Review: Accidentally Amish: Valley of Choice book #1

Accidentally Amish

by Olivia Newport

Quote: " If you set aside your pride, you'll admit you were frightened last night. You're used to solving problems, but you're in a predicament you don't know how to get out of." ~ Rufus Beiler 

(pg. 36)

Started: August 14, 2017

Finished: August 21, 2017

paperback/ 368 pages

From the Cover:

Torn between two cultures...

When software creator Annie Friesen needs to protect her intellectual property from her scheming partner, she escapes the chaos of Colorado Springs for the hospitality of an Amish family in the San Luis Valley. Annie's own ancestral connection to early Amish settlers unfolds in a story within a story, and her worlds collide...

especially when she feels an attraction to her host, Rufus Beiler.

A cabinetmaker by trade, Rufus has troubles of his own. Because of a competitor's false accusations, his business is in jeopardy. and so is his family, ever since his sister, Ruth, left the Amish community in a shroud of questions.

Now Annie, an outsider, begins meddling in affairs that don't concern her. When Rufus tells her she can't continue to hide among the Amish forever, Annie is torn. Will she return to her accomplishments in the high-tech, modern culture of Colorado Springs or remain with Rufus and the humble simplicity of the San Luis Valley Amish?

My Review:

I'm sad to say I did not enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to. I bought all three in this trilogy(luckily) as a set at Half Price Books. I was kind of excited, as you never find a whole set at these secondhand thrifty shops. So, I jumped at the chance. I think I paid like $8 for the set.

Anyway, I usually enjoy Amish books. They are great easy reads and have great messages or spiritual insights. I love getting caught up in the easy, humble lifestyle they live with such purpose. I truly am fascinated by so much of their religion and lifestyle. The history of their way is enough to get me hooked reading almost anything Amish.

I honestly think what threw me off on this book was the new, modern, contemporary side of it. I just couldn't get into Annie's whole high-tech software life and them jump over to the farm  making cabinets and milking cows. It just didn't come full circle realistically for me.

There was way too much going on in this one short book. 

From Annie running from her problems, Rufus and Tom dealing with their own troubles, Ruth showing up in the story and going back and forth. Then there was back and forth between two towns("Amish town" and "Annie's world") and then we have her doing the genealogy to find the Beiler/Byler connection and the story jumps back in time to the late 1700's.

It really was way too much.

Just when I would get interested in one "good" part, it would zip over to a totally different"story".

I did start to like the characters and the historical part was definitely my favorite.

I only gave this book 3 stars. 

I believe it had great potential; just too much for one book.

I'm really hoping the second and third books get a little less chaotic in the story line and stick to a few major characters, instead of pulling in so many and so much.

Here's hoping! On to book #2,  In Plain View.

Happy Reading!

Goodreads Giveaways Awesomeness!

I WON!!!

I did! I won a free book. Not just 1, but 2 free books! I absolutely LOVE Goodreads for so many reasons! They have everything you need or want in a book website. Books, recommendations, reviews, blogs, challenges, quizzes, links to sales, author pages, free lists and a place to keep track of EVERYTHING you need to keep your reading organized(Y'all know I need all the organizing help I can get), and they have GIVEAWAYS!!! A chance to win free books with no purchase or commitments required. You simply jump over to the list of giveaways and choose only the ones you want to enter.

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This week I probably entered 20-25 giveaways, AND I won 2 of them!

The first one I won is:

Poison by Galt Niederhoffer

This giveaway was given by St. Martin's Press through Goodreads

The second book I won is:

The It Girls by Karen Harper

This giveaway was given by William Morrow through HarperCollins Publishers

I am super excited to receive both of these books!

Make sure to jump over to GOODREADS through any of my links! Check out these great books and don't forget to ENTER A GIVEAWAY! You can also shoot me a friend request!

HAPPY READING!

UPDATE:

I've won another book! Woo hoo! That is 3 books in less than 2 weeks!
I am super excited!
Seriously, y'all need to start entering some of these Goodreads Giveaways!
Happy reading!

Review: The Invisible Wall

The Invisible Wall

By~ Harry Bernstein

Quote: "Joe already told me. I'm very grateful to Arthur. I think it was a wonderful thing that he did, and I'm going to make up a basket of fruit for him. But he's a Christian, and I don't want him in the house and I don't want you in his house."~ Mother

(pg. 70)

Started: August 8, 2017

Finished: August 13, 2017

paperback/297 pages

From the cover:

On the eve of World War I, in a small English mill town, Harry Bernstein's family struggles to make ends meet. Harry's father earns little money at the Jewish tailoring shop and brings home even less, preferring to spend his wages drinking and gambling. Harry's mother, devoted to her children and fiercely resilient, survives on her dreams: new shoes for young Harry, her daughter's marriage to the local rabbi. Then harry's older sister does the unthinkable: She falls in love with a Christian boy. But they are separated by an "invisible wall" that divides Jewish families on one side of the street from Christian families on the other. When Harry unwittingly discovers the secret affair, he must choose between the morals he's been taught all his life, his loyalty to his selfless mother, and what he knows to be true in his own heart.

My Review:

I am always a sucker for a good memoir and this was no disappointment.

I have always been fascinated with other people's stories. Who they are and how they got there.

Harry Bernstein does a wonderful job of showing the reader exactly where he came from and how he struggled, dreamed and thrived in his situation. 

I will say I feel like the "love story" aspect of the book was overrated. Yes, it was a huge experience in Harry's life and the book is HIS memoir but in my opinion the "Invisible Wall" was there with or without the Jewish/Christian affair between his sister and Arthur.

The religions were separated already.

He shows that by the way the headmaster, neighbors, and peers treated them.

They were only cordial or interacted on a have to basis already.

As he shows in using them to light the fires or when having to shop at a Christian store.

In some ways they were dependent on the Christians yet the prejudice/dislike was mutual.

Yes, the affair stirred up even more issues and caused more tragedy and heartache.(As it had previously between Sarah and Freddy). I'm sure for them it was just as Harry describes. Horrific for their mother and unsettling for the Christians also.

I just don't feel that was the biggest struggle they were dealing with.

His father was a drunk who wasted what money they did have. He was violent and feared by his entire household. The mother seemed to dream through her children to the point of pushing them away completely. She may have been resilient, but I see a woman desperate and hopeless.

Again, it's just my opinion. I completely admire Mr. Bernstein for his willingness to retell his story to the world and to let us share his memories.

He is a wonderful writer and although he was 96 years old when The Invisible Wall was published, he managed to finish 2 more books The Dream:A Memoir and The Golden Willow before he passed away in 2011 at the age of 101!

I definitely will read his other two books.

And you can also find out more about him and his life here>> Harry Bernstein

I hope anyone who loves a great memoir. A true story or anyone needing to be reminded how prejudices can cause more harm than the good some believe by sticking to what they have been taught. This is a wonderful example of how fear and hatred lead to hurt, harm and even death.

5 Stars for The Invisible Wall

Review: Cover Of Snow

Cover of Snow

By~ 

Jenny Milchman

Quote: " The only thing I can tell you about Brendan's last days is he was doing a lot of talking. More than usual even."~ Club

( pg.60)

Started: July 31, 2017

Finished: Aug. 7, 2017

paperback/336 pages

From the Cover:

Waking up one wintry morning in her old farmhouse nestled in the Adirondack Mountains of New York, Nora Hamilton finds her world suddenly shattered. Her husband, Brendan, has committed suicide. Then a disturbing awareness slowly settles in: Brendan left no note and gave no indication that he was contemplating taking his own life. Why would a rock-solid police officer with unwavering affection for his wife, job, and quaint hometown suddenly choose to end it all? Unraveling her late husband's final days, Nora searches for an explanation- but finds a bewildering resistance from Brendan's best friend and partner, his fellow police officers, and his brittle mother. It quickly becomes clear to Nora that she is asking questions no one wants to answer. For beneath the soft cover of snow lies a powerful conspiracy that will stop at nothing to keep its presence unknown...and its darkest secrets hidden.

My Review:

This is by far one of my new favorites!

It jumps right in and holds you from the beginning. 

The mysterious suicide of a small town cop starts a peeling away at a lifetime of secrets and crimes.

Nora, his wife is determined to find answers no one else wants uncovered. She is learning friend from foe along the way and keeps stumbling. She is struggling to understand the clues her truest ally, Dugger, an autistic man is trying to tell her. His rhymes are codes. "Red head, Red dead" He is trying to show her the big picture in small clips, recordings and sing songs.

Ned a  reporter, starts out with his own agenda(yet another crime the cops covered up), but quickly realizes he too has to help Nora and dives into all the danger at any cost to save her before the truth gets her killed.

Who knows the truth? What is the truth? Who is covering things up? and why?

This book definitely keeps you engrossed and wanting more.

Wonderful characters, plot, twists and action.

I think Jenny Milchman has done an amazing job and I will definitely recommend her and this book to any reader that loves a good thriller mystery.

5 Stars for Cover of Snow!

Review: Orphan Mother

Orphan Mother

By~ Robert Hicks

Quote: " It mean, she don't know when she need help. She don't know when she in trouble. She don't know when it's time to give up." ~ Hooper

(pg. 150)

Started: July 23, 2017

Finished: July 31, 2017

paperback/320 pages

From the Cover:

In the years following the Civil War, Mariah Reddick, former slave to Carrie McGavock--the "Widow of the South"-- has quietly built a new life for herself as a midwife to the women of Franklin, Tennessee. But when her ambitious, politically minded grown son, Theopolis, is murdered, Mariah-no stranger to loss--finds her world once more breaking apart. How could this happen?

Who wanted him dead?

  Mariah's journey to uncover the truth leads her to unexpected people- including George Tole, a recent arrival in town, fleeing a difficult past of his own- and forces her to confront the truths of her own past. Brimming with the vivid prose and historical research that has won ROBERT HICKS recognition as a "master storyteller"(San Francisco Chronicle), THE ORPHAN MOTHER is the unforgettable story of one woman's heroic struggle in the face of overwhelming adversity and the undeniable strength of a mother's love.

My Review:

I have to say that I enjoyed this book right from the beginning. It is "someone's story".

Although it is fiction, someone, somewhere has lived this. Probably not exactly but it is definitely a "facts within" book. Which makes me love it even more.

The characters were real!

The place was believable.

The times were tragic and heartbreaking.

There was love, hate, sadness, joy, life and death.

All throughout history we see these things. Some trying to separate, some trying to come together. 

Power, greed, superiority, self doubt, shame

Judging, being judged. 

Sadly, there is no perfect answer.

We are born into things, taught things, we may learn things and at a point we must decide who we are. What do we believe and what will we pass on and live out in our own life and the choices we make.

I love any book that makes you humble. It really makes you take a look at yourself and ask...

What would I have done?

How would I have dealt with these circumstances, this situation?

How can we treat any other human this way?

Where does ignorance end and stupidity begin?

Will you become bitter or better?

 Faith and Hope are amazing things to behold!

Mariah's story is heartbreaking and empowering!

Definitely a 5 star.

I hope sooo many people will read her "story"

The Orphan Mother by Robert Hicks