Wildflowers from Winter ~ Katie Ganshert

Bethany Quinn is living the dream. She is an architect in Chicago and loves it and has a great boyfriend. She has moved beyond her trailer park years. She receives a call to return to the past that she’s been happy to avoid. There is an emergency and her mom wants her to return to rural Iowa.

But, more trouble ensues and now she has a monkey on her back. She is left with a huge inheritance of farmland. She has no desire for this land and wants to get it out of her hair. There’s a slight complication. Evan Price has been taking care of the farm for years and doesn’t want to leave. Convincing Bethany to look at things his way is not working. Evan is now in his own turmoil.

While in Iowa, she learns of events in Chicago that is simply tearing her in two. The landscape of her life is changing.

One thing I’ve learned in life is that there is constant change. Jobs change and tragic events happen and it throws us in a tailspin. It’s how we deal with the roller coaster ride that will move us forward or backward. The best advice that I have ever heard is to keep doing the next right thing with God at the center of that plan.

This story is about the being able to move forward with the bricks that are thrown at us.

I would highly recommend this book. She is a fabulous debut author. For a sneak peak of this book, you can read the first chapter here:  http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2011/12/09/sneak-peek-wildflowers-from-winter-by-katie-ganshert/

To learn more about this author, check out:  http://katieganshert.com/

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group. I was not required to write a positive review.

Race Against Time by Kimberley and Kayla R. Woodhouse

Anesia has proved that she is a strong, confident woman. She is a breeder of champion spring racing dogs in North Pole, Alaska. Her daughter, Zoya has witnessed a murder and everything changes. Their life seems to be in constant danger. Anesia hires Sean to help with the kennel and partly to protect her family.

Strange events happen. There is evil in their midst and pinning down the culprit and who is responsible has put everyone on guard. Zoya cannot seem to beat the demons of seeing a murder happen right before her eyes. Where was God? Why does she appear to be a target?

This story is a page-turner. I liked that the chapters were nicely broken up. It didn’t make it much easier to stop reading. Finally, I had to tell myself that I would stop at a certain number of pages and quit at the end of that chapter.

I loved the character Zoya because she had something dramatic happen to her and she had to deal with that. She questioned her faith. I think we all question our faith at one time or another. It’s easy when things go our way. But, sometimes they don’t. Then how do you deal with that? Do you run toward God or away from Him?

It’s always fun to read about another person’s world. In this case, it was Alaska and breeding of racing dogs. If you enjoy a fast paced book that will keep you on your toes, grab this book.

I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher/author. I was not required to write a positive review.