An Amish Wedding, by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, and Kelly Long

This book is unique in that it contains three novellas, which are each written by a different author, but all are about characters in the same Amish community. Each of the novellas captures the courtship of a different couple. An Amish Wedding is a sweet, quick read, but none of the stories are particularly memorable or beautifully written. The novella format does not allow for much development of the characters, so they are all fairly one-dimensional. Especially in the middle novella, entitled “A Perfect Match,” the main characters are just too perfect. They have basically no flaws, which to me, makes them kind of boring. This book is all right, but there’s better Amish fiction available.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Love on the Line, by Deeanne Gist

Deeanne Gist has done it again in her latest unique, hilarious, riveting historical romance novel. In Love on the Line, Georgie Gail has a dream career for a young woman in the early 1900′s. By day, she operates the telephone switchboard for her community, and in her free time, she has plenty of time to indulge in her favorite past-time of bird-watching. When Luke Palmer is assigned to work undercover in Georgie’s office, she alternates between resenting his intrusion and finding him fascinatingly mysterious. Luke is attracted to Georgie, but he can’t even tell her who he really is, much less offer her a secure lifestyle, given the nature of his work as a Texas Ranger.

I have read all of Dee’s books, and let me just say, without exception, every time I start one, I end up staying up until the middle of the night to finish it. They’re just that engaging. Her characters are always colorful and memorable and perhaps a bit larger-than-life, and yet are somehow still completely relatable.

If you love historical romance, you will love this book.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Christmas Singing, by Cindy Woodsmall

I am a big fan of Cindy Woodsmall. I have read all of her books, receive her newsletter, “like” her on Facebook, etc., so I was super excited to have the opportunity to review her new novella, The Christmas Singing. The story centers on Mattie Eash, a creative and scatterbrained cake decorator who is trying to move on with her life after the man she loved dumped her with no explanation. I recognized some of the characters from Cindy Woodsmall’s earlier novella, The Sound of Sleigh Bells. The Christmas Singing can stand alone, but I recommend reading The Sound of Sleigh Bells first.

I was a little disappointed in The Christmas Singing, and here’s why: compared with the high standard of Cindy’s other novels, The Christmas Singing seemed predictable and formulaic. Some of the phrasing is awkward, and some of the dialogue is unrealistic. Considering that it is the book’s title, I thought that the Christmas Singing aspect should have been explained and played up a little more. And I know that a novella only has so many pages to work with, but I really thought there should have been more overall interaction and romantic tension (it is a romance novel, after all) between Mattie and Gideon.

All that aside, though, The Christmas Singing is a pleasant, cozy holiday read, and I do recommend it, even with its faults. Cindy Woodsmall is still one of my favorite authors, and I look forward to reading her novella, The Scent of Cherry Blossoms, when it comes out in February 2012.

You can read an excerpt of The Christmas Singing here.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review: The Doctor’s Lady, by Jody Hedlund

I found out that Jody Hedlund is a homeschooling mom of five kids, so it’s amazing that she made the time to research and write this book, but I’m glad she did. The story is very, very loosely based (“inspired by” might be more accurate) on the historical figures of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and their fellow missionaries and travel companions Henry and Eliza Spalding.

In The Doctor’s Lady, Priscilla White and Eli Ernest are pressed into a marriage of convenience based on their common calling to be missionaries in an era (the 1830′s) when missions organizations would only support married candidates. Priscilla and Eli agree to live as “business partners,” so that if the living conditions in the untamed West are too rough on a refined East Coast lady, they could get an annulment and Priscilla could go back home. This arrangement becomes increasingly difficult as Priscilla and Eli grow in respect and attraction toward each other as they travel the Oregon Trail toward the Native American people they plan to live among.

Jody Hedlund does a great job of detailing the sights, smells, and sounds of the westward journey and portraying just how challenging it was–especially for women, and even more so for women who were pregnant or caring for young children. Priscilla’s devotion to God, willingness to sacrifice everything, and love for unsaved people serve as an example for every Christian.

Eli, though he has his faults, is a good hero: brave, capable, chivalrous, and charming. And he flirts with his wife, which gains him even more points with me.

I didn’t want to put this book down! You can probably figure this out without my saying so, but it has a happy ending, and I do love a happy ending.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Budding Artist

Cupcake (3) drew this picture on the Doodle Pro of “somebody swimming in the water.” Cute, huh?

Book Review: Restless in Carolina, by Tamara Leigh

I had several false starts before I really got into this book (not to mention the fact that I misplaced my review copy and had to go check the book out from the public library), but once I embraced the book for what it is, which is southern chick lit, I was able to enjoy it. What annoyed me at first is that the book starts out with an unrealistic conversation between the main character, Bridget, and her twin 5-year-old niece and nephew about Bridget’s personal life. Then I realized that maybe the conversation was only unrealistic to me because I’m not southern, and I’m not used to people being “in each other’s business” to the degree they are in this book.

All that aside, Bridget is feisty and unique (there probably aren’t too many books in which the main character keeps an opossum for a pet), and the way she works through her grief over her husband’s death four years earlier and her subsequent anger with God seems realistic.

I wish the character of J.C. Dirk had been developed more and that he and Bridget spent more time together in the book, but I guess there’s only so much an author can do in 300-ish pages.

Restless in Carolina is the third book in the Southern Discomfort series by Tamara Leigh, but it stands alone well. I have not read the other books in the series, but I had no trouble following the characters or plot of this book.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review: Surprised by Oxford, by Carolyn Weber

Surprised by Oxford is a memoir of how a girl met God at Oxford; of how God gently wooed her to Himself, revealed Himself in ways she could not deny, and used other believers to help her work through her many objections to Christianity.

In addition to being an engaging story, Surprised by Oxford is beautifully written, featuring memorable imagery and clever turns of phrase. I rarely re-read books, but this is one that I’d like to re-read and even underline favorite passages. I highly recommend it.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Thomas Nelson. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Book Review: Out of Control, by Mary Connealy

Rafe Kincaid, a firstborn rancher who is accustomed to being in charge, rescues geology-obsessed Julia from a cavern on his property and soon learns that her stubbornness and bossiness match or exceed his own. All that feistiness sure is annoying…and attractive.

Out of Control was a delightful read. The plot was interesting and fast-paced, and I appreciated the depth of character development. Mary Connealy did a fantastic job of allowing the reader to get to know each character–his or her background, fears, desires, personality–everything that makes a character interesting and relatable, instead of one-dimensional. I look forward to reading the next book in this series (the Kincaid Brides series) called In Too Deep, which will be released on February 1, 2012.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Review: Pacific Natural Foods All-Natural Pizza

When I looked at the online ad of a local health food store and saw that these all-natural thin-crust pizzas frozen pizzas were on sale for $3.99 each, I checked around online to see if anyone had written a review of them. I couldn’t find any reviews, so I decided to try the pizzas and write a review myself.

Today I cooked up a Supreme pizza and a Canadian Bacon and Pineapple pizza for the kids and myself for lunch. The first thing I noticed about the pizzas is that they are small–about 14 ounces each, and 9 inches in diameter.

The second thing I noticed is that the toppings are pretty sparse. 2 whole pieces and 3 half-pieces of Canadian bacon and 14 pineapple tidbits on one pizza, and 8 pepperoni slices and a sprinkling of toppings on the other.

The instructions said to place the pizzas directly on the oven rack, or onto a cookie sheet for a softer crust. I opted for cookie sheets, since taking hot pizzas directly off an oven rack sounded like a burn waiting to happen.

Here they are cooked:

The pizzas smelled yummy, and I was hungry! The cheeses browned nicely. The sauce was sweet and very mildly spicy. I thought the flavor of the sauce was very good. I liked the crust. It was crisp on the bottom and a little bready under the sauce.

Canadian Bacon and Pineapple pizza: Delicious, but needed three times the toppings.

Supreme pizza: Nice bell pepper flavor. Pepperoni and sausage tasted great. The ONE olive slice on the entire pizza unfortunately had a squishy cardboard texture.

Verdict: I try to avoid feeding my kids preservatives and other yucky chemicals, so I like that these pizzas are all-natural. I even gave a cut-up slice to my 11-month-old, and she ate it all. The other kids (ages 3 and 4) liked it well enough. The four of us polished off the two pizzas. The flavor of the pizzas was good, but I was disappointed by the meager toppings. I might buy these pizzas again at $3.99 each, but I definitely wouldn’t pay more than that for them. I believe the regular price is around $7 each. In my opinion, they are not worth that much.

Book Review: The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck, by Kathleen Y’Barbo

“What Charlotte Beck wanted, Charlotte Beck generally got.” So begins this amusing novel filled with memorable scenes, dry wit, and a lovable, spunky heroine who will do anything to get her way–even if it means pledging to marry an annoying Englishman who treats her like a child.

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck was a fun read. I think Kathleen Y’Barbo did a great job of getting into the head of each of her characters and letting the story emerge based on their varied perspectives and motives. The story seemed a bit slow-moving at first, but it gained momentum after the first several chapters.

At the beginning of each chapter is a tongue-in-cheek axiom from Charlotte’s former etiquette teacher about how a high-society lady should conduct herself. I thought these quotes added to the charm of the book.

Although this book reads just fine by itself, it does briefly mention characters in Kathleen Y’Barbo’s earlier books, The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper and Anna Finch and the Hired Gun.

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck will be released on June 21, 2011.

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from WaterBrook. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.