More from the Inn at Eagle Hill -- The Calling

The Calling is another delightful Amish story from the pen of Suzanne Woods Fisher.  I can always count on Suzanne to deliver a fun story, complete with some quirky characters, a little romance, and a few unexpected twists and turns.

The Inn at Eagle Hill got off to a captivating start in The Letters (you can check out my review here) with a new cast of characters, as well as some familiar "faces" from a previous series.  Those characters, while almost all Plain folks,  definitely do not find life uncomplicated.  Their simple lifestyle offers no guarantee of simple solutions to their day-to-day struggles.  

Bethany Schrock, the main character of this book, has a lot of questions about her life, questions that are easily identified with as they could just as well be found in an English setting.  How she deals with those uncertainties drives the story, along with lots of things going on with friends and family around her.  Some of the most important lessons Bethany learns have to do with looking deep within herself and other people to try to understand the hurt that is hidden behind actions.  In the midst of the difficulties, long-time fans of Suzanne's books just might be surprised to see the responsible young Amish man Jimmy Fisher is turning out to be.

As a good installment in an ongoing series, The Calling brings resolution to some of the issues in the story.  However, there are plenty of loose ends left to make me anxious to read The Revealing, due out later this year.  I highly recommend this series to fans of great Amish fiction.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for providing a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

See what other readers have to say about The Calling here. 

About the book: 

Book Two in the Inn at Eagle Hill series.

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher delivers her trademark twists, turns, and tender romance in this delightful and exciting visit to the deceptively quiet community of Stoney Ridge.

Twenty-year-old Bethany Schrock is restless. Her love life has derailed, her faith hangs by a thread, and she is spending the incredibly hot summer days wading through a lifetime's accumulation of junk at the home of five ancient Amish sisters. About the only thing that holds her interest is the spirited and dangerously handsome Jimmy Fisher---and he seems bent on irritating her to no end.

When the sly old sisters and a guest at the Inn get Bethany involved in running the local soup kitchen and starting a community garden, she suddenly finds herself wondering, Shootfire! How did that happen? Despite her newfound purposefulness, a gnawing emptiness about a childhood mystery continues to plague her. Encouraged by Jimmy Fisher, she will seek out the answers she craves---and uncover a shocking secret that will break her heart, heal it, and point her to love.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/stlG8

Read an excerpt: http://ow.ly/stlIM

 Meet the author: 

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Inn at Eagle Hill series, Lancaster County Secrets series, and the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of a new Amish children's series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist. She is a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. Get Amish proverbs delivered right to your mobile device! Download the Free App! http://bit.ly/10Tygyi

Learn more about Suzanne at: http://suzannewoodsfisher.com
 
 

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher is celebrating her newest book, The Calling, by giving away TWO iPads, TWO Kindles, and TWO Nooks!
 

Two grand prize winners will receive:

• An iPad
• The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Four second place winners will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HDX or a Nook HD—winner's choice!
• The Letters and The Calling by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 8th. All winners will be announced February 10th at Suzanne's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Suzanne's blog on the 10th to see if you won one of the great prizes! (Or better yet, subscribe to her blog and have the winner announcement delivered to your inbox!)

Another great story by Kim Vogel Sawyer -- Echoes of Mercy

One thing that I've come to realize over the past few years is this -- you just can't go wrong with a Kim Vogel Sawyer book!  Echoes of Mercy, a compelling story filled with interesting characters, is one more example of that truth.

Carrie, Ollie, Kesia, Noble, Annamarie, and the Holcomb children are all people I came to care about as I read, and they each added their own unique flavor to the story.  The faith exhibited by the characters -- some strong and some just in infant stages, the passion for people and for causes, and even the deceit and evil plotting of Gordon Hightower all fit together into a tale that sometimes made me smile and at other times brought tears to my eyes.  As usual, Kim brings her story to life and tugs at her readers' hearts.

Echoes of Mercy is a great mix of history, relationship, romance, and faith.  Through several of the characters, Kim shares insightful reminders of God's grace and provision.  One of my favorite lines in the book was near the end of the story when Noble offered Caroline an answer to her question about how to stop worrying and trust God:  "Very simply, Caroline, you open your fists and you give the worry over to the One who is capable of carrying it."

Thanks to Kim Vogel Sawyer for providing me an advanced reading copy of Echoes of Mercy.

About the Book

Sometimes a secret must be kept for the truth to be revealed. 

When a suspicious accident occurs at the famous Dinsmore Chocolate Factory in Sinclair, Kansas, Caroline Lang goes undercover as a factory worker to investigate the circumstances surrounding the event and how the factory treats its youngest employees—the child workers. Caroline’s fervent faith, her difficult childhood, and compassionate heart drove her to her job as an investigator for the Labor Commission and she is compelled to see children freed from such heavy adult responsibilities, to allow them to pursue an education.

Oliver Dinsmore, heir to the Dinsmore candy dynasty, has his own investigation to conduct. Posing as a common worker known as “Ollie Moore,” he aims to find out all he can about the family business before he takes over for his father. Caroline and Oliver become fast friends, but tension mounts when the two find themselves at odds about the roles of child workers. Hiding their identities becomes even more difficult when fate brings them together over three children in desperate need. When all is revealed, will the truth destroy the love starting to grow between them?

About the Author 

Kim Vogel Sawyer is a best-selling author highly acclaimed for her gentle stories of hope. More than one million copies of her books are in print and have garnered awards including the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Kim lives in Kansas, where she and her retired military husband, Don, run a bed-and-breakfast inn with the help of their four feline companions. She enjoys spending time with her three daughters and nine grandchildren.

An Intimate Story of God's Faithfulness -- A Promise Kept

The only books I had previously read by Robin Lee Hatcher were some of her historical fiction.  But since I really enjoyed her writing in that genre, I decided to take a chance on A Promise Kept, a more contemporary story.  When I found out a little of the "story behind the story," I was even more intrigued and anxious to read it.

A Promise Kept is a very well-written, intimate story of God's faithfulness.  Although the story is fictional, it is based on a challenging time in Robin's own life -- what appeared to be the end of a marriage that she truly expected God to save.  As in Robin's own situation, the main character of her story finds herself doubting whether she correctly heard God's promise about her marriage.

As she begins digging into her aunt's story from the past, Allison learns important lessons about the present that help her find her way back to seeing God's way of keeping His promises. Robin does an excellent job of interweaving Allison's contemporary story with her Aunt Emma's surprising tale revealed through her journals.  And she learns that God is always faithful to answer prayer, sometimes in unexpected ways and in His own timing.

To learn more about Robin and the experiences that prompted her to write A Promise Kept, check out this interview.

See what other readers have to say about A Promise Kept here.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity Group for providing this book in exchange for my honest review.

About the Book

God was going to save her marriage, Allison was sure of it.

But neither her husband nor her marriage had been saved.

What had become of His promise?

Tony Kavanagh had been Allison’s dream-come-true. They were in love within days, engaged within weeks, married and pregnant within a year. Her cup bubbled over with joy . . . but years later, that joy had been extinguished by unexpected trials.

The day Allison issued her husband an ultimatum, she thought it might save him. She never expected he would actually leave. She was certain God had promised to heal; it was clear that she’d misunderstood.
Now living in the quiet mountain cabin she inherited from her single, self-reliant Great Aunt Emma, Allison must come to terms with her grief and figure out how to adapt to small town life. But when she finds a wedding dress and a collection of journals in Emma’s attic, a portrait of her aunt emerges that takes Allison completely by surprise: a portrait of a heartbroken woman a lot like herself.

As Allison reads the incredible story of Emma’s life in the 1920s and 1930s, she is forced to ask a difficult question: Does she really surrender every piece of her life to the Lord? For a woman accustomed to being someone else’s savior, that will be even harder than it sounds.

Drawing from her own heart-wrenching story of redemption, A Promise Kept is Robin Lee Hatcher's emotionally charged thanksgiving to a God who answers prayers---in His own time and His own ways.

About the Author

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She discovered her vocation after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. Winner of the Christy, the RITA, the Carol, the Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and many other awards, Robin is also a recipient of the prestigious RWA Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of 70 novels and novellas with over five million copies in print.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. Her main hobby (when time allows) is knitting, and she has a special love for making prayer shawls. A mother and grandmother, Robin and her husband make their home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with Poppet, the high-maintenance Papillon, and Princess Pinky, the DC (demon cat).

Check out Robin on Facebook and at her website.

  Don't miss Robin Lee Hatcher's stunning new novel, A Promise Kept. Robin is celebrating with a fun giveaway and an encouraging Facebook Author Chat Party.

 One winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HDX
• A Promise Kept by Robin Lee Hatcher

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 6th. Winner will be announced at the "A Promise Kept" Facebook Author Chat Party on the 6th. Connect with Robin and friends for an evening of encouraging book chat, prizes, and an exclusive look at Robin's next book!

So grab your copy of A Promise Kept and join Robin on the evening of February 6th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today by clicking JOIN at the event page. Spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway and party via FACEBOOK or TWITTER. Hope to see you on 2/6!