Cordelia & Bernard from “Pieces of the Heart” by Bonnie S. Calhun

“Pieces of the Heart” is a story about love, but it’s not your typical romance novel.  The book spans a good portion of the main characters’ lives from before WWII, through it, and then after.  It’s a story about healing, compassion, and trust in God.

When I picked up the book I thought because of its length it would be a light read, but the depth of character Bonnie poured into each page caused me to slow down and ponder over the stories' events.  It’s a more serious story than a lot of the books I read, but very heartfelt, and I found myself completely immersed.  I am very glad I read it.  At the beginning of the story, Cordelia is 13 and running away from bullies when Bernard comes to her rescue.  From that moment on, Cordelia loves Bernard and through the entire story, her feelings never waver.

This was inspired by the opening scene where Bernard comes to Cordelia's rescue.  I found myself playing around with Photoshop brushes as I made this, trying to get a more emotional feeling with the bold, loose outlines.  Think it worked? 

Bernard overcame his anger towards his abusive father with God’s help, but when he goes to War his faith suffers.  He’s also loved Cordelia from their first meeting on, but after the war he’s tormented by what took place and is unable to move forward living life normally again.  By God’s grace, where Bernard’s faith has wavered, Cordelia’s has grown.  Working on the pinecone quilt her grandmother started, she pours her heart out to God with each stitch.  The quilt becomes a symbol of the covering over her life, of the love from her Grandmother, and of God’s faithfulness.  Although life for both Bernard & Cordelia is never perfect or easy, God is able to use them to be a support to each other.

“Pieces of the Heart” is a beautiful and tragic story about relationships and the effects of war.  Yet, through all the pain and imperfections of life God’s perfect love shines through in this story, and that’s what truly makes it worth the read.

Fun Fact: Bonnie modeled Bernard & Cordelia after her parents.  In her book trailer she uses photos of them!

-Monica

Darcy from Stranded by Dani Pettrey

“Stranded” is the third book in Dani Pettrey’s Alaska Courage series.  I loved the first two books for their exciting plots & captivating characters.  With this sequel Dani has proved her consistency to enthrall, leaving nothing to disappoint her readers!  With every installment she gives a thrilling and satisfying adventure, while setting the stage for the next story.

When Darcy was introduced in the previous book I was eager to see what trouble she’d get into next.   Her story starts five months after the events in “Shattered.”  Five months of being away from Alaska, five months of being away from Gage Mckenna.  As the story begins Darcy & Gage find themselves together again, both having taken temporary jobs aboard the Bering cruise ship.  While Gage is aboard to lead passengers on adventure excursions, Darcy is using her adventure journalist position to find her missing friend Abby, and uncover the dark truth Abby was investigating before her disappearance.

Darcy is a girl who loves the hunt.  As a former investigative reporter she’s bold to a fault, yet her tender heart brings balance to her ambitions.  Gage has a tough exterior, but inside has been hurting over the loss of his infant son and the destroyed relationship with his former fiancé.  As Darcy deals with her ambitious desires and Gage finds healing from his past, they both become entangled in a race to save Abby from a terrible fate!

If you’ve read Dani’s previous books this one won’t disappoint.  If you haven’t, there’s enough to jump in and start reading any of the stories, but you’ll miss out on enjoying some of the character’s history with each other if you do.  For thrilling adventure, suspense, and romance this is the series to turn to!

-Monica

Rachel & Josh from “Unforgettable” by Trish Perry

With Valentine’s Day coming up, I thought it was time for a little romance!  “Unforgettable” is the first historical fiction book I’ve read that takes place in the 1950’s.  I love the time period, and the theme of dancing fits so well with my impression of it.  This story will whisk you back in time into the world of dance for a delightful and unforgettable read!
     

I was immediately drawn into the story as I followed along with the main character, 32 year old Racheal Stanhope owner of a successful new dance studio.  In the opening scene she’s waiting for her assistant to arrive & open up after having been lent the keys to lock up the night before.  While she waits she has an unfortunate conversion with Josh who has brought his niece & nephew to their lesson.  Assuming Rachel to be another parent, he vents his frustrations and skepticism for the arts, tardiness being typical for those ‘dance types’!  This delightful exchange set the tone for the rest of the book which was filled with classic His & Her banter and an inevitable romance.

This image was inspired by the last scene when the characters are dancing the Foxtrot.  I used this website: http://www.ballroomdancers.com for reference.  The part shown is the "promenade."

Every time I think about this book it makes me want to take dance lessons.  I enjoyed that while the formula for romance was familiar the way the ending played out was a surprise to me.  This happy, feel-good story is one that I’ll definitely want to revisit.  It’s a perfect pick for a relaxing evening at home with a good book! 

Another fun fact, the dress I drew was inspired by one that used to belong to my Oma (German Grandma).  I'm not sure if it's from the 1940's or 50's but when Trish described Rachel wearing a pink dress, this is the one I thought of.  This photo  is from when I was a girl playing dress-up with my cousin.  I still have this dress and a few others that Oma used to go dancing in!

Thanks for sending me a copy to feature the book, Trish!

Speaking of Trish… here’s her website:  http://trishperry.blogspot.com/

-Monica

The many characters from: A Match Made in Texas!

I just finished reading “A Match Made in Texas!”  I don’t usually read novellas, but after this collection it’s something I may do more often.  It may be just me, or simply a testament to the writing, but whatever the reason, reading these stories brought tears to my eyes and had me laughing out loud!  That’s no exaggeration!

Each story in the collection is a romance, centering on a couple falling in love and getting married.  All of them are set in 1893 and at least start or end in the same place: Dry Gulch, Texas.  My mother has aptly commented that sometimes a short story can leave you wanting.  Just when you’re getting into a setting and enjoying that world, it’s all over.  The authors headed off this potential let down by masterfully connecting the stories not only to a mutual setting and time period, but by setting them off with the actions of one woman (who is the star of the last story), then weaving in some of the same secondary characters, and even characters from the author’s other novels.

The first story is by Karen Witemeyer and features Neill Archer, who is also a part of two of her previous novels, “Short Straw Bride” and “Stealing the Preacher.”  Since I really enjoyed both of those stories I was excited to read about Neill and get back into that “world” again, as my mother would put it.  Niell’s counterpart is the young widow Clara Danvers who is alone but with child.  She has some Native American heritage which added an interesting layer to the story.  Of all the stories, I think this one had the most exciting ending; there’s nothing like a chase scene to keep you on the edge of your seat! 

The second story, by Regina Jennings is a tender story.  This is the one that made me tear up.  The main character is Grace O’Malley, a strong, young, independent former school teacher who is going blind.  While she doesn’t want to be defeated by her blindness, she doesn’t know how to move forward with her life until the handsome stranger, Clayton Weber shows up at her door.  There are themes of forgiveness and triumph in this story, and like I mentioned it’s the one that had me tearing up, so I would mark it as having the most heartfelt ending.

The third story brings Carol Cox’s flavor for a bit of intrigue & suspense into play.  Strange things are happening on the ranch of Andrew Simms’ Aunt.  Fearing his Aunt’s sanity, arrangements are made for Lucy Benson, a girl badly in need of escape from an unwanted suitor, to stay at the ranch with her.  This story had a lot of soul searching for Lucy, and I was routing for her all the way as she tackled life on the ranch.  Her ending was the most dramatic having a daring rescue!

The final story was a great way to end the collection, leaving on a humorous and romantic note.  Written by Mary Connealy, this is the one that had me laughing out loud.  It had tender moments too, but I love it for the light-hardheartedness.  The meddler who’s instigated all the introductions of the couples in the previous stories is Hannah, a girl who likes to do good for others but doesn’t feel like she’s had much good happen to her.  If only she’d pay more attention to the bumbling banker, Marcus Whitfield who just so happens to think the world of her.  Marcus is one of those characters that you fall in love with for his flaws.  He’s very empathetic and endearing.  Of all the stories this one had the most busy-bodies in action, and the funniest ending.

I hope you enjoy this collection as much as I did if you choose to read it sometime!

For a fun interview of the authors & more about the novella collection, check out this great post by a fellow blogger: http://craftybooksheeps.blogspot.com/2014/01/   I had the pleasure of illustrating the sheep in the header last week!

-Monica

*I was provided a review copy of this book by the publisher

Lex from “Sushi for One” by Camy Tang

I’m a few days late in recognizing the New Year; I hope everyone had a Happy New Year’s celebration!  

The New Year always makes me think about Japan ever since my year of studying abroad there (2006-07), New Year’s is such a big deal in the Japanese culture.  It’s a time of eating special foods, getting together with friends and family, and prayer for the coming year.  It’s their most important holiday, their “Christmas,” minus Christ.

Thinking about Japan reminded me that I’ve wanted to post on “Sushi for One,” a title that’s been out for a while, but I personally just read last year.  It doesn’t have anything to do with New Year’s but it was my connection to Japan that attracted me to Camy’s book when I saw the cover.  With a good mix of funny and serious scenes, I thoroughly enjoyed it and l look forward to reading the rest of the series sometime.

The main character Lex is a Christian, and a Japanese American, something that she shares with her creator Camy Tang.  Camy explains on her website how Lex also shares her love of playing volleyball, and her troubles with tearing her ACL and having to go through physical therapy to recover.  Volleyball is a big part of the story because it’s what Lex is most passionate about, but the other driving force in this one is the element of romance, or more like, the lack-there-of.  Some of the funniest moments happen from being under pressure from her large family to find a husband ASAP or face the wrath of Grandma!  The very first scene had me laughing out loud when Lex’s Grandma offers a solution to her dating problem by saying she'll buy Lex a boob job!

The story also has a lot of sincere moments of searching for answers and learning to trust in God.  It was hard for Lex to not have things happen on her time schedule and not get to do things her way, but when she trusted in God to put the pieces of her life back together He did.  They maybe didn’t happen the way she’d expected them to, but her life did start falling into place.  Time and again God has worked like this in my own life.  Not on my schedule, His, not what I want, when I want it, but what I need, when I need it.  It can be a hard thing to accept, but also a freeing thing.  As I think about the New Year, I want to continue striving, as Lex did, to trust in God.

-Monica

Check out Camy Tang's website: http://camytang.com/