Wreck my Life: Journeying from Broken to Bold by Mo Isom

Mo Isom understands first hand how when struggles come our way it leaves us confused and angry.  Sometimes that anger is directed at God. 

Mo was an All-American goalkeeper for Louisiana State University.   While on the outside she seemed to be a success inside she is struggle.  She has suffered through eating disorders, the suicide of her father and a bad car accident.   It wasn't until after things came crashing down around her in the accident that she turned to God and found she could find strength and renewal through him.

Mo tells us her story and what led to the accident.  She continues on and talks about the many lessons she learned and the changes that were slowly taking place in her life as she learned to trust God and lean on him for help.

Mo's story is captivating and her lessons she teaches are so practical and can so easily be applied to any struggles you are facing.  I found myself agreeing with much of what she was saying.

There was one place that made me cringe and disagree with what she was doing.  She mentioned going to a jail and talking to men and their children.  I Timothy 2:12 state "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence."  It's not a women's place to teach men, not matter what the situation is.  The older women (both in physical age and spiritual age) is to teach the younger women.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is going through struggles in their life.  The lessons she tells she learned are eye opening.

This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.,  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

A Tapestry of Secrets by Sarah Loudin Thomas

 

Perla Phillips has kept a secret for years.  A secret that leaves her with guilt on a almost daily basis.  When she sees her granddaughter Ella facing a similar struggle, she realizes it's time to tell her secret.   Before she has a chance to she suffers a stroke leaving her unable to speak.  Ella goes home to help care for her grandmother, along with her Aunt Sadie.  Sadie has always known her grandfather wasn't not her biological father, but anytime she would ask her mother who her father was, her mother didn't answer her.  She begins her quest in earnest to find her birth father.

Ella loves her home and she loves her home church.  A church that was built by her ancestors.  When a developer comes in and starts buying up land around the church many in the church want to sell.  The new pastor Richard wants to do what the church thinks is best.  

Will's friend Seth is there to help Ella along.   He also proves to be a distribution to Ella as she finds her self falling for him, but at the same time Richard is also showing interest in her.

While there were parts of this book I enjoyed, there were other areas I found hard to believe  I felt that Ella was shown to be very young and not the 29 she was in the story.  She seemed to struggle with change and refused to be acceptable to any type of change.  I did enjoy the love and care she showed to her grandmother and how they seemed to connect and she understood what she wanted, even though Perla couldn't express it herself.  

I did enjoy how the characters, especially Richard, seemed to learn throughout the story and how to take the struggles they were facing and turn to God's work for guidance.  The applications he applied where very well applied.

This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.,  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

The Artisan's Wife by Judith Miller

Ainslee McKay finds things not going the way she had planned when her twin sister elopes and she needs to move to Weston on her own.  Something she didn't want to do in the first place.  However, she knows she is obligated to fill her family's role in the tile works factory they have purchased.  She makes it clear to her brother Ewan she will only stay until a new owner can be found to purchase the the business.

Levi Judson moves to Weston in order for his brother Noah to receive the care he needs as the asylum.  It is something he hopes to keeps secret.  He goes to the tile works to look for a job and hopes to share his designs for new tiles.  While Ainslee hires him on and wants to put his designs to work for them, she wants to keep it secret about her plans for the business.

While Ainslee is injured, Levi works with her more closely with her to help with do the work she needs to get done.  As they grow closer to each other will the secrets each of them carry come out?  When the secrets do some out will it draw them closer together or will it drive apart the growing closeness between them?

I feel as if Judith Miller did a great job at writing the history into this story.  I loved how they explained how the tiles were made and how strong they could be made.  I also enjoyed reading about the asylum and the work that was done in there and to try to help people.  It's sad to think wives were put in there by their husbands, simply because they didn't want to deal with them anymore!  The history that was written in this book was reparable.

***** SPOILER ALERT *****

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I found the title in itself was a spoiler.  At the beginning of the boom they don't even know each other let alone are married! It's not until the end when they are engaged, that he refers to her as the "artisan's wife".  I think a different title should have been chose as the title gives away that she gets married.

This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.,  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.

A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagaers

Lydia King is putting on a front.  She wants people to think she is part of high society and has everything she could want, but she can really understand the people she is trying to help by joining the Teaville Moral Society to help those in need.  Her father continues to make his debts worse and the doctor doesn't give her mom much hope.  Lydia know she needs to make sure she marries well.  She sets her sights on the mayor's son, whose mother is the president of the of the morel society.

Her first job is to get money from Nicholas Lowe.  The man flat out refuses.  

Nicholas does want to help others, but he does it in his own way.  He takes Lydia under his wing and begins to show her what he does and helps her learn how she can help those in need. Together they go through many complications and uncover secrets the town is holding.  Secrets that they need to decide if they want to keep hidden or to make known.

As they work together they came to grow closer to each other.  Lydia finds herself struggling with knowing what she is supposed to be do.

Melissa Jagaers has written a wonderful story.  The lessons Lydia learned can so easily be applied to out lives and how we can help others.  The romance that is building in the story is so sweet and wonderful.  There are many lessons that can be learned in this story.

This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications Inc.,  I was not required to write a positive review.  The opinions I have expressed are entirely my own.