Beautiful Story of Hope and Redemption -- The Songbird of Hope Hill

I've said it before, and I'll say it again . . . I always know I'm going to get a beautiful gentle story of hope when I see the name Kim Vogel Sawyer on the cover. And The Songbird of Hope Hill certainly does not disappoint!

The story definitely has its elements that are filled with anything but hope, but those seemingly hopeless places are just temporary stops along the journey. The characters have to struggle and grow through a variety of major challenges to reach their destinations of hope. 

As the Overly family lives out sacrificially the mission God has given them at Hope Hill, countless young women (as well as some young children) are given a place to find a chance for better lives, even some who spend time and effort fighting against those opportunities. Birdie readily accepts the opportunity to hope for a better life but still finds it hard to believe that God would really forgive her and redeem her from the past she so regrets.

This story's music of hope keeps shining through for Birdie, Ephraim, and so many others in a beautiful display of God's grace and redemption. I highly recommend The Songbird of Hope Hill to fans of great inspirational fiction.

Thanks to the author and publisher for providing a copy of the book. I am happy to share my own thoughts in this review.

About the Book

Desperate to simply survive, Birdie Clarkson was driven to a life at a house of ill repute. Now she longs only for escape. So when Reverend Isaiah Overly and his son, Ephraim, appear and offer a better life, she jumps at the chance. Ignoring the furious raging of the madam, Birdie climbs into the back of the preacher’s wagon. 
 
The men take her to Hope Hill, the haven the reverend and his wife, Ophelia, founded so women like Birdie can be taught skills to help them rise above their pasts. Soon a resistant Birdie finds herself singing in the choir Ephraim leads at revival meetings, even though she’s certain she’s the last person who should be representing God. 
 
Reverend Overly teaches that no one is irredeemable, but even as Ephraim is falling in love with her, Birdie remains convinced that she’s past saving. After all she’s been through, can she ever believe that God’s redemption wipes every soul clean? And can Ephraim convince her that God loves her more than she can grasp—and that he does, too?

Inspired by historical events.

About the Author

Kim Vogel Sawyer is a highly acclaimed, bestselling author with more than 1.5 million copies of her 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. When she isn’t writing, you’ll find her petting cats, packing Operation Christmas Child boxes, or spending time with her daughters and grandchildren.

Thrilling Romantic Suspense -- Cold Pursuit and Cold Threat

Nancy Mehl is one of my go-to authors for great romantic suspense. Cold Pursuit and Cold Threat, the first two installments of her Ryland + St. Clair series, are great thrillers that are almost impossible to put down. From page one of each book to the very last sentence, the story is filled with gripping details that kept me wondering and guessing what was around the next corner. 

In Cold Pursuit, River Ryland and her former FBI partner, Tony St. Clair, open a private investigation firm and immediately find themselves involved in a tragic cold case that becomes more and more complicated and dangerous to anyone near the case. In Cold Threat, River and Tony work alongside police detective Ray St. Clair (Tony's dad), trying to help him put pieces together to solve a different set of murders and again find themselves in life-threatening situations.

The plot, pace, character development and well-researched background information make for riveting stories. A very tantalizing technique that the author scatters throughout the stories gives the reader some of the thoughts, words, and actions of the "bad guy" without revealing who that is. And a strong faith element that is an important part of the characters' development is woven into the story in a very unforced, natural way.

I highly recommend Cold Pursuit and Cold Threat to fans of great inspirational romantic suspense. The books need to be read in order to fully understand the flow of details. I am anxiously waiting to see how this series wraps up in Cold Vengeance, due to be released in summer of 2024.

About Cold Pursuit

Ex-FBI profiler River Ryland still suffers from PTSD after a case went horribly wrong. Needing a fresh start, she moves to St. Louis to be near her ailing mother and opens a private investigation firm with her friend and former FBI partner, Tony St. Clair. They're soon approached by a grieving mother who wants them to find out what happened to her teenaged son, who disappeared four years ago. River knows there's almost no hope the boy is still alive, but his mother needs closure, and River and Tony need a case, no matter how cold it might be.

But as they follow the boy's trail, which gets more complicated at every turn, they find themselves in the path of a murderer determined to punish anyone who gets in his way. As River and Tony race to stop him before he kills again, an even more dangerous threat emerges, stirring up the past that haunts River and plotting an end to her future.

About Cold Threat

Twenty years ago, several people were murdered in Des Moines, and the only evidence left behind was a snowman ornament hanging ominously on a tree in the victims' front lawns. With a suspect behind bars, the killings have come to an end--or so everyone thought. But now crimes with a similar MO are happening in a small Iowa town, and a local detective believes the killer is back and ready to strike again.

With little time left on the clock before they have another murder on their hands, private investigators River Ryland and Tony St. Clair must work alongside Tony's detective father to find evidence that will uncover an evil that has survived far too long. As the danger mounts and the suspect closes in, it will take all they have to catch a killer--before he catches one of them.

About the Author

Nancy Mehl (NancyMehl.com) is the author of more than fifty books, a Parable and ECPA bestseller, and the winner of an ACFW Book of the Year Award, a Carol Award, and the Daphne du Maurier Award. She has also been a finalist for the Christy Award. Nancy writes from her home in Missouri, where she lives with her husband, Norman, and their puggle, Watson.

Fun Amish Romance -- His Amish Sweetheart

Recently I picked up His Amish Sweetheart, a book that has been on my TBR (to-be-read) pile for a long time, because I was certain it would be a fun, light-hearted read to follow some heavier stories I had recently enjoyed. And of course, Jennifer Beckstrand delivered just what I was expecting! This book finishes up her delightful Petersheim Brothers series.

This book, like the first two in the series, has many of the common elements of Amish romance novels . . . but it also has an extra spark of fun in the form of a pair of young twin brothers who are usually about the business of creating and working out plans of matchmaking for their older brothers. Of course, the ultimate objective of those great plans is to get all the brothers married and moved out of the house so Alfie and Benji can move out of the basement and have a real room again. In this book, Austin, the last unattached brother, is their person of interest, and they are afraid he is about to make the wrong choice. The accounts of their shenanigans -- some successful and some not so much -- keep the story lively and entertaining. All the characters in the story are well developed and play their necessary roles very well.

I highly recommend His Amish Sweetheart to fans of Amish fiction or to those who might want to try the genre in a setting that will bring a smile!

About the Book

Fondly nicknamed “The Peanut Butter Brothers," Andrew, Abraham, and Austin Petersheim skillfully run one of Wisconsin's most cherished family businesses. But their mischievous younger twin siblings have a talent all their own—for matchmaking . . .

Between work and keeping his little brothers out of trouble, Austin Petersheim barely has time to think, much less court the most popular maidel in town. But if he can establish a local market to direct-sell his family's goods, he'll stand out as a potential husband. He's so grateful for the help of his longtime friend, Hannah Yutzy, who has such practical ideas—and is so easy to talk to . . .

While Austin embarks on his plan, his siblings have a plan of their own: to give Austin and Hannah a little nudge to show them they're made for each other. When their antics wreak havoc with a rival family emporium, Hannah must help Austin set things right. And as she does just that, Austin is stunned to realize his best friend could be his perfect wife. Now he'll just need the courage and faith to find out if she agrees . . .

About the Author

Jennifer Beckstrand is the RITA-nominated and award-winning author of The Amish Quiltmakers Baby, the Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill, The Honeybee Sisters series, The Petersheim Brothers series, as well as a number of other novels and novellas. Novels in her Matchmakers of Huckleberry Hill series have been RITA® Award and RT Book Reviews Reviewer's Choice Award finalists. Huckleberry Hill won the 2014 LIME Award for inspirational fiction and Huckleberry Hearts was named a Booklist Top 10 Inspirational Fiction Book of the Year. Jennifer has always been drawn to the strong faith and the enduring family ties of the Plain people. She and her husband have been married for thirty-six years, and she has four daughters, two sons, and seven adorable grandchildren, whom she spoils rotten. Please visit her online at 
JenniferBeckstrand.com.