An Unbroken Heart by Kathleen Fuller

An argument. A crash. In an instant, Joanna’s world is changed forever.

One minute, Joanna Schrock was arguing with her parents, and the next, her parents’ lives were claimed in a hit-and-run buggy accident. Her body is broken, but her heart is in even deeper pain— after all, how do you cope with your parents’ deaths when your last words were spoken in anger?

After an extended stint in a physical rehabilitation center, Joanna re-enters her Amish life. But nothing is the same—not even her feelings for Andrew Beiler.

Joanna has loved Andrew since the age of twelve, and her feelings have not changed throughout the years. She is thrilled when Andrew wants to get married, but she wonders whether it’s love he’s feeling, or pity. As the couple’s wedding date approaches, Joanna isn’t overcome with the deep joy she was hoping to feel; instead, she’s wracked with anxiety and guilt.

Joanna hears God whispering to her, Be strong and courageous, but she’s afraid that courage looks a lot like walking away from her dreams and into the plan of her Heavenly Father.

This book is about Joanna’s journey to forgive herself for her part in the death of her parents. Not only does she struggle with forgiving herself, she has to heal from the injuries she sustained in the buggy accident.  She doesn’t believe she is worthy of anything anymore.  Lest of all the attentions of her boyfriend Andrew.  Andrew loves Joanna but he was never able to express his feelings very well.  His dad leaving when he was young has made him feel that he might not be a very good husband and father like his Dad. 

This was the second book in the Birch Creek series.  It isn’t necessary to read the first book in the series, but it might be helpful to understand better some of the background issues. This book wasn’t quite as good as the first book. But I still look forward to reading the next installment.

I was given this book by the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any way.

Kathleen Fuller's Amazon author page:  http://www.amazon.com/Kathleen-Fuller/e/B001JSAI22/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

 

Back in the Saddle by Ruth Logan Herne

It’s been a long time since Colt Stafford shrugged off his cowboy legacy for shiny Manhattan loafers and a promising career on Wall Street. But when stock market manipulations leave him financially strapped, the oldest son of legendary rancher Sam Stafford decides to return to the sprawling Double S ranch in Gray’s Glen, Washington. He’s broke, but not broken, and it’s time to check in with his ailing father, and get his legs back under him by climbing into the saddle again.

He doesn’t expect to come home to a stranger pointing a loaded gun at his chest— a tough yet beautiful woman that Sam hired as the house manager. Colt senses there’s more to Angelina Morales than meets the eye and he’s determined to find out what she’s hiding...and why.

Colt’s return brings new challenges. Younger brother Nick has been Sam’s right-hand man at the ranch for years and isn’t thrilled at having Colt insert himself into Double S affairs. And the ranch’s contentious relationship with the citizens of Gray’s Glen asks all the Stafford men to examine their hearts about what it truly means to be a neighbor.  And as Wall Street recovers, will Colt succumb to the call of the financial district’s wealth and power—or finally the courage to stay in the saddle for good?

I can't recall ever reading any books by this author before.  It will not be the last.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  O thought this book was loosely based on the prodigal son in the New Testament.  Colt being the prodigal and Nick the younger jealous son.  They both have a lot to overcome with Sam, their father as he was not the best of fathers.

 Colt can't wait for his finances to turn around so he can head back to New York.  What he doesn't anticipate is how quickly he adapts to ranch life again and how at peace he is.  He keeps butting heads with the house manager Angelina.  She is a person to be reckoned with.  She will not put up with Colt and Nick arguing with each other.  She has a rolling pin to remind them of that fact.

Angelina has a secret she is not willing to share with anyone.  She runs the house with a firm hand.  She takes no nonsense from anyone.  It's fun to watch Colt and Angelina dance around their feelings for each other.  Neither one is wanting to fall in love.  Both have been hurt by past relationships. 

I look forward to reading the next installment in the Double S Ranch Series.

I was given this book by the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any.

Faith by Lyn Cote

The Civil War battlefield is the last place Quakeress Faith Cathwell thought she’d find herself. But with a gift for nursing, Faith seizes this opportunity to join the fight for abolition―and to search for Shiloh, a freeborn childhood friend who was kidnapped and sold south by unscrupulous slave catchers.

Knowing it’s much too dangerous for her to search enemy territory alone, Faith enlists the help of Colonel Devlin Knight, who is indebted to her for saving his cousin’s life. A career soldier, Dev is committed to the preservation of the Union but conflicted about freeing his own slave and confidant, who plans to enlist as soon as Dev gives him manumission papers.

Blazing a trail east with the rest of Grant’s army, Dev and Faith fight their personal battles―and a growing attraction to each other. When beliefs clash and passions flare, they quickly find that the only thing more dangerous than the war surrounding them is the battle within their hearts.

I was intrigued by the premise of this story and to see how the author handled the idea of a Quakeress at war.  I was not disappointed.  Although Faith’s main objective was to find Shiloh, she took her responsibilities as nurse very seriously.  The book pointed out how different medicine during the Civil Was times was to now.  Sanitation was not a big issue.  Faith on the other hand insisted on cleanliness and doctored with herbs.  Devlin is a career soldier so it is interesting to see how a Quaker and soldier deal with their beliefs.  I could tell the author did a lot of research to write this book.  This was the third book in the Quaker Bride series.  I haven’t read the first two books in the series and understood the book fine.  I am looking forward to going back and reading those books.

I was given this book by the publisher for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any way.

Visit Lyn Cote at http://www.lyncote.com/