Full Review: Pieces of the Heart by Bonnie S. Calhoun

Pieces of the Heart by Bonnie S. Calhoun
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The stories that quilts hold...

I loved this book! I envy the relationship that Cordelia has with her Grammy and the special bond that a quilt can hold. Grammy would say that it's a 'life covering' and full of prayers. This book focused on the power of prayer and how it can bring someone through some very dark moments.

Cordelia is a young girl, bullied by the neighbors, until her rescuer shows up. Bernard is the love of Cordelia's life from first glance. There is a lot of heartaches in both of their lives and Bernard decides one day to sign up for the War. His number is pulled and he finds himself in the thick of WWII, but not in a way that he would imagine. Will he make it back home to Cordelia?

There are so many things to talk about with this book but I don't want to give anything away. I love how the author focused this book on the "other" side of WWII...how our black soldiers were treated. This book had me in tears several times. I laughed. I cried some more. My favorite character would have to be Grammy. Her lessons and the relationships she had with others is something I needed from this book.

I do hope you'll support this author and read this fabulous book!! Many thanks to the author and Abingdon Press for a complimentary copy of the book to review for the CFBA Blog tour!


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CFBA: Pieces of the the Heart by Bonnie Calhoun

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Pieces of the Heart

Abingdon Press (June 1, 2013)


by

Bonnie S. Calhoun


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year,” President of (CAN) Christian Authors Network, and Appointment Coordinator for both the Colorado Christian Writers Conference (CCWC) and the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference(GPCWC).


For the last six years she has taught workshops in Facebook, Twitter, Blogging, and creating Social Media promotions at both CCWC, and GPCWC, and in 2011 at the Montrose, Pa Christian Writers Conference. She also taught a Facebook workshop at the 2012 ACFW conference.


Bonnie and her husband live in a log cabin in upstate area of New York with a dog and cat who think she’s wait-staff.


Her sites are:

https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhounsnarkandsuspense
 https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun

 ABOUT THE BOOK

Cordelia Grace watched Bernard Howard, the love of her young life, go off to fight for our country in WWII. And she has spent the last three years creating the Pine Cone quilt that will grace their marriage bed when he comes home. Each row of triangles signifies a layer in her life, sets of memories, hopes, dreams, and prayers for her future, enough spoken words to cover them forever. Her image of their “happy-ever-after” grows proportionally as the quilt expands.


But is the man that returns from the war, the same man that she remembered? Are the dark shades of color that she had to use for the outside edges of the beloved quilt prophetic of her life to come? Can love and faith overcome all?


If you would like to read teh first chapter of Pieces of the Heart, go HERE.


I just returned home from vacation and found this book in my mail today. Therefore, I have not read the whole book yet. I am getting into though and, wow...

Cordelia is a young girl who has been bullied by the neighborhood kids because of the tone of her skin. She is rescued one day by a young man named Bernard. Cordelia spends a lot of time with her grandmother, who is making a "life covering" for her. She prays over each piece as she puts the quilt together for her granddaughter. Bernard comes from an abusive home but he has a strong faith in the Lord. Cordelia and Bernard are in love and anxiously awaiting the day they can join their lives together. However, a war is ensue and the future is scary. 

Reading this book today has really had me missing my grandmothers. My dad's mom did not quilt or sew of any kind for that matter, but she instilled a love in me for jigsaw puzzles. My mom's mom did a lot of sewing but I'm not sure she quilted. I do have several dolls that she made me as a child. I love Cordelia and her grandmother in this story and I'm excited to see how all of this plays out. It's been awhile since I've read a book that I just didn't want to put down! I hope to finish this tomorrow! :) 

CFBA: An Open Heart by Harry Kraus

                         

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

An Open Heart

David C. Cook (June 1, 2013)

by

Harry Kraus

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

A Word from Harry:

I started writing my first novel during my last year of surgery training at UK. I was a chief resident, and started writing Stainless Steal Hearts in a call room at the Veteran's Administration Hospital in Lexington. It was a crazy time to write! I had a very demanding schedule, often spending days and nights in the hospital. I had two sons at that time, and I recognized the wisdom in my wife's urging: "Now doesn't seem the right time for this dream."

My experience as a writer is far from typical. Having received my formal training in biology and chemistry and medicine, my only preparation for a writing career was a love for reading. The longest thing I'd written before my first novel was a term paper in undergraduate school. My first novel was accepted by Crossway Books and published in 1994, and it wasn't until after I had FOUR published novels that I even opened a book of instruction about the craft of writing fiction. This is not what I recommend to others! Yes, I was successful, but I was bending the "rules" without knowing it. I had a natural talent for plotting, but I realize my initial success may have stunted my growth as a writer. I'd have made faster progress if I'd have gone to the fiction teachers sooner.

I have three sons: Joel, Evan, and Samuel. Look closely in all of my books and you'll see them there. My lovely wife, Kris, provides the basic composition for all those beautiful, athletic, dedicated women in my novels.

ABOUT THE BOOK

Their Messages—From Beyond the Grave—Might Destroy Him ...

They hover between life and death, their hearts stopped on the surgery table. And the messages Dr. Jace Rawlings’ open-heart surgery patients bring back from beyond the grave cannot be ignored. For they predict the deaths of people around him, and point a finger of suspicion straight at him.

It thrusts Jace into a firestorm of controversy and danger. A maeltsrom blown by the darker winds of political intrigue and spiritual warfare. And the forces working against him will do anything to stop him from uncovering a truth they will kill to hide. He’d come to Kenya to establish a heart-surgery program for the poor. But what he will find in that place where he grew up will put everything at risk–his marriage, his career . . . his life.

If you would like to read the first chapter of An Open Heart, go HERE.

I'm currently reading this book right now. It starts out with a lot of suspense and questions that I hope to have answers for soon!! I'll post a full review once I've had time to thoroughly enjoy it! For those of you who know me well, you know I LOVE medical fiction!! This one has my attention!