REVIEW: The Loyal Heart by Shelley Shepard Gray

About the Book

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.


Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything.


After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda's home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip's name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone. 


Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He's mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.


He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn't prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well. 

My Review

Post Civil-War, romance, mystery, and more is what you will find in Shelley Shepard Gray's newest release, The Loyal Heart. Miranda, the heroine of this story, lost her husband Phillip in a prison camp. Her mother and sister are trying to take her home away from her. Her mother and sister are pretty mean and nasty and if I were Miranda I would have removed them from my life completely. Enter Second Lieutenant and Confederate Officer Robert, who is trying to help Miranda in any possible way. Robert also happens to be an old friend and comrade of her late husband Phillip. It's going around town that Phillip was not a hero, but a traitor to his country. Can Miranda and Robert clear Phillip's name or will his reputation and name be forever tarnished. The Loyal Heart is the perfect book for fans of Historical Romance.

REVIEW: The Alliance by Jolina Petersheim

About the Book

When Leora Ebersole sees the small plane crash in her Old Order Mennonite community, she has no idea it’s a foreshadowing of things to come. Once the young pilot, Moses Hughes, regains consciousness, they realize his instruments were destroyed by the same power outage that killed the electricity at the community store, where Englischers are stranded with dead cell phones and cars that won’t start.

Moses offers a sobering theory, but no one can know how drastically life is about to change. With the only self-sustaining food supply in the region, the Pacifist community is forced to forge an alliance with the handful of stranded Englischers in an effort to protect not only the food but their very lives.

In the weeks that follow, Leora, Moses, and the community will be tested as never before, requiring them to make decisions they never thought possible. Whom will they help and whom will they turn away? When the community receives news of a new threat, everyone must decide how far they’re willing to go to protect their beliefs and way of life.

My Review

The Alliance is a really cool, but really weird apocalyptic-mennonite novel. I have never read a novel that mixes these two worlds and I must say Jolina did an amazing job meshing the two together to create one of the most original books I have ever read. The Alliance was unpredictable, enthralling, full of twists and turns and completely crazy...but in a good way. (If you caught that band reference, you're awesome!). It was a very refreshing read and I recommend it to everybody. Seriously, put this on your TBR.

REVIEW: A Flight of Arrows by Lori Benton

About the Book

October 1776--August 1777

It is said that what a man sows he will reap--and for such a harvest there is no set season. No one connected to Reginald Aubrey is untouched by the crime he committed twenty years ago. 

Not William, the Oneida child Reginald stole and raised as his own. Identity shattered, enlisted in the British army, William trains with Loyalist refugees eager to annihilate the rebels who forced them into exile. Coming to terms with who and what he is proves impossible, but if he breaks his Loyalist oath, he'll be no better than the man who constructed his life of lies.

Not Anna, Reginald's adopted daughter, nor Two Hawks, William's twin, both who long for Reginald to accept their love despite the challenges they will face, building a marriage that bridges two cultures. 

Not Good Voice and Stone Thrower, freed of bitterness by a courageous act of forgiveness, but still yearning for their firstborn son and fearful for the future of their Oneida people.

As the British prepare to attack frontier New York and Patriot regiments rally to defend it, two families separated by culture, united by love, will do all in their power to reclaim the son marching toward them in the ranks of their enemies.

My Review

A Flight of Arrows was a top notch sequel! I have to give credit where credit is due. A Flight of Arrows is probably one of the best sequels I have ever read. It is set at the beginning of the Revolutionary War and the historical accuracy is meticulous. Lori obviously went out of her way to fully research and dive into Revolutionary history. A Flight of Arrows is history, it is a love story, it is a story of forgiveness, and also a story chronicling Native American history which I very much appreciate. As someone of Native American descent I am so glad to have a book with Native American characters. I highly recommend A Flight of Arrows, but you will want to read the first book, A Wood's Edge first.

About the Book

Discover how biblical virtues in the powerful words and actions of extraordinary American women past and present have shaped our blessed American way of life. By their examples you can develop the same strength of biblical character in your own life. Whether you are a daughter, a mother or a grandmother, you will find this Bible an encouraging and powerful companion for daily living.


Features include:



New King James Version
Theme articles show how biblical virtues have shaped our nation
Biographies of influential American women highlight key points of their lives
Inspirational quotes by or about great women, famous and not well known
Introductions to each book of the Bible
Essays about biblical virtues embodied in women during key chapters of America's story
Ribbon marker
Presentation page for gift-giving


 
Part of the Signature Series line of Thomas Nelson Bibles

My Review

The NKJV American Women's Bible has quickly become my essential bible for church, bible studies, and my own personal studies. As you can see from the about section it includes so many new cool features that I have enjoyed extremely. I especially love all of the highlights, bios, and quotes from Christian women throughout American history. As a self-described history buff, these features have been a welcomed addition to this bible. I highly recommend this bible to any woman for their collection.