The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel by Jennifer Ryan

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir was a delightful read!  I enjoyed each and every character, and they were characters indeed.  The novel is set in England in a charming village called Chilbury during WW2.  Since all the men are off at war, the Vicar announces that there will no longer be a choir.  Until, that is, a new music teacher moves to town and forms a new choir, one scandalously composed up of ladies only. The ladies find a new sense of purpose in the choir, as well as comfort in mourning and friendship in loneliness. 

The character-filled characters each have their own voice in the story.  They are Mrs. Tilling, a nurse whose only son enlists in the army and leaves her home alone and afraid. Next is Edwina Paltry, a midwife, who concocts a shocking scheme to earn a retirement fund for herself and her sister, Clara. After that are Kitty and Venetia Winthrop, teenage sisters and daughters to Lord and Brigadier Winthrop of Chilbury Manor. We also hear occasionally from Silvie, a ten-year old refugee from Czechoslovakia who lives with the Winthrop family, and  from Flt. Lt. Henry Brampton-Boyd, a young pilot who is in love with Venetia. Each of these Chilbury residents writes letters or journal entries that give us windows into their adventures and mishaps, heartbreaks and joys.

The novel is both humorous and heart warming.  It was well written and entertaining, a story about the resilience of the human spirit and the gift that is hope.  I enjoyed it immensely!  I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Bringing Maggie Home: a novel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Bringing Maggie Home was a very good read.  It was sad and happy, suspenseful and humorous.  It is a story of how childhood wounds can scar long into adulthood and affect generations to come.  It is also a story of the power of forgiveness and the hope of redemption.  It reminds us of the need for grace with each other, but most of all from God.

I really enjoyed each of the four main characters in this book: 80 year old Hazel, her daughter Diane, Diane's daughter Meghan, and Meghan's detective partner Sean. Different sections of each chapter are told through the eyes of one these characters, which I love.  It's so interesting to see the events of the book unfold with the various perspectives of these characters. 

The book is part mystery, part love story, and contains some interesting twists and turns.  I'm sure anyone who enjoys a well-written contemporary Christian fiction book will love it!  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Convicted: A Crooked Cop, an Innocent Man, and an Unlikely Journey or Forgiveness and Friendship by Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins

Convicted was a very interesting read.  I always enjoy a good memoir/autobiography.  I especially like how the co-authors, Jameel McGee and Andrew Collins, write back and forth in alternating chapters about their viewpoint of the situation.  But most of all, I love that it was a story of God's grace and healing.  Who doesn't need more of that kind of encouragement?  In light of the current racial tensions in the US, it was a blessing to read of the possibility of reconciliation and restoration.
Both Jameel and Andrew did a great job of taking us inside their own minds, how they were feeling at the time of the events in the book.  It was fascinating to read of their thought processes from Jameel's arrest to his trial, incarceration and finally to his release from prison, and then the same from Andrew. That very thing is what's sometimes missing in a story, but Convicted delivered on that front.

The one thing that bothered me about Convicted  is that I felt that both authors nearly slandered Judge Robert Bell.  I happen to know that Judge Bell is a man of God, but it's pretty clear from the book that neither of these men is aware of that.  A meeting with Judge Bell would have been a great way to tie up the story.
I received an uncorrected proof of this book from Waterbrook in return for my honest review.

Here and Gone: A Novel by Haylen Beck

I knew that Here and Gone was billed as a thriller, but I naively thought mystery and suspense, not terror.  This book was extremely intense.  I actually thought I was going to have to quit reading it, that's how scary it is!  That being said, I did push through and finish it and all I can say is, wow!  If you love a good thriller, with many twists and turns, you'll thoroughly enjoy Here and Gone. Haylen Beck (aka Stuart Neville) is a masterful storyteller.  He sucks you right in and then takes you on the ride of your life, so hang on!
While this book was indeed exciting and certainly a page turner, I do have to warn the reader of two things. One: the subject dealt with in this book is very dark and evil, and two: the author uses quite a bit of profanity.  If you can't handle either of those, this may not be the book for you. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

The Road to Paradise: A Vintage National Parks Novel by Karen Barnett

I thought this was such a fun summer read!  It was fascinating to go back in time to when our National Parks were new and to imagine what it would have been like to tour one in your brand new Model A. The Road to Paradise is set in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington and although I've never visited the park, it was lovely to read about the beautiful scenery and the grandeur of the mountain.

The author, Karen Barnett, does a wonderful job with character development.  I loved each of the main characters and loved to hate the villain.  The story is completely clean and not cloyingly sweet.  The main character, Margaret (Margie) Lane is especially interesting.  A young socialite, she loves nature and longs to spend time at the park studying botany.  She was raised in the lap of luxury, but is ready to set that aside and get her hands dirty.  After a donation from her wealthy father, Margie secures a position at the Park as a naturalist.  She soon meets Ranger Ford Brayden and romance blossoms.  I won't give any more away, but there are all sorts of obstacles to their romance, including the aforementioned villain.

If you're looking for a something good to read and enjoy Christian historical romance, then I definitely recommend this book.  I'm hoping it will be a series about different characters in different National Parks.  Karen Barnett is a new author to me, but I will surely check out her other work. I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Street of Eternal Happiness: Big City Dreams along a Shanghai Road by Rob Schmitz

Journalist and NPR correspondent, Rob Schmitz, has written a fascinating firsthand tale of life on a busy road called the Street of Eternal Happiness in Shanghai, China. He, his wife and children live there and have befriended many people on the street. Schmitz tells the story of Uncle Feng, who cooks and sells scallion pancakes to passersby on the street.  Feng's wife, Auntie Fu, is constantly making poor investments in get-rich-quick schemes and drags Rob to sales meetings. Uncle and Auntie bicker constantly and have 2 TVs in their bedroom so they can each watch their own shows.

Schmitz also gives us a portrait of the lives of other business owners and residents on the street.  CK owns a cafe called Your Sandwich and sells accordions on the side.  Zhao owns a flower shop and spends her spare time trying to find wives for her sons, Big Sun and Little Sun. Mayor Chen's home was seized and destroyed by the government and he pored over law books by the hour, looking for ways to petition for compensation and resettlement.

Rob Schmitz also takes the reader along on visits to a secret Buddhist monastery, a rural wedding, and a service at an underground Christian church. The book is a blend of these personal tales and interesting historical details about the history of China.  It is a book that almost anyone who wonders about China and what really goes on there, would find telling.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in return for my honest review.

Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson

Bryan Stevenson defines just mercy as mercy that is "rooted in hopefulness and freely given."  He goes on to say "Mercy is more empowering, liberating and transformative when it is directed at the undeserving.  The people who haven't earned it, who haven't even sought it."  That is in essence, the heart of this book. 

Mr. Stevenson, a lawyer with the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI), tells not just one, but many stories of justice and redemption.  Stories of men, women and even children who have been unjustly imprisoned, many of them on death row.  Some are stories of blatant racism, some are tales of a flawed justice system, others speak of a broad misunderstanding of people with mental health issues. 

The main story that Stevenson shares is of Walter McMillian, a young black man wrongly sentenced to death for murdering a white woman named Rhonda Morrison.  The truth of the matter is that there were multiple witnesses who vouched for Walter's whereabouts during the murder and there was no physical evidence to point to him, but the local townsfolk were anxious for an arrest and the local law enforcement wanted to comply. They found a felon who was willing to risk perjury by lying on the witness stand and railroaded an innocent man.  I won't spoil the book by telling you how the story ends, but it is indeed both a fascinating and horrifying case.

Attorney Stevenson spent years working on McMillian's case.  As one of his first cases after founding the EJI, it impacted him greatly.  He is today one of the most influential lawyers in America and has numerous humanitarian awards for his efforts. It's a pleasure to know that sometimes the good guys still win!

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.