Beyond the Silence by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse Review

 

Beyond the Silence is the second book I have read that is a collaberation between Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse. Let's just say, I loved it. What an awesome story. It drew me in from the first line and wouldn't let go. It's one of those books where I have to shake myself back to reality when I am forced to put the book down.

This book is told from five different viewpoints. Lillian Porter, who has come out west to California against her grandfather's wishes to take a job as a nanny. Woodward Colton (or Woody) is the man who hired her to watch his son. He has been alone for a year, since his wife's murder. All alone except for his housekeeper, Mrs. Goodman, one of the only people in the area that believes he is innocent of his wife's murder. Jimmy Colton is Woody's mute son who hasn't spoken since he witnessed his mother being murdered. Darwin Longstreet is the villain in the story whom we meet quite early. And Harry is his brother who is slow yet full of innocence and love and loyalty.

There was a good amount of suspense in the story, even though we knew who the nefarious villain was. Faith played an important role in the story. Good reminders against gossip and listening to rumors, and reminders to show love.

And this was a story where someone was wrongfully accused, which I recently discovered is a trope that will grab my attention and not let because I need to see justice come about. It sure tugged on my heart to see the way Woody was being treated, and how that affected all in his family, even the newly arrived Lillian. Another part that touched my heart was how Harry was being treated.

I grew to love these main characters, except for Darwin who I loathed. Yes, loathed. I wasn't a huge fan of quite a few of the townsfolk because of their treatment of Woody.

I loved the twists in the story. There were some things that I anticipated, but quite a few that I did not. The authors brought everything together wonderfully, leaving no loose ends.

It's a wonderful story that I highly recommend.

Dreams on the Horizon by Penny Zeller Review

 

Oh I absolutely LOVED being able to read Mae's story. Mae was first introduced in book one of the series, Over the Horizon. She is the adopted daughter of Paisley and her husband, Tyler, along with Lucy and Albert. Some time has gone by since the first book. The three adopted children have grown and we get to see what they are doing with their lives, plus Paisley and Tyler, who we now know as Mr. and Mrs. Shepherson, had two other children, Ruby and Timothy.

The town of Horizon, Idaho is growing and a spur of the railroad is being built through Horizon onto the next town. Some in Horizon welcome it, other are hesitant, and still others downright disapprove of it. 

Mae Shepherson is the female protagonist in this story. She is blessed to be working at a school for the deaf. The male protagonist is Landon Bennick the son of the owner of the railroad company, and he is here in town to convince the townspeople that the railroad will be a benefit and not a detriment to their town and their way of life. 

Mae and Landon meet, spend time together and become friends as they get to know each other, and each is wondering if there may be something more. But, will a relationship even be possible. They are from different worlds. And he works for the railroad and has to travel a lot. I sure was rooting for their relationship as I came to love their characters. I wanted to see them overcome the obstacles that came their way. Some of which were quite nail-biting events. However, though there is some suspense, the story is just a sweet, historical romance, with lots of fun and faith. I love how important faith is in Penny Zeller's stories. The characters have situations they need to work through, and they grow in their faith. 

I love that the author has done her research and has made the late 1800's come to life. In fact, she even included some situations that she discovered happened in real life. And she included an adorable dog named Beans.

I just loved this book and can't wait until the third book releases. Definitely a book and series I highly recommend. 

I received an ecopy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

Friday Fun - June 21, 2024

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with three different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays, the Friday 56, and First Line Friday.

This week I have two books to share with you.

I am reading an ARC of Dreams on the Horizon by Penny Zeller as a member of the launch team. This book releases next Tuesday. 

I'm also reading an ARC of The Women of Wynton's by Donna Mumma as a member of the launch team. This.book releases on July 1st.

  

        Book Beginnings on Friday     

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

and

First Line Friday

(Please join C arrie for First Line Friday.)

Here are my Book Beginnings/First Line Friday selections:

  Dreams on the Horizon by Penny Zeller:

"Sometimes the Lord answered multiple prayers all at once."

That's an encouraging beginning.

The Women of Wynton's by Donna Mumma

"Reserved for Audrey Penault 

Wynton's Department Store

Violators Will Be Towed

Oh, how this sign set the bees a-buzzing in the wives' and mothers' bonnets in Levy City-that and her shiny new 1955 Thunderbird convertible parked beneath it.

Just who is this Audrey and why does she have a special parking spot. 

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is normally hosted over at Freda's Voice. But Anne from My Head is Full of Books is taking over for a while. 

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here are my Friday 56 selections:

Dreams on the Horizon by Penny Zeller:
 

"Father said nothing, but Landon had a differeent view of things. He promoted safety first, and with the building of the railroad being dangerous at times, he was content with the men moving slower in areas of hazardous terrain, times of inclement wather, and situations where dynamite was used for the construction of tunnels."

Coal Black Lies by Cindy K. Sproles:

"'When he came to me, I told him I didn't have time to notice anything during the show because I was too busy trying to keep my girls from getting squirrely,' Mary Jo added. 'If I had known there was a dead girl in there, I would have grabbed my babies and run home, party dresses and all.'"

Reviews:

Last week I shared two books in my Friday Fun post. Here are the reviews:

Because of You by Hannah Currie

Coal Black Lies by Cindy K. Sproles

Coal Black Lies by Cindy K. Sproles Review

 

Coal Black Lies is the second book I have read by Cindy Sproles and I loved it.

It is rare that I find a book that has a male as the protagonist that doesn't also have the female point of view. But this book was told in first person, from only Joshua's point of view.

He is a man in depair, contemplating suicide (not a spoiler as it is the first line of the book, and I figured some may want the trigger warning), grieving the loss of his only child several years earlier. His wife and he have drifted apart, instead of being there for each other. He has so much rage and hatred and the need for revenge flowing through his veins. All of this is directed toward the Barton's who own the mine where he used to slave away, along with the "Company Store," the only place the mine workers can shop. The owners are power hungry and greedy and he has had enough.

But then a innocent, pure-minded, abandoned, little girl enters their lives and their lives are changed.
Who is this girl? Will they be able to protect her from the evil mine owners? Or does she belong one of them? There are a series of tragedies and near tragedies, hooded figures, and mysteries to figure out. But through it all, Joshua finds that God is working on his heart. But will he be stubborn and remain in his hate-filled ways, or will he allow God to teach him forgiveness and love?

I have to say, Joshua's inner thoughts kept me wondering who he and his wife Raney should trust. Would they make the right decision or be betrayed? I was right there with him trying to figure it out, and the author really did throw in some twists I did not see coming, just like our main characters and their few friends.

An awesome book that I highly recommend.

I received a copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

Because of You by Hannah Currie Review

 

I was recently introduced to Hannah Curries books when I was on the review team for the first book in her Daughters of Peverall series. When I learned she had written a book that focused on a mission trip I was quite intrigued. Yes, it is different than a princess book, but Because of You is an awesome story. It is geared to young adults, but it is also great for adults to read, especially if one has an interest in missions.

I loved reading about Chloe's trip, especially knowing that the author had gone on a mission trip to Thailand when she was a teenager, and she had included some true-life moments. Seeing some of the preparation Chloe and her team had gone through, in memories, as the story begins when they are on their way to Thailand was quite intriguing. The majority of the story, however, focused on the time the teens are in Thailand working at a refuge for girls. The reader gets to see the hardships that the team dealt with, the sacrifices they made, and the friendships they made with the girls. Such a hard thing to think of the fact that there are girls out there being sold by their families into a life of slavery, girls who end up in brothels, girls who have no hope. Because while there were true orphans in this refuge, there were also ones who were considered orphans as their families didn't want them or couldn't take care of them. But the hope we see through the caretakers of the refuge, knowing there are people out there with the heart for helping these girls, was very moving.

At the same time, we also see how Chloe grows spiritually through this experience. Though her faith is strong already, she still has things she struggles with, don't we all, and it was encouraging to see her turn to the Lord for strength.

I truly enjoyed this book, even though it isn't the usual type of story I read. It was very encouraging, and even entertaining with some awesomely hilarious scenes in among the more serious scenes. And I felt I learned a bit about the culture of Thailand as well.

Definitely a book I recommend.

I received an e-copy of this book as a member of the launch team and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.

Friday Fun - June 14, 2024

Welcome to my Friday Fun post. This is where I share with three different book parties that post on Fridays: Book Beginnings on Fridays, the Friday 56, and First Line Friday.

This week I have two books to share with you.

I am reading Because of You by Hannah Currie.

I also just started reading an ARC of Coal Black Lies by Cindy K Sproles as a member of the launch team. This.book releases next Tuesday.

        Book Beginnings on Friday     

(Please join Gilion Dumas for Book Beginnings every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author's name.)

and

First Line Friday

(Please join C arrie for First Line Friday.)

Here are my Book Beginnings/First Line Friday selections:

  Because of You by Hannah Currie:

"This would be the summer that changed my life forever."

Well, that sounds like it could be a positive start to this book.Anticipation. Unless life is going to change in a bad way. 

Coal Black Lies by Cindy K. Sproles:

"I stood rubbing the cool gun barrel over the stubble on my jaw."

For some reason my first thought went to some scruffy looking outlaw looking all menacing. But then I thought it could be more depressing, like someone was contemplating using the gun on themselves. 

Now for:

The Friday 56

The Friday 56 is normally hosted over at Freda's Voice. But Anne from My Head is Full of Books is taking over for a while. 

Rules:

*Grab a book, any book.
*Turn to page 56 or 56% in your eReader
(If you have to improvise, that's ok.)
 *Find any sentence, (or few, just don't spoil it) that grab you.
*Post it.
*Add your (url) post below in Linky. Add the post url, not your blog url. It's that simple.

Here are my Friday 56 selections:

Because of You by Hannah Currie:
 

"Later, I promised the paths, as if they could hear my adventure-loving heart. I meandered back along the one path I knew, following the sound of women chatting to where Robin and Emily were sorting the food they'd purchased during our unexpected bus detour. If there was any semblance of organization to the process, I couldn't tell at first glance."

Coal Black Lies by Cindy K. Sproles:

"Manny mounted his horse. 'I'll keep my ears open for anything out of the ordinary. If I stay gone much longer, they'll suspect something. You'll be back end of the week?'
'If all goes well.' I nodded.
'I'll meet up with you then. Until then, I'm your eyes and ears on the inside.' Manny shook my hand. 'I wish I could travel with you.'
'Just keep things under your hat. Barton can't know what's going on. And. . . ' I paused.."

Reviews:

Last week I shared two books in my Friday Fun post. I didn't get my reviews posted for them yet, I'm actually not finished the one, but here is my review for The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron. 

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron

The British Booksellers by Kristy Cambron Review

 

Okay, so, I WANTED to love this book. I mean, it has dual timelines. It delves into both WWI and WWII, two timelines that I have come to love reading about. There is a focus on the two bookstores, one run by Charlotte Holt and the other by Amos Darby who have this little "war" going on between the bookshops, instead of the bookstore they had once dreamed have having together. There is a second chance love story (definitely wouldn't classify it as enemies to lovers). Charlotte, an earl's daughter, and Amos, a tenant farmer were close as children, and had fallen in love once upon a time, back before WWI. Though they wouldn't admit the reality of that love as they knew a relationship would never be able to happen in that world. Charlotte indeed was wed to a man she didn't care for, a man who sort of had it in for Amos, partially because he was jealous of the relationship Charlotte and Amos had. During the WWII timeline, Charlotte has remained a war widow and Amos has been living as a recluse.

Though there IS also another love story developing that could possibly be considered “enemies to lovers,” as Jacob Cole, a solicitor from America, has come to England with a lawsuit that will impact their lives, especially that of Eden, Charlotte’s daughter. Yet he remains in England to help out and a relationship starts to develop between him and Eden.

I do love that as we go back and forth between timelines their history is slowly revealed and we see how it has impacted their present.

I loved learning more about WWII. One of the reasons I have started enjoying historical fiction so much is I get to learn things I don't remember learning about in school. I had never heard of the Coventry Blitz though I've learned that it was the "single most concentrated attack on a British city" during WWII. And there were Land Girls who came from London to help on the estate, several ladies who we hear about from time to time in the story, some of whom played a more important role than others.

There is also what seems to be an insignificant side story during the time Amos is a soldier during WWI that ends up playing an intriguing part in the story.

I would have to say my rating is really between a 3 and a 4. I didn't want to give such a low rating, but one of the things that will bring my rating down is if the book can not keep my attention and I struggle with wanting to pick it up, plus having trouble struggling to comprehend what I am reading without reading it over and over again to make it make sense.

But I also didn't care for the fact that the whole lawsuit angle of the story didn't really have a satisfactory conclusion. In addition to the fact that it sometimes popped up during the story, as if the author went, oh right, there was supposed to be a lawsuit going on here. That lawsuit didn't really have the strength behind it that the blurb made it out to be.

All in all, I did enjoy this story, it just took me so long to finish it and I had trouble focusing on it. And I can’t really pinpoint why. I will say my attention was grabbed a bit more about halfway through the story. And I loved some of the details that were revealed.

I received an e-copy of this book through NetGalley and was not required to write a favorable review. These are my own honest thoughts.