Where Treetops Glisten by Tricia Goyer, Cara Putman & Sarah Sundin

I truly love reading stories set during WWII, especially if they are written by Sarah Sundin, Cara Putman or Tricia Goyer. These wonderful writers of historical romance have joined together to write three wonderful stories tied together by family and love.

I really enjoyed the way the book was set up and that the titles are all song titles. The Prologue is titled, "Winter Wonderland" and was written by Sarah Sundin. The first story is "White Christmas" by Cara Putman, followed by "I'll Be Home for Christmas" by Sarah Sundin and then "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Tricia Goyer. The Epilogue is titled "Let it Snow, Let it Snow" by Cara Putman.

Where Treetops Glisten yields three stories surrounding the Turner family of Lafayette, Indiana. Let's start with Cara Putman's "White Christmas". This was the story of Abigail Turner and Jackson Lucas. Abigail is a student at Purdue and works a part-time job at Glatz Candy. When she encounters Jackson she feels he needs a friend and finds herself trying to help him with a family issue. This particular story had a little mystery to it and was a story set in the homefront in the early days of the war.

The second story, "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is the story of Pete Turner, Grace Kessler and her precocious daughter, Linnie. Pete is a Lieutenant and pilot in the Army Air Corps and is home on leave when he encounters Linnie. This story was my favorite of the three mainly because I absolutely fell in love with Linnie. Sarah Sundin created her so well that she stepped off the page, took my hand and invited me into her world. This story was absolutely charming and was also set on the homefront.

The third story, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is the only story that was actually set on the war front. It is the story of the youngest Turner daughter, Meredith, or Merry, as her family and friends call her. She is a combat nurse stationed near the front lines in the Netherlands when her story begins. She had been in love while she was going to nursing school and found herself betrayed by a young man she thought she would spend the rest of her life with but one day he disappeared leaving signs behind that he wasn't who she thought he was. 

All three authors have similar voices and at times I had to check to see who had written the portion I was reading. In my opinion, they are all excellent authors and I always look forward to their newest books and I keep their books on my 'keeper' shelf.

The characters in Where Treetops Glisten seem so real and the settings make you feel right at home. I will say that Cara Putman tied all three stories up quite nicely in the Epilogue and I must admit, as I finished the last few words I let out a big sigh. I hated to see the book end.

I would highly recommend When Treetops Glisten to anyone who enjoys reading historical fiction set during WWII and books set during Christmas. To be honest, I believe if you love good fiction in any genre you'll love this book.

On a 5 - Star Scale - 15 HUGE Stars!!!!!  Yes, I said 15, after all there are three authors and I'm giving 5 Stars to each of them. 

I would like to thank Litfuse Publicity and WaterBrook Press for my review copy of When Treetops Glisten. I received my copy for free in order to read and give my honest review, which I have done.

Smiles & Blessings,

 

A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

The more I read by Katie Ganshert, the more a fan I become. Ms. Ganshert's newest novel, A Broken Kind of Beautiful gives the reader a glimpse into the world of modeling and fashion photography. The reader will find themselves caring deeply for the characters residing in Greenbrier, South Carolina.

It is the story of fashion model, Ivy Clark and former Fashion Photographer turned church handyman, Davis Knight. Their story is a journey of their self-discovery out of their brokenness and into a new life of hope, love and forgiveness. There were times I wanted to reach out and shake them to get their attention, but then I had to remind myself it was only a story.

When Ivy's dreams are shattered she must learn to trust in God before she can move forward with her life. Watching her journey throughout the pages of this book were at times difficult and painful but the outcome was well worth the time spent. The character of Davis needs to learn to forgive himself and until he does, he will continue to blame himself for past mistakes.

I found A Broken Kind of Beautiful a story of broken dreams being restored into new dreams all by our wonderful Creator. There is a lesson to be learned in this book and I guarantee you that it is a lesson worth learning.

I would highly recommend A Broken Kind of Beautiful to anyone who enjoys a good clean read that shares a lesson within its pages.

On a 5-Star Scale = 4 1/2 Stars!!!!

I would like to thank Blogging for Books and Waterbrook Press for my copy of A Broken Kind of Beautiful. Blogging for Books provided this book to me for free in exchange for an honest review.

Smiles & Blessings,

  

Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis

For those who are regular readers of my blog, you know that I love the work of Dan Walsh. Well, I have now discovered an author who has a very similar voice to Mr. Walsh, and that author is Timothy Lewis and his book Forever Friday is an absolute gem.

The story moves back and forth through time, much like some of the books Dan Walsh writes. Forever Friday begins in 2006 as Adam Colby, an owner of a small estate-sale business, rescued several photo albums that the bargain hunters and antique buyers overlooked. Within the pages of the photo albums were picture postcards. These weren't just any postcards, each one had a poem expressing the love Gabe Alexander had for his wife Pearl Huckabee (she goes by the name of Huck). Gabe sent one to her so she would receive it every Friday for sixty years.

Adam Colby is divorced and while reading the postcards he becomes intrigued with the depth of commitment that Gabe had for Huck. Can he discover the secret to their long passionate love or did it die with them? He soon meets Yevette Galloway, the daughter of Priscila Galloway, the long-time housekeeper for the Alexanders. She begins to reveal the story behind the postcards and Adam knows it is a story that needs to be told.

Mr. Lewis did a wonderful job of bouncing back and forth between the years. He takes us on the wonderful journey of Gabe and Huck as they meet for the first time in Cecil's Fish Market & Seafood Emporium and when they walk into eternity together from the Bayshore Extended Care Facility. I was pulled into Gabe & Huck's story from the first page and they became like family to me.  The characters of Gabe and Huck were vibrant and believable. The story read more as a memoir to me then a story of fiction, but that could be because Mr. Lewis based the story loosely on the life of his great-aunt and great-uncle, who left a legacy of postcards behind as well.

Forever Friday is a story of love and commitment between man and wife that spanned a lifetime. I must admit that I laughed and I cried throughout the book. Mr. Lewis touched my heart with this book and I could easily see it made into a movie.  Are you listening Hollywood? Besides, Mr. Lewis also writes screenplays so you needn't look beyond him.

I would highly recommend Forever Friday to anyone who enjoys reading a good book.

On a 5-Star scale - 5 HUGE Stars!!!!!

I would like to thank Blogging for Books and WaterBrook Press for my advanced reader's copy. I received my copy for free in order to read it and give my honest review, which I have done.

Please enjoy the video promo below.
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Smiles & Blessings,