Southern Gal Loves to Read: November 2018

Wednesday, November 28, 2018

Emotional, heart-tugging story -- When the Heart Sings

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for When the Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

MY THOUGHTS

When the Heart Sings is the second book in Liz Tolsma's Music of Hope series, and she has done an awesome job with both stories. Both the horrific and the heroic elements of World War II and the people so drastically impacted come through in her true-to-life characters and their stories.

The awful suffering and conflict -- physical, emotional, political -- that the Germans and the Poles experience in this well-crafted story are surely representative of what was happening in the hearts and lives of people at this dreadful time in history. Life-changing and life-threatening decisions have to be made by the characters on all sides of that conflict in this story. Doing their part to fight the battle and doing the right thing takes a variety of paths and sometimes requires ignoring which side they are on. The common experiences of mothers -- and fathers -- who have lost a child bring to light the human element that is not defined by which side a person fights for in times of war.

The threads of hope in God and in their fellow men that keep them going in spite of the dark days tugged strongly at this reader's heart and mind. And the reminder of how deeply music can touch a soul was a beautiful major element of the story.

I highly recommend When the Heart Sings to anyone who is a fan of well-written WWII fiction or anyone who loves a tale of hope in the dark hours of life.

Thanks to JustRead Publicity for providing a copy of this book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: When the Heart Sings
Series: Music of Hope #2
Author: Liz Tolsma
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
Release Date: October 9, 2018
Genre: Historical Fiction/Romance

Natia has a secret, and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose...

The Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their Polish farm to a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory.

The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear— but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Christian Book | Book Depository

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Passionate might best describe Liz Tolsma. She loves writing, research, and editing. Her passion shone through in her first novel which was a double award finalist. On any given day, you might find her pulling weeds in her perennial garden, walking her hyperactive dog, or curled up with a good book. Nothing means more to her than her family. She's married her high-school sweetheart twenty-eight years ago. Get her talking about international adoption, and you might never get her to stop. She and her husband adopted three children, including a son who is a U.S. Marine, and two daughters.

CONNECT WITH LIZ: website | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive (US only)

a print copy of When the Heart Sings
'Just One More Chapter' throw pillow seen HERE

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight November 26, 2018 and last through 11:59pm December 3, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Tuesday, November 6, 2018

History Learned in a Great Story -- The Light Before Day (with a GIVEAWAY)

One of my favorite ways to learn history is in the context of a well-written novel with characters whose lives take me on a captivating journey of days past. That is exactly what I found in Suzanne Woods Fisher's The Light Before Day -- as well as in the first two books in her Nantucket Legacy series.

Some of you may be familiar with Fisher's Amish books -- engaging stories that bring characters to life in the Plain lifestyle. She has done just as great a job with these stories about a group who is probably even less known than the Amish -- the Quakers -- and their early days in America on Nantucket Island.

The main story is set in the mid-19th century, with an intriguing thread woven throughout from the 17th and 18th centuries. A family heirloom, Great Mary's journal, is passed down through the generations. Her thoughts and insights from the very earliest days of the Nantucket settlement provide a guiding light for her descendants as they struggle through family challenges and all the hurdles those bring.

As in the previous books in the series, Fisher includes real, difficult topics that would have been faced in the historical setting. It is obvious she has done her research thoroughly, and she transports readers in fascinating ways to the time and place where her story takes place. Any of the books in this series could be read as a stand-alone, but the story is much more interesting if followed in order, leading up to this conclusion.

Thanks to Celebrate Lit for providing a copy of The Light Before Day. I am pleased to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book:

Book: The Light Before Day
Author: Suzanne Woods Fisher
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: October 2, 2018

“Henry, this . . . fortune, this sudden wealth . . . I fear it will change our lives. And I don’t want my life to change.”

After three years on a whaling voyage, Henry Macy returns to Nantucket to news that his grandmother has passed, bequeathing her vast fortune to him and his sister, Hitty. And it was truly vast. But Lillian Coffin was no fool. The inheritance comes with a steep cost, including when each should marry and whom—a Quaker in good standing, of course. But if they relinquish the inheritance, it all goes to Tristram Macy, their father’s thieving business partner.

As Hitty and Henry seek a way to satisfy the will’s conditions, they’ll be faced with obstacles on every side—and it may be that Lillian Coffin will have the last word after all.

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author:

Suzanne Woods Fisher is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than two dozen novels, including Phoebe’s Light and Minding the Light, as well as the Amish Beginnings, The Bishop’s Family, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series. She has also written several nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace and The Heart of the Amish. Fisher lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow her on Twitter @suzannewfisher and Facebook @SuzanneWoodsFisherAuthor.

Guest Post from Suzanne:

The Mortgage Button

In each story of the ‘Nantucket Legacy’ series, there’s a reference to a mortgage button in the newel post of a stairway. Phoebe Starbuck, the main character in Phoebe’s Light, made a point to notice it in the captain’s house on Orange Street, the famous residences of sea captains. In Minding the Light, Daphne Coffin touched the mortgage button on the newel post of her horrible mother’s grand house each and every morning. Hitty and Henry Macy were well aware of the absence of their childhood home’s mortgage button—and all that its absence symbolized—in The Light Before Day.

Mortgage buttons meant something to each of those characters. It made a statement to anyone who walked into a house.

Have you ever seen a mortgage button? It’s a very Nantucket-y tradition. In fact, some say the mortgage button originated on Nantucket Island, thirty miles out to sea.

Supposedly, when a house’s mortgage was fully paid and there were no liens against the property, the homeowner drilled a hole in the newel post of the main staircase, rolled up the mortgage document, put it inside, and capped the hole with a decorative plug of scrimshaw.

Scrimshaw is a term for an American folk art developed during the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Whaling in New England was an industry that lifted Nantucket Island to become the world’s wealthiest port. After a whale’s oil was rendered, the ship’s captain would give his crew the sperm whale’s teeth or bones to carve during long tedious hours at sea. Whaling had its exciting moments, but they were far and few between. As a pastime, sailors carved all kinds of useful gifts to bring home to their loved ones: needles, combs, games, clothespins, busks…and mortgage buttons.

But let’s jump back to the mortgage button. Some legends say that the actual mortgage papers were ceremoniously burned and the ashes stashed inside the drilled hole before sealed with the button. However, as appealing a thought as that might be, it is most likely a myth. There’s never been any evidence of ashes or even hidden mortgages found in salvaged newel posts. Still, mortgage buttons are common among Nantucket homes, and the tradition has spread to other parts of the country. In southern states, for example, they’re called brag buttons. Whether myth or truth, today it’s more a matter of a charming nostalgic custom than a nod to your healthy (or…not so healthy) net worth.

Blog Stops

The Avid Reader, November 4

Just the Write Escape, November 4

Texas Book-aholic, November 5

Godly Book Reviews, November 5

Southern Gal Loves to Read, November 6

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, November 6

Jeanette’s Thoughts, November 7

Locks, Hooks and Books, November 7

Among the Reads, November 8

Blossoms and Blessings, November 8

Blogging With Carol, November 9