A Hopeful Heart by Amy Clipston

A Hopeful Heart is the first book in a new series called  

"Hearts of the Lancaster Grand Hotel". 

When Hannah finds herself a young widow, she tries to help support her family by working housekeeping at a local hotel. Although her Mother in law is against her having a job outside the home (it's not typical for Amish women) ,She really enjoys her job and co-workers. 

When she begins to befriend a male guest, Trey, who has suffered similar losses, she learns the difficulties and reasons why the Amish prefer to keep to themselves and not become involved in the English world.  Hannah and her Brother in law,Joshua,have been working together to keep the farm going, but when  Hannah starts including Trey in her life outside the hotel, Hannah is seen as trouble and the trouble starts to affect her children.

To complicate the situation, Joshua is in love with Hannah. When she finally realizes that, she is also falling for Trey. Through many trials, Hannah finds herself in the midst of a difficult situation which could affect her whole family. Her choices could cause her to be shunned and to lose family members if she follows her heart to leave with Trey. She loves Joshua, but feels more of a friend to him and a way to keep her husbands memory alive. How will she make the right choice? What IS the right choice for her and her family?

MY THOUGHTS:

This book is a great read! I again found myself reading late into the night because I couldn't put it down. My sleep pattern is losing out to great books!  I felt this book to be a very realistic view of life, love and choices. Whether you are Amish or not, there are decisions we make every day that affect not only us, but those around us. In this book, we find a balance of both sides of the choices Hannah must make. I enjoyed the characters throughout. I found myself liking some of them and disliking others. Although the Mother in law seemed to be more on the manipulative side, I'm sure that by seeing it from her side we would find her heart and reasoning. Amish life seems to be rooted in very strict rules that they are supposed to follow without question, which would be the side of the Mother in law. Hannah is choosing to follow her heart and see what God has for her, whether it's to stay or go she will follow God. I love how there are discussion questions in the back. This would make a great book for a book club. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars. I highly recommend it , and already looking forward to book two of this series.

You can find this book at amazon.com

Disclosure: I received a print copy of this book from booksneeze.com in order to do my review. No other compensation was given. My reviews are always honest and my opinions are my own.

Hidden Under Her Heart

Hidden Under Her Heart

by Rachelle Ayala

      Hidden Under Her Heart is a book about choices. The choices we make, and those made for us due to circumstance. In the book, we follow Maryanne as she is attempting to make changes in her life. She wants to move from her life of bad choices in men and sex, to a life where she has a man committed to her and to marriage. She decides to abstain from sex and focus on other things. She starts to date a man named Lucas, who could be that man. One night after a fight with Lucas, she finds herself at a party at a local church, and drinking. That night she is raped. Her boyfriend is accused, and she has to go about clearing his name. They go through many trials as they work to find the truth. Maryanne considers abortion feeling because of her past it would be the best. Lucas is dead set against abortion and works at trying to change her mind. There is trouble following them both as they try and figure out who the father is, and how to prove Lucas is not the rapist. As we follow their journey together and as individuals, we watch them learn about loving themselves and forgiveness. 

      Although abortion is at the center of the book, I feel the story was, as a whole, more about forgiveness and a search for truth. Through characters who show up at the right time, we learn about courage and strength. We find the sole truth to be that of Christ dying for our sins. We learn how God can use any situation to bring us to him and there is where truth is. We see that even when situations seem hopeless, he is there and will see us through. Although to me the story started out a little slow, the more I read the more I realized I was wrong. It was a heartwarming plot, good truth and a good look at how our choices affect our lives and future choices. A very good read!

You can learn more about the book and the author by checking out her website at http://www.rachelleayala.com

Also find her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/rachelleayalawriter

      

       

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

The Chance

The Chance

by Karen Kingsbury

• Christian Fiction
• my rating is 5 out of 5 stars

       Summary:

                       This is a story of family and love. When Ellie is a teenager, she and her close friend Nolen talk of the future and marriage. When Ellie learns of her Mom's affair and that her Dad is planning to take her away with him, she panics. 

                        Before leaving, Ellie and Nolen bury letters they have written in a box written to each other, declaring their true feelings. The plan is to return and read them in exactly 11 yrs to the date if they don't meet up before that.

                         Choices are made by everyone involved which cause a multitude of heartache, and life is forever changed. There is a search not only for each other, but for God. They are all driven to a place of forgiveness throughout the story. 

                         It's an amazing journey of seeing how the Lord can work all things for good.

       Review: 

                         As always when reading a Karen Kingsbury book, this book had me in tears. Not only is the story well written, but the message of life, choices and ultimately forgiveness, lies throughout the book and can really touch the readers heart.

                         We find that through anger and trials that God is always with us and uses those around us to bring us home to him. 

                         I have read all of her books, and can truely say that in each one, I can relate to something in it. Her books draw me closer to God and always makes me examine my life and realize any changes that I need to make. Don't miss this wonderful story!

Disclosure: I received only an ebook of this in order to do the review. My opinions are my own and may differ from others.

Direct link to the book on amazon:  http://www.amazon.com/Chance-Novel-Karen-Kingsbury/dp/1451647034/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1357347202&sr=1-1&keywords=the+chance+karen+kingsbury