Contemporary Books

Billie Jean Sloane was created for life's dramatic moments. Nothing she does is "beige"...she is washed in vivid colors from Day One.

She brings to mind another such colorful character...Scarlett O'Hara! Except that Billie Jean actually does have her "happy ending". It's a long time coming, and she has to go through several "rehearsals" first, but in the end, she not only finds her first love again, but she has a long overdue talk with her mother in which she sorts out some of the emotional baggage between them. She begins to understand her drive for acceptance and love.

So not only does Billie Jean's quest for love find fruition, but she has an epiphany. She finally understands herself.

I could not put this book down, taking it everywhere until I reached the last page. And then I wanted a sequel!

Good read, Betty Dravis!

The first inkling you get about author Betty Dravis is found in this passage, "a portion of the proceeds of this book will be donated to The Seth Craig Stem Cell Research Foundation."

The dedications in the book also reveal the love and devotion of this writer towards her family.

The subject of the book is Billie Jean, although Betty herself also faces an enormous challenge. She is a married mother of five children, with yet another on the way. She disapproves divorce but her spirit of courage and emotional strength allow her separation from a man who has not been coming home on time nor providing for the family.

The authors insight, thoughts and observations of Billie Jean are extremely intriguing.

Both sisters share a physical resemblance, both being beautiful, though their minds and ideas are radically conflicting. I wouldn't want to get between them because as opposing as their personalities are you feel the love they have for each other in the writing.

I could relate to Billie Jean's quest for love. She's lost and hurt, temporarily relieved and entertained by toys of the rich.

Billie Jeans search for love is almost never ending.

Almost. Though she marries and remarries, she is bound eternally to memories of long lost love. Billie Jean concludes her search in a beautifully emotional ending in the arms of her soul mate. This fate was meant to be.

I highly recommend this book.

This is the story of Billie Jean Sloane-- and Cal, and Don, and James, and Mark, and Elliot and Jackson. It is also the story of the author's sister's life and it is simply enthralling!

It spans several decades-- the novel begins with 16 year old Billie Jean marrying the love of her life, Cal. He has some baggage, though, that winds up ruining their marriage. She spends many more years giving love and marriage another shot (and several other shots) yet, for various reasons, those relationships do not work out, either. Her life, though, is always interesting and never stagnant. Even with all her faults and foibles, she's likable, charming, and intriguing-- and although the path she takes seemingly lacks direction, it actually (and surprisingly) finally does lead her to life long happiness.

Betty Dravis is a talented and prolific author who has been compared to Grandma Moses-- as both of them found their true niche later in life. She definitely knows how to tell a story. 1106 Grand Boulevard is full of colorful characters, rich dialogue, and fascinating locales. Most importantly, it's a fun and exciting story written by an excellent storyteller.

the backpack. Yes. I finished this novel by the shores of Mississippi Lake in the wilderness of Henry Coe State Park. I am not much of a fiction reader, but this book made a lasting impression on me.

Billie Jean Sloane-Taylor-McIvers-Hollings-Parsons-Reed-Sinclair-Taylor has led an interesting life: seven marriages with six husbands, a life alternately of poverty, wealth, and getting by reasonably well, with two children, several miscarriages, and a large diverse set of sibblings to boot. Never was the famous Chinese curse so appropriate: "May you live in interesting times." Yet, somehow she perserves and, by the novel's end, prevails in discovering and obtaining her life's desire.

Other readers have noted that this novel is a very clever adaptation of the romance novel to the life of the author's actual sister. I too was impressed with how maleable this genre is in the skilled hands of author Betty Dravis. But the theme which struck me throughout the book was that Billie Jean always returned home after each new crisis or change of circumstance in her life. This was not because her family was always supportive. Indeed, they sometimes unintentionally aggravated the travails Billie Jean suffered through, a portion of the novel that the author handles with loving care and no small amount of grace. But it was her home itself, and the memories it contained, that really gave Billie Jean solace. 1106 Grand Avenue was for her the small still part of the soul that mystics seek: a place she could retreat to for healing and (increasingly, as the novel progresses) wholeness.

We all need such places in our lives, even if we don't have 7 husbands and sisters who are too clever by half. I have found my place to be within the wildlands of California. It is a place I can retreat to where the concerns of life pass away and from which I return ready to again face the challenges life throws at me. After a period of intense stress, it is hard to improve upon a remote and beautiful location like Mississippi Lake. Except perhaps by taking a good book with you.

This gem of a book is not just another romantic story based on a real character. In fact I think it is the most powerful and touching novel that I have ever read.

Billy Jean, a very beautiful and vivacious but slightly vain and naive young girl is shot by her husband Cal, in a fit of jealous anger. Cal is madly in love with Billy Jean but he carries deep emotional scars from his childhood that makes it difficult for him to control his anger. Billy Jean is deeply in love with Cal despite his abuse and his violent temper. Billy Jean's parents send her away to live with her aunt Tommie in an attempt to protect their daughter. Thus begins the drama filled adventures of Billy Jean.

Billy Jean's life will be filled with tragedy and yearning for a lost love, but also many moments of happiness. Billy Jean is widowed twice, divorced four times, almost dies in childbirth, is taken for a ride by the mafia, and that is just a very small sample of what she will experience. There are many heart wrenching moments in this novel, but also many heart warming moments.

The story is action packed and full of unexpected twists and turns, and still it is mostly about love, family, and 1106 Grand Boulevard, the home that Billy Jean departed from, but that never left her. 1106 Grand Boulevard was the place she would return to for healing and eventually wholeness.

The author uses descriptive phrases and words with such skill and precision that the story comes alive and grabs the reader. The tumultuous and gripping adventures of Billy Jean are described with such wisdom, and deep insight that it is clear that what is described must have been both self experienced and deeply contemplated.

I will always remember the time and the place where I was when I read Chapter 41. Chapter 41 is where everything in Billy Jean's life will come together with such beauty and power that it transcends our imagination and our dreams. If you can read Chapter 41 without being deeply touched then you can also swim without water and sail without wind.

This is a beautiful book that will leave you with something that you can carry with you for the rest of your life. The story of Billy Jean is not just a great story, but an ode to the beauty of life. How lucky we are that it is Betty Dravis who is telling us this story, because no one else could do it like her. I am expecting a Hollywood production based on this book sometime in the future.

I received this book very quickly and it was in great shape! It was a VERY good book!!

As both an author and reader of fiction, I was impressed with "Beyond the Shadows". Maybe it is because I have always enjoyed a book that could hold my attention and make me think at the same time. In a nutshell, the characters are believable and yet a little out of the ordinary and the story line unique. Give this book a try.
The Christian fiction book that I have written main story line is about ten years in the life of a little girl who was "chosen by God" to be the next Madonna in the second coming of Christ.
Tommy Taylor
Author - The Second Virgin Birth

Beyond the Shadows: A Love Story is a touching story about one woman's spiritual journey. Deborah Haskin's life was wonderful. She and her new husband, Andy, had just bought near the small town of Amethyst. Though a city boy, Andy's dream was to become a farmer, have children, and grow old with Deborah. Unfortunately, these dreams were not meant to be. After only fifteen months of marriage, Andy was killed in a farming accident. Deborah was crushed. She was angry at Andy for leaving her and angry at God for taking him.

Then Gideon Clermont came into Deborah's life. Gideon had been an army buddy of Andy's. Just before his death, Andy had asked Gideon's help on the farm. Honouring his friend's request, Gideon set out to help Andy's widow with various handyman chores around the farm.

For Deborah and Gideon, it seemed as though Andy and God had brought them together to grieve and then to live. The couple's romance blossomed and the two quickly wed. Drunk in her new love, Deborah didn't realize that she had forgotten her faith. Moreover, Deborah's wonderful life wasn't really as perfect as she thought.

Beyond the Shadows: A Love Story is a beautiful inspirational story of finding and embracing the Christian faith. I suggest this book to anyone needing a faith lift.

This was a great book from a Christian perspective on the subject of alcoholism. Robin Lee Hatcher did a very good job of bringing her experiences with a loved one with alcoholism into this book. I could relate to a lot of the book because I was once in a relationship with an alcoholic. I could relate to the anger and pain that Deborah felt, the covering up of the problem, pouring out the booze, etc. This book is real and I highly recommend it to someone with a loved one who is an alcoholic.

Deborah Haskins is devastated at the death of her young husband of only eighteen months. They had just bought a small farm that was Andy's life-long dream, and now he was gone. Deb felt she had to stay on the farm. It was what Andy would have wanted and she was determined to hang on, to keep his dream alive, despite pressure from her mother to 'move back home.'  "This is my home. It was Andy's dream."
 
When a young man appears at the farm a few months after the funeral, she remembers meeting him briefly at the graveside. An uneasy feeling creeps over her as he approaches. His name is Gideon Clermont, a man who served with Andy in Korea. Deborah learns that, in fact, Andy had saved Gideon's life, and Andy had asked Gideon to come to the farm to help with renovations.
 
Gideon's quiet demeanor lulls Deborah's caution as he steadfastly sets about fixing things on the farm, working Saturdays. As time goes on, Deborah can no longer fight her attraction. Their romance blossoms and Deborah heals as her grief fades and she looks forward to a new, happy life.
 
But she discovers her new husband has kept a terrible secret from her, and as it emerges Deborah learns that her healing came with a price. She turns to Christ for strength and guidance as she tries to cope with this new sorrow. When Gideon nearly kills their young son, Deborah knows it is time to make a decision. Has it come too late?
 
Working through her own painful experiences, Robin Lee Hatcher tells a story of hope and heartbreak, faith and second chances. She has bravely tackled a subject that all too often gets covered up and swept under the carpet. We live through the agony of the non-violent form of alcoholism in the story of Deborah and Gideon. It is hard to know which way you want Deborah to behave as you feel her anger and pain, love, hate and despair. I fell in love with Gideon and I felt myself just as angry, hurt, disgusted and hopeless as Deborah. And sometimes I wanted to shake her for putting up with it as long as she did.
 
This is Deborah's story, but Beyond The Shadows is told in a unique style, with vignettes as seen through the eyes of her neighbors, parents and her pastor. It reveals how ill-equipped the Christian family is to deal with alcoholism, or any addiction. The truth is, as Deborah discovers, we can only handle it through faith in Jesus and leaning on Him for the strength to cope. Beyond the Shadows is a gripping story, difficult to read at times as Hatcher pulls you right into Deborah's heart, head and life. Highly recommended.

This book contains most of the beadweaving techniques that I've ever heard about as well as how to combine stitches. While I would call it a reference book, for the most part, it has lots of projects as well. I haven't made any of the projects to date but think the instructions are excellent. If you need to know how to switch stitches in your off-loom work.........you won't be unhappy if you purchase this book.

GREAT!!! loved it gave great ideas to work with

I've only found 1 other bead weaving book as good as this one and it's also by Carol Wilcox Wells, "The Art and Elegance of Beadweaving". This one has great diagrams, guidance on what beads and colors to use, and a beautiful gallery of projects to do and ones to be inspired by. It is also a great buy in paperback. My advice is buy both of her books.

I love the book. It has lots of beautiful inspiring pieces. It's more of a book for intermediate and advanced beaders than beginners in my opinion, but that doesn't mean a beginner wouldn't get something out of purchasing it. I retun to the book over and over again for helpful tips and tricks and inspiration. I highly recommend it.

I have a bunch of beadweaving books, but THIS is the one I refer to when I forget a stitch or need some technical help with increasing or decreasing. Nice projects and instructions are written clearly. If you buy only one book on beadweaving, it should be this one!

In The Dead Don't Dance Charles Martin once again creates characters that the reader grows to love. Martin's wonderful mix of drama, contemplation and humor give a great pace to the novel. His books are very inspirational, but never preachy or simplistic.

Charles Martin is an exceptional writer! I could hardly put the book down! I highly recommend all of Charles Martin's book!

I hesitated reading this book because I was worried it would be too sad for me. But I decided to give it a try because I had read another book by Charles Martin, When Crickets Cry, and loved it. It was a book that stuck with me and I made a mental note to read something else by him. I also loved 'The Dead Don't Dance'. Even though I cried; it did not weigh me down. I grew to love the characters and I am already half way through its sequel 'Maggie'. Charles Martin is an author to follow. I plan to read all his books. If you like Francine Rivers and Lynn Austin you will also like Charles Martin: they all tell a good story. They are different in style; which makes him a good author to throw into the rotation. Thanks CM, keep up the good work!

Love and faith are Dylan's bread and water in this novel. You can feel his pain as he watches his wife fight for her life in a deep coma, not to mention the loss of their first child. The lessons he learns and the people he meets on this journey will bring you to tears and then put a smile on your face. Read with a box of tissues and then buy a copy for everyone you know.

The Dead Don't Dance is simply marvelous. Charles Martin has written a profound novel of life in the South without creating ridiculous characters. The protagonist is a man trying to find meaning in his life after the death of his firstborn and the half-life of his wife after she lapsed into a coma following complications from the birth. A must read for anyone searching for meaning in their lives.

I read this book when I was a kid and it's wonderful. Anyone who loves dogs should read all of Terhune's books.

I asked my grandma if she could take me to the library. We were looking around for books together, her boring adult books, me books by Margaret Peterson Haddix and dog books. I was in the aisle R-V and spoted a book with the word "dog" on it. I quickly grabbed the book and held on to it tightly glad no one else had seen it. I looked at the cover and saw an adorable dog on it and decided to check it out. When I got home the first thing I did was start reading it. It was new stile of writing for me; a bunch of chapters that were in order but SOMEHOW a bunch of short stories about one dog, put together. It got my interest right away. I stayed up till about 3:00 A.M reading it. It still hadn't finished it. The next day I continued to read it and I finished it. It was the most wonderful, exellent, heart-warming, special, terrific, best, most interesting book I have EVER read (until I read Terhune's other books)! I bought the book shortly after. I discovered there was more Lad books and got them all. I decided I loved Terhune's books and went on a book shopping spree.

For the REAL review: I HIGHLY recommend this book as well as all of Terhune's dog books to everyone young and old. It changed my life dramaticly and I am very thankful for the day I found the book. But, this book is different from Terhune's other books. Not the best, but in my opinion, the very most special. After all, it IS Albert Payson Terhune's firt book and the first book of his I read.

Here's my sister, Shannon Hyle's feelings for this book:
"Reading about Lad, a Dog by Albert Payson Terhune fired my desire to own a dog, not just any dog but a faithful tawny collie who would keep me company, lick away my tears and save my life (it might have been from falling through the ice or from that car speeding around the corner or maybe from our cantankerous cow with the cock-eyed horn. Terhune's book series was based on the very real Sunnybank Lad, "a thoroughbred in body and soul."
I also found Terhune's books very satisfying reading and couldn't get enough of them or of Thomas Hinkle's horse stories.

As long as you can ignore the bigotry of the author (he was a rich, white aristocrat of the pre WWI variety, so he was a snob and a bigot), his writing about the nobility of dogs, his ability to make them live in your mind is still unsurpassed. The author wouldn't pass a modern "political correctness" test, but if you love dogs and you are mature enough to understand that authors are people and thus flawed, this is a book you should NOT miss.

are now legion, as they say. But Terhune was the first person to make them worthwhile to read! I recently came across Albert Payson Terhune's oeuvre, Sunnybank, and Lad, etc. while preparing to purchase a collie for our home. Although we did not eventually get the 'dog of our dreams,' all of my hopes and aspirations, which had been fueled by watching "Lassie" almost fifty years ago, were codified, given life, and made literate in the many books by Mr. Terhune.

His way of writing, (though repetitive in terms and phrases from book to book- a relatively minor point, for the writing is evocative, even if repetitive) is nevertheless easily on a par with many 'good' modern authors today, and is therefore of more merit, than perhaps when they were first written!

As Chronicles of history (the era when cars were first being mass-produced & made available by the 'monthly payment with interest scheme,' so burdensome to modern life) when gentlemanly conduct and lady-like manners were not 'chauvinistic,' all of Terhune's books would make a very nice study of American mores and morals of the 1910-1930's era, especially for boys aged 9-12. Where he [Terhune] shines most evocatively, is in giving that sense of awe and wonder, as one looks with love and affection on a dog that many consider the noblest examplar of the breed as a whole!

What was also pleasant to read, is the honest way in which Terhune describes how literate, intelligent, and societally well-to-do [white] folks looked upon the world, their neighbors, the rise of crime as a mobile menace with the advent of said motorcar (and thus, Terhune makes an eloquent 'apologia' for limiting, rather than expanding[!] mass transportation from inner city to outer suburbs in modern metropolises!) with a frankness that is woefully missing today. In short, when needed, Terhune, like almost all men of his era, is willing to 'call a spade a spade.' Some might call his use of terms for some of the less seemly characters he portrays, 'racially insensitive,' but that is only because we have been brainwashed into thinking civility and crassness are interchangeable cogs on a multicultural wheel!

I, for one, found this utter frankness of Terhune and his overt masculinity (in his descriptions of events and persons) a breath of fresh air- especially after the 'Illegal Alien May First walkout of 2006,' Hurricane Katrina and the Superbowl, the Million Man March, and all the other 'minority grandstanding' one has to endure in this "PC" mad era. Terhune's evocation of an era that should come again reveal that civility, proper manners, respect for property, life, and livestock on a working farm or kennel, are things that any child (or adult!) could/should take a lesson from. Along with Knight's "Lassie-come-home,' these books (in their original issue, and not in modern reprints, which clearly would be 'santized' for 'modern dumbed-down readers') are now prize possessions in my antiquarian bookcase. I will return to them every year, (and read them to my children, whom I homeschool!) to read of a lifestyle, a culture, that once defined what it is to be free, noble, and American. IF I could put it into the fewest words possible, I would say Terhune writes of: Man, dog, and nature. If one could sum up Terhune, these three qualities shine through resplendently in all of his works. I can honestly say, that, for a work of fiction, I am a better man for reading them.

When I started out reading this book, I was very skeptical, and I did not want to read something, that was set in the 1800's. I was pleasantly surprised though, because of what I learned about those times. I loved the characters and thought that they just fit together, especially Lorna and Jens. The book was romantic, but definitely had tragic and horrible moments, as well. This was a great novel, with an expected ending, but I really did enjoy this book a lot.

and this book proves she is at the top! I enjoyed this book even though it was a tear jerker.

Levyrle Spencer can just make you feel what her characters are feeling so effortlessly that you laugh and cry with them and almost forget that they are not real.
Lorna and Jens are one of her most real characters and their situation is also so real. The way they are helpless against their attraction to each other even after knowing it would be disastrous was so beautifully written that you could feel the sexual tension yourself whenever they were together.
Lorna was a rich girl but not spoilt at all. And Jens was poor but too ambitious and proud to become one of the servents in house for Lorna. Their attraction, like it always happens in Levyrle Spencer's romances, grew with each of their meetings to an extent that it was almost unbearable for me(and i suppose all the readers). It became something too strong and inevitable to ignore anymore. I especially liked the scene when Lorna asked Jens if he was ever going to kiss her, "I have considered ordering you to, but it didn't work before." How sweet!
People like Lorna's parents could make something so beautiful and rare into something cheap and dirty. Her mother was so convincing that she made Lorna question her own feelings. Her mother used her shame and guilt as a weapon against her love for Jens and made her give up hope. Jens was angry with her for giving up and i don't blame him.
The ending was Great! It warmed my heart to see Lorna stand up for her love and her child without any shame or guilt.
This is one of those books that you have got to read again and i definately will.

I LOVED this book!!! It is the love story of Lorna, a rich girl (though not spoiled at all), living in the high society of Minnesota in the late 1800s, and Jens, the kitchen handyman, hired by her father to build him the fastest boat possible. The characters come to life in this book - LaVyrle Spencer at her best, so very well written that you can feel their pain, etc. Heartwrenching and very romantic. Reminds me of "Titanic" with the whole upper class/lower class theme. I can't say enough about this book. I just couldn't put it down, it is really that good!!! It is definitely one of my favorites and I recommend it to everyone!!!

The setting of November of the Heart is Minnesota, 1895. Lorna Barnett, the central figure, is the beautiful eighteen-year-old daughter of Commodore Gideon Barnett, a proud man who's a member of the White Bear Yacht Club. The Barnetts are high on the social ladder, and the Barnetts expect Lorna to marry the handsome, well-off Taylor DuVal. However, one summer at their lake house, Lorna unexpectedly falls in love with the kitchenhand, twenty-five-year-old Jens Harkens, the Norweigan, and they begin a passionate, risky relationship. They both know that if they are discovered, Jens will be banished from the lakehouse. Gideon Barnett is passionate about racing boats, and after bitterly losing a race, Jens suggests that he knows how to build a better boat (after all, he is a Norweigan), so he is commissioned to build a boat for the next race. However, his tenure is cut short as his and Lorna's relationship is exposed, and Lorna's life is almost ruined with scandal.

A poignant, passionate read that deals with love at its cruelest and at its heartwarming best, but a lot of times, I felt like the plot was too stagnant and uninteresting. There are not a lot of driving moments/action that make the plot move forward, and the ending is resolved a little too neatly. However, if one does not mind the verbiage and the intense sexual scenes (if one is not comfortable with these kinds of things), then one can enjoy this cute "coming of age" novel for Lorna Barnett and her undying love for her Norweigan.

"Thirst" is my favorite book of Mary Oliver's poems and prose. This contains some of her most overtly spiritual work. You can find a kindred spirit in her words. In addition to the title poem "Thirst," I especially loved "Making the House Ready for the Lord."

* Thirst, Mary Oliver. The tone of this beautiful collection of poems is set in the first line of the first poem, entitled Messenger: "My work is loving the world." It is obvious in this collection and in the larger body of her work throughout her life that her work is loving the world deeply. And it is in this same spirit that, after the death in 2005 of her beloved longtime partner Molly Malone Cook, has led her back to the church she disengaged from many years ago. Her journey has always been a spiritual one. In her poems about Jesus, God, faith and sacraments it is clear that for her, rdeengaging with the church is part of loving the world. A line in her poem "A Beautiful Striped Sparrow" says it best: "as they promised,/ God, once he in your heart,/ is everywhere--"

Though her path is different from mine, and though it may be off-putting to some, I deeply appreciate and respect each of these poems. I look forward to seeing more from her as she continues her work of loving the world.

The poems in this volume are poignant and touched me deeply. I read from it almost daily and find something each time to relate to and discover.

This is a phenominal book of poetry that both the novice and seasoned poetry reader will enjoy. The poems are filled with palpable imagery and the rhythmic genius that I have come to expect and crave from Mary Oliver.

From one of the foremost poets writing in the English language, this is a superb collection of poems reflecting the concerns of loss, faith, beauty and the human condition.
Buy it, read it, savour the power of a writer at her peak.
Beautiful, beautiful work.

Love love love these books. I am going to hate to see this series come to and end. Pleased with the condition of the book and was here very quickly.
Thanks
Connie in NC

this is an awsome read...just as goood as the first 5 in this series...can't wait to start number 7 and hope she writes more!!!!

I have enjoyed the entire Yada Yada series. I and my friends have been blessed.

These gals are a hoot. Even got their guys going. What a great story line. I enjoyed every line of every book. Wish there were more - what about new grandchildren and new members of Yada Yada? Peggy Touchtone Sholly

I've read the entire Yada Yada series and I have to applaud Neta Jackson. They are well written and the religion and spirituality isn't forced -- it is natural, with scripture to back it up. The recipes in the novel are a little strange, but you can jump over them. The characters are realistic and I've learned from the series. Definately a good read for Christians... especially as you are finding your own walk in faith.

I absolutely love Jackie Collins, but I think that this book fell short at the ending.

I didn't like how Lauren eluded Nick for the entire book, even up to the last few pages. She seemed a bit too pretentous and untouchable. I thought she loved him?

Otherwise, I loved Nick and empathized with his pain. I had hoped Lauren would have been more of a likeable character.

I was expecting a little more from Jackie with this book. It was still an enjoyable read but nowhere in the league of some of Jackie's other books like "Chances".

I loved this book. I could not put it down and since the first time I read it, I have read it twice more. There are some great plotlines in this book that keep you on your toes.

This is one of my favorite books of all time. I'm not a huge Jackie Collins fan, I've read some of her stuff and most of it just isn't my cup of tea. This one though! WOW! Its such a great story, peppered with flashbacks and different points of view. You just WANT Nick and Lauren to get together and just when you think they might, some tragedy yet again looms, ripping them apart. Its a smooth read, and hard to put down, so make sure you have lots of time on your hands because you won't want to stop reading. I first read this book about 6-7 years ago, put it on my bookshelf and just a few months ago pulled it out again. By this time, I had remembered the main story line but had forgotten a lot about the characters lives and the circumstances that bring them together...like the tornado....the murder....the marriages...wow.

If you're a Danielle Steele fan, but like me, think her stuff is a bit too syrupy sometimes, then this is for you. Jackie Collins pulls no punches in this one, just shooting straight from the hip and telling it like it is. Its a GREAT book, buy it for your collection and you WONT be sorry!

when the book said love story i thought it was going to be one of jackie's regular sleep around love story, but surprisingly this was a book of true love and not just true lust. great book i couldnt put down. =)

Once you have read one you just have to read more. They transport you to the beautiful country called Lancaster County Pennsylvania and the special Amish Folk that live in their special way.

The Betrayal is the second in Beverly Lewis's "Abram's Daughters" series. The author does a good job of keeping the story going with interesting looks into Amish life and the restrictions put on "the People," especially the women.

I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book in the series, "The Covenant" -- I'm not entirely sure why, maybe because things don't turn out as well as I would've liked for the main character, Leah.

The only part I found not believable was when Leah discovers who her real mother is--she responds as though she'd found out the store had gotten her order wrong but it was in her favor. It was weird! I don't think anyone would respond so favorably to learning that the people they thought were their parents are not. She just got over it too quickly.

Still, I'm enjoying this series and have moved on to the third book, "The Sacrifice."

Great book! Good, clean, Christian reading. Enjoyed the first book, by the end of the 2nd (this one)I couldn't wait to finish the series. I particularly like reading books about the Amish and Beverly Lewis does a fantastic job.

I enjoyed reading this novel. I finished it in 2 evenings and was eager to get the next book in the series. I'm looking forward to reading all of her books. It's nice to find good Christian reading.

This second book of Abram's Daughter series is another excellent continuation of the first book The Covenant, where Sadie birthed a child telling no one.

In this book, Sadie is still extremely depressed and does not want to be one of the Amish people. Leah her younger sister, as well as Lizzie, their aunt, have kept her secret.

Leah is in love with Jonas, much more than she ever could be with Gideon, the Smithy's son. With Jonas having a job in Ohio as an apprentice, they are far apart and Leah looks forward to his letters every day. Jonas wants Leah to come up there with him for the last of his time before they marry, but knowing Sadie needs to get away, she sends her instead to help the Amish people there. Leah helps Sadie get away in secret, and once her parents find out, they are very upset of course. It is then that Leah knows she must unburden her heart, and not keep Sadie's secret any longer before her own baptism vows before the People. Once she tells the bishop and her parents what really went on with Sadie, there is the threat of the shunning for Sadie if she doesn't return home to make her own confessions. Sadie does not want to do this. And once Sadie knows that her sister spilled the beans, she is very very angry with her for awhile.

There is a secret of Lizzie's that applies to Leah as well from a long time ago. Her parents have kept it all this time and have never ever told Leah knowing it would hurt her deeply. Abram tells Jonas what it is, and says he plans to tell Leah soon and that she needs to know now. But he can't bring himself to tell even after he says he will, knowing the terrible pain it would cause Leah and that she might not accept it.

Mary Ruth and Hannah are quickly growing up and coming of age. Mary Ruth is in love with books, and she goes to the library and hides them away until she is found out. Reading books other than the bible in the Amish community is a big wordly sin, and therefore absolutely not allowed. Mary Ruth has ambitions of becoming a teacher though, and I look for her to pursue her dreams. Hannah is always afraid that Mary Ruth will go off and leave her alone. Since the two are twins, they are so very close to one another.

These books are hard to lay down, and I look forward to the next one, The Sacrifice.