A Lady at Willowgrove Hall by Sarah Ladd

From the publisher: 

Darbury, England, 1819

Cecily Faire carries the shame of her past wherever she treads, knowing one slip of the tongue could expose her disgrace. But soon after becoming a lady’s companion at Willowgrove Hall, Cecily finds herself face-to-face with a man well-acquainted with the past she’s desperately hidden for years.

Nathaniel Stanton has a secret of his own—one that has haunted him for years and tied him to his father’s position as steward of Willowgrove Hall. To protect his family, Nathaniel dares not breathe a word of the truth. But as long as the shadow looms over him, he’ll never be free to find his own way in the world. He’ll never be free to fall in love.

When the secrets swirling within Willowgrove Hall come to light, Cecily and Nathaniel must confront a painful choice: Will they continue running from the past . . . or will they stand together and fight for a future without the suffocating weight of secrets long kept?

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This is the third book in the Whispers On The Moors series.  Each book in this series can stand alone, although there are a few minor details having read the previous books will give you little glimpses into what else has happened in the other two books.

Sarah Ladd is a writer who I really enjoy reading.  The first chapter in and I was eager to keep reading.  Cecily's character is neither brass nor meek and I appreciated that mixture--because I feel that most of us are in that in-between zone.  Cecily also shows growth and she learns to rely on God when she find herself all alone. Her secret is one that could ruin her, but because of that secret her path is lead to one that is a blessing after all.

Nathaniel is a strong and loyal character--to his work and family.  I enjoyed how he was neither gloriously handsome not bold in the wrong ways.  He was proper and yet romantic.  Nathaniel's secret is, in a way, not his own, yet it controls him in a way that leaves room for bitterness and resentment.  

Mrs. Trent, Leah, Clarkson, Rebecca, and other secondary characters are perfect additions to the story.  Sarah Ladd makes them important without drawing away from the stories of Cecily and Nathaniel.

Readers will enjoy the tension of the secrets as well as the love and attraction growing at Willowgrove Hall.  

I received this book from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

Where Rivers Part by Kellie Coates Gilbert

From the publisher:
Following in her estranged father's footsteps, Dr. Juliet Ryan has devoted her scientific acumen to corporate America, providing safe drinking water for millions--and affording her plenty of perks along the way. Then, without warning, a fast-moving disaster sweeps Juliet into a whirlpool of corporate scandal and puts lives at risk. As she scrambles to find answers, Juliet must face her deepest wounds and join forces with her father to expose a far-reaching conspiracy. Underneath it all, she struggles to forgive those who betrayed her trust--not least of all her own father.

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Kellie Coates Gilbert writes a novel that will take readers into a world that they are probably not very familiar with.  A world of water safety and regulations and corporate scandal.  We take our safe drinking water for granted and in this novel author Gilbert will take readers into a world where they can appreciate all they have to eat and drink safely.

Dr. Juliet Ryan is a strong woman.  The character is one of strength, but as the reader gets to know her you can see her vulnerability, especially in her relationships with others.  This book has some intense scenes and past memories.  While this is not a romantic book the stories lines of love and betrayal and forgiveness there. Those themes are in the parental relationships, friendships, and business relationships.  Juliet must deal with grief past and present and she navigates the turbulent corporate scandal that is also destroying those she loves.

Readers who want a novel that will guide them into a corporate world and also a deal with the affects of parental relationships will enjoy this read.  

I received this book free from Revell Reads in exchange for my honest review.

The Beauty of Grace Edited by Dawn Camp

From the publisher:
In this hectic life, we all need a little peace, a little quiet, and a little beauty. Combining heartfelt stories from some of today's foremost writers and bloggers with stunning photography of God's incredible creation, The Beauty of Grace is a haven of calm contemplation amidst the chaos.

This uplifting collection includes moving stories of cultivating friendship, waiting on God, choosing joy, staying connected, and more from popular writers such as Jessica Turner, Lisa-Jo Baker, Holley Gerth, Ann Voskamp, Bonnie Gray, Tsh Oxenreider, Leeana Tankersley, Emily Freeman, Margaret Feinberg, and many others. Each story is accompanied by an uplifting Scripture verse, and the book includes Dawn's stunning photos. Foreword by Holley Gerth.
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This is a beautiful book that if filled with short, two/three page devotional type thoughts that will drawn you closer to the heart of God.  Each story is written in a unique style from the contributing author.  The photographs that accompany the essays/blogs are by Dawn Camp and add a simple beauty to the words that grace the pages.

The book has seven sections including: purpose, surrender, trust, worship, and others.  And then within each section are a half-a-dozen or more essays from a variety of authors.  I felt that by having a compilation of authors it can reach a broader audience.  I related to different essays differently. Yet, I am sure if I read through it at a different time in my life, different essays would speak to me more than other ones that spoke to me as I read it this time.

As I read through this book I was drawn to each essay.  They are bit sized and therefore easy to add into my regular devotions.  You can read these in less then ten minutes and gain a new insight or blessing for your day.  

I recommend this book to others for themselves or as a gift for others.

I received this book from Revell Reads in exchange for my honest review.

Scary Close by Donald Miller

From the publisher:

After decades of failed relationships and painful drama, Donald Miller decided he’d had enough. Impressing people wasn’t helping him connect with anyone. He’d built a life of public isolation, yet he dreamed of meaningful relationships. So at forty years old he made a scary decision: to be himself no matter what it cost.

From the author of Blue Like Jazz comes a book about the risk involved in choosing to impress fewer people and connect with more, about the freedom that comes when we stop acting and start loving. It is a story about knocking down old walls to create a healthy mind, a strong family, and a satisfying career. And it all feels like a conversation with the best kind of friend: smart, funny, true, important.

Scary Close is Donald Miller at his best.

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I first discovered Donald Miller because my brother is a huge fan.  After reading A Million Miles in a Thousand Years by Donald Miller I was certain I wanted to read more of his work.  I am so glad that I was given the opportunity to review Scary Close.

I finished this book in a little over a day.  I couldn't stop reading it.  I now want to go back and re-read each chapter more slowly and let the ideas sink in.  But the first time around I had to keep reading, keep seeing where it was going. 

Recently God has been trying to teach me about vulnerability and relationships and I believe He placed this in my hands to read.  Life is about relationships, the good and bad ones.  Relationships are what makes up the adventures and pivotal times in our lives.  Casual, business, family, etc.  Each has an important part to play in our lives.  Donald Miller is vulnerable about his weakness and selfishness as a human.  He tells a memoir that will resonate with you in one way or another.  Your story won't look exactly like his but you will be able to glean wisdom about how to have intimacy in relationships in a healthy way.  And also how to look for healthy people to have those relationships with.

In the acknowledgements section he says that his goal was to tell a collective story that would connect us to one another.  To me that is exactly what happened in this book.  I don't know Donald Miller but through his book I was able to connect to his story. In so many ways it is my story.  And your story.  He wrote that the connection of the collective story has been healing for him and he is thankful.  What I want to say is that the story was healing for me--and I am so thankful.  

I highly recommend this book.

I received this book free from BookLookBloggers in exchange for my honest review.

If you pre-order Scary Close you will get Blue Like Jazz audio book FREE as well as the Scary Close soundtrack FREE.  Even if you didn't get those for free it would be worth it.  Go pre-order it now!

Beyond All Dreams by Elizabeth Camden

From the publisher:
Anna O'Brien leads a predictable and quiet life as a map librarian at the illustrious Library of Congress until she stumbles across the baffling mystery of a ship disappeared at sea. Thwarted in her attempts to uncover information, her determination outweighs her shyness and she turns to a dashing congressman for help.

Luke Callahan was one of the nation's most powerful congressmen before his promising career was shadowed in scandal. Eager to share in a new cause and intrigued by the winsome librarian, he joins forces with Anna to solve the mystery of the lost ship. Opposites in every way, Anna and Luke are unexpectedly drawn to each other despite the strict rules forbidding Anna from any romantic entanglements with members of Congress. 

From the gilded halls of the Capitol where powerful men shape the future of the nation, to the scholarly archives of the nation's finest library, Anna and Luke are soon embroiled in secrets much bigger and more perilous than they ever imagined. Is bringing the truth to light worth risking all they've ever dreamed for their futures?
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Elizabeth Camden is a favorite author of mine.  Her stories have strong men and women.  Unswayed by each other in their personal convictions and yet still able to join forces together for good and love.  There is drama, romance, and God.  The way Elizabeth Camden shares God in her stories is never over powering but shared in a natural way through the lives, thoughts, and conversations of the characters.  Neither Anna or Luke are perfect but both have strengths that will be used in this story.

What I also enjoy about Camden's book is that she shares history that I had not known of, or focused on before and makes me want to visit places and learn more.  The setting of this book is the Capitol and Library of Congress.  Now I want to go and visit these places and really be amazed at all there is there.  Camden obviously took a lot of time to do research for this novel and it shows with her attention to detail and history.

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

From the publisher:

In the age of fingertip access to answers and a limitless supply of ambitions, where do we find the God who was birthed in dirt and straw? Sara Hagerty found him when life stopped working for her. She found him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a new bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch.

In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty masterfully draws from the narrative of her life to craft a mosaic of a God who leans into broken stories. Here readers see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, they see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well.

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I was staggered by this book.  I had seen this book and passed it by for other books.  But when I saw it on a top ten list by Rachel McRae I felt I should give it a try.  It was in the first chapter that I began to feel God speaking to me.  As if He had waited for the right time to read this book and then placed it in my hands.  

Sara Hagerty's writing style is beautiful.  I was drawn into her writing the way I was drawn into Ann Voskamp's writing. Lyrical and raw.  When I was asked to tell what this book was about I said it was about adoring God when it seems He has forgotten you and how the pain we have in life turns to hunger for Him.  

In this book Sara gives such an amazing way for you to speak to God in faith, even when you don't feel like it.  To adore Him, when you feel He is silent.  Speaking God's word, words that He has inspired of Him, back to Him is adoring Him.  I tried this as I was reading the book.  I haven't been feeling that God is faithful and so I began saying a verse in the Bible that states that He is faithful.  Sara was right.  I didn't have to feel those emotions, but instead just had to speak God's word back to Him for it to make a difference.  A huge difference.  I cannot begin to explain what just this part of the book will do for my life.  And what it could do for yours.  This is just one example of the power of Sara's gift in sharing her story and walk with God.  

She shares that every bitter thing can be sweet because it creates a hunger for Him.  A hunger that only He can fill.  It does not mean that those bad things are good, but that we can see them in a new way.  A way that shows us that God is good...to us all the time.

This is a book I highly, highly recommend to others.

I received this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for my honest review.

Mothering from Scratch by Melinda Means & Kathy Helgemo

From the publisher:
Trying to follow someone else's rules for mothering can take the joy out of being a parent. But Mothering From Scratch shows you how to develop your own style that helps you be the best mom for your kids.

Melinda Means and Kathy Helgemo provide a flexible, customizable approach to help you discover your optimal parenting style. 
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This book appealed to me because the subtitle is "Finding the Best Parenting Style for You and Your Family."  Parenting can be mind-boggling and with so many different ways to do every parenting thing, you sometimes feel like you should be a certain way.  But this book, true to the subtitle doesn't make you feel that you have to be a certain type of mother.  Instead you are to find what works with who God has made you and how to love your family.

This book is full of personal stories that make you feel as if you are sharing with friends.  At the end of each chapter is something for you to respond to.  You can journal by yourself or you could even modify it do do as a group discussion. Then there are action steps to take as well.  This is a practical book that is also an encouragement for mothers.

I received this book free from Bethany Publishers in exchange for my honest review.