Night Night Blessings by Amy Parker, Illustrated by Marijan Ramljak

This children's book written by Amy Parker is just adorable!  The book walks children through some of the many blessings they have from God in their life.  "Thank You for yummy food to eat.  It helps me grow big and strong.  Syrupy pancakes stacked up high Get me zipping right along!"   This is just one of the many cute blessings Amy mentions in the book.  The reading level for this book is baby-preschool. 

I thought that this book was great!  Amy Parker does a great job putting this book together.  The wording was great and down on the level a little child could identify with.  I love the idea of encouraging little kids to thank God for the every day little things in life.  Gratitude is such an important part of life!  Marijan Ramljak's illustrations were beautiful and looked like a painting rather than graphics on a page.  I would definitely recommend this book for your child's library or to give as a gift to a new mom.

**I received this book free from Booksneeze in exchange for an honest review.

Healing Hearts (Three Amish Novellas) by Beth Wiseman

Beth Wiseman's books are now together in one collection called Healing Hearts.  The three stories within this collection are:

A Choice to Forgive--Lydia was in love with one man, Daniel and was promised to marry him when life took an unexpected turn.  Daniel disappeared on Christmas Eve leaving Lydia to wonder what happened.  Lydia then marries Daniel's brother, Elam, and has 15 wonderful years with him when a tragedy takes his young life.  After the death of Elam, Daniel returns hoping for reconciliation from the community but especially from Lydia.

A Change of Heart--Leah is consumed by her stories that she writes at night while everyone else in the house is sleeping.  Her community frowns on such activity seeing it as childish and unproductive.  Leah's parents wonder if she'll ever learn how to be a good Amish fraa (wife) since she can't cook, sew, garden or clean the house.  One young man, Adam is taken with her, but will he overlook her lacking qualities?

Healing Hearts--Levina's husband, Naaman,  told her he was going to visit his cousin in Ohio.  He was gone for a whole year. Now that he's back Levina isn't sure if she can trust this man that she married many years ago.  What would make him leave for so long?

Beth did a good job telling each of the three stories.  I found myself wanting the story to go on a little longer.  They seemed to end too soon.  With it being a collection, I wanted the stories to intertwine somehow, but they are 3 separate stories.  These three stories were previously published as An Amish Love, An Amish Gathering, and An Amish Christmas.  Each story was an easy read and did not take me long to finish this whole collection.  Reading the books has helped me to learn a little more about the Amish.  There is a lot that I really didn't know about them.  I would recommend this collection.

**I received this book free from BookSneeze in exchange for an honest review.

September Free E-books from Tyndale House

You can click here to find out where to download these 2 books free from Tyndale House Publishers.

Mercy Come Morning by Lisa Tawn Bergren

 Growing up with a tragic family history has greatly influenced Krista Mueller.  Krista's relationship with her mother has been plagued with misunderstandings and a lack of loving communication.  With Alzheimer's disease affecting her mother's mind, Krista flees to another state to escape the emotional turmoil she feels inside and leaves her mother's care to others.  When Krista receives a call from Dane (a past love) that her mother is in her last days, she reluctantly comes back.  Krista will have to deal with everything she has been running from these past years including Dane, the man she keeps pushing away. 

Alzheimer's disease is not something that I'm really familiar with.  It has touched my husband's family though.  His grandmother suffered from this horrible disease.  It was interesting to learn a little bit about how this disease affects the patient as well as the family members taking care of them.  I really enjoyed this book.  I was able to read it in a day and thought that the book was well written.  I would recommend this book.

**I received this book free from Library Thing Early Reviewers program in exchange for an honest review.