Heart-pounding sequel -- If I'm Found

If I'm Found is the heart-pounding sequel to Terri Blackstock's If I Run.  The tension and suspense continue to grow in this second book of the series.

The characters are fascinating and complex.  Casey Cox is on the run for her life but just can't keep from caring for and helping others in dire situations, no matter the personal risk.  Dylan Roberts is pursuing her but is caught in between threatening members of the law enforcement community and what he believes to be true about Casey.  Trying to reconcile danger and truth leads to a multitude of life and death situations.  Woven throughout the story are important elements of faith and learning to trust God, no matter what.

As an additional perk, I love what is being done with the covers of the books in this series.  I'm not always impacted by book covers, but the creativity with this set is awesome.

I highly recommend If I'm Found to fans of great suspense.  This series is one of Terri's best!  You will definitely want to start with the first book, If I Run.  The only bad thing about the series -- the conclusion will not be out until next spring.  What a wait!

About the Book:

Casey Cox is still on the run, fleeing prosecution for a murder she didn’t commit. Dylan Roberts–her most relentless pursuer–is still on her trail, but his secret emails insist that he knows the truth and wants to help her. He’s let her escape before when he had her in his grasp, but trust doesn’t come easily.

As Casey works to collect evidence about the real murderers, she stumbles on another unbearable injustice: an abused child and a suicidal man who’s also been falsely accused. Casey risks her own safety to right this wrong and protect the little girl from her tormenters. But doing so is risky and just may result in her capture–and if she’s captured, she has no doubt she’ll be murdered before she ever steps foot in a jail.

In this riveting sequel to the USA Today bestseller If I Run, evil lurks, drawing Casey out of the shadows … but there is light shining in the darkness. Is Dylan a provision from the God who loves her, or another heartache yet to happen?

About the Author:

Terri Blackstock has sold over seven million books worldwide and is a New York Times bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of “Intervention,” “Vicious Cycle,” and “Downfall,” as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, and the Restoration Series.

Find out more about Terri at http://www.terriblackstock.com.

A multi-generational story of loss and hope -- Bringing Maggie Home

"There is no one so damaged that grace can't redeem him.

That's one of the best things about God, I think.

He never sees us as too far gone."

"Do your best and trust God with the rest.

That's the way to find peace."

"God knows the best answer,

and he will reveal it at the right time." 

There are always inspirational gems to be mined from "gentle stories of hope" by the awesome Kim Vogel Sawyer.  These come from her latest novel,  Bringing Maggie Home.

Kim has previously written great historical fiction, as well as Mennonite fiction with both historical and contemporary settings.  Bringing Maggie Home represents a somewhat new direction for her, with the main story set in current time with flashbacks to events covering the lives of three generations of women in the same family.  As expected, Kim did a fantastic job with this new venture.

So many issues challenge the characters in this story.  From the beginning, you feel the tension and loss experienced by grandmother Hazel, her daughter Diane, and granddaughter Meghan.  Sometimes I wanted to shake one or more of them and force them to sit down and talk things out.  At other times, I found myself in tears as they worked through their issues, individually and together.

In her characteristic excellent writing style, Kim filled in the needed blanks in the women's lives as her story developed.  Twists and turns in the developments certainly helped keep the interest level high.  The end of the story . . . well, you will just have to read it for yourself to see how skillfully Kim concludes this engaging journey through time.

Thanks to Kim and her publisher for providing a copy of the book.  I was delighted to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book:

Decades of Loss, an Unsolved Mystery, and a Rift Spanning Three Generations

Hazel DeFord is a woman haunted by her past. While berry picking in a blackberry thicket in 1943, ten-year old Hazel momentarily turns her back on her three-year old sister Maggie and the young girl disappears.

Almost seventy years later, the mystery remains unsolved and the secret guilt Hazel carries has alienated her from her daughter Diane, who can’t understand her mother’s overprotectiveness and near paranoia. While Diane resents her mother’s inexplicable eccentricities, her daughter Meghan—a cold case agent—cherishes her grandmother’s lavish attention and affection.

When a traffic accident forces Meghan to take a six-week leave-of-absence to recover, all three generations of DeFord women find themselves unexpectedly under the same roof. Meghan knows she will have to act as a mediator between the two headstrong and contentious women. But when they uncover Hazel’s painful secret, will Meghan also be able to use her investigative prowess to solve the family mystery and help both women recover all that’s been lost?

About the Author:

KIM VOGEL SAWYER is a highly acclaimed, best-selling author with more than one million books in print, in seven different languages. Her titles have earned numerous accolades including the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers' Choice Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Kim lives in central Kansas with her retired military husband, Don, where she continues to write gentle stories of hope. She enjoys spending time with her three daughters and grandchildren.

An enjoyable Amish collection -- An Amish Summer

An Amish Summer is an enjoyable collection of sweet Amish stories, great for quick reading in the summer -- or any time of year.

The good thing about novellas is that they are quick to read.  The bad thing about novellas . . . is that they are quick to read; the stories are sometimes over too soon, before you want them to end. 

Seriously, I find the quick reads to be good for a few reasons.  First, they can be a nice break from the longer novels and series that I enjoy so much.  Second, they sometimes add more to stories I've already read by the author.  Third, they give me a chance to read a sample by an author whose books I have never tried.

This collection was a mixture of those things for me.  I've read and enjoyed Shelley Shepard Gray's Pinecraft series and enjoyed her story related to that.  Amy Clipston and Kathleen Fuller are also authors whose novels I have enjoyed, and as expected I found these new stories by them delightful to read.  This was the first story I had read by Kelly Irvin.  I had a little trouble following the flow of her story; I don't know whether it was her style or whether having not read her other books contributed to that.

I would recommend An Amish Summer to anyone who is a fan of good Amish reads.  Thanks to Booklook Bloggers for providing a copy of the book.  I was happy to provide my personal thoughts in this review.

About the Book:

A new novella collection of sweet, summer romances from some of our favorite Amish authors!

A Reunion in Pinecraft by Shelley Shepard Gray

When sisters Sharon and Sherilyn Kramer attend a wedding in Shipshewana, one of them returns with a new penpal while the other returns to her job at the bakery. After sending weekly letters back and forth, Sherry and Graham Holland arrange a reunion in Pinecraft. Upon Graham’s arrival, however, he realizes he’s been writing to the wrong sister. He decides to use the reunion as a way to get to know both sisters, but can he sort through the confusion in time to turn the worst vacation ever into something truly wonderful?

Summer Storms by Amy Clipston

Ariana is counting down the days until her wedding to Jesse. They have been friends longer than Arianna can remember, and that friendship turned into love over the past couple of years. But when Arianna’s brother Tobias, who happens to be Jesse’s best friend, gets them both into trouble, Arianna’s father puts an end to her engagement to Jesse. Some summer storms pass quickly, but Arianna is afraid the damage from this one may be too much to repair.

Lakeside Love by Kathleen Fuller

Esther has always lived in the shadow of her beautiful younger sister Sarah. Even the boy she has known—and loved—her entire life, Judah, only has eyes for Sarah. But when a handsome young Englischer comes to live with the family for a summer, everything begins to change.

One Sweet Kiss by Kelly Irvin

Everybody in little Bee County, Texas, can see the obvious: Jacob King and Martha Byler are meant to be together. Everyone, that is, but Martha. Ever since her mother died when Martha was a young girl, she has taken over the role of caregiver to her large family. And reckless Jacob, who has had a little too much fun on his rumspringa, only seems to add to the list of people to manage. But one summer changes everything, and these two may just find a way to meet in the middle and share one sweet kiss.