The Atonement

The Atonement is a beautiful story about love, forgiveness, and redemption. It reads, in my opinion, like it's a sequel. As you read through the novel, the back story slowly unfolds.

I found myself greatly sympathizing with Lucy as she reveals her past and struggles with her present and future. On certain issues, I've been in her shoes and how she can function while keeping it all bottled up is beyond me. Perhaps her packed schedule is evidence that bottling up your past isn't healthy.

One thing that really stuck out to me is the notion that what we've done is to bad for God to forgive, either by will or ability. I guess when fretting over our problems we forget that the God who put the earth just close enough to the sun for us to be warm and just far enough away to not burn us to a crisp, can surely forgive us our past.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves Amish fiction or if you've ever dealt with loss.

*This novel was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

Bad Luck

I'm always on the lookout for a great series for my daughter so I jumped at the chance to read Bad Luck. I was no disappointed. I kept reminding myself the book is for kids, yet I really enjoyed it. I started telling my nine year old the story and she was quickly hooked and asking to read the novel. Bad Luck is a great mix of mystery, adventure, and best of all (for my daughter anyway) a dragon.

I highly suggest this book to all the young readers who enjoy adventure and perhaps the older readers who enjoy a good read.

*The novel was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

The Restoration

The Restoration is a wonderful continuation of the Prairie State Friends series. This is one of the few series that I've read that truly continues where it left off with all the characters. Yet, if you haven't read the first two books the novel reads smoothly and complete.

I love how we can learn the rest of Leah's story, find out what happens to Priscilla, and finally get closure for Elaine. Of course Wanda couldn't just tell us the next chapter in our main characters lives and move on. She throws in some twists, turns, and closure.

I enjoyed reading this novel and would recommend it to anyone who loves Amish fiction.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

The English Son (The Amish Millionaire #1)

After reading the Discovery series I had high hopes for this first book in The Amish Millionaire series. Did it meet my expectations? Yes and no. It gave some good bones to build on for the next five books, it has a great ending (no peaking, you must start on page one), and it did a good job of setting up the story. I know most of the distaste for the novel is simply because it's the introduction. We meet all the main characters and start to learn the difficulties of their relationships and suddenly we're on pause until the next book.

Even though this is an entry book where everything is building and not even close to being settled, Wanda does give us some good lessons. We can learn a good lesson on parenting from Eustace. He shows wisdom in how he handled a difficult situation with Joel. Without giving away the story, we can learn about the importance of honesty and being slow to make assumptions.

Overall, I enjoyed the book because I know it's setting the foundation for something greater.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

The Cactus Creek Challenge

This novel is laugh out loud funny with witty comebacks in difficult situations. To balance out the funny parts Vetsch threw in some mystery, danger, love, and a whole bucket load of stretching opportunities for the challenge contestants.

I really enjoyed how this isn't your typical history nor romance novel. I was drawn into the story immediately and found myself from the beginning of the challenge, guessing who would win. In the end I wasn’t disappointed in how the story wrapped up.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Old West stories and enjoys a good laugh.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

An Amish Christmas Gift

An Amish Christmas Gift leaves me wanting more, yet happy with the little glimpses into other series. Amy Clipston's story takes us back to rub elbows with the characters in the Kauffman Amish Bakery Series and Kelly Irvin takes us back to The Amish of Bee County. After having invested time into the characters lives by reading the other books, it was exciting to go back and get another glimpse of the stories. I've never read a novel by Ruth Reid, but I enjoyed her novella here. I found myself identifying with Abigail perhaps a bit more than I care to admit. Abigail teaches us to show kindness to everyone and think before you speak.

The novellas feel like they ended short especially Kelly Irvin's. I wish her story had been made into a novel with more details of how the situation played out. Also, I was surprised to find that characters I loved in the original series, that played only small roles in this book, weren't as likable. Eventually one of the characters in A Christmas Visitor won me over by showing the same kindness as in The Beekeeper's Son.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.

Macrame Fashion Accessories & Jewelry

A popular 70's craft with current day projects. Sure there are some throwbacks to the 70's, but many of the patterns are current. I love the pattern for the pretty edging on the stole. The small jewelry is simple enough my 8 year old daughter could make them with me.

I appreciate how the book not only gives me the degree of difficulty for each pattern, but they show me the techniques being used.

I would recommend this book to anyone wanting to try their hand at macrame.

*This book was given to me by NetGalley for an honest review.