The Governess of Penwythe Hall (The Cornwall Novels, Book 1) by Sarah E. Ladd

Book Description:  Blamed for her husband’s death, Cordelia Greythorne fled Cornwall and accepted a governess position to begin a new life. Years later her employer’s unexpected death and his last request for her to watch over his five children force her to reevaluate. She can’t abandon the children now that they’ve lost both parents, but their new guardian lives at the timeworn Penwythe Hall . . . back on the Cornish coast she’s tried desperately to forget.

Jac Twethewey is determined to revive Penwythe Hall’s once-flourishing apple orchards, and he’ll stop at nothing to see his struggling estate profitable again. He hasn’t heard from his brother in years, so when his nieces, nephews, and their governess arrive unannounced, he battles both grief at his brother’s death and bewilderment over this sudden responsibility. Jac’s priorities shift as the children take up residence in the ancient halls, but their secretive governess—and the mystery shrouding her past—proves to be a disruption to his carefully laid plans.

My Thoughts:  This book captivated from page one.  It's such an intriguing story.  And it's the first book in the Cornwall Novels so there will be more to come.

As soon as I began this story I thought of the words christian gothic fiction.  I'm not sure that there is such a genre but if there is then this book is it.

Poor Cordelia Greythorne.  Everything seems to be against her.  And that mother-in-law, Ada Greythorne, just about gets one's goat!  It's terrible to dislike a book character so much but dislike Ada Greythorne I did!  Such a mean dried ups old woman with out an ounce of grace or pleasantness.

As the story progresses things in Cordelia's life become a bit more convoluted. She is now working as a governess to five children.  So, when the children lose both of their parents, lo and behold, the father has stated in his will that Cordelia is to remain with the children.  But in order for her to remain with the children she must take them to Penwythe Hall back to the same area she left after her husband's death.

What a story!  What grit!  And what forgiveness!

This is such a fantastic read!

*This book was provided for review by BookLook*

• Series: The Cornwall Novels (Book 1)
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (April 16, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0785223169
• ISBN-13: 978-0785223160

Precious Moments Little Book of Grandma's Love by Precious Moments

Book Description:  Time with Grandma is always fun! And what could be more fun than snuggling close and reading together about all the reasons grandmas and grandchildren love each other so very much? From gardening together to playing games to that special hug that only Grandma can give, you'll love seeing all the ways a grandma’s love is so unique.

My Thoughts:  I've always loved Precious Moments people.  Maybe it's their big, tear drop eyes or the soft way they seem to look at one.  Whatever it is I still enjoy seeing books by Precious Moments.

This is a nice hardback with softness to it book cover.  It can be easily wiped clean with a wipe or cloth.  It's not so small that it will be lost in a book bag nor is it too big for little hands to hold.

And, yes, it's all about grandma and the kids.  

Not really a story book but more of a rhyming book.  

There are Precious Moments pictures on every page, usually a picture of a grandma with one or more children.  

And then on the other page there may be a rhyme or a prayer or a short story about grandma and me.  

There are also scriptures on the left page under the picture to grandma and the kid/s.

It's a beautiful book and one that any grandparent and child would be happy to own.

*This book was provided for review by Book Look*

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
• Grade Level: 1 - 3
• Series: Precious Moments
• Board book: 32 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (March 12, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400211999
• ISBN-13: 978-1400211999

The Amish Cooking Class (The Seekers: Book 1 of Amish Cooking Class) by Wanda E. Brunstetter

Book Description:  Heidi Troyer cooks up the idea of teaching classes in the art of Amish cuisine in her Holmes County, Ohio, home. But is it a recipe for drama when five very different men and women answer the advertisement?

Join a class of unlikely Ohioans who take cooking lessons at Lyle and Heidi Troyer’s Amish farm. A woman engaged to marry, an expectant mother estranged from her family, a widowed mom seeking to simplify, a Vietnam vet who camps on the Troyer’s farm, and an Amish widower make up the mismatched lot of students.

Class members share details of their disappointing lives, work to solve a mystery, and stir some romance into the pot. Soon Heidi’s cooking lessons turn into life lessons as they each share their challenges. . .and their souls are healed one meal at a time. Is this what God had in mind when Heidi got the idea for cooking classes?

My Thoughts:  I was so excited to receive Wanda Brunstetter's newest book, The Seekers.  This new "series" of the Amish Cooking Class is SOOO good!  And the recipes at the back of the book are great, too.

The Amish Cooking Class is actually about an Amish woman, Heidi Troyer, who can cook well and she decides to open a class for those who need to learn to cook.  To be in the class one does not have to be Amish. 

The students are a mix of unlikely people. 

The class members not only learn to cook but they share life experiences with these in the class. And they solve a mystery.

I LOVE this read!  And can't wait for the next one.

If you are a lover of Amish fiction mixed with wisdom and mystery, then this is the book for you!

• Series: Amish Cooking Class (Book 1)
• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Shiloh Run Press 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1624167446
• ISBN-13: 978-1624167447

{Herald Press Blog Tour} The Pie Lady: Classic Stories from a Mennonite Cook and Her Friends by Greta Issac

Book Description:  What is a Pie Lady moment? For one family, it s breakfast on the patio. For another, it s Mom serving up creamy chicken and noodles. These are Pie Lady moments: times of goodness and glamour in the middle of ordinary days. In The Pie Lady, Mennonite homemaker Greta Isaac ushers readers into the kitchens of Velda, Shyla, and other Pie Ladies as they whip up confections and concoctions that please the mouth and nourish the soul. Fans of Ruth Reichl, Sherry Gore, and Ree Drummond will love Isaacs intimate, delectable writing. Home cooks will love the recipes that appear in each chapter. Maybe you drop grapefruit slices in a glass of water. Maybe you brown the gravy and salt it from eighteen inches up. (Forget for now the sink full of dishes.) Each cook has her own Pie Lady moments. Each has a story to tell. Hear straight from Amish and Mennonite people themselves as they write about their daily lives and deeply rooted faith in the Plainspoken series from Herald Press.

My Thoughts:  When I saw this book I thought it would be all about pie.  I was so wrong!

This book is a treasure of inspiration.  A slice of life passed on to others.

Mrs. Issac is a Mennonite wife and mother who has "pie" moments."  Those inspiring times where she has a short story or a memory that has to do with a specific dish she has made...not necessarily pie.

I love her thoughts and inspirations about life.  To me this is more like a devotional book with wonderful recipe thrown in as a reference point.

There are 194 pages all filled to the brim and then at the end of each chapter there is a wonderful recipe.

I've decided to use this as a devotional book as I read and journal from my daily devotions.

This is a smallish, not too large of a book and it would make a great gift.  

*This book was provided for review by Herald Press*

All thoughts are my own.

• Paperback: 202 pages
• Publisher: Herald Press (April 23, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1513804219
• ISBN-13: 978-1513804217

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

Easter is almost here!  

And this year I'm making these fun carrots for the kids!

Use piping bags from Wilton fill with cheetos~the crunchy ones (or goldfish crackers), add green ribbon . . . 

And you have a fun Easter treat!  Easy, too!

Cookie Love: 60 Recipes and Techniques for Turning the Ordinary into the Extraordinary by Mindy Segal with Kate Leahy

Book Description:  A new, edgier take on baking cookies, from a James Beard Award-winning chef and the owner of the popular Chicago restaurant, HotChocolate.

Mindy Segal is serious about cookies. And Cookie Love is your new go-to, never-fail reference for turn-out-perfectly-every-time cookie recipes. Mindy, award-winning pastry chef and self-professed “cookie nerd,” shares all of her secrets for turning classic recipes into more elevated, fun interpretations of everyone’s favorite sweet treat. From Peanut Butter Peanut Brittle Cookies and Fleur de Sel Shortbread with Vanilla Halvah, to Malted Milk Spritz and Peaches and Cream Thumbprints, Segal’s recipes are inspired and far from expected. Inside you’ll find more than sixty perfected recipes for every kind of cookie including drop cookies, bars, sandwich cookies, shortbread, thumbprints, and more, as well as the best tricks and tools of the trade and everything you need to know to build the ideal cookie pantry. A must-have for anyone looking to up their cookie-baking game, Cookie Love is a celebration of the most humble, delicious, and wonderful of baked treats.

My Thoughts:  We LOVE cookies!  And I've been baking more cookies for gatherings, too. Why?  Because I've found out that people like a dessert or a snack that they eat with their fingers and to be honest cake or pie is sometimes such a heavy dessert.

Cookie Love is such a fun, sweet book (pun intended).  There are some absolutely mouthwatering varieties and this recipes are twist to the original recipes . . . Smoky Bacon Candy Bar Cookies are one of the cookies that is a definite twist from the candy bar cookie.  

There are sixty wonderful cookie recipes for the baker to try. 

My favorite is the Oatmeal Scotchie.  But there are great cookies to try.  These are ingenious recipes and the photos showcase the cookies to a T. Baked treats at their best!

A lovely book to keep but would make a grand gift for the baker in your life!

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Ten Speed Press 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1607746816
• ISBN-13: 978-1607746812

Really Woolly Bedtime Blessings by DaySpring (Author), Bonnie Rickner Jensen (Author)

Book Description:  Your children will go to sleep feeling loved and secure as they count the blessings in each day.

My Thoughts:  I have always liked the Really Wooly cards so when I saw this book I thought it would make a nice addition to our Sunday School Nursery class.  And it was a hit!
Since I didn't get to see it in person until it arrived I didn't realize that it's not a small or mini book.  It's not a big book either.  It's a fairly medium sized book which is nice because as a teacher I can hold it up and all the children can see the pictures.
There are blessings (each one is different) on the left side of the book and then on the right is a picture that goes alongs with a sort of rhyme.
Everything in the book is about bedtime blessings.
This is a board book so little hands can hold it and then it can be cleaned with a damp cloth.
We loved it.
This is also a nice gift book.

*This book was provided for review by BookLook*

• Age Range: 2 - 5 years
• Series: Really Woolly
• Board book: 24 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (February 26, 2019)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400209307
• ISBN-13: 978-1400209309