Amish Promises
Neighbors of Lancaster County, book 1
by: Leslie Gould
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-0764215087
Pages: 368
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

With all the Amish fiction titles that get read each year, you would think I would get bored with the genre. While there have been a few duds here and there, most of them that I've read have been pretty decent reads. Any time an Amish title is available, I typically sign up to review. I received a copy of Amish Promises back in late April, but I didn't get a chance to read it until later in July, and as you can see, I'm just now getting to around to writing the actual review for it.

Amish Promises is set in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and centers on Joel and Shani Beck moving into their new home near the Amish country. Joel had recently returned from serving in Iraq and is trying to heal his emotional wounds, while at the same time he is trying to reconnect with his wife and son. Their closest neighbors are Amish, the Lehman family.

After their son has an accident that injures one of the Lehman sons, it causes a rift between Joel and Tim, the patriarch of the Lehman family. Despite the families' problems with each other, Shani, befriends Tim's sister, Eve, who has been running the household ever since Tim's wife died.

Breadwinners: Journey to the Bottom of the Seats
by Stefan Petrucha
Illustrated by Allison Strejlau 
Publisher: PAPERCUTZ
Pub. Date: November 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-1629913018
Pages: 56 pages
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Nickelodeon has teamed up with PAPERCUTZ to publish a series of graphic novels based on their popular animated programs as well as bringing out the new Nickelodeon Magazine. The graphic novel Sanjay and Craig: Fight the Future with Flavor! was released back in September and now Breadwinners: Journey to the Bottom of the Seats will be released to bookstores tomorrow!

Breadwinners debuted on Nickelodeon in 2014 and has become one of the top-rated programs for kids aged two to eleven. The series centers on two anthropomorphic ducks named SwaySway and Buhdeuce, two best friends that live in the water-based planet Pondgea. They drive a rocket-powered van and deliver bread to the locals.

Written by Stefan Petrucha with illustrations by Allison Strejlau,  Breadwinners: Journey to the Bottom of the Seats features four exciting adventures:

Lotsa Tots - SwaySway and Buhdence must hop in their van and deliver Clammy Brioche Bread and Snails On Kale Brioche Bread to a customer in Tree City, but they have a slight problem when a monster-size bird decides to sit on top of the van and lay her eggs.

An Endless Christmas
by Cynthia Ruchti
Publisher: Worthy Inspired
Pub. Date: October 13, 2015
ISBN: 978-1617955877
Pages: 232
Buy Link: http://bit.ly/1PmF69N
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/cruchti

Review:

It's almost hard to believe that there are only five more weeks until Christmas Day. Though I do have about 99% of my gift shopping finished already, I'm not exactly in the holiday mood this year. Every time I stumble upon a Christmas movie on the Hallmark channel, I avoid it all costs. I've also been skipping over the radio stations that are playing holiday tunes. No, I'm not a Scrooge. I just guess the Christmas magic hasn't exactly hit me yet. That being said, I had signed up to review a several holiday themed novels for a few book tours awhile back and I've delayed reading them as long as I could.

One these books (well, a novella) happens to be An Endless Christmas by author Cynthia Ruchti, which centers on Wilson and Dodie Blinder hosting Christmas for their large family (children, grandchildren, etc.) at their cottage in Minnesota. They're excited that their grandson, Micah, is going to ask his girlfriend, Katie, to marry him. Micah asks her to marry him in front of his entire family and Katie's answer is - "No!"

Unfortunately for Katie, she has no other place to go, so she's stuck at the Binder cottage for Christmas. Most of the family are upset with her for breaking Micah's heart, but Dodie sees this extra time as an opportunity for her grandson to win back Katie's heart.

The Love Letters
by Beverly Lewis
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: March 24, 2015
ISBN: 978-0764212468
Pages: 352
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

I had never even knew there was such a thing as Amish fiction until I read The Covenant (book one in the Abram's Daughter series) by Beverly Lewis, which was either in 2001 or 2002. I had joined one of the those book clubs where you get five or six books for $.99 and you have to buy three or four books during the next two years at full price. The Covenant was one of the books I got for joining the club. I recall I was short one book, so I just picked The Covenant as it looked an interesting read. Let's just say that I became a fan of Beverly Lewis's writings very quickly. I ended up purchasing her previous novels and I have continued to read each and every new release of hers.

While many of the author's novels are part of a series featuring three to five books, she does occasionally write a stand alone novel, which just happens to be the case for The Love Letters. (No, this isn't the made-for-Hallmark movie from the late 90s.)  This story is set in 1966 and centers on Marlena Wenger, a young woman with a lot on her young shoulders. She was set to marry Nathaniel Zimmerman shortly after she finishes her classes prior to being baptized into the Old Amish Order, well, that is until she learns that her grandfather has passed away and someone needs to go to Brownstown, Pennsylvania and assist her grandmother, Mammi Janice, for the summer. Guess whose going?

Yep, you guessed it - Marlena must put her life on hold to help out her grandmother. Not too long after arriving in Brownstown, Marlena learns that her estranged sister Luella has died in a car crash. Luell had left the Amish lifestyle to marry her sweetheart Gordon Munroe, who is currently serving his country in Vietnam. This leaves Marlena the guardian of her baby niece, Angela Rose.

From The Start 
by Melissa Tagg
Publisher: Bethany House
Pub. Date: April 7, 2015
ISBN: 978-0764213076
Pages: 352 pages
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

With only a month and a half left of 2015, I thought it was about time that I finally clear off the books that have been piled on my desk for months. These titles had been read, but I hadn't gotten around to reviewing them, so I'm planning on writing at least one review a day for the rest of November, though I might only publish one per day.

From the Start is a contemporary romance by author Melissa Tag that was released back in April by Bethany House. I have a bad habit of picking out books directly by their covers, but that wasn't the case with this book as I actually read the synopsis first. After being intrigued by the plot, I thought I would give it a try.

The novel centers on screenplay writer Kate Walker, a young woman that writes made-for-TV romances, but her own love life is completely empty. Unfortunately, she has a series of bad luck starting with the lack of movie projects to work on. With no other choice, she packs her bags and returns home to Maple Valley, Iowa in the hope that she will find a new meaning (or career) for her life.

This is a romantic tale, so of course there is a love interest for Kate, whom happens to be a NFL quarterback, Colton Green. Due to a recent injury that has sidelined him from playing football, Colton has been hiding out in his friend's (Logan) hometown, which as you have probably guessed, it's in Maple Valley. And guess who Logan's sister is?

It seems everybody is on the go today, mostly thanks for the still falling economy as well as the price hike at the grocery stores, where you spend three times the amount than what you did ten years ago. Now, Americans are taking either a part-time job or a second full-time job on top of their regular job, all so they can barely pay their bills. Despite the Obamacare becoming a law, medical insurance is higher than ever; resulting in the doctors increasing what they charge per visit. To make matter worse, the deductibles have also increased, meaning you have to pay more out of your pocket for the insurance that you already pay for.

Luckily for us, there is now a thing called telemedicine, a way to see a doctor in the privacy of your own home by the use of the internet, which is great for people in smaller towns that don’t' have quick access to a doctor's office or hospital.

Recently, I got a chance try out Amwell, which is a telemedicine website where you can book a online doctor's visit with a U.S. trained, board-certified, licensed and credentialed physician starting at $49 or less. There also licensed psychologists and counselors starting at $95 or less and dietitians starting at $25 or less. There some insurance companies and employers that will cover telethealth visits, so please check with your health insurance company or Human Resources department to see if you're covered.

The website is pretty easy to use. All you have to do is just fill out the sign up form on the site; test your internet connection on your laptop, desktop, cell phone or tablet; search for your nearest provider and talk to the appropriate doctor. There are no appointments, so you can get a doctor's advice 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you want schedule next week's post, click here to find the next prompt question. To submit a question, fill out this form.

What to do:

1. Post on your blog answering this question:

  This week's question is submitted by Elizabeth @ Silver's Reviews!

How long does it normally take you to read a book?

2. Enter the link to your post in the linky list below (enter your Blog Name and the direct link to your post answering this week’s question. Failure to do so will result in removal of your link).


3. Visit other blogs in the list and comment on their posts. Try to spend some time on the blogs reading other posts and possible become a new follower.  The purpose of the hop is to give bloggers a chance to follow other blogs, learn about new books, befriend other bloggers, and receive new followers to your own blog.

  

My Answer: 

  It depends on the page length and whether or not the plot intrigues me. It could be an hour or it could be months. For example, I started reading Outlander about 6 months ago, but I'm currently only halfway through it. It's not that I'm not intersted in the novel, but the page length is a bit long and I have had other books that needed to be reviewed.