CFBA: Song of My Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Song of My Heart  Bethany House (February 1, 2012)  by  Kim Vogel Sawyer  


ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of fifteen novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and numerous grandchildren.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Sadie Wagner has always been devoted to her family. So when her stepfather is injured and can't work, she decides to leave home and accept a position as a clerk at the mercantile in Goldtree, Kansas. Goldtree also offers the opportunity to use her God-given singing talent--though the promised opera house is far different from what she imagined. With her family needing every cent she can provide, Sadie will do anything to keep her job.


Thad McKane comes to Goldtree at the request of the town council. The town has been plagued by bootlegging operations, and Thad believes he can find the culprit. After he earns enough money doing sheriff work, he wants to use it to pay for his training to become a minister.

Thad is immediately attracted to the beautiful singer who performs in Asa Baxter's unusual opera house, but when he hears her practicing bawdy tunes, he begins to wonder if she's far less innocent than she seems. And when Sadie appears to be part of the very crimes he's come to investigate, is there any hope the love blossoming between them will survive?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Song of My Heart, go HERE.

CFBA: A Whisper of Peace by Kim Vogel Sawyer

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing A Whisper of Peace Bethany House (September 1, 2011) by Kim Vogel Sawyer



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of fifteen novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and numerous grandchildren.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Ostracized by her tribe because of her white father, Lizzie Dawson lives alone in the mountains of Alaska, practicing the ways of her people even as she resides in the small cabin her father built for her mother. She dreams of reconciling with her grandparents to fulfill her mother's dying request, but she has not yet found a way to bridge the gap that separate her from her tribe.



Clay Selby has always wanted to be like his father, a missionary who holds a great love for the native people and has brought many to God. Clay and his stepsister, Vivian, arrive in Alaska to set up a church and school among the Athbascan people. Clay is totally focused on this goal...until he meets a young, independent Indian woman with the most striking blue eyes he's ever seen.



But Lizzie is clearly not part of the tribe, and befriending her might have dire consequences for his mission. Will Clay be forced to choose between his desire to minister to the natives and the quiet nudging of his heart?



If you would like to read the first chapter of A Whisper of Peace, go HERE.

I just love the cover of this book! It has such vibrant colors! This one definitely has me interested! 

Review: Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The Bible that is falling apart usually belongs to someone who isn't. (pg. 181)



Wow...how true are those words?! It's sayings such as these that have drawn me to this book and new-to-me-author Kim Vogel Sawyer. 



Miss Edythe Amsel moves away from her family to take a teaching position in the small town of Walnut Hill. Like all first year teachers, Miss Amsel puts her heart and soul into teaching these young minds. She does not anticipate having to deal with the scrutiny of what she is teaching however! Miss Amsel teaches about longitude, latitude, bugs, etc while the townsfolk are disappointed in her methods. Do they not realize that this education they are receiving could help with their own farms?? As a teacher, I was bothered by the attitude and lack of education of the townsfolk who were berating her. The townsfolk are not her only issues though. There's lil William who just won't behave, her sister Missy, and then the single men vying for her attention!



Miss Amsel is here to teach, not to marry so she sets the menfolk straight pretty fast. As soon as the men find out she's not one to have a relationship with God, they begin to see her a bit differently. Will she find God and a man in Walnut Hill?



I identified with Edythe on many levels in this book but my heart went out to William. I doubt that I would have had the patience that Edythe exhibited when it came to William but there was something about him that drew me to him. In some ways I felt sorry for him but in others I wanted to fling him over my knee and give him "what for". The author didn't give a lot of background on his family so I just speculated that his family life wasn't what it could have been and that he just needed some attention. I do believe that Edythe accomplished her point in this story.



View all my reviews

CFBA: Courting Miss Amsel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

This week, the  Christian Fiction Blog Alliance  is introducing  Courting Miss Amsel  Bethany House (January 1, 2011)  by  Kim Vogel Sawyer   





ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of fifteen novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women's fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and six grandchildren.





ABOUT THE BOOK

Edythe Amsel is delighted with her first teaching assignment: a one-room schoolhouse in Walnut Hill, Nebraska. Independent, headstrong, and a strong believer in a well-rounded education, Edythe is ready to open the world to the students in this tiny community. But is Walnut Hill ready for her?



Joel Townsend is thrilled to learn the town council hired a female teacher to replace the ruthless man who terrorized his nephews for the past two years. Having raised the boys on his own since their parents' untimely deaths, Joel believes they will benefit from a woman's influence. But he sure didn't bargain on a woman like Miss Amsel.



Within the first week, she has the entire town up in arms over her outlandish teaching methods, which include collecting leaves, catching bugs, making snow angels, and stringing ropes in strange patterns all over the schoolyard. Joel can't help but notice that she's also mighty pretty with her rosy lips, fashionable clothes, and fancy way of speaking.



When Edythe decides to take her pupils to hear Miss Susan Anthony speak on the women's suffrage amendment, the town's outcry reaches new heights. Even Joel isn't sure he can support her newfangled ideas any longer. And if he can't trust her to know how to teach the boys, how can he trust her with his heart?



If you would like to read the first chapter of Courting Miss Amsel, go HERE.
Many thanks to Bethany House and Kim Vogel Sawyer for providing a copy for review. I should have a full review coming soon!