Book Review - The Moonlight School

 For Lucy Wilson, a six month stint assisting her father's cousin, Cora Wilson Stewart, in her role as superintendent of schools in Rowan County, Kentucky, is something to be endured in the spring of 1911. She sees the need for education among the illiterate and poverty-stricken mountain folk, but surely she has no role in their lives aside from working as Cora's scribe. By autumn, she will be back in Louisville. However, she is not prepared for the way the people in the hills and hollers work their way into her heart. With their vivid storytelling, vibrant musical tradition, and the way their clogging binds together the young and the old, these people begin to teach Lucy that there is much more to life that the proper society to which she compared them. She is also not prepared to face some very challenging new information about her family.

Cora's inspiration for a moonlit school to teach the illiterate and semi-literate adults of the county to read will empower these people and give them a voice. The mountain they will have to climb to accomplish this plan is a tough climb, but fierce determination and the leading of the Almighty give them strength to push past the barriers.

The Moonlight School by Suzanne Woods Fisher is based on true events and the life of the very real Cora Wilson Stewart, who began the Moonlight Schools on September 5, 1911. As a lover of literacy, I was intrigued by the very real Cora Wilson Stewart and Fisher's Lucy, as well as the way they worked diligently to bring education to the mountain folk of Rowan County. The way Fisher brought her characters to life did justice to the bountiful and beautiful cultural tradition she represented.

The Moonlight School is now available from your favorite local bookseller, or online from the following:

Christian Book        Barnes & Noble        Amazon

Thank you to the author and the publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Network of Deceit

 After cracking the Cotulla case, Amara Alvarez has made it to the San Antonio Police Department Homicide Division, but she's fresh fish and her first case is a teenager who is found dead at a crowded waterpark. Never mind that her desk is wherever she happens to land, and the requisition for a desk gets moved to the bottom of the endless signature pile every time she asks for a status update. Amara has to tickle, tease, and finesse the details from any source she can find. And that's not all. What may or may not be a kid who overindulged on a steamy San Antonio day gets a shot of clarity when Amara is stalked online and the hacker starts digitally tossing her life. As if that's not enough, her personal life pivots into chaos mode in the midst of the investigation. Amara has to get creative to crack this case before it turns cold.

Tom Threadgill had us captivated by Amara from the beginning of Collision of Lies, so it's no surprise that he has skillfully upped the ante in Network of Deceit. He has brought back the cast of characters I loved from Collision; Larry, Starsky, Amara's dear Mama, and Wylie are back again supporting our girl as she kicks butt and takes names. It's thrilling to watch Amara find her footing and learn that navigating the life of a homicide detective means learning a lot about yourself in the process.

Network of Deceit is currently available from your favorite local bookseller, or online at:

Christian Book           Barnes & Noble        Amazon

Thank you to the author and the publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - From This Moment

Family is the root from which From This Moment by Kim Vogel Sawyer grows. Jase Edgar thought he finally had the family for which he had longed, until his fiancée died. Running from the memories and the loss, he uproots from San Antonio to take a youth minister position in Kansas. Maybe ministering to the youth in the small church will also minister to his hurting heart and shaky faith. But how can he minister to them when he's not so confident in God anymore?

New church custodian Lori Fowler has her eye on the new youth minister, but how could he ever notice her? Her strained relationship with her father and tendency to emote through a rollercoaster relationship with food have destroyed her confidence. But Lori's friend Kenzie needs both Lori and Jase to help her find the owner of a ring that she has found, and the Lord's hand is undeniable in the way relationships are restored and repaired along the way.

Kim Vogel Sawyer explores a scope of love, longing, and belonging in From This Moment that speaks to everyone on some level. Jase's longing for a partner in life and a family, Lori's longing for restoration of her relationship with her father and for the strength to overcome destructive food relationships, and Kenzie's urge to return to her Amish family and share God's grace through Christ with them. This is a story that will resonate with the reader long after the story ends.

From This Moment releases February 23, 2021 and is currently available for pre-order from your favorite local bookseller or online at:

Christian Book        Barnes & Noble        Amazon

Thank you to the author and the publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - Obsession

Obsession is the second book in Patricia Bradley's Natchez Trace Park Rangers series, which began with the wild ride that is Standoff, and focuses on interpretive ranger Emma Winters. Having broken off her engagement to Sam Ryker years ago, she now has to figure out how to navigate the waters of working with him since his return to Natchez. Further complicating the situation is the fact that someone has been taking shots at Emma, and she has acquired a secret admirer who is not happy about Sam's proximity to her. Being thrown together by necessity means that Emma and Sam are going to have to have some difficult discussions and face some challenging facts about the events that led to her breaking their engagement.

If Standoff was a wild ride, Obsession is the frantic but meticulously executed excavation of truth from the grave of the past while uncovering the dangers of the present. Pick it up on a snowy day like today, when the electric company says you should conserve power, because you're not going to do another thing until you reach the end!

Obsession by Patricia Bradley is currently available from your favorite local bookseller or online at:

Christian Book

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Find Natchez Trace Park Rangers #1, Standoff, at your favorite local bookseller or online at:

Christian Book

Barnes & Noble

Amazon

Thank you to the author and the publisher for allowing me a copy of this book to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.

Book Review - When Twilight Breaks

Following her passion for writing the important news and following her leads has not been easy for Evelyn Brand, but it has gotten her assigned to Munich, Germany as an ANS reporter in 1938. It is a time of prosperity for the average person, with the end of communism and a season of economic recovery, but Evelyn sees that there are good, honest people whose livelihoods and whose lives are at risk simply because of their race. It doesn't sit well with Evelyn and she has the opportunity to bring this information to the American people, if only she can get it out of Germany. Determined not to be held back by the fact that she's a woman in a profession that is predominantly male, or by getting too emotionally attached to her sources, she chooses to stay in Munich and report truth even though her situation there is becoming increasingly precarious.

Fully believing that any enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine, Peter Lang's doctorate research on campus of the university in Munich, fine German name and handsome Aryan features make him a popular addition to the campus Nazi organization. His research makes him desirable to them, and although not without some misgivings, the experiences of his past make some of their doctrines seem desirable to him. Getting to know Evelyn is the first step toward removing the scales from his eyes and realizing that sometimes your enemy's enemy is still your enemy.

When Twilight Breaks is the latest release from author Sarah Sundin, whose amazing research and passion for the WW2 era and incredible story building talents never cease to amaze me. She handles the complexities so very delicately, bringing about character development that runs deep into the storyline and challenges the reader to look past face value and really see the people around them. What happens when Evelyn and Peter have to challenge the popular social system and stand up for their beliefs is an intense adventure with a delicate touch of romance that will have you turning pages as fast as you can. In my opinion, it's well worth staying up all night to finish When Twilight Breaks... once you get into it, you won't be able to sleep until the end, anyway!

When Twilight Breaks is currently available from your favorite local bookseller or online at:

Christian Book     Barnes & Noble     Amazon

Thank you to the author and the publisher for allowing me a copy to read and review. All opinions expressed here are my own and are completely genuine.