Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Another Book Review and another funny animal video.....

I have just read another book "Paradise Valley" by Dale Cramer


"I would do a great many things for you." Even at sixteen, Jake's handsome features hold the calm certainty and patient confidence of a man, and Rachel Bender knows—Jake Weaver is the one.
Rachel will grow into a strong young woman with powerful gifts—but in a faraway country, without her Jake. In 1921, Ohio;s new law forces Caleb Bender's family to seek sanctuary in the wilds of Mexico where the government will not interfere with their Amish way of life, or take their children from them. Nor will it protect them from the bandits terrorizing the countryside.
In an unfamiliar land where no one speaks their language or knows their ways, the Benders establish a homestead in exile. Sisters Emma, Rachel, and Miriam find strengths unimagined, gifts unexpected, and yearning beyond their deepest dreams. Even steadfast Caleb is compelled to wrestle with the demands of faith, only to discover that love has its own demands.

When I first started reading this book I thought it was pretty standard stuff and actually boring, and to be honest I wasn't looking forward to ploughing through this book.  However if you can persevere to when they go to Mexico it is well worth the read as things pick up and are a heck of a lot more interesting. 

I understand why the author had to write the first part of the book the way he did as he had to set the scene, I just thought it was a bit long winded the first part.

By the time I was finished reading it though I was praying and hoping there would be other books, as when this book finishes it leaves a few loose ends that need to be tied up.

I am pleased to say when I was Googling the publishing house to get some more information, it turns out this is number one of a three part series.  I can't wait to see what happens with the other two books and I will be definitely reading them.

If you love Amish fiction, you will enjoy this one, as it has a few twists in it unlike any other Amish fiction I have read.  It is also inspired by actual events, and I actually found this article about Mennonites settling in Mexico in the 1920's.

I give it 4 stars out of 5: Why, because it was such a slow start to the book that I thought I would have trouble finishing it, but once in Mexico, the book redeemed itself and was well worth the read.  Can't wait until the other two come out to complete the series.

As always I will be donating this book to my local library.


"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

Ever had a quiet day, but a busy one?  Well Monday was that sort of day for me.  I got all sorts done and never left the house all day.  Dh was home as he had some things to do around the house, so had booked the day off.  My new washer and dryer came and would you believe they won't go down the bloody basement, so I now have a washer and dryer in the main floor bathroom until we decide what to do next.  Wouldn't be so bad, but I gave away all my laundry detergent as you have to use the HE stuff with a front loader (SIGH)  I have enough left of the  regular detergent to last me a couple of weeks.  Hopefully by then we will have figured out what to do with it all.  Nothing is ever simple is it?

And finally as I can't get enough of these daft animal videos:

6 comments:

Jane and Chris said...

I have an HE machine and use my homemade detergent in it. The person I got the recipe from said that it was fine to use in an HE machine. I think in an HE machine the detergent just has to foam less.
Jane x

Scrappy quilter said...

Thanks for the e-mail. I sent one!!

I've had trouble reading Dale's books..maybe if I had persued them like you did I might have been able to read more of his books. I'll try this one and see if I can. Hugs

MyBulletinBoard said...

No, nothing is ever simple. Hope you get the machines worked out soon. You have bigger fish to fry!! . . . . . Headed for the vet this afternoon. DearDog has a lump the size of a golf ball near his neck. ~Liz

Stella Jones said...

Very funny videos. I watched some of those on TV while I was in London.
Enjoyed your book review. I have read a couple of Amish books. I found them interesting in a slow moving sort of way, just like you said. However, once you get used to the style of writing, it sort of grows on you, doesn't it.

Karine said...

My mom is still trying to get the hang of her front loader. The one thing that bugs her about hers is that it takes so much longer for some of the cycles to get through than they used to!

MyBulletinBoard said...

Just got a note from Stephanie. Olga has a home!!!

{{{SIGH}}}

Tuesday was a mixed bag type of day. Had the appliance repair guy come again to install another circuit board in the fridge.  When hubby got...