Saturday, August 25, 2012

Chasing the Sun by Tracie Peterson - Review



When Hannah Dandridge's father lost his second wife he made Hannah break off her engagement and take care of Andy and Marty, her half-brother and sister. He made things worse for her by moving them to Texas where he became partners with Herbert Lockhart. In return for the work Hannah's father did he got ownership to the Barnett property. The Barnett's left Texas to fight with the north so the property was considered abandoned. William Barnett only went because his father ordered him to, he didn't believe in war and wanted to stay on the ranch but did as his father told him.

Hannah's father had to return to Mississippi because his mother was ill and there wasn't any family left in Mississippi since Hannah's grandfather and brother had been killed in the war. She was left to care for Andy and Marty at the ranch as they waited for his return. Herbert took it upon himself to watch over the Dandridge children, he really wanted to marry Hannah but didn't want the children underfoot when they married.

William Barnett made his way home after being shot in the leg and losing his father and brother in the war. It took a long time as he had to travel at night by foot and travel was slow due to his injury. He finally reaches his ranch to find it doesn't belong to him any longer. Hannah allows him to sleep in the bunkhouse with the help, how can she kick him off of the property that he used to own and thinks he still has a right to.

Herbert informs Hannah that he's had news that her grandmother passed on before her father even arrived and has been laid to rest. Hannah is confused as to why her father hasn't written her or returned home and finally Herbert tells her about a letter he received stating that her father has died and included is a will stating that she is to marry him. He also tells her that she doesn't own the property because due to money problems her father had signed the land over to him before he left for Mississippi.

What is going to happen now, she doesn't own the land, Herbert Lockhart does and he's insisting the she and the kids move to town when they marry. William Barnett insists that he's still the owner and has asked a judge to look into it. Either way, she no longer has a home for her and the children and she's not ready to get married.

I enjoyed this book and am looking forward to reading the second one in the series. Andy has to learn to trust God after his father died and Hannah learns about forgiveness. This is the first book in the Land of the Lone Star series.


Friday, August 24, 2012

Her Restless Heart: Stitches in Time Book 1 by Barbara Cameron - Review



Mary Katherine lives with her Grandmother, actually she feels like she was given a new lease on life when her Grandmother asked her Father if she could live with her and help in her shop in town. Mary Katherine's Daed never treated her right and ridiculed her about everything. There was no physical abuse but there was emotional abuse, not only to Mary Katherine but toward her Mother also. Weaving was Mary Katherine's favorite thing to do and since moving in with her Grandmother she was free to weave whenever she felt like it.

Jacob has known Mary Katherine since they attended school together. What she didn't know was that he loved her quietly, he never said or did anything to let her know. Love and marriage was the farthest thing from her mind though, she wanted nothing to do with any man, she thought all men were like her Daed. She was confused as to where she belonged in this world, she has an Englisch friend, Jamie, and sometimes feels like the Englisch world would be a lot better than being Amish.

When Daniel, another schoolmate, returns from Florida to sell the family farm, he shows an interest in Mary Katherine. Jacob doesn't like what he see's and starts to show an interest also. Mary Katherine doesn't realize that they are both vying for her attention.

When Mary Katherine's Mother has a heart attack she returns home to take care of her because she knows her Daed won't do anything for himself and her Mother will be doing the daily chores before she's completely recovered. She was right too! Her Daed had not changed at all during the time she'd been staying at her Grandmothers house, IF he ever talked to her, it was to cut her down. She finally had enough of his treatment and leaves, taking off walking to town on a rainy day.

What will happen to Mary Katherine? You'll have to read for yourself, no hint from me. I really did enjoy this book, I think it's the first book I've read that Barbara has written and I must say that I'm looking forward to finding some more by her. You will not be sorry if you purchase this one.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the NetGalley <http://www.netgalley.com/> book review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Monday, August 20, 2012

New Reviews

I just want to say I'm sorry I haven't posted any reviews in quite a while but it has been a very stressful 5-6 weeks for our family. Roger, my husband, had some repair work done on his back, 8 screws, 2 spacers, about a 4 inch rod put in, and they took bone marrow from his hip to mix with the 'mortar' for placement of this hardware. He was in the hospital for 6 days and came home, was doing good for 2 days then started getting sick. Through the night of the 4th day he really took a turn for the worse and I had him taken back to the hospital by rescue unit.

We were not happy with the care he'd gotten in the hospital, so I had him taken to a hospital closer to our home and he got great care for the 2 days he was there. Unfortunately, on the evening of the second day the surgeon wanted him transferred back to the original hospital where he'd done the surgery. He was transferred late that night, after being transferred the nurse noticed that his eyes drifted down and to the left a lot so they did an MRI and thought he had an aneurysm, the surgeon had him flown by helicopter to a larger hospital with better neurologists, making that his third hospital in less than 12 hours.

That was a very bad day for us as it seemed like we were not getting any good news or definite answers until late in the day when they said that he did NOT have an aneurysm, which was the good news. The diagnosis ended up being a bacterial infection on his back and spinal meningitis, the problem was they could not diagnosis which kind of meningitis he had, they could not do a spinal tap because of the infection on his back. He was taken back to the 'second' hospital (which was the one we were not happy with) the next day. The following day the surgeon reopened his large incision to make sure there was no infection at the surgical sites or around the hardware, which there was not, thank God.

Roger was completely sedated for 6 days, our out of town kids, and their families, came down from Nebraska and Iowa and spent 4 days, making 14 people in our house. They left once the ventilator and feeding tube were removed and they were able to talk to him. His Mother also flew in from Kansas and was here for a month.

Roger is home now and doing better, but he has a LONG way to go. He can't walk well, his right leg is numb most of the time and he has a drop foot. I thank God for getting us all through this and I'm very appreciative of the prayers from family, friends, and family's friends who prayed for us and continue to do so. The surgeon, Dr. Manzanares, has been fantastic, he is a good Christian man who also prays for Roger. I don't know that I could have gotten through all of this if it wasn't for his support and his fighting the hospital on some things for Roger.

I will try to get the review posted of a book that I finished the day before all of this started and I'm trying to get more reading done but it seems like when I sit down to read is when he needs help getting to the bathroom or something. I think he has ESP, lol, since he's not a reader he always teases me about not needing books and calls them trash, at the same time he lets me buy books.

Thank you for your patience.