Emma of Auroa

The Change and Cherish trilogy, based on the true story of Emma Wagner Giesy, now available in one volume:
 
A Clearing in the Wild
When Emma’s outspoken ways and growing skepticism lead to a clash with the 1850s Bethel, Missouri colony’s beloved leader, she finds new opportunities to pursue her dreams of independence. But as she clears a pathway West to her truest and deepest self, she discovers something she never expected: a yearning for the warm embrace of community.
 
A Tendering in the Storm
Determined to raise her children on her own terms, Emma suddenly finds herself alone and pregnant with her third child, struggling to keep her family secure in the remote coastal forest of the Washington Territory. As clouds of despair close in, she must decide whether to continue in her own waning strength or to humble herself and accept help from the very people she once so eagerly left behind.
 
A Mending at the Edge
As a mother, daughter, sister, and estranged wife, Emma struggles to find her place inside—and outside—the confines of her religious community. Emma reaches out to others on the fringe, searching for healing and purpose. By blending her unique talents with service to others, she creates renewed hope as she weaves together the threads of family, friends, and faith.

This all in one book is huge! Its around 1,000 pages long, so if you like caring around a five pound book go for it if not you probably shouldn't buy this.... Anyways, all in all an okay read, not the best and it was kind of confusing at time. 
I received this book for review through Waterbrook press. 

The One Year My Princess Devotions

Princesses are a big attraction for most girls, especially preschoolers and early readers. The One Year My Princess Devotions is written for early readers and preschoolers. Each devotion sheds light on how the reader is a princess—a daughter of God, the King. The devotions also emphasize how little princesses should respond to being God’s children. Each devotion includes Royal Words (the Bible verse), Princess Thoughts (a short devotion written for early readers), a Prayer, and a Princess in Action section (an activity related to the devotion).

The devotions are thematic according to the calendar. For example, January features creation and February highlights love.

Little Princesses will look forward to learning more about their King each day.

This is a great little devo, its Very short which is a good thing since it is a preschool edition of the book. So it would be good for little girls to have read to them.
I would recommend this title.
I received this title for review through Tyndale Kids.

The Governess of Highland Hall

Worlds lie between the marketplaces of India and the halls of a magnificent country estate like Highland Hall. Will Julia be able to find her place when a governess is neither upstairs family nor downstairs help?
 
Missionary Julia Foster loves working alongside her parents, ministering and caring for young girls in India. But when the family must return to England due to illness, she readily accepts the burden for her parents’ financial support. Taking on a job at Highland Hall as governess, she quickly finds that teaching her four privileged, ill-mannered charges at a grand estate is more challenging than expected, and she isn’t sure what to make of the estate’s preoccupied master, Sir William Ramsey.

Widowed and left to care for his two young children and his deceased cousin Randolph’s two teenage girls, William is consumed with saving the estate from the financial ruin. The last thing he needs is any distraction coming from the kindhearted-yet-determined governess who seems to be quietly transforming his household with her persuasive personality, vibrant prayer life, and strong faith.

While both are tending past wounds and guarding fragile secrets, Julia and William are determined to do what it takes to save their families—common ground that proves fertile for unexpected feelings. But will William choose Julia’s steadfast heart and faith over the wealth and power he needs to secure Highland Hall’s future?

This is the newest book by Carrie Turansky. It was well written and has a good story line. It was a great first book in the Edwardian Brides Series. I would recommend this book to those who like historical fiction. 

I received this book for review through Multnomah. 

What Once Was Lost

A woman meant to serve, a child in the dark, a man standing apart—can these three souls embrace a God with new plans for them?

On a small Kansas farm, Christina Willems lovingly shepherds a group of poor and displaced individuals who count on her leadership and have come to see the Brambleville Asylum for the Poor as their home. But when a fire breaks out in the kitchen leaving the house uninhabitable, she must scramble to find shelter for all in her care, scattering her dear “family.”

With no other options, Christina is forced to approach Levi Jonnson, a reclusive mill owner, to take in a young blind boy named Tommy Kilgore. Levi agrees with reluctance but finds himself surprised by the bond that quickly grows between him and Tommy. As obstacles to repairing the farm pile up against Christina, she begins to question her leadership ability and wonders if she can fulfill the mission to which she's dedicated her life. And when an old adversary challenges Christina, will she find an unlikely ally—or more—in the aloof Levi? Can Levi reconcile with the rejection that led to his hermit-like existence and open his heart and life to something more, especially a relationship with a loving God?

 

This book was very well written with an enjoyable story plot and an uplifting story. I would recommend this book to those who enjoy historical fiction.

I recieved this book for review through Waterbrook Press, i was not made to write a good review, only to voice my opinion.

Forever Friday

Every Friday, a postcard.
Every Friday, a love poem.
Every Friday for sixty years.
Adam Colby is just doing his job, sorting through the unsold Alexander belongings after the estate sale. He is unprepared for what he finds in an old photo album, overlooked by the bargain hounds and treasure hunters—six decades of postcards and poems from Gabe Alexander to his wife, Pearl. The mystery of the Alexanders’ love entices Adam, a man unhinged by divorce and puzzled by the depth of commitment that he finds in the unabashedly romantic cards.

Forever Friday invites you to travel back in time to the early twentieth century Texas Coastal Bend where a young couple—Gabe and Pearl Alexander—are swept up in a miraculous love. As the heartwarming, pulse-quickening story of their relationship develops through Gabe’s poems, the Alexanders reveal a new way to consider what it means to be truly devoted to each other. Could the secrets of their love affair, laid to rest twenty years ago, hold the key to one man’s future?

This book was better then I expected, what i thought was going to be a cheesy love story turned out to be a complex well written story of two people in love that somehow made it all work. This book was very well written, i did receive a advanced readers copy so this might not be in the finished book, but i noticed several sentences that didn't flow well. But that was really my only complant. I would recommened this book to anyone looking for a short and sweet love story that mirrors one by like Nicholas Sparks.
I recieved this book for review.