Christmas in Apple Ridge: Three-in-One Collection: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing, The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall

Christmas in Apple Ridge: Three-in-One Collection: The Sound of Sleigh Bells, The Christmas Singing, The Dawn of Christmas by Cindy Woodsmall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those three in one type of books - three shorter stories contained in one larger book.I like Cindy Woodsmall's writing style, having read Plain Wisdom before.

The first story, the Sound of Sleigh Bells, was my least favorite. I didn't really like any of the characters and really hated the fact that the two main female characters, Beth & Lizzie, had very similar but obviously different names (which went along with the storyline, but I was constantly forgetting which one was the older aunt and which one was the younger one). Beth's big "secret" was very obvious to me from the very first page, and it drove me crazy that she was making such a big deal out of something so small (and add to that the fact that she was encouraged to lie about it, and that she agreed to keep quiet about the true details).

The other two stories were much more enjoyable and believable for me. I don't really like reading holiday specific books, but this one was pretty nice.

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Martyr's Fire

Martyr's Fire by Sigmund Brouwer
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Having not read the 2nd book in the series, I did feel as if I was missing part of the story, something I hate when reading. but I knew that coming into the book.

Thomas, the main character, is now a wanted man, and is struggling finding out who he can trust and believe in. The book is well written and well paced. There's a lot of good verses evil in the book, but can be read more as an adventure novel then necessarily as a Christian book.

I did like this one more than the first book in the series.



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Letters to Katie

Letters to Katie by Kathleen Fuller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the 3rd one in a series, the first two of which I didn't read - something that drives me crazy. But in this case, the book was well written and was OK to read without the first two books in the series.

Katie has to chose between two men she's loved all of her life, and the book follows her decision from there. I love reading Amish romance stories - even though in general, I can't stand to read romance books! Because the Amish life is so simple, honest, and clean, and the romance stories aren't romance stories so much as love stories - yes, there is a difference between the two.

Fuller does a lovely job writing about the characters and the interpersonal relationships. You can't help but feel for Johnny with all of his mistakes - they just make him more human.

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I received this book to read and review through the book sneeze program and was not paid for my honest review.

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Pompeii: City on Fire by T.L. Higley

Pompeii: City on Fire by T.L. Higley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Pompeii, the City on Fire - a title that catches your interest right away. Despite the name, the book mostly deals with the lives of the citizens of the city in the days leading up to the disaster we all know about.

There's lots of different elements in this book - naturally, it's historical fiction, but there are also elements of Christianity (the days when Christians were still killed for their beliefs), mystery, romance, politics, and sports (gladiators). (I feel like this is a Princess Bride moment)

The characters in this book are all flawed, which makes them both likable and believable. Ariella, the main female character, is so stubborn that at times I wanted to yell at my e-reader to get through to her.

The moment when the volcano gives way is written very well and you can see events unfolding before your eyes, and the last part of the book was definitely the highlight of the entire novel for me (with my heart pumping the entire time).

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Though My Heart Is Torn by Joanne Bischof

Though My Heart Is Torn by Joanne Bischof
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book is the second in a series, the first of which I did not read. I sat on reading this book for a while, meaning to get a copy of the first book, but couldn't get one through interlibrary loan and so I procrastinated...

I finally picked it up to read and review. It does read as a stand alone, though I did feel as if I was missing half of the story, which drives me completely and utterly crazy. I hate feeling like I miss the back story.

There's a neat twist right at the very beginning of the story, which gets you to turn each page and sets the pace for the rest of the book.

It's a great love story with Christian elements.


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I received a copy of this book to read and review through the blogging for books program and was not paid for my review.

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