Three novels from Karen Kingsbury

What can possibly be better than one novel by Karen Kingsbury?  How about three novels in one?  A Kingsbury Collection contains Where Yesterday Lives, When Joy Came to Stay, and On Every  Side.  Each "book" has a main character who is dealing with challenge in their life and their faith in God:  One from issues and secrets in her past, one dealing with depression primarily due to the choice she made in giving an infant up for adoption years ago, and one trying to stand for what they thinks is right in a church and state issue facing their town.  The thread that remains the same though is that each portrayed the importance of prayer and laying your struggles and doubts at the feet of Jesus.




As I mentioned above, this is three novels in one volume.  Depending on your perspective, this could be a positive or a negative.  It is a good value but, personally, I think I prefer one story per volume due the size of the book.  Also, the stories didn't really build on each other.  I think a compilation of novels may be more appropriate when the characters remain the same people or at least the same family.

Karen Kingsbury has been a long-time favorite of mine and these books don't disappoint yet I would question if they are my favorite. If you have never read One Tuesday Morning  by Karen, you may want to start there as I think that is her best but make sure you have the tissues ready.  Another favorite is Even Now followed by the sequel Ever After.  She's has written enough to keep you busy for a year so don't stop with those. One thing I love about Karen's books is the fact that you have no doubt about her intent to write Christian fiction yet she never comes across preachy.

Might I recommend A Kingsbury Collection as a good Thanksgiving weekend read?  I did receive this book free from Multnomah in exchange for an honest review.  I was in no way obligated to leave a positive review.

If you love historical fiction, All Things New is for you!

Three women, all walking through the same war, but seeing things through very different eyes.  The year is 1865 and the American Civil War has taken just about everything from Josephine Weatherly--her family, her home, and perhaps her faith.   Now Richmond is burning and the Confederate soldiers are fleeing.  Is there any hope?

When the war ends and Josephine, her mother Eugenia, and the free slaves who chose to remain with the Weatherlys return to their Virginia plantation, they resolve to restore White Oak to what it was before the War.  That may prove to be  pretty difficult task without Josephine's father and brother who were both casualties of the war though through different causes.  And the newly declared freedom of the slaves is pretty hard to accept if you were once their owner.  Eugenia feels that her slaves should still be waiting on her and that she shouldn't need to change the way she has treated them her entire life. In essence, Eugenia refused to give up her way of life prior to the War even though the entire country has changed and nothing will be the same again. 

At the same time, the story of one of their newly freed slaves, Lizzie, is artistically woven into the book.  Life is different for her as well but it is hard to trust and move beyond the only thing she has known. What does freedom mean for Lizzie and her children?

While each of these characters view the end of the war a bit differently, their stories are intermingled into one.  Each of them must learn to live with the changes the war brought and it affects each of them in a much different way.  The fact that this story is written from the perspective of those who totally lost their way of life may open your eyes to how difficult this was for them. Wrong as it was, slavery was a way of life for Southerners that had been passed down for generations. Their livelihood was now gone and they must learn to rebuild both their homes and their way of thinking.

Lynn Austin has written a number of historical fiction novels and I have not been disappointed in any of them.  All Things New  is a wonderful story of restoration, forgiveness, renewed relationship with the Father, dealing with change, hope, suffering, and faith.  Once you pick it up, you won't want to put it down!  Ms. Austin always adds enough historical detail to make the reader feel like they are right there in the midst of the story but not so much that it bogs you down.

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way obligated to leave a positive review.  As always, two thumbs up for Lynn Austin's newest, All Things New.

Lovelier Than Daylight

Susanna Hanby is ready to go off to college soon but plans to spend some time with her sister and her children on her way to Westerville, Ohio and Otterbein College.  Upon arriving at her sister's home, she finds the house in total disarray and her sister and children gone.  Her husband claims she has left (with another man) and put the children in an orphanage but only his drunkenness could drive her to do such a thing.  George had been a good man until whiskey claimed him.

Back in Westerville, Mr. Corbin is attempting to open a saloon in perhaps the town in Ohio where the temperance movement has been the strongest.  Having seen the destruction of her own sister's home due to alcohol, Susanna will stop at almost nothing to keep the liquor away from Westerville.  However, she is befriended by Johann whose family supplies the new saloon.  Johann even offers to help Susanna find her sister and rescue her "orphaned" children but can she put aside her feelings for Johann's family business to accept his help and his friendship?  Can she also ignore the attraction that begins to develop between the two?

This is the third book in the Saddler Legacy Series by Rosslyn Elliot.  All the books center around the Hanby family of Westerville who truly lived there.  Lovelier Than Daylight centers around the Westerville Whiskey War of 1875 which is also an actual historic event. This is the second of the series I have read but don't let the fact that it is part of a series prevent you from reading it.  Each of the books is set in a different time period and stand alone even if there is that family connection.  Ms. Elliot's treatment of the time period and attitudes about temperance are, in my opinion, well researched and accurate.  I can find some of my self in the main character of Susanna which is unfortunate because she does come across as a bit self-righteous and judgmental.  But, again, from my understanding, this is exactly the way the women of the late 1800s would have reacted and felt.  I found this story to be an excellent mix between romance, historical accuracy, and suspense. 

I did receive this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.  I was in no way obligated to write a positive review.