Saturday, August 19, 2017

The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Betsy had been so determined to get back to the world she belonged in that it never once occurred to her that she might not belong in it any longer...
-The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher




Hey Readers, I have a new book for you to check out,  The Return by Suzanne Woods Fisher is an Amish Historical Fiction story set in ( and around) Lancaster County, Pennsylvania in the year 1762. This story is unlike any Amish fiction that I have ever read before. I recommend this book if you:


  • Have read any of Suzanne Woods Fisher's books, 
  • Have read the first two books in the Amish Beginnings series
  • Like to read Amish Historical Fiction with a twist, 
  • Want to read a heartwarming story of acceptance and trying to find peace in the midst of chaos, 
  • Want to read a interesting story of a girl's survival after being kidnapped by Indians. 
  • Want to read a deeply layered novel that was inspired by true events during the tumultuous days of the prerevolutionary Pennsylvania.
Well, Here is the story: 

The Return is the story of Betsy Zook, A beautiful Amish girl who never has questioned her family's lifestyle or the love of her intended, Hans Bauer.  That is she didn't until that fateful night the Indians attacked her family and their neighbors. Taken captive after witnessing the horrible deaths of her parents and fearing for her siblings, Betsy only has her faith and the knowledge that one of her brothers also survived to keep her going. After Betsy endures the horrible and brutal walk to her fate, She finds that they took her and the other captives to replace family and friends who were killed by "white men". As she settles into her new life, she starts to get into the rhythm of Indian life and realizes how strict her life was before.  Not in a bad way, just different, Indian life was a bit more laid back and she was blessed to be treated as one of them and not as a servant or a slave. 

Meanwhile back in Lancaster County... 
Tessa Bauer has been in love with Hans since forever so she was horribly disappointed when he only seemed to pay attention to Betsy Zook. But now that she heard the news that Betsy was taken during a Indian attack, she feels like maybe now he will notice her.  No, she is not that mean to be happy about the situation that Betsy was in but she did get a glimmer of hope that now Hans will see that he was meant to be with her. The only issue is that Hans seems to have completely put his focus on finding Betsy and taking revenge on all Indians as retribution. Unfortunately Tessa can see that his need for revenge was literally eating him alive, But she figures if she comforts him, eventually he will see how much she cares for him and stop focusing on it so much. Finally she finds something they both have in common. They both want to see this mysterious black stallion that has been wondering around their farm.  As they work together trying to get the Stallion to trust them, Tessa senses that Hans is finally accepting and noticing her. As their relationship starts to build, Tessa begins to wonder if Hans would finally ask to marry her or if she would always be cast in Betsy's shadow. 

Back at the Indian Village...
Betsy has become fully immersed in the Indian way of life and though it was not a hard life , she missed her family dreadfully and she missed living the way she was brought up. A Indian man about her age named Askuwheteau ( or Caleb, You will have to read the story to see why an Indian would have a Amish/Christian name)  tries to help her to see the joy and peace of Indian life but when he sees that she is still troubled, He plans an escape to first take her to her brother and then back to her people.

If Betsy ever makes it back to her Amish friends, back to the world she came from... Will it be the same as it was before or will she find that she no longer belongs in that world?
And if she makes it back, Will Hans and Tessa have taken their relationship too far or will she make it back in time to get back to the relationship with Hans that she once had?



So what did I think? 
So this is book three of the Amish Beginnings series and even though I did read the previous book in the series, I would say that it could also be read as a standalone. Though it did have some violence ( Nothing horribly graphic, but there was mention of blood shed - especially when describing the Indian attack) the story is so intriguing that it grabs you at the beginning and does not let go until the very end. The characters are well thought out and the story is very well written. Like I mentioned before, this was not like any Amish book I have ever read before and I really enjoyed reading it.  My only issue was that the ending did not seem to be complete ( probably so she could write another book for the series ) Overall it is a great book with a intriguing plot ( slight bit of violence) I give this book 4.5 stars out of 5 stars **** 



If you want to check out this series or any of Suzanne's other books, Here is the link: 





Happy Reading :) 


  I would like to thank Revell , A division of Baker Publishing Group for allowing me to review this book in exchange for a free copy, I was not required to write a favorable review, just an honest one.






Friday, August 18, 2017

The Promise of Dawn by Lauraine Snelling

"Our someday has already begun. I see promise of dawn every day when the sun touches the tops of the big trees, the smoke rises from the chimney... and the cows bellows that we should hurry... "
- Rune Carlson , The Promise of Dawn by Lauraine Snelling



Hey Readers, I have another wonderful book for you to check out.  My latest "Must Read" is  by Lauraine Snelling. The Promise of Dawn is a historical fiction story that is set in the untamed land of Minnesota in the early 1900s. I would recommend this book if you:

  • Have read any of this author's other writings ( she has written over 45 books for adults and several series for youth) 
  • Like to read books by Lori Copeland and Tracie Peterson.
  • Would like to read a sweet story about love, hope and one family's journey toward their dream. 
  • Just want to read a great book :)

So here is the story:

The Promise of Dawn is the story of Rune and Signe Carlson who live in Norway with their three young boys Bjorn, Leif and Knute.  All of them loved Norway but there were not many opportunities for the boys to learn and eventually find jobs. So when a letter from Signe's cousins in Amerika  ( America) arrived asking for help in exchange for passage to Minnesota, They decide to make the journey to the new world in hopes of a better life for them and their children. The journey was long and especially hard for Signe because she found out a few days before their ship left port that she was pregnant. Finally arriving in Minnesota, they discover that the life they had pictured for themselves was very different from reality. Signe's cousins Einar and Gerd are both mean and cruel,  Einar only cares about how many trees they can cut down and how much work they can get finished and Gerd refuses to get out of bed because she is sick and assumes that Signe will do EVERYTHING around the house.  They do not even have beds to sleep in or a house to themselves! They are given the one room attic to live in and nothing to sleep on.  It takes some time but finally Signe accepts that God brought them here and that He has a plan for them so she decides to have patience with Gerd and help her to get stronger but its hard to help someone who does not want your help. After working for Einar and Gerd for several months, They are worn down to the bone. One of the boys broke their arm and Einar still expected him to work!  Then when Rune and Signe wanted to enroll the boys in school, Einar yells at them  stating that he paid their passage and that they have to work for him until it is paid off or he will have the sheriff arrest all of them.  Signe is sure they have worked enough to pay off what they were given but will they be able to prove it to the sheriff if Einar follows though with his threat?

When all seems lost, Their dreams appear to be impossible... Will they cling to the promise of dawn?


So what did I think? 
Well  The Promise of Dawn is the first book in Lauraine Snelling's new series  Under Northern Skies and it did not disappoint. Although the book has several Norwegian words within the story, it was not hard to read or understand ( It just took a few pages to get used to it) I love the amount of detail the author put in the story, describing the house, the farm and the surrounding lands. I did find that though the plot and story line were interesting that the story seemed to slow down a bit towards the middle of the book but then picked right back up to end the story perfectly. Overall I think this is a fantastic beginning to a new series and I definitely will check out book 2 when it comes out.
 I give the book 4 out of 5 stars****


If you want to check out any of this author's other books or would like to look at this series, Here is the link:
http://www.laurainesnelling.com/html/books.html


Happy Reading :)


  I would like to thank Bethany House for allowing me to read and review this book in return for a free copy. I was not asked to write a favorable review, Just a honest one.