Katie Ganshert Strikes Again!

A Broken Kind of Beautiful

By: Katie Ganshert 

Katie Ganshert, author of A Broken Kind of Beautiful, has struck again with yet another wonderful read. I have read two of her books previously, and I absolutely love the way she writes, the way she develops her characters and her plot.

Ivy Clark is a model who has a past, a relatively deep, dark, and difficult one. Davis Knight, an old friend, has hidden from his camera for two years after an incident occurred with his sister, Sarah.

Ivy has a difficult time getting modeling gigs. However, her aunt, Marilyn wants her as a model for her bridal store, Something New. She brings Ivy to Greenbriar for the photo shoot, and Ivy learns a little bit more about who she is and where she came from. She also learns, most importantly that she is a child of God, and that while she thought no one else loved her, she has always been loved by the One True Lover of all His children.

A beautiful story of hope, love, redemption, and finding yourself as God's child.

A Good Read

Emma of Aurora, by Jane Kirkpatrick, is a good read. It takes us through the journey of Emma Wagner Giesy and her trek across to colonize west with her husband and other scouts from Bethel, Missouri. Emma is very strong willed and must learn throughout to trust, not only herself, her husband, those around her, and the Lord. The story is well written, even though at times it seems a bit long and drawn out. At times I found it difficult to grasp the purpose of the writing, and had to remind myself it was a time in history, one in which things moved slow. It is a nice reminder, as we have such fast paced lives to sit back and dwell on how things came to be. As mentioned, Emma is very strong willed and her character is well written throughout the three books. Thanks for the opportunity to read.

Forever friday

Forever Friday by Timothy Lewis was a wonderful read! I was pleasantly surprised at how the story and characters developed to make for a fun and unique read.

Huck, a newly engaged lady, has a chance meeting in the market with Gabe. They have an interchange, one that neither of them forget. Because of this, they look for each other in hopes that they will talk again. When they do finally meet again, several months later, it is like they have known each other their whole life, soul mates.

They marry, not without difficulties early on from the previous fiancé, and early on Gabe promises to send Huck a postcard every Friday with a poem. These postcards are found by Adam, an executor of their estate, who chooses to write their story. Along the way, he learns what it means to love for a lifetime, and how to love again.

This was a very fun, encouraging story, reminding us of how to make love last.

Redeeming Love...Love it!

Redeeming Love

By: Francine Rivers

Francine Rivers writes with such clarity in all her books. I have had the great privilege of reading her Mark of the Lion Series and now Redeeming Love. She is one fabulous Christian author!

We learn about Sarah early on, a young girl whose mother loves her, ready to meet her father for the first time. However, her father wants nothing to do with her because she is illegitimate, and he already has children of is own at home. Sarah is sent away the next time he comes, and learns then the truth about men from her nanny.her mother is rejected, because sick and later dies leaving Sarah in her uncles care. What is a man to do during these hard times to take care of a little girl? Well sell her of course, to the one man who literally will destroy her, her mind, and her heart.

Angel, a prostitute in a brothel in Pair a Dice works long hours and doesn't see Ny of he money she has earned. The duchess keeps it in a safe place of course. Michael Hosea, a farmer, selling goods to a store owner sees Angel one day and hears from The Lord that this is the woman he ins supposed to marry. Using up his hard earned money, he visits Angel many times...to talk...and get under her skin. Eventually, The Lord speaks to him enough that he takes her out of the brothel after she is beaten, marries her, and nurses her back to health. Se is reluctant to stay with him, even though they are married and she runs away, back to the only life she has ever known. Yet, Michael goes after her. Again, and again, and again.

The story is loosely based off of the book of Hosea from the Bible.  It is a beautiful I true for Gods children of his love and rescue. He will come for us, and he will see us saved.

I don't want to give any of this book away, it is one of the most incredible reads ever! Thank you for the opportunity to read this book!

Barefoot Summer

 

Barefoot Summer

By: Denise Hunter

 

Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter was a book I did not want to put down! It was a book with twists and turns and just when you thought you knew how something would end, Hunter would twist the plot in such a way to keep you reading. Love it!

Madison, a vet, a twin, daughter in a wealthy family, appears to have it all on the outside. However, nightmares befall her nightly, and she keeps messing up at work due to a lack of sleep, not to mention her youngest sister has more or less disappeared and the family doesn't know where she has gone or why she left.

Beckett, a sailor, son of a drunk, has a descent life, but knows something is missing.

Madison wants to learn to sail in an attempt to stop her nightmares by successfully winning the towns regatta in honor of her brother who dies ten years ago. Beckett ends up helping her and feelings that have been pushed aside for years begin to come through.

There is so much to say about the characters and the plot, but I don't want to give anything away! Hunter does a truly incredible job at weaving the lives of these characters together with their joys and problems. The reminder that God loves and forgives is prevalent throughout the book. Always a reminder to take to heart.

Once Upon A Prince

Once Upon A Prince

By: Rachel Hauck

 

Once Upon A Prince by Rachel Hauck was one romantic love story I didn't want to put down! Beautifully written, full of culture and history, it was the perfect blend. As with other books I have written by Hauck, I was immersed in the book from the very beginning.

Susanna, a woman from Georgia thinks she has life figured out, a plan of all plans. Her military man will come home from deployment and after 12 years of being together he would finally propose! Or so, Susanna thought.

Nate Kenneth, in Georgia on holiday from Brighton Kingdom, is visiting his cousin and decides to get out for a bit. Meeting Susanna at Lover's Oak after her breakup was not a coincidence, but truly ordained by God. The two enjoy some time together and learn a bit more about each other, but not everything.

Susanna, a struggling landscape architect hopes to find work in all the right places, yet is looking in all the wrong places. Nate and Susanna's friendship grows when he asks her to fix and landscape his father's garden in Georgia. Suddenly, Nate must go home, and both pine and long for one another 4,000 miles away.

A tale of romance and finding yourself. I truly enjoyed this novel by Rachel Hauck.

Wishing on Willows

Wishing on Willows

By: Katie Ganshert

 

I have found a new favorite author! Katie Ganshert sure knows how to deliver a power-packed book! I enjoyed her first book, Wildflowers From Winter, and I enjoyed my most recent read of Wishing on Willows.

Robin, a widowed single mother, lives and owns a cafe called Willow Tree. She has a few workers and a few customers and loves to play the piano that was given to her by her mother. Ian, a development contractor, who works for his father out of Peoria, has been called by the mayor of Peaks to build condominiums. Due to the recession Peaks has to had a lot of people coming to town, and Ian's father's business isn't doing so well either. Ian needs to make the sale for the development of these condominiums in order to help his father's company and redeem himself in the eyes of his father. However, there is one person standing in his way, Robin.

As Ian gets to know the town and the people living there, he comes to feel a sense of home there, except for the one person standing in his way whom he also is starting to get feelings for. Through the experiences of working with such an intimate town and seeing how family sticks together Ian learns more about himself and so does Robin.

Ganshert really knows how to write a conclusion as well. She gives you just enough and allows your imagination to fill in all the missing pieces, which I love.

I am excited to read more books by Katie Ganshert. She writes like all of my favorite authors and keeps me interested to the very end.