Hope's Enduring Echo by Kim Vogel Sawyer ~ a book review

 

 

Set in Colorado in the early 1900’s, this story is about perseverance and faith.

Jennie’s family has been living in the mountains while her father is employed to check the wooden water lines that bring water from the mountains down to the town. Unfortunately, he fell while checking them one day and has been left with a permanent injured leg. The home they have lived in for years is provided to them as part of his employment.  If he can’t check the lines, they will lose their home. Jennie has been accompanying him on his rounds and secretly takes over the job.  She and her mother are hopeful that her father will regain enough strength and movement to resume his job, however, he has become depressed and has lost interest in almost everything.  One day, on her trip to check the lines, she meets a young paleontologist, Leo, who spots a bone Jennie is carrying and is convinced it is a dinosaur bone.  They strike up a friendship and work together to look for more bones. 

Jennie’s hope is that her father will recover soon and she can go to art school to pursue her love of art. She knows that until her father resumes his job, she must carry on checking the pipes.

Leo, who is a fellow believer, offers encouragement and support.  His father is a preacher and disapproves of him studying about dinosaurs. Leo and Jennie counsel and encourage each other to keep hoping.

The characters in this book are very believable and they feel like part of your family. This is an emotional, encouraging and uplifting story. 

You can read an excerpt HERE 

Learn more about Kim Vogel Sawyer HERE 

I received a complimentary ARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed  are my own.

**A word about ARC books.   Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) are a preview copy and are not a finished product. They may differ from the final published work and may include additional editing. My reviews may include some things that vary from the final published book.

 

 

Ambush by Colleen Coble, A Sanctuary Novel ~ a book review

In this contemporary mystery, Paradise Alden has come back to her childhood town in Alabama.  When she was a child, both her parents were murdered and the crime has never been solved.  As a result, she grew up in a series of foster homes where in one case, she was abused. 

She is now a veterinarian and accepts a job at the local wild animal sanctuary.  The owner happens to be the mother of her first love, Blake Lawson. She feels he betrayed her confidence which prompted her being placed in the abusive foster home, and she struggles to forgive him.  She has recently been attacked by a jaquar and is recovering from that injury.

As soon as she arrives at the sanctuary, a woman is murdered and Blake is the main suspect.  A series of break-ins, sabotage, gun fire and arson occur at the sanctuary. Is someone trying to frame Blake? Who is committing these crimes and why is the sanctuary being targeted?

Can Paradise and Blake work together to find the answers and can Paradise discover who killed her parents and why? Blake’s faith has seen him through his military service and the tragic loss of his best friend. Can he help Paradise rediscover her faith?

This is from the back cover:

“The first book in the riveting new series from USA TODAY bestselling author Colleen Coble, where a young woman will do anything to uncover the truth of her parents' murder--even work alongside the man who once broke her heart.

Paradise Alden's childhood in Nova Cambridge, Alabama, was idyllic until the night her parents were murdered. Since then, life has left her scarred. The abuse she suffered in the foster care system, her first love's betrayal, and the jaguar attack that nearly destroyed her career have led to an unshakable distrust--in men, in God, and maybe in even in herself.

After fifteen years, returning to her hometown is a last resort to finding her life again. She's hoping the wildlife refuge where she's accepted a veterinarian job will be the perfect place to heal from her recent traumas and unlock her memories about the night her parents died. But the day she arrives at The Sanctuary, a body is discovered on the grounds. And soon, a series of deadly events threatens not only her future, but the man who, despite all odds, still makes her pulse stutter. Arson, a shooting, a break-in, and multiple instances of animals being freed from their enclosures all point back to him, but Paradise knows Blake Lawson isn't responsible. Not the man who has been helping his mother manage The Sanctuary these past six months and care for his stepbrothers in the wake of their father's death . . . even if his betrayal years ago cost her everything.

Someone dangerous is lurking beneath the town's moss-draped trees, and Paradise refuses to let another murderer disappear into the shadows.”

The first book in the series, this suspenseful romantic mystery will keep your attention to the end.  There are some unresolved questions that I hope will be addressed in the future books of the series.

Go HERE to read an excerpt 

Go HERE to learn more about Colleen Coble and her other books  

 

Faith plays an important part of the story but it is in no way offensive or “preachey”.

I look forward to the next book in this series, and give this a 5 out of 5 star rating.

 

I received a complimentary ARC** of this book from the publisher via Netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions expressed  are my own.

**A word about ARC books.   Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs) are a preview copy and are not a finished product. They may differ from the final published work and may include additional editing. My reviews may include some things that vary from the final published book.