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Book Review

Book Review–What I Left for You

January 8, 2025 by NZ Filbruns 7 Comments

About the Book:

Book: What I Left for You (Echoes of the Past Book Three)

Author: Liz Tolsma

Genre: Christian Fiction / Romance / Historical Fiction

Release date: December 1, 2024

A Family’s Ties Were Broken in Poland of 1939

1939
Helena Kostyszak is an oddity—an educated female ethnic minority lecturing at a university in Krakow at the outbreak of WWII. When the Germans close the university and force Jews into the ghetto, she spirits out a friend’s infant daughter and flees to her small village in the southern hills. Helena does everything in her power to protect her family, but it may not be enough. It will take all of her strength and God’s intervention for both of them to survive the war and the ethnic cleansing to come.

2023
Recently unengaged social worker McKenna Muir is dealt an awful blow when a two-year-old she’s been working with is murdered. It’s all too much to take, so her friend suggests she dive into her family’s past like she’s always wanted. Putting distance between herself and her problems might help her heal, so she and her friend head on Sabbatical to Poland. But what McKenna discovers about her family shocks everyone, including one long-lost family member.

My Thoughts:

I discovered Liz Tolsma’s writings a few years ago and quickly decided I liked her historical mysteries. Then, she started writing the Echoes of the Past series, with dual timelines—and I loved those! So, when I had the chance to read What I Left for You, I didn’t even stop to think, but requested it immediately.

Both timelines drew me in and kept my interest. Helena felt very real to me, and I loved her devotion to her closest friend and to her mother. Her journey was absolutely heartbreaking. In McKenna’s story, I was immediately drawn in by the stresses she was enduring. I loved the way her friend supported her. I also loved that this book was not a romance! There wasn’t even a hint of a new love interest till about 70% of the way through; the focus in this book was the journeys to freedom and healing that both Helena and McKenna traveled. 

My main quibble with What I Left You was the convenient coincidences that McKenna and her friend encountered during their trip to Poland. Their search flowed much more smoothly than it normally would in real life! I did love the way the story switched from one time line to the other at the perfect times to tell the story. There was one thing that confused me, relating to DNA testing, which actually turned out not to be a problem—but I had to go way back in the story to find the one line I missed on the first go through, which cleared up the mystery for me! 

I liked the spiritual journey that Helena traveled. She began the story with no idea of a personal relationship with God—and ended up learning about the possibility of that. Her faith ended up being passed along to her descendents. 

I enjoyed learning about the Lemko people of Eastern Europe. I had never heard of them before, but what an interesting group! I loved reading about the Polish countryside, as well. I would not rate What I Left You as highly as What I Promise You, my favorite in this series, but it is not far behind.

WARNINGS: Chapter 1: Someone dies. Chapter 2: Someone is forced to lie. Chapter 4: A baby is beaten to death. Chapter 5: “Dodging bloated bodies.” Chapter 7: Description of the baby’s death. Chapter 9: Woman thinks about the physical side of marriage, mention of the marriage bed. Chapter 13: “Murdering and arresting innocent men, women and children.” Chapter 14: Man eyes the bed he shares with his wife. Chapter 21: Smells of human excrement, blood and decay. Chapter 22: Man hit in the head with rifle, gunshots rang out. Chapter 26: Girl violated by prison guard. Chapter 29: Girl dies. Chapter 32: “Bloated bodies,” gee. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a US Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping.

More from Liz:

I stared at my computer screen in front of me. For years, I had been searching for my great-grandmother, Anna. I got no good information. Census records in the US weren’t helpful. Some listed her birthplace as Czechoslovakia, while others had it as Austria. I had heard before that she might have been born in Czechoslovakia before, but never Austria. There were no records that I had come across that listed the city or town where she was born.

Until that one day. While searching for my great-grandmother, I ran across a passport application recorded in Warsaw, Poland, for an Anna with the same last name, though spelled differently. Her birthday was listed as 1903, which matched the birth year I knew for my great-grandmother’s niece. As I read through the application, my heart was pounding. This Anna was born in the United States but went to Dubne, Poland, with her family in 1906. It was now 1923, and she wanted to return to the US, and she would be living with…

I started to cry when I saw who her sponsor was. My great-grandfather. The name and address were correct. There could be no doubt about it. It had taken me years, but I finally made the jump to Europe and discovered that my great-grandmother was not born in Czechoslovakia but in what was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire and is now Poland.

Of course, good little researcher that I am, I had to find out all I could about Dubne, the town they were from. That’s when I first came across the term Lemko. What on earth was that?

Lemkos are a Slavic people that settled in the Carpathian Mountains of Southern Poland, Northern Slovakia, and Western Ukraine. They are also known as Lemko Rusyns, Rusyns (especially those born in Slovakia, like my great-grandfather), and Carptho-Rusyns. The mountains kept the world at bay, and they developed their own language, customs, and form of Christianity. For the most part, they were very poor, many of them eking out a living from the rocky ground.

They lived in “black houses,” called that because the poorest people couldn’t afford to have a chimney built. The smoke from the cooking and heating fires stayed inside the house and covered the walls with black tar. If you look at the cemetery records from Dubne, you would be old if you lived into your fifties. Conditions were brutal.

The most the average Lemko could afford was one sheep or one pig. Since this was their most prized possession, they couldn’t take the chance of a wild animal or a neighbor taking it away, so it lived in the house with them.

With all of them. Up to eleven people would live in a two-room house. When I mentioned that in What I Left for You, my editor questioned if I had made a mistake. No, I didn’t. I have no idea how they fit all those people in there, but they did. As I was tracking one branch of our family tree, I kept coming up with people living in house 43. Over and over and over. They stuffed that house full. Grandparents, parents, and children all lived together. They may not have had much, but that forged the Lemkos into strong and resilient people.

I’m proud to be Lemko-Rusyn, and I’m thrilled to share this story with you. I infused Helena, the historical heroine, with as much of the Lemko spunk and spirit as I could. Last October, my daughter and I had the privilege to travel to Poland and Slovakia and see the Lemko homeland for ourselves. It helped me to write a better, richer story because I now understand where they came from and who they were. Enjoy Helena’s story and her journey during WWII and beyond. I hope you come to understand and appreciate the Lemko people as much as I have.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit

New in the Library! November 2024

December 1, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

Would you believe we have added over 500 books to our library since New Year’s Day? I could hardly believe it when I had a look at our LibraryThing account and saw that. We currently have over 3,600 books available for borrowing, plus a few hundred double-ups or others that we chose not to make available for one reason or another. I thought it would be nice to do a post once a month to show our new arrivals. So, here is the first edition!

We have acquired all the other books in the Hidden Heroes series when Sonlight offered them on their clearance sales, but they don’t use Witness Men in their curriculum. Esther and I decided we needed this one on the shelf to complete the collection! I’m looking forward to reading it aloud some day. The others have been great stories about little-known missionaries and places. See our reviews of some of them here.

For a little while after I started this post with that first title, I wondered if this would be the month we didn’t accumulate more books–what irony! I shouldn’t have wondered about that, though. The middle of the month, I took the little girls to town. We didn’t manage to accomplish our primary goal for the trip, but we went to a couple of op shops and came home with several books.

Little Miss was delighted to find this collection of Beatrix Potter’s little Peter Rabbit books. The cover is rather rough, but inside is beautiful.

I always snatch up Jungle Doctor books when I find them. These fun stories are based on the author’s experiences as a missionary doctor in Africa. We now have eight of these books.

I found these two fun easy readers–just the kind of stories Miss Joy loves right now! We have a large collection of easy readers, because I spent so many years trying to teach my older boys to read and hoped that they would help. I don’t add to that shelf very often, but when I saw these…

Little Miss loves to peruse children’s cookbooks, so when I saw this one, I picked it up for her. It has step-by-step line drawings with the instructions in each recipe.

When I found this book illustrating several of Shakespeare’s plays, I snatched it up. It looks like a great way to introduce the Bard. I need to go through it myself, though, before I put it out for the children to read.

Rich Dad Poor Dad is one I’ve heard of a number of times, so when I found it for less than a dollar I decided to get it and add it to my pile to read *someday*.

And then, there are the usual few that looked like they might be good but I need to read them myself before adding them to the shelves. City Night and The Wild Boy in the Bush are set in New Zealand. Jenny’s Cat and Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine just look like fun ones. We’ve found that a lot of the older Scholastic books are fairly good. I got Little Foxes because I’ve heard a lot of times that Michael Morpugo is good but haven’t read any of his books yet.

Elijah didn’t know what to give me for my birthday last month, so he told me to think of a book I wanted. I didn’t have anything in mind then, but a few weeks ago I read a newsletter from Living Books Press in Australia. They had just published The New Zealand Bird Book, similar to The Burgess Bird Book, which was one of my favorite books as a child. I thought, “That looks like a book to get one of these days,” and immediately forgot about it. The next morning, a local friend emailed me a link to the advertisement–she was going to buy one of the books. So, I asked her to get me one, too, to save postage, and asked Elijah if he would pay for it for my birthday present. When the book arrived, Miss Joy was immediately intrigued, and wanted me to read it to her. It is beautiful inside! So nice to have a book with our local birds in it!

Filed Under: Library Tagged With: Book Review, Library

Book Review–‘Tis the Time, ‘Tis the Season

November 27, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 3 Comments

About the Book:

Book: ’Tis the Time, ‘Tis the Season (Next Act Series: Book Three)

Author: Chris Posti

Genre: Women’s Fiction with Elements of Faith & Later-in-Life Romance

Release date: October, 2024

Welcome to tiny Port Mariette, Pennsylvania, where three women in their late fifties reunite at Christmastime, facing tangled relationships with one another and the men in their lives.

Marla rushes from Manhattan to her daughter’s side in a quiet Port Mariette hospital,  determined to strengthen their relationship by backing her daughter’s dream project, no matter the cost. She wins support from the town’s general contractor, but fierce local opposition arises, spearheaded by her longtime friend Rachel.

Meanwhile, newlywed Suzanne, scarred by fears and heartbreaks, returns to Port Mariette from California, where the earth subsiding beneath her home threatens both her retirement savings and her marriage. Seeking refuge in the familiar embrace of friends, Suzanne finds herself boxed into a financial corner while navigating the delicate dynamics of friendship and rivalry.

Amidst the holiday cheer and twinkling lights, Rachel stands as a pillar of the community, deeply rooted in the small town she’s never left. Yet her steadfastness falters as she grapples with her own insecurities and desires. Unwittingly, she stirs a pot of conflict that strains her relationships with everyone who matters to her.

In this small town tale of love, friendship, faith, and forgiveness, these women will discover growth can emerge from the ashes of the past and that change is possible at any age.

My Thoughts:

I was aghast when I read the section below with more thoughts from the author and realized that this book is the third in a trilogy. I don’t read books in a series without reading the one(s) before! I was able to find them on Kindle Unlimited, though, which we happen to have a free trial of this month, so I read them. Looking back, though, it was not necessary to do that. Each book can be read as a stand-alone, although the experience is a bit richer if all three are read.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I’m really not interested in reading more books by this author. I enjoyed reading about women near my own age rather than younger women, but I don’t agree with remarriage after divorce, which happened a couple of times in this series. I did really enjoy seeing how the town worked together and how the women made up their differences when they had misunderstandings. I loved watching each of the women, especially Marla and Rachel, becoming better people and learning how to love others better.

There are a few things in this story that might be triggers for some: An ectopic pregnancy, mention of a past abortion, and someone getting in a minor accident because of driving drunk. There is also lying, and many words used such as h**k and d**n. Also, one of the characters is a devout Catholic, who prays the rosary and goes to confession. On the other hand, one person finds salvation in the course of this book. 

While there are a number of things I didn’t appreciate or agree with, there are many parts of the story that I liked. This is a good book for people who like to read about mature women finding love and becoming closer to the people God wants them to be.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Chris Posti writes award-winning fiction about real-life women experiencing the joys and challenges of friendships, families, careers, and later-in-life romances. Before pivoting to novels, she was a self-employed career & executive coach, newspaper columnist, and nonfiction author.

More from Chris:

I wrote “’Tis the Time, ‘Tis the Season” (third book in the “Next Act” series) for women in the second half of their lives – age 50 to 100 – who want characters they can relate to, women who are facing challenges and overcoming them – along with a mix of faith, fun, and later-in-life romance.

When the Lord gave me the idea for the first book in this series, I had no idea it would morph into a trilogy. That’s the way it is with our Lord. He lights our path, we keep walking. Now, He has directed me to write a pilot for a TV series, and that’s what I’m working on right now. I pray one day you will see these characters come to life on your television screen. If you have a moment, would you offer up a prayer right now for that to happen? Thank you so much.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit

Book Review–Pure Joy

November 20, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

About the Book:

Book: Pure Joy: 90 Devotions on the Book of James

Author: Anita Higman

Genre: Christian Devotional Book

Release date: February 27, 2024

Pure Joy is a profound 90-day devotional that delves into finding joy through suffering amidst life’s challenges. In the Book of James, we’re challenged to embrace our trials with “pure joy,” understanding that they lead us to a point of lacking nothing. But how can we truly embody this spirit of joy in the midst of adversity? This daily devotional takes you on a transformative journey through James’ enigmatic teachings, encouraging you to discover the profound change that occurs when we accept Christ’s power in our anguish, confusion, discontent, and hardship.

My Thoughts:

Review from my mom because I haven’t seen the book yet (though I’m looking forward to it!):

I love it! Each devotional consists of two pages. The author presents one or several verses from James for each selection depending on the thought expressed in the verse(s), so that we get the complete thought. These are not dated nor numbered, which works for me. Then there are devotions from Proverbs every so often with the same format.

            The author uses one of 9 Bible versions for each selection; I wonder if she chose the version that best expressed the thought for each one and sometimes I look at another version to see how it compares. If someone has a problem with the use of the Amplified version, the Living Bible, the Message, or The Voice, not using this book is, of course, one option, but looking up the verse in the preferred version is another option. At the end of each selection is a brief prayer, and I found that many of those are prayers that I want to remember and use!

            I appreciated the author’s observations about each passage and her thoughts on applications! For instance, the introductory sentence for Verses 1:2-4, titled A Quest for Real Joy, reads: “Everybody’s definition of joy is different. Some folks might light up in ecstasy as they take a zip line across a deep canyon. Others might instead throw up…” She goes on to discuss Jesus’ offer of peace in John 16:33; the fact that life on earth will include troubles; and the inspiration that we can receive from those who have gone through trials and come out on top through Jesus. If we consider what work the Lord can accomplish in us through trials, we can have joy through them! What a paradox—but then, our God uses lots of paradoxes.

            In my opinion, this is a 5-star read.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Anita Higman—an award-winning and bestselling author from Texas—has authored or coauthored fifty-plus books, and she has a BA in the combined fields of speech communication, psychology, and art. A few of Anita’s favorite things are fairytale castles, antiquing, exotic teas, gardening, and laughing with her family and friends! Her latest book, Pure Joy, is a collection of devotions inspired from the Book of James in the Bible.

More from Anita:

Life is broken. We keep trying and trying—and trying—to make something worthwhile out of life, but no matter what we do on our own, it’s still a hopelessly shattered mess. When we allow Christ to love His way into our lives, we discover this miraculous thing called grace. He can take what is fractured by sin and refashion it into a magnificent work of art. And He gives us a new lightness of heart and a livelier step. Best of all, paradise has been regained! Yes, that is us—when we journey humbly with Him.

It has been said that some of James’ inspired writings have similarities to the Book of Proverbs. So, I am hopeful you will also enjoy—Pausing for Proverbs—the little inset devotions, which are enfolded into this work.

May these ninety devotions and your journey with James flood your life with hope, ripen your faith, and transform you into a woman who knows how to dance in God’s light and His wonderful ways of joy…

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit

Book Review–The Wanderer Scorned

November 13, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 5 Comments

About the Book:

Book: The Wanderer Scorned

Author: Natasha Woodcraft

Genre: Biblical Fiction

Release date: March, 2024

“It all started with the banishment. As soon as the truth was known about their disobedience, my parents were driven from the Garden planted for them by the LORD God, Yahweh Elohim. A garden pleasing to the eye and filled with every kind of food. Yet for them, it had not been enough.”

Kayin lives in the shadow of his parent’s expulsion from the Garden of Eden and its lingering cloud of shame. He believes in the Creator but struggles for affirmation. When suffering comes and sibling rivalry threatens, Kayin wrestles with God, grasping at shards of faith. But his cries drown in the noise of his own doubts and fears, until his youthful faith lies shattered, replaced by a twisted dance of pride and jealousy.

As Kayin spirals further, misunderstandings within the family dynamic dominate, and whispers of temptation slither through the cracks. Then a chance at redemption presents itself. With flames of forbidden love still raging hot, Kayin and his brother bring sacrifices to Yahweh.

No one foresees the resulting tragedy.

The Wanderer Scorned is the first installment in The Wanderer Biblical fiction series, immersing readers in the world of Genesis 4. This exploration of the first murder brings the Bible to life in a fresh way, delving into the character of the Creator God and His earliest interactions with humankind.

My Thoughts:

As I have stated before, I am cautious about Biblical fiction. I have read some that I really enjoyed, and some that included bits that were not accurate with the Bible. I am willing to try out new authors to see what their books are like, so when I was offered The Wanderer Scorned I decided to give it a go.

The Wanderer Scorned really made me think. I don’t know if I agree with altogether everything the author has written about the pre-Flood world and the life of Adam, Eve and their children, but it does sound plausible. I did really like the way she showed the way a person can get to the point of murdering a loved one. It doesn’t start with the physical action—it starts in the heart. The condition of a person’s heart and what flows out of that is the main focus of this story; it shows clearly how a person’s heart condition affects what that person does. 

I also appreciated a discussion about why bad things happen. That is such a hard question! I am always thankful for an author who tackles it. Then there were the voices in Kayin’s head, telling him that everyone was against him. How clearly this illustrated the battle most of us have to face, to sort out truth from the lies being fed to us by the enemy. On the other hand, there was one thing I didn’t like so well: at one point, two people needed to cross a deep river, and saw trees growing together to form a bridge for them—as they watched. I know God can do anything, but I’m just not sure about this one!

Overall, I am quite impressed with Natasha Woodcraft’s research and storytelling ability, and I’ll be watching for opportunities to read further books in this series.

WARNING: Prologue: Men grabbing at a woman. Chapter 20: Man imagines touching a woman’s body. Chapter 26: A murder.

About the Author:

Natasha Woodcraft lives in a slightly crumbling farmhouse in the UK with her family of boys and menagerie of animals. She holds an honours degree in Theology and believes stories have power to communicate deep truth and transform lives. Also a songwriter, Natasha peppers her emotional prose with poetry and song.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

More from Natasha:

Q & A with Natasha Woodcraft

  • You’re an Author from the UK. Tell me more about that.

That’s right. I’m a Brit, which is great but has its challenges, like negotiating single quotation marks! There’s a massive lack of Christian fiction here. It’s not stocked in secular bookstores, there are few Christian bookstores left, and there aren’t many big conventions or publishers. I’m part of a team passionate about changing the landscape. We offer support services to authors and publishing services. Please pray for us and our country, and support British writers if you can.

  • Who do you share your home with?

My husband, Ben, and four sons ranging from 15 to 7. Plus a dog, 2 cats, 3 goats, 9 chickens and 16 quail (though they don’t all live in the house.) It can get a little crazy…

  • Sounds like it. How do you find time to write?

Good question. My mornings are usually taken up with feeding/cleaning kids and animals. My afternoons with working for the family business or publishing house. Before tea, I’ll be out picking vegetables and pulling weeds – we try to grow as much as we can ourselves. Writing gets squeezed into late nights, early mornings and quieter days. It’s my downtime and my favorite time spent with Jesus.

  • You write Bible-based fiction. What specifically?

The Wanderer Series is based on the story of Cain & Abel in Genesis 4. It came about because I woke up one morning wondering what prompted the first murder (no kidding; my brain is weird.) I’d been pondering Jesus’ words about murder and anger in the Sermon on the Mount and praying about what I should write for a while. Suddenly, I knew it had to be a reimagining of Cain’s story – from his perspective.

  • Hang on. From Cain’s perspective?

Yeah. Though there’s certainly a place for them, I personally dislike stories that are too simplistic. Where bad guys are really bad and good guys are really good – that kind of thing. The Bible teaches us that we all need grace (especially me), and as regards Cain – I don’t think he was much different to any of us. Writing from his perspective gave me opportunity to spend a lot of time in the Word of God, exploring Cain’s slide into sin in a way that challenged me to examine my own heart.

  • That’s some heavy stuff. Did you have any background that helped you tackle this story?

Sure. I have a degree in Theology, and I’ve also studied English Literature and Creative writing. Mostly though, it was a case of leaning heavily into what God wanted to teach me through this book and hoping some of that resonated with my readers. The reviews so far say it has!

  • What would you say to those questioning whether Bible-based fiction is right for them?

I totally understand the fear surrounding this genre. I felt it myself when I started writing and that was something I had to take to God and trust Him with. “Is it even ok to write these stories?” I asked.

Essentially though, it isn’t much different to a sermon. It’s exegesis and expansion of the scripture, just presented differently: in fiction rather than non-fiction. I’ve researched, covered my writing in prayer, and had pastors check my work. I’m super careful about handling scripture faithfully but state where the story comes from my imagination. It isn’t intended to replace the Bible. Quite the opposite – I hope it will inspire people to pick the Bible up. I even include an appendix that explains decisions I made, and study questions, at the back.

My hope and prayer is that Jesus will be glorified as lives are touched by this ancient story reimagined. If you’re still not sure, why not give The Wanderer Scorned a go? You don’t know until you try…

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit

Book Review–Blast on the Beach

November 6, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

Some books are a no-brainer: We will buy them and read them as soon as possible after they come out. The books in the Brady Street Boys series are in that category. As soon as Book 8, Blast on the Beach, was available, I signed up for a copy, and started reading it aloud on the first school day after receiving it. 

Publisher’s description:

Corolla, NC, the 1980s. Gary Fitzpatrick can’t wait to explore the beach. Thrilled to help his uncle run an ice cream parlor, he and his brothers are admonished by their grumpy downstairs neighbor who isn’t about to put up with any noisy shenanigans. But when he heads to investigate a terrified whinny coming from the backyard, he finds one of the area’s majestic horses caught in a chain with a tranquilizer dart stuck in its side.

Rewarded with a gruff friendship from the old local, the quick-witted teenager’s imagination runs wild when the man pulls out a weathered treasure map. But as soon as he seeks an expert for an appraisal of the antique object, someone breaks in and steals the precious document.

Hunting for clues at the home and the lighthouse, can Gary expose the truth?

My thoughts:

I had to read ahead in Blast on the Beach so that I could post a review quickly—what a great excuse! I had a hard time putting this down when it was bedtime last night; I wanted to keep going and find out what happened next! Even though the plot of this book was a little more far-fetched than the others in the series, I found it believable and gripping. I’m looking forward to seeing what my boys say about it.

As with the other books in this series, I appreciated how the boys did their best to obey their parents and their Uncle Aaron, who was the responsible adult in this book. There were several times when one of the boys wanted to do something questionable, and the others reminded him about what their parents told them. The boys did do some dangerous things, but not intentionally. Throughout the story, they continued their summer project about the Fruits of the Spirit by discussing and looking for examples of meekness. These discussions are always fast-paced, and never preachy, but definitely get the point across.

The Brady Street Boys series is one that has a place of honor on our shelves—when the books are here! Several local families have been borrowing these books from us and enjoying them. One girl reported that she read the first book in the series five times while she had it—she normally reads books three times. Another family eagerly devours each new book as soon as we get it here, and impatiently waits for the next one. These books are written for middle-grade children, but all ages seem to enjoy them.

Oh, I almost forgot the other thing I was going to mention—the setting! In Blast on the Beach, the boys are in the Outer Banks, North Carolina. My husband and I went there on our honeymoon, so this was a special book for me. I enjoyed reading about a place I am somewhat familiar with, and it felt quite authentic, although we never saw any wild horses while we were there.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: A boy gets injured but not badly; a man is mangled in an accident. 

Purchase your copy from either the author’s website or Amazon. Amazon links are likely to be affiliate links to benefit Esther’s website.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review

Book Review–Pop in for a Cuppa

November 5, 2024 by NZ Filbruns Leave a Comment

A couple of years ago, I came across Deb Brammer’s books and had the opportunity to read and review the first two books in her New Beginnings series, about Americans and Kiwis working together in ministry. Partly because we are Americans working and living in New Zealand and I could totally relate to the challenges the Americans faced as they came to this country, and partly because of the storylines, I enjoyed the books. So, when Deb asked for readers for her newest book, Pop in for a Cuppa, I didn’t hesitate to sign up.

Publisher’s description:

In six months, Jennifer goes from being a single-but-happy widow to become a pastor’s wife in a mission church in New Zealand. Church people have filled in the gaps and Jennifer must figure out what her role will be.

Piety vowed lifelong commitment to Gloriavale, a secretive community cult, but now her family is fracturing. Her husband, Elisha, has escaped with two of her sons, leaving her with her other five children. The leaders must never be questioned, but when they make one demand too many, Piety risks the peril of her soul to escape from the community to re-unite her family.

Straight-talking Ngaire tests the new pastor’s wife with unreasonable expectations, daring her to fail. The church people seem nice, but will they still care about her if she makes choices they can’t accept?

No two women could be less alike than Piety and Ngaire, but Jennifer draws them together in a strange friendship. As she works to help them grow in Christ, will she harm their most vulnerable new converts?

My thoughts:

While I was reading Pop in for a Cuppa I was finally able to put into words what draws me in to a book the most. I already knew I didn’t like to read very many mysteries or thrillers, and romance really isn’t my thing, either. I have finally, after a lifetime of reading and ten years of reviewing books, been able to articulate what I most enjoy in fiction: Internal conflict. I love reading books in which the main character has a problem she/he needs to work through and decide what is right and what is wrong, and make a decision for her/his life to do what is right or what is wrong. Pop in for a Cuppa has three main characters, and all three have that kind of conflict! So, I really enjoyed this book.

Jennifer and Ngaire felt very real to me. Their characters were quite well developed and their struggles were relateable. As far as the struggles Piety faced in leaving Gloriavale and trying to fit in to the outside world, they are real, too. I personally know a number of people who have left that cult, which is based very close to us. Some of the details about Gloriavale are not the way it really is there, but only those who have had personal experience will pick up those; the main storyline is quite believable.

I could identify with Jennifer’s struggles. It is hard, as an American, to know your place in this culture, and how to encourage Kiwis without offending them! Pop in for a Cuppa should be read by any woman moving from America to New Zealand to do ministry. I read several paragraphs of the book to my husband, in the scene in which Jennifer’s husband is describing ministry in New Zealand. We could very well relate to what he said.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

Purchase your copy here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review

Book Review–I’ll Be Home

October 31, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 5 Comments

Welcome to the Blog Tour for I’ll Be Home by Sara Davison, Darlene L. Turner, Helena Smrcek, and Melanie Stevenson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: I’ll Be Home
Authors: Sara Davison, Darlene L. Turner, Helena Smrcek, & Melanie Stevenson
Publisher: Independent (Fab Four Press)
Release Date: October 29, 2024
Genre: Contemporary Christmas anthology

With chaos and confusion all around them, can they find their way home this Christmas?

The people in these four stories are all searching for something—an escaped convict, a job promotion from a love interest, connection to a lost parent, answers across time.

Christmas should be a time of wonder and celebration, but the obstacles each faces seem insurmountable. Even, at times, life-threatening.

Perhaps they will find what they are seeking during this season of miracles and hope. Or maybe, with God’s help, they will discover that the longing of their hearts takes them to places—and people—they didn’t even know they’d been searching for.

I’ll Be Home is a collection of four stories of faith, hope, love, (and trains) that will warm your heart, encourage your soul, and draw you home this Christmas.

My Thoughts:

Who would love this collection? Anyone who loves a sweet, clean romance that includes people learning more about themselves and about God, and even learning to know God, will love these stories. My favorite was the last one, by Sara Davison. That one is actually the reason I chose to read this collection, because I was curious about her writing and thought this would be a good way to sample it. That story had a young woman who played Anne in a theater production of Anne of Green Gables, as she learned things about herself and her family that she needed to know but which were uncomfortable. My second favorite was the second story, a split-time story about a nurse in World War II and a real estate agent today, and how their stories intersected. That one was fun! Overall, though, the stories just weren’t my favorite kind of reading.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the authors, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Purchase links may be affiliate links.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | BookBub

Also Available

About the Authors

Sara Davison is the author of The Night Guardians, The Rose Tattoo, two sparrows for a penny, and In the Shadows series, as well as the standalone, The Watcher. A finalist for more than a dozen national writing awards, including the Christy Award, Davison is a Holt Medallion, Cascade, and two-time Carol Award winner for romantic suspense. She lives in Ontario with her husband, Michael. Like every good Canadian, she loves coffee, hockey, poutine, and apologizing for no particular reason.

Connect with Sara by visiting saradavison.org to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Darlene L. Turner is an award-winning and a Publishers Weekly best-selling author and lives with her husband, Jeff in Ontario, Canada. Her love of suspense began when she read her first Nancy Drew book. She’s turned that passion into her writing and believes readers will be captured by her plots, inspired by her strong characters, and moved by her inspirational message.

Connect with Darlene by visiting darlenelturner.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Helena Smrcek is an award-winning author, screenwriter, public speaker and writing coach. She is known for her thrilling and heartwarming stories. Her career began as a high school freelancer, leading to three decades in publishing. She co-founded Write!Canada and The Word Guild and has graduated from multiple writing programs.

Connect with Helena by visiting helenasmrcek.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Melanie Stevenson is an award-winning author and lives in Ontario, Canada, surrounded by her husband and four children. She attended the University of Waterloo and obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts. Melanie’s first book, One More Tomorrow, was shortlisted in the Word Alive Press publishing contest out of over two hundred entries across North America and was published in 2019. In 2020, she won Best Romantic Fiction for One More Tomorrow and Best New Canadian Author at The Word Awards—Canada’s top Christian literary awards. Her mission is to create stories of excellence that impact hearts and lives. Paper, canvas, and dirt are her favorite blank pages.Connect with Melanie by visiting melaniestevenson.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a $25 Amazon card plus a paperback copy of I’ll Be Home!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight October 29, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on November 5, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway


Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Publicity Tours

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, JustRead

Book Review–Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown

October 30, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 2 Comments

About the Book:

Book: Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown

Author: Xochitl Dixon

Genre: Children’s Picture Book

Release date: October 1, 2024

Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown, follows a young boy on a joyously affirming adventure that celebrates all shades of brown, from the darkest to the lightest.

From new school desks to freckles and moles, from fresh pastries to cedar canoes, brown is everywhere around us. God created and used brown to color the giant California redwoods, the Grand Canyon walls, busy beavers building dams, great horned owls hoo-hooing, and his image-bearers.

Everywhere that I go
I’m searching to see
something wonderfully, marvelously
brown—just like you and like me!

Illustrated by Pura Belpré Honor Award artist Sara Palacios and written by Xochitl Dixon, Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown takes kids on a tour of the U.S. to seek and find all the brilliant and beautiful shades of brown—from ivory to ebony—that God created. Readers will be encouraged to love the skin tone God chose for them as they observe how the spectacular shades of brown are reflected in their communities and the world around them.

My Thoughts:

I really like this book! The rhyming text is great fun to read aloud, and the pictures are delightful. I love the variety of settings pictured throughout the book. There are pages picturing city streets and schoolrooms, as well as northern forests and the Grand Canyon, to name a few. The diversity in children pictured is delightful, as well, with all shades of brown, including some children whose darkest skin is freckles! (I’ll have to admit that I was a little concerned that people with skin tones like ours would be left out, but we were included!) I also loved the range of things that were mentioned as being brown, from sparrows to school desks to beaver dams, and many more. This is a wonderful book to have on the shelf, to point children to God’s diverse creation and love of variety.

One of my adult sons is quite outspoken about his dislike of the modern “woke” culture, and his comment when he heard me read it aloud to my youngest was that books like Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown are what we need more of. This is a book that I am quite happy to have on our shelf.

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

Xochitl (So-Cheel) Dixon, author of Waiting for God: Trusting Him for the Answers to Your Prayers, is a regular contributor for Our Daily Bread, the bestselling God Hears Her compilations and blog, and Tyndale’s NLT Go Bible for Kids (September 2024). Equipping readers to grow closer to God while nurturing an authentic loving community, she shares biblical encouragement, celebrates ethnic diversity, and advocates for disability awareness with her beautifully diverse family and her service dog, Callie, featured in the 2021 ECPA Christian Book Award Children’s Book Finalist Different Like Me, Diferente como yo, What Color is God’s Love? and Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown.

More from Xochitl:

I’m a first-generation Mexican American raised by Spanish-speaking immigrant grandparents and parents, who taught me to be invisible and believed assimilation would lead to a better life for me. The racism and colorism I experienced throughout my life caused me to grapple with my identity, self-worth, and my sense of belonging. However, I was in third grade the first time I stood against injustice. In my teen years, my passion for celebrating ethnic diversity and standing against injustice while advocating for disability awareness and inclusion grew.

Then, in 1994, I married a man who shared my passions. As a first-generation Mexican American raised by immigrant parents and grandparents, a wife to a Black man, a stepmother to a Black son, and a mother of a biracial son, my commitment to stand against racial injustice became even more personal.

I submitted my life to Christ in 2001 and began asking the Holy Spirit to make me more like Jesus. That same year, after a student used a racial slur toward our biracial son, I wrote Different Like Me.

As God empowered me to love Him and my neighbors with a healthy and holy perspective, God began to grow our beautifully diverse family. My youngest granddaughter, whose father is Black, shared that kids teased her because she doesn’t look like her sisters, who share the same white father. I assured her that the melanin God uses to color all skin is brown, from the lightest to the darkest shades. Then, I told her that I would be writing Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown.

In 2020, Our Daily Bread published Different Like Me. As I edited What Color is God’s Love? and Wonderfully, Marvelously Brown, God continued affirming that He did not create the divisive and oppressive systems that label His image-bearers as “white” or “black” and feed the ignorance of racism or colorism. Instead, He designed melanin to include every spectacular shade of brown from the darkest ebony to the lightest ivory, even in those He created with birth marks, vitiligo, and albinism.

God intentionally selected every skin tone for every person He created and loves, His image-bearers. He calls every shade of brown good, including the shade of brown He used when He created you and me. As we celebrate our God-designed ethnic diversity, we can share the Good News of Jesus Christ as we love God and all our neighbors together.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit

Book Review–Unison Parenting

October 23, 2024 by NZ Filbruns 4 Comments

About the Book:

Book: Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice

Author: Cecil Taylor

Genre: Parenting/Family, more specifically Christian Parenting

Release date: September 17, 2024

Singing in unison is when all voices sing the same note, at the same time, to emphasize the text. Similarly, families need to parent in unison to emphasize the message they want to send to their children.

Cecil Taylor uses his personal parenting experience, and those of the families he’s taught and ministered to over decades, to create unique foundational strategies for unison parenting within a Christian context. Learn how to stay on the same page throughout the trials of parenting, provide children with a solid faith foundation, and balance loving nature with firm boundaries to create a warm, stable environment where the child and parent can eventually collaborate to bring the child to full, responsible adulthood.

Whether in a traditional or nontraditional family structure, Unison Parenting leads parents through the ages and stages of childhood into mature adulthood. Additionally, Cecil lays out parenting fundamentals to manage your child’s growing need for independence during their teen years, while gradually building trust through incremental decision-making.

My Thoughts:

I was not too interested in reading Unison Parenting, after reading From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone earlier this year. That was a good book, just not my preferred style of book. I was also irritated with how many times he mentioned his ministry. However, more reviewers were needed for Unison Parenting, so I signed up.

I was pleasantly surprised with Unison Parenting. I appreciated the encouragement to be united as parents, so that our children won’t be confused and can’t play one against the other. There are many tips sprinkled throughout the book to help parents deal with various situations, as well as general principles for raising children. I was delighted to read about the way the Taylor family handles situations where two children have differing stories about what happened. That was an idea I wish I had many years ago when most of our children were young! I also appreciated the thought that children change quickly and something that was true of a child six months ago may not be true today. 

Something I did not like was the acceptance of “alternative lifestyles,” and families with two moms or two dads being put on the same level as families with a mother and father who are married. A definition of homophobia is given which basically says that it is negative attitudes toward people who live that way. 

Other than the topic I mentioned above, which can be found throughout the book but especially in the chapter devoted to non-traditional families, I found this book to be sound. Not everything will apply to every situation, but the basic principles will. 

I received a review copy of this book from the author, and these are my honest thoughts about it. Links may be affiliate links, which will benefit Esther’s website if purchases are made through them.

About the Author:

With more than 30 years’ experience as an adult Sunday School teacher and as many in youth ministry, Cecil Taylor has impacted lives in local churches throughout his adult life. He founded Cecil Taylor Ministries to broaden that impact, teaching Christians to live a 7-day practical faith through books, video studies, and speaking engagements. His ministry is cross-denominational, focused on the common struggle Christians face in putting their faith into practice and applying scripture and faith principles to life situations.

Cecil has written three previous books, all of which have been awarded across international, national, and regional contests. For each book, Cecil has created a study guide, a video study, and downloadable free leader guides.

More from Cecil:

Would you like to know the surefire, guaranteed way to get your teen to open up and talk to you? You’ll find it in my new book, Unison Parenting: The Comprehensive Guide to Navigating Christian Parenthood with One Voice.

Unison Parenting is the culmination of my fifteen years leading parenting classes in my church, my thirty years of youth ministry, and my raising of three children (one adopted) to adulthood. I taught and tested the parenting advice with seven hundred families that attended my classes, so I am convinced the structure and tips you’ll find in the book are well-proven.

One of those tips is how to get your teen to talk to you. I have never had anyone return to me to say that the technique doesn’t work; in fact, they laughingly complain that the technique works too well, and they can’t get their teen to stop talking!

An overarching theme of the book is, of course, getting and staying in unison as parents, but not only as parents – as a family. Another way to put it is a spirit of collaboration. You begin building this collaboration when the children are young, and as they grow, you expand the collaboration to partner with them on the common goal of helping them become mature adults who make good decisions.

I can tell you from experience that the collaborating spirit of such a family continues into adulthood, fostering solid on-going relationships and a desire for family community, even across distance.

This is not to say that my wife and I were perfect, nor that our children were perfect. We all made regrettable mistakes along the way. Our learnings, plus the positive and negative experiences of families I encountered over decades, will help you avoid pitfalls as you create a unison atmosphere among parenting partners and with your children.

To purchase your copy, click here.

To visit more of the blog stops on this tour, click here.

To enter a fun giveaway, click here.

Filed Under: Book Reviews Tagged With: Book Review, CelebrateLit

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