Free for All Friday: Christian Fiction Collection

Free for All Friday gives you a chance to win great prizes. This week we're offering a Christian fiction package of three books from two favorite authors.




When Sarah Carr's husband Jamie drowns, her young life is shattered and takes a turn that she never expected. Pregnant and now widowed, she reaches out to Jamie's family for help but they are unwilling. Instead they devise a plan to have her kidnapped and taken to the Colonies to live a life of servitude. Sarah's new life in the Colonies finds her surrounded by a family's whirlwind of secrets, while she hopes the young doctor she loves with will bring her freedom.

Lynn Myers is still reeling from losing her husband of thirty-five years when word comes that her only sibling, an older brother, has also died. With no one else to settle the estate, she must return to her small hometown of Bloomfield, however briefly, to settle his affairs.

Lynn's daughter, Rachel, has just graduated from Bible college and with no other commitments comes along to sort through her uncle's huge old home, right next to the local cemetery.

This is the fourth book in the Bloomfield series. All these novels are stand alone books written by different authors.

The Deliverer is the third and final book in Kathi's Freedom series. Though I feel there is much to be gained by reading all the books in the series, this book is able to stand alone.


The Deliverer picks up just months after Special Delivery leaves off, continuing with the stories of Mara, freed from slavery but still struggling with scars and memories from the past; Jonathan, attending Bible college but strongly drawn to Mara, despite her past; and Lawan, having escaped the brothel in Thailand and miraculously reunited with her younger sister in the US and adopted by the same family. Will Mara be able to move past the pain and hatred that bind her, even if it means traveling back to the place where her parents betrayed her and sold her into sexual slavery? Will she allow The Deliverer to set her free—once and for all?

Please use the Rafflecopter form below for your chance to enter. Good luck!


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Book Review: Beyond the Valley by Rita Gerlach

When Sarah Carr's husband, Jamie, drowns, she is left pregnant and alone. She travels to her only remaining family, a brother- and sister-in-law. Instead of help, her brother-in-law plots to have her kidnapped and sent to the Colonies as an indentured servant. Though she doesn't know why God has sent this trial to her, she trusts he will bring her through.

While a servant for Mr. and Mrs. Woodhouse, Sarah meets Dr. Alex Hutton. Though they are attracted to each other, Sarah realizes she is a lowborn woman with no claims to such an honorable, well-bred man. New threats separate Sarah and Alex, but her strong faith comforts her. If she is ever reunited with Alex, will she dare to take a chance on love?

This is the second book in the Daughters of the Potomac series I've read. Gerlach opens Beyond the Valley in the middle of the action and is able to maintain the readers interest with continued conflict along the way. She draws on Sarah's fears of uncertainty, tempered by her strong faith in God. What the reader finds in Sarah, however, is a reactive character instead of one who takes charge of her future. A damsel in distress type of story is fine, but it is definitely a different flavor of female lead than one found in Darcy, the female lead from Gerlach's second book in this series, Beside Two Rivers. If a reader was expecting Sarah to be as as fiery as her red hair based upon an earlier book, they would be disappointed.

I also couldn't get away from the feeling that all the conflict Sarah incurs is simply a way to move the plot forward. It served little purpose because Sarah's faith doesn't waver; she is the one who denies herself a relationship with Alex because of their different social classes; and for the most part, she isn't instrumental in changing her circumstances at all. There is little or no growth for the character, so the tragedies she is subjected to at the hands of others do little to make her sympathetic because you simply want to shake her and tell her to do something for herself.

That said, it's important to realize people's personalities are different. Some put their faith in God and allow him to figure out the details. A reader who has a similar personality might find this type of character refreshing instead of a take charge type of female lead who has faith in God but also believes she is in control of her own destiny. Any reader will also find much to like in the handsome Dr. Alex Hutton, whose kindness adds a wonderful element to this story.

Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Abingdon Press (February 1, 2013)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1426714165
ISBN-13: 978-1426714160

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via Pump Up Your Book Virtual Book Tours. This review contains my honest opinions, for which I have not been compensated in any way.

You've Got Mail Monday

I certainly wish the grass around my mailbox was as green as in this picture. Alas, though last week was mild, we still have plenty of snow to keep us company. The kids had a two-hour delay on Monday thanks to some sleet and freezing rain, but some communities couldn't hold school until Tuesday. At least the kids had fun playing in all that snow.

Today kicks off winter vacation, so it will be crazy around here. I figured I better get my blog post done early or it might not happen at all. Vacation did not stop the Lil Diva's (11) teachers from giving her a boatload of homework. I think they missed the definition of the word "vacation." I'm all for letting kids enjoy their time out of the classroom.

So, back to my mailbox. It was definitely a book week. I treated myself to some used books from Amazon a couple of weeks ago. They finally arrived: The Gift of Family by Linda Ford and Karen Kirst, Nothing Special by Geoff Herbach, and The Mommy Diaries: How I'm Surviving Parenting without Killing Anyone by Dallas Louis.

I won a copy of The Tartan Shroud by Ken Dalton during a blog giveaway. A copy of Iced Chiffon autographed by author Duffy Brown came in, and my review copy of Beyond the Valley by Rita Gerlach arrived, which I'll be reviewing in March at The Book Connection.

The products I ordered from Zulily arrived, too. They have great deals. I bought a sundress for North Carolina. A new trash can for Dad's office. And the whole reason for my excursion to their website: a Chroma Dry-Erase 4-Piece Calendar Wall Decal Set, which I bought for the Lil Diva and Lil Princess (9) to play school with. These are peel and stick calendars that can be removed and used again. It came as a pack of four, so the girls and their friend that plays school with them each got one and I have one for my office. I also ordered a black belt to go with my bargain dress ($1.91) that I bought recently. I was disappointed that the belt had a little blemish, but I'll get over it. It's not overly noticeable and I got it at a steal.

Dad had ordered the second season of Simon and Simon. That came in at the end of the week. He and the girls watch a TV show before bedtime each night. We've run through all the seasons of Walker, Texas Ranger, and have been moving quickly through the seasons of Magnum P.I., so we figured Simon and Simon would give us something else to watch. I'm hoping to convince the girls they would like Murder, She Wrote. I watch it on Netflix.

The only other item of mention this week was a catalog from Grandin Road. Haven't seen this one before. Loved their Leather Julien Stools featured on the back cover, but so would my cats. As much as I love those furry little beasts, they are tough on the furniture. If they clawed a leather stool, I would have to get cranky. What I like about this catalog is that the decor is elegant and the prices affordable. I'll have to look at it more this week.

That's it from my neck of the woods. Hope you enjoy President's Day.