Rhonda's Doings !

Review of The Lopsided Christmas Cake by Wanda & Jean Brunstetter Join the Hochstetler twin sisters on stage as they bumble their way through baking a cake for a charity auction in front of a live audience. The take-charge Elma and the klutzy optimist Thelma manage to entertain their audience—and attract the admiration of two bachelors, an outspoken woodworker and a shy harness maker from a neighboring Amish community. As fall leads into the Christmas season, could romance be blossoming for one or more of the Hochstetler twins? Find out in this brand new romance from  New York Times  bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter, writing with her daughter-in-law Jean Brunstetter. MY REVIEW:  Laughter is good for the soul and this book is filled with humor!   Elma and Thelma have quite an amusing presentation at the Cooking Show to Benefit Amish Medical Bills but that doesn't stop Joseph and Delbert and a mystery man from bidding on the lopsided Christmas cak...

Review of Mystery Rider (Horses and Friends #3) by Miralee Ferrell In the third installment in the Horses and Friends series, thirteen-year-old Kate Ferris already has one problem. Snooty, well-to-do Melissa is boarding her horse at Kate’s family stable. When Melissa suddenly turns nice, Kate is shocked ... and suspicious. The last thing she needs is more trouble. So when a hooded rider appears—and then disappears—on a stunning black horse outside her home, Kate isn’t sure if Melissa is playing a trick or something more dangerous is going on. Either way, Kate and her friends will need an extra measure of faith and courage to solve this mystery. MY REVIEW:   This third installment in the Horses and Friends series is sure to please both young readers and adults.   I think that horse lovers and mystery lovers, in particular, will find much in this one to hold their attention and keep their interest!   Kate and her friends see a "mystery rider" on a beautiful, ...

Review of We Never Asked for Wings by Vanessa Diffenbaugh From the beloved New York Times bestselling author of The Language of Flowers comes her much-anticipated new novel about young love, hard choices, and hope against all odds. For fourteen years, Letty Espinosa has worked three jobs around San Francisco to make ends meet while her mother raised her children—Alex, now fifteen, and Luna, six—in their tiny apartment on a forgotten spit of wetlands near the bay. But now Letty’s parents are returning to Mexico, and Letty must step up and become a mother for the first time in her life. Navigating this new terrain is challenging for Letty, especially as Luna desperately misses her grandparents and Alex, who is falling in love with a classmate, is unwilling to give his mother a chance. Letty comes up with a plan to help the family escape the dangerous neighborhood and heartbreaking injustice that have marked their lives, but one wrong move could jeopardize everything she’s worked...

Review of Midnight on the Mississippi (Secrets of the South Mysteries #1) by Mary Ellis Midnight on the Mississippi begins the new Secrets of the South Mysteries from bestselling author Mary Ellis. These complex crime dramas follow an investigator's quest to make the world a better place...solving one case at a time. New Orleans--Hunter Galen, a stock and securities broker, suspects his business partner, James Nowak, may be involved in embezzling their clients' money, but he's reluctant to jeopardize their friendship based on suspicion alone. After James turns up dead, Hunter realizes his unwillingness to confront a problem may have cost James his life. Nicki Price, a newly minted PI, intends to solve the stockbroker's murder, recover the missing millions from the client accounts, and establish herself in the career she adores. As she ferrets out fraud and deception at Galen Investments, Hunter's fiancee, Ashley Menard, rubs Nicki the wrong way. Nicki doe...

Review of Brightest and Best (Amish Turns of Time, #3) by Olivia Newport The collapse of a schoolhouse puts pressure on Amish families and their long-held educational values. Ella Hilty anticipates marrying Gideon Wittner and becoming a mother to his children. In a whirling clash of values, Ella seeks the solid ground that seems to have slipped away. Margaret Simpson, an  English  schoolteacher, wonders if she is losing her last chance at love. As the local authorities draw lines in the sand, Margaret puts romance at risk one final time. All eyes turn to Ella to make a sacrifice and accept a challenge that can bring unity to the Amish and understanding to the  English . MY REVIEW:  If it isn't bad enough that the Amish have a one-room schoolhouse in desperate need of repair and the schoolteacher is marrying which means that a new teacher must be secured quickly, the entire roof collapses on the Parent Committee as they examine the school to determine wha...

Review of The Gift (Prairie State Friends, Book 2) by Wanda Brunstetter Follow the heart-wrenching story of Adam Beachy, whose mother walked out on him and his family—and away from the Amish faith. Now he balks at the idea of ever marrying and having a family of his own. But when tragedy strikes, Adam is suddenly a father figure to his three nieces and finds himself needing a wife. Despite their differences over her practice of reflexology, Leah Mast seems the best option to fill that role. Can they make it work in a modern-day marriage of convenience? MY REVIEW:  Leah has a gift from God that she takes great pleasure in using to help others in the community.  But her neighbor who is now her new employer does not approve of it or believe in its effectiveness.   Leah works for Adam as she cares for the three nieces he is now raising alone.   She and Adam become quite close but will the differences from his past create problems for their future?   He ...