One Hundred Years of Marriage: life and marriage through the years of one family

One hundred Years of Marriage by Louise Farmer Smith is a story of one family’s journey through life’s ups and downs, marriage good times and bad times. The story opens in 1960 as Patricia, the narrator, is home from college to take care of her mother, Alice, who is ill. She is trying to figure out what is wrong her mother as she tries to figure out her own future with her boyfriend, Tom. The story then turns to the past to1934, when Alice meets her future husband’s family. The story then turns to the past again to 1923 when Alice was a little girl. And then to the past again to 1894 and this is where I stopped.

I couldn’t finish One hundred Years of Marriage. I was too bored with the story. There were way too many characters to try to keep track of without any real indication about who they were. Maybe it would have been revealed later in the story about how it all fit. I also felt the going back in time exasperated my confusion. The mystery behind Alice’s illness was the link that connected the different marriages through Patricia’s maternal family but it wasn’t enough to hold my interest. If the story peaks your interest, you can check it out. Unfortunately, for me, it didn’t hold my interest.

One Hundred Years of Marriage

is available

at major booksellers

People to be Loved: where some Christians are getting it wrong

People to be loved by Preston Sprinkle is a pastor’s search to the truth about homosexuality in the Bible. He investigates the verses which are commonly used to condemn homosexuality as well as the cultural and historical settings the verses were written in. Mr. Sprinkle goes through each verse in the Bible which mentions homosexuality and breaks it down through the original language, the cultural settings in which it was written and makes a decision if the verse condemns homosexuality or not. Through the Old Testament verse and the New Testament verses, he makes the decision that homosexuality is a sin. However, it is a sin just as lying, murder, and many other acts are. Mr. Sprinkle is very clear that just because homosexuality is a sin does not mean that Christians can condemn the LGBT community as abominations. While he spends a great deal of time discussing homosexuality in terms of the verse, he also takes more time to discuss why the LGBT community are still people who deserve to be shown Christ’s love.

As a Christian, I believe that homosexuality is a sin; however, I have never treated members of the LGBT community with condemnation and fear. I know many people who are homosexual and I have treated them with nothing but kindness and respect. While reading People to be Loved, I felt Mr. Sprinkle was trying hard to find verses which approved of homosexuality. However, as I read I realized that he was not. He was asking the Christian community to love and respect homosexuals. As he writes “Love doesn’t mean affirming one’s behavior” and “Love means accepting one’s humanity without affirming everything they do.” Affirming means to agree. I can love my friends and family without agreeing with their life choices whatever that may be. I believe this is Mr. Sprinkle’s purpose for this book. Love each other, recognize each other’s humanity and leave everything else to Christ. I recommend People to be Loved for anyone who may question what the Bible really says about homosexuality.

People to be Loved

Is available at major booksellers

Remember: a love story

Remember by Isabelle Jardin, translated by Jaime McGill, is a beautiful love story between two unlikely people. When tragedy strikes the world, their love is put to the test. The story opens as a young woman writes down her story. 

Leah Holst runs a small shop which serves the boating community in Germany. There she meets the handsome Connor Breckwohld and immediately catches his eye. In the off season, she heads home to Hamburg. It's here that their relationships begins slowly as Leah is weary of the handsome millionaire but soon they are both caught up in their attraction. They both fall deeply in love, battle family pasts and secrets and overcome any adversity. They begin to plan their wedding when tragedy strikes. Connor was conducting business in the World Trade Center when the planes hit on that fateful September morning. While she anxiously awaits news of Connor, she fears the worst. When Connor is found, Leah and his family suffer another blow. Connor has been seriously injured and doesn’t remember Leah. Leah must now find a way to reintroduce herself to Connor. Will she be able to help him knowing that he doesn’t remember her? Will Connor regain his memory? Will they be able to have the life together they dreamed about?

I loved Remember! It is a great book with a beautiful love story. I enjoyed reading about a part of the world I’ve never been and reading how September 11^th affected everyone, not just the citizens of the US. The story is romantic and sensual with real conflicts. There are so many part of the book that I enjoyed but I fear talking about them would spoiler major reveals in the story. I highly recommend Remember.

Remember

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paperback and ebook

The Things We Knew: one family's healing begins

The Things We Knew by Catherine West is a story about one family’s healing after their mother’s tragic death and the secret which sent them running from their home. Except one stay behind. Lynette Carlisle is 24 years old and lives in her childhood home with her father, Drake, on Nantucket. Her childhood crush, Nick Cooper, had returned home after leaving suddenly 5 years before. Lynette soon realizes that her father’s failing health and the home’s deterioration is too much to bear and she reaches out to her siblings for help.  Soon her older brothers and older sister, reluctantly come home and they realize that they are all hiding secrets, past and present. Together, with a plan to turn their home around, the siblings begin to heal from the past until Lynette begins to remember the night her mother died. Soon the siblings are confronted with the past in ways they never thought they would have to face.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Things We Knew as it dealt with domestic violence, drugs, and marital issues in an honest and open matter. Things were not glossed over and sugar coasted. The story was filled with twists and turns which left you hooked until the final chapter. I even loved the ending as the family isn’t completely healed but definitely on its way. I recommend The Things We Knew.

The Things We Knew

is available at

major booksellers

The Story Traveler: an adventure between reality and stories

The Story Traveler by Max Candee is a fantastical adventure set at a boarding school with a very dark history. After the sudden death of her parents, Haley Spade’s reluctant grandparents send her to the George Hamilton Academy. There she makes quick friends who dare her to spend the night in the main hall after she refuses to believe in ghosts. She does and she quickly learns that her friends set her up to see the ghosts. After she caught her friend, Oliver Slater, in the building, they are both soon whisked away to many different amazing worlds and met extraordinary characters. But there is a monster who is trying to get to their world and they need to stop him. Will Haley and Oliver be able to return to their world?

The Story Traveler is a fun adventure across worlds of mythical and magical origins. With twists and turns, suspense and wonder, this story opens itself to many more adventures. I can’t give too many details without giving away the surprise when new characters are introduced but I found each character to be fun and fitting to their place in the adventure. I recommend The Story Traveler for young adults and any reader who enjoys adventures in strange new worlds.

The Story Traveler

Is available on the Kindle

For $2.99 or free with KindleUnlimited 

Leaving Independence: a beautiful story of a journey on the Oregon Trail

Leaving Independence by Leanne W. Smith is a story of one woman’s bravery and determination to better herself in the aftermath of the Civil War. Abigail Baldwyn is faced with a tough choice. The carpetbaggers are after her house and she learns that her husband is still alive and serving the Army in the West. Wondering why her husband never came home after the war, she decides to leave her home and join her husband with their four children. She arrives in Independence, Missouri, the starting point of the Oregon Trail, and begins to make preparations for the long journey. There she meets Hoke Matthews, a quiet and mysterious man who joins the wagon train as a team leader. On the trail, she and the wagon train meet with disease, tragedy and danger. Then danger strikes Abigail and Hoke must track her movements to rescue her from someone who plans to do her harm. Will he reach her in time? Will she discover the truth about her husband’s absence? Will they make it to the end of their journey?

I thoroughly enjoyed Leaving Independence! It reminds me of another book with a similar theme; however, this book had its own drama, twists and turns. Even though certain events were obviously going to happen, I still gasped and cheered when they did. It was a great story for the brave men and women who risked the unknown to venture to a new home and life in the American West. I highly recommend Leaving Independence.

Leaving Independence

Is available at all major booksellers

Love in Exile: family saga torn apart by war, politics and forbidden love

Love in Exile by Ayse Kulin, translated by Kenneth Dakan. It is a family saga told between 1903 and 1941 during turbulent times in Turkey. After the fall of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkan Wars and World War I, families were torn apart by politics and war. It is also a love story of two people who must find a way to be together despite their families’ differences and objections. Sabahat Yedic is a beautiful and intelligent woman who wants to peruse her education despite the cultural expectations that she finish. She has the drive and stubbornness to stand up against cultural expectations to follow her dreams. Raised in a Muslim family, she believes her life is meant to be more than just a good marriage and children. She convinces her family to let her continue her education. She meets the handsome Aram, a young Armenian Christian man who matches her desire for knowledge. They soon fall in love and despite their families’ objections, they defy traditions and risk everything to be together. Will Sabahat and Aram finally have the life they dream of? Or with culture, politics and war keep them apart?

Based on the author’s own family history, it is a beautiful of star-crossed lovers. The descriptions of the time and of the city of Istanbul helped bring the story alive and the story felt real. I felt as if I was there. However, there were many minor characters with no real sense of who was who and how they fit in the story. My advice is to read slowly, soak up the families, the cultures, the place and the upheaval of the time. I recommend Love in Exile for those who enjoy stories with twists and turns of historical times and a story of love conquering all.

Love in Exile

Is available at all major booksellers