Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers

 

So I was in Barnes and Noble and saw that Francine had a book out that I'd never heard about. I really like her books and so I put it back and ordered it for my Kindle :) I had some time on my hands Friday night and Saturday...  so I read the whole thing. It was that good.

Pastor Zeke goes out early every morning to walk the town of Haven and pray. He was finishing up his walk one morning and was on his way home when he felt the Lord tell him to head over to the Bridge. There he hears crying finds a baby, newly born, under the bridge. He takes her to the hospital and meets with his wife Marianne. She wants to take the little girl home, but Pastor Zeke cautions against it after the birth of their son Joshua years before nearly killed her. Whether it was selfishness or the Lord's hand, they end up taking the girl home and naming her Abra. 

At 5 years old, Abra ends up having to live with a different family, and feels abandoned by everyone around her. Abra's new family tries to make her feel welcome, but Abra continues to withdraw within herself. At 16 she runs away from Haven with Dylan, with promises of love and a new life away from those who she feels have let her down. Not surprisingly,Dylan turns out to be someone with his own interests at heart.

There are so many twists and turns in this book, I don't want to give any more away. All I can say, READ IT!

5 of 5 Bright Pink Flamingos.

Girls In Trucks by Katie Crouch

 

 

I got this book in a recent trip to Goodwill. I really liked the cover (the author has notes about the cover in the back of the book). The book was about Sarah Walters who was born into southern society as a Camellia debutante. She hated everything about it... having to fit-in, she was never good enough at it. Still she tried her best to make her mother happy and follow the rules of the society. She was a Southern girl after all; that is until she decided to move North. 

 

Sarah moved to NY to break-free from her Southern life. She rented an apartment with one of her Camellia sisters, met a guy, and thought that things couldn't be better; unfortunately the story doesn't end there. Sarah learns the value of "Once a Camellia, always a Camellia" as her world and the worlds of her Camellia sisters, shatter multiple times. 

 

This book was a good quick read.I enjoyed reading about Southern society and I found myself wanting to be one of the Camellia girls.

4.5 of 5 flamingos.

The Devil In Pew Number Seven by Rebecca Nichols Alonzo with Bob DeMoss

 

Wow! What a book! I read it in like 3 days. It's a true story about Rebecca Nichols and her family's trials of moving to a new small town where her father becomes the senior pastor of the dying church. Most are happy about this except for Mr.Watts, the man in pew number seven. Mr. Watts is a very wealthy man and because of that, controls the majority of the people in the small town. Pastor Nichols begins making waves that Mr. Watts doesn't like. He wants Pastor Nichols out of the pulpit and out of town and he goes through great, nay exceptional lengths to try to make this happen. 

This book had me on edge, wondering what more could possibly happen to this family. The overall theme of the book is forgiveness and after reading this, I think I have much more to learn on the topic. 

6 of 5 flamingos (cause I can and it's just that good)

Mistress of My Fate by Hallie Rubenhold

The reason for so much time between posts this time was half due to a busier schedule, and the other half being that this book was 450 pages long. Yikes! I found this book at the Dollar Store. I know, I know, like I needed to buy another book. But hey, it was $1.00! And it was worth every penny. 

Set in England in the 18th century, the book was about Henrietta who was abandoned by her mother and raised along side her cousins in the home of Lord and Lady Stavorley. She grows up learning the ways of upper class society and becomes an excellent friend to her cousin Catherine; that is, until Lord Allenham enters the picture. 

Lord Allenham was by all accounts, gorgeous, well-studied, had a mind for politics and an eye for Henrietta. Although smitten by Lord Allenham, Henrietta being only 16, decides that she must deflect the affections of Allenham to her older cousin Cathy. All seems to be going well, until an untimely death and a surprise lineage forces Henrietta to leave all that she knows in search of true love. 

The adventures that happen after her departure make up the majority of the book, and unfortunately, I can't tell you about them because it would give too much away. 

I thoroughly enjoyed it. 

5 of 5 flamingos. 

So Long Insecurity by Beth Moore

So this one was a doozy. I'm not really sure if doozy is even a word... actually according to the red squiggly that is under it, it's not, but I'm using it anyway. I have had this book on my shelf for quite some time. Face it, when you're feeling insecure, the last thing you want to do is read a book that will point out all your insecurities. Well that, and I find that reading non-fiction is way more fun than trying to tackle things in my life that have been firmly rooted for years. 

While Beth does point out different kinds of insecurity, she thankfully points you in the right direction to help you get through it. Certainly the main way to get help is none other than the Lord Himself. However, she offers some practical advice as well. There was also a chapter on men. Believe it or not, they are often just as insecure as us women. 

Anyway, it was a good read, and I have found many tidbits throughout the book that I've underlined and will revisit again. There were even some funny anecdotes that made me chuckle out loud. 

5 of 5 Flamingos