Value Fiction Blog Tour

This Waterbrook Multnomah blog tour covers two books:  Faithful Heart by Al Lacy and Beneath A Southern Sky by Deborah Raney.

Faithful Heart
Al Lacy

This book is the second in the Angels of Mercy series.  This series is a spinoff of Questar Publisher's Journeys of the Stranger series.  Because of this, and because I am not familiar with the other books related to this one, I felt like I was missing something.  Faithful Heart is two stories in one:  Breanna and John's travels with the wagon train and Dottie and Jerrod's struggles with Jerrod's shell shock from the Civil War.  At times, Breanna and John's story seemed stilted and sappy.  I often wondered if people really would act in real life the way the characters did in the story.  Their history and relationship is continued from the other series and, for the most part, I felt lost and disinterested in them.

Dottie and Jerrod's story was more interesting.  Dottie is Breanna's sister who became a mail-order bride.  Jerrod, her husband, was diagnosed with shell shock during the Civil War and was given an early discharge.  Eight years later, the shell shock has created two Jerrods: one, completely normal; the second, a raving maniac that lashes out at any and everyone who is near.  This includes his wife, Dottie and their two children, Molly Kate and James.  Dottie does everything she can think of to help her husband and protect her family.  I enjoyed this section of the book.

If you are interested in getting more information about Faithful Heart, you can go to the Random House page or the page for this book.

Beneath A Southern Sky
Deborah Raney

Daria Camfield served for two years as a missionary with her husband, Nate, in the remote jungles of Columbia.  While he was providing medical care in another village two days away, it was reported that Nate was killed.  Grieving her loss, Daria returns home to Kansas to give birth to their daughter, Natalie, and start her life over again.  A year later, she finds love again with her new boss, Dr. Colson Hunter, a local veterinarian.  Cole proposes marriage and Daria accepts, all the while ignoring the still small voice of God telling her to wait.  Daria, Cole and Natalie are happy with their new life and are preparing for a new baby when Daria gets some devastating news:  her husband Nate has been found alive and is flying to Kansas City from Bogota.

Daria must make a painful choice:  return to her first love, Nate, (a man she is still in love with) and leave Cole or reject Nate and stay with Cole, a man she has come to love immensely, the only Daddy Natalie has ever known and the father of the baby she is carrying.

This was a great book that kept you guessing how it was going to end.  About the time you think you have it figured out, the author throws you a curve ball.  I love the way she works it out, glorifying God and showing how He can redeem tragedy.  I can't stop thinking about this book and how everything works out in the end.  I highly recommend this book to everyone.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, you can go to Random House's webpage or view the book here.

Both Faithful Heart and Beneath A Southern Sky were provided by Waterbrook Multnomah free of charge for review.