits the leadership of a bank in economic crisis.

With only a newly-minted college degree and little experience, Peter joins his partner’s daughter, Mary Beth Roper, in a struggle to keep C&R Bank afloat while the Civil War rages around Chattanooga. Political pressure for unsecured loans of gold to the government stirs up trouble as tempers and prices rise. Their problems multiply when Mary Beth discovers counterfeit money with Peter’s forged signature. Can they find the forger before the bank fails? The two friends must pursue gold on behalf of their business, as they learn to pursue their heavenly Father to find hope and peace.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT CYNTHIA SIMMONS}

Cynthia L Simmons and her husband, Ray, have five children and reside in Atlanta. She has taught for over thirty years as a homeschool mother and Bible teacher. She’s a columnist for Leading Hearts Magazine and she directs Atlanta Christian Writing Conference. Cyndi has a heart for encouraging women in today’s crazy, upside-down world. She loves history and peppers her speaking and teaching with fascinating vignettes from the past. Her first book, “Struggles and Triumphs,” was nominated for 2008 Georgia Author of the Year. She co-founded Homeschool Answers and hosts Heart of the Matter Radio.

Find out more about Cynthia at http://clsimmons.com.

My take: Historical Fiction, Romance and a mystery what more could a person want in a book.  This book takes the story of two people who are thrown into a situation during the war where they are trying to remain neutral.  They also have the mystery of who is forging Peter's signature.  The title means more than just the pursuit of wealth.  I really didn't like the cover and like it or not the cover plays a big part in how I feel about a book at first.  This cover did not invite me to pick up the book.  If I were to see this book in a bookstore or library I probably would not pick it up.  But in this case the saying "Don't judge a book by it's cover" really did prove to be true as the book was really good and I would recommend this book if you like historical fiction especially if you like the Civil War era.  

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Getaway with God by Letitia Suk

Getaway with God (Kregel, November 2016)

What if a simple day away could transform your life?

Does spending time with God sound like just one more thing to check off an ever-increasing to-do list? How are you supposed to fit in anything that threatens to be more time-consuming? Too often there’s simply no room to experience the intimacy, grace, and peace that God offers us.

Getaway with God does more than invite you to step away from life’s pressures to take a personal retreat. It shows you exactly why you must–for your sake and for your family’s.

With grace and warmth, Letitia Suk provides step-by-step guidance and the necessary tools to enable any woman on any budget to plan time away, whether it’s a quick, half-day break or a weeklong time of restoration. You’ll find detailed steps for preparation, including descriptions of different kinds of retreats and how to choose the best one for you, and you’ll learn ways to bring the renewal you experience home with you. Practical appendixes identify retreat centers nationwide and provide exercises and prayers to kick-start your getaway with God.

No matter what your season in life, the time for retreat is now!

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT LETITIA SUK}

Letitia invites women to chase the Intentional life. She writes and speaks of God’s renewal and restoration and offers platters of hope to women in each season of life. Tish is also a personal retreat guide and life coach in the Chicago area and moonlights as a hospital chaplain. You might run into her walking by Lake Michigan, browsing resale shops, or making up a new tradition. She blogs at hopeforthebest.org and is also the author of “Rhythms of Renewal.”

Find out more about Letitia at http://www.letitiasuk.com.

My Take:  This book has given me the desire to plan my own Getaway with God.  Since I am disabled and can't get away from home as easily., I plan on trying to dedicate one day a month to use the whole day dedicated to my get away with God.  This book gives solid plans on how to schedule and conduct your own personal retreat with God.  It also gives you ideas on what to do depending on what you want to accomplish with your retreat.  I would highly recommend this book if you want to build a closer relationship with God by dedicating time alone with just you and Him.  

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Getaway with God giveaway

Do you need a day away from busyness and stress to transform your life? Schedule a day and learn how to make the most of your time of refreshment with Letitia Suk's new book, Getaway with God. You’ll find detailed steps for preparation, including descriptions of different kinds of retreats and how to choose the best one for you, and you’ll learn ways to bring the renewal you experience home with you. Practical appendixes identify retreat centers nationwide and provide exercises and prayers to kick-start your getaway with God.

Get ready for your own getaway with God by entering to win a travel bag set from Letitia.

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Getaway with God
• A Vera Bradley XL Duffel Travel Bag
• A Vera Bradley Cosmetic Trio

 

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on December 16. The winner will be announced December 19 on the Litfuse blog.

The Lost Diaries of Elizabeth Cady Stanton by Sarah Bates

From Goodreads.com: Johnstown, New York, 1823: It is a time when a wife’s dowry, even children, automatically becomes her husband’s property. Slavery is an economic advantage entrenched in America but rumblings of abolition abound. 
For Elizabeth Cady to confront this culture is unheard of, yet that is exactly what she does. Before she can become a leader of the women's rights movement and prominent abolitionist, she faces challenges fraught with disappointment. Her father admires her intellect but says a woman cannot aspire to the goals of men. Her sister’s husband becomes her champion–but secretly wants more. Religious fervor threatens to consume her. As she faces depression and despair, she records these struggles and other dark confidences in diaries. When she learns the journals might fall into the wrong hands and discredit her, she panics and rips out pages of entries that might destroy her hard-fought reputation. Relieved, she believes they are lost to history forever.
But are they? Travel with Elizabeth into American history and discover a young woman truly ahead of her time. 

My Take:This book is very good as it tells the story of Elizabeth Cady Stanton who along with Susan B. Anthony was very instrumental in getting the 19th Amendment passed.  She lived during a time when women were not given the same opportunities that men had and without her it might be the same way today.  History doesn't really tells us much about Elizabeth as she is outshown by Susan.  But if it wasn't for Elizabeth and many others Susan B. Anthony wouldn't have been able to do what she did.  

I was given a review copy in exchange for my honest reeview by Virtual Author Book Tours.  

The Remnant by Monte Wolverson

The Remnant (Plain Truth Ministries, August 2016)

In the year 2069 the Apocalypse came and went, but Jesus didn’t show up, as some expected.

Instead, a cataclysmic war, natural disasters and pandemics eradicated 90 percent of earth’s population. Now, in 2131, a totalitarian government rules the world from the majestic, opulent capitol of Carthage, Tunisia. Blamed for igniting the war, religion and religious books are banned. Citizens who will not renounce their religion are sent to work camps.

Grant Cochrin, imprisoned in a bleak petroleum camp in what was once North Dakota, leads his family and friends to escape and embark on a long, dangerous quest for a Christian community. Their resource in this journey? A cherished page torn from the now banished Bible—a remnant of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount handed down from Grant’s grandparents.

What if there were an Apocalypse and Jesus didn’t return? What if the survivors found themselves living in a world ruled by a totalitarian government, where religion is forbidden and all religious texts have been destroyed?

In The Remnant, award-winning author Monte Wolverton tells the tale of a band of concentration camp escapees who trek through the lawless American wilderness on a quest for authentic Christianity, only to come face to face with an unthinkable dilemma. The Remnant is a fast-paced story punctuated with dry satire, memorable characters and hard questions about religious institutions.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT MONTE WOLVERTON}

Monte Wolverton is an award-winning author and syndicated editorial cartoonist. He is associate editor of CWR magazine. He is an ordained minister and holds a MA from Goddard College in Vermont. Along with his wife Kaye, he makes his home in southwest Washington State.

Find out more about Monte at https://www.ptm.org/uni/resources/order/form_remnant.php.

My take:  I have always liked fiction that asks what would happen for the future.  I did enjoy this book to a point but I had a bit of a problem keeping my attention with this book.  I did enjoy learning various facts about different leaders.  Since the main characters had grown up when the Bible was outlawed and all Bibles were destroyed.  They just had one part of a page of the Bible so they escaped the work camp they were in and went looking for a group of Christians.  They meet different types of people along the way and continued on to find a group of Christians they felt comfortable with.  There was a bit of action and not a graphic violence.  I would recommend this book if you Last Days fiction and in you like wondering what might happen. 

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion. 

Where Two Hearts Meet by Liz Johnson

From Goodreads.com :  Evocative Contemporary Romance Set in a Charming Inn on Beautiful Prince Edward Island 
In her kitchen at the Red Door Inn, executive chef Caden Holt is calm, collected, and competent. But when her boss asks her to show off their beautiful island to impress a visiting travel writer and save the inn, Caden is forced to face a world much bigger than her kitchen--and a man who makes her wish she was beautiful. 
Journalist Adam Jacobs is on a forced sabbatical on Prince Edward Island. He's also on assignment to uncover a story. Instead he's falling in love with the island's red shores and Caden's sweets. 
When Caden discovers Adam isn't who she thought he was, she realizes that the article he's writing could do more than ruin the inn's chances for survival--it might also break her heart. 
Readers will discover hope for the hurting, joy for the broken, and romance for the lonely at the enchanting Red Door Inn

My Take: This is the second in the Red Door Inn series.  I did not read the first book and was able to enjoy this book fine but I will be going back to the first book because I want to learn more about this cozy little bed and breakfast.  Caden is a great main character.  She is shy and is trying to prove herself as a chef.  Don't read this book on an empty stomach as it will have you craving all sorts of different food.  I liked Adam is a good main character also.  I thought he should be upfront with Caden but it did help with the tension that he wasn't at first.  Nice contemporary Christian romance. 

I received a review copy by the publisher in exchange for my honest review.  

The Redical Book for Kids by Champ Thornton

he Radical Book for Kids (New Growth Press, October 2016)

A kid-sized explorer’s guide to faith and life

The Radical Book for Kids is a fun-filled explorer’s guide to the Bible, church history, and life for boys and girls age 8 and up. Along with examining some of the most exciting realities in the universe, the handbook is vibrantly illustrated and chock-full of fun facts and ideas. Deep truths are communicated to elementary and middle-school aged kids while stimulating their curiosity and sense of adventure within a gospel-centered framework.

This power-packed book is “radical” in more ways than you might think! It is “radical” in the sense of the original meaning of the word, “going to the root or origin.” The Radical Book for Kids will take children on a fascinating journey into the ancient roots of the Christian faith. But it’s also “radical” in the more modern sense of being revolutionary. Kids read about men and women who learned to trust Jesus and stand for him—displaying radical faith—even when everything seemed against them.

But The Radical Book for Kids is also “radical”—meaning fun or cool—in the eyes of a child. Kids read about ancient weapons (and how to make one), learn about jewels, create pottery, discover ancient languages, use secret codes, locate stars, tell time using the sun, play a board game that’s 3,000 years old—and more.

Check out the table of contents, skip around, or read straight through. However a child chooses to explore it, The Radical Book for Kids will open new vistas for their imagination and help to make straight paths for their feet.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT CHAMP THORNTON}

Champ Thornton grew up in the Carolinas. He is presently an associate pastor at Ogletown Baptist Church in Newark, Delaware. Beginning in 2003, he pastored in South Carolina and later served as director of SOMA, a ministry training school in Columbus, Ohio. Champ is also the author of “God’s Love: A Bible Storybook,” and of Bible curriculum for early and upper elementary-aged children.

Find out more about Champ at http://www.champthornton.com.

My Take:  I cannot wait till by granddaughters are old enough to go through this book with them.  This will be a great book to have side by side when reading the Bible to help with any questions they may have.  This book take tough theological ideas and puts them into language that a child can understand.  This book is good for both Parents and kids to look through together.  Parents may even learn somethings, I know that I did.  It is a good quality book that should hold up to alot of handling.  I wish that I had this book when I was homeschooling.  Great resource.  

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. 

Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post.

Trust My Heart (Waterfall Press, October 2016)

Grant McAllister arrives in Murphy, North Carolina, with one aim: to sell his inherited property and leave as quickly as possible.

The big-city lawyer has no interest in his late, estranged grandparents or the dilapidated mansion he just acquired. After his high-profile divorce, he should be avoiding perky reporters, too. But Jami Carlisle is honest, funny, and undeniably appealing.

After breaking up with her safe-but-smothering boyfriend, Jami is determined to ace her first big assignment. A story about the McAllister estate is too intriguing to ignore—much like its handsome, commitment-phobic heir. Thanks to her digging, the pieces of Grant’s fraught family history are gradually fitting into place, but also upending all his old beliefs.

The two draw closer as they share their dreams, until misread signals and misunderstandings begin to test their trust. But in the unspoiled beauty of the Smoky Mountains, there’s healing and forgiveness to be found. And for Grant, this unplanned detour may be just what’s needed to finally guide him home…

Learn more and purchase a copy.

{MORE ABOUT CAROL J. POST}

From medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special-events decorating company, Carol J. Post’s résumé reads as if she hasn’t yet decided what she wants to be when she grows up. But one thing that has remained constant through the years is her love of writing. She started as a child composing poetry for family and friends, then graduated to articles for religious and children’s publications. Now she pens fun, fast-paced inspirational romance and romantic suspense stories. Her books have been nominated for an RT Reviewers’ Choice Best Book award and selected as an RT Top Pick. When Carol isn’t writing, she enjoys sailing, hiking, camping—almost anything outdoors. She also plays the piano and sings with her music-minister husband. Their two grown daughters and their grandkids live too far away for her liking, so she now pours all her nurturing into taking care of a fat and sassy black cat and a highly spoiled dachshund.

Find out more about Carol J. at http://caroljpost.com.

My Take: I haven't read a book by this author before but I think I will be looking for books by her in the future.  Both of our main Characters Grant and Jamie were flawed because of past relationships.  Jamie turned to God for her strength whereas Grant relied on himself which cost him alot in the long run.  I felt like there was a bit of instalove which can be a turnoff especially in a contemporary fiction book.  This was a good clean romance and I did like the story.  Recommend this if you like contemporary romance and don't mind the instalove. 

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review.  

$75 Cozy Cash Giveaway

Will an unplanned detour finally guide Grant home and find love with an honest, funny, and undeniably appealing reporter named Jami? Find out in a heartwarming romance by Carol J. Post, Trust My Heart. Grant McAllister arrives in Murphy, North Carolina, with one aim: to sell his inherited property and leave as quickly as possible. After breaking up with her safe-but-smothering boyfriend, Jami is determined to ace her first big assignment. A story about the McAllister estate is too intriguing to ignore—but as the two draw closer as they share their dreams, misread signals and misunderstandings begin to test their trust.

Join Carol in celebrating the release of Trust My Heart by entering to win her $75 Cozy Cash Giveaway.

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Trust My Heart
• A $75 Visa cash card
• A basket full of goodies made in North Carolina to keep you cozy in the cooler fall weather

 

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on November 23. The winner will be announced November 28 on Carol's blog.

Christmas Novella Collection.