The Union Street Bakery

The Union Street Bakery by Mary Ellen Taylor
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

One minute you’re on top – fancy, swanky apartment, designer dresses, killer heels and the next minute you’re back sharing your parent’s attic with a ghost and all your worldly goods stuffed in boxes. Daisy lived the good life until the CEO of her company raised the bet and lost it all including his business and employees. Now Daisy spends the hours before dawn kneading dough and making bread in her family bakery – a once prospering business that’s now running in the red. It’s up to Daisy to crunch the numbers, help them break even and solve the mystery of the ghost and an old journal has been gifted to her from a frequent bakery customer. But, Daisy constantly entertains the idea of leaving, especially when she’s offered a job with a prestigious company…..

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The Choice

The Choice by Robert Whitlow
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

1974 - Sandy Lincoln, honors student, had thought she was right on track for college next fall. She and her boyfriend, Brad, were going to attend the same college - he on a football scholarship and Sandy would try out for the cheerleading squad. But then, the nausea started and a visit to their family doctor confirmed that Sandy was pregnant. Sandy has several choices, and she narrows it down to living with her Aunt Linda in Atlanta and attending a high school there until she gives birth and chooses the prospective parents to raise her child. Fast forward 30+ years, Sandy is now a high school English teacher in the same hometown school she attended. When one of the students that she tutored in English becomes pregnant and seems to be railroaded into thinking there is only one option, Sandy steps in.

An inspirational book of hard choices and decisions...

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Reunion

Reunion: A Novel by Lauraine Snelling
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Great contemporary, Christian fiction by Snelling - this read is based on two families, related by blood but also best friends. Keira Johnston has just been presented a trip to Norway by her husband. The only thing stopping her from getting her passport is finding her birth certificate. When it is finally found, she is shocked and unsettled to discover that her beloved father was not her birth father. Why didn't her mother tell her and how can Keira tell the big Sorensen clan at the upcoming reunion? At the same time, her niece Kirsten Sorensen is days away from her high school graduation when she's overcome by nausea and uncertainly takes a pregnancy test. The results may keep Kirsten from accepting a college scholarship in the Fall and break her family apart. The secrets kept by both women tug at the close kinship and need to brought into the open for healing.

Very contemporary and moving, Snelling's main characters are strong women who have human flaws. Please read the Afterword to see how the story personally relates to the author.

I'm also a big fan of Snelling's Red River of the North Series - again the characters face real life and death issues as they try to farm and settle the land in the Dakota Territory, amidst sickness, hardships, and blizzards.

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In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne Tuohy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy tell the story, in their own words, of meeting Michael Oher, featured in the wonderful movie "The Blind Side." The couple also talk of their own upbringing, of cheerful giving, and why they feel compelled to look out for other children and teens. Very funny in parts and inspirational, the Tuohy also question why everyone can't do their part and make a difference in someone's life.

Photos included with interludes from their children, Collins, Michael, and Sean Junior, and Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock.



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In a Heartbeat

In a Heartbeat: Sharing the Power of Cheerful Giving by Leigh Anne Tuohy

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Leigh Anne and Sean Tuohy tell the story, in their own words, of meeting Michael Oher, featured in the wonderful movie "The Blind Side." The couple also talk of their own upbringing, of cheerful giving, and why they feel compelled to look out for other children and teens. Very funny in parts and inspirational, the Tuohy also question why everyone can't do their part and make a difference in someone's life.

Photos included with interludes from their children, Collins, Michael, and Sean Junior, and Tim McGraw and Sandra Bullock.



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If You Could See Me Now

If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


If you've ever read any of Cecelia Ahern's novels, you know that her books are rather endearing, romantic, and sweet. If You Could See Me Now begins with Elizabeth's flighty, unreliable younger sister, Saoirse, stealing the car and taking off for parts unknown, again! Elizabeth, who adopted Saoirese's son, Luke, is left trying to care for him and her angry, aging father. Luke, only six years old and lonely, finds solace in a new, invisible friend named Ivan. Elizabeth, who is a no nonsense, very precise, and controlled woman suddenly finds herself sensing something or someone around the house. Is Ivan really invisible to adults and children, other than Luke and can he help Elizabeth reclaim some fun and spontaneity in her life?



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Take Four

Take Four by Karen Kingsbury

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Last in the series, Above the Line, Kingsbury finishes the story of Keith and Dayne of Jeremiah Productions making the inspirational film, Unlocked, and Andi, Keith's daughter rethinks giving her baby up for adoption. Cody discovers, to his dismay, that his mother is still using drugs and tries to pull away from Bailey, so that it doesn't taint her stardom from playing one of the lead roles in Unlocked.



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