Spring for Susannah by Catherine Richmond

I received this book free from booksneeze.com in exchange for my honest review of the book. I was not paid for my review

Book Description
When Susannah goes to Dakota territory as a mail-order bride she finds something she never dreamed she would—true love.

With no prospects for marriage and her parents recently deceased, Susannah Underhill agrees to go west to the Dakota territory to marry her minister's homesteading brother, Jesse. But Susannah is painfully shy, doesn't see herself as worthy of love from either a husband or from God, and lives in constant fear that Jesse is going to ship her back to Detroit.

In spite of her petite size and the fact that Susannah doesn't look like she could survive on the prairie, Jesse quickly discovers that his new wife is a greater blessing than he even hoped for. The years she spent as her father's veterinary assistant allow her to save Jesse's ox and twin calves and to help neighboring farmers with their animals.

But Susannah's feelings of unworthiness are deeply rooted, and she can't believe that Jesse's praise—or the tenderness and love he shows—could possibly last. The thawing of her heart seems almost as distant as Spring in the midst of the winter blanketing the Dakota prairie.

Spring for Susannah is the debut novel for Catherine Richmond. A historical fiction, that takes place in Dakota Territory before there were many settlers. Susannah lost her parents and got married by proxy to Jesse Mason, brother of her Pastor at the church she attended. Jesse Mason paid her way to Dakota. Susannah never planned to be married, she had never dated and really never made friends. Susannah didn't want to any of this but did it to survive. Living in a Sod house and farming. Jesse is a kind man, loves God and has great faith in contrast Susannah didn't feel she was worthy of God's love or anyone elses. Despite her being a woman from the city she shows her strength by helping Jesse on the land to make it prosperous. In this story we watch Susannah transform for a shy, proper woman with little to no faith that God wants anything good for her to a strong, independent woman whose faith grows exponentially. This story is a beautiful story of the transforming power of unconditional love and friendship. The history was well researched, the characters real and you felt their happiness and struggles. This story was a fantastic first novel and I look forward to the other novels Catherine Richmond will write. I highly recommend this book to anyone especially those who enjoy historical fiction.

Too Rich For A Bride by Mona Hodgson

I received this book from Waterbrook press through blogging for books free for my honest review of this book.

Product Description
With a head more suited to bookkeeping than a bridal veil, Ida’s dreams include big business- not beaus.

Ida Sinclair has joined her sisters, Kat and Nell, in the untamed mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado for one reason: to work for the infamous but undeniably successful businesswoman, Mollie O’Bryan. Ida’s sisters may be interested in making a match for their determined older sister, but Ida only wants to build her career.

Under Mollie's tutelage, Ida learns how to play the stock market and revels in her promising accomplishments. Fighting for respect in a man's world, her ambition leaves little room for distractions. She ignores her family's reservations about Mollie O'Bryan's business practices, but no matter how she tries, she can't ignore the two men pursuing her affections—Colin Wagner, the dashing lawyer, and Tucker Raines, the traveling preacher.

Ida wants a career more than anything else, so she shrugs off the suitors and pointed “suggestions” that young ladies don’t belong in business. Will it take unexpected love—or unexpected danger—for Ida to realize where her priorities truly lie?

Too Rich For A Bride by Mona Hodgson is book 2 of the series, The Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek. This is the first book I have read of the series and I did not feel I missed anything by not having read the first book. Mona Hodgson makes sure that you don't have to read the first one by making sure there is enough background in the 2nd book to not feel lost. Too Rich For A Bride is about Ida Sinclair, the oldest of the Sinclair sisters. She is much different from all her sisters. She is driven to work in business which is a man's world at this time. Ida was getting ready to move from Maine to Cripple Creek after she finished her degree but after a guest lecturer tries to have his way with her, the school gives her a degree 2 weeks early and she heads to Cripple Creek. There she encounters many different people and finds herself a job with a business woman in Cripple Creek. Ida also finds herself literally running into Tucker Raines, a traveling preacher in town to help run his ailing father's business. Ida and Tucker seem to find themselves in many interesting situations.

I really enjoyed Too Rich For A Bride. Its a story of faith, the evils ambition can have, and romance. The characters are rich and relatable. The descriptions of the way of life and background of that period in history was real and very detailed. Mona Hodgson writes a beautiful story with much detail and interesting characters. I am excited to read the rest of this series. I highly recommend this book.

The Seraph Seal by Leonard Sweet, Lori Wagner

I received this e-book free from booksneeze.com for my honest review of this e-book.

Book Description
An epic tale of good and evil based on the four horsemen of the Apocalypse found in Revelation.

Using the four horsemen of the Apocalypse to symbolize the four Gospels, four transcendentals, and four forces of the universe (air, water, earth, and fire), Sweet and Wagner weave a fast-paced, end-times tale of good vs. evil and the promise of a new dawn for humanity.

Set in 2048, when planet Earth is suffering from the damaging effects of years of misuse and abuse, cultural history professor Paul Binder receives a mysterious letter that leads him to examine a lost 2nd-century Diatessaron manuscript. Ancient prophecies, cryptic letters, and strange events set him on a course to uncover the missing clues that could lead humanity into a new age. Layered with forgotten symbolism from the ancient, Jewish, and Christian traditions, the novel is a type of engaged fiction in which the main character's lost journal serves as a guide to the reader in interpreting clues and understanding the novel's conclusion.

The Seraph Seal is a fast paced, can't put down story. It takes place in 2048 on Earth where it has suffered irreversible damage from years of abuse and a President that is corrupt. Based on the book of Revelations, 4 horsemen, and the Apocalypse. It gives a realistic view of the end of the world. This story was very hard to put down, I found myself reading into the wee hours of the night. The characters are real and totally relatable. It's a book that is a mix of fact and fiction. Very well researched and I found easy to understand. Gave me a deeper understanding of the Book of Revelations and what that could look like. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys thriller, suspense, and history books. Look forward to reading more books by these 2 authors.

The Promise of an Angel by Ruth Reid

I received this e-book from booksneeze.com for free for my honest review of this book.

Book Description
In Mescota County, Michigan, an angelic visitor's words inspire Judith to a future she never imagined. After a barn raising accident, Judith Fischer’s convinced she’s met an angel. However, her attempts to convince others end up frustrating her Old-Order Amish community. Only Andrew Lapp believes her, but the rest, including Levi Plank, the man’s she’s waited to marry, demand she forget the nonsense. Meanwhile, her younger sister Martha has taken a fancy to Levi and sees her sister's controversy as a perfect distraction for turning Levi's head.

In a dream, the angel tells Judith she must choose her path. As her faith continues to grow, so do her feelings for Andrew. Will she continue to place her hope in the angel’s message, even if it means losing all she knows and loves?

The Promise of an Angel by Ruth Reid is her debut novel and it is a beautiful story. This book is the first book in her Heaven On Earth Series. The book takes place in Mescota County, Michigan in an Amish settlement. The main character Judith, sees an angel appear next to her little brother, Samuel, who had fallen off a roof and was injured. The Angel told her that her brother would be ok and walk again. Judith follows the Angel until he disappears into an apple orchard in the fog. Judith is a wonderful storyteller, always telling made up stories to the children in their community. When Judith begins to tell others about her encounter with the Angel all the trouble starts. Her family and the community don't believe her and decide that she is trouble. The only one that believes her is the Bishop's son Andrew. In order for Judith to stay in good standing in her community she needs to confess that the angel was just a made up story. Judith encounters this Angel, Tobias, many times throughout the story.

This story is a beautiful story with many miracles that happen. I found it hard to put this story down once I picked it up. Ruth Reid wrote with much authority on the Amish and the community in Mescota County, Michigan. This story was an uplifting, faith building story. I am very glad I got the opportunity to read it. I highly recommend this book to anyone who believe in Angels and who enjoy Amish fiction. This story will NOT disappoint.

Beyond All Measure By Dorothy Love

I received this book from Booksneeze.com for free for my honest opinion of the book.

Book Description
Unless she can trust God's love to cast out her fears, Ada may lose the heart of a good man.

Ada Wentworth, a young Bostonian, journeys to Hickory Ridge, Tennessee, in the years following the Civil War. Alone and nearly penniless following a broken engagement, Ada accepts a position as a lady’s companion to the elderly Lillian Willis, a pillar of the community and aunt to the local lumber mill owner, Wyatt Caldwell. Ada intends to use her millinery skills to establish a hat shop and secure her future.

Haunted by unanswered questions from her life in Boston, Ada is most drawn to two townsfolk: Wyatt, a Texan with big plans of his own, and Sophie, a mulatto girl who resides at the Hickory Ridge orphanage. Ada's friendship with Sophia attracts the attention of a group of locals seeking to displace the residents of Two Creeks, a "colored" settlement on the edge of town. As tensions rise, Ada is threatened but refuses to abandon her plan to help the girl.

When Lillian dies, Ada is left without employment or a place to call home. And since Wyatt’s primary purpose for staying in Hickory Ridge was to watch over his aunt, he can now pursue his dream of owning Longhorns in his home state of Texas.

With their feelings for each other growing, Ada must decide whether she can trust God with her future and Wyatt with her heart.

Beyond All Measure is Dorothy Love is her debut novel and it is a winner in my opinion. It takes place in Hickory Ridge, Tn after the Civil War with the South still in unrest. Ada Wentworth lives in Boston, lost her family and means to support herself and she answers an ad to take care of an elderly woman, Lillian, in Hickory Ridge, TN. So Ada makes the trip and finds that things aren't exactly how she was told they would be. Her employer Wyatt Caldwell is the nephew of the woman she will care for. Ada and Wyatt seem to have love at first sight. But Ada had her heart-broken in Boston and doesn't want to do that again. So she takes this job so she can start her own business making hat. Ada and Lillian experience scary encounters with Klan activity not far from Lillian's home, a mixed orphan comes into Ada's life which causes a lot of problems with the people of Hickory Ridge. This book is a beautiful story of romance and the growing for faith in God and his plan. Ms. Love's characters were very well researched and characters you can relate to. Her descriptions of the town, the activities, and the small town community were real and historically correct. Wonderful book for anyone. I look forward to reading more books from Dorothy Love.

The Alarmist by Don Hoesel

I received The Alarmist from Bethany House for free for my honest review of this book.

About the Author
Don Hoesel, bestselling author of Hunter's Moon and Elisha's Bones, lives in Spring Hill, Tennessee, with his wife and two children. He has also published short fiction in Relief: A Quarterly Christian Expression. Don holds a bachelor's degree in mass communication from Taylor University. When not writing novels, he spends his days working in the communications department of a large company.

Product Description
The 2012 phenomenon that's going viral around the globe has led sociology professor Jameson Richards to study the impact on society when, like the Y2K scare, 12/21/12 comes and goes with hardly a wrinkle. This is the date that, according to the Mayan calendar, the doomsayers predict the world will end. Richards teams up with General Michaels, a scientist stationed at the Pentagon whose job it is to monitor the world's fanatics, keeping an eye out for potential terrorists. Together they uncover something sinister going on beneath the surface, linked to billionaire and media mogul Jeremy Maxwell, who also happens to be a huge manufacturer of weapons systems. The 2012 date has captured Maxwell's attention too, and he's looking to cash in on the public's fear and paranoia. And what he instigates--along with his corrupt partners--nearly starts another war in the Middle East, while also bringing the world to its knees economically. It's up to the professor/general team to blow the whistle on Maxwell, hopefully in time to avert a major catastrophe

This is the first novel by Don Hoesel I have read and I am very glad I did. The Alarmist is based on the theory of the end of the world coming in conjunction with the end of the Mayan Calendar in December 2012. For me the beginning was a little slow but once the story picked up it kept me engaged to the end. This book has suspense, fear and faith all rolled into. The characters were real and the storyline was also. A lot of research must have gone into this, details are vivid and realistic. I am very glad that I read this book. I look forward to reading more Don Hoesel novels in the future.

Nick of Time by Tim Downs A Bug Man Novel

I received this book from booksneeze.com for free for my unbiased opinion of this book.

Book Description
Tying the knot may be the toughest thing Nick Polchak has ever tried to do.

Nick Polchak is comfortable with bugs. Their world is orderly. He knows where he stands and exactly how to interpret the signs they give him. But a fiancée and an upcoming wedding? Not so much.

That's why—a mere four days before the nuptials—Nick finds himself driving to Philadelphia for the monthly meeting of the Vidocq society. Being among a group of forensic professionals consulting on cold cases will surely allow him to feel useful and normal.

But while there he discovers that a close friend has been murdered . . . and in classic Nick style, begins to follow the trail of evidence rather than returning to his fiancée. Fearing that his one-track mind won't lead him home by Saturday, Alena and three of her dogs go to track him down.

When she finally finds him, nothing is as Alena expected . . . because the twists in this case will surprise even the most dedicated Bug Man fans.

Nick of Time is Tim Down's 6th Bug Man Novel and it does not disappoint. In this book, our Bug Man, Nick Polchak is getting married. He shocks everyone in his life with this announcement. He found the one person in the world just like him. Her name is Aleena and she trains dogs. She trains police dogs, cadaver dogs, and many other types of training for dogs. She lives up in the mountains where she is secluded, just like she likes it. A week before their wedding Nick leaves town for a meeting because he good friend wrote a note saying he needed Nick's help on a cold case. Nick promises to make it back by the next day and heads out. No one could foresee the events Nick and ultimately Aleena find themselves in.

Nick of Time is a great book, keeps you guessing all the way to the end and this one takes twists never seen in a Bug Man Novel. Tim Down's gives us another side of The Bug Man but also staying true to the character he has written us so far. I had a hard time putting this book down once I started it. The characters are real and the research about their lives, careers, ect is amazing. The great part about the Bug Man Novels is that they are in order but you can pick one up out of order and not feel lost. That is the great part. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys Murder mystery books.