Review The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

The Warrior Maiden by Melanie Dickerson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb: 

Mulan isn’t afraid to pretend to be a son and assume her father’s soldier duties in war. But what happens when the handsome son of a duke discovers her secret?

Mulan is trying to resign herself to marrying the village butcher for the good of her family, but her adventurous spirit just can’t stand the thought. At the last minute, she pretends to be the son her father never had, assumes his duties as a soldier, and rides off to join the fight to protect the castle of her liege lord’s ally from the besieging Teutonic Knights.

Wolfgang and his brother Steffan leave Hagenheim with several other soldiers to help their father’s ally in Poland. When they arrive, Wolfgang is exasperated by the young soldier Mikolai who seems to either always be one step away from disaster... or showing Wolfgang up in embarrassing ways.

When Wolfgang discovers his former rival and reluctant friend Mikolai is actually a girl, he is determined to protect her. But battle is a dangerous place where anything can happen — and usually does.

When Mulan receives word that her mother has been accused of practicing witchcraft through her healing herbs and skills, Mulan’s only thought is of defending her. Will she be able to trust Wolfgang to help? Or will sacrificing her own life be the only way to save her mother? 



My Review:

The Warrior Maiden is book nine from Melanie Dickerson’s series, Hagenheim. In this installment, a reader gets a retelling of the fairy tale of Mulan. I thought this was a fun and unique retelling of a tale that I do not normally see being retold. I thought Mulan’s story was great. 

I give The Warrior Maiden five plus stars. It is definitely my favorite of the series that I have read. I highly recommend it. 

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 

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Review: With Winter's First Frost by Kelly Irvin

With Winter's First Frost by Kelly Irvin

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Blurb: 

From bestselling author Kelly Irvin comes the fourth and final book in the compelling Every Amish Season series.

Will the long, cold winter prove to be Laura and Zechariah's season of renewed purpose and love sweetened with age?

Laura Kauffman has been a widow for eight years--since her husband of forty-five years passed away in his sleep on Christmas Eve. She tries to keep herself busy with her nine children, fifty-two grandchildren, and twenty-eight great-grandchildren. But she can't stop wondering: What does God expect her to do with her days now? Has her usefulness been expended? Why leave her to carry on alone? Those are questions she can't answer until a friend suffers complications during childbirth and needs someone to help care for her newborn twins and three older children. The twins' great-grandfather, Zechariah Stutzman, a widower himself, seems to need some upkeep as well. Suddenly, Laura has her hands full, and the long winter days don't seem so long.

Zechariah suffers from Parkinson's disease. When his wife died of breast cancer two years earlier, his children insisted he live with one of his grandsons and their growing family because of his disease's progression. He's not allowed to drive, chop wood, or build fires. He feels he has outlived his usefulness. Then Laura comes along and seems determined to change that.

Both Laura and Zechariah must seek God's will to find the purpose for this season in their lives. They have to be willing to trust and to accept that second chances for romantic love are possible--even probable--when they give control of their lives to God. 



My Review: 

With Winter's First Frost is the fourth installment from Kelly Irvin’s series, Every Amish Season. I enjoyed this book. I loved how the author used real to life characters with real to life issues for this story. I found it to be quite relatable for many readers. Laura and Zechariah are two characters that are not forgettable.

I am giving With Winter’s First Frost five plus stars. I recommend this book, as well as, the others in the series. 

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 



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Review: Seasons of an Amish Garden by Amy Clipston

Seasons of an Amish Garden by Amy Clipston

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Blurb:

Enjoy a year of beautiful seasons in this new story collection, as young Amish couples manage a community garden and harvest friendships and love along the way.

Spring Is in the Air

As the young people of Bird-in-Hand, Pennsylvania, plant a garden in memory of their friend, Katie Ann begins to worry that her older brother, Ephraim, is dating her best friend. What if she somehow loses them both? But Christian, a new boy in the community, also works in the garden—and falling for him may be exactly the distraction, and lesson, that Katie Ann needs.

Home by Summer

Clara Hertzler is surprised when Jerry Petersheim, her old friend, comes to the garden to drop off his younger sister—especially because Jerry has been gone for years, and now seems to be living as an Englisher. As the friends get to know each other again, Clara pushes Jerry to examine why he abandoned his Amish beliefs. Will Clara help Jerry renew his faith in God, and will they find love beneath the summer sun?

The Fruits of Fall

Tena Speicher has come to live in Bird-in-Hand after her fiancé left her for an English woman. When a homeless veteran comes to the fruit stand one day and asks for food, Tena is not sure how to respond—but Wayne intervenes and offers to let him stay in the barn. Afraid to trust Englishers, Tena must learn, with Wayne’s help, that everyone is a child of God and deserving of kindness.

Winter Blessings

Ephraim and Mandy have dated for some time and now have plans to marry. But after a series of unexpected events and misunderstandings, they wonder if they should go their separate ways. What will happen when their friends at the Amish garden conspire to bring them back together?




My Review: 

Seasons of an Amish Garden is a collection of four stories that cover each season of the year. These stories include:

Spring Is in the Air – Katie Ann is worries about her brother and best friend dating, while trying not to fall for newcomer, Christian.
Home by Summer – Clara reconnects with an old friend Jerry, who is now part of the English world.
The Fruits of Fall - Tena leaves her hometown after being betrayed by the one who she planned to marry. She has to learn to trust others.
Winter Blessings – Ephraim and Mandy began questioning their relationship and receive help from their friends.

I enjoyed this collection and give it four stars.

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

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Review: Arms of Mercy by Ruth Reid

Blurb (from Amazon):

He lost her once to a rash decision.

He will not lose her again.

On the eve of a new year, Catherine Glick is expecting her bu of five years to propose. Instead, the unexpected arrival of an old boyfriend, Elijah, sends her life spiraling out of control. When a rash decision damages her current relationship, Catherine leaves for Florida to work in her cousin’s bakery—anything to flee the source of her shame.

Elijah Graber knows he hurt Catherine when he left their Amish district six years ago. He’s determined to explain his actions, even if it means following her to Florida. Perhaps their two-day bus trip together will provide enough time for him to make his case and win her back.

Just when Elijah is starting to tear down the walls Catherine has built, their bus skids on an icy road—and amid the mayhem and tragedy that follow, Catherine disappears. Elijah’s friends urge him to prepare for the worst, but Elijah holds on to his hope in God and refuses to give up his search for Catherine. With supernatural nudging from the most unexpected places, Elijah sets out to find the love he once lost—no matter the cost.

My Review

Arms of Mercy is the second installment from Ruth Reid’s Amish Mercies series. I had no problem getting through the first 2/3 of the book, but the storyline slowed way down for me. I lost interest for a little while until I was closer to the end. So glad I pushed through to find out what happened in the end.


Though I did enjoy Arms of Mercy, I did not enjoy it as much as the first in the series, Abiding Mercy. I give this one 3 1/2 stars. I look forward to see what happens next in the next Amish Mercies series.

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 

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Review: The Orphan's Wish by Melanie Dickerson

Blurb (from Amazon):

Orphaned and alone, Aladdin travels from the streets of his Arab homeland to a strange, faraway place. Growing up in an orphanage, he meets young Lady Kirstyn, whose father is the powerful Duke of Hagenheim. Despite the difference in their stations, Aladdin quickly becomes Kirstyn’s favorite companion, and their childhood friendship grows into a bond that time and opposition cannot break.

Even as a child, Aladdin works hard, learning all he can from his teachers. Through his integrity, intelligence, and sheer tenacity, he earns a position serving as the duke’s steward. But that isn’t enough to erase the shame of being forced to steal as a small child—or the fact that he’s an orphan with no status. If he ever wants to feel equal to his beautiful and generous friend Kirstyn, he must leave Hagenheim and seek his fortune.

Yet once Aladdin departs, Lady Kirstyn becomes a pawn in a terrible plot. Now, Aladdin and Kirstyn must rely on their bond to save her from unexpected danger. But will saving Kirstyn cost Aladdin his newfound status and everything he’s worked so hard to obtain?

An enchanting new version of the well-known tale, The Orphan’s Wish tells a story of courage and loyalty, friendship and love, and reminds us what “family” really means

My Review

I enjoyed Melanie Dickerson's new vision of the Aladdin's story in The Orphan's Wish. This eighth installment from the Hagenheim series was wonderful! I love how Aladdin and Kirstyn interacted with one another. 

I would give The Orphan’s Wish 4 ½ stars and recommend it. Melanie Dickerson fans will not be disappointed. Great read!

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 

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Review: Becoming the Talbot Sisters by Rachel Linden

Blurb (from Amazon):

Twin sisters Waverly and Charlie Talbot have drifted far apart as they pursue opposite dreams of stardom and service to the poor. Now they must come together to face their fears, find their courage, and fight for what they love.

Celebrity chef Waverly Talbot has built a successful career with her home-entertaining show Simply Perfect. Yet she and her husband, Andrew, have never been able to realize the true desire of Waverly’s heart: to become a mother. Meanwhile Waverly’s twin sister, Charlie, buries her bitter disappointment and shattered idealism beneath a life spent serving others as an international aid worker in Budapest, Hungary.

 When the beloved aunt who raised them passes away, Waverly and Charlie come together in their grief after living years on separate continents. Struck by a fierce desire to bridge the distance between them, Charlie offers Waverly and her husband the selfless gift of surrogacy.

But soon the sisters find they are each in danger of losing their jobs, seemingly putting their dreams on hold once again. When Waverly shows up unannounced in Budapest with a plan to rescue Simply Perfect, the sisters embark on an adventure across central Europe that could save them both from occupational hazards. Though the twins haven’t had to rely on each other since childhood, a dramatic turn in their journey forces them to stand together to save their careers, the baby, and each other.

My Review

Becoming the Talbot Sisters: A Novel of Two Sisters and the Courage That Unite Them is a pretty good read. I enjoyed learning and seeing the differences between the sisters, Charlie and Waverley. The story has a mixture of emotions that made their story flow. 

I give Becoming the Talbot Sisters four stars and hope to read more by Rachel Linden in the future. This is most definitely a must read and I recommend it.

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 



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Review: Send Down the Rain by Charles Martin

Blurb (from Amazon):

Allie is still recovering from the loss of her family’s beloved waterfront restaurant on Florida’s Gulf Coast when she loses her second husband to a terrifying highway accident. Devastated and losing hope, she shudders to contemplate the future—until a cherished person from her past returns.

Joseph has been adrift for many years, wounded in both body and spirit and unable to come to terms with the trauma of his Vietnam War experiences. Just as he resolves to abandon his search for peace and live alone at a remote cabin in the Carolina mountains, he discovers a mother and her two small children lost in the forest. A man of character and strength, he instinctively steps in to help them get back to their home in Florida. There he will return to his own hometown—and witness the accident that launches a bittersweet reunion with his childhood sweetheart, Allie.

When Joseph offers to help Allie rebuild her restaurant, it seems the flame may reignite—until a 45-year-old secret from the past begins to emerge, threatening to destroy all hope for their second chance at love.

In Send Down the Rain, Charles Martin proves himself to be a storyteller of great wisdom and compassion who bears witness to the dreams we cherish, the struggles we face, and the courage we must summon when life seems to threaten what we hold most dear.

My Review

Send Down the Rain is a wonderful read. It is probably my new favorite that I have read by Charles Martin. The characters are true to life to me and I felt like I knew them and understood them. A beautiful story of healing, hope, and faith.

I believe many readers will be inspired by Send Down the Rain. I give it 5+ stars. Highly recommended for readers who are wanting to discover the truth with themselves.

I received this book from the publisher, but was not required to write a review. This review is 100% my own honest opinion. 

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