Book Review

Surrounded by Art by Thomas R. Schiff

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Panoramic Views of America’s Landmark Museums

Beautifully done book!

If you love history, museums, architecture, or photography, you will love this book. The panoramic views that this photographer has perfected inspire the imagination.

My niece looked at the photographs captured in this book and told me we had to visit these museums.

I looked at the beautiful shots taken at such places as Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Cincinnati Art Museum, Contemporary Arts Center, Chrysler Museum of Art, Des Moines Art Center, Seattle Art Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Fine Arts, and many others with an appreciation for the beauty captured.

The book includes an interview with Thomas R. Schiff, the photographer.

I would place this book in the category of coffee table book, gift book, and photography book.

A true page-turner!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Carolina Reckoning by Lisa Carter

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A page-turner!

Alison Monaghan finally has the proof she never wanted—a photograph that proves her husband has been unfaithful to her. She’s ready to confront him when he returns from his latest trip.

She never sees him alive again.

Instead he is found dead on a lonely road near a historic park where he serves on the board.

Mike Barefoot, the homicide detective assigned to the case, immediately suspects Alison even as his heart goes out to her teenaged son and daughter. It isn’t long before Mike trusts in Alison’s innocence, yet protecting her becomes a challenge.

Driven by a need to discover the truth, Alison takes a job at the historic park near the location of her husband’s death—against Mike’s advice.

Her growing feelings for Mike can’t prevent her from seeking the truth. Danger lurks as Alison digs deeper. Is any place safe?

I found myself pulling for the whole family because the author shows their struggles with cruel acquaintances they’d once considered friends. The budding romance between Mike and Alison also shows how they both struggle with past relationships and circumstances. Can they overcome mounting obstacles before someone else dies?

Recommend! I will look for more novels by this author.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

 

 

 

The Trouble in Willow Falls by Pat Nichols

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Willow Falls Series Book 2

Willow Falls is a quaint town in North Georgia. Unfortunately, that town is dying.

Emily Hayes, mother of twin baby girls, has difficulty finding time to rewrite her recently rejected novel. Her husband doesn’t know how long he can keep their store open with dwindling numbers of customers.

Rachel Streetman, Emily’s twin, pursues an acting career in nearby Atlanta.

Emily and Rachel both agree to put aside their careers to write and direct a play that just might bring tourists back to Willow Falls.

This story is filled with twists and turns that I didn’t anticipate, bringing constant challenges to the townspeople. Minor characters add depth and dimension in a refreshing way. So much effort is spent to save the dying town that the town itself almost seems like another character.

I am a fan of small towns, especially those that feel their heyday is in the past. Sometimes all it takes is a few people to believe in the possibilities and that is what this book demonstrates. I was pulling for the characters and the town throughout the novel.

I enjoyed this novel by Pat Nichols and am wondering what may happen in Book 3.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

A Manual of Etiquette With Hints on Politeness and Good Breeding

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Sophia Orne Johnson (1826-1899) wrote under the pen name of Daisy Eyebright. Her book, A Manual of Etiquette With Hints on Politeness and Good Breeding, originally published in 1868.

This book is a wonderful look at society in the United States shortly after the Civil War. It covers etiquette for the home with advice for children’s behavior and learning polite manners.

Social visits, behavior in traveling, table etiquette, dinner parties, letter-writing, the art of conversation, evening entertaining, and weddings are some of the topics covered.

Even marriage advice is given and, may I say, times have certainly changed!

I enjoyed reading this book as a lens into society and the way people lived 150 years ago. This is also the time period of my next Civil War series. This book offered many gems and even a few plot ideas for my research.

Lovers of history will enjoy this glimpse into the past.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

Hope’s Highest Mountain by Misty M. Beller

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Hearts of Montana Series, Book One

Ingrid Chastain shares the urgency of her father, a doctor, to deliver life-saving vaccines to a town in the Montana Territory but she is the sole survivor of a terrible wagon accident.

Dr. Micah Bradley has been living in the remote mountains for years … since his inadequacies cost his wife and daughter their lives. Yet when he stumbles on Ingrid after the accident, he must call on his skills again to set and heal her broken leg.

Before long, Ingrid insists on taking the vaccines to Settler’s Fort without further delay. Lives depend upon the medicine. Micah realizes she’s right. She can’t walk and he can’t leave her in the mountains to die. He’ll have to figure out a way to carry her to town, a journey of weeks by foot.

I fell in love with characters early in the story. There were several surprising turns, challenges, and dangers that kept my interest. This is a well-written story that makes me want to read the next book in the series.

Recommend! I will look for more books by this author.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade

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Celia Park meets her former high school crush, Ty Porter, after one of his bull riding events in Las Vegas. Sparks fly in a whirlwind vacation romance that ends with a wedding at one of the city’s chapels. Celia is devastated to learn the next morning that Ty loves someone else he’s dated for two years.

Five and half years later, Ty hasn’t contacted Celia—about a divorce or anything else. She has a good reason to contact him but can’t trust the man who broke her heart. How can she trust him not to break the heart of his daughter, a little girl he doesn’t know exists?

A trip to Las Vegas with friends for a bachelor party takes him by the old chapel where he married Celia. He hates the way things ended. Despises himself for the way he treated her. They are still married. He needs to contact her.

But when he does, sparks fly—the angry kind … especially when he meets Addie, the daughter he never knew he had. Celia should have told him.

The story has several surprising turns that kept my interest. I loved Addie and Ty. After a while, I was frustrated with Celia’s continued lack of trust despite Ty proving himself as dependable and trustworthy over and over again. I felt that part dragged on a bit.

Interesting secondary characters added to the plot. Forgiveness is the underlying theme. I enjoyed the story.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

My Boyfriends’ Dogs by Dandi Daley Mackall

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Bailey Daley, a sophomore in high school, is desperate for a boyfriend. She also loves dogs. The dogs seem to find her—boyfriends have alluded her so far.

Her best friend, Amber, doesn’t have a boyfriend either and her single mom is too busy stopping at every garage sale to look for a husband.

Bailey’s desperation blinds her to red flags in her dating relationships yet each one brings a new dog into her life. She figures that a guy with a dog must be the right boyfriend for her.

Wrong. A series of relationships each leave her with a new dog. When will she find Mr. Right?

This YA novel is engaging with lovable characters. The main character makes bad choices at times as the reader spots the red flags long before she does. An entertaining read with a surprise ending.

-Sandra Merville Hart

 

Between Us Girls by Sally John

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Book 1 of Family of the Heart Series

There are a lot of characters in this book. The story is told in the viewpoint of several of them, making it initially difficult to bond with them or understand how they all fit together.

A tornado destroys Jasmyn Allbright’s Illinois home and everything she owns. She makes some big decisions too soon that turn folks in her home town against her.

She takes a vacation in sunny California where her rental car is stolen with everything she owns inside the car.

Little does she know how fortunate she is to have her possessions stolen outside the Casa de Vida Cottages. The owner, Liv McAlister, gives her a temporary home and takes her under her wing.

As Jasmyn’s heart becomes entangled with the residents, Illinois still keeps calling her back. Should she stay or should she go?

Once my interest was snagged, I couldn’t put the book down for long. So many of the characters tugged at my heart that I had to know what happened next.

So happy to learn that this book is a series! I want to see what happens next. Well-written book by a new-to-me author.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Christianbook.com

Poverty, Puberty, & Patriotism by Ruth Kibler Peck

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The author became a teenager during the difficult years of World War II. She gives a candid picture of life for a poor Ohio family who do their best to support their country at war.

From the shock of the Pearl Harbor bombing to the horror of the German concentration camps, the reader will see how the news affected one small family and their neighbors.

The military needed rubber so children collected old tires, boots, and garden hoses that they toted in wagons to collection points. Next the children went door-to-door asking for unneeded metal items that were dragged to the curb for pickup.

The author navigates readers through rationing. A ration book was provided to every family for foods such as butter, eggs, meat, sugar, and canned goods.

Great book and an easy read for anyone interested in life in America during the 1940s!

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon

His Small-Town Family by Lorraine Beatty

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Home to Dover Series, Book 1

Circumstances drive Nicki Latimer back home to Dover, Mississippi, where she has to raise her infant daughter and save her father’s failing business while he recuperates. Out of desperation the widow hires Ethan Stone, a stranger to town.

Ethan is fighting his way through PTSD. He’s able to push through it with the help of a support group most of the time. That and a childhood living in foster homes leave him feeling inadequate for fatherhood.

Nicki has her own secrets as she’s never revealed the true nature of her relationship with her dead husband. Yet it has left deep scars.

The characters drew me into their struggles early in the story. Both had known heartache and loneliness. An easy read that kept my interest.

-Sandra Merville Hart

Amazon