The Fiddler by Beverly Lewis

I received a complementary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers.  I enjoyed reading parts of this book.  The characters were interesting.  The setting sounded incredibly peaceful and beautiful.  I wanted to characters to sort out their problems and find the happiness they so desperately wanted.  Amelia and Michael had such an unexpected meeting.  They shared many of the same problems, and they were able to help each other find the solutions they needed.  I found myself wanting to know more about Elizabeth and her story.  I wanted more details about how and why she left.  What her life was like away, and why she decided to come back.  I found parts of the story very unbelievable.  Amelia and Michael accidentally meet one night.  And the next day Amelia is going to Michael's home town to stay for the weekend.  Michael says that he is concerned about his relationship with his family, but he doesn't act like it.  He knows how it will look showing up with a girl, but he does it anyway.  Amelia becomes best friends with several people over the short weekend that she is there.  These people are the best friends that she has all of the sudden.  Did she not have any friends before?  The part that I found the most frustrating was that it felt like Amelia was constantly bemoaning her life.  She didn't' want to go on tour, she didn't want the life that her father, and her agent had planned for her.  But she wasn't willing to do anything about it, but complain about it.  Her father is portrayed as very loving.  It seems that Amelia never told her father what she wanted, she just let him assume that she wanted the same things that he did.  If she has just let her feelings be know she would not have had the problems she did.  I found the characters interesting, but I there were enough frustrating parts of the story that I would give it. 2.5/5 stars.

Where Lilacs Still Bloom by Jane Kirkpatrick

I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook.  Hulda Klager is able to look at plants and see their strengths and weaknesses.  She has a dream of creating better plants.  She only had an eighth grade education, but she was able to make great advancements.  She started by creating a larger, crisper apple.  She then moved onto flowers, eventually settling on Lilacs.  She was able to amazing things, eventually creating over 250 new varieties.  She suffered many tragedies in her life, but she was always able to pick up and move on.  Her flowers helped her to cope with the losses in her life.  I enjoyed this book immensely.  It was very well written.  I loved Hulda.  I found her life fascinating.  I would give this book 4/5 stars.

The Messenger by Siri Mitchell

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House.  I was very intrigued by this book.  A Quaker spy working to free her twin brother, and the man that she is forced to work with.  Two people that are complete opposites working together for the same goal.  Jeremiah Jones was once one of the men that he is now working against.  Losing his arm showed him what his friends were truly like.  The two succeed in helping many men to escape the deplorable conditions of the prison, and fall in the love as they do it.  I actually had a hard time reading this story.  It didn't flow as easily as I wanted it to.  Hannah and Jeremiah were jumping through hoops to pass some messages to each other, but then other times they would talk about things that they shouldn't talk about in front of people that they should not have.  It all seemed kind of contrived.  The characters were fun, and I did enjoy them.  I would give this book 3/5 stars.

Trauma Plan by Candace Calvert

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers.  I actually really enjoyed this book.  I am a little embarrassed to admit that.  Riley Hale has been injured in an assault and can no longer perform the one job that she wants to do - ER nurse.  Jack Travis is trying to keep his clinic open and needs someone with Riley's connections.  The two both feel like they are gaining something from their work together.  Then they both discover that they are falling in love.  The characters are fairly well developed and the plot is interesting.  Parts of the story are a little far fetched, but overall it is a very enjoyable read.  It is definitely different than most of the books that I like, but it is good.  I would give it 4/5 stars

A Sound Among the Trees by Susan Meissner

I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBook through their Blogging for Books program.  I enjoyed this book a lot.  I have read other books by Susan Meissner and I really enjoy her style of writing.  This is the story of Marielle.  She is the second wife, and she moves into the same home that her husband lived in with his first wife.  The home is also shared with the grandmother that raised the first wife and 2 children from the fist marriage.  It seems like a recipe for disaster.  Surprisingly, the do manage to make it work fairly well.  I enjoyed the characters and was genuinely interested in learning about each of them, and following their stories to the end.  The story teaches us to value our past, but to not let it dominate our now and our future.  Often times we do not know the whole story.  This was a very good book.  I would give it 4/5 stars.

When the Soul Mends by Cindy Woodsmall

I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook through there Blogging for Books program.  I really like the character of Hannah.  I feel that she is very real.  I feel invested in her, and want to know how things work out for her.  I like the Amish characters in this story.  I loved seeing the healing that takes place in the book.  I did not like Martin.  I felt like Hannah was always saying how wonderful he was, but as the reader I never saw it.  I only saw him being bossy, mean and condescending.  I had a hard time understanding why Hannah was with him.  Overall I enjoyed the book. Cindy Woodsmall is an excellent author.  I would give the book 3.5/5 stars.  It would have been higher, but I had a hard time with Martin.

Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers.  I really enjoyed this book.  I found the characters very well written.  They seemed very real to me.  I was drawn into the story and wanted to know what happened to each of the characters.  Annie lost her whole family and was controlled by an awful women, but she was able to triumph.  Michael lived a hard life, then he meet Owen Allen and his life was never the same.  Annie and Michael lived an ocean apart but shared a love for Owen.  The story is told from many viewpoints.  The threads of the story were woven together well.  There are many characters and you care about all of them.  I would definitely recommend this book.  I would give it 4/5 stars.

The Authors website can be found at  http://www.cathygohlke.com
The publishers website can be found at  Tyndale.com