Three Great Reviews!

I've been busy reading, but haven't had much time to blog so I am going to do three reviews at one time. This time I will not be giving my take on each one separately. Suffice it to say that you can't go wrong with any of these books. I enjoyed all of them and I think you will, too. Here we go!

BEYOND SUMMER BY LISA WINGATE: When soon-to-be college student Tam Lambert learns that her family's finances are collapsing, the life she's known is forever changed. Her father, facing prosecution for financial schemes, has fled to Mexico. Their upscale home is in foreclosure. Tam, her high maintenance stepmother, and four preschool age siblings have no choice but to move to a tiny house owned by her father's company. Householders, in a changing Dallas neighborhood called Blue Sky Hill.

New resident Shasta Williams knows nothing of real estate schemes when she and her husband purchase a cozy little home. For her it's the perfect place for her children to grow up. better yet it is getting to know Tam, right across the street. But even as Tam and Shasta form a bond, something about Tam's family doesn't add up. When you use of Householder's corrupt mortgage schemes breaks, and neighbors realize that barring a miracle, they will soon be forced from their homes, new friendships and old loyalties are tested.

Over the span of a summer, in the most unlikely of places, two young women discover a strength and maturity that no amount of money could provide. In helping each other to do the impossible, a find that even in Blue Sky Hill, life altering relationships and amazing possibilities can begin to blossom...

LISA WINGATE

HOPE'S PROMISE BY TAMMY BARLEY: Jake Bennett is finally wed to the love of his life, Jessica Hale -- but he isn't convinced she won't leave him. Life is a constant struggle for the Bennett's as they battle drought and live in fear of raids on Southerners, and he is not sure that Jess knew what she was getting herself into when she married him. Jess, however, despairs for another reason-- she is unable to conceive a child. While trying to prove their unconditional love for each other, the Bennetts are devastated to discover that a former friend of Jess's parents, Miriam Van Dorn, isn't who they thought she was. Together, they must stand in faith through betrayal, danger, and barrenness, trusting that God will reward their hopes for a better future. TAMMY BARLEY I have lived in twenty-seven places in eight states (so far) and have visited nearly all. When I'm not writing? I judge a number of top writing contests and love my work as a manuscript editor and biographer. I am also Mom to two sons, one daughter, a rescued American Eskimo dog, thirteen parakeets, and an aquarium full of fish. The children I homeschool; the dog I taught to sit. She also barks at parked cars. In my spare time, you're likely to find me baking, gardening, behind a camera, or hugging a horse. In 1896, after her parents deaths, 17 year old heiress Lucinda Bishop is sent to Oklahoma to live with her aunt and uncle. But Oklahoma ranch life brings her more than she bargained for when she meets Jake Starnes, a drifter who is running from his past. As her friendship with Jake grows, Lucinda faces emotions she's never before experienced. As Jake learns more about God's love for him, he realizes he must face his past and the consequences of his actions, even if it means he will lose the one girl who loves. Will he be able to get his life together before someone else claims her hand... Or even her life? MARTHA ROGERS Martha Rogers is a former teacher with experience writing both fiction and nonfiction, including Not on the Menu, a part of Sugar and Grits, a novella collection with the DiAnn Mills, Janice Thompson, and Kathleen Y'Barbo. Rogers has a Masters degree in education and has worked as a secondary teacher and an instructor of English composition. She lives with her husband in Houston, Texas. I hope you will check out the websites of each of these writers and see what other great books they have to offer and learn more about their genre. HAPPY READING!