Sewn With Joy

GIVEAWAY

GOYER, TRICIA
GORE, SHERRY
SEWN WITH JOY

Sometimes dreams come together one piece at a time

Joy Miller wanted nothing more than to be a wife and mother -- especially now that her relationship with Matthew Slagel, the bishop's son was deepening. But when a television crew rolls into Pinecraft, Florida, to film a new show about the Amish, tension threatens to rip apart their relationship...and the entire Amish community.

Joy is initially hired to sew costumes for the show, but she soon finds herself becoming increasingly involved in the production -- a fact that upsets Matthew and his father. Yet the more Joy befriends the Englisch production crew, the more she senses God working in their lives through her. Can she turn her back on this opportunity to share God's love? Will she and Matthew somehow be able to stitch together their dreams for the future?

Experience love, heartbreak, and hope in this sweet story of two worlds uniting in unexpected ways.

My Review:

I adore this series and I sure hope that there are more novels to come because there are still two Miller sisters who need to have their stories told. No worries if you haven't read the first two books in The Pinecraft Pie Shop series -- this reads well as a standalone though, of course, there are carry over characters that I was thrilled to get reacquainted with. Like seventy-year old quilt shop owner, Elizabeth who contributes snippets of simple wisdom that rocked my world. Like this: "If God brings me a person who needs a taste of God's Word, I'm not going to send them away hungry." (p 210) She's such a source of strength to Joy as her carefully ordered world spins out of control in unexpected ways.

Life is good for Joy. She's working at a job she loves, enjoying the excitement of the pending weddings of her two sisters, and it looks like she will be following in their footsteps as her courtship with the Bishop's son progresses. Joy knows exactly what each day will bring...until the film crew rolls into town and she somehow ends up in the middle of a hotly debated controversy among the close-knit Pinecraft Amish community.

What follows is a captivating look at community, the intricacies of human nature and how living ones faith affects it all. This story is chock-full of inspirational wisdom -- so many great quotes that I had to stop reading and take notes. Like when Joy tells Englischer friends, "God's Word is often called a light, and sometimes when light shines into places that have been dark awhile, it's hard to face what's hidden there." (p.217)

A delectable companion to Made With Love and Planted With Hope and like the first two books, this one includes some authentic Amish recipes interspersed throughout the story.

Giveaway Opportunity:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Sewn With Joy please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadAT yahooDOT ca. If you post a comment and add your email address please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so it's easier for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday March 26 2017. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Planted With Hope

GIVEAWAY

GOYER, TRICIA
GORE, SHERRY
PLANTED WITH HOPE

When Hope Miller is offered a plot of land behind her sister's pie shop to start a garden, she jumps at the chance. Finally -- some space away from her four sisters! But everyone in town seems to have an opinion about what she should grow and how she should grow it.

When the widowed schoolteacher, Jonah Sutter, asks if his students at the Amish school can help turn the plot into a community garden, Hope wonders if she will ever find the peace and quiet she craves. But God has a different plan for Hope -- a plan that will open her heart to all the blessings in front of her.

My Review:

Two green thumbs up! I can so relate to Hope's introverted ways and her love of growing things. In fact, this book combines two of my favourite pastimes -- reading  and gardening -- so call me a happy camper.

Moving to Pinecraft, Florida has been a difficult transition for this farm loving girl. Hope is all about the four seasons: the anticipation of spring planting, the summer nurturing of a garden followed by the autumn harvest. Not to mention the bliss of winter planning for the following spring. Only a gardener can understand the way these cycles can ground a person. I totally get Hope. She hasn't quite found her footing in Florida so when the chance to garden crops up, she thinks she might have found a haven at last...until the garden takes on a life of its own!

Widower Jonah and his motherless daughter, Emma, are delightful distractions but also provide a new set of challenges. I loved the sweet, hesitant romance that develops -- so tenuous because of the need to protect little Emma from further heartache.

An unexpected connection with Victory Gardens of the second world war thrilled me right to my toes! And at the heart of it all is the witness of  God's desire for us to build community. Hope is forced out of her comfort zone and has to learn to place her trust in God in order to navigate her present so there is hope for her future.

This is the second book in The Pinecraft Pie Shop series and it is supremely delightful. Love all the little intricate extras that make these books stand out from the rest. Clever title tie-ins are one of those details, each a play on the heroine's name -- Made With Love, Planted With Hope and coming out in September, Sewn With Joy. And, like the first book, the authors have included recipes as well as interesting wartime gardening and household management tidbits throughout. A true gem of a book.

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of Planted With Hope please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday August 21 2016. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!

Made With Love

GIVEAWAY

GOYER, TRICIA
GORE, SHERRY
MADE WITH LOVE

Lovina Miller should be thrilled. Pinecraft, Florida has everything a young Amish woman could ask for: sun, sand, volleyball games, and evening singings in the park. But Pinecraft lacks the one thing Lovina desperately wants -- a pie shop of her own. She longs for a place to gather with the community and serve the treat she loves.

A young carpenter named Noah Yoder strolls into her life and offers a way to make her dream come true. But before Noah and Lovina can build a shop -- and a life -- together, they must each face heartaches from the past. Is their new love stronger than their regrets?

My Review:

For some reason, I am utterly captivated by the village of Pinecraft which is in the heart of a bustling city. Made With Love is the first in the promising Pinecraft Pie Shop series. Lovina has four sisters so I'm hoping they each get their very own book! And there's an extra bit of authenticity since one of the authors lives in Pinecraft.

Love the dynamics between Lovina and Noah. She's a misunderstood dreamer and he becomes a surprising ally who is able to transform her dream into reality. An unexpected friendship develops but a deeper relationship is fraught with complications. Noah's trying to leave a difficult past behind, but he's infamous within the larger Amish community thanks to the widely read Amish newspaper, The Budget. And while the Amish are encouraged to forgive, many seem to struggle with the concept of forget.

The authors have created a thought-provoking inspirational thread about the deeper meaning of forgiveness. About walking alongside a person instead of holding back in judgement. I got so frustrated on Noah's behalf -- especially with Lovina's mother. Gah! I do so love becoming righteously indignant on a character's behalf!

And a special bonus -- Made With Love is chock-full of original Amish recipes -- makes for a delicious combination of fact and fiction (pun intended)!

GIVEAWAY OPPORTUNITY:

 If you would like an opportunity to win a copy of  Made With Love please leave a comment below or email me at kavluvstoreadATyahooDOTca. If you post a comment and add your email address, please use AT and DOT instead of @ and . in the address to protect yourself from spammers. If you enter the draw via email please remember to put the title in the subject line so that it's easy for me to spot your entry. Draw will be held and winner announced on Sunday August 7 2016. Offer open to international readers. Good luck!