Book Review: Blue Ridge Sunrise by Denise Hunter

Zoe Collins left home five years ago to pursue her dreams. A death in the family brings her back, and she has some tough decisions to make. But soon things spin out of control – her control anyway – and a cascade of events begins that could turn her life around. She inherits her grandmothers peach orchard, which comes with the responsibility of running it. To further throw a knot into matters, an old flame resurfaces closer than she would have liked, and the past begins to come to light.

Blue Ridge Sunrise was a gratifying romance true to author Denise Hunter’s style. I enjoy her books because she always adds just the right amount of conflict combined with suspense in the rest of the story line. Right as things start looking up for Zoe, they start crumbling just as quickly. She has to slow down and start trusting God and following His will before her life starts to come together again. I felt the book ended with a few loose ends surrounding some of the side characters, and discovered that there will be a sequel! I’ll definitely want to read Honeysuckle Dreams when it is released!

I recommend this book for fans of clean romance. It doesn’t portray perfect characters but real people who make human choices. However, it is from a Christian perspective so it doesn’t get raunchy. If you like Denise Hunter’s other books you will probably love this one!

I received this book for free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Book Review: The Captain Takes a Wife by Doris Durbin

As Harry sets off to hopefully start a ministry as a circuit riding preacher, he suddenly finds himself thrust into the position of providing protection for a young woman running away from an arranged marriage. Sarah Franklin is apparently unwittingly caught up in a greater criminal scheme, and those around her do not seem to mind writing her off as collateral damage. Will the two rush into a romance in the midst of all the running and fighting?

The mystery and suspense in this story was great. There were multiple twists and turns, and considering the story takes place in about a week’s time, it was pretty action packed. I will say I was expecting a little more development of the romance side. It was there, but a good romance usually has some conflict between the characters, or at least more of a process. This one was pretty open book and just moved forward with almost too much ease. Other characters outside the main romance provided more interesting conflict within the story.

I enjoyed the story for the most part. There were characters that had made past mistakes and owned up to them, moving forward in their relationship with God. I just felt that in general the romance side of it was kind of boring, and many of the other conflicts between characters were just wrapped up way too simply to be very interesting. It’s probably not making my list of books I tell people to read when they ask for a recommendation.

I received this book for free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255

Book Review: God Gave Us Family by Lisa Tawn Bergren, Illustrated by David Hohn

God Gave Us Family is a children’s book that teaches the importance of family. As he is off to a pack reunion with his parents, a young wolf learns about different kinds of families and extended family as well. He sees other children living with large families, adoptive families, grandparents, and single parents before learning that his pack is considered family as well. It is a valuable lesson for young children, who often see life through the context of their own experiences or those close to them.

I have a three year old and a one and a half year old, and they both enjoy this book. The illustrations are cute and have plenty to look at, and the book is generally attractive to young children. My three year old follows along and tries to rephrase what is happening, while her little sister makes one-word comments to recap what she sees. We have another of Bergren’s books called God Gave Us You, which is a simpler board book targeted to slightly younger children. God Gave Us Family is a little longer and has more pages and words, but as I said I still found it appropriate for my little ones.

I would definitely recommend this book to parents of young children. It is appropriate for a pretty wide range of ages (3-5 is probably the best though) and it teaches some great truths about family as a gift from God.

I received this book for free from the publisher through the Blogging for Books blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review and the opinions and thoughts I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255