Tag Archives: Bethany House Publishers

Book Review: The Ladies of Ivy Cottage

02 Thursday May 2019

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I received a copy of Julie Klassen’s The Ladies of Ivy Cottage from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

Though the second in a trilogy, this story is my first Klassen and stands on its own. The ladies form a neat community as they learn to adapt to new situations in Victorian era England. As their friendships blossom, so do their skills at business to care for themselves. Rachel opens a library in the cottage, Mercy runs a girls school, and Jane manages an inn. Their strength comes from within just as much as it does from staying connected to their community. Of course, some love interests find their way into the mix as the ladies navigate their futures. Reading about ladies facing difficult odds with grace by helping each other makes for an encouraging read. I look forward to reading the latest and last in the trilogy (then likely the first).

Book Review: Out of the Ashes

04 Sunday Nov 2018

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I received Out of the Ashes: The Heart of Alaska-Book Two by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse from Bethany House in exchange for a review.

This book packs depth and weight of numerous issues while still possessing a strong hope. Though taking place nearly a hundred years ago, the issues resemble common issues today. Katherine becomes a widow and has to deal with the trauma of her husband’s physical and verbal abuse, and Jean-Michel grapples with lingering haunting memories of his time at war in Syria. These lovers find their way back to each other, unsure of how to move forward with their lives and how or who they can trust. During their stay in Alaska, they find new hope as they put their faith in the Lord.

I find it refreshing to see characters new in faith. It shows an honesty in wanting to learn the right way to navigate life, a quest that continues long after that initial decision to follow. I also appreciate that it shows the depth to the difficulties these characters experienced. Their minds have altered due to their trauma, and the reality revolves around a complex healing. While clearly their faith lead to healing, the book shows that their journey holds more complexity than a simple realization.

Not only did the protagonists at the heart of the story and the romance show realistic experiences through authentic characters, the secondary players all provide round out insight into progressing life skills and developing friendships. Katherine makes friends with pregnant Cassidy as she sits on bed rest and Jean-Michel’s sister Collette, and the girls make a nice trio of support. Cassidy’s boss in the hotel kitchen provides some humor as well. This story makes a well rounded and insightful book. I have enjoyed getting an extra dose of hope through these characters’ lives and relatable earnest desire to move forward as best they can despite difficulties.

 

This books marks the second I’ve read by Tracie Peterson, Beloved Hope the first.  Both books come from a series and aren’t the first but can make sense read alone. Now I will keep Peterson on my radar as she seems to write characters who deal with trauma and handles it with authenticity, insight and hope. I recommend her stories from what I’ve read so far.

Book Review: Women Who Move Mountains

29 Friday Jun 2018

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I received a copy of Women Who Move Mountains: Praying with Confidence, Boldness, and Grace by Sue Detweiler from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

This book serves as a reminder and guide through any season of life. Detweiler encompasses the depth and range of prayer, describing its effects, approach and connections. She outlines how prayer can heal us from hurt we experience or hurt we have caused others. Through a description of how it reaches us and how we can ask for it, she shows us we can have peace. She also reminds us how Jesus came to save us and connect with us. As God’s chosen people, we can go to God in prayer. We have His presence open to us.

As practical and accessible as it is deep, Detweiler writes a book rooted in biblical truth and life application. I recommend this for as a boost of confidence in your prayer life.

Book Review: The Proving

15 Tuesday May 2018

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I received a copy of The Proving by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House in exchange for a review.

I have enjoyed my second Beverly Lewis book. While the people may be plain and the storyline fairly simple, it carries a relatability to it. Amanda moves away from her family after a disappointment and lives among the Englishers but ends up moving back after her mother passes away and leaves the family Bed and Breakfast to her. Amanda goes back thinking she will fulfill her mother’s wishes to stay for a year then collect the money and return to her new life. However, she ends up finding out that the people she left behind may welcome her back.

It feels nice to imagine the setting of the Amish inn. I wish I could get away and spend a weekend there as well and meet Amanda and the other sweet characters from the story. Amanda’s internal struggle to forgive herself, forgive her twin sister and accept forgiveness from her sister holds a universal message of grace and the importance of family. It also shows that tensions exist in all kinds of all families but they can be overcome if the people involved demonstrate a willingness to show grace and communicate. As a young person, Amanda also grapples with choosing her path for her future as she decides where she wants to live, what career she wants to pursue and if she wants to have a marriage and family. These choices also remind readers that we all have decisions to make and paths to follow and that no one stands alone in moving forward. Amanda and her new friend who visits the inn show a lot of angles on progressing through life with hope.

I enjoy this book and Beverly Lewis. I recommend it as a fairly light read for a peaceful setting and hope for life’s common choices and struggles.

Book Review: The Two of Us by Victoria Bylin

09 Wednesday May 2018

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I received a copy of The Two of Us by Victoria Bylin from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

The Two of Us follows a modern, female centric story revolving around faith. While at times almost cliché, it does have a heart. Mia proves an admirable protagonist who struggles with finding direction in her life and trusting God to provide what she wants after she’s been burned a couple times. Yet, despite these troubles, she does hold to her faith as she honestly shares her disappointments, fears and doubts with God. She also stands on her faith and values even when doing so means losing a person or situation she wants. Specifically with sex outside marriage, this book shows multiple angles on how people struggle to uphold their value or who do fall but get back on track with grace. Mia and her sister Lucy show this balance in their lives; Mia starts off the story with a broken heart after her engagement breaks due to her standing her ground to maintain her virginity, and Mia’s younger sister Lucy starts out getting married because she got pregnant due to not waiting for marriage. Over the course of the story, the sisters support each other as each struggles to trust God for his provision and guidance as they choose careers and develop relationships.

I enjoyed this story that somehow felt lighthearted even though it held some weight in its content. I appreciated the characters and their authenticity in not only their struggles but their trust and hope to overcome them with faith and trust. The situations were realistic and relatable, making it easy to apply the sisters’ lessons to my own life, whether relating to choosing my next steps for career like Mia or trusting God to guide me in another area of my life. I liked that Bylin wrote imperfect characters who stood rooted in their faith, authentically shared their doubts and who gracefully failed yet continued on their paths.

Book Review: The Captain’s Daughter by Jennifer Delamere

16 Monday Apr 2018

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I received a copy of The Captain’s Daughter by Jennifer Delamere from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.

I enjoyed this story, especially for its London 1879 setting. It followed the intersecting lives of Rosalyn Bernay and Nate Moran as they worked at a theater company. They both sought to overcome struggled of their recent past, which they both hid from the other at the outset. Rosalyn hurriedly left her previous employer amid a scandal, and she wished to clear her name and prove her innocence; Nate grappled with the heartbreak of a broken engagement and the injury sustained in battle when he received the breakup letter. They both had to overcome their pride and worry of others’ perceptions while they sought to improve their economic status and stability. This they ended up doing together as Rosalyn rented a room from the Bernay family and they worked at the same theater.

The London setting, the class struggle and the theater details made for a fun atmosphere. The story itself fit into it like a classic from that time period. The characters also showed depth and relatability in their struggles. Most importantly, they had to stand their ground on their values and seek peace through forgiveness of themselves and others. Rosalyn showed a deep understanding and empathy of others as she encountered a variety of people with different backgrounds and intentions. Though Nate thought she might make easy prey for men with ill intentions, Rosalyn contemplated what people might think or want when they interacted with her. Instead of harboring bitterness when someone hurt her, she sought to understand their background and to let go of the situation so she could move forward. In contrast, Nate struggled with this, especially when it came to forgiving his fiancé for breaking the engagement and with forgiving himself for unintentionally putting a comrade in his regimen in danger. Throughout the story, these characters showed the effects of holding grudges and the peace that came with forgiveness.

Overall, this book offered a neat story with some more encouragement that took place in a familiar London class and setting in the town and theater. It demonstrated the power of forgiveness and the power of persistence. The characters stuck to their values and encountered good outcomes. After finishing the book, I felt like I too could move forward in my goals.

Book Review: Beloved Hope by Tracie Peterson

11 Wednesday Apr 2018

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I received a copy of Beloved Hope, the second book in the Heart of the Frontier series, by Tracie Peterson in exchange for a review.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, which made sense to me despite not having read the first in the series. Though the setting may seem old, simple and isolated from civilization, it presents complex human issues through the lives of the three sisters in the Flanagan family in Oregon City. The story revolves around Hope; she, along with her older sister Grace, survived a massacre by the Cayuse. The effects of that trauma lingers even more than two years later when the trial occurs for the Cayuse. Hope still keeps her heart hidden and fears the man who abused and impregnated her while she was held hostage. Yet as the story unfolds, we see multiple perspectives and timelines of forgiveness as well as hope for romance and intimacy after healing.

The story depicts a realistic development of pain, healing and forgiveness. Hope goes from fear to hope as she finally learns to trust the Lord. Ultimately, she sees that she need not hide from the prospect of marriage as she can enjoy an intimacy with God as well as with someone he has in mind for her. The story shows the understanding and patience of a godly man as Army lieutenant Lance Kenner gets closer to Hope, always respecting her need for space and understanding. Hope’s sisters also go through different phases of trust, love and forgiveness as they embark on new stages of their relationships and healing from the massacre trauma.

I enjoyed the story, particularly its realistic and hopeful portrayal of healing and forgiveness. The setting may have been different from my experience, but I could relate to the universal experience of learning to trust. It also presented new information regarding history that informed while providing a premise for a timeless hope lesson.

I already have another Tracie Peterson book on my shelf to review. I look forward to reading and reviewing Out of the Ashes as well as continuing the Heart of the Frontier series.

Book Review: The Essential Guide to Prayer

21 Wednesday Mar 2018

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I received a copy of The Essential Guide to Prayer: How to Pray with Power & Effectiveness by Dutch Sheets from Bethany House in exchange for a review.

While a lot of books already exist regarding prayer and a praying life, Sheets manages to deliver new material. Most of this comes from examples he has uncovered and analyzed. He notes the importance of lifting up requests and how they get answered accordingly.

Especially pertinent for today’s world involves the note to play the role of a watchman. This means not only praying for protection when in danger but always praying for safety and deliverance. These requests save people when they may not even realize it. Sheets shares an example of a man saved from harm after praying for protection when he didn’t even know of the imminent danger around him. Sheets reflects on this deliverance writing, “We shouldn’t assume that we need to pray only when warned. Jesus told us to pray daily for deliverance from the evil one,” as a way to maintain a “proactive watchman prayer” (130). This reminded me to pray daily for my health and safety, perhaps starting with a regular recitation of the Lord’s Prayer.

Another practical reminder Sheets gives his readers relates to pray using Scripture. He reminds us to find the appropriate verses for our situations and to use them to confess, declare and make requests to God. This gives a foundation and power to intercession. Sheets also uses 1 John 5:14-15 to note the confidence we can have that God will answer prayers as they align with His will.

Overall, this book provides good reminders as well as evidence through stories and Scripture to back them up. It gave me some notes to reflect upon to improve my own prayer life as I move to intercede.

The Ebb Tide Book Review

17 Wednesday May 2017

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I received a copy of The Ebb Tide by Beverly Lewis from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

This book introduced me to Beverly Lewis as well as Amish fiction, and I’ve enjoyed my first encounter with both. Twenty year old Sallie made a good protagonist to demonstrate a healthy curiosity for the wonders of the world around her. Her situations in the story served as good examples for people exchanging culture and living peacefully together.

Sally’s background differed from mine a lot, ranging from her having ten kids in her family while mine had two to her family living the Plain lifestyle while mine lived a pretty Christian and mainstream one. However, I could relate to her wanting to experience more than what she knew. I too spent my young adult years reading books to learn more about cultures and places. We both also got to reach our dream locations, hers being the beach and mine being London. Then it seemed like those trips led to beginnings of a greater enlightenment of the world and other cultures.

Sally lived with a family for the summer who did not live the Plain lifestyle, and she got to see more modern tools like iPhones, Google and a washing machine. She noticed how the family who hired her didn’t look at her or treat her differently because of her attire but also noticed how they had more material goods at their disposal. Later, she met a nice young man who shared a similar family background but differed. Sallie’s life really flourished in many ways through her experiences as a nanny in a beach area summer home.

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I liked learning more about Amish culture, and I appreciated how it showed a positive way to learn about other cultures through genuine interactions with others. Sallie also demonstrated a healthy yearning to learn and experience those cultures and learn about the world and its people.