Sit, Stay, Love

 

About The Book:  Sit, Stay, Love (Harvest House, April 2016)
Take one abrasive professional athlete, a quirky out-of-work schoolteacher, and an overweight geriatric dog, and you're ready for a lesson in love . . . Tippy style.  Pro baseball pitcher Cal Crawford is not a dog guy. When he inherits his deceased mother's elderly dog, Tippy, he's quick to call on a pet-sitting service.  Gina isn't thrilled to be a dog sitter when her aspirations lie in the classroom. Furthermore, she can't abide the unfriendly Cal, a man with all the charm of a wet towel. But with no other prospects and a deep love for all things canine, she takes the job caring for Tippy.
As Gina travels through Cal's world with Tippy in tow, she begins to see Cal in a different light. Gina longs to show Cal the God-given blessings in his life that have nothing to do with baseball or fame. When her longing blooms into attraction, Gina does her best to suppress it. But Cal is falling in love with her too . . .Discover the charming story of Tippy, the dog who brought a family together.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1W95mqe

About The Author: 

 

Dana Mentink lives in California, where the weather is golden and the cheese is divine. Dana is an American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year finalist for romantic suspense and an award winner in the Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer's Choice Award. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third and fourth grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with her husband, two daughters, a dog with social anxiety problems, a chubby box turtle, and a feisty parakeet.

My Thoughts On The Book:  I was attracted to the book by the little dachshund on the front cover.  I honestly thought the book was going to be about animal training and was delighted when it wasn't.   This book was so much fun to read.  I found myself laughing out loud with many of Tippy's antics.  Mentink does a great job in the character development area. Each character seems to come right off the page and I felt as if I knew each one personally.  This was a fun and easy read.  I loved the book!  I think this book would be a great feel good movie!  I would pay to see this!!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Litfuse Publishing and Harvest House Publishers as part of their Blogging Review program.   I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!  

The Amish Blacksmith

Paperback, 352 pages

Expected publication: August 1st 2014 by Harvest House Publishers

About The Book:  New from bestselling authors Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner, The Amish Blacksmith (Book 2 in The Men of Lancaster County series) explores the men of an Amish community in Lancaster County, how their Amish beliefs play out in their unique roles, and the women who change their lives. Apprenticed blacksmith Jake Miller is skeptical of Priscilla Kinsinger's innate ability to soothe troubled horses, especially when he has own ideas on how to calm them. Six years earlier, Priscilla's mother died in an awful accident at home, and Priscilla's grief over losing her mother was so intense that she was sent to live with relatives in Indiana. She has just returned to Lancaster County. Not that her homecoming matters to Jake, who is interested in courting lighthearted Amanda Shetler. But Jake's boss is Priscilla's uncle, and when the man asks Jake to help his niece reconnect with community life, he has no choice but to do just that. Surprisingly, he finds himself slowly drawn to the beautiful but emotionally wounded Priscilla. Jake then determines to prove to her that it's not her fault her mother died, but what he discovers will challenge everything they both believe about the depth of love and the breadth of forgiveness.


About The Authors: 
Mindy Starns Clark is the bestselling author of the inspirational Million Dollar Mysteries, the Smart Chick Mysteries, and three standalone mysteries, as well as the nonfiction books The House That Cleans Itself and A Pocket Guide to Amish Life. Her novels include A Penny for Your Thoughts, Don't Take Any Wooden Nickels , A Dime a Dozen, A Quarter for a Kiss, The Buck Stops Here, The Trouble with Tulip, Blind Dates Can Be Murder, Elementary, My Dear Watkins, Whispers of the Bayou, Shadows of Lancaster County, and Under the Cajun Moon, and other books! Mindy is also the author of numerous plays and musicals which have been performed all over the United States. She has written textbooks, articles, short stories, and more than 75 computer software manuals. Other writings appear in the anthologies What the Wind Picked Up (Inspirational Fiction), Death Knell V (Mystery Fiction), Divine Secrets of the Yahweh Sisterhood (Inspirational Anthology), and A Novel Idea (Inspirational Nonfiction). A former singer and stand-up comedian, Mindy lives with her husband and two teenage daughters near Valley Forge, PA. She enjoys speaking to churches, civic groups, and libraries across the country. Her unique blend of humor and insight make her an audience favorite.
Susan Meissner - In 1995, she was offered a job as a part-time reporter for mher county newspaper. The publisher gave her a weekly column, In 1998, she was named editor of the Mountain Lake/Butterfield Observer Advocate, the town’s weekly paper, after the county newspaper purchased it. She was honored to win several awards over the years, but the best part of her four years as editor was having my paper named the Best Weekly Newspaper in Minnesota by the Minnesota Newspaper Association in 2002.  That year became a rather pivotal one for her as a writer. Her beloved paternal grandfather died in July 2002 — her Papa — and his passing had a profound effect on her.  Suddenly she had an incredible urge to write a book; a novel. She knew she didn’t want to come to the end of her life having only dreamed of writing one. She resigned as editor of the newspaper, which was a very hard decision to make, and set out to write Why the Sky is Blue. It took four months to write and ten months to be accepted by a publisher and she's been writing novels ever since. Her favorite genre is contemporary fiction with a historical thread running through it.
Currently, her husband is an associate pastor at a church in San Diego, and a chaplain in the Air Force Reserves. When she's not working on a new novel, she enjoys teaching workshops on writing and dream-following, as well as spending time with her family, listening to or making music, reading great books, and traveling.


My Thoughts About The Book:   I love Amish fiction and found this novel to be delightful.  I will say it was a bit different from other Amish novels I have read.  If you don't pay close attention to the fact that they don't drive you might miss the fact that this is an Amish family and not just a rural family.  This novel is number two in a series but it stands alone.  I had no trouble reading through it without having read the first installment.  It is the story of an Amish blacksmith(and horse whisperer) who feels he is following God's will, that is until a girl from his past shows up.  While trying to help her he finds out that he could be the one who needs help.  I felt I was part of the story and learned a great deal about the horse world, blacksmithing, and show horses.  The novel was a bit slow at times but it was still a good read.  I loved the ending and seeing God's will being heard and followed.  I recommend this novel and series to anyone fond of Amish and/or Christian romances!

STATEMENT OF DISCLOSURE: I received an ebook copy of this title from Netgalley Publicity and Harvest House as part of their blogger review program . I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC 16 CFR, Part 255 'Guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising. I was not asked to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are entirely my own.

A Home For Lydia

 

 

About The Book:  A Home for Lydia, the second book in a new romantic series from popular author Vannetta Chapman, centers again on the Plain community of Pebble Creek and the kind, caring people there. As they face challenges to their community from the English world, they come together to reach out to their non-Amish neighbors while still preserving their cherished Plain ways.  Aaron Troyer simply wants to farm like his father and grandfather before him. But instead he finds himself overseeing the family's small group of guest cabins nestled along the banks of Pebble Creek. That also means he must work with the cabins' housekeeper, Lydia Fisher. Lydia is the most outspoken Amish woman Aaron has ever met, and she has strong opinions about how the guest cabins are to be run. She also desperately needs this job. Though sparks fly between boss and employee at first, when the cabins are robbed, nothing is more important to Aaron than making sure Lydia is safe.  Together they work to make the vacation property profitable, but can they find out the identity of the culprit before more damage is done? And is Lydia's dream of a home of her own more than just a wish and a prayer?

About The Author:  Vannetta Chapman writes fiction full of GRACE. She has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather's birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her first novel, A Simple Amish Christmas, quickly became a bestseller. Chapman lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.  For more information, visit her at her webpage --www.VannettaChapman.com; her blog -- http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com  her facebook page  --www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks, and on pinterest -- http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman.

My Thoughts About The Book:  The book was touching.  The story of Lydia and her family was heart breaking.  I felt as if I had know Lydia, Miriam, and their families forever.  This was one of those books where you don't plan to put it down until you are finished.  Chapman did a wonderful job making her characters real.  If you are a fan of Amish literature then this is a must read for you. 

Disclaimer: I received this book free from the NetGalley Publishing Group and Harvest House Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. All they asked for was an honest review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255.