Kathleen Friesen

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Book Review: Heart's Design

4/30/2015

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TITLE:  Heart’s Design

AUTHOR:  JoAnn Durgin

DATE:  March 2015

STARS:  *****

Caroline wants to grab hold of the future. Seth can’t let go of the past. 

Recent Wellesley College graduate Caroline Prescott’s future is set in stone. After Harvard Law School, she’ll step into place beside her two brothers in their father’s legendary Boston law firm. Caroline secretly longs for the quiet, peaceful life and a career designing jewelry with precious gemstones instead of life as a hotshot Boston attorney. 

On a hiking trip with her two best friends weeks before entering law school, Caroline meets Seth Barnes in charming Evergreen, Maine. A mineralogist and part-time college professor, Seth drives a truck sporting an I DIG ROCKS license plate, lives in hiking clothes, flannel shirts and jeans, and loves Jesus. 

Two years later, when they meet again, Caroline and Seth confront both the promise of possibility and the pain of past heartaches. What’s a girl to do when the man she secretly loves has a serious girlfriend and seems determined to hold her at arm’s length? And what’s a guy to do when he can’t stay away from a certain irresistible woman no matter how hard he tries? Does the Lord have His own design for their hearts? 

Heart’s Design, a love story filled with love, friendship, family, and the power of forgiveness. 


Appearances can be deceptive. Seth Barnes and Caroline Prescott are from different worlds and headed toward very different futures. Or so it seemed.

One weekend, that’s all they had. But before they part, Seth says to Caroline, “I don’t want to be a small world story to you, Caroline…I don’t want to be the guy you see in some random place years down the road and say, ‘Oh, yes, our paths crossed once, but that’s all it was.’”

Now I’m a mature, happily married woman, but I have to admit, I swooned just a bit at that. And many more times as the hero bares his soul in often quirky ways.

But like Romeo and Juliet, family issues tear at the fabric of their fragile relationship. I loved their journeys toward reconciliation to one another, their parents, and their pasts.

Author JoAnn Durgin has penned another delightful romance populated with intriguing and realistic characters. I love the town of Evergreen, Maine, and its residents. I could feel the small-town warmth embrace me, and I didn’t want to leave. Heart’s Design earns five stars. Highly recommended.


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Book Review: This Dance

4/17/2015

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TITLE:  This Dance

AUTHOR:  Jerusha Agen

DATE:  2013

PUBLISHER:  Write Integrity Press

STARS:  *****

A tragedy three years ago destroyed Nye's rise to the top of the dancing world as an upcoming tango star, and in the process destroyed her reason for living, too. She survived the pain and built a new life resembling nothing like the one she left behind, determined never to hurt again.

Nye's emotional walls hold up perfectly until she meets a handsome lawyer and an elderly landowner. They seem harmless, but one awakens feelings she doesn't want and the other makes her face the God she can't forgive. Will these two men help Nye dance again?


This Dance is a powerful tale of loss, grief, and barriers. Barriers that only God’s love can possibly break through. When Nye Sanders and Cullen Chandler meet by accident, mutual attraction is immediate. But Nye cannot risk another loss. She’s lost too much already, and she blames God.

But Cullen can’t walk away from the beautiful woman with pain-filled eyes. And the matchmaking efforts of his sweet grandfather and Nye’s family don’t help.

Author Jerusha Agen doesn’t back away from tough topics, and I appreciate the depth of her writing. Pain and loss is part of life, and Ms. Agen tackles the common responses of doubt and anger head-on. This is a story of healing and renewal, and I highly recommend it. This Dance earns five stars.

 


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Book Review: A Christmas Chance

4/17/2015

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TITLE:  A Christmas Chance

AUTHOR:  Laura Hodges Poole

DATE:  2014

PUBLISHER:  Laura Hodges Poole

STARS:  *****

Distraught that she and her husband are facing another childless Christmas, bakery owner Maddie Oliver tries to rescue every needy child who crosses her path. As the couple jumps each hurdle to adopt or become foster parents, they’re always disappointed. Then eight-year-old Chance Simmons comes into Oliver’s Bakery with his elderly grandmother, and Maddie is immediately smitten. Chance’s impish personality draws her in.

Determined to stop focusing on her own problems, Maddie sets out to make this the best Christmas ever for the little boy and his ailing grandmother. What she doesn’t count on is him capturing her heart in the process. Will God orchestrate an even bigger Christmas gift than Maddie could imagine, or will she lose Chance for good when the Simmons family suffers a setback? 

A Christmas Chance is a heartwarming story of faith and love. Maddie’s struggle to trust God with her deepest desire, even when it seems He’s said “No” time after time, rang true. I felt her pain and her tentative hope when she fell in love with adorable little Chance. Her sensitivity toward his grandmother impressed and challenged me to follow her example.

Each character in this story became real to me as I read Laura Hodges Poole’s vivid writing. Faith plays in integral role in the plot, and it, too, rang true. I look forward to reading more from Ms. Poole.

I highly recommend A Christmas Chance; it earns five stars from me.


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Book Review: The Cowboy's Christmas Plan

4/16/2015

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TITLE:  The Cowboy’s Christmas Plan

AUTHOR:  Shanna Hatfield

DATE:  2011

PUBLISHER:  Shanna Hatfield

STARS:  ****

Cadence Greer’s plans for a happy-ever-after are quickly derailed when her fiancé runs off with his secretary a week before their wedding. Homeless, jobless and jilted, she escapes to Grass Valley, Oregon, where she finds herself employed as a housekeeper and cook to seven cowboys on a sprawling ranch. 

Trey Thompson is a well-respected pillar of the community, running a successful ranch with his brother. All he wanted was someone to cook his meals and keep the house clean. When he hires Cadence Greer for the job, he gets more than he ever planned on, including a sassy little red-headed orphan. 

Come spend Christmas in Grass Valley at the Triple T Ranch, where mistletoe hangs abundantly and holiday magic is in the air. 


I enjoyed this story, especially since the Grass Valley area of Oregon is familiar to me.

Shanna Hatfield’s characters are well drawn and likeable. Cadence and Trey’s rocky road to romance was a fun ride, with their misunderstandings and Cadence’s struggles to adapt to country life. Aunt Viv was a hoot, and little Cass a heartbreaker.

The Cowboy’s Christmas Plan is book one of the Grass Valley Cowboys series, and I’d love to read the rest of the series. This book earns four stars.


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Book Review: For Mercie's Sake

4/16/2015

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TITLE:  For Mercie’s Sake

AUTHOR:  Sharon Srock

DATE:  2014

PUBLISHER:  Sharon Srock

STARS:  *****

A victim of rape, sixteen year old Scottlyn Rich is disowned by her family when she refuses to abort the child she carries. Determined to raise her baby, she has no idea how to handle the obstacles ahead, she only knows that giving her daughter, Mercie, a chance to live is the most important thing she'll ever do. 

Widowed school teacher Diana Kensington lost everything she held dear the day her husband’s plane fell out of the sky. Four hundred and thirty nine days later she still has no answer to her daily prayer. “What now, God?” 

Can trust be built between these two lost women? Can they work together to fill the void in each other's lives, for Mercie's sake? 


This novella packs a powerful punch. For Mercie’s Sake is a quick read, but the story lingers in my mind even after several months.

Diana is barely holding herself together under the immense load of grief. She questions God’s love, she wonders if life is worth living, but she pushes herself to keep doing her job. Little does she realize that this teaching job will lead her to a wonderful opportunity to experience and express God’s love once again.

Both Diana and young Scottlyn are complex and sympathetic characters, women I would love to know in real life. For Mercie’s Sake is a beautiful story, and it earns five stars. 


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Book Review: November Charlie

4/15/2015

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TITLE:  November Charlie

AUTHOR:  Clare Revell

DATE:  July 2015

PUBLISHER:  Pelican Book Group

STARS:  ****

When Jim and Staci Kirk’s parents go missing, he decides to go and search for them himself. Unbeknownst to him, his sister and their best friend Lou, stow away to join him. It seems so simple on paper, sail from England to the Philippines and find the Kirks. But a hurricane named Erika and a relentless shark conspire against them to make the voyage one of the most perilous trips the three teenagers have lived. Can they endure the danger? Will they find the Kirks alive or does God have another idea in mind?

Three teens, a forty-foot boat, two oceans, and a mission: what could go wrong? Plenty! Clare Revell takes readers on an adventure of a lifetime as her young characters encounter one danger after another on their quest to rescue Mr. and Mrs. Kirk after authorities have given up the search. A mysterious man adds to the tension, as does the need for constant vigilance for police who are trying to track them.

November Charlie is book one of a three-book series, and teens will want to read all three books. I give November Charlie four stars out of five. I was given a pre-release pdf copy in return for my honest review.


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    I’ve always loved music, even before the writing bug hit. Grace notes are little extras, not the actual melody. Just something that adds to the feel of the music. My desire for this blog is to encourage and bless readers, to share a little grace.

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