Where Treetops Glisten Book Review

Three Stories of Heartwarming Courage

and Christmas Romance During World War II

SUMMARY:  The crunch of newly fallen snow, the weight of wartime.  Siblings forging new paths and finding love in three stories, filled with the wonder of Christmas.

     Turn back the clock to a different time, listen to Bing Crosby sing of sleigh bells in the snow, as the realities of America's involvement in the Second World War change the lives of the Turner family in Lafayette, Indiana.

     In Cara Putnam's White Christmas, Abigail Turner is holding down the Home Front as a college student and a part-time employee at a one-of-a-kind candy shop.  Loss of a beau to the war has Abigail skittish about romantic entanglements - until a hard-working young man with a serious problem needs her help.

     Abigail's brother Pete is a fighter pilot hero returned from the European Theatre in Sarah Sundin's I'll Be Home for Christmas, trying to recapture the hope and peace his time at war has eroded.  But when he encounters a precocious little girl in need of Pete's friendship, can he convince her widowed mother that he's no longer the bully she once knew?

     In Tricia Goyer's Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Meredith Turner, "Merry" to those who know her best, is using her skills as a combat nurse on the frontline in the Netherlands.  Halfway around the world from home, Merry never expects to face her deepest betrayal head on, but that's precisely what God has in mind to redeem her broken heart.

     The Turner family believes in God's providence during such a tumultuous time.  Can they absorb the miracle of Christ's birth and His plan for the future?

REVIEW:  The authors' of these stories did a wonderful job!  The stories moved from one to another seamlessly and, seemingly, without much effort.  All three grabbed my attention from the very beginning and held it until the very end.  In fact, when I finished them, I was disappointed because I was carried away to Lafayette, Indiana every time I opened up the pages.  The only concern I had was that two of the couples became engaged very quickly but was relieved to see that they both waited until the next year to get married.  Other than that small item, I was very pleased with these books and highly recommend them!!

This book was provided by Litfuse Publicity Group and Waterbrook Multnomah for review without compensation.

Cara Putman is the author of twenty books including Shadowed by Grace.  She is the winner of the 2008 Carol Award for historical fiction.  Sarah Sundin is the critically-acclaimed author of the Wings of the Nightingale series, the Wings of Glory series, and the forthcoming Waves of Freedom novels.  Tricia Goyer is a prolific author of nearly forty books, including Chasing Mona Lisa, and a speaker and blogger.

The Promise Box Book Review

Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors Series

Book Two

 

SUMMARY:  With her heart - and her loyalty - on the line, can she let true love in her life?

     Ever year, young Amish men descend on the cozy little town of West Kootenai, Montana, arriving in the spring to live for six moths and receive "resident" status for the hunting season in the fall.  They arrive as bachelors, but go home with brides!

     In The Promise Box, the second book of bestselling author Tricia Goyer's Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series, Lydia Wyse, a book editor from Seattle who grew up Amish, returns to the small community of West Kootenai, Montana, to giver comfort to her father after her mother's death.  She is drawn back to the familiar Amish ways after finding her mother's most precious possession, a Promise Box of prayers and scripture.  What her publisher sees, though, is an opportunity for a sensational "tell-all" book about the Amish.

     Lydia soon finds herself falling in love with Amish bachelor Gideon Hooley.  She wants nothing more than to forget her past and look forward to a future as an Amish bride.  But will the pain of her childhood - and her potential betrayal of her community - keep her from committing her whole heart?

REVIEW:  This book was the first I've read about a woman who left the Amish lifestyle for the life of the Englisch who returns to her roots.  I was pleasantly surprised with the story.  The recurring themes seemed to be facing the hurts and mysterious events that happened and forgiveness.  Lydia knew from early on she was adopted but, when she was sixteen, she found out about the circumstances of her conception and birth, she rebelled and left the Amish community.  I love how even after her mother's death, she helps Lydia come to terms with the past through promises found in scripture and the notes her mom wrote throughout Lydia's life.  Visiting her birth mother also gives her answers she was seeking.  I love how the community forgives Lydia for writing about them when a mix-up in communication had Lydia's private musings about the community and her life is picked up by a publisher. 

This book was a pleasant surprise and I am interested in reading more of this series.  It is an easy read and would be great for summertime vacations.

This Advanced Reader's Copy was provided by Litfuse for review without compensation.

 

USA Today best-selling author Tricia Goyer is the author of 35 books, including the three-book Seven Brides for Seven Bachelors series. She has written over 500 articles for national publications and blogs for high traffic sites like TheBetterMom.com and MomLifeToday.com. Tricia and her husband John live in Little Rock, Arkansas where John works for FamilyLife. They have six children. You can find out more about Tricia at www.TriciaGoyer.com. 

Chasing Mona Lisa Book Review

SUMMARY:  One enigmatic smile.  Two passionate protectors.  And a relentlessly ticking clock.

     August 1944.  Paris is on the cusp of liberation.  As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country and steal countless pieces of irreplaceable art.  In fact, Reichsmarschall Hermann Goring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all - the Mona Lisa - as a postwar bargaining chip.

     But the woman with the mysterious smile has some very determined protectors.  Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

     With nonstop action and intrigue, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get your adrenaline pumping as you join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world.  From war-ravaged Paris to a posh Swiss chateau, the race is on - and the runners are playing for keeps.

REVIEW:  The story is set in German-Occupied Paris and after it's liberation during the Second World War.  It follows Gabi and Eric as they try to keep the priceless Mona Lisa out of German hands and bring her back to the Louvre where she belongs.  They befriend and work with Colette, a curator at the Louvre and Mona Lisa expert, and her boyfriend Bernard, a Socialist operative in the underground French Resistance, to find where this priceless work of art had been hidden before the Occupation began before Reichsmarschall Goring's assistant Colonel Heller and his hired henchmen get to her.

     This account is intriguing.  The length the curators went to keep most of their famous artwork out of danger and under their control was amazing.  The twists and turns in the storyline kept me guessing how it would end.  This is a good book, especially for those who are interested in art and World War II.

     This book is a follow-up to The Swiss Courier but stands very well on it's own.  This is a very interesting book which I highly recommend.

This book was provided by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group, for review without compensation.

Available January 2011 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Tricia Goyer is the coauthor of The Swiss Courier as well as the author of many other books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance.  Goyer lives with her family in Arkansas.  Visit Tricia's website at http://www.triciagoyer.com/.

Mike Yorkey is the author or coauthor of dozens of books, including The Swiss Courier and the bestselling Every Man's Battle series.  Married to a Swiss native, Yorkey lived in Switzerland for18 months.  He and his family currently reside in California.  Visit Mike's website at http://www.mikeyorkey.com/.

Beside Still Waters Book Review

SUMMARY:  Raised among the Amish of Indiana, 18-year-old Marianna Sommer plans to get baptized into the church, marry Aaron Zook, and set up life in the only community she has ever known.  But when her older brother chooses the world's path following his rumschpringe, and a younger sibling begins showing interest in Englisch ways, Marianna's parents move the family to Montana.
    Although she is also in her rumschpringe years and not obligated to move, Marianna makes the journey to dutifully help her mother who is expecting another child.  Surprisingly, from strangers on the cross-country train ride to the less rigid stance of the new Montana community, many Englisch influences awaken within Marianna - and even her father - the desire to pursue a deeper kind of joy and love for God.
     After an accident, Marianna tells her friend Ben a defining story about the Sommer family, and his response further illumines the active relationship God seeks with His followers.  In due time, she learns the move from Indiana was not about losing anything, but finding out who God really is.  Despite all the shake-ups, Marianna feels a sweet peace, like still waters, in her soul.

REVIEW:  This is a good but hard book. Marianna's desire to stay with her family as they move across the country to help her parents is one to be admired.  She leaves behind everything she knew including her fiance' and friends.  The hard part is the back story.  Marianna's parents lost two daughters in a tragic buggy accident the same day Marianna was born.  Her name is even a combination of the names of the two daughters.  Though it happened eighteen years earlier, this event still affects everyone in the Amish community and hangs over the family like a dark cloud.  Moving to Montana helps the family heal from this tragedy and find closure.
      There were a lot questions I thought were left unanswered.  Will Aaron and Marianna get married?  What happens to Ben and Marianna's friendship?  Are they allowed to let it develop since the community she is in is not as strict or will they be forbidden to go further in their relationship since Ben is an Englischer?  Does the friendship between Aaron and Naomi develop into something more since Marianna is so far away?  What happens to Levi?  Does he decide to join his family in Montana or will he continue to live with the Englisch in Indiana?  Will he ever heal from the deaths of his sisters?  If this book is part of a series, I hope these questions are answered in the next one.

This Advanced Reader Copy was provided by Litfuse Public Relations for review without compensation.

Tricia Goyer is an acclaimed and prolific writer, publishing hundred of articles in national magazines including Today's Christian Woman and Focus on the Family while authoring more than twenty fiction and nonfiction books combined.  Among those are 3:16 Teen Edition with Max Lucado and the American Christian Fiction Writers' Book of the Year Award winners Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights.  She has also written books on marriage and parenting and contributed notes to the Women of Faith Study Bible. 
    Tricia and her husband John have four great kids and make their home in Arkansas with their dogs, Lilly and Jake.  In addition to writing, Tricia enjoys sharing Jesus' love through volunteering as a mentor for teenage moms in her community, ministering in the Czech Republic on regular missions trips and leading children's church every week with the rest of her family.