Synopsis: When Leah Miller's entire Amish family was murdered ten years ago, the person believed responsible took his own life. Since then, Leah left the Amish and joined the police force. Now, after another Amish woman is found murdered with the same MO, it becomes clear that the wrong man may have been blamed for... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Sabotage in the mountains… Can this K-9 sniff out the truth? After surviving a sudden avalanche, mountain survival expert Jayla Hoyt and her search-and-rescue K-9 discover that it was no accident—someone deliberately triggered the mountain explosion. To uncover the culprit, she’ll have to partner with Alaska park ranger Bryson Clarke, a man she doesn’t... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: When the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden. American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research--her life's dream. While printing resistance newspapers, she hears... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: In 1715, Lady Blythe Hedley's father is declared an enemy of the British crown because of his Jacobite sympathies, forcing her to flee her home in northern England. Secreted to the tower of Wedderburn Castle in Scotland, Lady Blythe awaits who will ultimately be crowned king. But in a house with seven sons and... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: After accidentally destroying the intricate chalice her people have treasured for over a hundred years, Charlotte Durand sets out on an expedition in search of a skilled artisan who can repair the damage. What she expected to be a two-day hike becomes much more daunting when a treacherous snowstorm sets in.The last thing Damien... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: It's not easy being the bishop's daughter, especially for Lydie Stoltzfus. She's not like other Amish girls, as much as she wishes she were. The only thing she does well is disappoint others. Leaving her family and church seems unbearable, but staying might be worse. Knowing Lydie is "between" jobs, the local doctor asks... Continue Reading →
Q: Can you please provide readers with a brief description of The Orchard?Set in the early 1970s, the novel focuses on the aftermath of stunned disbelief and heartache that protagonist Ellie Hostetler and her Old Order Amish community experience when her twin brother, Evan, turns his back on their Plain upbringing, refuses conscientious objector status,... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Forensic pathologist Grace Reilly has seen her share of unusual deaths in rural Missouri. But when she begins to notice a curious pattern in autopsies of elderly residents whose demise appears to be natural, she takes her concerns to Sheriff Nate Cox. Nate is skeptical about the link Grace is seeing between the deaths--and... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: “Patricia writes with heart, integrity and hope. Her stories both entertain and edify—the perfect combination.” —Kim Vogel Sawyer, award-winning and bestselling author In this close-knit Amish community, she’ll hide in plain sight… Pregnant and desperate, Victoria Worthington runs to the only place that’s ever felt safe. For years she’s been controlled, first by her crime-boss father,... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: SAFEGUARDING THE WITNESS... Close to bringing the Dupree crime family that murdered his parents to justice, FBI agent Ian Slade wants to track the leader—not protect the man's niece. But with Esme Dupree's uncle determined to silence her before she can testify against her brother, Ian and his K-9 partner are duty-bound to guard... Continue Reading →
Q: When did you first begin writing stories?My eighth-grade English class thought it would be cool to skip over the same old lectures aboutRomeo and Juliet and instead have us tackle the task of writing our own children’s books. Theywere right, it was super cool. I partnered with a girl who loved to draw, and... Continue Reading →
Rating: 5-stars Review: The Amish Orphan by Hannah Schrock is a beautifully told Amish story. This novella brings out the true Amish way of living, their faith, and the tug of war on my heart strings. I laughed and I cried while reading this book. I have never read this writer's work before until now.... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Ben Zook had only two loves in his life: books and birds. In a stroke of good fortune, he'd stumbled onto a way to cobble together those two loves into a career, writing books about rare birds. He was as free as a bird--until a chase for a rare White-winged Tern takes him to... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: In this heartwarming Amish romance, an Amish toymaker and his sweetheart discover the greatest gifts come in the smallest packages. Between his busy toy shop and the farm he owns with his twin brother, Gideon Troyer’s life is full. Now, the handsome Amish woodworker is ready to share it with someone special, someone like... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Ten years ago Lukio fled Kiryat-Yearim, where he'd been adopted by the Levite family who guarded the Ark of the Covenant. Feeling betrayed by everyone, he returned to his birthplace in Philistia to become a famous fighter. Now the champion of Ashdod, Lukio has achieved every goal with the help of his ruthless cousin.... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: From the bestselling author of Queen of Cowboy: regrets and old heartbreaks are unearthed in this sweeping love story as hometown sweethearts get a second chance at love—and being a family. Retired combat medic Jesse Ryan hasn’t been home much since he enlisted twenty years ago. Now he’s headed back to Texas to help take... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: A drifter working as a ranch hand in East Texas must protect a widow and her young son from the ruthless criminal who is determined to destroy them.Carl Herbold is a cold-blooded psychopath who has just escaped the penitentiary where he was serving a life sentence. Bent on revenge, he's going back to where... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: In the final installment of Amy Clipston’s bestselling Amish Marketplace series, a young widow struggling to raise her son dreams of one more chance at love.Since her husband died seven years ago, Leanna Wengerd has done her best—tending to her son, Chester, and running her Jam and Jelly Nook at the Amish market. Though... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: The third book in the sweet and charming Hidden Springs series from award-winning author Laura V. Hilton. As a columnist for the The Budget, with a secret byline of GHB, Hallie Brunstettler writes about community news, and sometimes alludes to her overwhelming loneliness. Her columns portray a woman who goes from day to day... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: When wild child Sophie Deiner--the daughter of an Amish bishop--is forced to return to Nappanee, Indiana, quilt-shop owner Jane Berger is one of only a few who welcome her back. It's the last place she wants to be, but Sophie's recent illness requires that she recover for a while.As Sophie heals, she befriends a... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: The first two books in the steamy medieval romance series, All the King's Men, from Margaret Mallory—together for one low price! Knight of DesireHis surcoat still bloody from battle, William FitzAlan comes to claim the strategic borderlands granted to him by the king. One last prize awaits him at the castle gates: the lovely... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: While her humanitarian husband Liam has been digging wells in Africa, Mara Jacobs has been struggling. She knows she's supposed to feel a warm glow that her husband is nine time zones away, caring for widows and orphans. But the reality is that she is exhausted, working a demanding yet unrewarding job, trying to... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Haunted by her sister's mysterious disappearance, Lucy Wilson arrives in Rowan County, Kentucky, in the spring of 1911 to work for Cora Wilson Stewart, superintendent of education. When Cora sends Lucy into the hills to act as scribe for the mountain people, she is repelled by the primitive conditions and intellectual poverty she encounters.... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: When Elizabeth Kaufman received the news of her husband's death at the Battle of Vicksburg in 1863, she felt only relief. She determined that she would never be at the mercy of any man again, even if it meant she would never have a family of her own. Then Aaron Zook comes home with... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: A midwife gets a second chance at having a family in this first installment of the new Amish romance series -- Hearts of Lancaster County -- from award-winning author Barbara Cameron.Rebecca Zook has always dreamed of being a midwife. It's a bittersweet occupation for an Amish widow who didn't have children before she lost her true... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: After he's forced to sell the family farm he's labored on his whole life, 63-year-old Gerrit Laninga doesn't know what to do with himself. He sacrificed everything for the land--his time, his health, his family--with nothing to show for it but bitterness, regret, and two grown children who want nothing to do with him.Fifteen-year-old... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: In 1933 Louisville, Kentucky, even the ongoing economic depression cannot keep Piper Danson's parents from insisting on a debut party. After all, their fortune came through the market crash intact, and they've picked out the perfect suitor for their daughter. Braxton Crandall can give her the kind of life she's used to. The only... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: In the fine tradition established by her Southern grandmama, Aurora Daughtry has recently orchestrated the marriage of her eldest sister and facilitated her middle sister's engagement. She also rejoices in her part in transforming the family's dilapidated plantation manor into a luxurious and lucrative resort hotel. Just when it seems there is nothing left... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Worie Dressar is seventeen years old when influenza and dysentery ravage her Appalachian Mountain community in 1898, leaving behind a growing number of orphaned children with no way to care for themselves. Worie's mother has been secretly feeding a number of these little ones on Sourwood Mountain. But when she dies suddenly, Worie is... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Haunted by the horrors of war, ex-cavalry officer Matthew Hanger leads a band of mercenaries known as Hanger's Horsemen who have become legends in 1890s Texas. They defend the innocent and obtain justice for the oppressed. But when a rustler's bullet leaves one of them at death's door, they're the ones in need of... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: A year ago, ex-Delta Force operator Steven Roark left the rigors of combat behind to run fishing charters in Hope Harbor, decompress, and talk some sense into his kid brother. Business is good--but making peace with his past is more challenging than he expected. First-grade teacher Holly Miller leads a quiet, low-profile existence--until she's... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: From a supremely talented author comes this brilliant and inventive novel, set in Rome in four different centuries, that explores love in all its various incarnations and ponders elemental questions of good and evil, obedience and free will that connect four unforgettable lives. Spanning two thousand years, The Everlasting follows four characters whose struggles... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Too often we lean into the wrong things and burn out. We buy society's lie that our worth is our work, our value is our vocation, our calling is our career. Confusing what we do with who we are wreaks havoc on our bodies, our souls, and our relationships. Called Out is a... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: As women, we are exhausted. Our hearts are being wrung out to dry--squeezed and yanked in every direction. We take care of everyone but ourselves. We've gotten lost in bedtime routines and our Costco lists. We have lost our voices in the storm of everyday life. We need to be reminded to reach inward... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Science raises questions only love can answer in this moving and thought-provoking novel from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of “heart-tugging and emotional” (Romantic Times Book Reviews) life-changing fiction.One frozen embryo. Two families with life-long secrets. And a guy who never planned to fall in love again.Maddie Baxter West is shaken to... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Back and broke in Stoney Ridge, Jimmy Fisher has coasted as long as he could through life on charm, good looks, and deep-set dimples. They always worked just fine for him--until they didn't. His smile has no effect on the violet-eyed beauty he met at the Bent N' Dent, the one with that stunning... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Former pararescue jumper Orion Starr is haunted by the memory of a rescue gone wrong. He may be living alone in Alaska now, but the pain of his failure--and his injuries--has followed him there from Afghanistan. He has no desire to join Hamilton Jones's elite rescue team, but he also can't shirk his duty... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Ruby Weaver's curly red hair isn't the only thing that sets her apart from her Amish community in 1863. Twenty-eight and single, Ruby doesn't believe a woman needs to be married in order to be happy. Her ailing friend Lovinia Fischer, however, has other ideas and wants Ruby to promise to marry her husband... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: From bestselling authors in the Amish genre come four delicious stories perfect for celebrating love, joy, and the holiday season. Cookies and Cheer by Amy Clipston Alyssa Byler wants to build a sugar cookie nativity scene for her bakery’s Christmas window display—all she needs is the right cookie cutters. She turns to handsome... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Fear is a form of torment the enemy tries to plague people with in order to paralyze them, to steal their purpose and destiny from God's best. None of us is immune to these attacks. Jesus came to destroy fear and set the captives free. Speaking as one whom Jesus Christ set... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: On her way to deliver vaccines to a mining town in the Montana Territory, Ingrid Chastain never anticipated a terrible accident would leave her alone and badly injured in the wilderness. When rescue comes in the form of a mysterious mountain man, she's hesitant to trust him, but the journey ahead will... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: When a spunky photographer wrangles her way onto an 1871 survey crew of the Grand Canyon she thinks nothing can stand in her way. But her mind changes when she finds out she'll be working alongside the one man she doesn't want to fall in love with. Rating: 5-stars Review: A Distance... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Detachment had worked well as a life strategy for horse trainer Sam Schrock. Until he met Mollie Graber . . . New to Stoney Ridge, schoolteacher Mollie has come to town for a fresh start. Aware of how fleeting and fragile life is, she wants to live it boldly and bravely. When... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Research scientist Caitlyn Lindsey is convinced that someone is taking out her team one by one. First, a friend and research partner was killed in a home invasion. Three months ago, her boss died in a suspicious car accident. Four days ago, another partner supposedly committed suicide. And now Caitlyn herself has... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: Faced with a marriage she can’t abide, Lady Penelope Wakefield takes drastic measures to preserve her freedom. Her brilliant plan is foolproof until a sexy but imperious rector “rescues” her. Rector Hugh Tarleton has no patience for the Society philanthropists who seek to bestow their pity—and not much else—on his oppressed... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: When Cohen Marah steps over the body of his dead father on a cold spring morning, he steps into a labyrinth of memory. In the week that follows, he must confront his traumatic past, a violent present, and the most frightening question of all, did he kill his father? Rating: 4-stars Review:... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: With her Amish parents' twentieth anniversary approaching, eighteen-year-old Sylvia Miller stumbles across a surprise--the old brass tinderbox her clockmaker father keeps in his Lancaster County shop has been left unlocked. Against her better judgment, Sylvia opens the cherished heirloom, not realizing that what she is about to discover will splinter apart... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: An Old Flame Brings a Spark of New Hope En Alt Maedel—an old maid. At age twenty-nine, that's what Eva Lapp considers herself. And who could argue with her? Finding a good Amish husband at her age will be next to impossible. Plus, Eva's unwarranted bad reputation in Lancaster... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: A Choice to Forgive by Beth Wiseman (previously published in An Amish Christmas) After Daniel disappeared that long-ago Christmas Eve, Lydia built a life with his brother. But now she's a widow and Daniel has reappeared, asking for forgiveness. Can she go back to her normal life with her long-lost love as her... Continue Reading →
Synopsis: After facing desperate heartache and loss, Mercy agrees to escape a bleak future in London and join a bride ship. Wealthy and titled, Joseph leaves home and takes to the sea as the ships surgeon to escape the pain of losing his family. He has no intention of settling down, but... Continue Reading →
Urban Book Reviews 