CFBA Presents Promises to Cherish by Elizabeth Yount

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Promises to Cherish

Howard Books (October 7, 2014)

by

Elizabeth YountABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Elizabeth Byler Younts is a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers. She is an Air Force officer’s wife and a homeschooling mom with two young daughters. She makes her home wherever her family is stationed. Elizabeth was Amish as a child and after her parents left the church she still grew up among her Amish family and continues to speak Pennsylvania Dutch.

ABOUT THE BOOK

As World War II draws to a close, nurse Christine falls in love with roguish Amish boy Eli and must choose between a new, uncertain life in the Amish faith or face the judgment of a conservative postwar American society for her past mistakes.

It’s 1945, and Christine Freeman is a nurse at Hudson River State Hospital, where she works alongside members of a Civilian Public Service unit. Eli is one of the conscies—conscientious objectors to the war—and he is doing his best to become a man of character instead of the immature heartbreaker he used to be back home in his Amish community.

Christine and Eli are friendly, but when an old acquaintance, Jack, returns home from the war, Christine’s world is violently turned upside down. Eli, heartbroken to see his friend so hurt, offers her an escape within his Amish community. Despite her misgivings, Christine is fully embraced by Eli’s community. She slowly begins to feel valued and loved as she learns the Amish way of life.

Christine finds herself falling for Eli. But soon, the abusive Jack discovers Christine in her Amish hideaway and starts causing trouble for the quiet community. Christine can’t see herself becoming Amish, and she knows that if Eli leaves the church to be with her, he will be shunned. Will she escape Jack and possibly have to give up the one thing she holds most dear, or will she follow her heart and promise to cherish the Amish man who loves her?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Promises to Cherish , go HERE.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

I loved this book! It  is my first book by Elizabeth Yount, and I was pleasant surprised! This is an Amish story with a twist that makes it different from most Amish books I have read! I enjoyed getting to know Christine and Eli, and their time at the hospital and back home in Eli’s small Amish community! This is such a special heartwarming story, and it is one that I highly recommend!

I received this book from CFBA to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 55.

Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Mist of Midnight

Howard Books (March 10, 2015)

by

Sandra ByrdABOUT THE AUTHOR:

After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published more than forty books. Her adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named by Library Journal as a Best Books Pick for 2011 and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr, was named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2012. The Tudor series’ end cap, Roses Have Thorns: A Novel of Elizabeth I published in April, 2013.

A life-long lover of Victorian Gothic romances, Sandra’s new series, Daughters of Hampshire, weaves elements of that mystical, traditional genre with inspirational and literary threads. Mist of Midnight, the series’ first book, debuts in March, 2015.

Sandra has also published dozens of books for tweens and teens, and is passionate about helping new authors develop their talent and their work toward traditional or independent publication. As such, she has mentored and coached hundreds of new writers and continues to coach dozens to success each year.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.

Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her…and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca’s name, but her home and incomes.

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father’s investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Mist of Midnight, go HERE.

CFBA Presents The Tomb by Stephanie Landsem and Howard Books

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

The Tomb

Howard Books (March 17, 2015)

by

Stephanie LandsemABOUT THE AUTHOR:

A word from the author:

I write historical fiction because I love adventure in far-off times and places. I’ve traveled since I was a teenager—backpacking through Germany and Eastern Europe, studying German in Salzburg, eating gelato in Italy, and riding camels in Morocco were some of the highlights. Travel kindles my imagination, fuels my love of history, and introduces me to one-of-a-kind characters. It’s the best kind of research.

When I can’t travel, I read. I love fiction, of course, but I’m often found behind a stack of history books or searching the web for historical tidbits. How people lived together, worked, and what they ate (I love food!) is usually what catches my imagination. No matter where or when we live, people are more alike than they are different. I love to find the similarities between our lives and those of the men and women of the ancient world.

I make my home in Minnesota with my husband of 22 years, four children, three fat cats, and a tortoise named Moe. When I’m not writing Biblical fiction, I’m feeding the ravenous horde of kids and their friends, volunteering at church and school, battling dandelions, and dreaming about my next adventure – whether it be in person or on the page.

ABOUT THE BOOK

In this captivating retelling of a classic biblical story, Jesus shocks the town of Bethany with Lazarus’s resurrection from the dead, leading Martha—a seemingly perfect woman trapped by the secrets of her past—to hope and a new life.

Everyone in Bethany admires Martha—the perfect Jewish woman. She feeds and clothes her loved ones, looks after the family farm, and meticulously follows every precept of the Pharisees’ strict laws. But Martha is hiding a secret. At her sister’s marriage feast, she gave her heart and her innocence to a young musician who promised to return and marry her, but instead betrayed her love and abandoned her.

Seven years later, only two people in Bethany know of Martha’s secret sin: her brother, Lazarus, and Simon, the righteous Pharisee to whom Martha is betrothed. When Lazarus falls ill, Martha is faced with a choice: send for Jesus to save her dying brother—risking the wrath of Simon who threatens to betray her—or deny Jesus’ healing power and remain trapped in her tomb of secrecy and lies.

Meanwhile, on the shores of Galilee, Isa roams the wilderness, tortured by demons and knowing only that someone is waiting for him. When he is healed by Jesus, he finds that seven years have passed since his descent into madness. Isa journeys home to Bethany only to find he is too late to win back Martha’s love.

When Martha risks all to heal Lazarus, will Jesus arrive in time, or will he—like Isa—come too late?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Tomb, go HERE.

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

This is the most amazing book! I haven’t read any Biblical fiction during the times of Mary, Martha and Lazarus when Jesus was on this earth, and I have to say this was really, really awesome writing from author Stephanie Landsem. Now I want to read The Well, having already read The Thief! Reading this story brought to life this time in Biblical history for me, and it was amazing! I found myself not putting this book down unless I absolutely had to! I liked that Ms. Landsem writes the characters lives so realistic that I felt I knew these people in real life, not just from reading about them in the Bible. I laughed with them, and I cried with them, especially after the death of Lazarus! And I loved that it was made so clear in the story that Jesus does things in His timing, not ours. When we think He is too late with a situation in our lives, in reality, He is always exactly on time. If you enjoy historical and Biblical fiction, you will love this one!!

I received this book from CFBA to read and review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 55.

Somebody Like You by Beth K. Vogt

 

Somebody Like You

by Beth K. Vogt

 

ABOUT THIS BOOK

Can a young widow find love again with her husband’s reflection?

Haley’s three-year marriage to Sam, an army medic, ends tragically when he’s killed in Afghanistan. Her attempts to create a new life for herself are ambushed when she arrives home one evening—and finds her husband waiting for her. Did the military make an unimaginable mistake when they told her Sam was killed?

Too late to make things right with his estranged twin brother, Stephen discovers Sam never told Haley about him. As Haley and Stephen navigate their fragile relation­ship, they are inexorably drawn to each other. How can they honor the memory of a man whose death brought them together—and whose ghost could drive them apart?

Somebody Like You is a beautifully rendered, affecting novel, reminding us that while we can’t change the past, we have the choice to change the future and start anew.
MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

This is the most unique story, well to me anyway. Haley’s husband was killed in Afghanistan, before he found out Haley was pregnant with their first child. Haley lives her life doing what she had to in order to survive without Sam. But then when a strange guy shows up at her door, could the military have been wrong all along and Sam was really alive? But wait, he isn’t Sam, but he looks exactly like him, talks like him, but just exactly who it he?? Could Sam have a twin and not told her about him?

I am hooked on Beth Vogt books! Each one gets better and better! As the friction continues between this stranger and Haley, and circumstances brings them together more, tensions begin to calm a bit. I loved following Haley and Stephen’s story, with its ups and downs, and the many frustrating times they seem to be together. But I so wanted this couple to be together. I love the way Ms. Vogt weaves all of the difficult and heartbreaking memories, the emotional situations and these wonderful believable characters together and wrote one of the best stories I have read in a while! Through there was a lot of sadness and loss, there was also a lot of humor, fun and entertainment. I keep wanting to write more about the story, but I don’t like giving the plot away so you really need to read this wonderful book for yourself. If you enjoy a good, clean and fun read, you cant go wrong with Somebody Like You. And I am eagerly awaiting the next book from Beth K. Vogt!

I rec’d Somebody Like You from the author, Beth K. Vogt to read and review. I was not required or expected to write a positive review. The opinions here in this review are mine only.

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’ Words.

Litfuse Presents……Catch a Falling Star by Beth K. Vogt plus win a $200.00 gift card

Catch a Falling Star

by Beth K. Vogt

ABOUT THE BOOK

What does a girl do when life doesn’t go according to her plan?At 36, Kendall Haynes has seen some of her dreams come true. She’s a family physician helping kids with severe allergies and asthma achieve more fulfilling lives—a childhood struggle she knows all too well. But the feeling of being “the kid never picked” looms large when romance continues to evade her and yet another one of her closest friends gets engaged. Are Kendall’s dreams of having it all—a career, a husband, children—nothing more than childish wishing upon a star? Should she hold out for her elusive Plan A? Dust off Plan B? Or is it time to settle? God says he knows the plans he has for her—why can’t Kendall figure them out and be content with her life?

Griffin Walker prefers flying solo—both as an Air Force pilot and in his personal life. But a wrong choice and health problems pulled him out of the cockpit. His attempts to get out of “flying a desk” are complicated by his parents’ death—making Griffin the reluctant guardian of his sixteen-year-old brother, Ian. How did his life get so off course? Can God get his life back on track … or has there been a divine plan all along?

Catch a Falling Star reminds readers that romance isn’t just for twenty-somethings and that sometimes letting go of your “wish I may, wish I might” dreams is the only way to embrace everything God has waiting for you.

Purchase a copy here.

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MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

After reading Wish You Were Here by Beth Vogt, I was really excited about reading Catch A Falling Star, and I am very happy I had the opportunity to read this book! I enjoyed is so much because it is a really good, light, refreshing read. With characters that are going through the things that people go through everyday, I liked the way Ms Vogt weaved the characters living for God in their everyday lives. Griffin has so much baggage that he doesn’t feel worthy of taking care of his brother, nor does he feel worthy of Dr. Kendall Haynes, making his life miserable. But he was miserable because of bad choices he made years earlier. But can he overcome these problems and live a happy life?

I highly recommend Catch a Falling Star to you if you for a nice summer read! I promise you will be delightfully entertained!

I received this book from Litfuse to read and review.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 55.

 

 

BETH K. VOGT

Beth K. Vogt is a non-fiction author and editor who said she’d never write fiction. She’s the wife of an Air Force family physician (now in solo practice), though she said she’d never marry a doctor—or anyone in the military. She’s a mom of four, though she said she’d never have kids. She’s discovered that God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Her contemporary romance novel, “Wish You Were Here,” debuted in May 2012 (Howard Books), and “Catch a Falling Star” releases May 2013. An established magazine writer and former editor of Connections, the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth is also the Skills Coach for My Book Therapy, the writing community founded by best-selling author Susan May Warren.

 

Celebrate the release of Catch a Falling Star (Howard Books) with Beth K. Vogt by entering to win a Romantic Weekend Getaway and RSVPing for her June 4th Author Chat Party.

One “lucky” winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Cash Card (Perfect for a weekend stay at a hotel or B&B!)
• Catch a Falling Star and Wish You Were Here by Beth Vogt (Swoon-worthy!)
  

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 3rd. Winner will be announced at the “Catch a Falling Star” Facebook Author Chat Party on June 4th. Connect with Beth for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Beth will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

 

So grab your copy of Catch a Falling Star and join Beth on the evening of June 4th 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. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 4th!

Litfuse Presents The Face of the Earth By Deborah Raney

The Face of the Earth

By Deborah Raney

About The Face of the Earth:When Mitchell Brannon’s beloved wife of twenty years kisses him goodbye one autumn morning, he has little idea that his life is about to change forever. Mitch returns from work early that evening, surprised Jill’s car isn’t in the garage. Her conference in Kansas City is only a few hours’ drive from their little town of Sylvia, Missouri. But her voice on the answering machine makes him smile. “Hey, babe, I’m just now checking out of the hotel, but I’ll stop and pick up something for dinner. Love you.”

Mitch sets the table with their best china and lights some candles, looking forward to their first weekend as empty nesters.

But at eight o’clock, the candles have burned to stubs and Jill still hasn’t shown up. Mitch tries her cell phone only to get her voice mail over and over again. Their two college kids haven’t heard from their mom either.
At midnight, Mitch’s irritation turns to dread. And later, when the police and Missouri Highway Patrol have turned up nothing, the Kansas City hotel calls to say they’ve found property belonging to Jill in a hotel maid’s possession.

Mitch enlists the help of their next-door neighbor, Jill’s best friend, Shelley, and together they search for clues to Jill’s disappearance. As days turn into weeks and weeks into months, Mitch and Shelley’s friendship grows ever closer–and decidedly complicated with Jill as the tie that binds them together. Just when Shelley decides to finally reveal her feelings for Mitch, a clue to Jill’s whereabouts is uncovered. But every lead seems to be a dead end, and Mitch wonders how he can honor the vows he made to a woman who has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth.Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/kFdwM

MY THOUGHTS ON THIS BOOK

Wow, this book is awesome! Deborah Raney is truly an amazing, gifted and talented story teller. The Face of the Earth is one of my favorite all time books! I was hooked from the first page, and I couldn’t put the book down because I had to find out what happened to Jill! I wanted to be there for Mitch and their two kids, just for support if nothing else. I can’t even imagine waiting for someone you love, and they never show up. What would you do in that situation? There are so many emotions flying around in this story, so many ups and downs, twists and turns, it was difficult for me to think about anything else except for, ‘what happened to Jill.’

This book is chunked full of love, loss, forgiveness and trust in the Lord. If you enjoy fiction, you must read this book! You will be very well entertained! So pick up your copy today. I received this book from Litfuse to read and review.  I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 55.

 Meet Deb:

Deborah Raney is the award-winning author of several novels, including “A Nest of Sparrows” and the RITA award winning “Beneath a Southern Sky” and its sequel, “After the Rains”. Deborah’s first novel, “A Vow to Cherish”, was the inspiration for World Wide Pictures’ highly acclaimed film of the same title, which in December 2004 aired on prime time network TV for the second time. Deb’s novella, “Playing by Heart”, was a National Readers Choice Award winner and a 2004 Christy Award finalist. Her novel for Howard/Simon & Schuster, “Yesterday’s Embers”, appeared on the ECPA Christian fiction bestseller list. Known for her sensitive portrayal of family struggles and relationships, Deb has also written nonfiction books and articles and often speaks at women’s retreats and writers’ conferences around the country. She and her husband, illustrator/author Ken Raney, have four children and make their home in Kansas.

Find out more at DeborahRaney.com

AND NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY

THE FACE OF THE EARTH BY DEBORAH RANEY | $200 DATE NIGHT GIVEAWAY, FACEBOOK PARTY, AND BLOG TOUR

Author: Deborah Raney

Welcome to the campaign for Deborah Raney’s latest novel, The Face of the Earth. Early reviews say this book is not to be missed; Deborah Raney’s latest book explores some painful areas of marriage—temptation, betrayal, and loss of trust. But with her exceptional skill and bedrock respect for marriage itself, she turns The Face of the Earth into a story both profound and memorable—even joyous. (Sibella Giorello)

Deborah is celebrating with a fun “Date Night” Giveaway (win a $200 Visa Cash Card!) and an Author Chat Party on Facebook! {5/30} 

One winner will receive:

• A $200 Visa Cash Card (Use that to catch up with a loved one – your spouse, friend, sister, mom … whomever!)
• The Face of the Earth by Deborah Raney
  

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 29th. Winner will be announced at the “The Face of the Earth” Facebook Author Chat Party on May 30th. Connect with Deborah for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Deborah will also be sharing a sneak peek of her next book and giving away books and fun gift certificates throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Face of the Earth and join Deborah on the evening of May 30th 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. TELL YOUR FRIENDS VIA FACEBOOK OR TWITTER AND INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. HOPE TO SEE YOU ON THE 30TH!