Passing Through Perfect by Bette Lee Crosby

It's 1946. The war is over. Millions of American soldiers are coming home and Benjamin Church is one of them. After four years of being away he thought things in Alabama would have changed, but they haven't. Grinder's Corner is as it's always been--a hardscrabble burp in the road. It's not much, but it's home.

When Benjamin attends a harvest festival in Twin Pines, he catches sight of Delia. Before their first dance ends, he knows for certain she's the one. They fall madly in love: happily, impatiently, imprudently, in love. It doesn't matter that her daddy is staunchly opposed to the thought of his daughter marrying a cotton farmer, never mind a poor one.

It's true Benjamin has little to offer; he's a sharecropper who will spend his whole life sweating and slaving to do little more than put food on the table. But that's how things are in Alabama. Benjamin is better off than most; he has a wife, a boy he adores, and a house that doesn't leak rain. Yes, Benjamin considers himself a lucky man until the fateful night that changes everything.


About The Author

USA Today Bestselling and Award-winning novelist Bette Lee Crosby's books are "Well-crafted storytelling populated by memorable characters caught up in equally memorable circumstances." - Midwest Book Review

The Seattle Post Intelligencer says Crosby's writing is, "A quirky mix of Southern flair, serious thoughts about important things in life and madcap adventures."

Samantha from Reader's Favorite raves, "Crosby writes the type of book you can’t stop thinking about long after you put it down."

"Storytelling is in my blood," Crosby laughingly admits, "My mom was not a writer, but she was a captivating storyteller, so I find myself using bits and pieces of her voice in most everything I write."

It is the wit and wisdom of that Southern Mama Crosby brings to her works of fiction; the result is a delightful blend of humor, mystery and romance along with a cast of quirky charters who will steal your heart away. Her work was first recognized in 2006 when she received The National League of American Pen Women Award for a then unpublished manuscript. She has since gone on to win twenty awards for her work; these include: The Royal Palm Literary Award, the FPA President's Book Award Gold Medal, Reader's Favorite Award Gold Medal, and the Reviewer's Choice Award.

Crosby's published works to date are: Blueberry Hill (2014), Previously Loved Treasures (2014), Jubilee's Journey (2013), What Matters Most (2013), The Twelfth Child (2012), Life in the Land of IS (2012), Cracks in the Sidewalk (2011), Spare Change (2011). A Cupid inspired romance, Wishing for Wonderful, is scheduled for release in November 2014 and Book Three of The Wyattsville Series, Passing through Perfect, will be be available in January 2015. 

My Review

Passing Through Perfect is such a great read, have the tissues handy, there will be tears. This story takes place in the deep south, Alabama, beginning at the close of WWII, and at first I didn’t realize that the main character was black, and as the story progresses, we walk in his shoes, and meet prejudice head on.
Our journey is walking mainly in Benjamin’s shoes, yes we hear from Delia, his love and wife, and a few others along the way. We go with Benjamin as he struggles and then has a large success on his farm, but farming is not always kind. We are with him as he goes from one job to the next and on wards to support his family. The man is a moving machine, and is work ethic is to be admired.
We also meet people from previous books, I have not read the other two in this series, but believe me if they are anything like this one, they are on my list. There are some very ironic and parallel forms of prejudice show here, on being what Hitler did first to the Jewish people.
Once you pick this one up and turn the first page you won’t be able to put it down, these people are so real, and the story seems so genuine. My heart broke at some of the happenings, and there is no justice shown, at least not in this world. There are some wonderful laugh out loud chuckles that will linger with me, and I told those who weren’t reading the book. They struck me a funny!
If you want a real human story, this one is for you, and I want more. I want to be Ben’s world!

I received this book I Am A Reader, Not A Writer Blog Tours, and was not required to give a positive review. 

Pump Up Your Book Presents Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy Virtual Book Publicity Tour

From an award-winning Mom-Son team featured on the Today Show, Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy is a contemporary boy-and-dog book. Bash's dog, Lucy, helps coach his soccer team, and Lucy leads the team to the championships by kissing the players and making them laugh. But Bash is overcome with jealousy when Lucy enchants a team of Special Olympics kids who say they want her to coach their team. Can Bash overcome his jealousy and learn to share Lucy with kids who say they need her? This is Book Two in the Bash and Lucy series, following Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence, a Mom's Choice Silver Award winner and finalist, USA Best Book Awards. 

For More Information

 

Title: Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy
Author: Lisa and Michael Cohn
Publisher: Canines and Kids Publishing
Pages: 40
Genre: Children’s/Pets
Format: Paperback

 

• Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy is available at Amazon.
• Pick up your copy at Barnes & Noble.
• Discuss this book at PUYB Virtual Book Club at Goodreads.
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  About the Authors
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Lisa Cohn and Michael Cohn, age 6, are an award-winning mom-son team. They have appeared on the Today Show, on SiriusXM Radio, in Disney’s Babble, in the Oregonian, on AM Northwest, and in many other media. Their first book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Confidence, won a Mom’s Choice Silver Award and was named finalist, USA Best Book Awards. Lisa’s articles have appeared in national publications, including the Christian Science Monitor, Mothering, Mamalode, Parenting and Brain, Child: The Magazine for Thinking Mothers. Michael reviews children’s books on the authors’ YouTube channel. His video reviews are filmed in taxis, libraries, ski lodges, bookstores, parks and gyms! Lisa and Michael visit schools in person and via Skype.
  Their latest book is the children’s book, Bash and Lucy Fetch Jealousy                         Book Excerpt:
  
  At every game, Bash’s dog, Lucy, trotted around the field in her blue coach's hat and shirt. She led Bash’s team to victory with her four-legged leadership skills.
  
  
  She smothered the players with kisses, cheered them with happy yaps, snuggled with them when they made mistakes, and offered a friendly paw to every team they beat.
  Watch the book trailer!
  

My Review

Bash and Lucy is a book for youngsters about the love of a dog and sharing. Along with a great story there are delightful illustrations to accompany.
The main theme of the story is sharing, and the examples are wonderful. While Bash is having a hard time with having others enjoy his dog Lucy, he ends up with more and more wanting her.
So cute! Who wouldn’t want a loving talented dog for a coach? Lucy loves all kids and disabilities are unseen with her. What a great tool to teach understanding of those who are different.
A great quick read to share with your youngster to inspire them with compassion and sharing. While my youngsters have had experience with a service dog living in their home, others are taught about the trained dog can do.
I received this book through Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tours, and was not required to give a positive review.

Sabotaged (Alaskan Courage #5) by Dani Pettrey

Growing up, goody-two-shoes Kirra Jacobs and troublemaker Reef McKenna were always at odds. Now paired together on Yancey's search-and-rescue canine unit, they begin to put aside old arguments as they come to see each other in a different light. Then a call comes in from the Iditarod that will push them to their limits.

Kirra's uncle, a musher in the race, has disappeared. Kirra and Reef quickly track the man, but what they discover is harrowing. Frank's daughter has been kidnapped. In order to save her, the man must use his knowledge as a mechanical engineer to do the kidnapper's bidding or she will die. Kirra and Reef, along with the entire McKenna family, are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl's life, but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen.

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About The Author



Dani Pettrey is a wife, homeschooling mom and author. She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves-the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of one's faith and plenty of romance. She's a huge fan of dark chocolate, is always in search of the best iced mocha and her dream is to one day own a little cottage on a remote stretch of beach. She and her husband reside in Maryland with their two teenage daughters.

Visit her web site at www.DaniPettrey.com!


My Review

 

Dani Pettrey has done it again, and we are back in Alaska with the extended McKenna family. This time we are following the Iditarod and Kirra Jabobs and Reef MccKenna are thrown together in a desperate effort to rescue her Uncle Frank’s daughter, and her cousin, Meg.
Again there seems to be danger at each turn, and who have to wonder who will be left by the end of the book. Whether someone is shooting at you, or being a car careening off the road and into icy water there is lots of danger and more to go around. The question we start asking is “why”? How can anyone survive all that seems to be happening?
We are introduced to the stealing of a valuable Fabragé egg, the rich oil fields, and the natural minerals that abound in Alaska, and are trying to connect the dots as to what needs to be done to save Meg. Or is there another angle that we are not seeing clearly.
Through all the troubles we find great faith and a love of God, He is there with then at each turn, and all they need to do is ask for his help. There is also a bit of romance going on here, one we have followed from another book, and a new one, but will the budding love be able to survive?
I loved this book and the others in this series, they are all page-turners, and full of mystery. You don’t have to have read the previous books to enjoy this one, but I would recommend you read them, they are all equally as exciting as this one. Enjoy!

I received this book through Bethany House Bloggers Tour, and was not required to give a positive review.

Where Secrets Sleep by Marta Perry

After suffering a terrible betrayal, Allison Standish flees Philadelphia for the small Amish village of Laurel Ridge. There, she comes into an unexpected inheritance—her late grandmother bequeathed her a mansion housing various shops. Allison intends to sell Blackburn House, until one of her tenants, single father Nick Whiting, challenges everything she believes about her estranged grandmother and the Amish community, and she decides to stay—temporarily.

Soon, strange stipulations in her grandmother's will bring to Allison's door distant relatives and seething townsfolk who think Blackburn House shouldn't belong to an outsider. As anonymous threats escalate, Nick is protective of Allison, and she finds herself falling for the handsome carpenter. But when she discovers her grandmother's death may not have been accidental, Allison must face the truth that someone wants her gone…permanently.

About The Author



Marta Perry is a Pennsylvania-based author of over 35 novels, many of them inspirational romances. She uses her rural Pennsylvania life and her Pennsylvania Dutch heritage in writing her books, especially in her Pleasant Valley Amish series for Berkley Books and her new Amish-set suspense series for HQN Books.
Marta and her husband live in a centuries-old farmhouse in a quiet central Pennsylvania valley. They have three grown children and six beautiful grandchildren, and when she's not busy writing her next book, she's usually trying to keep up with her gardening, baking for church events, or visiting those beautiful grandkids.



My Review

 I am so in love with Marta Perry’s books, from the beginning to the end her books are page-turners, and compelling reads. Where Secrets Sleep does not disappoint and once started I could not put it down!
Allison Standish inherits a big old mansion from a Grandmother she has never met, her father’s mother, and a father that abandoned her when she was six. Why would she be left this mansion with various shops inside? Why are people looking to make her leave and sell the old Blackburn home?
This girl is now a target, and you won’t believe what happens to her, she should be dead, but why? The Grandmother she never met died, or was she murdered, and again why.
There are some really warm hearted happenings here, and loved how the people in her life now seem to rally around the new comer. She is a part owner in a quilt store, and Sarah and her mother embrace her, and she ends up helping them. There is also a carpenter shop in the building and she has an unlikely meeting with one of the men, Nick Whiting. Watch how she meets him, a catastrophe with a play on cat.
This book has a bit of everything, and you won’t see who or whom is responsible coming! I kept changing my mind! There is a lot going on here, and even a bit of romance. You won’t be disappointed heer.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher HQN Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

Harvest of Blessings by Charlotte Hubbard

The tranquil little town of Willow Ridge is facing a startling challenge. Wealthy Nora Glick Landwehr is determined to make it her home again--and put her past to rest. Cast out by her own family, Nora can't reconcile with Old Amish ways or her strict father. But she'll do anything to help her community embrace the future . . . and make amends to the daughter she had to give up. So, she certainly has no time for her reckless new neighbor Luke Hooley. They disagree about almost everything. And how can she trust him if he always seems to believe the worst about her? Somehow, though, his unexpected support and passionate heart are helping her find her own way in faith. And Nora will discover that even in the face of insidious lies and unyielding judgment, God creates unexpected chances for forgiveness--and love.

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About The Author 

 

Drawing upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian Charlotte Hubbard (a.k.a. Naomi King) writes of simpler times and a faith-based lifestyle in her new Seasons of the Heart series. Like her heroine, Miriam Lantz, Charlotte considers it her personal mission to feed people—to share hearth and home. Faith and family, farming and food preservation are hallmarks of her lifestyle, and the foundation of her earlier Angels of Mercy series. She’s a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member, and when she’s not writing, she loves to try new recipes, crochet, and sew. Charlotte now lives in Minnesota with her husband and their border collie. 


My Review

We are back in Willow Ridge with our Amish/Mennonite families, at least that is how they feel to me, as we have come to know and love them through the pen of the Author Charlotte Hubbard.
We open the book with Nora Glick Landwehr purchasing the home of Hiram Knepp, that beautiful home that he owned when he was the local Bishop. I could feel myself cringing, knowing the reputation of that man, but who is Nora? We are about to find out and I found myself walking in her shoes. She has not had an easy lot, and has made some bad choices, but a lot was put on her shoulders as a young girl.
If you haven’t met Hiram before, please pick up the previous books in this series, you will not be disappointed, at least not in the books, but maybe in the man. We are putting closure on some of the previous stories, as we attend Annie Mae’s wedding, and spend time with Ben and Miriam. We are also around the twins, and catch up in their lives.
This being Nora’s story, we meet her parents, and what a happening that will be. Such a transformation, and yet, there are answers here, and some that might help others.
We are also meeting back with the Hooley brothers, Ira and Luke; they are about to open the mill. Now how would you feel if you finally meet your daughter and she is dating a man almost twice her age? I wouldn’t like it at all, but this is a different culture, or is it? Neither of the brothers has chosen to embrace their Amish faith, and is certainly beyond the age of doing so.
You won’t be disappointed in this read, I sure wasn’t, just didn’t want it to end, come and immerse yourself in the Plain life, you will not want the story to end.

I received this book through the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.

The Trouble with Patience (Virtues and Vices of the Old West, #1) by Maggie Brendan

Patience Cavanaugh has lost hope in romance. The man she yearned to marry is dead and her dreams are gone with him. Now she is consumed with the restoration of a dilapidated boarding house in order to support herself. Despite her desire for solitude, Jedediah Jones, the local sheriff with a reputation for hanging criminals, becomes an ever-looming part of her life. It seems like such a simple arrangement: Patience needs someone with a strong back to help her fix up the boardinghouse, and Jedediah needs a dependable source of food for himself and his prisoners. But Patience gets more than she bargained for as she explores the depths of the "hanging lawman"--and finds both betrayal and love.

Purchase

About The Author




Brenda Lott aka Maggie Brendan
Hello, dah-lin. My name is Brenda Lott, and I'm from Gah-gah (Georgia) which makes me a Southern belle. Think Scarlett O'Hara. No, make that Margaret Mitchell since I, too, write historical romance novels. My pen name is Maggie Brendan, and I host a writers' critique group in my home. I'm a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers and American Christian Writers, and I won the 2004 Atlanta Persistence Award from the American Christian Writers. When I'm not writing, in my spare time, I like to paint and scrapbook, and be with my four grandchildren. I'm also a member of a large sancturary choir.
 


Website:

http://www.maggiebrendan.com/

My Review

I had a delightful time meeting Patience Cavanaugh who is one very strong woman, and has taken to owning a boarding house with a lot of grace and hard work. When we meet her she is just moving in and trying to come to terms with her finances and the amount of work that needs to be done.
Her first encounter with the Marshall Jedediah is almost hysterical, and I could picture her face as she swallowed the cup of coffee he offers. There is also some funny heckling going on from the current prisoner. You will also get a chuckle out of the men competing from Patience attention, going to the extremes of painting and helping fix up the boarding house.
There are some real shocks and surprises here, along with a bit of sorrow and murder. I was guessing and wrong as to why and who, but the story unfolds we come to realize that a lot of things are not as they appear.
I did really enjoy how the town seems to rally around Patience, and things go really well until her Mother arrives. A person I really took a dislike to, but again some big surprises are in store. Will Patience grow a backbone as far as her Mother is concerned, or will things go down hill while she is there?
There is also a strong reliance on God’s love and forgiveness in this book, and some really find and follow their faith.
I did love at the very end there is an epilogue, where I didn’t have to fill in the blanks in my mind, and the story continued to unfold. Enjoy!

I received this book through the Publisher Revell and their blogger’s tour, and was not required to give a positive review.

Lift the Flap Bible by Karen Williamson, Louise Anglicas

What's under the flaps? Find out in this collection of eight very simple Bible stories in a large cased board book format. Each story is told across a double-page spread and there are flaps on every page. Bright, quirky illustrations full of wit and color from Louise Anglicas are perfect for this engaging introduction to Bible stories.
Stories are: Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Bulrushes, Daniel and the Lions, Jonah and the Great Fish, Born in a Stable, Boy with Loaves and Fishes, The Lost Sheep, and Man Lowered Through the Roof.

Purchase

Pages: 16
Size: 8.25 x 8.25 inches
Published: 2014
Rights: NA
Imprint: Candle Books

About The Author
  

 Karen Williamson worked as a London primary school teacher and publisher’s editor before launching a successful career as a full-time writer. With three children of her own, she specializes in Bible stories for young readers. 


My Review

My two year old friend was drawn in by the bright colors, and could wait to turn the page and lift the flap.
The book is made of sturdy cardboard and so are the flaps, just right for little hands. My little boy couldn’t wait to lift the first one, which was stormy clouds, and underneath,it talks about the flood, there is a beautiful rainbow.
There are eight of the best-loved Bible stories, and David had a flap to lift on each of them. The stories are: Noah and the Ark, Moses and the Bulrushes, Daniel and the Lions, Jonah and the Great Fish, Born in a Stable, Boy with Loaves and Fishes, The Lost Sheep, and Man Lowered Through the Roof.
The book is geared for 2 to 4 year old, and a parent can add their own bible facts to each story. I recommend this sweet little book and a great introduction to our faith for little ones.

I received this book through Kregel Book Blogger Tour, and was not required to give a positive review.