Shelterwood by Lisa Wingate Reviewed

About the book:

Title: Shelterwood

Author: Lisa Wingate 

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction, Dual-Time

Oklahoma, 1909. Eleven-year-old Olive Augusta Radley knows that her stepfather doesn’t have good intentions toward the two Choctaw girls boarded in their home as wards. When the older girl disappears, Ollie flees to the woods, taking six-year-old Nessa with her. Together they begin a perilous journey to the rugged Winding Stair Mountains, the notorious territory of outlaws, treasure hunters, and desperate men. Along the way, Ollie and Nessa form an unlikely band with others like themselves, struggling to stay one step ahead of those who seek to exploit them . . . or worse.

Oklahoma, 1990. Law Enforcement Ranger Valerie Boren O’dell arrives at Horsethief Trail National Park seeking a quiet place to balance a career and single parenthood. But no sooner has Valerie reported for duty than she’s faced with local controversy over the park’s opening, a teenage hiker gone missing from one of the trails, and the long-hidden burial site of three children deep in a cave. Val’s quest to uncover the truth wins an ally among the neighboring Choctaw Tribal Police but soon collides with old secrets and the tragic and deadly history of the land itself.

In this emotional and enveloping novel, Lisa Wingate traces the story of children abandoned by the law and the battle to see justice done. Amid times of deep conflict over who owns the land and its riches, Ollie and Val traverse the wild and beautiful terrain, each leaving behind one life in search of another.

Goodreads || Amazon || Barnes & Noble || Random House

My Thoughts

I have been drawn to Lisa Wingate's books since I read Tending Roses years ago. Her book Before We Were Yours is especially dear to me as I'm adopted. In Shelterwood we are introduced once again to children in trouble and the Choctaw nation which added an interesting aspect to the story.

As we meet Olive and Nessa in 1909 my heart is immediately drawn to them. Olive is doing all she can to save her little sister Nessa from the scum of a stepfather they have; then as we move to 1990 we meet Valerie, a park ranger who is as loving and protective as Olive. This book is set in Oklahoma, a place I lived for a short period, and Ms. Wingate uses the history of the Choctaw nation to create a story that will both wreck your heart and encourage your spirit as you learn things in history that should never be forgotten. I loved the historical part which is typical.

Lisa Wingate has a unique ability to tell compelling and heartwrenching stories involving children in danger wrapped in historical timelines, which has made her a go-to author for me. I love learning things while reading, which is probably why historicals are some of my favorite reads; and dual-time lines are the best in my opinion.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book via the publisher. I was not required to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About Lisa Wingate

Lisa Wingate is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller Before We Were Yours, which remained on the NYT Bestseller List for over two years, has been translated into over forty languages worldwide, and has sold more than three million copies. She has penned over thirty novels and coauthored a nonfiction book, Before and After with Judy Christie. Her work has garnered or been nominated for many awards, including the Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, and the Goodreads Choice Award. Her blockbuster hit, Before We Were Yours was Publishers Weekly’s #3 longest-running bestseller of 2017, and was voted by readers as the 2017 Goodreads Choice Award winner for historical fiction.

Lisa lives with her husband in North Texas and Central Colorado.

You can find and interact with Ms. Wingate on the following social media platforms.

Facebook || Instagram || Website

 

These Tangled Threads: A Novel of Biltmore by Sarah Loudin Thomas Reviewed

 

About the book:

Title: These Tangled Threads: A Novel of Biltmore

Author: Sarah Loudin Thomas

Genre: Christian Historical Fiction, Historical Romance

Seven years ago, a hidden betrayal scattered three young friends living in the shadow of Biltmore Estate. Now, when Biltmore Industries master weaver Lorna Blankenship is commissioned to create an original design for Cornelia Vanderbilt's 1924 wedding, she panics knowing she doesn't have the creativity needed. But there's an elusive artisan in the Blue Ridge Mountains who could save her--if only she can find her.

To track the mysterious weaver down, Lorna sees no other way but to seek out the relationships she abandoned in shame. As she pulls at each tangled thread from her old life, Lorna is forced to confront the wounds and regrets of long ago. She'll have to risk the job that shapes her identity as well as the hope of friendship--and love--restored.

In this seamlessly woven historical tale, award-winning Appalachian author Sarah Loudin Thomas delivers a poignant novel of friendship, artistry, restoration, and second chances.

Goodreads || Amazon || Baker Bookhouse

My Thoughts:

This is the first book I've read of Ms. Thomas. I was interested in it because it was based on the Biltmore Estate in Ashville, North Carolina. 

The three main characters this book is based on Lorna, Arthur, and Gentry couldn't be more different. I found Lorna to be an entitled brat even at the end of the book, Arthur was gentle and kind regardless of what was thrown at him, and Gentry had a childlike innocence about her until the end. Gentry's sweetness is what kept me reading. Angus was a damaged soul who just needed to be loved. 

Ms. Thomas did a good job of weaving in the spiritual element; she showed the undeserved forgiveness one of the characters received after the tangled web she created for herself. I can't say much more without giving things away.

Bottom Line: Sarah Loudin Thomas sweeps readers away to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina using all of the reader's senses. They can hear the music, feel the snow on their face, and see the beautiful carvings Arthur makes. Arthur, Gentry, and Angus were my favorite characters.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

                                                    

Home to Heritage Series Cover Reveal

 

Happy Thursday and welcome to Sunrise Publishing's Home to Heritage Series Cover Reveal. I love that Susan May Warren has started this publishing company to bring new and upcoming authors into publication.

Home to HeritageGenre: Small town inspirational contemporary romance book 

1: You’re the Reason(releasing June 25, 2024)Authors: Susan May Warren with Tari FarisBook 

2: Here With Me(releasing September 10, 2024)Authors: Susan May Warren and Tari Faris present Mandy BoermaBook 

3: Christmas With You(releasing October 22, 2024)Authors: Susan May Warren with Tari Faris

Publisher: Sunrise PublishingPre-order sale price: $4.99each(ebook)Retail price after release: $7.99each(ebook)These titles will be available in ebook, print, and audiobook.

Book 1: You're the Reason by Susan May Warren with Tari Faris

       

Book 2: Here With Me Susan May Warren and Tari Faris present Mandy Boerma  

Book 3: Christmas With You

                                           

The Masterpiece Beneath by Lisa Buffaloe Reviewed

 Title: The Masterpiece Beneath

 Author: Lisa Buffaloe

 For decades, Veronika’s past stayed hidden. Yet the repercussions of what was done to her and what she had done continued to ripple through time.

As her secrets come to light, will they destroy those she loves or reveal God’s masterpiece beneath?

Goodreads || Amazon

My Thoughts:

Lisa Buffaloe writes from her heart. No matter how long we've lived on Earth we've all experienced pain. Whether it was caused by our own mistake or someone caused the damage, we still have to heal.

In this novel, we watch Veronika heal and become the masterpiece that Christ intended her to be.

It's a difficult book to read, but I love that Ms. Buffaloe didn't stray away from the difficulty of this book. It's like watching Mary Magdalene meet Christ.

About Lisa Buffaloe

I’m joyfully in love with God, Christ follower, author, and a happily married mom of a young-adult son. I have moved over thirty times, worked in banking, technology, and major computer corporations, traveling the country as a systems analyst.

I’m not a perfect wife, perfect mother, or perfect at anything. I keep a fairly clean house, cook semi-decent meals, and love to write. I’m a real-life woman with real-life problems. I’ve made stupid and sinful mistakes and often traveled down the wrong roads. God never gave up on me, never let go, and He welcomed me home when I stumbled back seeking His grace.

You can find Lisa on the following social media platforms. 

Facebook || Instagram || Twitter(X) || Website

Top Ten Tuesday - Books That Made Great Movies

 

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today's topic is TV Shows or Books that would make amazing movies. I'm going to flip it...books that made amazing movies. For us, bookish people the movie never quite lives up to the amazing book we read. For me, however, these books are spot-on with the book.

The Harry Potter series.

I loved this book. I think I read it twenty times or more. I read it to my girls when I was homeschooling them, and then the movie came out and we bawled all over again.

I haven't seen all of the movies from The Lion, the Witch, and The Wardrobe but the ones I have seen have been spot on. 

Raise your hand, how many of you read this in your high school lit class?? ✋✋ Patrick Swayze was the perfect Darryl!!

I couldn't wait to see this movie and when I did it made me love the book and the story of Hosea even more.

I read this book during my Jr. year of high school and at the end of the semester, we watched the 1974 version with Robert Redford. Then I just liked it because it had Robert Redford in it, now I see how spot-on it was. 

I received a copy of this book from my fourth-grade teacher as a going-away gift when we moved from D.C. to Colorado. I'm not sure when I first saw the movie but even now it still brings back memories of a book embedded in my memories.

Can you think of any movies based on books that stayed true to the story you read? I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Please leave them in the comment section. 

The Ark and the Dove (The Story of Noah's Wife) by Jill Eileen Smith Reviewed

 

About the book:

Title: The Ark and the Dove (The Story of Noah's Wife)

Author: Jill Eileen Smith

Genre: Historical Biblical Christian Fiction

Zara and Noah have walked together with the Creator for their entire lives, and they have done their best in an increasingly wicked and defiant world to raise their three sons to follow in their footsteps. It has been a challenge--and it's about to get much, much harder.

When the Creator tells her husband to build an ark to escape the coming wrath against the sins of humankind, Zara steps out with him in faith. But the derision and sabotage directed their way from both friends and extended family are difficult to bear, as is knowing that everyone she interacts with beyond her husband, her sons, and their wives is doomed to destruction. And when the ark is finally finished and the animals have been shut up inside, Zara and her family embark on an adventure that will test their patience and their faith as they await deliverance and dry ground.

Experience the story of Noah and the flood like you never have before. With bestselling and award-winning author Jill Eileen Smith as your guide, you'll never look at a rainbow the same way again.

Goodreads || Baker Book House || Amazon || Barnes & Noble

My Thoughts:

Close your eyes and imagine watching animals walking up a ramp two by two into an ark that can not only hold elephants, giraffes, hippos, and lions; but also your family. 

We've heard and read the story of Noah and the ark, there was even a toy ark with animals when my girls were kids, but we've never heard the story of Noah's wife; now we have one.

With her amazing research and imaginative skill for the first time, we have a story about the woman who stood by Noah during the heckling he received while building the ark and endured the time spent on the ark. 

Ms. Smith takes us both inside the ark and the family dynamics of Noah's family. And boy were there a lot of family dynamics; mainly between the wives of Shem, Japheth, and Ham.

Reading about the ark's interior with not only sleeping and eating quarters but pens for the animals, feeding, and waste management systems was absolutely fascinating.

I felt Zara's frustration with her three daughters-in-law and her sons. Being a Mama is hard at times and we see her struggle.

I love biblical fiction for a lot of reasons, the main reason is I am always pulled back to the Bible story. Last night as I was finishing I re-read the passage in Genesis 6:20-29 where Ham humiliates his father. I never really understood that, but Ms. Smith wrote it beautifully. It was sad as well.

Bottom Line:

This is a beautiful story about Zara, Noah's wife, and her children. The struggle is everyone's struggle. Learning to walk by faith is not new and we see that in this beautiful story.

A couple of my favorite quotes:

"I should not doubt. The Creator may not speak to us in an audible voice or fill our dreams with visions, but He speaks in His creation. He speaks to our conscience what is true and good and what is a lie and evil. If we seek Him, we will not be easily deceived."

"To think that the Creator is not able to do something different than what has always been done is arrogant because it puts us above Him." 

About Jill Eileen Smith

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling and award-winning author of the biblical fiction series The Wives of King David, Wives of the Patriarchs, and Daughters of the Promised Land, as well as The Heart of a King and Star of Persia: Esther's Story. She is also the author of the nonfiction books When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreamsand She Walked Before Us. Her research into the lives of biblical women has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan.

You can learn more about Jill at her website and follow her on the following social media platforms. Facebook || Instagram || Twitter 

First Line Friday Featuring Riot (A Breed Apart: Legacy #3) by Ronie Kendig and JJ Samie Myles

 

Happy Friday!! Welcome to the weekend!!! Today I am featuring one of my favorite authors, Ronie Kendig. I loved A Breed Apart series and I'm enjoying this new series; Legacy. 

First Line: 

Six Months Later

Harmonia, Texas

Eighteen years ago, Danger had sworn to never return. Yet here he was, caged in his stepfather's mansion crawling with Texas's high snobciety.

About the book:

Navy SEAL K-9 handler Beau “Danger” Maddox is at the top of his game—until an op goes south, leaving him physically and mentally scarred. Separated from the Navy, he’s determined to requalify as operational and get back in the action so he can take down the deadly South American cartel that killed his team. The last thing he needs is a distraction in the form of a beautiful new neighbor and her dog…

Trafficking survivor Paisley Reyna became a trauma counselor to help others after a harrowing captivity at the hands of the notorious Guerrero Cartel. When she unexpectedly inherits her cousin’s home and retired military working dog, Riot, she seizes the chance to eke out a quiet life in a small town in Texas. However, the Dutch shepherd upends her plans, destroys her belongings, and repeatedly escapes next door to the intense former SEAL, who poses a threat to her peace—and maybe even her heart.

When the local sheriff asks for Danger’s expertise and Paisley’s dog to intercept a trafficking deal, they’re quickly caught up in a battle against the very cartel that marked both their souls. Along with a paramilitary team, they plunge deeper and deeper into the Venezuelan jungle—all too aware that making it out alive a second time will take nothing short of a miracle.

Enter the Goodreads giveaway here: GIVEAWAY