The King's Mercy by Lori Benton

My thoughts:  As with all of Lori Benton's books, The King's Mercy is absolutely rich with historical information and is written with such realistic and detailed descriptions that you can sense a feeling of the humidity in the air, the sound of insects abuzz and the feel of slapping away a mosquito. The characters are so richly drawn verbally that you begin to love or hate them because your heart beats with anticipation, fear, love, dread, joy just as theirs.

Very well written with a depth of perception of the times, locale, and social mores that you will mentally engage on a level that takes you striving with the under dog from page one to the exciting conclusion.

Do the good guys win out? Sure they do. Can you accurately anticipate the ending? To a small degree you can.

The King's Mercy takes the reader to the shores of the Cape Fear River near Wilmington, North Carolina. The timeline is in the mid 1700s. The large "plantation" or estate is owned by a retired sea Captain whose wife is deceased and who has two daughters. He has a contingent of slaves to work his land, black smithy, and mill. One of the main male characters if the Scottish Indentured Slave who has been purchased and whose captivity by the English King has been granted a "mercy" which is indentured slavery.

I highly recommend this Christian historical fiction. It is heavy with Christian teachings which believers will enjoy.


About the book: This epic historical romance tells of fateful love between an indentured Scotsman and a daughter of the 18th century colonial south.

When captured rebel Scotsman Alex MacKinnon is granted the king's mercy--exile to the Colony of North Carolina--he's indentured to Englishman Edmund Carey as a blacksmith. Against his will Alex is drawn into the struggles of Carey's slaves--and those of his stepdaughter, Joanna Carey. A mistress with a servant's heart, Joanna is expected to wed her father's overseer, Phineas Reeves, but finds herself drawn instead to the new blacksmith. As their unlikely relationship deepens, successive tragedies strike the Careys. When blame falls unfairly upon Alex he flees to the distant mountains where he encounters Reverend Pauling, itinerant preacher and friend of the Careys, now a prisoner of the Cherokees. Haunted by his abandoning of Joanna, Alex tries to settle into life with the Cherokees, until circumstances thwart yet another attempt to forge his freedom and he's faced with the choice that's long hounded him: continue down his rebellious path or embrace the faith of a man like Pauling, whose freedom in Christ no man can steal. But the price of such mercy is total surrender, and perhaps Alex's very life.

DISCLOSURE: I received an advanced reader complimentary copy from WaterBrook and Multnomah Press to facilitate this review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

AMERICAN OMENS (The Coming Fight For Faith) by Travis Trasher [Giveaway]

⭐⭐⭐⭐
ISBN: 9780735291782
WaterbrookMultnomah Pub.
Buy on Amazon

My thoughts:  I found the book surreal in the technological advances purported to be in place twenty years in the future. But then.... where were we with technology 20 years in the past. So much is possible and we shouldn't be surprised at what advances actually might happen.

Reading thoughts? Hearing other voices speak in our heads? Far fetched? Perhaps. I dread the possibility that these things could happen. Yes, chips can be implanted and activities traced. But some other technological advances are science fiction.

What is not science fiction is the very real possibility that Christianity will not be looked favorably upon. And in American Omens that is definitely the situation.

People are manipulated. Cars are automated. One can speak into thin air and receive a spoken answer, or an answer in one's head, or pictures appear to hang in the air in front of you. The future of technology? Perhaps. But the future is also one of control either using technology or sheer force.

In American Omens, the main, yet shadow, character is The Reckoner. I fully expected this to be some sort of avenging angel or representative of God in an end-times scenario. That doesn't seem to be the case. But that might be different if this story line plays out in more books along this line if Mr. Thrasher pursues it as a series. This story is, after all, about the downfall or decline of Christianity in America and we have the whole World  in which we can look for prophetic or end-times stories.

About the book: In this taut thriller that depicts a future where belief is dangerous, faith is deemed hatred, and a group of powerful elite keeps watch, the Reckoner has come to wake up America.

The year is 2038 and Cheyenne Burne is a brilliant young programmer working for Acatour, the world's top technology firm. Her father converts to Christianity, and he suddenly disappears without a trace. When a stranger hands Cheyenne a coded message that sends her on a collision course with a clandestine group of believers, she must put her life in the hands of those following a man known only as the Reckoner. He claims he wants to bring back true faith in Christ to America and also reveal the forces behind the disappearances of the many renowned people who publicly declared their Christian faith.

Operating in the shadows and living off the grid, this mysterious prophet assembles a ragtag team--including a former bookseller whose store was shut down for selling prohibited books--to help him take the battle for transparency to the top. With a ruthless FBI agent closing in, can Cheyenne and the others expose the truth and lead a return to God in America before it's too late?

GIVEAWAY

A signed copy of American Omens
Begins February 13

Ends March 12 at 12:01 a.m. EST

Open to USA addresses only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 
DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions shared are mine alone and are freely given. Giveaway copy is provided and shipped directly to winner by author or publisher.

The Christmas Remedy (An Amish Christmas Romance) by Cindy Woodsmall & Erin Woodsmall

My thoughts: I always thoroughly enjoy reading a book by Cindy Woodsmall and was really looking forward to this novella in which she collaborated with her daughter-in-law, Erin Woodsmall.

Framed in the confines of a small town and situated within the charm of a "corner drug store" the story reeks with charm, love, tenderness, care, family tension and the almost lost treasure that is a caring local pharmacist who stands his ground with courage, wisdom, and a caring heart.

I live in a small town. We have a local, corner drugstore; it is still a caring institution that delivers prescriptions, especially to the elderly and assisted living homes. It is situated opposite two giants in the American Pharmaceutical World (I won't name them). So The Christmas Remedy rather hit close to home.

The Amish and their unique approach to life does not take too well to the regimented medical profession and to taking prescription medications. A young Amish lady in our story has dedicated herself to working with this small corner drugstore, Green's Pharmacy, to delivery and encourage her people to take care of themselves and their families by taking the prescriptions they need and properly.

But back in the pharmacy, Lyle Green is the owner and he experiences a major medical emergency which really puts a strain on running the pharmacy. His son returns home to oversee his health and assist as he can, but he has not finished his education and lacks his PharmD degree and license. The story packs in a lot of regulations and laws regarding how a pharmacy is operated and by whom. This detail is important to know that because the mystery hinges on that aspect.

A sweet read with a touch of blossoming romance that is squeaky clean. A bit of suspense and mystery. And a peek into life among the Amish.

I highly recommend this Christmas novella.

About the book: When an Old Order Amish woman takes a job at a small-town pharmacy struggling to survive in a world of "big box" stores, her motive is to help her Plain community. But the advent of the holiday season brings an unusual mystery to the surface--and possibly love.

Twenty-four-year-old Holly Zook lives a unique life for a young Amish woman. Years ago, her bishop allowed her to continue her education and become the lead technician for Greene's Pharmacy, an old-timey drugstore that looks out for the Amish community--a group largely without secure healthcare plans. She knows she can't marry and hold onto her professional job. She's Amish, and she can only have one or the other, so she spurns love and works toward addressing treatable diseases--like the one that claimed her father's life.

As long as Holly continues to avoid Joshua Smucker, the one man who draws her like a warm hearth in winter, she should be fine. When something unexpected threatens Greene's Pharmacy, Holly and Joshua must work together to unravel what's happened and find the "missing" patient before the Board of Pharmacy shuts them down. As the snows of December arrive, with Christmas in the air, will Holly succumb to the generous spirit of the season?

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy from WaterBrookMultnomah to facilitate a #sponsored review. Opinions are mine alone and are freely given.

Ours for a Season by Kim Vogel Sawyer

An Old Order Mennonite couple's vows and beliefs are challenged in this stirring contemporary novel for fans of Cindy Woodsmall or Shelley Shepherd Gray.

My thoughts: Reading Ms. Sawyer's story woven around members of an Old Order Mennonite community helps this reader grasp some of the similarities and differences between this Old Order group and Old Order  Amish. Anthony Hirschler is the male protagonist and owns a construction company. He drives a truck, has a cell phone, etc. Marty, his wife also drives and has a phone. They dress in a manner similar to the Amish (ladies cover their hair, have simple dresses, and aprons). They stand out in secular communities as being set apart yet not as set apart as their Old Order Amish counterparts.

The Old Order Mennonites in this story still defer to the local community's religious order for making decisions in life and business.

Now the story..... I found Marty's pouty disposition and standoffishness irritating and personally felt she should let go of her feeling so unhappy and unfulfilled because she and her husband were unable to have children of their own. She seemed self-centered in this attitude and unfeeling in regard to her husband's feelings.

What I related to in the story..... Marty's best friend during her growing up years was Brooke who has become a very successful business woman out in the secular world. She is  a worldly woman with no family. Then cancer strikes and she needs Marty's help.

The description of Brooke's battle with cancer and the treatments really hit home to me. Several years ago my husband had cancer with all its ugly effects and happenings - surgery, chemo treatments, radiation, sickness, and a tiredness and weariness that only those who are brought low with chemo can know. My daughter also had cancer and these awful times. So it was hard to read this story that carried Brooke's story and her battle.

The story ends on a high note - and the story ends on a low note. Just as in life their are the high moments and there are the low moments. The story of redemption is alive and well in Ours For A Seasonn and the characters who need redemption so much. The thread of abuse and homelessness and the need to address  these issues is a major part of the story.

This is a good read that can have one experience a roller coaster of emotions during the reading.

About the book: Anthony and Marty Hirschler are part of an Old Order Mennonite community in Pine Hill, Indiana. The couple has grown apart since a doctor confirmed they would never have children. Marty longs to escape the tight-knit area where large families are valued, and the opportunity to do so arises when her childhood friend, Brooke Spalding, resurfaces with the wild idea of rebuilding a ghost town into a resort community. Brooke hires Anthony to help with the construction, drawing the Hirschlers away from Indiana and into her plan, and then finds herself diagnosed with cancer. Moral complications with Brooke's vision for a casino as part of the resort and the discovery of a runaway teenager hiding on the property open up a world neither the Hirschlers nor Brooke had considered before. Will they be able to overcome their challenges and differences to help the ones among them hurting the most?

DISCLOSURE: As part of the Ours For A Season launch team I received a complimentary Advanced Reader's Copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are my own alone and are freely given.