"Wanted" by Shelley Shephard Gray

Wanted by Shelley Shephard Gray is a happy little story of Jonathan, a brokenhearted widower with two little girls and an Amish woman, Katie, who faces her past in order to move on with her life and make her dream a reality.  When Jonathan asks Katie to help him live at his home and help him care for his girls, she sets out to show him what a good wife she would be.  I found it interesting to see how Katie struggled to connect with the girls and also gradually got Jonathan’s attention.  It focused on inner struggles and faith in God to work things out. 

Shelly Shephard Gray’s books have clean language and no sex scenes—a rare find in the romance genre.  This is a light, quick read that I finished in one day.   If you like Christian romance or stories about the Amish, I recommend this one.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

Teaser Tuesday: "The Bird House," "Wanted," "Vicious Cycle"

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should  Be Reading. Anyone can play along, so I thought  I  would play for fun! Just do the following

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on  that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away!   You don’t  want  to  ruin the  book for others!)
• Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can  add the book to their TBR  Lists  if they  like your teaser. 

Karen's:

This conversation was getting worse and worse. It was so uncomfortable that Katie no longer minded that they were speaking about her as if she wasn't there. She didn't want to be there.

From pg. 4 of Wanted by Shelley Shepard Gray

My heart skipped a beat; we'd never discussed the origins of that bird house. She couldn't know what it meant to me.

From pg. 75 of The Bird House by Kelly Simmons

Gerard's:

Finally, the door came open, and she saw her son standing with a tiny, screaming baby in his arms.
"Mom, I know you're gonna freak out, but I need you to chill. Something's wrong with her, and I don't know what to do!"

From pg. 57 of Vicious Cycle by Terri Blackstock.

You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"The Bird House" by Kelly Simmons

The Bird House by Kelly Simmons is a story about a grandmother who shares and discovers family secrets with her granddaughter.  It’s about tension between the mother and her daughter-in-law.  I didn’t care for this book much although the relationship between the grandmother and Ellie, her granddaughter was endearing.  I liked the cover but the characters didn’t seem very well developed and I didn’t like how it kept jumping back and forth between the past and the present.  I was pretty bored with it, although I finished in two days. 

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"The Horses Of Proud Spirit" by Melanie Sue Bowles

The Horses Of Proud Spirit by Melanie Sue Bowles is a remarkable non-fiction book!  It tells the story of Melanie who one day wanted to get a horse.  She knew next to nothing about caring for a horse and now her husband and her run a no-kill farm for horses.  The short stories in The Horses Of Proud Spirit range from happy, sad and funny.  All will touch your heart.  There is a sequel to this book that I plan to get one day.  You do not have to own a horse to enjoy this book--an animal lover will do just fine!

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.

"Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother" by Amy Chua

I read Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother by Amy Chua just to find out what all the hype and controversy was about and I liked it. It is a true story about a Chinese mom, two daughters and two adorable dogs with superb writing and a great ending. I didn't want to put this one down and highly recommend it! Read and enjoy!
(Gerard's review)

Karen read it too:
The Battle Hymn Of The Tiger Mother by Amy Chua is a non-fiction book points out the differences between parenting styles of Western culture and Chinese culture through the eyes of a Chinese mother living in the United States with a Jewish husband and two daughters. Amy, the determined, mother is a law professor at Yale who raised her two daughters the Chinese way to give her children skills that will open doors for a bright future. She wrote this book to show the Chinese way to be the best way to raise kids but discovered that the best way is a combination of the two.

Amy Chua raised two amazingly talented daughters: Sophia the obedient, well-behaved one who was good enough on the piano to get to play at Carnegie Hall at 14, and Lulu, the one proficient on the violin but more rebellious and willful. I liked both daughters and thought the mother was obsessed with success and too driven. At times, I thought her methods were crazy! I found myself cheering for Lulu, the younger daughter who finally was able to choose tennis while not being so focused on the violin. Thanks to her mother, she developed a great work ethic that she applies to tennis without her mother’s help.

I think Tiger Mother is interesting and enjoyed the pictures and touches of humor throughout. Their dogs are really beautiful and I liked how the mother’s attitude about dogs changed for the better once they got one. I thought it was interesting to see how children in the same family, raised the same can be so different. It proves that children are individuals and should be treated as such. What works for one, doesn’t always work for the other.

Here are a few of my Favorite funny quotes:

Thank God we live in America, I thought to myself, where no doubt because of the American Revolution rebelliousness is valued. In China, they’d have sent Lulu to a labor camp. (p. 38)

. . . there’s nothing I hate more than all these festivals and projects that private schools specialize in. Instead of making kids study from books, private schools are constantly trying to make learning fun by having parents do all the work. (p. 64)

Lulu: “I wish I had a pet.”
mom: “You already have a pet,” I snapped. “Your violin is your pet.” (p. 65)

Once, when I came back from a “walk” with my elbows scraped and my knees grass-stained, Jed said, “It’s her Samoyed nature. She thinks you’re a sled, and she wants to pull you. Let’s forget about teaching her to walk. Why don’t we just get a cart that you can sit in and have Coco pull you around?

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? You can help Canine Lifeline (a dog rescue organization that saved our dog, Abby) by leaving a comment on any of our blogs in March. We will donate 50 cents per comment at the end of the month.