The Gift - Ta'mara Hanscom

Recently I received a copy of the following book in exchange for my honest review. This post will have book purchase advertisement. The FTC requires you to be given a fair warning. Now relax and enjoy the review.

I was blessed with a copy of this book to read, courtesy of the author, Ta'Mara Hanscom. All opinions are my own, and I was not required to review the book positively.

“When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.”1 Corinthians 13:11-12

Foreword:

Noah reached for her hand, and to his surprise, she didn’t try to get away. He felt the warmth and softness inside of his palm, and he smiled into her eyes. “I know everything about you. I know that you love white roses and brand new puppies. Your favorite story is The Sound of Music, and you get up before the sun. You make the best ravioli on the planet, and your brothers adore you. You wear Chanel No. 5…” Noah deeply inhaled, “and it still smells great on you. And sometimes when I look at you, it’s like yesterday all over again—I wish it was yesterday and we could have another chance.” 

Noah Hansen, June 1987

My Thoughts: 

This is the fourth book in the Caselli Family Series. I haven’t gotten to finish this book yet, but so far I am loving it! 

This book is really about hope, redemption, and learning about God’s timing. 

From book one I have wanted Noah and Tillie to get together, but the timing has never been quite right. Tillie has always been faithful to the Lord trying to follow His will for her life, even when it has not been an easy for her. Now her dreams are starting to fall into place after it seems like everything in her life has fallen to pieces. Saying to much about this book will definitely give the whole thing away, and I don’t want to do that. I definitely think if you have not read this series you should! You will for sure want to start with the first book and read them in order. 
Book One - The Pretender
Book Two - Pit of Ambition

Book Three - A Blackguard's Redemption

Book Four - The Gift

About the Author:

Ta`Mara Hanscom was born and raised in South Dakota. She has lived in Sioux Falls, Tea, and Rapid City, the primary location of her fictional series, The Caselli Family Series. She has traveled the United States and Italy extensively, adding an authentic tone to the adventures of the Casellis.

Ta`Mara is a dedicated Bible scholar, specializing in the Old Testament which she teaches at her home church. She also teaches AWANA Sparks, youth group Sunday school, and speaks at women’s events.

An avid baseball fan, Ta`Mara follows several AAA pipelines, American Legion teams, and MLB—her favorite club being the Detroit Tigers. She visits Detroit often, and prays for the recovery and deliverance of the city.

She works full time on her writing and Bible lessons in northwest Iowa, where she currently resides with her husband Jim. 

If you would like to visit Ta'Mara's website Click Here

If you would like to visit her Facebook page Click Here

If you want to purchase the book you can purchase it online at Amazon 

Son's of Blackbird Mountain by Joanne Bischof

Recently I received a copy of the following book in exchange for my honest review. This post will have book purchase advertisement. The FTC requires you to be given a fair warning. Now relax and enjoy the review.

I was blessed with a copy of this book to read, courtesy of Joanne Bischof  and the Publisher, Thomas Nelson. All opinions are my own, and I was not required to review the book positively.

Synopsis: 

A Tale of Family, Brotherhood, and the Healing Power of Love 

After the tragic death of her husband, Aven Norgaard is beckoned to give up her life in Norway to become a housekeeper in the rugged hills of Nineteenth-Century Appalachia. Upon arrival, she finds herself in the home of her late husband’s cousins—three brothers who make a living by brewing hard cider on their three-hundred acre farm. Yet even as a stranger in a foreign land, Aven has hope to build a new life in this tight-knit family.

But her unassuming beauty disrupts the bond between the brothers. The youngest two both desire her hand, and Aven is caught in the middle, unsure where—and whether—to offer her affection. While Haakon is bold and passionate, it is Thor who casts the greatest spell upon her. Though Deaf, mute, and dependent on hard drink to cope with his silent pain, Thor possesses a sobering strength.

As autumn ushers in the apple harvest, the rift between Thor and Haakon deepens and Aven faces a choice that risks hearts. Will two brothers’ longing for her quiet spirit tear apart a family? Can she find a tender belonging in this remote, rugged, and unfamiliar world?

A haunting tale of struggle and redemption, Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a portrait of grace in a world where the broken may find new life through the healing mercy of love. 

My thoughts:

I cannot begin to express how much I loved this book!! First of all love all of Joanne's books, so it was not a surprise that I enjoyed this one also. But there was something about this book that was just special. Joanne did something that I have not seen before, she wrote through the perspective of a deaf person. She did an amazing job might I add! My favorite character is definitely Thor, he's so sweet and kind and lovely

So this book is about 3 brothers who live in the mountains of Virginia and a woman from Norway. After Aven's husband dies she moved to be with Aunt Dorothe and 3 of her nephews, upon her arrival she finds out the Aunt Dorothe has passed away. Not knowing what to do and having no where else to go she stays with the three brothers. Aven has to choose between two brothers that have feelings for her. Who will she choose?? You have to read the book to find out... 

This book has so much in it, Romance, Heart Ache, Joy, Action & Adventure.
I highly recommend this book if you have not read it yet!.

About the Author:

Joanne has a long-standing passion for romance and a budding fervor for theology. She is more and more awed by how wondrously the two go hand in hand.

So depraved are we in our sinful state—so in need of a Savior—that the love story between God and his people is nothing short of astounding. A quenching of the thirst to parched souls. A light that makes the darkness tremble. A freedom from the bondage of pain and sin. Joanne is beyond thankful to be a part of this great love story and writes books to not only portray the glorious wonder of human love, but to reflect the ultimate romance and rescue that comes through Christ. 

“We all have ways of bringing offerings to His feet. Words and the telling of story are one of those gifts that I lay down. It is my constant prayer that they honor and please Him. 

Thank you for stopping by! I hope to learn a little bit more about you by connecting here!” 

                                      JOANNE

Joanne truly is one my favorite authors! I have never read a book I have not liked from her. Ever since the first book I have read from her I have not been able to stop reading her books 

If you would like to visit Joanne's page just Click Here
If you would like to visit her Facebook page Click Here
If you want to purchase the book you can at most of your local bookstores or online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or CBD.
Also if you would like to visit Joanne's Pinterest Page she has a lot of pins to show what the characters are like.

Caselli Series Books 1 & 2

Recently I received a copy of the following book in exchange for my honest review. This post will have book purchase advertisement. The FTC requires you to be given a fair warning! Now relax and enjoy the review.


The Pretender


My Jean-Marc’s uncle was married to an English woman, and she told us once, a very long time ago, that in this world there are men of two kinds.

The one, the KNIGHT, is the man possessing only strength and quality of moral character. He will never ask a lady to compromise her honor for less than a vow, and never, ever will he consider another once he has captured her heart. A knight keeps his vow, even when it hurts, and the honor of a knight is a thing a country is built upon. A knight comes along only seldom these days.


Now, a BLACKGUARD is a man who can be found quite easily, for it is an easy thing to be a blackguard. He attempts to trick the young ladies into taking him home and caring for him, making them believe their honor can be given away as a mere trifle, offering no vow, and making only human demands. The blackguard is to be avoided at all costs, for to settle for someone like him is to settle for something less than ideal.


In Rapid City, South Dakota, Tillie Casseli meets Noah Hansen. After a weekend of fun in the beautiful Black Hills and Mount Rushmore, it's love at first sight. They make a promise to each other before Tillie goes back home promising to return again. But when she returns a few weeks later she cant's believe what she sees. Could it be real or just a mistake? But Tillie doesn't stay to find out. Is Noah a blackguard or a knight? Tillie can usually see a blackuard from a mile away. What happened this time? How could she be wrong?

I love this book so much! I stayed up until 1 in the morning I don't know how many nights. I could not put it down, my mom was "making fun" because she doesn't normally see me with a book in my hand constantly.
Ta'mara had me hooked at first chapter and I cannot wait to read the second book!! I could give you the whole story but that would give it away when you should really read it yourself.

Book two is Pit of Ambition.
To learn more about Ta'mara go to her website here.
If you'd like to purchase the books you can do so on Amazon. It is 0.99 right now!

Pit of Ambition


This is the second book of the Caselli family series.

Tillie Caselli has married Alex Martin a famous lawyer. Before they were married he’d do anything to spend time with her but, now this young man is too focused on work, fame and fortune. Tillie is sick an can barely go to school. She goes to the doctor to find out she’s pregnant.
Noah Hansen has married Carrie and they are very happy together until the tragic death of Carrie’s mother  then fishy stuff starts happening. Carrie is expecting again and Noah is the best husband that anyone could have, coming home from work to check on his wife not working late more than he has to.

Guiseppi  finally realizes he made a big mistake by not telling Tillie what him and her mother knew about Noah from before they met. He can’t tell her now though, what good would that do? It would only make matters worse.
Alex and Noah are still good friends, Guiseppi meets Noah when he comes to Sioux Falls to check on a job building Angelo’s 2, Guiseppi’s second restaurant. He’s regretting the decision he has made.


This book was just as good as the first and I cannot wait to read he third one A Blackguards Redemption.
If you'd like to purchase the books you can do so on Amazon.




Ta`Mara Hanscom has worked on The Caselli Family Series since 1996. Within three weeks she had
created a 900 page rough draft of what would become a five- novel series of the epic love story of Tillie Caselli and Noah Hansen.

Loving all things Italian, Ta`Mara created the Caselli family true to their ethnic name. Born and raised in South Dakota, she brings this traditional family alive on the Great Plains where she has spent the entirety of her life.

To Get To You review and GIVEAWAY

Another amazing book by my favorite author, Joanne. This one is just a little different though, if you have read any of her other books or even my reviews of her books you know that she writes a lot of historical fiction. To Get To You is far from historical but its still her writing which makes it great. I don't know what it is about her writing but I've been hooked ever since the first book I read by her.







18 year old Riley Kane has had a rough life. His dad left him and his mom when he was only a child to pursue his surfing career, now Riley has nothing to do with his father. Becca Fletcher is a girl who was home schooled and a lot more sheltered in life than Riley, helping her mom take care of  her siblings not dating or being around a boy without a chaperon. Riley and Becca's lives are totally different but they somehow seem to connect. After Mr. Fletcher had a tragic accident Riley needs to get to Becca finding out her dad was in a bad wreck in Texas she and her family moved their trailer from California to Texas not knowing what was going to happen to her her dad, now Riley is desperate to get to her and do all he can to help. With his Jeep broke down he has to turn to the one person he didn't want to see, his dad. Now he's on a
fourteen hour road trip from California to Texas with his dad in a Volkswagen van. This trip will either be time to reconcile with the man that left him for dreams or it will be a total disaster. At first bitterness takes over in Riley he doesn't want much to do with his father except for them to get to where they are going and him to leave, but as time goes by they grow closer to one another and forgiveness finds its way in.

I don't want to give away too much of the book so I should probably stop here but, if you have read Joanne's books you will not be disappointed with this one, if you have not read her books yet I highly recommend this book as well as her others.



About Joanne:

Christy Award-finalist and author of Be Still My Soul and Though My Heart is Torn, Joanne Bischof has a deep passion for Appalachian culture and writing stories that shine light on God’s grace and goodness. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her husband and their three children. When she’s not weaving Appalachian romance, she’s blogging about faith, folk music, and the adventures of country living that bring her stories to life.

If you would like to learn more about Joanne or her books you can visit her website
If you would like to to purchase To Get To You you can on Amazon

Joanne is having a 

GIVEAWAY!!!!!

CLICK HERE