Christian Book Reviews » Historical

A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

Lori — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 01:03:32 +0000

Author: Sarah Sundin

Publisher: Revell (2010)

Category:Fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

(be sure to see the contest below)

Wings of Glory is a three-book series of historical romances. Each book in the series follows the three Novak brothers who were B-17 bomber pilots with the US Eighth Air Force in World War II. A Distant Melody is the first in this series.

Never pretty enough to please her gorgeous mother, Allie will do anything to gain her approval–even marry a man she doesn’t love. Lt. Walter Novak–fearless in the cockpit but hopeless with women–takes his last furlough at home in California before being shipped overseas. Walt and Allie meet at a wedding and their love of music draws them together, prompting them to begin a correspondence that will change their lives. As letters fly between Walt’s muddy bomber base in England and Allie’s mansion in an orange grove, their friendship binds them together. But can they untangle the secrets, commitments, and expectations that keep them apart?

I greatly enjoyed reading A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin. There was a great balance between B-17s (the Flying Fortress) and a love story between Allie and Walt. Sundin’s research was extensive and even though I am not a WWII fan I found this book fascinating. You will begin to feel like you are family to the characters in the book. Through many challenges, heartache, and trials there is the theme of one searching the will of God.

If you like historical romance, A Distant Melody will grab you from the first page!

THE CONTEST:
A Distant Melody, Book 1 in Sarah Sundin’s exciting Wings of Glory series, is in stores now! To celebrate the release, we’re offering one Grand Prize winner the chance to get nostalgic!

THE PRIZE:
The Winner of our ‘NETFLIX® & Nostalgia’ giveaway will receive a vintage prize package, including:

*A 6 month NETFLIX® subscription
*$25 Starbucks® gift card
*A box of See’s Famous Old Time Chocolates®
*A jar of homemade strawberry jam
*A Big Band music CD
*A Mini B-17 Model airplane
*Vintage stationery and pen
*British specialty tea
*WWII style playing cards

To enter just click on the icon above! Contest will be live April 5th and run through April 25th!

A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin can be purchased here.

About:

Although I come from a home wallpapered in books, I only briefly envisioned myself as a writer, when my sister and I co-wrote Funny Dancing Fruits and Vegetables complete with crayon illustrations.

Then I discovered science. I loved learning about the intricacies of God’s creation, so I studied chemistry in college, and then got my doctorate in pharmacy—not a typical career path for a writer.

In pharmacy school, I met my husband, Dave. We settled in northern California and were blessed by three bright, funny children—Stephen, Anna, and Matthew.

Then on January 6, 2000, I woke from a dream so intriguing I had to write it down. I proceeded to write a really bad 750-page contemporary Christian romance. Burn-it-when-I-die bad. But the Lord used it to call me into writing. I joined a critique group, attended writers’ conferences, and joined American Christian Fiction Writers. These all taught me about the craft of writing and the publishing industry, and introduced me to writers, editors, and agents.

I first submitted the manuscript for A Distant Melody in 2003, and over the next five years I accumulated a pile of “good” rejection letters from editors and agents. Finally in 2008, a submission at Mount Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference led to my first sale.

Between writing and driving kids to soccer and karate, I work one evening a week as a hospital pharmacist, teach Sunday school to fourth- and fifth-graders, and teach women’s Bible studies. I enjoy speaking to women’s groups and am available to speak on several topics. You can see more on her website here.

FTC Disclosure: Special thanks to Amy Lathrop of litFUSE publicity group for sending me a review copy of A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin.

Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

Lori — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 00:58:51 +0000

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Here Burns My Candle
WaterBrook Press (March 16, 2010)
by
Liz Curtis Higgs

Author: Liz Curtis Higgs

Publisher: WaterBrook Press (March 16, 2010)

Category:Fiction, Historical
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

A mother who cannot face her future.
A daughter who cannot escape her past.

Lady Elisabeth Kerr is a keeper of secrets. A Highlander by birth and a Lowlander by marriage, she honors the auld ways, even as doubts and fears stir deep within her.

Her husband, Lord Donald, has secrets of his own, well hidden from the household, yet whispered among the town gossips.

His mother, the dowager Lady Marjory, hides gold beneath her floor and guilt inside her heart. Though her two abiding passions are maintaining her place in society and coddling her grown sons, Marjory’s many regrets, buried in Greyfriars Churchyard, continue to plague her.

One by one the Kerr family secrets begin to surface, even as bonny Prince Charlie and his rebel army ride into Edinburgh in September 1745, intent on capturing the crown.

A timeless story of love and betrayal, loss and redemption, flickering against the vivid backdrop of eighteenth-century Scotland, Here Burns My Candle illumines the dark side of human nature, even as hope, the brightest of tapers, lights the way home.

I greatly enjoyed reading Here Burns My Candle from the very first page. I am a fan of Liz Curtis Higgs, but this comes close to being one of my favorite book of hers. She captured my imagination and had me traveling to the 1700′s where there is a mother who loves her boys without abandon, a wife who is faithful to her wandering husband, and a family who is trying to fight to stay together.

About:

In her best-selling series of Bad Girls of the Bible books, workbooks, and videos, Liz Curtis Higgs breathes new life into ancient tales about the most infamous—and intriguing—women in scriptural history, from Jezebel to Mary Magdalene. Biblically sound and cutting-edge fresh, these popular titles have helped more than one million women around the world experience God’s grace anew. Her best-selling historical novels, which transport the stories of Rebecca, Leah, Rachel, and Dinah to eighteenth-century Scotland, have also helped her readers view these familiar characters in a new light. And her nonfiction book, Embrace Grace, winner of a 2007 Retailers Choice Award, presents her message of hope in an engaging and personal way, speaking directly to the hearts of her readers.

A veteran speaker, Liz has presented more than 1,600 encouraging programs for audiences in all 50 states and 10 foreign countries: South Africa, Indonesia, Germany, France, England, Canada, Ecuador, Scotland, Portugal, and New Zealand. In 1995, she received the Council of Peers Award for Excellence from the National Speakers Association, becoming one of only 32 women in the world named to their CPAE-Speaker Hall of Fame.

Feature articles about Liz have appeared in more than 250 major newspapers and magazines across the country, as well as online with Salon.com, Beliefnet.com and Spirituality.com. She has also been interviewed on more than 600 radio and television stations, including guest appearances on PBS, A&E, MSNBC, NPR, TBN with Kirk Cameron, CBC Canada, BBC Radio Scotland, Rhema Broadcasting New Zealand, Radio Pulpit South Africa, LifeToday with James Robison, Focus on the Family, Janet Parshall’s America, 100 Huntley Street and Midday Connection.

Liz is the author of twenty-six books, with more than three million copies in print.

Her fiction includes two contemporary novels, one novella, and four historical novels. And she has written five books for young children.

Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers

Lori — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:16:59 +0000

Author: Francine Rivers

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers (2010)

Category:Fiction, Historical
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

The first in an epic two-book saga by beloved author Francine Rivers, this sweeping story explores the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters over several generations. Her Mother’s Hope is the first of two historical novels in the Marta’s Legacy series, a saga inspired by strong women from Francine Rivers’ own family ancestry.

Marta Schneider leaves Switzerland and a difficult childhood behind, determined to find life on her own terms. She is driven by the words her father spoke, “you will never amount to anything more than a servant.” Her Mom told her to fly and chase her dreams. Nothing prepared Marta for the journey ahead and the tough choices that were made. She travels through Europe, Canada, and finally settles in Central Valley California.

Marta dreams of her children having a better life than she did. She learned along the way only the tough survive, unfortunately her tough love was often mistaken as destain, especially towards her daughter Hildemara Rose. All Hildemara wanted was her mother acceptance.

Both mother and daughter end up facing their own demons that threatens to separate them forever.

There are books you read for enjoyment, then there are books where you live with the characters. The masterful story-teller Francine Rivers had me living with her characters with each turn of the book’s page. Each character becomes like family where I often disagree with actions taken, but understand their intent. I ache when they ache, I rejoice when they rejoice. When I turn the last page I feel like I have lost a best friend.

No other author has been able to capture my heart like she does while telling a story. She is an author set above all others. You can not read one of her books and remain unchanged. Her Mother’s Hope has me looking back at traits my grandmother and even my own mother have to see how they are reflective in myself. What traits am I passing down?

What legacy will I leave? If there is only one book you read this year, make it Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers.

Read and excerpt of Her Mother’s Hope

Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers can be purchased here.

About:

Francine Rivers began her literary career at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Journalism. From 1976 to 1985, she had a successful writing career in the general market and her books were awarded or nominated for numerous awards and prizes. Although raised in a religious home, Francine did not truly encounter Christ until later in life, when she was already a wife, mother of three, and an established romance novelist. Shortly after becoming a born-again Christian in 1986, Francine wrote Redeeming Love as her statement of faith. First published by Bantam Books, and then re-released by Multnomah Publishers in the mid- 1990s, this retelling of the biblical story of Gomer and Hosea set during the time of the California Gold Rush is now considered by many to be a classic work of Christian fiction. Redeeming Love continues to be one of the Christian Booksellers Association’s top-selling titles and it has held a spot on the Christian bestseller list for nearly a decade.

FTC Disclosure: Special thanks to Mavis Sanders of Tyndale House Publishers for sending me a review copy of Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers.

Christian Book Reviews » Historical

A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

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Here Burns My Candle by Liz Curtis Higgs

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Her Mother’s Hope by Francine Rivers

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