I am a Christian, a retired teacher, a mother and a grandmother. I love to read and I love the Lord Jesus Christ! Unless otherwise specified ,all visual illustrations are from the YOU VERSION APP of the Bible.
Author: vicklea
I love to read! I’m a retired teacher with a spouse of 45 years, three amazing children and nine wonderful grandchildren. I am blessed!
So, yesterday was a good and hard day. Mother’s Day is generally a difficult day for me because my children are no longer at home. Of course, they aren’t! They grew up, spread their wings and flew away, just as they are supposed to do. But the fact that this is the natural order of things doesn’t keep me from missing them and my grandchildren. But I pray for them daily and in my devotional this morning, I had this perfect prayer for each child, grandchild and distant family member. I am sharing it with you so that you can pray for your loved ones to abound in love, knowledge and discernment. Don’t you just love that word “abound”? It is more than enough…flowing over. You can also join me in praying for our loved ones to be found blameless and pure in Christ and filled with the fruit of righteousness. What a prayer! Having prayed this prayer for each child and grandchild, naming them each individually, I feel closer to each of them and not so alone here. God has placed them in my heart, just as they are in His.
May God bless each of you with a good day filled with love for your family and for Him.
This was certainly a multi-layered book in which each character had her own story and then the stories gradually meshed together. It was the story of Mary, a mom who doesn’t feel that she has a close relationship with her own daughters and knows that she feels abandoned by her own mother. It is also the story of each of her daughters: Avery, a proud stay-at-home-mom; Hannah, an accomplished violinist on break from the Boston Symphony; and Lark, an artist with a real spark of creativity. Each girl and her mother has a secret that is the central focus of the story, unraveling the secrets as they make a quilt together from the scraps that Mary’s mom left behind. Some of the story was heartbreaking to me because of my own past experiences. Other parts were interesting but not in a personal way. I think this story will appeal of all because of its characters that are so varied and yet so much alike in the way that a family is. I like the saying that kept getting repeated, “You can never go so far that you can’t go home again.” This was a powerful theme that lent itself to the focus of self-discovery, revelations and forgiveness. I loved the way the author crafted the story around sewing a quilt, with its many pieces that are totally different. I especially liked the slow reveals of what was in each ladies’ heart. The characters and theme made this story and I highly recommend it to those looking for a good contemporary fiction or romance. Yes, there is romance, but it is not the main idea of the book. The real theme is discovering each other and accepting one’s past. Amazing book with so many life lessons! Deep and yet so simple…loved it! Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
I would rate this book PG because of content.Author Bio: New York Times Bestselling author Maisey Yates lives in rural Oregon with her three children and her husband, whose chiseled jaw and arresting features continue to make her swoon. She feels the epic trek she takes several times a day from her office to her coffee maker is a true example of her pioneer spirit.
The dress is perfect. Candlelight satin and antique lace. I can’t wait for you to see it. I can’t wait to walk down the aisle toward you. If only we could set a date. If only we had some idea of when the war will be over.
Love, Dot
Present day—Lark
Unfinished.
The word whispered through the room like a ghost. Over the faded, floral wallpaper, down to the scarred wooden floor. And to the precariously stacked boxes and bins of fabrics, yarn skeins, canvases and other artistic miscellany.
Lark Ashwood had to wonder if her grandmother had left them this way on purpose. Unfinished business here on earth, in the form of quilts, sweaters and paintings, to keep her spirit hanging around after she was gone.
It would be like her. Adeline Dowell did everything with just a little extra.
From her glossy red hair—which stayed that color till the day she died—to her matching cherry glasses and lipstick. She always had an armful of bangles, a beer in her hand and an ashtray full of cigarettes. She never smelled like smoke. She smelled like spearmint gum, Aqua Net and Avon perfume.
She had taught Lark that it was okay to be a little bit of extra.
A smile curved Lark’s lips as she looked around the attic space again. “Oh, Gram…this is really a mess.”
She had the sense that was intentional too. In death, as in life, her grandmother wouldn’t simply fade away.
Neat attics, well-ordered affairs and pre-death estate sales designed to decrease the clutter a family would have to go through later were for other women. Quieter women who didn’t want to be a bother.
Adeline Dowell lived to be a bother. To expand to fill a space, not shrinking down to accommodate anyone.
Lark might not consistently achieve the level of excess Gram had, but she considered it a goal.
“Lark? Are you up there?”
She heard her mom’s voice carrying up the staircase. “Yes!” She shouted back down. “I’m…trying to make sense of this.”
She heard footsteps behind her and saw her mom standing there, gray hair neat, arms folded in. “You don’t have to. We can get someone to come in and sort it out.”
“And what? Take it all to a thrift store?” Lark asked.
Her mom’s expression shifted slightly, just enough to convey about six emotions with no wasted effort. Emotional economy was Mary Ashwood’s forte. As contained and practical as Addie had been excessive. “Honey, I think most of this would be bound for the dump.”
“Mom, this is great stuff.”
“I don’t have room in my house for sentiment.”
“It’s not about sentiment. It’s usable stuff.”
“I’m not artsy, you know that. I don’t really…get all this.” The unspoken words in the air settled over Lark like a cloud.
Mary wasn’t artsy because her mother hadn’t been around to teach her to sew. To knit. To paint. To quilt.
Addie had taught her granddaughters. Not her own daughter.
She’d breezed on back into town in a candy apple Corvette when Lark’s oldest sister, Avery, was born, after spending Mary’s entire childhood off on some adventure or another, while Lark’s grandfather had done the raising of the kids.
Grandkids had settled her. And Mary had never withheld her children from Adeline. Whatever Mary thought about her mom was difficult to say. But then, Lark could never really read her mom’s emotions. When she’d been a kid, she hadn’t noticed that. Lark had gone around feeling whatever she did and assuming everyone was tracking right along with her because she’d been an innately self focused kid. Or maybe that was just kids.
Either way, back then badgering her mom into tea parties and talking her ear off without noticing Mary didn’t do much of her own talking had been easy.
It was only when she’d had big things to share with her mom that she’d realized…she couldn’t.
“It’s easy, Mom,” Lark said. “I’ll teach you. No one is asking you to make a living with art, art can be about enjoying the process.”
“I don’t enjoy doing things I’m bad at.”
“Well I don’t want Gram’s stuff going to a thrift store, okay?”
Another shift in Mary’s expression. A single crease on one side of her mouth conveying irritation, reluctance and exhaustion. But when she spoke she was measured. “If that’s what you want. This is as much yours as mine.”
It was a four-way split. The Dowell House and all its contents, and The Miner’s House, formerly her grandmother’s candy shop, to Mary Ashwood, and her three daughters. They’d discovered that at the will reading two months earlier.
It hadn’t caused any issues in the family. They just weren’t like that.
Lark’s uncle Bill had just shaken his head. “She feels guilty.”
And that had been the end of any discussion, before any had really started. They were all like their father that way. Quiet. Reserved. Opinionated and expert at conveying it without saying much.
Big loud shouting matches didn’t have a place in the Dowell family.
But Addie had been there for her boys. They were quite a bit older than Lark’s mother. She’d left when the oldest had been eighteen. The youngest boy sixteen.
Mary had been four.
Lark knew her mom felt more at home in the middle of a group of men than she did with women. She’d been raised in a house of men. With burned dinners and repressed emotions.
Lark had always felt like her mother had never really known what to make of the overwhelmingly female household she’d ended up with.
“It’s what I want. When is Hannah getting in tonight?”
Hannah, the middle child, had moved to Boston right after college, getting a position in the Boston Symphony Orchestra. She had the summer off of concerts and had decided to come to Bear Creek to finalize the plans for their inherited properties before going back home.
Once Hannah had found out when she could get time away from the symphony, Lark had set her own plans for moving into motion. She wanted to be here the whole time Hannah was here, since for Hannah, this wouldn’t be permanent.
But Lark wasn’t going back home. If her family agreed to her plan, she was staying here.
Which was not something she’d ever imagined she’d do.
Lark had gone to college across the country, in New York, at eighteen and had spent years living everywhere but here. Finding new versions of herself in new towns, new cities, whenever the urge took her.
Unfinished.
“Sometime around five-ish? She said she’d get a car out here from the airport. I reminded her that isn’t the easiest thing to do in this part of the world. She said something about it being in apps now. I didn’t laugh at her.”
Lark laughed, though. “She can rent a car.”
Lark hadn’t lived in Bear Creek since she was eighteen, but she hadn’t been under the impression there was a surplus of ride services around the small, rural community. If you were flying to get to Bear Creek, you had to fly into Medford, which was about eighteen miles from the smaller town. Even if you could find a car, she doubted the driver would want to haul anyone out of town.
But her sister wouldn’t be told anything. Hannah made her own way, something Lark could relate to. But while she imagined herself drifting along like a tumbleweed, she imagined Hannah slicing through the water like a shark. With intent, purpose, and no small amount of sharpness.
“Maybe I should arrange something.”
“Mom. She’s a professional symphony musician who’s been living on her own for fourteen years. I’m pretty sure she can cope.”
“Isn’t the point of coming home not having to cope for a while? Shouldn’t your mom handle things?” Mary was a doer. She had never been the one to sit and chat. She’d loved for Lark to come out to the garden with her and work alongside her in the flower beds, or bake together. “You’re not in New Mexico anymore. I can make you cookies without worrying they’ll get eaten by rats in the mail.”
Lark snorted. “I don’t think there are rats in the mail.”
“It doesn’t have to be real for me to worry about it.”
And there was something Lark had inherited directly from her mother. “That’s true.”
That and her love of chocolate chip cookies, which her mom made the very best. She could remember long afternoons at home with her mom when she’d been little, and her sisters had been in school. They’d made cookies and had iced tea, just the two of them.
Cooking had been a self-taught skill her mother had always been proud of. Her recipes were hers. And after growing up eating “chicken with blood” and beanie weenies cooked by her dad, she’d been pretty determined her kids would eat better than that.
Something Lark had been grateful for.
And Mom hadn’t minded if she’d turned the music up loud and danced in some “dress up clothes”—an oversized prom dress from the ’80s and a pair of high heels that were far too big, purchased from a thrift store. Which Hannah and Avery both declared “annoying” when they were home.
Her mom hadn’t understood her, Lark knew that. But Lark had felt close to her back then in spite of it.
The sound of the door opening and closing came from downstairs. “Homework is done, dinner is in the Crock-Pot. I think even David can manage that.”
The sound of her oldest sister Avery’s voice was clear, even from a distance. Lark owed that to Avery’s years of motherhood, coupled with the fact that she—by choice—fulfilled the role of parent liaison at her kids’ exclusive private school, and often wrangled children in large groups. Again, by choice.
Lark looked around the room one last time and walked over to the stack of crafts. There was an old journal on top of several boxes that look like they might be overflowing with fabric, along with some old Christmas tree ornaments, and a sewing kit. She grabbed hold of them all before walking to the stairs, turning the ornaments over and letting the silver stars catch the light that filtered in through the stained glass window.
Her mother was already ahead of her, halfway down the stairs by the time Lark got to the top of them. She hadn’t seen Avery yet since she’d arrived. She loved her older sister. She loved her niece and nephew. She liked her brother-in-law, who did his best not to be dismissive of the fact that she made a living drawing pictures. Okay, he kind of annoyed her. But still, he was fine. Just… A doctor. A surgeon, in fact, and bearing all of the arrogance that stereotypically implied.
One of the saddest things about living away for as long as she had was that she’d missed her niece’s and nephew’s childhoods. She saw them at least once a year, but it never felt like enough. And now they were teenagers, and a lot less cute.
And then there was Avery, who had always been somewhat untouchable. Four years older than Lark, Avery was a classic oldest child. A people pleasing perfectionist. She was organized and she was always neat and orderly. And even though the gap between thirty-four and thirty-eight was a lot narrower than twelve and sixteen, sometimes Lark still felt like the gawky adolescent to Avery’s sweet sixteen.
But maybe if they shared in a little bit of each other’s day-to-day it would close some of that gap she felt between them.
I was delighted to be a part of the Summer Blog Tour for Women’s Fiction!
I hope that you enjoyed my review and that you will buy this amazing book! Many thanks to Harlequin for extending to me the opportunity to read and review this novel with so many life lessons in it. Enjoy!
With strong characterization and a fast-paced plot, this conclusion to the Capital Intrigue series is a definite must-read. State Department attorney Vivian Steele gets inadvertently caught up in government schemes when she witnesses the deaths of two ambassadors at a state dinner. The Egyptian ambassador’s death appears to be a plot against his government and somehow Viv is targeted afterwards because of her prior dealings with that government. Because she becomes a target, she is assigned security in the form of Jacob Cruz, a former SEAL who is determined that no one else will die on his watch. The American ambassador who died, Penelope King, has an entire backstory that is intriguing and adds to the story. Her death is being investigated by Delaney, an FBI agent extraordinarily well-suited for her position. Delaney is mentoring Weston and the two of them together make a formidable team. This second plot had a lot of twists and turns as Delaney follows the clues and finds the killer. Delaney’s investigation was a cerebral one for the most part. The first plot, involving Viv, had a lot more action in it, with bad guys targeting Vivian and some “bite your nails” moments as she narrowly escapes death herself. There is violence depicted in the book, but it is not graphically described, so the novel is a clean read. I was sorry to see the series end because I have befriended the well-developed characters. I did especially enjoy the epilogue that was like a curtain call for all of the characters from this book and the previous ones. This book can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading the entire series because each book is a fascinating look at investigations and the inner workings of our national government. Fiction, of course! Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the author via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
A clean Christian fiction with some intense scenes. Rated PG.Photo and author info from author’s website at http://www.racheldylan.com
This book is published by Bethany House and will be released on June 1, 2021. Pre-orders are available now. Purchase Links:
This edge-of-your-seat suspense/thriller will entertain you for hours and give you insight into the “power players” of the U.S.A. I hope that you will buy it today!
I was so excited to see that Joanna Schaffhausen has a new series and that I got to read and review the first one for Netgalley. Detective Annalisa Vega is a complex character with a sad and intense past, including a father who was also a policeman. Her new case is to find the Lovelorn Killer, a serial killer who has been active for two decades, long enough for her father to have tried to catch him before the task fell to her. Her partner Nick is also her ex-husband the rapport between the two was humorous and rare. They actually performed as if they were still friends! There is family drama thrown into the mix of the killer who has now killed seven victims. He is currently trying to catch Annalisa alone so that he can make her another victim, but her partner and her friends are not going to let that happen. The story moves along at a fast pace, with plenty of action and twists along the way. I certainly did not guess the killer’s identity, even with the multiple clues that the author left on the trail. Schaffhausen is an absolute master of weaving an intricate tale with hidden clues and likable characters and this one was no exception. In fact, it was so good that when I got to the end, I immediately wanted to know how long I have to wait until book two of the series is released. Annalisa is a sympathetic character who understands people and she knows that we will not want to wait long to see her again! Fans of mystery/suspense/police procedural should not pass up a chance to read this one! Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Descriptive violence and language, so I would rate this for mature audiences.Photo and author info from the author’s website at http://www.joannaschaffhausen.com
This was a totally engrossing domestic suspense story of a stepmother named Hannah and her stepdaughter Bailey. Hannah has married Owen Michaels, Bailey’s father, and is seemingly living an idyllic life on a boat docked in Sausalito when one day Owen disappears. Like, poof! Owen’s boss at his tech company is arrested and Hannah is totally perplexed when her numerous calls to Owen’s phone go unanswered. She and Bailey set out to discover what happened to Owen and in their trip down the rabbit hole of secrets and lies, they slowly discover a relationship with each other. With lots of twists and turns, this was a book that was hard to put down and completely absorbing. The characters are well-developed and realistic, with Bailey’s character being one of a spoiled “daddy’s girl” who has to wake up to a new reality. Hannah is inventive in her quest to find out what happened to Owen and why he would leave his beloved daughter behind. Bailey seems to hold a lot of secrets that she doesn’t know she holds and it is up to Hannah to tease them out. This entire book was like being drawn further and further into a spider’s web and not knowing where I would end up. The plot was intricately and delicately woven around the non-relationship between Hannah and Bailey and the lies that Owen told each of them. I really enjoyed how the author depicted the growing dependency and relationship between the two and how Bailey’s view of her stepmother increasingly became one of trust instead of total resentment. The characters made this story, and the plot wasn’t far behind. Loved it! Fans of domestic suspense will not want to miss this one that will have you on the edge of your seat waiting for the next secret to be revealed. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
Totally captivating story rated a PG-13 because of contentPhoto and author info from her website at http://www.lauradave.com
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster Publishing for the ARC to read and review. This was a completely “take me away from reality” read and I thoroughly enjoyed it!
This book is part mystery, part romance and all about family. When Letty is awakened in the parking lot of The Murmuring Surf motel in Florida, she had no idea that policeman Joe who awakened her would play such a big part in her life. Letty was running from NYC and had her niece Maya with her, a precocious four year old who wants her mommy. Unfortunately, Letty had discovered her sister Tanya dead on the floor of her NY condo and had fled with Maya, escaping the possible murderer. The story has some parts that are too coincidental, but all of the pieces flowed together well and made the story an awesome read. The characters were fun to read about, especially the snow birds who inhabited The Murmuring Surf and made constant demands on Ava, the owner and Joe’s mom. Ava was a determined owner of a classic motel, setting high standards for her tenants and providing all kinds of opportunities fo them to socialize. Her acceptance of Letty without asking questions made the story. There were too many minor characters to name, but one of the most memorable is Vicki Hill, the FBI agent who reminded me of Stephanie Plum from the Evanovich series. She was bold, brash and reckless, but she also got the job done. The plot was an enjoyable read with some unexpected twists and a great ending! Fans of romance with mystery will love this book as much as I did. Disclaimer Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255, “Guides Concerning the Use of Testimonials and Endorsements in Advertising.”
MARY KAY ANDREWS is the New York Times bestselling author of 27 novels (including Hello, Summer; Sunset Beach;The High Tide Club; The Weekenders; Beach Town; Save the Date; Ladies’ Night; Christmas Bliss; Spring Fever; Summer Rental;The Fixer Upper; Deep Dish; Blue Christmas; Savannah Breeze; Hissy Fit; Little Bitty Lies; and Savannah Blues), and one cookbook,The Beach House Cookbook.
A native of St. Petersburg, Florida, she earned a B.A. in journalism from The University of Georgia. After a 14-year career working as a reporter at newspapers including The Savannah Morning News, The Marietta Journal, and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, where she spent the final ten years of her career, she left journalism in 1991 to write fiction.
Her first novel, Every Crooked Nanny, was published in 1992 by HarperCollins. She went on to write ten critically acclaimed mysteries under her real name, Kathy Hogan Trocheck. In 2002, she assumed the pen name Mary Kay Andrews with the publication of Savannah Blues. In 2006, Hissy Fit became her first New York Times bestseller, followed by twelve more New York Times, USA Today and Publisher’s Weekly bestsellers. To date, her novels have been published in German, Italian, Polish, Slovenian, Hungarian, Dutch, Czech and Japanese.
She and her family divide their time between Atlanta and Tybee Island, GA, where they cook up new recipes in two restored beach homes, The Breeze Inn and Ebbtide—both named after fictional places in Mary Kay’s novels, and both available to rent through Tybee Vacation Rentals. In between cooking, spoiling her grandkids, and plotting her next novel, Mary Kay is an intrepid treasure hunter whose favorite pastime is junking and fixing up old houses.
This book will be available on Tuesday, May 2, 2021, but you can pre-order it now.
If you have ever been to the ocean, you know that you can’t see the end of it. Oceans actually seem to go on forever. That is how Jesus’s love for us is. It has no end. It is deeper than the deepest ocean, wider than the widest sea and longer than any body of water imaginable. We cannot put Jesus’s love for us in a box and then use it daily and say one day, “Well, I used it all. It’s all gone now.” That’s not how His love works. It’s like a fountain that continually flows from the throne of Heaven into our lives. Likewise, we have that fountain flowing in us to others. So deep and wide!
May God bless each of you today with a renewed understanding of just how much He loves you and desires you to spend time with Him getting filled up with His great love.
www.bible.com/1171/php.1.9-11.mev
www.bible.com/1171/1sa.12.24.mev
www.bible.com/1171/jer.9.24.mev
Vickie's Book Nook and Meditation Corner 