FIGHTING for BREAD & ROSES by Lynn A. Coleman

This is a book I have had laying on my shelf to read for a long time and wasn't even sure I would read it, but possibly trade it. I just finished it though and I am so glad I didn't trade it because it was so well written and intriguing. There were so many "layers" to this story and it had me reading just to see what would happen next. It is a story of novelist Lindsey Taylor and her research for her next "unsolved mystery" book. It takes her to Lawrence, MA as she researches the tragic death of Anna Lopizzo, a millworker, who was shot during the "Bread & Roses" strike of 1912. Now that may not sound like an interesting story line, but trust me the author keeps you interested. Lindsey finds herself digging up more questions than answers and the best part of this book is the way you keep reading "flashbacks" to 1912 and read about the 3 young ladies and what they were going through during the mill strike. But the more digging Lindsey does, the more strange things keep happening to her, being followed, shot at, stolen from, etc. I also enjoyed the interaction between Lindsey and her husband. They had a real love for each other and kept close, even if it was mainly by phone.
There were alot of twists and turns to this story and it keeps you wondering all through the book what more would be discovered about the past. As it says on the back of the book, this truly was a story of intrigue and suspense and history and I highly recommend it.

TEXAS PURSUIT by Debra White Smith

This is the 2nd book in this series and I think I might like this story better than the first. Tanya is a single Mom (she has adopted a son). On a plane ride home from adopting her son she meets a gentleman on the plane, Maurice. Unfortunately for her, he becomes a little obsessed by her and won't leave her alone when she gets back home. She reminds him of a woman he loved but who left him long ago. So. .. . she quietly moves away to a town she begins to feel safe in. Sonny Mansfield is a private detestice who doesn't have much good to say about women. When Maurice contacts him and tells him his "wife" and ran away with their adopted son, Sonny is only too glad to track her down. The problem is when he does, something doesn't seem right about this Maurice, so Sonny sets out to help protect Tanya from the man who he helped to track her down. And he has to do it so she won't know what he is doing.
I enjoyed the suspense in the story and the attraction that Sonny finds in Tanya and Coty, her little boy. It was a quick read for me, but a very enjoyable one!

FEMININE APPEAL by Carolyn Mahaney

Carolyn Mahaney gives 7 virtues of a Godly wife and mother in this book. She helps us seek to be a Titus 2 woman, by helping see how we can delight in loving our husbands, realize the blessings in loving in our children, having self-control, purity, kindness and submission in our lives and the honor of working at home. She was very practical, honest and used God's Word as the final authority, which is the best attribute of any book I read. Well worth your time to read this book! In today's world the issues in this book she deals with are contrary to how many people think. It is refreshing to read a biblical view on how we as women can and should be living.

NO GREATER LOVE by Kinzie Monroe

I don't give out 5 stars very often, but this story I felt deserved it. The author, Kinzie Monroe weaved into her story the salvation message so well and the story line was so unique and heartfelt. Leah is a beyond wealthy business woman who has a heart to share her riches with folks she meets in need. She is dying from cancer and knows her last days will be painful and she will be helpless. So. . . she calls on 5 friends and Kirby an attorney she has just met, and plans a weekend get-a-way for them all at her mansion. Her purpose - to have each of them plan how they would kill her without it looking like a murder. She is willing to pay them $300 million. When her friends come together (who have never met each other before) they have such a love for this woman that they don't think they can go through with it.
The way all these characters interact with each other and the conversations throughout this book had me so wrapped up in the story that I couldn't stop thinking about it, even when I wasn't reading it. Some of the characters are believers in the Lord as their Saviour, and the impact they have upon the others, the questions they face within themselves and the questions they face with the others are so real and so well dealt with that I just wanted to meet the author and say "Thank you" for a job well done! You will not be disappointed if you read this book!!!

TAKE FOUR by Karen Kingsbury

Another really good story in this series! Keith and Dayne are in the process of making their next movie, 'Unlocked" and have casted a well known actor Brandon Paul, and a first time actress Bailey Flanigan. Brandon sets his sights on Bailey at the very beginning, but Bailey's only interest in Brandon is to see him come to know the Lord. Bailey's heart belongs to Cody and Cody has loved Bailey from a distance for years. It looks like their love is finally here to stay; but Cody's mom gets in trouble again with drugs and Cody must make some tough decisions. Then there is Andi, Keith's pregnant, unwed daughter. The decisions she makes in this book are very difficult, but VERY well written! I had tears in my eyes by the time I finished and was so disappointed that the ending did not resolve an issue in the story. But. . . it will definately keep me waiting impatiently for the next series of books to come out. Karen Kingsbury does such a good job of making the people in her stories real folks that you would love to meet some day.

A MENDING at the EDGE by Jane Kirkpatrick

This is the third book in this series. I appreciated getting to know more about the German-American people who lived in the Aurora Colony in the 1800's. I was angry, sad, sorrowful, and sometimes happy as I read this book. I don't know how Emma Giesy did it back then (the story is based on actual records and diaries of this time). The way this colony was run sounds nice, (everyone works at jobs, no one owns anything, everyone shares and pools their monies together), but someone has to be in charge and that someone is a flawed person who will oftentimes think of himself more highly than he ought to think. Telling someone where they must live, when they can have a place of their own, who will raise your children, who and if you can marry, I just don't think I could have endured it, but at the same time, what choices did Emma have?? She was a women who was in a bad marriage, not on good terms with her family, not accepted well by the colony because of her outspoken ways, and left trying to befriend the downtrodden women she comes in contact with. I admire her and at the same time feel sorry for her. At times I would get so mad I just wanted to throw the book across the room. An interesting and enlightening story.

ANNA and the KING of SIAM by Margaret Landon

This is a book that if you read it, you will always watch the movies made about this book in a totally different way, because the movies don't give a true view of what life was really like between Ann the the King of Siam. I also did not realize that Anna was a real person who lived in Siam for many years. The lady who wrote this story stayed as true to this lady's journals as she could and did a good job of making it into a story. Although this is not a quick read and has alot of descriptions and details and at times very little "conversations", I am glad I read it. Be sure to read the author's notes at the end (I read them first) as it helps you understand the writing of the book better. Anna was a young woman who lost her husband and had to take this position for lack of anything else she could do for her and her 2 children. It was not an easy life for this woman, but she endured and tried to make a difference in the lifes of the people in the King's palace and harem and in all the children's lifes. Did she make a difference? Read the book and find out.

SNOW ANGELS by Wendy Davy

I like Wendy Davy's stories! They are fun, romantic and have a message in them that can help people who struggle with certain areas in their life.
In this story Izzy is trying to become a ski patroller for all the wrong reasons. She seems to have alot of mishaps happen to her, but she is hard not to like. Mitch Donovan in the new Ski Patrol Director and he and his little daughter take an instant like to Izzy. But Mitch isn't sure Izzy should be a ski patroller.
The very first pages of the book got me hooked when Izzy is caught alone in a snow storm on the mountain. It kept me reading right to the very end (which I wish had been longer). Well worth reading! The only thing I might change is the cover. That is not at all how I would picture Mitch after reading this story!

TWILIGHT by Kristen Heitzmann

Cal Morrison was one of the best firefighters they had in Montrose. But a tragedy he went through during a fire has left him with fears he can't get over, thus putting him on non-active duty. He is dealing with all this when in walks Laurie, a woman he fell in love with a long time ago, but who chose to leave town and marry for money and prestige and leave small-town life behind her. Laurie finds herself running from her husband after the discovery of his drug involvement, with her 2 adorable small children. She comes home to Montrose. Now it is a struggle for both Laurie and Cal. It is obvious they both still care for each other, but Cal has issues he must face and Laurie does too, and neither want to be honest with the other. They both try to handle life on their own without the help of a God they know exists, but He isn't someone they think cares. Only when they let go and let God have complete control, a loving and faithful God, can they find true peace in their life. I appreciated the way the author dealt with the realistic ways people often think of God and how she brought them around to truly understanding who He really is. A good story and well worth reading. For me it started out a little slow, but quickly got me hooked.