Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley

Eye of the Sword by Karyn Henley is a fantasy story set in Camrithia.  Trevin lives in Camrithia, described as a "land of shadows and mystical secrets.  He has been proclaimed as a comain, captain of the king's army.  He loves the King Laetham's daughter, Malaia, but must leave her behind in order to fulfill his quest of finding Melaia's harps and the  missing comains of the army.  Melaia must have all three of the harps in order to restore the stairway to heaven upon the lining up of the stars.   King Laetham wishes to marry his daughter to the Dregmoorian prince in order to restore peace to the kingdom even though he knows that the neighboring Dremoorian's ruler cannot be trusted.  Trevin is willing to risk his life for the quest and he must go through fire caves, rogue winds, and murderous plots against his life in order to try to complete his quest.
This is the second part of the Angelaeon Circle series.  It would have probably been easier to understand if I had read the first book but I quickly caught on to the story of intrigue.  It was a fast paced book of twists and turns as the reader follows Trevin into the unknown.  I would recommend this book to young people aged preteens and up.  Good book that should be read by lovers of fantasy of all ages.
This book was provided for this review by Waterbrook Press.

I am a Follower by Leaonard Sweet

I am a Follower by Leonard Sweet.  This book explains the Jesus followership dance of life.  He teaches us that the world's "be a leader" mantra  is not the plan of Jesus for our life.  Jesus wants us to walk beside him as we go through life and learn from him.  Much the same as we learn from our parents by watching and living with them.  Mr Sweet tells of how when Jesus walked the world he did not say follow me then lead a parade-rather when He said walk with me he said, walk along side me and while you life with me I'll teach you how to live a Holy life for God. 
This book set me on fire for learning to live the life that Jesus wants me to have.  This book posed the question, is what you are doing right now worthy of Jesus incarnation, death, and resurrection?  I found that I was woefully wanting of worthiness.  This book is filled with gentle reminders of what we are put here on earth to do.  This book encouraged me to not strive to be a leader of people but rather to be a Follower of Christ.
This book was provided for me from Booksneeze for this review and I am most grateful for this gift.

Sisters of the Quilt the complete trilogy by Cindy Woodsmall

The Sister of the Quilt contains the trilogy series of Hannah Lapp.  The first book, When the Heart Cries has Hannah at age 17 being cruelly treated by her family and the Amish community in which she grew up.  Rumor containing true bits and pieces embellished by the exagerations of her sister and others who wanted to believe the stories and pass them on.  Hannah and Paul had a love that they were sure could last a lifetime but when she is raped by an outsider her Father wants to keep it quiet so that the family is not shamed by the community.  Hannah is not able get the help she needs for her physical injuries or the mental help that she needs to get past the emotional toll that this ordeal has taken on her.  She cannot even share her story with anyone outside of her parents.  The second book When the Morning Comes continues Hannah's life when  the church and her family turn on her and she has to escape to her long lost aunt whom she discovers was shunned when she was  younger.  Hannah finds her inner strength and learns to live within the English world but yet maintain the Plain ways and values she holds most dear to her.  She finds new love and becomes educated in the nursing field so that she can work among the Amish as well as the English.  The in final segment When the Soul Mends  Hannah's sister, Sarah, (the one who helped start the rumors) finds Hannah's phone number and calls Hannah to ask for help.  Sarah has been struggling with the guilt as well as sinking into mental health problems.  Hannah returns home for periodic visits to help her sister get help while reconnecting with her family and community.
I loved this book.  Cindy Woodsmall writes in an interesting way in which everything does not turn out as we would want but rather as life happens.  Cindy in her writing tells of normal Amish life without sugarcoating or making fun of their rituals and beliefs.  When bad things happen in Ms. Woodsmall's books sometimes people die.  Christians of all walks pray for their needs and sometimes they get them but sometimes God says no.  Much like life really happens.  I had a hard time with the rape but once I got past that the trilogy was a great read.  I would advise reading it.
This book was provided to me for this review by WaterBrook Press.

Then Sings My Soul (book 3) by Robert J. Morgan

Then Sings My Soul (book3) by Robert J. Morgan is the 3rd installment of the Then Sings My Soul series.  It is formatted differently than the first two books of the group because it goes more indepth with some of the hymn's history or of the author or composer.  This installment also has at the beginning of the book some history of singing in church as well as history of hymns themselves.  It is also subdivided into segments by types of hymns (ie ancient hymns, contemporary praise, gospel, ect) as well as has a chronological listing of the hymns.  Mr Morgan helps to find more meaning in the hymns sung throughout church history.  He promises to help the reader be soothed and inspired by knowing the heritage of our past.

I love this series and have used both of the first 2 books as background material for worship services.  At first I thought that I wasn't going to like the way that this 3rd book is formatted but after reading through the first chapter I found myself reading this one as a book.  I think for reading enjoyment this one is better but if using the series for background information the formatting of the first two probably is easier to find and get information from.  All in all well worth spending the time and money to get this book or better yet the whole series.  I am now eagerly awaiting the 4th installment.
I recieved this book from booksneeze for this review.

The Christmas Singing by Cindy Woodsmall

The Christmas Singing by Cindy Wooksmall is self discribed as a  romance from the heart of Amish country and that is what it is.  Mattie has moved from her childhood home in Pennsylvania to Ohio to make a new life for herself after her childhood sweetheart, Gideon had broken up with her.  She has made a new life for herself setting up a bakery business and getting aquainted with Sol.  Sol offers her a security that she didn't have with Gideon but she know that she will never love Sol as she loved Gideon.  When Mattie's bakery catches fire and burns to the ground she finds that she has to return to her parents home to plan her aunt's wedding.  The story is of her return to Pennsylvania and acceptance of Gideon and her new relationship.

I read this delightful book in one setting it was so good.  Cindy Woodsmall draws the reader into the Amish community and leaves them wanting more.  I sure do hope that there is more of this story in another book yet unwritten.  I was left wondering how Mattie and Gideon would marry and raise their children.  Please continue writing Ms Woodsmall.  I would recommend this story for any age group.

I recieved this book free from Waterbrook Multnomah for this review.

The Exceptional Life by Stephen Arterburn

The Exceptional Life by Stephen Arterburn is a self help book to take you from what ever your life is now to the life that God intends you to have. Arterburn identifies the 8 roadblocks to living and shares how to get the life that you want from sharing his own life experiences as well as those of his friends and relatives.  He show you how to break down the barriers and get the life you desire.  He guides you through giving up guilt, resentment, fear, anger, instant gratification, helplessness, isolation and addiction in order to recieve hope, love, trust, forgiveness, patience, power, connection/community, and freedom.

Arterburn in his book reminds us of things we already know in an easy to understand way.  In the first chapter he tells us what the book is about and in the following chapters he goes into further detail.  Since he is not giving new information one could read the first chapter and the last chapter which sums up the book and probably get the whole book.  I would probably advise reading this book if one was young and just starting out on your own but it is too slow for those of us with a lot of life's experiences.

I recieved this book free for this review from Bethany House  a division of Baker Publishing Group.

The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter

The Accidental Bride  is about a young hardworking woman, Shay, who is raising her daughter alone after the death of her parents and the father of her daughter, Olivia.  She is about to loose the family farm that has been in her family for generations.  She has been praying to God for help in finances but is proceeding on working as hard as she can to save the home she has always known in the meantime while the bank seems to be making preperations to foreclose within the month.  Her long lost love from 14 years ago, Travis, shows up in town and through a comedy of errors Shay finds herself married to him because of the old marrage license finding its way to the minister.  Travis the man who jilted her decides to try to make the marrage work.  He still loves her and has the money to make the financial problems go away.   He strikes a deal with her to try to make it work for 5 months and then will walk away if it doesn't.  Shay because of her money situation and also though she won't admit it still loves him agrees to the plan.
I liked this book.  It is a Christian love story between the two who are still in love teenagers 14 years later.  There are no deep plots here it is a simple love story to read just for the pleasure of reading.  I would recommend it to any female above the age of about 10 or 12.  There is only suggestion of sexual encounter so there is no need to worry about your youngest child reading this but it is adult enough for moms to enjoy also.
This book was provided free for this review from Multnomah Waterbrook Publishing.  They make no stipulations that this be a positive review.