MIND OF HER OWN by DIANA LESIRE BRANDMEYER

What a treat this book was. The author has captured a story that intrigued me so much I read the book in one day. It is very well written with great characters. The story is about Louisa Copeland, mother to three children and her husband Collin who is a very successful attorney. Louisa is almost to perfect of a housewife. She keeps things in perfect order and always has wonderful meals for the family. But not all is well between Louisa and Collin. They seem to be drifting apart and the perfect family life is not so perfect after all.

One day Louisa is preparing to make grilled chicken. She reachs high up in the pantry when Bam! It seemed to happen so fast, first she was grabbing for the grill and then finds herself in a hospital room with a strange man staring at her. Everyone keeps calling her Louisa and she is confused. Her name is Jazz and she writes inspirational stories and lives in Florida. What a dilemma she has gotten herself into. The doctor explains that she has a concussion and has temporarily lost her memory. Louisa is not happy when she finds out she is going home with this stranger who insists he is her husband.  The adventure is on as two people try to re establish their relationship and bring their family back together.

The author has written such a charming story with laughter, tears, hope and secrets that could change everything. Will Louisa get her memory back ? As she tries to find her way back home , will Louisa and Collin fall in love all over again?  When a hidden memory is revealed what impact will it have on Louisa? As I read the book, it made me think how precious life is and how we are all guilty at times of taking someone for granted. Thank you for writing such an inspiring story filled with a lesson we all need to be reminded of. Sometimes we need to appreciate what we have and cherish those moments more. What a sweet story that is written with compassion and second chances.

I received a copy of this book from BookClubNetwork for an honest review.

FINDING THE GREAT WESTERN TRAIL

by

Susan Gann Mahoney

published by 

Texas Tech University Press

The Great Western Trail (GWT) is a nineteenth-century cattle trail that originated in northern Mexico, ran west parallel to the Chisholm Trail, traversed the United States for some two thousand miles, and terminated after crossing the Canadian border. Yet through time, misinformation, and the perpetuation of error, the historic path of this once-crucial cattle trail has been lost. Finding the Great Western Trail documents the first multi-community effort made to recover evidence and verify the route of the Great Western Trail.

The GWT had long been celebrated in two neighboring communities: Vernon, Texas, and Altus, Oklahoma. Separated by the Red River, a natural border that cattle trail drovers forded with their herds, both Vernon and Altus maintained a living trail history with exhibits at local museums, annual trail-related events, ongoing narratives from local descendants of drovers, and historical monuments and structures. So when Western Trail Historical Society members in Altus challenged the Vernon Rotary Club to mark the trail across Texas every six miles, the effort soon spread along the trail in part through Rotary networks from Mexico, across nine US states, and into Saskatchewan, Canada.

This book is the story of finding and marking the trail, and it stands as a record of each community’s efforts to uncover their own GWT history. What began as local bravado transformed into a grass-roots project that, one hopes, will bring the previously obscured history of the Great Western Trail to light.

***************

BUY LINKS

***************

AMAZON B&N TTU PRESS

Sylvia Gann Mahoney was an educator for thirty-three years at community colleges in Texas and New Mexico as an administrator, teacher, and rodeo team coach. She became involved with the Great Western Trail project through her involvement in the Rotary Club of Vernon. She now lives in Fort Worth

GOODREADS

blog tour services provided by

www.lonestarliterary.com

THE BISHOP'S SON by KELLY IRVIN

I love Amish stories and was thrilled when I received a copy of this book. I have read the author's previous book in this series, so I anxious to see how this story would flow. The story is about two young people that each face a decision that causes change in all areas of their life. Leila will find that two men have captured her heart. Who will she go with? Sometimes when we are in love, we don't see their flaws. We try to ignore them and subsequently our decision can have consequences that will be hard to overcome.

What if you were The Bishop's son and you felt your faith wavering ? Would you seek guidance or walk away? Jesse will make that difficult choice and many others . The story weaves through the trails of making hard decisions and waiting on God to direct their path. Do we wrestle with waiting for an answer from God? I won't tell you what the characters decide, but I will say that the author tackles difficult subjects with wisdom that keeps the reader glued to the story.

Take a journey to The Amish of Bee County as these young people make choices that may not be right, but they know that they have family, the community and their faith to guide them.

I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild group which I am a member of for an honest review.

THE GIRL FROM THE TRAIN by IRMA JOUBERT

The story will capture the very essence of superb storytelling from the first page. We are taken to a scene where a young girl, Gertl Schmidt courageously escapes from a train bound for Auschwitz. The train is in a course of disaster due to Jakob who has planted a bomb directly under the bridge where it will cross.  Jakob is part of a movement called "Home  Away." The story gripped me from the beginning as I got so engrossed  that it  kept my heart racing . These two characters by their actions will become involved in something that will change their future.  Will their decisions have bad consequences? Can they find a better life ?

It is a story with many dimensions such as love, hope and pain that will impact many. The author does an amazing job of telling the history of this era and describes in vivid detail the land where most of us have only read about. Gertl will find herself in South Africa where prejudice is rampant and heartbreaking. It is hard to read about this unjust way of life, but the author writes it with such beauty and depth. We get a glimpse of what war was like and how it can destroy even the most innocent. The characters in the story will experience pain, suffering and withstand many difficulties as they find love and hope that endures them on their quest . It is not a book that you will want to put down. This will be one story I will not forget .

I received a copy of this book from The Fiction Guild groups which I am a member of for an honest review .