Tag Archives: Judith Miller

#BookReview: The Chapel Car Bride by Judith Miller

20 May

The Chapel Car Bride is an engaging story! Offering a vivid glimpse into the past, I delighted in the details shared concerning chapel car ministry and coal mining. I love learning bits of history when I read! It was a pleasure to meet Hope Irvine and her father, endearing characters with hearts for service and helping others. With elements of drama, intrigue, and romance, I enjoyed this journey back in time and look forward to reading more from Judith Miller.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

About the book:

With her penchant for seeing the best in everyone, Hope Irvine sees a world full of good people in hard places. When her father accepts a position traveling in a chapel car as an on-the-rail missionary, she is determined to join him in his efforts and put her musical skills to good use by serving the mining families of West Virginia, saving their souls, and bettering their lives.

Luke Hughes shares Hope’s love of music and her love of God, but as a poor miner he knows he can offer her no future. Still, the notes she sings resonate in his heart. When she begins to travel with a young mine manager to neighboring counties, Luke can hardly suppress his jealousy. It isn’t until he begins to suspect these missions of mercy might be the mine manager’s cover for illegal purposes, though, that Luke feels justified in speaking up. But how can he discover the truth without hurting Hope or, worse, putting her in danger?

Purchase a copy | Visit the author’s website

Friday Freebies

1 Jul

Freebie Graphic- BuzzingAboutBooks.com

 

The Sea Glass Sisters

The Sea Glass Sisters by Lisa Wingate

Kindle | Nook

Elizabeth Gallagher has been balancing on the ragged edge for a while now. Then a rough case on the boards of her 911 operator’s job collides with a family conflict at home, and Elizabeth finds herself finally coming apart at the seams. A four-state road trip—trapped in a car with her mother—is the last thing she needs. Their destination may be beautiful Hatteras Island, but the reason for going is anything by pleasant. After one disastrous hurricane, and with a second one working its way up the coast, it’s time to convince Aunt Sandy to abandon her little seaside store on North Carolina’s Outer Banks and return to the family fold in Michigan. But when the storm sweeps through, the three women will discover that sisterhood and the sea can change hearts, lives, and futures . . . often in the most unpredictable of ways.

 

A Rush of Wings

A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

Kindle | Nook

When fragmented images and unfocused panic force Noelle St. Claire to flee her wealthy, sheltered life in New York, she gains sanctuary on a ranch in the Rocky Mountains.  There Noelle finds solace in the breathtaking scenery she paints. But as the attentions of two brothers, Rick and Morgan Spencer, breach the wall she hides behind, the past she yearns to escape becomes a menacing threat from which she can no longer hide.

 

A Hidden Truth

A Hidden Truth by Judith Miller

Kindle | Nook

When Karlina Richter finds out that a new shepherd will be sent to East Amana, she fears she’ll no longer be able to help her father with the sheep. She’ll be relegated back to kitchen work, a job she dislikes. Her fears increase when Anton Becker arrives and shows little interest in the flock–or in divulging why he’s been sent to East. Dare she trust Anton to help her father, or is he keeping secrets that will impact them all?

After learning that her father will be transferred from Cincinnati to a job in Texas, Dovie Cates decides she wants to visit the Amana Colonies, where her mother spent her formative years. She writes to relatives still living in the Colonies and is invited to spend some time there. Soon after her arrival, Dovie meets Berndt, the handsome young man who delivers bread to the kitchen house each day. But when Dovie begins to ask questions about her mother’s past, no one seems willing to tell her anything, so Dovie decides to take matters into her own hands. Will her decision spell disaster for her future with Berndt?

 

Surrender the Heart

Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall

Kindle

Relive the rich history of the War of 1812 through the eyes of Marianne Denton and Noah Brenin, who both long to please their families but neither one wishes to marry the other. Noah is determined to get his cargo to England before war breaks out, and Marianne is equally determined to have a wedding so that her inheritance can be unlocked and her destitute family saved. When their stubborn games get them captured by a British warship, can they escape and bring liberty to their country—and growing love?

Review: The Potter’s Lady

10 Aug

The Potter's Lady

The Potter’s Lady by Judith Miller

Purchase a copy:
Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Christianbook | DeeperShopping

When Rose McKay convinces her brother, Ewan, to invest in a pottery business, she’s determined to assist him in making the venture a success. Having just graduated from the Philadelphia School of Design for Women, she believes she can design pieces that will sell well. In her efforts to help the pottery flourish, Rose reconnects with Joshua Harkness, who oversees his own family’s pottery works in a nearby town.

Rylan Campbell has never liked change, but the new owners of the pottery seem to be the decent sort. He just wishes Rose wouldn’t insist on cleaning and moving everything. But when McKay Pottery starts losing business to the Harkness company, Rylan realizes Joshua might be taking advantage of Rose.

Then Franklin Hotels announces a design contest. Winning the Franklin contract would be exactly the boost McKay Pottery needs, so Rose and Rylan work closely together to create something magnificent. With Joshua’s company as their main competition, can Rylan convince Rose her trust in Joshua may be misplaced?

 

My thoughts: 

With great attention to historical details, Judith Miller ushers readers back to 1872. I really enjoyed the vivid imagery of the pottery works and design process. I also enjoyed the wonderful characterization. There were heroes and heroines to delight in and villains to detest. While some aspects of the plot were easily anticipated, the charm of the main characters allowed me to remain engaged in the story. A historical tale with a subtle romance, The Potter’s Lady is a recommended read for historical fiction fans.

I enjoyed The Potter’s Lady without having read Book 1, The Brickmaker’s Bride. It was apparent that family and business history was shared in the first book. Although plenty of details were included in this narrative, I believe reading The Brickmaker’s Bride first would have enhanced the reading of The Potter’s Lady.

I received a complimentary copy of The Potter’s Lady from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review. I appreciate the opportunity to read this story and share my thoughts.

 

Judith Miller

Although born and reared in a small suburb of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Judy moved to Kansas at the age of seventeen and has considered the sunflower state ‘home’ ever since. She currently lives in Topeka. She enjoys reading, traveling, researching history, and Bible study.

Writing Christian fiction is Judy’s second career. For many years she worked as a legal assistant in law firms and later worked in government law offices. She has retired from legal work in order to write fulltime —a vocation she considers both a ministry and a blessing.

Judy has authored or co-authored more than twenty-five books since she began writing in 1996. She is an award-winning author whose avid research and love for history are reflected in her novels, several of which have placed in the CBA and ECPA top ten lists. It is her deep desire to point readers to the love and grace of Jesus.

To learn more about Judy and her books, please visit her website.    

Friday Freebies

17 Apr

Forget Me Not- Amber Stokes

Forget Me Not by Amber Stokes

Amazon

Old hurts, new betrayals, and a love that survives them all…

Summer 1885

A startling revelation sends Elizabeth Lawson escaping into a stormy night – and tosses her into the arms of a young mountain man with secrets of his own. When he offers to take her to the Nevada mining town where her long-lost brother lives, she accepts. Suspicions and uncertainties are pushed aside as she struggles to forge a future for herself by meeting her past.

David has been hiding from his painful memories for years. The solitude and wildness of the Rocky Mountains are challenge and comfort enough for him – until Elizabeth’s arrival. Fueled by anger and a sense of obligation, he strives to take control of his new situation…only to find control slipping from his grasp with each new emotion Elizabeth evokes in him.

When their journey leads them on unexpected paths, can two lonely hearts find the strength to remember the good amid the heartbreak?

 

Chosen

CHOSEN
The Lost Diaries of Queen Esther
by Ginger Garrett

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Wrenched from a simple life for her beauty, Esther finds herself at the mercy of King Xerxes. Leaving behind her only relative, her cousin Mordecai, and her first true love, Cyrus, she is thrown headlong into the unrestrained extravagance of palace living.

Quick of mind and strong in spirit, Esther refuses to suffer the fate of her harem sisters and boldly challenges Xerxes to give of his heart before taking his pleasure, thus sealing her place beside him as queen. While conspiracy spins its diabolical web, Esther’s mind and spirit waver, and she is forced to confront the past in order to save her future–and thus an entire nation.

 

Inescapable

Inescapable by Nancy Mehl

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Lizzie Engel is used to running away. At eighteen, she left her Mennonite hometown, Kingdom, Kansas, with plans never to return.

But five years later, the new life she built is falling apart. Lizzie knows she’s being followed, and she’s certain the same mysterious stranger is behind the threatening letters she’s received. Realizing she’ll have to run again, the only escape Lizzie can manage is a return to the last place she wants to go.

Once she arrives in Kingdom, Lizzie is confident she’ll be safe until she comes up with a new plan. In reacquainting herself with the town and its people–especially her old friend, Noah Housler–she wonders if she judged her hometown and her Mennonite faith too harshly. However, just as she begins to come to terms with her roots, Lizzie is horrified to discover the danger she ran from is closer than ever.

No longer sure who to trust and fearful for her life and the lives of those around her, Lizzie finds she has only one place left to run–to the Father whose love is inescapable.

 

First Dawn

First Dawn by Judith Miller

Amazon | Barnes and Noble

Lured by the promise of “real” freedom and a new town to call their own, sharecroppers Ezekial Harban and his three daughters leave behind remnants of slavery in the war-torn south and set off for Nicodemus, Kansas. When they arrive, they are shocked to see that little of what they were promised actually exists. Many head back home, but Ezekial and his daughters are determined to build a new life in the stark territory. Dr. Boyle, a newly arrived doctor in neighboring Hill City, is called to deliver a baby in Nicodemus. He and his family are moved by the plight of the settlers there and vow to help. But the white pioneers of Hill City face problems, too. When the lives of these two families intersect, neither town will ever be the same. Freedom’s Path Book 1.

More Free Kindle Books!

2 Oct

Click the pictures to be taken to the Kindle store.  Happy Reading!!

The Homecoming

The Homecoming by Dan Walsh

Shadows of the Canyon

Shadows of the Canyon by Tracie Peterson

Somewhere to Belong

Somewhere to Belong by Judith Miller