The Quieting by Suzanne Woods Fisher

It was a well-laid plan—but it wasn’t her plan…

It’s all her grandmother’s fault. For the last few months, Abigail Stoltzfus has helped her father with his genealogical research, hoping that breaking through a client’s brick wall would also break his melancholy. But now her intrusive grandmother has set her sights on marrying off Abigail and insists she come to Stoney Ridge, where there is a plethora of eligible bachelors.

Except that Mammi is mistaken. There are no eligible bachelors in Stoney Ridge, barring one, and he’s all wrong. Dane Glick has the wrong last name and the wrong relatives—including the bishop who is at odds over a church matter with Abigail’s uncle, minister David Stoltzfus.

As the conflict grows, setting family against family, it’s becoming clear that the path to a solution may lead to a Quieting—a removal of a church leader. But for which one? And when Abigail stumbling onto a curious connection during her genealogical research, it could help David solve one problem—but will it create another?

My Bookshelf: A Beauty Refined by Tracie Peterson

What does it take to reveal the true beauty of a hidden gem?

Phoebe Von Bergen, the daughter of a German count, is excited to visit America for the first time while her father purchases sapphires in Helena, Montana. Little does she know, however, that her father’s intentions—both for her and the gemstones—are not what she thinks.

Ian Harper, a lapidary working in Helena, finds the dignified young woman staying at the Broadwater Hotel more than a little intriguing. Yet the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that her family story is based on a lie—a lie she has no knowledge of. And Ian believes he knows the only path that will lead her to freedom.

Meeting Ian has changed everything for Phoebe, and she begins to consider staying in America, regardless of her father’s plans. But she may not be prepared for the unexpected danger that results when her family’s deception begins to unravel.

Authors and Their New Releases

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is actually all about ten things books have made me want to do or learn about after reading them, but I just didn’t really have any inspiration for that topic. So, I decided to pick a topic I did have a lot of ideas for. What I’ve currently been unable to stop thinking about are books that are coming out in the next year, and the authors that I absolutely love. Because of that, I decided that this would be a bit of a hybrid topic. It will be the top ten authors whose books I add to my bookshelf as fast as they come out, and their newest releases. So, in other words, this is about my top ten favorite authors, and their next book that’s releasing! Here goes! Oh, and click on any of the coral colored titles to see my full reviews of one of the books!

Must-Have August Releases + A Linkup

How is it already time for another must-have releases post? I feel like I just finished the one for last month and yet, here we are, gearing up for August! I’m super excited for all of these books though, that’s for sure!

The Imposter by Suzanne Woods Fisher

A heart once deceived should not be easily fooled again…

Katrina Stoltzfus thought she had life and love all figured out: she was going to marry John and live happily ever after. But as her plans crumble before her eyes, she struggles to face an uncertain future. When a widow asks for help starting a new business, 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 farmhand 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? She’s been deceived once before, and she isn’t planning on experiencing it again.

Time to Travel!

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about books that make it possible for me to travel even while I’m stuck here at home bouncing between work and school and all my other responsibilities. What I mean is, today is all about books set outside the US, which are some of my favorite books to read because they help me to see all the places I long to visit. Since right now travelling that far isn’t really an option, I love books that help me to travel while keeping my feet firmly planted on American soil. Someday soon, though, I will get a chance to travel to all kinds of wonderful places. But for now, I’ll keep reading wonderful books like the ones on this list! Oh, and don’t forget, if you want to see my full reviews of any of these books, click on the colored titles in my descriptions!

My Bookshelf: An Elegant Façade + A Linkup

Lady Georgina Hawthorne has always known she must marry well. After years of tirelessly planning every detail of her debut season, she is poised to be a smashing success and have her choice of eligible gentlemen.

With money and powerful business connections but no title, Colin McCrae is invited everywhere but accepted nowhere. He intends to marry someday, but when he does it will not be to a shallow woman like Lady Georgina, whose only concerns appear to be status and appearance.

But beneath her flawless exterior, Georgina’s social aspirations stem from a shameful secret she is desperately trying to keep hidden—and that Colin is too close to discovering. Drawn to each other despite their mutual intent to avoid association, is the realization of their dreams worth the sacrifices they’ll be forced to make?

Grace and Lace Linkup

Hi all! Due to the fact that my sister, who is also the co-host for our fabulous Grace and Lace Linkup, has been out of town since last Friday, we are moving this week's linkup to tomorrow rather than today. Although we hate to do that on our second week, and we apologize for changing it on such short notice, things have just been a bit hectic for her and she hasn't even had the chance to sit down with her laptop, much less write and schedule a whole post. We appreciate your understanding and hope you will link up with us tomorrow!
Happy Monday!

Ties That Bind by Cindy Woodsmall

Ariana’s comfortable Old Order Amish world is about to unravel. Will holding tightly to the cords of family keep them together—or simply tear them apart?

Twenty-year-old Ariana Brenneman loves her family and the Old Ways. She has two aspirations: open a café in historic Summer Grove to help support her family’s ever-expanding brood and to keep any other Amish from being lured into the Englisch life by Quill Schlabach.

Five years ago, Quill, along with her dear friend Frieda, ran off together, and Ariana still carries the wounds of that betrayal. When she unexpectedly encounters him, she soon realizes he has plans to help someone else she loves leave the Amish.

Despite how things look, Quill’s goal has always been to protect Ariana from anything that may hurt her, including the reasons he left. After returning to Summer Grove on another matter, he unearths secrets about Ariana and her family that she is unaware of. His love and loyalty to her beckons him to try to win her trust and help her find a way to buy the café—because when she learns the truth that connects her and a stranger named Skylar Nash, Quill knows it may upend her life forever.

Meet Me!

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about me! No, I’m serious! This Top Ten Tuesday is supposed to be ten somewhat little known facts about me. I think this is a fun topic because it helps our readers and other blog friends to know more about the writer behind our blogs, so I was pretty excited for this post. So, let me introduce you to me!

My Bookshelf: Sarah’s Surrender by Vickie McDonough

Sarah’s heart yearns for a forever home…

Luke McNeil’s unexpected marriage proposal leaves Sarah Worley confused. Luke has been a dear friend for the past ten years, but other than a fleeting thought now and then, she’s never considered romantic possibilities with the rugged ranch hand.

But the proposal gives Sarah a new clarity in what she truly desires: a home of her own. She sees the 1901 Oklahoma Territory land lottery as her chance to realize her dreams, but can a young woman make it in the untamed wilderness alone?

Luke is disappointed by Sarah’s rejection, but the charismatic man with the contagious smile only sees this as a bump in the road to winning her heart. Luke follows Sarah to the untamed prairie to be helpful however he can. But Sarah seems frustrated with his actions. Why can’t she see how much he cares for her? Will he have to give up his dream so that Sarah’s can come true?

Until the Harvest by Sarah Loudin Thomas + A Linkup

Take this journey of broken souls restored and tentative hearts brought fully to life.

When family tragedy derails Henry Phillips’s college studies, he’s left unmoored and feeling abandoned. The only things that can tamp down his grief are the family farm, his fiddle, and an unexpected friendship with sweet but unusual preteen Mayfair Hoffman.

Unfortunately, Mayfair’s older sister, Margaret, despite her spray of freckles and cute, turned-up nose, has a completely different effect. His grandmother’s helper, she’s always around, ready to push his buttons, and it seems at first the she doesn’t care about his troubles.

Henry soon realizes, though, that Margaret’s facing her own struggles. Mayfair’s health and unique gift sit at the heart of those worries. Henry and Margaret soon find themselves relying on each other as potential tragedy collides with growing hope in a warm story of family bonds and the surprising ways healing finds us all.

Miracle in a Dry Season by Sarah Loudin Thomas

In a drought, it’s the darkest cloud that brings hope.

It’s 1954 and Perla Long’s arrival in the sleepy town of Wise, West Virginia, was supposed to go unnoticed. She just wants a quiet, safe place for her and her daughter, Sadie, where the mistakes of her past can stay hidden. But then drought comes to Wise, and Perla is pulled into the turmoil of a town desperately in need of a miracle.

Casewell Phillips has resigned himself to life as a bachelor…until he meets Perla. She’s everything he’s sought in a woman, but he can’t get past the sense that she’s hiding something. As the drought worsens, Perla’s unique gift divides the town in two, bringing both gratitude and condemnation, and placing the pair in the middle of a storm of anger and forgiveness, fear and faith.

Currently—July

How is it already July? I know, I know, I say that every month, but I’m serious, this summer is flying by! I remember back in May when no one else was out of school yet and it felt like the summer would never end, and now I’m wishing it would just slow down! I know that I’m going to enjoy every second of this last full month before I go back to school, that’s for sure! So here’s what I’m currently up to this July!

My Bookshelf: No Other Will Do by Karen Witemeyer

She trusts him for the job, but can she trust him with her heart?

        Men are optional. That was the credo Emma Chandler’s suffragette aunts taught her and why she established Harper’s Station, a women’s colony that offers a fresh start to females in need. But when a dangerous and shadowy assailant tries repeatedly to drive the women out, Emma is forced to admit they might need a man after all. One who can fight. And there is only one man she trusts enough to ask.

        Malachi Shaw has finally earned the respect he’s always craved by becoming an explosives expert for the railroad. Yet when Emma’s telegram arrives, he rushes back to Texas to repay the girl who once saved his life. Only she’s not a girl any longer. She’s a woman with a mind of her own and a smile that makes a man imagine a future he doesn’t deserve.

        As the danger intensifies, Emma, Mal, and the ladies of Harper’s Station must choose safety or whether to risk everything to fight for their future.

So Underrated

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about our favorite books that have under 2000 ratings on Goodreads. I was actually really surprised to find that a lot of books I love fit into this category, so I tried to add some of the older ones that I maybe haven’t mentioned as much to this list. I will say, I really enjoyed how different this topic is! It’s quite unlike any topic I’ve done before, so it really made for an adventure! And you can be sure, just because these books aren’t the highest rated books on Goodreads, doesn’t mean they aren’t fantastic reads!

My Bookshelf: Amish Sweethearts by Leslie Gould

Their two worlds couldn’t be further apart.

Can anything bridge the divide between them?

        For years Zane Beck and his Amish neighbor Lila Lehman were the best of friends. But just as Zane gathered the courage to discover if their friendship could develop into something more, her controlling father arranged for her to be courted by their bishop’s son. Zane, heartbroken and frustrated, joined the Army, running away from his shattered dreams.

        The passing of time and the distance between Zane and Lila haven’t been enough to halt their—now completely hidden—feelings for each other. Any hope for their love grows even more impossible though as Zane’s service takes a dangerous turn when he’s deployed to Afghanistan. Being on the frontline, confronted with the hard choices of war, has him questioning everything, including whether he can continue to serve or not. But all choices have consequences, and with Lila preparing to marry another, will these one-time sweethearts ever find the life together that they both still long for?