Dear Readers,

Today is my first day back from vacation. Which means I am playing catch up for goofing off all last week. Of course it also means I had time to read a whole bunch of books that I can’t wait to tell you all about.

Sharon Brown’s book Feathers of Hope arrived early and we are doing a book launch with her on Monday March 28th. You are welcome to join us. It is a ticketed event (Free) and tickets are required. We expect the event to sell out so get your tickets soon.

Read on my friends, read on,

Her Guarded Heart – Sharlene MacLaren – #4 Hearts of Honor – At age twenty-one, Anna Hansen has had more than her share of hardship. Her mother died when she was eleven and her father just passed away under mysterious circumstances, leaving her to care for her ten-year-old brother, Billy Ray. She struggles to hang onto the family farm but it’s facing foreclosure and things are looking grim. Next door, Jesse Fuller’s drive, work ethic, and skill ensure that his family’s farm is a growing success. His brothers think he should marry Anna to help out her and her kid brother…while also enabling the Fullers to expand their operation. But Jesse has never had romantic feelings for Anna and the idea doesn’t appeal to him. In the meantime, Horace Blackthorn is hell-bent on acquiring the Hansen farm for reasons of his own. And he’ll do whatever it takes to get it—lie, cheat, steal…even murder.

Feathers of Hope – Sharon Garlough Brown – In a season of loss and change, Wren Crawford and her great-aunt, Katherine Rhodes, share the journey as companions in sorrow and hope. As Katherine prepares to retire as the director of the New Hope Retreat Center, she faces both personal and professional challenges—especially after the arrival of the board’s candidate to replace her. Not only must she confront more unresolved grief from her past, but she’s invited to embrace painful and unsettling insights about her own blind spots. How might disruption become a gift that opens the way to new growth? Wren’s world is shifting and expanding as she presses forward in recovery from a period of deep depression. Still processing open questions around the death of her best friend, Casey, Wren stewards her grief by offering compassionate care to the residents of the nursing home where she now works. But the shedding of her old life is exhausting—especially as she doesn’t yet see what new life will emerge. How might art continue to provide a pathway for deepening her awareness of God’s presence with her?

The Letter from Briarton Park – Sarah E. Ladd – Houses of Yorkshire novel – Cassandra Hale grew up knowing little about her parentage, and she had made peace with the fact that she never would. But Cassandra’s world shifts when a shocking deathbed confession reveals a two-year-old letter from Mr. Clark, the master of Briarton Park, with hints to her family’s identity. Stung by betrayal, she travels to the village of Anston only to learn Mr. Clark has since passed away. James Warrington is a widower and the new master of Briarton Park, where he lives with his two young daughters, his sister, and his mother-in-law. When Cassandra appears at his doorstep with a letter from the previous owner and then proceeds to assist his family in an unexpected way, he is honor bound to help uncover the answers she seeks. The more time Cassandra spends in Anston, the more she begins to suspect not everything—or everyone—is as they seem. As details emerge, the danger surrounding her intensifies. Using wit and intuition, she must navigate the treacherous landscapes between truth and rumor and between loyalty and deception if she is to uncover the realities of her past and find the place her heart can finally call home.