Love Buzzard's Crafts & Life

Love’s Enduring Gift by Catherine Francis is a great love story with the man and woman both living their Christianity and keeping themselves pure for marriage. Scott and Lynn work in the same building but for different employers. He has watched her take a walk each day on her break and one day he decides that the time has come for him to meet her. He went outside and stood on the walkway so that she would bump into him since she was reading a book as she walked. He asked her out for dinner but even though she said yes she debated with herself all afternoon if she should go or not. Scott is from a very close knit family but Lynn has almost no contact with her family. After a couple of dates, Scott invites her to his birthday barbeque where she will meet his family. Again she hesitates but she goes and that is the beginning of a beautiful relationship with both Scott and his large family.. Lynn has been engaged before but she suffered great hurt and humiliation from the man and his mother. Because of this, she has a hard time trusting people, especially men. Scott’s family accepts her as the lovely woman she is and very soon Lynn accepts the love of the family and begins to feel as if she is really one of the family.

The characters all seem to come alive in the book and one feels as if they are real people. The plot is well developed and near the end there is a little suspense added to the book which adds interest but also sadness. All the scenes were so real that I felt as if I were part of the family and taking part in all the activities. I especially liked that the author had all the main characters living their Christianity and not just saying they were Christians. It was refreshing to read a love story in which the man and woman were true to their beliefs and kept themselves from doing things that they would regret later on. They remained true to the Biblical teachings of purity before marriage.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a book that has a heartwarming romantic story, has a great Christian message, and has a very happy ending.

Thank you to the author, Catherine Francis, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Forever Stone by Gloria Repp is a wonderful story of forgiveness, hope, restoration, healing, and love, both between a man and a woman and the forever love of God. I was hooked from the first page and had trouble putting the book down to do other things that needed to be done. In fact when I was about two chapters from the end I just kept reading even though I should have been working on a quilting project that has a time limit. The book started out great and just got better and better.

Madeline, known to her friends as Mollie, is a young widow who feels that she must get away from her domineering mother, two dysfunctional aunts and an uncle who is a doctor and is such an arrogant and dishonest man that Mollie has come to distrust all doctors. Mollie’s policeman father was killed two years earlier and she cannot come to terms with his death. A year ago her abusive husband was killed in a car accident and Mollie has finally gotten up enough courage to leave her family and in so doing she hopes to have the chance to renew her faith in God, find herself, and to realize her dreams.

Mollie’s Aunt Lin, her father’s sister, invites Mollie to come to New Jersey to help her in the restoring of a very large mansion that she has inherited. Of course her family try everything they can think of to keep her from going to the “wilderness” and even try to force her to marry again. When Mollie arrives at the mansion, she is disappointed to see that it is in such sad shape but she really has nothing else to do or anywhere to go so she settles in to working on the house. When Mollie goes into town for supplies, she meets Timothy and immediately she accepts his friendship and he becomes somewhat of a father figure.   At the same time she meets Nathan and when she learns that he is the local doctor, she gives him the cold shoulder. Mollie also meets Kent and he shows an interest in her but she has a feeling that something is just not quite right with him and that he is hiding something.

This is a very well written novel. There are many extremely interesting characters in the story and the author skillfully weaves each of them into the story and they all come alive and are an important element in the story. The plot has many twists and turns but again the author developed it so well that all the subplots came together in a very interesting way. The book not only had a good romance going on but there was also a puzzling mystery, arson, theft, a missing person, fraud, and possible murder, which just added to the already great story. All the scenes were so real that I felt as if I were a part of the action that was taking place. At the end of the book all the different mysteries had been solved but I will not reveal how things worked out for Mollie. And for me an important part of the story was the way that the author dealt with faith in God, His grace, His forgiveness, and His forever love.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes a great story with romance, suspense, and a happy ending.

A big thank you to the author, Gloria Repp, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

21 Days of Faith Challenge by Shelley Hitz is a short, easy to read book that is filled with stories from the author’s life that show her struggles with faith and then she gives her thoughts on the stories. Each day features a Scripture passage and a quote usually from a well known person such as Corrie Ten Boom. At the end of each day’s reading there is an application which usually asks one to journal their thoughts. I admit that I did not do that for I have never been able to really get into journaling. Discussing the reading for the day with someone was also suggested and I would like to get a few friends together to study the book and discuss it in depth.

It was an enjoyable book but in all honesty I cannot say that it increased my faith. At this point in my life, age seventy-four, widowed, living alone, and with no extra money, I feel that about all I have is faith in God and the knowledge that He loves me and has a place in heaven for me one day. I had an incident a few weeks ago that was very upsetting and I admit that for a few minutes I cried, moaned, and groaned but then I said to myself, this is silly for there is nothing that I can do and God is in control so why am I even thinking about the problem. The problem is still there but I can honestly say that I have not thought about it in several weeks. If it does pop into my mind then I just remember that God is in control and He will handle the problem and I give thanks for that knowledge.

The author did a good job writing the book and I feel that she put her heart into the writing. I know that it was probably hard to bare her soul for some of the stories but she did and her book is and will be a great help to many women.

I recommend this book to anyone who is having trouble with their faith in God even though I did not feel it was of particular help to me.

Thank you to the author, Shelley Hitz , for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman is a wonderful book and the romantic story gave me some good laughs and even brought tears to my eyes a time or two. Marcy Murphy is a beautiful young woman who has moved back to Boston after spending the last five years in New York and has caught the eye of the two most notorious rogues in South Boston. Sam O’Rourke is the brother of her best friend, Julie, and she has loved him since she was eight years old. Sam is from a large, loving family and Marcy longs to be a part of it. Patrick O’Conner is Sam’s best friend and he fell in love with Marcy the first time he saw her but she has a big trust issue with Patrick and in addition, he is from a family that has no faith in God.

Marcy is chosen to be in charge of the Christmas play that is a fundraiser for the parish soup kitchen. The play, A Light in the Window, is based on the Irish custom of putting a candle in the window on Christmas Eve to welcome the Holy Family. Sam and Patrick are caught in the confessional drinking the communion wine and because of this Father Fitz punishes them by having them help build the sets for the play. Sam and Patrick do not tell anyone that they are helping because they have to but let everyone think they are being good guys and donating their time. Patrick not only helped with the sets but spent a great deal of time working in the soup kitchen and the experience brought changes to his life. Marcy had a close relationship with God but at times she could be so unforgiving but after a few hours or maybe a day, she would listen to God and then forgive the person. She was prone to forgive Sam of all his misdeeds but she was very slow to forgive Patrick. Both men loved her and she was faced with the decision of which was the right man for her. She finally turned the problem over to God and He led her to made the right decision.

The author did an admirable job of developing the plot, characters, dialogue, and scenes in the book. She made things so real that I felt that I was right there in the middle of what was happening. I was impressed that the book focused on Christian values and shared the message that we should follow God’s plan for our lives and not try to do things our way. The act of forgiveness by God, our forgiveness of others, and forgiveness of ourselves was a recurring theme in the book and in my opinion added greatly to the story. The story is told from a Catholic point of view but even though I am not Catholic, I thoroughly enjoyed Father Fitz with his wisdom, humor, good advice to Marcy, his love of people, and his deep love of God. The story has a beautiful ending and finally Marcy is happy and loved. Which man did she choose? Well, you will just have to read the book to find out.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who enjoys reading a great love story with Christian values and that also deals with forgiveness from God and forgiveness of self and others.

A big thank you to the author, Julie Lessman, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Avenged by Janice Cantore is a well written, extremely suspenseful, and just an all around very good book. As Office Carly Edwards is beginning her graveyard shift with the Las Playas Police Department, she finds three young gang bangers that have been shot execution style. Her husband, Sergeant Nick Anderson, who is head of the gang unit for the LPPD, agrees with Carley that the city may be on the verge of a gang war. Carley is involved in a high speed chase and when she finally stops the car being driven by a gang leader, she finds the car is loaded with weapons that have been stolen from a military base. To make matters even worse, the thieves have also stolen several explosive devices. This incident and the heightened tensions between rival gangs puts the LPPD on high alert.

While Carly is preparing to testify at a major murder trial, a very militant reporter is trying to discredit Carley and destroy her professionally. This problem along with the threat of a gang war causes Carley to rely even more on her faith and trust in God. She has had problems before in her career but this one is more serious than any of the others. During the search of an abandoned building, Carley comes face to face with one of the men who wants her dead and he causes her to fall about fifteen feet from the balcony where they are standing. When the paramedics arrive they find the man dead on the balcony and Carley’s gun in her hand with two missing bullets.

The author does a fantastic job with the development of the plot, characters, and dialogue. The action scenes were so real that I was holding my breath part of the time and thinking that maybe I should hide to be safe. There were several sub plots in the story and each had a few twists and turns in the plot line and when I would think I had the puzzle solved, there would be another twist to the story. The author definitely knows how to hold the interest of the reader and keep them guessing how the story will end. The story had a great ending but you will have to read the book to learn all the solutions to all the problems that the police had to solve. Janice Cantore is a retired police officer and her twenty-two years of experience add greatly to the authenticity of the story. For me this makes the story more enjoyable and definitely believable. I also like the way the author had the two main characters seeking God’s guidance in their work and all parts of their lives.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes a great police drama with lots of suspense, a little romance, characters with a strong faith in God, and a happy ending.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Feeling God’s Presence Today by Laine Lawson Craft is a very inspirational devotional book with 365 daily readings. The devotional for each day begins with a passage of Scripture, then a paragraph or two by the author dealing with living the Christian life, and closes with a prayer. By using Scriptures that deal with all five senses, the author helps us to feel a closeness to God and to develop a deep and meaningful relationship with God. Reading one of the devotionals in this book is a great way to start the day.

I would like to have a date on each page rather than just the number of the day of the year, but that is just a quirk of mine.

I highly recommend this devotional book if you want one that is quick and easy to read, is very inspirational, and helps one grow closer to God each day.

The author has provided a complimentary copy of this book through The Book Club Network as part of their review bloggers program in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Difference Between Night and Day by Melissa Turner Lee was listed as a Christian paranormal romance and somehow paranormal did not register in my mind. I have never liked the paranormal genre but I read the book since I agreed to do a review.

Nathaniel was a Christian and a minister and one night he witnessed to a woman and explained some Christian truths to her. The next night she came back and told him that what he said was not true and then she bit him on the cheek. He was extremely sick for a while and when he recovered he had become a vampire. When the story begins he is a young man, probably twenty, since that was his age when he became a vampire but he is actually eighty years old. He owns a security business that allows him to work at night for he cannot be in the sunlight or he will die. One night as he is making his rounds through town, he meets Lilly who is a young woman who is not a vampire but she definitely has problems. Her father is a doctor and he has been using her to test all his medical formulas. Even though she looks young like Nathaniel, she is forty-nine. Her father has discovered a formula that keeps one looking young forever. After Nathaniel meets Lilly, he works hard to discover the difference between night and day and he learns that during dark times in life, the light is hidden but not gone.

Even though paranormal is not my cup of tea, the story was well written and the characters and plot were well developed. However, I just could not get into the story because of all the weird things that happened and the fact that vampires do not exist. In my opinion, if the vampires and other weird things that I just could not believe, were taken out of the story then it would be a good romantic story. And all the references to God were right on target but as a Christian I just cannot accept Christian and paranormal together. At least the book had a happy ending that was actually quite a surprise.

I would recommend this book only if you like paranormal fiction and the combination of Christian and paranormal does not bother you. Also, I think the story might be of more interest to young adults than seniors like me who are seventy plus.

The author, Melissa Turner Lee, provided me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Good, Clean, Murder by Traci Tyne Hilton is an enjoyable book with murder, romance, and a young lady who seems to attract trouble like bees to honey. Jane is twenty, living on her own, and cleaning houses to pay for all her expenses. Her well to do parents would be happy to pay for her education but they would require her to attend a big university and she only wants to attend Bible College to prepare to be a missionary. At the beginning of the book she goes to her first house cleaning job for the day and when she goes into the master bedroom to get the sheets for the laundry she uncovers the owner of the house dead in bed. When the paramedics arrive, they find the wife in the bathroom and she is also dead. Were they murdered or did they both just happen to have heart attacks at the same time?

Jane attends college at night and on the first night of her last semester she learns that the class was canceled. A handsome, young, professor is teaching the class that is offered to take the place of the canceled class. Immediately there is an attraction between Jane and the professor but students are not allowed to date faculty and this lead to lots of problems for the pair. The solution to the problem is quite interesting and even funny.

Jane’s roommate has not been paying the rent and has left town with Jane’s half of the rent money after they were evicted. With no where to live and no money, Jane moves into the home of the murder victims to be a live-in maid for the son, daughter, and sister-in-law of the dead couple. Jane is determined to solve the mystery of the deaths and to minister to the son and daughter of the dead couple.

The author did a good job developing the plot and characters. The dialogue many times had me laughing out loud. Other times I could feel Jane’s frustration and pain. The mystery of the murders kept me guessing as to who murdered the couple and why, if they were murdered and did not die of natural causes. The romance in the book was handled in such a way that kept me cheering for Jane and the professor and many times their actions had me shaking my head or laughing at them. I really liked the way that the author kept Jane centered in her belief in God. With all the craziness that happened to Jane, she still took time each day for her quiet time with God and she truly believed that God would make a way. There were some surprises in the ending but it was a good ending.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good, clean, Christian story that involves suspense, a good bit of humor, and enough romance to keep things interesting.

Thank you to the author, Traci Tyne Hilton, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Josiah’s Treasure by Nancy Herriman was a most enjoyable historical novel that was also filled with a great deal of inspiration. In San Francisco in 1882, Sarah Whittier has a desire to open an art studio that will be run by immigrant women who have a talent for art or a talent for running the business. She has been the caretaker and companion of Josiah Cady who amassed a fortune in the gold fields and at his death he left everything to Sarah. Josiah rescued Sarah from her past and loved her like a daughter and he left everything to her for he thought that all his family was dead and he died never knowing the truth. Daniel Cady, Josiah’s son, finally arrived in San Francisco from Chicago after a lengthy search to find his father. He thinks that his father deserted the family and is determined to take the inheritance from Sarah. Daniel is very bitter toward his father but when the truth is finally revealed as to why Josiah left his fortune to Sarah instead of his family, he decides that he must help Sarah and try to keep her safe after rumors circulate in the town that gold nuggets are hidden in the house. Daniel knows that overturning his father’s will is going to be difficult, but after meeting Sarah his heart is torn between caring for his twin sisters and the attraction he is starting to feel for Sarah.

The author did an excellent job writing the story with a well plotted mystery and lots of exciting action. The characters were so well done that they seemed to leap off the page and become real. I thoroughly enjoyed the romance in the story as the author took us on a journey of faith for both Sarah and Daniel. Both had fought to find faith and then worked to keep it and not lose it when troubles came. In their search for the hidden gold, they both found that the greatest treasure to be found in life was love. The story was very inspiration and gave me something to think about after the story was finished.

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes an historical novel set in the West in the nineteenth century, has a really good romance story line, a great deal of mystery, and that is also a Christian story.

I received this book free from Worthy Publishing and Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

Redeeming Reputation by George H. McVey was one of the best, if not the best, western novel that I have ever read. I absolutely loved the main character, David Nathaniel Ryder the Third, for he loved God, was a preacher, handsome, well educated, well mannered, quick with a gun, and was just an all around great guy. We first meet Nathan on the train to Franklin, Missouri, when two outlaws board the train and demand that everyone give them their money and valuables. Nathan gives them his money without a fight but when one of the outlaws hits a young boy with his gun, he goes into action. He manages to outwit the two outlaws and they end up bound with ropes and waiting for the Sheriff.

Nathan is stopping in Franklin to meet his grandfather and then the two of them will travel on to Redemption, New Mexico, where Nathan will become a circuit riding preacher but when Nathan reaches Franklin he receives a telegram telling him that his grandfather has died. While Nathan is checking into the hotel he sees a beautiful woman being harassed by a drunk who thinks she is a woman of the evening. Nathan steps in to rescue her and the drunk pulls his gun but immediately the drunk finds himself looking down the barrel of his own gun. Within a very short time the entire town knows about Nathan and he has gained the reputation as a fast gun slinger.

Dressed in his fancy eastern clothes, Nathan is not readily accepted in the town of Franklin but when the people in town learn that he is the grandson of David Nathaniel Ryder, better known in the west to everyone as Nugget Nate Ryder, a very successful miner, he is accepted into the community with open arms. Grace Hopewell, the woman than Nathan rescued from the drunk just happens to be in town to also meet “Uncle Nate” for he has secured a teaching job for her in Redemption, New Mexico, and was to accompany her on the trip to her job. Nathan has to stay in Franklin to meet with his grandfather’s lawyer and when he does he receives the surprise of his life when his grandfather’s will is read. After the reading of the will he is ready to leave and head west but he has acquired the nickname of Preacher and because of his skill with a gun, every outlaw around seems to want to challenge him to a gunfight. He only wants to get to Redemption and begin the job that he feels God has provided for him. Every time he tries to do God’s bidding, another gunslinger comes along and the body count keeps rising.

The author did an excellent job developing the plot, characters, dialogue, and action scenes. The characters and action were so real that I was right there on the boardwalk in the town of Franklin and experiencing all the action and feeling all the frustrations of Nathan and Grace. I appreciated the way that the author kept Nathan’s love of God and his striving to do God’s will as an important part of the book. Nathan wanted to fulfill his obligations to the town and Grace but he desperately wanted to redeem his reputation. He wonders how he can reconcile his gun slinger reputation with the reputation he desires as a man of God and as a peacemaker. The adventures of Nathan and the love between him and Grace provided me with a great deal of entertainment and quite a few laughs. As stated earlier, not only was this the best western I have ever read, it had a wonderful ending. I am definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

I highly recommend this book to everyone who likes a great story set in the old West. Even if one is not particularly fond of westerns, I think you would still enjoy reading this book.

I want to thank the author, George H. McVey, for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.