Showing posts with label Wives of the Patriarchs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wives of the Patriarchs. Show all posts

Friday, June 27, 2014

Books 'n' Blurbs


Over the next few weeks, I hope to introduce some
recent and upcoming releases--more to think about
for your summer reading pleasure! Happy reading!


Annie's Stories 
by Cindy Thomson
July, 2014

The year is 1901, the literary sensation The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is taking New York City by storm, and everyone wonders where the next great book will come from. But to Annie Gallagher, stories are more than entertainment—they’re a sweet reminder of her storyteller father. After his death, Annie fled Ireland for the land of dreams, finding work at Hawkins House.

But when a fellow boarder with something to hide is accused of misconduct and authorities threaten to shut down the boardinghouse, Annie fears she may lose her new friends, her housekeeping job . . . and her means of funding her dream: a memorial library to honor her father. Furthermore, the friendly postman shows a little too much interest in Annie—and in her father’s unpublished stories. In fact, he suspects these tales may hold a grand secret.

Though the postman’s intentions seem pure, Annie wants to share her father’s stories on her own terms. Determined to prove herself, Annie must forge her own path to aid her friend and create the future she’s always envisioned . . . where dreams really do come true.


Rachel
by Jill Eileen Smith 
February, 2014



Beautiful Rachel wants nothing more than for her older half sister Leah to wed and move out of their household. Maybe then she would not feel so scrutinized, so managed, so judged. Plain Leah wishes her father Laban would find a good man for her, someone who would love her alone and make her his only bride. Unbeknownst to either of them, Jacob is making his way to their home, trying to escape a past laced with deceit and find the future God has promised him.

But the past comes back to haunt Jacob when he finds himself on the receiving end of treachery and the victim of a cruel bait and switch. The man who wanted only one woman will end up with sisters who have never gotten along and now must spend the rest of their lives sharing a husband. In the power struggles that follow, only one woman will triumph . . . or will she?



Someone Always Loved You
by Brooke Williams
November, 2013 (Paperback) 

It is Jay Bartlett's first day as an ambulance driver. Instead of simply delivering his patient to the hospital safely, he hits a pedestrian as they arrive. The victim, Jordan James, is just arriving at the hospital to tend to her husband, who has had a heart attack. Instead of keeping vigil by his side, she is thrown into a coma and her own medical emergency. In his guilt, Jay drops his own life and stays with Jordan. Their lives soon become intertwined both in the present as well as in the past as a story of love over time unfolds.

An intricate drama including adoption, love, suspense, and plenty of questions,
Someone Always Loved You is a novel that keeps the mind churning and the soul alive.

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Reviewing Rachel


Reviewing Rachel, a Biblical Romance Novel by Jill Eileen Smith

From Kathy: Rachel, Book Number Three in “The Wives of the Patriarchs” series, is a well-researched retelling of the classic biblical account of Jacob, a man who loved Rachel so much, he was willing to work seven years for her hand in marriage. Unfortunately, his own deceit comes back to haunt him as his treacherous father-in-law substitutes Leah, the older and less beautiful sister, for the bride Jacob has long awaited. He is entrapped into working seven more years for his beloved.

Jill Eileen Smith takes this section of scripture and deftly weaves additional drama into the white spaces in this Genesis account. The rivalry between Leah and Rachel begins in their childhood home, echoing what Jacob left behind. Vying for his father’s blessing with Esau had culminated in Jacob’s deception and his life being threatened. Guilt plagues him and he becomes saddled with two wives vying for his love and the right to bear his sons. Yet his heart desires only one.

Smith brings them to life with characters you will care about and remember. They are no longer people who lived long ago you read about in the span of a few pages, but instead a husband, wives, mothers and fathers. They have prized love and family above wealth, struggled to know and understand the one, true God and experienced the frailty of life.

Lily’s two-cents: This was a really good book, except that nobody has a cat. Jacob has lots of sheep, but again, no cats! Also, Rachel and Leah had to share their husband, Jacob. I don’t like to share . . . anything! Mom says she’s glad she doesn’t have to share Dad, but she does share him with me. She says that’s a lot different. Well, okay, I suppose. Anyway, despite those little things I don’t totally understand, Mom and I give Rachel four paws up!

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