The Secret Holocaust Diaries by Nonna Bannister

Book Description:  Russian refugee Bannister (1927–2004) rarely spoke about her brutal experiences under the regimes of Stalin and Hitler, not even to the American she married after the war. In this memoir, she reveals how a privileged childhood in the 1920s and '30s gave way to horror and loss in the 1940s. Although the sound quality of this production is poor (lots of rustling papers), Rebecca Gallagher does reasonably well with the multiple languages and wisely avoids attempting to replicate European accents. What is irritating, however, is the constant interruption in the form of unnecessary editor's notes, which make the narrative choppy and disjointed. More helpful is the seventh disc, which contains an interview with Bannister's husband and son, a precious audio reminiscence from Nonna herself, recorded in 1993, and abundant PDF materials, including maps, photographs and genealogical data. 

My Review: I love to read books that "talk" about World War II.  I really wanted to read this book but put it off for a couple of weeks simply because I was afraid of the sadness that comes with reading about WWII.

However, once I began this read I simply couldn't put it down!  

I like the way the book begins.  It begins with an introduction unlike any other....Nonna has written many diaries and has not told a soul, including her husband and children, what she wrote of her childhood and family.  Maybe, the memories were too painful and speaking of them would bring the pain of all that had transpired?

Nonna tells her husband of fifty years that now is the time and takes him to their attic where she has hidden her hand written diaries from so many years ago.  Now, she tells, him is the time for him to know the past.

And that is what this read is all about.  A time when Hitler and his goons crawled upon the face of the earth.  A time when people betrayed their neighbors simply out of fear, a time when faith was all one could cling to and a time of lost.

At times I simply had to put the book down...too much emotion, too many loves lost, and way too much sadness.

This is a great 5 star read not for the faint of heart but for the heart that seeks truth.  Nonna tells of her family, their struggles and of her own pilgrimage to make it out of the darkness.

Thanks, Nonna!  For being courageous and leaving a legacy for us to follow!

Click HERE! to buy(Kindle, paperback and hardback copies)

Too Rich For A Bride by Mona Hodgson

Book Description:  With a head more suited to bookkeeping than a bridal veil, Ida’s dreams include big business- not beaus.

Ida Sinclair has joined her sisters, Kat and Nell, in the untamed mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado for one reason: to work for the infamous but undeniably successful businesswoman, Mollie O’Bryan. Ida’s sisters may be interested in making a match for their determined older sister, but Ida only wants to build her career.

Under Mollie’s tutelage, Ida learns how to play the stock market and revels in her promising accomplishments. Fighting for respect in a man’s world, her ambition leaves little room for distractions. She ignores her family’s reservations about Mollie O’Bryan’s business practices, but no matter how she tries, she can’t ignore the two men pursuing her affections—Colin Wagner, the dashing lawyer, and Tucker Raines, the traveling preacher.

Ida wants a career more than anything else, so she shrugs off the suitors and pointed “suggestions” that young ladies don’t belong in business. Will it take unexpected love—or unexpected danger—for Ida to realize where her priorities truly lie?

My Review:  This book is the second in the Sinclair Sisters of Cripple Creek Series. I read the first book in this series but Too Rich For a Bride is a stand alone read.  Ms. Hodgson does a great job of giving the reader necessary information for the story to flow on its own while creating interest in the previous book.

Ida Sinclair desires to be a success in the business world.  She has a few obstacles that come her way but she preservers and the story takes the reader down a path of adventure.  Ida meets up with sisters in a small town where they are all trying to make a living.  Two gentlemen take an interest in Ida-a traveling preacher and a lawyer.  The reader is "taken in" with the struggles and issues that the traveling preacher encounters.  The lawyer, being a man of means, seems to create some doubt in the reader as to his ideals and purposes.
Ida is determined to make her business "a go."  So she resists or tries to resists the advances of both me. While she also learns that business comes with a "price."  Is she willing to pay the price?  Or is it too high of a price that she may not be willing to pay?
This is an enjoyable, fast read.   However, at times the flow of the story seemed a little stilted and the characters could have been a bit more developed.  Overall this 4 star read was good for a day at the beach!

*This book was provided for review by WaterBrook/Multnomah*

Want to read an excerpt? Go here!

Too Rich For a Bride is available from WaterBrook Multnomah in three formats:

 paperback, ebook or audiobook.

BOOK GIVEAWAY! Holy Guacamole!

Dip into a tasty summer beach read!

This is a fun, fascinating read!  

Giveaway Rules:

*Must be a follower of this blog

AND

*Must Leave your email for contact purposes if you are the winner

(No email, no win)

Giveaway ends June 2, 2011

(winner will be contacted and have 24 hours to respond)

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Grands!® Taco Melts

INGREDIENTS

1

package (1 oz) Old El Paso® taco seasoning mix

2/3

cup water

1 1/2

cups Old El Paso® Thick 'n Chunky salsa

1

lb lean (at least 80%) ground beef, cooked, drained

1

can (16.3 oz) Pillsbury® Grands!® biscuits

1

cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese or Mexican cheese blend (4 oz)

1

cup sour cream, if desired

DIRECTIONS

• 1Heat oven to 375°F.
• 2In medium saucepan, cook taco seasoning mix, water, 1/2 cup of the salsa and cooked ground beef until thickened.
• 3Press each biscuit into 6-inch round. Fill each with taco mixture and 1 tablespoon cheese. Fold dough over filling and press to seal. Place on greased cookie sheet.
• 4Bake 9 to 14 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with remaining salsa, cheese and sour cream.

Desert Gift by Sally John

Book Description: “She was supposedly as expert in marital discourse.  How did it happen that in ten words or less, with absolutely no forwarding, her own husband had exploded their worlds with ‘I want a divorce’ and then sent her off to the airport?” ~ from Desert Gift

My Review: Jill Galloway, a syndicated radio show host.  She is preparing to leave for her first book tour when her husband, Jack, a local physician, informs her he is through with their marriage, and will be gone by the time she returns.  There is no other woman.  He is just finished! Done!  Over!  Jill is hurt, somewhat confused and VERY devastated.  She is supposed to be the person with the happy marriage holding all the answers!  How many copies of her new marriage help book will she sell when her audience finds out she is divorced?

Jill retreats to her desert, her parent’s home, where she reflects on her life, the choices she made in her marriage, and how often she put her own desires before her family, and most importantly, God.  Jack also reflects on his marriage with Jill, his career, and how differently life could have been.  Is it (ever) too late to change?

Although this is a work of fiction it made me take time to reflect on my own marriage . . . choices we have made, and how much we’ve depended upon God in our decisions.  The author has written an excellent book with believable characters that may make one think about the "desert" times in all of our lives and sometimes, even, in our marriages. Loved the ending to this read!

This book is the second in the Side Road Series.   Desert Gift will be released June 15, 2011.

*This book was provided for review by Tyndale Publishing*

Leaving {Zondervan Blog Tour} by Karen Kingsbury

Book Description:  The Bailey Flanigan series begins with Bailey leaving Bloomington for the adventure of a lifetime. She has won an audition for the ensemble of a Broadway musical in New York City. She's determined to take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but is she really ready to leave family and friends for the loneliness of the city? And what of Cody? His disappearance has her worried about their future and praying that their love can survive. In order to be closer to his mother in jail, Cody takes a coaching job in a small community outside Indianapolis. New friends, distance, and circumstances expose cracks in his relationship with Bailey Flanigan. Love, loneliness, big opportunities, and even bigger decisions highlight the first book in the new Bailey Flanigan series that features members of the popular Baxter family and finally completes the Bailey Flanigan/Cody Coleman story.

My Review:  I've only read only one other book by Karen Kingsbury and that was Unlocked.  Unlocked was an incredible read so I was excited to read Leaving.  

One thing I've found after reading books by Karen Kingsbury is the incredible way the characters come to life.  In all of my years of reading books I've never read such captivating books that make not only draw one into the story but make one feel as if you are in the story.  

Leaving is a continuation from the Baxter family.  Since I've not read any of the other books I was disappointed to find that, maybe, I should have read these other before books.

Bailey is a likable character.  Cody is  seeking to do right even without the "correct" guidance. 

The relationship between Cody and Bailey is somewhat redundant.  This is a "theme" of many books. Not a a new idea, somewhat tiresome to read about.

This read is about love, acceptance and adult issues.  A word of caution that there adult issues in this read.  No bad scenes, just caution that maybe teens may not be ready to face without adult supervision.

This was an "okay" book.  I was somewhat disappointed in this read.  I love the way Ms. Kingsbury creates a story but this story just.didn't.grab.my.attention.  I think it is a fine stand-alone read.  I don't think reading the other series is necessary to read this book.

Even though the story didn't "grab" me and I had a hard time getting into the story I must say I was still impressed with the characters and the way Ms. Kingsbury presents a story.

Even though I wasn't captivated by this read I will look for more books by Ms. Kingsbury.  

*This book was provided for review by Zondervan*

The Promise of An Angel by Ruth Reid

Book Description:  In Mescota County, Michigan, an angelic visitor's words inspire Judith to a future she never imagined.

After a barn raising accident, Judith Fischer's convinced she's met an angel. However, her attempts to convince others end up frustrating her Old-Order Amish community. Only Andrew Lapp believes her, but the rest, including Levi Plank, the man's she's waited to marry, demand she forget the nonsense. Meanwhile, her younger sister Martha has taken a fancy to Levi and sees her sister's controversy as a perfect distraction for turning Levi's head.

In a dream, the angel tells Judith she must choose her path. As her faith continues to grow, so do her feelings for Andrew. Will she continue to place her hope in the angel's message, even if it means losing all she knows and loves?

My Review:  Ruth Reid brings a new perspective to the Amish world.  In her debut novel, The Promise of An Angel, we meet Judith Fischer who is from an Old-Order Amish group.  

Judith has longed to be married and have children all her life....she just wants to join the church and "be normal."

During a barn raising her younger brother fell off of the high barn roof.  When Judith went over to check on him there stood an Englisher....but not just any Englisher...An Angel!

Of course, angels are in the Bible but no one believes Judith.  In fact, the people discouraged her from talking about her "incident."  Then her bishop forbade her to talk about the "incident" at all!

Poor Judith!  She feels that she is in a quandary!  Will she follow through on her dreams?  Will her family stand with her? 
This is all rather disturbing to Judith.  She has been reared Old-Order Amish so she even begins to "wonder" about the appearance of the angel.  But yet, she knows in her heart what is true.  
Ruth brings a fresh, new look at our Amish neighbors.  This is a quite a believable story and at times one wonders if "this" could have truly taken place?  The characters will grab at your heart strings!  A wonderful 5 star read with a "new twist" to Amish fiction! 

*This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson/BookSneeze*

Book may be purchased HERE!