New Release

These Healing Hills – Ann H. Gabhart

Francine Howard has her life all mapped out–until the man she loves announces his plans to bring home an English bride from war-torn Europe in 1945. Devastated, Francine seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service.

Deeply affected by the horrors he witnessed at war, Ben Locke has never thought further ahead than making it home to Kentucky. His future shrouded in as much mist as his beloved mountains, he’s at a loss when it comes to envisioning what’s next for his life.

When Francine’s and Ben’s paths intersect, it’s immediately clear that they are from different worlds and value different things. But love has a way of healing old wounds . . . and revealing tantalizing new possibilities.

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New Releases – Sept 11 – 16

Dear Readers,

We here at the store are less than a month away from the all day librarian event we host every spring and fall.  If you know any church of public librarians let them know to contact the store for details.

Happy Reading,

Deadly Proof – Rachel Dylan – Tapped as lead counsel in a corporate cover-up lawsuit against Mason Pharmaceutical, Kate Sullivan knows this case could make her career. What really drives her, though, is getting justice for the victims whose lives were ruined by the company’s dangerous new drug. But when a whistle-blower turns up dead, it paints a target on the back of everyone involved.  Former Army Ranger turned private investigator Landon James steps in to handle security for Kate. He’s still haunted by mistakes in his past and is determined never to let something like that happen again. But it soon appears someone is willing to do anything–even commit murder–to keep the case from going to trial.  As danger closes in, Landon can’t help but admire Kate’s courage and resolve–but will her determination not to back down become too great of a risk?

The Space Between Words – Michele Phoenix – When Jessica wakes up in a French hospital on the day after the Paris attacks, she can’t imagine a life unmarred by terror. Though she’s flown to Europe to join her friends on an antiquing road trip to southern France, all she wants in the aftermath of the assault is to return home to Colorado. But her friend Patrick will not let her surrender to the fear. Worn down by his dogged and perplexing insistence, she reluctantly agrees to a modified trip.  They stop for a few days in the village of Gatigny, where Grant and Mona welcome them into their B&B. After buying an antique sewing box at a nearby flea market, Jessica finds a handwritten document and a page from a Huguenot Bible concealed in its hidden compartment. As Grant helps her to translate the archaic French, they uncover the story of Adeline Baillard, a young woman who lived in the village centuries before.

Justice Buried – Patricia Bradley – #2 A Memphis Cold Case – In an effort to get her security consulting business off the ground, Kelsey Allen has been spending a lot of time up in the air, rappelling down buildings and climbing through windows to show business owners their vulnerabilities to thieves. When she is hired to pose as a conservator at the Pink Palace Museum in order to test their security weaknesses after some artifacts go missing, she’s ecstatic. But when her investigative focus turns from theft to murder, Kelsey knows she’s out of her league–and possibly in the cross hairs. When blast-from-the-past Detective Brad Hollister is called in to investigate, Kelsey may find that he’s the biggest security threat yet . . . to her heart.

The Proving – Beverly Lewis – After five years as an Englisher, Amanda Dienner is shocked to learn her mother has passed away and left her Lancaster County’s most popular Amish bed-and-breakfast. What’s more, the inn will only truly be hers if Mandy can successfully run it for twelve months. Reluctantly, Mandy accepts the challenge, no matter that it means facing the family she left behind–or that the inn’s clientele expect an Amish hostess! Can Mandy fulfill the terms of her inheritance? Or will this prove a dreadful mistake?

Friday fun

I visit my friends everyday.

Book Club

Dear Readers,

As we wrap up Maggie Bright I thought again about all the men and women who fought to save those trapped on the coast of France.  I went looking into some facts and to be honest I wish I had more time to look into it.

One thing I did not know a lot about was the “Halt Order.”  This has been on of those things the Germans did that is still debated today.  It is also what allowed the 330,000 troops to be rescued.  The debate is who made the order and why did Hitler okay it?

This is from Wikipedia – “In one of the most debated decisions of the war, the Germans halted their advance on Dunkirk. Contrary to popular belief, what became known as the “Halt Order” did not originate with Adolf Hitler. Generalfeldmarschall (Field Marshals) Gerd von Rundstedt and Günther von Kluge suggested that the German forces around the Dunkirk pocket should cease their advance on the port and consolidate to avoid an Allied breakout. Hitler sanctioned the order on 24 May with the support of the Oberkommando der Wehrmacht (OKW). The army was to halt for three days, which gave the Allies sufficient time to organise the Dunkirk evacuation and build a defensive line. Despite the Allies’ gloomy estimates of the situation, with Britain even discussing a conditional surrender to Germany, in the end more than 330,000 Allied troops were rescued.”

But I guess that is why I continue to read Historical books, to learn new things about our past.  Was there anything new you learned from Maggie Bright?

Happy Reading,

 

Endings

Dear Readers,

I got a roundabout question for you.

I had the privilege to read an advanced copy of an author friend’s book.  I really liked the book just because of the issues the book brought to light.  It was one of those books that you wrestle with the whole way through.

The characters were not at all likeable.  The “hero” was definitely a what is called an anti-hero.  One that you really want to like, but you find you can’t.  He tried to do good, but because of who he was, it was usually undone by his other actions.

I got done with the book and let the author know I that finished and what I thought of it.  (all good)  The author let me know there was a different ending to the book and was I interested in reading it.  I said yes of course even though I am not one who goes to websites to read ultranet endings, personally I usually hate them.  (That is just me) But in this case because I know the author I was intrigued as to what they really wanted the ending to be and why the editor asked the author to change it.

What I found was a ending that I loved even more.  It was not the wrapped up everyone was a little better type ending.  This book was not going to have an happily ever after ending anyways, but the original ending was dark and did not have the positive spin on it the finished/edited one had.  I would say that the original ending was more unsettling.  It left me much more uncomfortable with the story than the finished/edited ending did.  It also left that feeling that a book with a great ending leaves you – satisfaction.  The ending fit the story and the characters.

So here is the question.  Which ending would you prefer?  The one that the editor said it had to have – where the characters have shown growth.  Or the one that is a bit darker and there may or maynot be a settling of the issues from the book.  Do you like characters growth?  Does the bad guy need to have feelings of remorse?

I read one of Randy Alcorn books, and no I don’t remember which one so maybe if you know Randy Alcorn you can ask him, one of his evil bad guys actually ends up in Hell at the end of his storyline.  But instead of remorse he is still fighting it.  It is one of the most chilling scenes I have ever read.  Fit the storyline, fit the character and made me really think about the ending of that story.

So which is better?  I am not sure there is an answer to that question, but I am not  sure I could handle endings like Randy’s every time.

Happy Reading,

Cindy Sproles

Liar’s Winter – Cindy Sproles

The choices you make determine who you are. No no mark.”

Lochiel  (pronounced Low-kill) Ogle was born with a red-wine birthmark–and it put her life in jeopardy from the moment she entered the world. Mountain folks called it “the mark of the devil,” and for all the evil that has plagued her nineteen-year existence, Lochiel is ready to believe that is true. And the evil surely took control of the mind of the boy who stole her as an infant, bringing her home for his mother to raise.

Abused and abandoned by the only people she knows as family, Lochiel is rescued by a peddler and given the first glimpse of love she has ever known. The truth of her past is gradually revealed as is the fact that she is still hunted by a brother driven to see her dead. Unsure if there’s anyone she can truly trust, Lochiel is faced with a series of choices: Will she continue to run for escape or will she face her past and accept the heartbreaking secrets it reveals? Which will truly free her?

New Releases Sept. 3 – 9

Dear Readers,

September is a great month for new books.  I guess publishers figure after summer we all need something to do.  You know, because we have sent our kids to school and now have nothing to do.  Hahaha, but don’t worry I will be making time for some of these titles.

Happy Reading,

Many Sparrows – Lori Benton – When settler Clare Inglesby is widowed on a mountain crossing and her young son, Jacob, captured by Shawnees, she’ll do everything in her power to get him back, including cross the Ohio River and march straight into the presence of her enemies deep in Indian country. Frontiersman and adopted Shawnee, Jeremiah Ring, promises to guide Clare through the wilderness and help her recover Jacob.  Once they reach the Shawnees and discover Jeremiah s own Shawnee sister, Rain Crow, has taken custody of Jacob–renaming him Many Sparrows–keeping his promise becomes far more complicated, the consequences more wrenching, than Jeremiah could have foreseen.

Cherished Mercy – Tracie Peterson – #3 Heart of the Frontier – Mercy Flanagan survived the Whitman Massacre as a child, and now her heart’s cry is for peace between the native peoples and the white settlers inhabiting Oregon Territory. Unfortunately, most of the settlers want the tribes removed from the land completely, one way or another.  At the request of family friend Eletta Browning, who is experiencing a difficult pregnancy, Mercy travels south to the Rogue River Valley to help. At the Browning Mission, she meets Eletta’s brother-in-law, Adam. Despite her attempts to befriend him, Adam seems determined to focus on ministering to the local tribes and keeps her at arm’s length. Why is he so intent on pushing her away?  When tragedy strikes and tensions in the territory reach the combustion point, Mercy is pushed to the limit of her strength. She and Adam will have to rely on their faith in God and on each other in order to make it out alive.

These Healing Hills – Ann H. Gabhart – Francine Howard has her life all mapped out–until the man she loves announces his plans to bring home an English bride from war-torn Europe in 1945. Devastated, Francine seeks a fresh start in the Appalachian Mountains, training to be a nurse midwife for the Frontier Nursing Service.  Deeply affected by the horrors he witnessed at war, Ben Locke has never thought further ahead than making it home to Kentucky. His future shrouded in as much mist as his beloved mountains, he’s at a loss when it comes to envisioning what’s next for his life.  When Francine’s and Ben’s paths intersect, it’s immediately clear that they are from different worlds and value different things. But love has a way of healing old wounds . . . and revealing tantalizing new possibilities.

Crown of Souls – Ronie Kendig – # 2 Tox Files – The bullet that rips into Cole “Tox” Russell was never meant to kill. It was meant to send a message. Only one man is skilled enough to have taken the shot, a rogue Special Forces operator who vanished months ago.  Alec King is perhaps the only person as skilled as Tox, and he’s out for justice. Furious with orders that got his men killed, he intends to make those responsible pay. And he insists Tox join him, believing they are the same breed of soldier.   Afraid his old friend could be right, Tox battles a growing darkness within himself as he and his team are forced into another deadly encounter with antiquity. It appears Alec is harnessing the power of a mysterious artifact, a crown that history has linked to some of the worst slaughters in humanity. Racing to stop Alec before his vengeance is unleashed, Tox must fight the monster without becoming one.