The Miner’s Lady by Tracie Peterson

The Miner’s Lady

Very reminiscent of Romeo and Juliet, The Miner’s Lady brings you to a northern Minnesota double love story with the Panetta’s and the Calarco’s. Chantel Panetta comes home to Ely, Mn after a year visiting her relatives in Italy, only to find her sister has fallen in love with Orlando Calarco. Chantel hopes to talk some sense into her sister while at the same time tries to protect her from their father ever finding out, so she ends up dealing with Orlando’s brother Dante, while trying to keep the family at peace. Through a series of good and bad events, both the Panetta’s and Calarco’s realize they must deal with family and job issues with how God is trying to lead them.

I loved that this book was set in northern Mn, being from the other side of northern Mn myself! The research that Tracie Peterson puts into her books make them fun to learn actual historical information! I would have liked to see a little more character development for Orlando and Chantel’s sister, but it was an enjoyable story that transported me back in time in my home state.

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishing, a division of Baker Publishing Group, in exchange for my honest review.

I give The Miner’s Lady by Tracie Peterson 4 out of 5 stars.

Fashioned to Reign by Kris Vallotton

First of all, I thought it was really fascinating that this book was written by a man. And to be honest, I think it needed to be to be believed.  I think that says a lot about our culture but I found this book fascinating.  I have always struggled with how women seem to be portrayed within the Bible and/or Christianity. 

 

Fashioned to Reign was written to expose God’s plan and purpose for women, to dissect different and difficult Bible passages about women, and give examples of strong, female leaders throughout time. 

 

I have always struggled with how females come across in the Bible and in the “Christian” world. This book helped me to see things a lot differently.  It is a must read for women who feel the pull of Jesus working in their life, but just can’t get over how this world treats women. 

 

I received this book free, in exchange for my honest review, from Chosen, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Unseen by Jack Graham

Unseen by Jack Graham is a book that strives to enlighten us on heaven and hell, good and evil and angels and Satan. It’s purpose is to encourage us that God does, indeed, protect us.

I struggled with this book. It seemed redundant in some things… it may be a good book for those who are brand new to anything Christian or spiritual though. I was frustrated in the beginning where the author wrote about Twilight but didn’t do enough research when he called it a trilogy when it is actually a saga and the comments seemed a bit off. Maybe he really did read the series and just made a mistake but I have read the Twilight Saga (and yes, I am a Christian) and disagree with how he portrayed them. Maybe I shouldn’t be stuck on one thing so much, but it is important to me, especially in a non-fiction piece of work. There are many good points and truths in this book and I don’t want to dismiss that. But I had to force myself to read it and wasn’t “hooked”. I do think this book is a good, solid book for new believers.

I received this book free from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review.

Made to Last by Melissa Tagg

I think Melissa Tagg is made to last in this Christian fiction world we live in! 🙂 Made to Last is fun, a lot like watching some of your favorite how-to TV shows on HGTV… I loved how Miranda, the main character, was a tomboy but still had real, feminine emotions, a lot like I am. I could relate with her, I love hunting and fishing and other “normal” guy-things, but I am still a female and want to be seen as such. Miranda struggles with this issue among other things that you will have to find out about yourself.

About the book: Miranda has her own homebuilding TV show, but she got the gig with some shady truths and lies combined… this has lead her to lie about her personal life and when her show is in danger of being cut off the network, Miranda finds herself a pretend husband!!! 🙂 OK, just admit, that would be fun right? But it’s not as easy to live the lie as it is to play it.

I did enjoy this book and laughed out loud… which I LOVE to do in a book. Made to Last made me guess what was coming next… even though as a novel, this may have stretched a bit, but really… isn’t that how real life really is? We never get those nice wrapped up endings in real life, like most novels, do we? Or am I just living a different life than most? 😉 I am excited for Melissa Tagg as a new author and am excited to see what she comes up with in the future!

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group, free for my honest review.