Almost Home by Valerie Fraser Luesse

From the publisher:
With America's entrance into the Second World War, the town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama, has exploded virtually overnight. Workers from all over are coming south for jobs in Uncle Sam's munitions plants--and they're bringing their pasts with them, right into Dolly Chandler's grand but fading family home turned boardinghouse.

An estranged young couple from the Midwest, unemployed professors from Chicago, a widower from Mississippi, a shattered young veteran struggling to heal from the war--they're all hoping Dolly's house will help them find their way back to the lives they left behind. But the house has a past of its own.

When tragedy strikes, Dolly's only hope will be the circle of friends under her roof and their ability to discover the truth about what happened to a young bride who lived there a century before.

Award-winning and bestselling author Valerie Fraser Luesse breathes life into a cast of unforgettable characters in this complex and compassionate story of hurt and healing.
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This is a novel split between multiple characters. Sometimes this makes it hard to really focus on one character.  But it is also nice because you are able to get different view points of characters.

Dolly's character is layered as you feel that at first she might just be sunshine and roses but as you get to know her you see the layers that are there.  She is the one character that the others all others connect to.

Readers will enjoy learning history as well as the town of Blackberry Springs, Alabama.  The family house turned boarding house was a place anyone would like to stay!

I received this book from the publishers. All opinions are my own.

God, I Know You're There by Bonnie Rickner Jensen Illustrated by Lucy Fleming

I think this book is simply adorable.  The cover might look like not much color but inside each page is bursting with sweet drawings.  There is a child and animal illustrated on each two-page layout.  Boys and girls of different ethnicities grace each page and can appeal to a variety of families. 

Each two page spread shares something that the child "can't" see or do but yet it is true. For example you can't reach the run but you can see it shining down.  Or you can't snuggle the clouds but you can watch them. And at the end it ties it all together with not being able to see God but being able to see Him and His love in all they see. 

I love this little book because it can be a simple story that you can begin deeper conversations with.  I will definitely be giving this to others.

I received the book from the publishers. All opinions are my own.

With This Pledge by Tamera Alexander

From the publisher:

Elizabeth "Lizzie" Clouston's quietly held principles oppose those of the Southern Cause--but when forty thousand soldiers converge on the fields of Franklin, Tennessee, the war demands an answer. The Carnton home, where she is governess, is converted into a Confederate hospital, and Lizzie is called upon to assist the military doctor with surgeries that determine life or death. Faced with the unimaginable, she must summon fortitude, even as she fears for the life of Towny, her fiancé and lifelong friend.

  

As a young soldier lies dying in Lizzie's arms, she vows to relay his final words to his mother, but knows little more than the boy's first name. That same night, decorated Mississippi sharpshooter Captain Roland Ward Jones extracts a different promise from Lizzie: that she intervene should the surgeon decide to amputate his leg.

  

Lizzie is nothing if not a woman of her word, earning the soldiers' respect as she tends to the wounded within Carnton's walls. None is more admiring than Captain Jones, who doesn't realize she is pledged to another. But as Lizzie's heart softens toward the Confederate captain, she discovers his moral ground is at odds with her own. Now torn between love, principles, and pledges made, she struggles to be true to her own heart while standing for what she knows is right--no matter the cost. 

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I lived in the south for about 10 years, and yet this book taught me a part of history that I had never heard of.  The Battle at the Carton home is a true historical account but this was the first time I was introduced to it.  I love that about Tamera Alexander's writing.  She educated you as you read her beautifully written stories.  The horror of the Civil War and what the soldiers and civilians went through will become fresh and real to your eyes as you read this.  I like that each character was not a "normal" North vs South character.  Instead each character is complex and so completely human. I felt that each issue was handled with care and dignity.  

I cannot wait for another novel from Tamera Alexander!

I received this book from the publisher.  All opinions are my own.

The Gift That I Can Give by Kathie Lee Gifford Illustrated by Julia Seal

I love children's book that are well illustrated.  Julia Seal did a beautiful job making this book engaging just from a illustration perspective. And not only that, but she enhanced the writing of this book. 

This book asks a question that I have heard many times as a teacher of young children.  "What's my talent?"  Each person wants to be special, to be good at something, and this book addresses that.  I like that while it did speak so some basic careers that we think of as giftings, it also addressed being kind, brave, helpful.  These seemingly smaller gifts are just as important as the more well known ones and I am glad that this was brought out to the reader.

I received this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

We Hope for Better Things by Erin Bartels

From the publisher:
When Detroit Free Press reporter Elizabeth Balsam meets James Rich, his strange request--that she look up a relative she didn't know she had in order to deliver an old camera and a box of photos--seems like it isn't worth her time. But when she loses her job after a botched investigation, she suddenly finds herself with nothing but time.

At her great-aunt's 150-year-old farmhouse, Elizabeth uncovers a series of mysterious items, locked doors, and hidden graves. As she searches for answers to the riddles around her, the remarkable stories of two women who lived in this very house emerge as testaments to love, resilience, and courage in the face of war, racism, and misunderstanding. And as Elizabeth soon discovers, the past is never as past as we might like to think.
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This book is well written.  It is a book that is hard to put down because of the story.  Erin Bartels does well in this as a debute novelist. 

This story covers three different time periods, all connected: current, Underground Railroad, and the Civil War.  Readers may or may not enjoy this. But it does allow for there to be a broader picture of racism, war, and love. 

This is not a book that is going to guarantee you a happy ending.  Not every story is tied up, and not every story ends the way you want it to.  But what I can appreciate about that is that Bartels was giving the readers a realistic picture of what life could have been like.

I received this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Wait for Me by Susan May Warren

From the publisher:
Pete Brooks can't believe he's waited an entire year for Jess Tagg to return to Montana, only to have her break his heart by getting engaged to her ex-fiancé. Worse, a series of mistakes on the job have cost lives, and Pete isn't sure he wants to continue to work in Search and Rescue. Maybe if he can just get over Jess, he can figure out how to move forward. 

EMT Jess Tagg has returned to Montana to finally give her heart to Pete, but it seems he's no longer interested. When a terrible fight between them sparks an impulsive decision, she finds herself crashed on the side of a highway along with Esme Shaw. And just when she thinks things couldn't get any worse, she and Esme are taken captive and into the untamed Montana wilderness--with murderous intent. 

Now Pete and the other PEAK Rescue Team members are in a race against time, the elements, and the actions of a vengeful man. Pete will have to use everything he's learned to find Jess and Esme--and pray that his past mistakes don't cost him the life of the woman he can't stop loving.
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Another exciting and well paced novel by Susan May Warren. The Montana Rescue series is one that I have been enjoying each time another book comes out.  You definitely would benefit by reading the books prior to this one. 

This book is filled with adventure and risk.  Not just with the hearts of the characters but with the lives.  You won't want to put it down until you reach the very end.  Warren writes in such a way that you become invested in the characters and their lives.  The book has more than just Jess and Pete and you will find that each story is riveting in its own way.

I received this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

Defiant Joy by Stasi Eldredge

From the publisher:

 We all spend a lot of energy reaching for happiness, but we are never quite able to hang on to it. Real life happens, and our circumstances take us on an emotional rollercoaster ride. So the Bible’s call to “be joyful always” sounds almost crazy—and out of reach. But it doesn’t have to be.

Joy is meant to be ours, a joy that is defiant in the face of this broken world. This joy is not simply happiness on steroids; it’s the unyielding belief that sorrow and loss do not have the final say. It’s the stubborn determination to be present to whatever may come and to interpret both goodness and grief by the light of heaven.

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As an individual that struggles with depression and anxiety what I appreciated was the Stasi doesn't come from the side of "I have a joyful life, so should you!" Instead she shares dark and painful things she has gone through and how DESPITE all that she has chose to take hold of joy and hope and beauty.  Her joy is defiant because it seems like she should just despair and give up, but instead she chooses joy. I and thankful that this book is out there and for her perspective as she wrote and shared.

I received this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.