Rhonda's Doings !

Review of The Imposter (The Bishop's Family #1) by Suzanne Woods Fisher Katrina Stoltzfus thought she had life and love all figured out: she was going to marry John and live happily ever after. Those plans started to crumble when her father moved the family to Stoney Ridge, then completely collapsed when John decided to marry someone else. Katrina is devastated. How could she have felt so loved, yet been so deceived? As she struggles to face a future without him, a widow asks for her help to start a new business and Katrina quickly agrees. She needs time to heal her broken heart, to untangle her messy life, to find a purpose. What she doesn't need is attention from Andy Miller, a farm hand who arrives at the widow's farm just when help is most needed--and who always seems to say the right thing, and be in the right place, at the right time. Is Andy for real, or too good to be true? Deceived once before, Katrina is determined to keep her feelings in check. When a...

Review of More Than Friendship (Wells Landing Quilting Circle #1) by Amy Lillard Love is worth every challenge. Woven deeply into the Amish community of Wells Landing, Oklahoma, a women’s quilting circle is a place to share everything from recipes to hopes and dreams, especially when love is in the air... The youngest member of the quilting   circle, Clara Rose Yutzy has her whole life ahead of her. And it’s just beginning, with plans for a wedding to her longtime beau, Thomas Lapp. Everything is falling into place, which is why Clara Rose resolutely ignores her newly warm feelings for her best friend, Obidiah Brennaman. There’s never been a hint of romance between them, and no reason to pay attention to such nonsense now... Steady, sturdy Obie feels differently. He’s never thought too hard about his future, but the news that Clara Rose is about to be married is strangely unsettling. Convincing Clara Rose to take another look at their friendship may not be easy, but Ob...

Review of Just Plain Sadie (Wells Landing #4) by Amy Lillard The Amish of Wells Landing, Oklahoma, treasure their close-knit community, and the promise of their growing families. But one young woman is struggling to choose a future that is true to both her heart and her faith… Everyone in Wells Landing has long expected Sadie Kauffman and Chris Flaud to marry--despite Sadie's telling them differently. While she loves Chris, it is more as a friend than a husband. Yet at twenty-two, the plainest girl in her group, Sadie is also the only one who is still single. Perhaps it's time to be practical and marry Chris--though he still has not asked. But when Sadie meets a kind, handsome Mennonite, it seems her prayers have been answered…  With Ezra Hein, Sadie at last feels the joy she nearly gave up on. Unfortunately, others only feel shock that she would consider marrying an outsider. To complicate matters, Chris has finally begun talking to Sadie about their future. Distres...

Review for Domestic Secrets by Rosalind Noonan Rachel Whalen and Ariel Alexander have been friends for more than a decade. Despite their differences--down-to-earth Rachel owns a local hair salon; Ariel is a vivacious former TV star determined to hold on to her looks--they've helped each other navigate single motherhood, banding together against the soccer moms of Timbergrove, Oregon.  Yet lately, Rachel wonders about Ariel's increasingly erratic parenting and her clandestine love life. And Rachel can't reveal to anyone, even Ariel, how much she worries about her sullen, distant, younger son. When an unthinkable tragedy separates the two families, Rachel desperately tries to understand what went wrong. But as her assumptions are ripped away one by one, she must confront shattering revelations about the people she trusted and the suburban world that once seemed so safe.  Rosalind Noonan explores both the bonds and the gulfs that exist between parents and children, ...

Review of Weep In The Night ( If WITSEC Can't Keep Her Safe, Who Can?) by Valerie Massey Goree After three years in the witness protection program, Sadie Malone’s life in Texas is bland and humdrum--until she meets a new co-worker. Bowen Boudine ignites a flame in Sadie's long-dormant heart, but when she discovers he knows her true identity, she attempts to flee. He thwarts her escape and reveals the reason he’s been sent to locate her.  Bowen, a seasoned operative with International Retrieval Organization takes his job escorting Sadie safely back to California seriously, but quickly finds he's falling for her. Can he maintain a professional relationship while he protects her from the crime boss her testimony helped to convict?  MY REVIEW:          "Nah. It's just little ol' me."  His shoulders drooped, which caught her attention.  "Had a wife and little girl."   Antennae now on full alert, Sadie rummaged in her purs...

Review of Planted with Hope The Pinecraft Pie Shop series #2 by Tricia Goyer & Sherry Gore In the second installment of the Pinecraft Pie Shop series, you'll return to a town and a family you've already grown to love. When Hope Miller is offered the plot of land behind the Me, Myself, and Pie shop to start a garden, she jumps at the chance. Finally--some space away from her four sisters! But everyone in town seems to have an opinion about what she should grow and how she should grow it. When the widower schoolteacher, Jonas Sutter, asks if his students at the Amish school can help turn the plot into a community garden, Hope only halfheartedly agrees, wondering if she will ever get the peace and quiet she craves. And will she get anything to grow? The stories of friendship, community, and unexpected love within these pages will plant real seeds of hope within your heart. MY REVIEW:   As Hope stood, she looked down at herself and heat rose to her cheeks...

Review of Little Girl Mended:  a memoir by Niki Krauss No little girl should ever have to learn about sexual abuse at the hands of her father. But I did, and I survived. This is my story. Little Girl Mended is both a story of abuse and a story of redemption, spanning more than fifty years. From the loss of innocence at age seven, through ten-plus years of abuse, forty-five years of silence, and finally—well into my fifties—coming to understand that healing is possible. My walk through recovery coincided with a deepening of my relationship with Jesus Christ. Through that relationship I came to experience the Father’s love—a love I couldn’t fully understand while viewing everything through the distorted lens of incest. In this first-person narrative, I examine painful memories and difficult emotions, allowing myself to feel for the first time in my life. As I grapple with shattering hurt and long-buried pain, I come to realize there can be no healing without surrender. It’s ...

Review of The Stronghold by Lisa Carter Drug violence, revenge killings, and kidnapping are nothing new along the U.S.-Mexican border. But now teenage girls are disappearing from the Apache reservations of Arizona and New Mexico. Apache tribal cop Pilar To-Clanny and FBI Special Agent Alex Torres have a long and tumultuous history. When someone close to them disappears, Pilar and Alex must risk everything to rescue the child, including facing the unresolved issues of the past, and venture into the no-man's land of the drug cartels. Can Pilar and Alex work together to stop a sadistic killer before he strikes again? On a quest to rescue those they love, who will rescue them? MY REVIEW:   What a fascinating mystery and romance The Stronghold  turned out to be!   Pilar To-Clanny is now working as the Apache tribal cop on the reservation and Alex Torres is now working as an FBI Special Agent and they are placed in each others' paths yet again to solve the crimes...

Review of Surviving Haley by Brenda Baker Lauren Werthman struggles with guilt and depression. Even moving to another state and into a new home doesn't help her overcome the life-altering aftermath of losing her sister. Memories of the tragic accident reverberate through her life as her family tries to cope, but Lauren's life spirals out of control. Her mother criticizes her choices every day, her father continues to work later and later, and people at her new school seem to know the family secret. Lauren binge-eats, has nightmares, and doubts the existence of a God Who didn't intervene to prevent the senseless tragedy. As Lauren's family and friends work through the pain and guilt, will they find that even though the void will always remain, the power of forgiveness brings peace and hope and a bright future, or will Lauren forever be lost to the pain and guilt? MY REVIEW:         Truth:  Dads, if they love you, will lie about your appearan...

Review of The English Son The Amish Millionaire part 1 of 6 by Wanda Brunstetter & Jean Brunstetter Join New York Times Bestselling author Wanda E. Brunstetter along with Jean Brunstetter in Holmes County for a dramatic new 6-part serial novel.  Meet businessman Joel Byler who has gotten himself into a financial bind and his eccentric, wealthy Amish father who is done bailing out his spoiled son. When will Joel learn he most pay for his own mistakes—and at what cost to his business, his fiancée, and his Amish siblings? The Amish Millionaire -- A 6-Part Serial Novel #1: The English Son -- March 2016 #2: The Stubborn Father -- April 2016 #3: The Betrayed Fiancee -- May 2016 #4: The Missing Will -- June 2016 #5: The Divided Family -- July 2016 #6: The Selfless Act -- August 2016 MY REVIEW:    Mom took hold of Kristi's left hand.   "I don't see a diamond sparkling back at me." "He hasn't bought me an engagement ring yet, but I'm ...