Blog Tour: Red Sky over America by Tamera Lynn Kraft

RED SKY OVER AMERICA

Author: Tamera Kraft

Red Sky Over America(Desert Breeze, February 2018)

In 1857, America, the daughter of a slave owner, is an abolitionist and a student at Oberlin College, a school known for its radical ideas. When America goes home to Kentucky during school break to confront her father about freeing his slaves, America’s classmate, William, tags along to preach abolition to churches that condone slavery. Soon, though, America and William find themselves in the center of the approaching storm sweeping the nation. Will they make it back to Ohio . . . or even live through the struggle?

My Review: 

Red Sky over America is a good read. I enjoyed Tamera Lynn Kraft’s storytelling. She did an excellent job vividly describing the past and settings. I felt like I had been transported back in time and being part of America’s world. I enjoyed her and admired her strength and determination in wanting to make a change. 

I give Red Sky over America 4 1/2 stars. This is my first intro to this author’s writing and it most definitely will not be the last.

Recommended.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

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Review: High Cotton by Debby Mayne

Blurb (from Amazon):

Some families are filled with so much love they can't help but drive each other crazy.

Shay Henke has mixed feelings about going to her family's next reunion. On the one hand, she'll get to see everyone in her mama's family--folks she loves unconditionally. On the other hand, she knows there'll be more drama than you can shake a stick at.

The days leading up to the event bring one surprise after another. First Shay must deal with her sister-in-law's deep, dark secret. Then she has to contend with the childish ways of her business-mogul twin cousins. And when her high school crush wants to be her date to the reunions . . . well, it may have been a dream come true for Shay's teen self, but the woman she's become doesn't know what to make of this.

Shay's contentment is challenged, and she's determined to shake things up a bit. But will she find the excitement she's looking for, or will Shay realize she prefers her quiet predictable life? One thing is certain: Life in the Bucklin family is never boring.



My Review:

High Cotton is a fun and delightful read. It is full relatable characters. They are connected to the Bucklin Family and the story is centered around their family reunion. I believe Puddin would have to be my favorite character. As a stay at home mom, I knew what she was going through on so many levels. There a variety of scenes that touched on my emotions. I giggled and I cried. It is just a down home, heartwarming read.

I give High Cotton 5 plus stars and I hope to read the next book in the series.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

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Blog Tour with Giveaway: His Risk by Shelley Shepard Gray

About the Book:

An undercover English DEA agent will do anything to protect the Amish girl he loves.

Calvin Fisher left the Amish community at fourteen and never looked back. Only his brother's illness can bring him back to Hart County. Now, as Calvin works to make amends, he meets Alice, a local nursery school teacher, and falls hard for her. But he has a secret that could threaten the happiness he's finally found.

Alice shouldn't like-or want-Calvin. He's English, has a questionable past, and an even more questionable job. Still, she can't help being intrigued. Though Calvin assures Alice that he's worthy of her, she's torn between surrendering to her growing feelings and steering clear of him.

When a sudden surge of criminal activity alarms the community and even targets Alice, Calvin fears that his double life has put everyone he loves at risk. As for Alice, she can't help but wonder if the brave and honorable man she's lost her heart to is far more dangerous than she could ever imagine.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the Author:

Shelley Shepard Gray is a "New York Times" and "USA Today" bestselling author, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time HOLT Medallion winner. She lives in southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town's bike trail.

Find out more about Shelley at http://www.shelleyshepardgray.com.

  

Enter to win a copy of His Risk. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced March 28 on the Litfuse blog!



My Review: His Risk is the fourth installment and my first introduction to Shelley Shepard Gray's The Amish of Hart County. I did not feel as though I was missing much by not reading the other books in the series. However, I do want to read them to see what had happened prior to this one. I thought it was pretty good and liked the suspense, mystery, and danger. I was intrigued with Calvin right from the stars and loved him with Alice. 

His Risk is a good, sweet and clean Amish story. I give it 4 1/2 stars. 

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 

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Blog Tour and Giveaway: Lisa T. Bergren's Keturah

About the Book:

In 1772 England, Lady Keturah Banning Tomlinson and her sisters find themselves the heiresses of their father's estates and know they have one option: Go to the West Indies to save what is left of their heritage.

Although it flies against all the conventions, they're determined to make their own way in the world. But once they arrive in the Caribbean, conventions are the least of their concerns. On the infamous island of Nevis, the sisters discover the legacy of the legendary sugar barons has vastly declined-and that's just the start of what their eyes are opened to in this harsh and unfamiliar world.

Keturah never intends to put herself at the mercy of a man again, but every man on the island seems to be trying to win her hand and, with it, the ownership of her plantation. She could desperately use an ally, but even an unexpected reunion with a childhood friend leaves her questioning his motives.

To keep her family together and save the plantation that is her last chance at providing for them, can Keturah ever surrender her stubbornness and guarded heart to God and find the healing and love awaiting her?

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the Author:

Lisa T. Bergren has published more than 40 books with more than 3 million books sold combined. She's the author of the Christy Award-winning "Waterfall," RITA®-finalist "Firestorm," bestselling "God Gave Us You," and popular historical series like Homeward, Grand Tour, and more. She's also a recipient of the RT Lifetime Achievement Award. She lives in Colorado Springs with her husband and three teen-and-older children.

Find out more about Lisa at http://lisatawnbergren.com.

Enter to win a copy of Keturah. Five winners will be chosen! Click the image below to enter to win. The winners will be announced March 13 on the Litfuse blog!

 


My Review: 

Keturah is the beginning to Lisa Tawn Bergren’s exciting new series, The Sugar Baron’s Daughters. I thought it was a great way to start off and getting to know the characters. I loved the vivid details that the author provided of the setting and the moment in history. I do not remember reading any novels set during Historic Caribbean which made the story for me refreshing and unique.

I can not wait for the second book to The Sugar Baron’s Daughters series to see what will happen next. I give Keturah 4 stars.   

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

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The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma Blog Tour, Giveaway, and Facebook Live

Travel back in time to 1943 and meet Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian and concert violinist whose career is ended because of Nazi occupation in Prague. Don't miss the new historical novel, The Melody of the Soul, by Liz Tolsma. Though musical instruments have been declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to play the violin. But Officer Horst Engel, quartered in Anna's flat and dissatisfied with German ideology, enjoys her soothing music. When Anna and her grandmother face deportation, Horst risks everything to protect them.

Join Liz Tolsma and other bookworms for a Facebook Live event on February 6, plus enter to win Liz's prize pack giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• One copy of The Melody of the Soul
• A garnet bracelet
• A box of Czech Republic chocolate

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 6. The winner will be announced at Liz's Facebook Live Party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Liz and other readers, as well as for a chance to win other prizes!

RSVP today and spread the word-tell your friends about the giveaway and Facebook Live party via social media and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 6th!

About the book:

Anna has one chance for survival-and it lies in the hands of her mortal enemy.

It's 1943 and Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian living in Prague, has lost nearly everything. Most of her family has been deported, and the Nazi occupation ended her career as a concert violinist. Now Anna is left to care for her grandmother, and she'll do anything to keep her safe-a job that gets much harder when Nazi officer Horst Engel is quartered in the flat below them.

Though musical instruments have been declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to play the violin. But Horst, dissatisfied with German ideology, enjoys her soothing music. When Anna and her grandmother face deportation, Horst risks everything to protect them.

Anna finds herself falling in love with the handsome officer and his brave heart. But what he reveals might stop the music forever.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the Author:

Best-selling novelist Liz Tolsma is the author of several World War II novels and prairie romance novellas. She also works as a freelance editor. She lives in a semirural area of Wisconsin with her husband and two daughters. Her son serves with the US Marines. All of their chidlren came to them through international adoption. Her other passions include walking, gardening, camping, and reading.

Find out more about Liz at http://www.liztolsma.com.

My Review: 

The Melody of the Soul of the soul is the first book from Liz Tolsma’s newest series, Music of Hope. This book is an incredible read. It is already added to my favorites list for 2018. It is beautifully written with vivid descriptions, making the reader feel as though they are part of the story. I just love and admire Anna, her fight to live, and learning to trust in God.

The Melody of the Soul is a fabulous start to the series and I cannot wait to see where the author’s vision takes it next.

Highly highly recommended.

100 stars.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

Litfuse Tour: Seeds of Hope by Barbara Cameron

About the book:

A heartwarming tale of discovering love right in front of you

Miriam Troyer has had a secret crush on Mark Byler since she was a teenager, but she knows they can never have a relationship: Mark is a big-city attorney and an Englischer. Her Amish community is too far removed from all he knows-and she loves her quiet way of life.

Mark has always loved his visits to his grandfather's farm, but he's convinced the Amish life isn't for him. There's so much of the world to see and experience, and the excitement of his successful law practice can't be matched by the slow pace of life found back home in the country.

But when things go wrong and his firm distances itself from him to try to save themselves, Mark finds himself back at his grandfather's farm. Could life in this simple world be worth living after all? Especially when the teenager he remembers has grown into a woman that could be his future. Suddenly, these two people whose lives seem so far apart may get a chance to really see each other for the first time.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the author:

Barbara Cameron has a heart for writing about the spiritual values and simple joys of the Amish. She is the best-selling author of more than 40 fiction and nonfiction books, three nationally televised movies, and the winner of the first Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award. Her books have been nominated for Carol Awards and the Inspirational Reader's Choice Award from RWA's Faith, Hope, and Love chapter. Barbara resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

Find out more about Barbara at http://barbaracameron.com.

My Review:

Seeds of Hope is the beginning to a new series by Barbara Cameron called Harvest of Hope. I enjoyed Miriam and her interaction with Mark. And I liked the elements of faith and inspiration.
I thought Seed of Hope was, for the most part, a good read. There were some slow parts, but overall, I believe Amish Fiction fans would like the story. Definitely worth reading.

I give this story 3 1/2 stars. Looking forward to seeing what happens in book two of the series.

I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.



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Rondi Bauer Olson's 'All Things Now Living' Blog Tour, Review and Giveaway

About the book:

Her whole life Amy has been taught the people of New Lithisle deserve to die, but when she falls for Daniel, she determines to save him.

Sixteen-year-old Amy doesn't like anything to die, she won't even eat the goats or chickens her mama has butchered every fall, but she can't let herself pity the inhabitants of New Lithisle. In a few short months the dome they built to isolate themselves from the deadly pandemic is predicted to collapse, but her whole life Amy has been taught it's God's will they die. They traded their souls for immunity to the swine flu virus, brought God's curse upon themselves by adding pig genes to their own.

Then, while on a scavenging trip with her father, Amy is accidentally trapped in New Lithisle. At first her only goal is to escape, but when she meets Daniel, a New Lithisle boy, she begins to question how less-than-human the people of New Lithisle are.

Amy's feelings grow even more conflicted when she learns she didn't end up in New Lithisle by mistake. Her father is secretly a sympathizer, and was trying to prevent the coming destruction.

Now time is running short and Amy has to decide if she will bring the computer program her father wrote to his contact or save herself. Installing the program could prevent the dome's collapse, but if Amy doesn't find her father's contact in time, she'll die, along with everyone else.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

About the author:

Rondi Bauer Olson is a reader and writer from Michigan's Upper Peninsula, where she lives on a hobby farm with her husband, Kurt. She has four grown children, works as a nurse, and also owns a gift shop within view of beautiful Lake Superior.

Find out more about Rondi at:

http://rondibauerolson.weebly.com.

While on a scavenging trip with her father, Amy is accidentally trapped in New Lithisle in Rondi Bauer Olson's All Things Now Living. At first her only goal is to escape, but when she meets Daniel, a New Lithisle boy, she begins to question how less-than-human the people of New Lithisle are. Amy's feelings grow even more conflicted when she learns she didn't end up in New Lithisle by mistake. Her father is secretly a sympathizer. Time is running short and Amy has to decide if she will bring the computer program her father wrote to his contact or save herself. Installing the program could prevent the dome's collapse, but if Amy doesn't find her father's contact in time, she'll die, along with everyone else.

Stay up all night reading this thrilling new book from Rondi and enter to win a Kindle Fire!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of All Things Now Living
• A Kindle Fire

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on December 14. The winner will be announced December 15 on the Litfuse blog.

My Review

All Things Now Living  is the debut novel by Rondi Bauer Olson . I found Amy to be a likable character and the plot to be well written. However, I do not believe this book was for me. Sometimes, I tend to get lost in fantasy / dystopian type novels and I believe this book is one of those. I do think one who loves young adult and fantasy / dystopian novels, then this is definitely one they would want to add to their wish list. I give it three stars. 

I received this book from the publisher . This review is 100% my own honest opinion.

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