The Royal Nanny by Karen Harper – A Goodreads Author – 4 Stars.

I so enjoyed this book. I did not realize when I first started the book that I would learn so much about the background of the royal family.  The book was well written and an easy read.  this was about a nanny who came into service for the royal family and was nanny to all of the children, though most protective and took care of Johnnie the longest as he had seizures and since his Mother and Father didn't seem to spend much time with him or understand the illness.  The older children when they got to a certain age were sent off to boarding school and then military school or service.  This Nanny was not at wanting to give Johnnie up to be sent away. She spent so much time with him that she felt as if this child were her own as protective as she was of him.  She lived in worry that the King would send him away.  She had fallen in love with the groundskeeper Chad who at one point asked her to marry him when his wife died. She refused as she said she couldn't leave the children they needed her so.

She comes to regret not agreeing to marry him, but also still wants to take care of Johnnie.  I wasn't sure how this was all going to work out, would she be able to marry him, would she be able to keep Johnnie.....and what would happen when WWII broke out?  It was really an interesting read for me and I would recommend this one!

I believe I won this book from a Good Reads author.  They are always given on the hopes that one would enjoy it enough to write a review which I have above. I did enjoy the book immensely!

Description as found on Good Reads:

Based on a seldom-told true story, this novel is perfect for everyone who is fascinated by Britain’s royal family—a behind the scenes look into the nurseries of little princes and the foibles of big princes.

April, 1897: A young nanny arrives at Sandringham, ancestral estate of the Duke and Duchess of York. She is excited, exhausted—and about to meet royalty. . . .

So begins the unforgettable story of Charlotte Bill, who would care for a generation of royals as their parents never could. Neither Charlotte—LaLa, as her charges dub her—nor anyone else can predict that eldest sons David and Bertie will each one day be king. LaLa knows only that these children, and the four who swiftly follow, need her steadfast loyalty and unconditional affection.

But the greatest impact on Charlotte’s life is made by a mere bud on the family tree: a misunderstood soul who will one day be known as the Lost Prince. Young Prince John needs all of Lala’s love—the kind of love his parents won’t…or can’t…show him.

From Britain’s old wealth to the glittering excesses of Tsarist Russia; from country cottages to royal yachts, and from nursery to ballroom, Charlotte Bill witnesses history. The Royal Nanny is a seamless blend of fact and fiction—an intensely intimate, yet epic tale spanning decades, continents, and divides that only love can cross. 

This Treacherous Journey (Heart Of The Mountain #1) Misty M. Beller - 5 Stars

I really liked this book.  It had much action and romance, and a bit of mystery.  It was well written.  It was spiritual. It’s based in the old west with Indians and men who are men.  It was a fairly quick read and I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going to happen on the next page.  I can’t say that about every book I read but a lot of the books I’ve been getting lately have been excellent in different ways.  It’s refreshing to have a stack of books to read that are all so different and all so excellent. 

I received this book from the author and BookFunnel.  The hope is always that I’ll write a review for the book to help the author and publisher which of course I am as you see it above.  I got the book in the MOBI format so I could read it on my paperwhite kindle.  Thank you #MistyMBeller #ThisTreacherousJourney #BookFunnel the next book in this series has just come out on Amazon for anyone who wants to continue to read the stories from MistyMBeller.

I found the description for this book on Good Reads:

Widowed and with child, Emma Malcom is fleeing from the reward offered for her arrest. She’s innocent of the dirty dealings her deceased husband orchestrated, but the angry townspeople didn’t stop to listen to her defense before she narrowly escaped with her life. Now, she and her twin brother, Joseph, must battle the mountain wilderness of the Rockies to reach Canada and the clean start she craves. But when a fall from the rocky cliff leaves Joseph wounded and weak, could the strange mountain man they encounter be God’s gift to see them to safety?

Simeon Grant makes bad choices. His deceased wife and twin babies are lost to him now because of his reckless decisions, and the penance he pays by living alone in this mountain wilderness is only a small piece of what he thinks he deserves. When a city woman, heavy with child, appears on his doorstep with her injured brother, her presence resurrects the memories he’s worked so hard to forget. And when she asks for his help to travel deeper into the mountain country, he can’t help wonder why God would force him to relive the same mistakes he’s already suffered through. Or maybe taking these two to safety could be the way to redeem himself.

But when their travels prove more treacherous than he imagined, Simeon finds himself pressing the limits of his ability to keep Emma and her brother safe. Can he overcome the past that haunts him to be the man she needs? Will Emma break through the walls around Simeon’s heart before it’s too late, or will the dangers of these mountains be the end of them all?

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson - I gave it a fabulous five stars!

A unputdownable work that holds real cultural significance. (Sara Guens quote, author). I couldn’t have said it better!! It tells the story of Cussy Carter, the last blue skinned living female of the rare Blue People ancestry.  This lonely woman, decided to join the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian.  The year is 1936.  The people of Troublesome Creek don’t understand why someone would be dark blue, and they are (many of them) very uncomfortable being around Cussy because of it.  There is much prejudice during that time when it came to “coloreds” and Cussy is thrown into that group even though she isn’t black.  The book is so very interesting, a quick read, very informative before it is over as to what caused the blue people to end up that way.  The book is also interesting in that Cussy goes to such means to bring books to the hill people, her days riding her mule who likes to bite men and many ways cause Cussy problems is a fun read.  Cussy was forced to marry a man much older than her but luckily after he beat the crap out of her, he died.  She was left with only the mule and darn it she was going to keep it.  Anyone who has interest in books, the Appalachian people, or the reason there do exist blue people should pick up this book and read it. You won’t be able to put it down until you finish it.  I loved this book!  Pick It up it’s different than anything I’ve read in a very long while and it is thoroughly entertaining and written in a very knowledgeable way!

I won this book through BookReporter.com. I’m doing this review of my own volition hoping it will help the author and the publishing house.  I loved the book as you can see from my comments above!
#TheBookWomanofTroublesomeCreek #Bookreporter.com #KimMicheleRichardson

Description as found on Good Reads:

In 1936, tucked deep into the woods of Troublesome Creek, KY, lives blue-skinned 19-year-old Cussy Carter, the last living female of the rare Blue People ancestry. The lonely young Appalachian woman joins the historical Pack Horse Library Project of Kentucky and becomes a librarian, riding across slippery creek beds and up treacherous mountains on her faithful mule to deliver books and other reading material to the impoverished hill people of Eastern Kentucky.

Along her dangerous route, Cussy, known to the mountain folk as Bluet, confronts those suspicious of her damselfly-blue skin and the government's new book program. She befriends hardscrabble and complex fellow Kentuckians, and is fiercely determined to bring comfort and joy, instill literacy, and give to those who have nothing, a bookly respite, a fleeting retreat to faraway lands.

The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek is a powerful message about how the written word affects people--a story of hope and heartbreak, raw courage and strength splintered with poverty and oppression, and one woman's chances beyond the darkly hollows. Inspired by the true and historical blue-skinned people of Kentucky and the brave and dedicated Kentucky Pack Horse library service, The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek showcases a bold and unique tale of the Pack horse Librarians in literary novels — a story of fierce strength and one woman's belief that books can carry us anywhere — even back home. 

The Girl From The Lighthouse – Willard Thompson – 5 Stars

Loved the book – didn’t like the ending. It seemed abrupt and not well thought out like the rest of the book. I guess it had to end somewhere.  Emma Dobbins is raised in a lighthouse by her Father, her Mother left when she was 5.  She never learned all the rules of living with others that most women just know….what they get from their Mothers.  She only attended one year of schooling and she wouldn’t do her studies there.  All she wanted to do was her drawing and her art.  When her Father died she had to leave the lighthouse.  She was headed to Paris with a companion to an Art School, her companion took ill.  She had to leave her in a hospital and go into Paris alone without being able to speak the language.  She was befriended by a young woman working at the railroad when it came in. She was only 17 then.  Although she couldn’t get into an Art School, she lost the paper her companion and written down who she was supposed to contact, so she didn’t know where to go.  The schools she tried all said only men make it into our schools.  Somehow, she learns the language and lives for a long time at the home of the gal she met at the railroad.  She has to leave them as during the outbreak of war no one has enough food or work.  She does eventually meet many of the painters who are a part of the impressionist movement.  Many want to paint her, many want her body, she just wants to paint but she does what she can to make enough money to practice her craft.  The story is well written and well researched.  Much of what happened really happened, Emma was really the only part of the story not based on fact.  The story sucks you in and you really want to finish it.  You learn a lot while following Emma through her story.  It was a really great book and I did enjoy it immensely, except for the last few paragraphs at the end.  It all though has to end somewhere.

I received this book through NetGalley.com in the ereader format.  The hope is that I’ll be willing to give the book a review which I have above and it deserved a very favorable review the book was a really good one!! #NetGalley #TheGirlFromTheLighthouse

The Girl From the Lighthouse tells the compelling story of Emma Dobbins. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she was raised by her father, a lighthouse keeper at Point Conception in California, where early on she discovers her artistic talent. At the age of 17, Emma travels to Paris with a chaperone, to attend art school but is separated from the chaperone when the chaperone becomes ill. Emma arrives alone in Paris with no money, no language skills, and no friends. A chance meeting with a young working girl in the train station becomes her first Parisian friend. The setting is Paris in the 1860s-70s, the start of the Belle �poque. France soon is involved in the Franco/Prussian War and the Commune Uprising; difficult times for Emma and all Frenchmen. Initially rejected by art schools, her determination keeps her moving toward her goal in the art world, where the Impressionists are starting to change the world. Frenchmen fall in love with her beautiful face and lustrous dark hair. Some wanted to paint her, others to court her, but either way, she does not abide by the rules they try to impose on her. Emma grows into an accomplished artist but never gives up her own principles... even when someone steals something precious to her. The story is told in the first person, present tense, allowing the reader to enter the story and feel a part of it as it unfolds, sharing with Emma her highs and lows, loves and rejections, all focused in the art world of Paris. The novel is filled with vivid characters, both fictional and real people, and the story unfolds gracefully from the 1870s until 1912, just prior to the start of WWI

The Book Charmer (Dove Pond #1) by Karen Hawkins - 5 Stars!

The book winds a little magic with a little town that needed saving.  Sarah Dove is a librarian who has grown up with books talking to her.  They tell her when she needs to give someone a book, they tell her when she needs to read a book and they tell her that the new lady in town is going to save the town.  Grace Wheeler comes to town in order to help her Grandmother who lived there before and has come down with dementia.  She does a lot better when she is nearby that which is familiar from her past, it’s the present she forgets easily.  Grace sure has her hands full with her and with her niece, whom she is suddenly mothering as her sister has died from drugs.
Dove Pond desperately needs saving but the books won’t tell Sarah how Grace will save the town just that she must stay more than the year she says she staying in order to save the town.  Grace doesn’t even want to make friends, which makes Sarah’s job even harder.  Grace definitely doesn’t want to find love, but she may find that also if she opens her heart.  As she stays and works for a Mayor who only wants to go fishing, she has her hands full at work and also at home.  A magical and unforgettable story!

I received this book as a free read through NetGalley.com in the ereader format.  Of course, it deserves a review for the author and the publisher it’s a wonderful book! I think this book will do very well, thank you NetGalley! #TheBookCharmer #NetGalley #KarenHawkins

I found the description of this book on Good Reads:

New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins crafts an unforgettable story about a sleepy Southern town, two fiercely independent women, and a truly magical friendship.

Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. It takes a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, but Grace ultimately embraces the challenge to rescue her charmed new community. In her quest, she discovers the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the power of finding just the right book.

“A mesmerizing fusion of the mystical and the everyday” (Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author), The Book Charmer is a heartwarming story about the magic of books that feels more than a little magical itself. Prepare to fall under its 

No Ocean Too Wide by Carrie Turansky – 5 Stars

I did enjoy this book.  It told the story of the McAlister family who were so affected after they lost their Father and their Mother became ill and went into the hospital with pneumonia.  The younger children were sent to children’s homes, one boy Garth to the boy’s home and Katie and Grace to the girl’s home in London.  Their older sister, Laura, was away working as a lady’s maid so she could send money home regularly to help out their Mom. By the time she got word, kids were forced into the orphan’s homes and her Mom was at the Hospital and their home was locked out due to no one paying the rent so Laura couldn’t stay there or get to their belongings.  She left her job, and went in search of her sisters and brother.  Laura went about trying to find her siblings, at risk of costing her the job she had, and found the orphan’s home wouldn’t let her see her siblings that she had no say over what happened to them if she wasn’t married or had no legal papers.  Orphan’s at that time were sent often by boat into Canada by the hundreds, where they were sold into homes to work as household staff or farm laborers.  Whether they were truly orphans or not in some cases.  This book is about Laura’s trip across the ocean after visiting the homes and finding her siblings are gone.

Andrew Frasier who is working as an attorney, but is due to inherit the home Laura was working at, and they kind of form an alliance to find her family but at the same time Andrew is looking for the truth, are these children who are sent to orphanages or on to Canada, are they treated well and are they truly better off in the homes they find for them…are they even truly orphans in the first place all of them.  He’s willing to help Laura as much as he can.  The entire book is also about their relationship to each other as they are searching for these children and checking on others who have been placed.  This book also is a lot about Laura’s relationship with God and how he helps her in the rough times.  It is a book that could be easily read in just a day or two. I tried to make it last.  I read so many kindle books and love to have books that I can hold in my hands.  The book was very interesting as the back drop the stories of orphans or children whose parents fall on hard times were truly forced into working for their livelihoods until 18 and many were not treated well in the homes, they were placed in.  There were hundreds that were placed against their will as that was a common practice back then.  The author spent a lot of time obviously reading up on the history of this subject before she tackled this book.  She did a fabulous job telling their stories through this book.  I think it was very well written and very interesting.

I received this book as I was put on the review team for this book through the publishing house Waterbrook & Multnomah and was asked to read the book and to publish an honest review which I have.  #NoOceanTooWide #CarrieTuransky #Waterbrook&Multnomah

Description as found on Good Reads: Between the years of 1869 to 1939 more than 100,000 poor British children were sent across the ocean to Canada with the promise of a better life. Those who took them in to work as farm laborers or household servants were told they were orphans–but was that the truth?

After the tragic loss of their father, the McAlister family is living at the edge of the poorhouse in London in 1908, leaving their mother to scrape by for her three younger children, while oldest daughter, Laura, works on a large estate more than an hour away. When Edna McAlister falls gravely ill and is hospitalized, twins Katie and Garth and eight-year-old Grace are forced into an orphans’ home before Laura is notified about her family’s unfortunate turn of events in London. With hundreds of British children sent on ships to Canada, whether truly orphans or not, Laura knows she must act quickly. But finding her siblings and taking care of her family may cost her everything.

Andrew Fraser, a wealthy young British lawyer and heir to the estate where Laura is in service, discovers that this common practice of finding new homes for penniless children might not be all that it seems. Together Laura and Andrew form an unlikely partnership. Will they arrive in time? Will their friendship blossom into something more?

Inspired by true events, this moving novel follows Laura as she seeks to reunite her family and her siblings who, in their darkest hours, must cling to the words from Isaiah: “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God”

Where Hope Begins by Catherine West - A Beautiful Messy Complicated Love Story 5 Stars!

This is a love story, a complicated messy, love story.  Savannah Barrington founds out her husband of over 20 years wishes to leave her for someone else and she is so broken.  It’s been twenty years and she didn’t see it coming.  She and her husband had lost a child and their marriage just kind of fell apart.  She kept moving as though nothing was wrong but she was shutting her husband out as if he wasn’t hurting also.  Eventually he turns to someone else.

She runs away to her parent’s lake house in the Berkshires.  There is an old woman who is very wise and her son and grand daughter whose laughter leaves her shaken at first.  She finds herself drawn towards the son, but he isn’t someone who can have anyone in his life.   She finds out her husband doesn’t want to give up, he decides he wants to fight for her marriage.  Savannah has a lot of grief and wrestling with her feelings about God, while she works in an old greenhouse with her neighbor and visits the towns old book store.  She finds eventually that she may have to forgive the unforgivable. 

This book is about someone whose life is messy and complicated in nature and is really a great read. I received this book through NetGalley.com, and am writing this review as I really enjoyed reading this book.  It gave me a lot to think about myself and I truly loved the book.
I gave it five stars.  #WhereHopeBegins #NetGalley

Description as found on NetGalley:

Sometimes we’re allowed to glimpse the beauty within the brokenness . . .

Savannah Barrington has always found solace at her parents’ lake house in the Berkshires, and it’s the place that she runs to when her husband of over twenty years leaves her. Though her world is shaken, and the future uncertain, she finds hope through an old woman’s wisdom, a little girl’s laughter, and a man who’s willing to risk his own heart to prove to Savannah that she is worthy of love.

But soon Savannah is given a challenge she can’t run away from: Forgiving the unforgivable. Amidst the ancient gardens and musty bookstores of the small town she’s sought refuge in, she must reconcile with the grief that haunts her, the God pursuing her, and the wounds of the past that might be healed after all.

Where Hope Begins is the story of grace in the midst of brokenness, pointing us to the miracles that await when we look beyond our own expectations.

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn – 5 Stars – This b...

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn – 5 Stars – This b...: Jennalyn meets the main character Emily Winslow at the grocery store and invites her over to a luncheon she puts together with other fri...

Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn – 5 Stars – This book is an inspiration!

Jennalyn meets the main character Emily Winslow at the grocery store and invites her over to a luncheon she puts together with other friends, some are new to the group, they all meet about once a month to discuss whatever is on their mind that day.  Usually they are connecting with one another as they do have similar problems within their lives, and they find themselves connecting with God at the same time.  This group of “Haven Makers” discover friendships and joy in creating the families they all wish to create.  Emily has a husband Trevor and a daughter Audra.  They move from living with his parents in North Carolina, to California as Trevor is given a car lot by his Uncle.  He has goals he wishes to meet, so that he can provide for his family, and has trouble hitting those goals.  He and Emily struggle within their family as his family keeps upping the stakes in offers of help so that they will return.  They are very positive that this was to be only a temporary move.  Emily and Trevor didn’t have the same thing in mind.  They struggle to decide if California will be their forever home or not.  They struggle with their trust in faith in God and in their marriage.  The book was really well written and the characters were really well thought out.  Emily’s insecurity’s in making friends in her new city was something that I had struggled with myself when I made a move in the first year of my marriage.  I think this book has something in it for everyone to connect with, and I will be looking forward to reading some other books written by Robin Jones Gunn.  This book is truly an inspiration.

I received this book due to becoming a part of the WaterBrook & Multnomah "Launch Team".  I’m encouraged to post a review on their Facebook page for the book which I will be doing today with this review.  I found this book truly inspirational!  I gave it five stars!!  #BecomingUs #RobinJonesGunn

Description as found on GoodReads.com: From the author of the best-selling Christy Miller and SisterChicks series comes a new book of community, friendship, and circling the hard things of life with God and loved ones around a table.

Five young moms, including beloved Gunn character Christy Miller, gather to share meals and soon become unlikely best friends. The regular gatherings provide opportunities for the women to reveal their stories, and those life stories endear them to each other. They experience their lives naturally meshing as they raise their children together in community. In Becoming Us the group find ways to challenge, encourage, and help each other become the nurturing mothers they wished they'd had when they were growing up. They unite to be remembered for what they do as moms and not for what was done to them