The Christmas Prayer by Wanda Brunstetter and Giveaway!

About the Book: 

The Christmas Prayer

Author: Wanda E. Brunstetter

Genre: Historical Christmas Romance

Release date: September, 2018

Beloved, bestselling author of Amish fiction, Wanda E. Brunstetter takes readers on a journey in 1850 along the California Trail.

Only the brave—or foolhardy—would attempt a cross-country journey late in the season. Three wagons meet up in Independence, Missouri, in April 1850, and their owners decide to keep forging ahead despite many setbacks and delays. December finds them in the Sierra Nevada Mountains when a sudden snowstorm traps them, obscuring the trail.

Cynthia Cooper is traveling with her mother and the man she has promised to marry. But as Christmas is upon them and they are hunkered down in a small cabin, she is forced to reevaluate her reasons for planning to marry fellow-traveler Walter Prentice. When a widowed father heading to a California ranch and a gold prospector both show an interest in Cynthia, she weighs her dreams for marriage alongside her responsibility to care for her mother. Can love win over her timid heart?

I really enjoyed this story. It was a light read due to the length, due to being a novella, but I found myself wanting to know what was going to happen to the characters. I was also genuinely surprised at one of the events that occurred later in the book. When you read a story like this, you feel more grounded and refreshed. 

You also tend to remember the things that are important in life. I also enjoyed the historical time setting and found myself imagining how hard it must have been to go across the country in the harsh conditions. You can't go wrong with a story like this that is based in faith in this day and age. Mrs. Brunstetter's stories always lift my spirits. 

About the Author

New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Wanda E. Brunstetter is one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre. She has written close to 90 books translated in four languages. With over 10 million copies sold, Wanda’s stories consistently earn spots on the nations most prestigious bestseller lists and have received numerous awards.

Wanda’s ancestors were part of the Anabaptist faith, and her novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Her books are well-read and trusted by many Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding customs.

When Wanda visits her Amish friends, she finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties. Wanda enjoys photography, ventriloquism, gardening, bird-watching, beachcombing, and spending time with her family. She and her husband, Richard, have been blessed with two grown children, six grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.

To learn more about Wanda, visit her website at www.wandabrunstetter.com.

Try this Exclusive Bonus Recipe Found Inside the Book!

Cynthia’s Fried Apples

Instructions:

Without peeling, quarter as many tart apples as you would like. Lay apples close together, skin side down, in frying pan with salt pork fat or butter. Cover until well steamed then uncover and brown both sides, turning and watching closely to prevent burning.

Blog Stops

Among the Reads, September 18

The Avid Reader, September 18

The Power of Words, September 18

Lighthouse Academy, September 18

Just Commonly, September 19

Carpe Diem, September 19

A Baker’s Perspective, September 19

Blossoms and Blessings, September 20

Britt Reads Fiction, September 20

Random Thoughts From a Bookworm, September 20

Connie’s History Classroom, September 21

Luv’N Lambert Life, September 21

Not Enough Time for Books, September 21

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, September 22

Lis Loves Reading, September 22

Literary Reflections Book Blog, September 22

Babs Book Bistro, September 23

Jeanette’s Thoughts, September 23

Janices book reviews, September 23

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, September 24

Mary Hake, September 24

Two Points of Interest, September 24

Inspiration Clothesline, September 25

Inklings and notions, September 25

Ashley’s Bookshelf, September 25

Fiction, Faith, and Fun, September 26

Girls in White Dresses, September 26

Book by Book, September 26

Splashes of Joy, September 27

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, September 27

The Morning Chapter, September 27

The Mimosa Blossom, September 28

Pause for Tales, September 28

Have A Wonderful Day, September 28

Miss Tina’s Amish Book Reviews, September 29

To Everything A Season, September 29

Cafinated Reads, September 29

Bibliophile Reviews, September 29

Quiet Quilter, September 30

Southern Gal Loves to Read, September 30

proud to be an autism mom, September 30

Texas Book-aholic, October 1

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, October 1

Bigreadersite, October 1

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Wanda is giving away a grand prize of a $25 Amazon Gift Card and a free copy of The Christmas Prayer with an autographed book plate inside!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d297/the-christmas-prayer-celebration-tour-giveaway

Thank you to NetGalley and to CelebrateLit for an advance copy. All opinions are my own. This book goes on sale on or around September 1st, 2018. 

Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall

Greetings, all! 

The time is getting closer to the release of the third book in this series, Gathering the Threads, but today I want to talk about the second book, Fraying at the Edge. For the review on the FIRST book click here: Ties That Bind

The second book picks up from where the first one left off, launching Ariana into her strange new modern world.  She is so committed to her Amish lifestyle and faith she feels like she's falling apart or "Fraying at the Edge" (ha! You like how I did that?) when her biological father places certain demands on her. 

Meanwhile, Skylar (the biological daughter of the Amish Brenneman family) is also struggling acclimating to her new environment as well. She tries everything in her power, while struggling with addiction, to alienate the Brennemans the best she can. 

Neither girl wants to be in the situation they are in. Can they find some kind of peace or at least tolerance for their surroundings while waiting for the end of the time period that was forced on them? 

My two cents; This series has been great so far. I cannot wait to read the third book. I will be starting it today.  I kind of felt like a bad person while reading this one, because I absolutely felt no sympathy for Nicholas, Ariana's biological father. Without giving too much away, I thought he was horribly rude, unrelenting and quite frankly, totally disrespectful of Ariana's lifestyle and faith. I don't like to rant too much on blogs, for fear of spoiling something, so I will not give any more away, except to say, I haven't been this engrossed in characters in a long time. 

Isn't it great when you actually care what happens in a book and get vested in the characters? I find lately that it doesn't happen a lot, but with this series, I really can't wait to find out what happens. The only downside will be when I am finished the last book and they will be gone. 

A big thanks goes to Waterbook Multnomah for allowing me to be on the launch team for Gathering the Threads and also for sending me the first two books in the series. No review was required. 

SPECIAL:  Right now when you pre-order Gathering the Threads, you will get The Ties that Bind FREE!!! Go to wmbooks.com/gatheringthethreads today to get this awesome BOGO deal! 

And, as always, please let me know what you think! Thanks for reading! 

Faking Grace by Tamara Leigh

I had the chance to read this book courtesy of Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. 

I read all kinds of things, but sometimes what I need is a nice Christian fiction story. I also read Amish fiction, and you will see that with my next review. 

Faking Grace is about a girl, Maizy Grace Stewart (get it, Amazing Grace?) who has had her share of trouble.  She loses her dream job as an investigative reporter due to some unfortunate circumstances (you have to read!) and tries to restructure her life in another town. 

While waiting for her new job at the paper to become full time, she takes a part time job at Steeple Side Christian Resources to supplement her income. Thinking it won't be long until she can leave Steeple Side, she halfheartedly starts writing stories at her full time job for events like Mule Day, just biding her time.

The thing about Steeple Side though, is that they expect their employees to not only work, but live the Christian life as well. Maizy, who drops her first name just to go by Grace, while at Steeple Side (Grace looks better at a Christian company, right?) attempts to make herself look very much like a faithful Christian. 

Grace's patience pays off and her other employer at the paper finally offers her a full time position as investigative reporter. But, it comes as a price. They want her to dig deeper into Steeple Side's practices and see what kind of "dirt" she can come up with. 

Problem: Grace has started to like her co workers and expand her walk with God.  Is it right to act like she is only at Steeple Side working when she really is trying to do something more underhanded? 

Part touching, part humorous, Grace, along with her dog Woofer (too cute!) deals with the conflict of the struggle between right and wrong. 

My two cents: I almost gave this book up in the beginning. I had read about 70 pages and found it to be slow. HOWEVER, I am glad I stuck with it. It got better as it went along and I found myself finally caring about what happened to Grace.  So, if you like Christian fiction, I DO recommend this book. 

Visit the author's website at http://www.tamaraleigh.com/

Visit the publisher's website and read an excerpt!  (thank you for the copy, Multnomah!)http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/workid.php?work=99641 

Author spotlight: http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/author-spotlight.php?authorid=17218

Thank you for reading. Check out my other reviews, too!