Moving to Wordpress!

 I have a confession to make, I love the editing format much better at Wordpress. I've imported my reviews and will post all future book reviews there! Please come with me!!

https://bookreviewsbymargaret.wordpress.com 

Thank you so much! I'm off to find another book to read!

much love,

Margaret 📖

Covert Christmas Twin by Heather Woodhaven

"In all your ways acknowledge him, and He shall direct thy paths." ~ Proverbs 3:6
    This was a five-day read for me. This past week was back to school for my six-year-old, so everything just seemed busier.
     Covert Christmas Twin by Heather Woodhaven is the second book about twins separated at birth. I did not read Audrey and Lee's story, but Kendra and Joe's story is written in a way that really fills in the blanks.
    In this book, Kendra sets out to find her birth mom. The woman she finds is a spy, once married to a double agent. Kendra has already met her twin, in fact in the previous book her twin goes undercover as her to shut down the communications operations of a government spy. 
    Here, Kendra picks up where she left off. Now with the advice of her biological mother, Kendra goes undercover as Audrey to catch the spy.

Kendra is set up with Joe Rose who is an FBI behavioral analyst unit officer. Together they set off and soon find themself surrounded by flying bullets.

Kendra is a target. 

    It seems no matter how far Kendra and Joe get, the bad guys are a step ahead. 

Through the process of running, hiding, and getting from one checkpoint to the next, Joe and Kendra begin to grow close.

    I loved the moment when the two were hiding on the roof of a building that was set to be demolished. Kendra was nestled against Joe, noticing how perfectly she fit into his embrace as he kept her warm. She noticed how peaceful he was and commented on how she could not sleep at an uncertain time such as the one they were in. He tells her he's praying.

She gives him time and reflects on the lack of prayer in her life as she grows up. She can't recall a moment her adoptive mother ever prayed with her. 

    (This was an important moment for me since I have 4 children who are currently 6, 3, and 1(×2) and I tend to pray whenever the mood strikes me. Let's just say the lines are always open. Sometimes I pray out loud with my kiddos but I wonder if they have a clue what's happening. The point is, that won't stop anytime soon.)

Anyway, the more Kendra thinks about prayer, and Joe, the more she opens her heart to God and soon asks Joe if he'll pray with her. This is a pivotal moment for them.

One of my favourite quotes from the book is;

"Christmas is about celebrating the beginning of a successful rescue mission." 

It was beautiful! A very well-written story. 

Until next time,

Margaret 📖

Just Once by Karen Kingsbury

     If I had to pick one word to describe Karen Kingsbury's latest novel, it would be Riveting. Just Once is a story within a story. A fictitious romance set in WW2. 

    Longtime readers of Kingsbury books will recognize Irvel and her Grandaughter Audra Anne from a previous book written in 2004(Remember). Back then, Irvel had been an Alzheimer's patient at Sunset Hill Seniors Home and Ashley Baxter was her nurse. 

    Irvel had been a side character in that story, but here, finally, her story finds its voice.

    Just Once takes us into the story that Audra Anne discovered while remodelling their home that had been owned by her grandparents. After watching their story, as it had been recorded on video cassettes, Audra knew their story was worth telling so she wrote it and had it published. 

    So when we switch from the current day with Audra, to Hank and Irvel's story, it's her reading the book she wrote and that tripped me up a little.

    But then I got sucked right into Irvel and Hank's story. It is 100% evident that Kingsbury did her research before she wrote this. The historical accuracy and detail make the characters come to life. You start to feel like you're right there with Irvel when she realizes that she loves both Hank and Sam. Hank was her childhood friend and Sam was his brother that took a chance and asked her out to dinner because Hank wouldn't.

    Then when Japan attacks Pearl Harbour the brothers go off to enlist. The book becomes even harder to put down when soon after Sam leaves for the Army, Irvel gets recruited by the OSS to be a spy. She became a "nurse" who would help deliver secret messages and break codes right under the nose of the Japanese. 

    Until Audra discovers those videotapes, only Hank had known she'd been a spy during the Second World War.

    This book does not come without a message of hope! Irvel repeatedly recites Joshua 1:9 to herself while she is afraid. In this way, Karen points her readers to God and to His word. If you can get your hands on this book, it's a great clean, enjoyable read!

Until Next time,

Margaret 📖

Christmas Miracles by Karen Kingsbury

    Have you ever experienced something that you couldn't explain? An impossible rescue? An unusual encounter? Something that looked too much like a coincidence? 

Karen Kingsbury's Christmas Miracles is full of true stories of such experiences. If you've ever picked up a Chicken Soup for the Soul book you will feel right at home here. These stories are told in the third person with beautiful detail.

The stories cover miracles of all types. Impossible rescue, divine encounter, unusual answer to prayer, healing, and more.

I loved the story about an elderly woman who is in the hospital for a routine check-up, she finds her neighbour's son is in the hospital fighting for his life and she prays to go Home in his place. It just so happens that in the wee hours of the morning when the young father down the hall makes a turnaround, the woman's heart just stops and the nurses and doctors are left befuddled. The young father's family knows about the woman's prayer, and they know what happened.

And the one Karen saves for last. This one is full of "coincidences".  Imagine you've got choir practice and you want to be at church at a certain time but something delays you. Now picture this happening to the whole choir. In the story "Heavenly Hindrances" the lives of the whole choir are spared when they are all delayed 10 minutes for one reason or another. 

This book is perfect for the church library and your personal collection. Karen includes a Reading Group Guide at the end. I found this helpful even for myself to help reflect on all the stories I read. 

Learn more about Karen Kingsbury and her books on Goodreads or visit her website https://www.karenkingsbury.com/

Until next time,

Margaret 📖

A Family for the Twins by Cristina Rich

Imagine you're in your early thirties, unmarried, a seamstress by trade, and one day somewhere in 1868 you walk to your shop and discover it's been broken into. That's Fanny Ellis! Fanny finds two babies, abandoned or left with care in her shop for her to find. Fanny has her suspicions about who the mother is and decides she'll care for the babies until they can be reunited with their mom.

In comes Graham Staddler, the handsome gunslinger she's read about in the papers. Graham Staddler has a connection to these infants, once he learns that his sister might be their mother, whom he's searching for, he teams up with Fanny to make sure the twins are cared for and protected. Of course, feelings happen, but there are wounds to heal.

Reading this story I found the character development to be done really well. I appreciated how we find out what Fanny looks like from Graham's point of view and vice versa. The story flowed so smoothly and the plot twists were not predictable. I think I tried to guess what was going to happen based on what already had and I was absolutely wrong! It was delightful!

I appreciated that the characters didn't obsess over what attraction they did develop for each other, but it could still be felt building with the plot! 

This story is clean, and enjoyable and brings across the message that there can be life after loss, and hope for new beginnings. 

Check Christina Rich out on Goodreads and find this book on Kindle, your local bookstore, or even your local library! Enjoy the read!!

Until next time,

~ Margaret 📖

Where To Begin

 Finding books to read as a child was simple enough for me once I'd learned how to read in English. At home, I had a children's Bible and the church had a library we could borrow books from. At school, I enjoyed the Magic Treehouse series and anything Robert Munch. 

In middle school and more so in high school, I struggled to find a good clean book to read. It took trial and error to find the authors who wrote books a young Christian girl could read. I loved the Steeple Hill Love Inspired books. I still do, although I believe Love Inspired is part of Harlequin now. Those books were in the Romance/Inspirational section of our public library.

In my perusal of those turning shelves for another Love Inspired book, I came across some that in hindsight should have been labelled "Smut". I'm very much a judge a book by the front cover kind of girl so some of those books with the sweet-looking couples in a loving embrace should have stayed at the library. 

I just didn't know better. There weren't many options for Jeannette Oak in the public library. I wish I'd had a place to go for recommendations. I also wish I'd been smart enough to look up the authors of the books I was lent by members of my church who encouraged my love of reading.

With this blog I hope to be that kind of place. Whether you're in highschool or beyond. I review books that are clean, enjoyable, and heartwarming. Sometimes thrilling!

Until next time,

Margaret 📖