Rhonda's Doings !

Review of Upon a Spring Breeze Every Amish Season, Book #1 by Kelly Irvin Book Description After a devastating winter, a spring breeze promises more than new flowers.… It promises a new chance at love. Bess Weaver, twenty and expecting her first child, is in the kitchen making stew for her beloved  mann , Caleb, one minute, and the next she’s burying him after a tragic accident. Facing life as a young widow, Bess finds comfort only in tending the garden at an  Englisch -owned bed and breakfast—even as she doubts that new growth could ever come after such a long winter. Aidan tries to repress his guilt over his best friend Caleb’s death and his long-standing feelings for Bess by working harder than ever. But as he spends time with the young son his friend left behind, he seems to be growing closer to the boy’s beautiful mother as well. When a close-knit group of widows in her Amish community step in to help Bess find her way back to hope, she begins to wonder if...

Clementine & Claudia by Piper Milton The First World War is raging and sisters Clementine and Claudia are coping in very different ways. Clementine is a nurse on the front line, doing her best to save the lives of soldiers wounded while serving their country. Claudia, on the other hand, is living the good life in England, deliberately oblivious to the horrors her sister and so many others are living through. When they both meet their perfect man, their already fractured relationship is tested in ways they could never imagine. The début novel from Piper Milton, Clementine and Claudia is a powerful and beautifully written story of romance and war and a wonderful addition to the romantic traditions of Penny Vincenzi, Soraya Lane, Brief Encounter and Downton Abbey.   MY REVIEW:  Historical fiction fascinates me.  I particularly love to read about the World Wars.   They are sad stories of love and loss, in most cases.   The stories of couples eager t...

Monday's Child Book Review (Monday's Child Book #1) by Clare Revell Monday's Child must Hide for Protection... This was not the assignment Luke Nemec expected when he came to the UK—babysitting a beautiful widow. It wouldn't be so bad if Sara wasn't such a hostile witness. Despite her complaints and continued jibes, Luke finds himself falling for her. When, Sara Barnes is thrown into the witness protection program, she becomes the 'wife' of Lt. Luke Nemec, an American cop on temporary assignment with the British police. Despite Luke's American bravado, she finds he's kind and considerate in ways her late husband never was. But things aren't always what they seem, and Luke soon realizes he's fighting a battle of two fronts to keep Sara safe. Loyalties are called into question, and he's no longer certain who he can trust. Luke is way out of his depth. As the threats against Sara escalate, it's a race against time to find her husba...

Fixing Perfect by Therese M. Travis In the community of Avalon on Catalina Island, a psychopath is kidnapping children and perfectly posing and painting the bodies of adult victims to resemble disabled artist, Robin Ingram.  Robin struggles with feelings of imperfection, and knowing some madman has a macabre agenda—which includes fixing her—is unsettling. She’s relieved when paramedic Sam Albrecht steps up to help.  Sam believes he knows the identity of the killer, and he wants nothing more than to prove it in order to keep Robin out of danger. Then Sam is arrested as a suspect for the crimes, and Robin’s life is thrown into a fresh whirlwind. She may not know who the real killer is, but she does know Sam is innocent…and she will find the proof to set him free, or she’ll die trying. My Thoughts on this book:   I love the show "Criminal Minds" and this book reminded me of an episode of the show.  A psychopath is on the loose and in his sick, twisted...

Chocolate Soldier Book Review (The Story of a Conchie) by Hazel Barker When World War II breaks out and men over eighteen are conscripted, Clarence Dover, a conscientious objector, refuses to go rather that compromise his principles. Instead, he joins the Friend's Ambulance Unit. From the London Blitz to the far reaches of Asia the war tests Clarence in the crucible of suffering. In the end, will he be able to hold his head up as proudly as the rest and say, to save lives, I risked my own? One man will stand as God's soldier, not the war's soldier.   MY REVIEW:  World War II holds a true fascination for me. My uncle was killed in WWII in Normandy, France at the age of nineteen.  As I read the true story of Clarence Dover's conscientious objector status, I did not see why soldiers would be so offended. He did after all join the Friend's Ambulance Unit (FAU).  He risked his own life to save the lives of those who were fighting and killing.  He was s...