Where We Belong by Kim Vogel Sawyer

 Thank you Waterbrook for my review copy of Where We Belong by Kim Vogel Sawyer.

Release April 21, 2026

The life of Hester Haak, a widow with no children of her own, takes an unexpected turn when she opens her Kansas home to children from the bustling streets of New York City. The orphan asylum has entrusted her with two sisters and a young boy, and Hester is determined to provide a safe and loving environment for them. Despite the looming uncertainty of their stay, she rises to the challenge, embracing the opportunity to make a difference in their lives.

Meanwhile, Callum Holbrook is grappling with the loss of his wife and the despair that followed. Unable to provide for his family, he made the heart-wrenching decision to place his daughters in an orphanage, promising it was only temporary. Now, with a stable job and a renewed sense of purpose, Callum is horrified to learn that his daughters have been sent halfway across the country. Fueled by determination and love, he embarks on the difficult journey to bring them back.

Through their struggles and triumphs, Hester and Callum discover that family and love can be found in the most surprising places—and that the journey home is paved with hope.

Pick up your copy here...

Where We Belong: An Orphan Train Novel: Vogel Sawyer, Kim: 9780593600856: Amazon.com: Books

Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer is a wife, mother, gramma, chocolate-lover, cat-petter, and--most importantly--a daughter of the King! With more than 1.5 million books in print in seven different languages, Kim enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Her "gentle stories of hope" are loved by readers and reviewers alike. Kim and her retired military husband, Don, reside on the plains of Kansas, the setting for many of her novels.

The Lies They Told by Ellen Marie Wiseman

 When Lena Conti—a young, unwed mother—sees immigrant families being forcibly separated on Ellis Island, she vows not to let the officers take her two-year old daughter. But the inspection process is more rigorous than she imagined, and she is separated from her mother and teenage brother, who are labeled burdens to society, denied entry, and deported back to Germany. Now, alone but determined to give her daughter a better life after years of living in poverty and near starvation, she finds herself facing a future unlike anything she had envisioned.

Silas Wolfe, a widowed family relative, reluctantly brings Lena and her daughter to his weathered cabin in Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains to care for his home and children. Though the hills around Wolfe Hollow remind Lena of her homeland, she struggles to adjust. Worse, she is stunned to learn the children in her care have been taught to hide when the sheriff comes around. As Lena meets their neighbors, she realizes the community is vibrant and tight knit, but also senses growing unease. The State of Virginia is scheming to paint them as ignorant, immoral, and backwards so they can evict them from their land, seize children from parents, and deal with those possessing “inferior genes.”

After a social worker from the Eugenics Office accuses Lena of promiscuity and feeblemindedness, her own worst fears come true. Sent to the Virginia State Colony for the Feebleminded and Epileptics, Lena face impossible choices in hopes of reuniting with her daughter—and protecting the people, and the land, she has grown to love.

Pick up your copy here...

Amazon.com: The Lies They Told: 9781496741509: Wiseman, Ellen Marie: Books

A first-generation German American, Ellen Marie Wiseman discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in NYS. She is a New York Times bestselling author whose novels have been translated into twenty languages. Her debut novel, THE PLUM TREE, is loosely based on her mother’s stories about growing up in Germany during the chaos of WWII. Bookbub named THE PLUM TREE One of Thirteen Books To Read if You Loved ALL THE LIGHT WE CANNOT SEE. Ellen’s second novel, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND, was named a Huffington Post Best Books of Summer 2015. Her third novel, COAL RIVER, was called "one of the most "unputdownable" books of 2015" by The Historical Novel Review. THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN, was named A GREAT GROUP READS Selection of the Women’s National Book Association and National Reading Group Month and a Goodreads Best Book of the Month. THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR was an instant New York Times Bestseller. Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and a spoiled Shih-tzu named Izzy. When she’s not busy writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren. Find Ellen on Facebook at: www.Facebook.com/EllenMarieWisemanAuthor 

First let's talk about that cover, it's gorgeous. Now let's talk about one of the best historical books I have read in a while.

This book is not to be missed.

Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required, and all views expressed are our own. 

The Falcon's Prey By Susanne Sims

THE FALCON’S PREY, set in France during 1415–1416 – a time and place of chivalry at its height – reveals a real world hidden beneath fairy tales of valiant knights and fair maidens. Sixteen-year-old Amélie lives in the castle of her uncle, the chevalier Sieur Denis des Étoiles, where she is betrothed by her aunt to a rich old man she’s never met. Amélie tries to hide her fear of her impending marriage until Hue, her cousin and esquire to her uncle, reveals to her that her betr

othed committed a capital crime on the battlefield at Agincourt. Amélie faces a dilemma. If she marries a man she fears, she’ll enjoy the life of a lady. If she flees, her status will become uncertain – or worse!

Pick up your copy here...

https://www.amazon.com/Falcons-Prey-Medieval-Tale-1415-1416-ebook/dp/B06WVH5H3Y/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1581901399&sr=8-1

SUSANNE CHIERA SIMS turned to writing historical fiction when multiple sclerosis kept her virtually homebound. Intrigued by the challenge of writing history, drawing upon her years as a wife and mother and a student of science, she imagined a family of French chevaliers she could follow to the Battle of Agincourt – and beyond.

“I’m writing a series,” she says, “because I wanted my Amélie to have years to grow and change. In THE FALCON’S PREY, she’s sixteen and distressed by her many fears. In my coming book, she’ll be eighteen.”

“My tale follows a large family of chevaliers living in late medieval France. Defeat at the hand of England’s Henry V at the Battle of Agincourt tested her chevalier father and uncles more directly than it tested Amélie and her cousins, but all France was devastated by the loss.”

“Still, life went on. Amélie found herself enchanted by a chance encounter with an intriguing young chevalier - though she was betrothed to a rich, old man. Circumstances thus set in motion threatened to overwhelm her.”

“The tale was a pleasure to write. I hope you find it a pleasure to read.” 

I wanted to share this book with you all. It is FREE right now and I would love for you to leave a review for this wonderful lady on Amazon and GoodReads. Thank you all so much! Please feel free to share this blog post.

The Sound Of Rain By Sarah Laudin Thomas

Judd Markley is a hardworking coal miner who rarely thinks much past tomorrow until he loses his brother--and nearly his own life--in a mine cave-in. Vowing never to enter the darkness of a mine again, he leaves all he knows in West Virginia to escape to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. It's 1954, the seaside community is thriving, and Judd soon hires on with a timber company.

Larkin Heyward's life in Myrtle Beach is uncomplicated, mostly doing volunteer work and dancing at the Pavilion. But she dreams of one day doing more--maybe moving to the hollers of Kentucky to help the poor children of Appalachia. But she's never even met someone who's lived there--until she encounters Judd, the newest employee at her father's timber company.

Drawn together in the wake of a devastating hurricane, Judd and Larkin each seek answers to what tomorrow will bring. As opposition rises against following their divergent dreams, they realize that it may take a miracle for them to be together.

Pick up your copy here...
https://www.amazon.com/Sound-Rain-Sarah-Loudin-Thomas/dp/0764219618/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1512437912&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sound+of+rain+sarah+Thomas

Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, WV, the seventh generation to live there. Her Christian fiction is set in West Virginia and celebrates the people, the land, and the heritage of Appalachia. Her first novel, Miracle in a Dry Season, released August 2014. Married with one dog, she now lives in Western North Carolina, which is almost as beautiful as West Virginia.

My Thoughts...

Are you in the mood for a cute love story, a clean one? Then you just might enjoy this one.
It was a bit to slow for my liking that said it was a book I would recommend for someone wanting to read a cute romance.
I like the feeling of living in the 1950's and there was one character that I liked Granny Jane her being from Kentucky did not hurt but she will make you smile.
I gave this book 3.5 stars.
The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

Many Sparrows By Lori Benton

In 1774, the Ohio-Kentucky frontier pulses with rising tension and brutal conflicts as Colonists push westward and encroach upon Native American territories. The young Inglesby family is making the perilous journey west when an accident sends Philip back to Redstone Fort for help, forcing him to leave his pregnant wife Clare and their four-year old son Jacob on a remote mountain trail.
When Philip does not return and Jacob disappears from the wagon under the cover of darkness, Clare awakens the next morning to find herself utterly alone, in labor and wondering how she can to recover her son...especially when her second child is moments away from being born.

Clare will face the greatest fight of her life, as she struggles to reclaim her son from the Shawnee Indians now holding him captive. But with the battle lines sharply drawn, Jacob’s life might not be the only one at stake. When frontiersman Jeremiah Ring comes to her aid, can the stranger convince Clare that recovering her son will require the very thing her anguished heart is unwilling to do—be still, wait and let God fight this battle for them?

Pick up your copy here...

https://www.amazon.com/Many-Sparrows-Novel-Lori-Benton/dp/1601429940/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504818344&sr=8-1&keywords=many+sparrows

 

 

Lori Benton was born and raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American and family history going back to the 1600s. Her novels transport readers to the 18th century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history, creating a melting pot of characters drawn from both sides of a turbulent and shifting frontier, brought together in the bonds of God's transforming grace. 

Lori's debut novel, Burning Sky, earned the 2014 Christy Award for First Novel, Historical, and Book of the Year.

My Thoughts....

Lori Benton has wrote a well rounded and dynamic novel. The book flows so well that you won't get to much historical information and get lost. She introduces the characters with such grace that you feel you know them. You can tell she did her research of history because she goes into such detail of historical events. The story has love, heartache, faith, hope and grace. I enjoyed reading it and I am sure you will also.

I gave this book 4 stars and recommend this book to Historical book lovers.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.

All She Left Behind By: Jane Kirkpatrick

Already well-versed in the natural healing properties of herbs and oils, Jennie Pickett longs to become a doctor. But the Oregon frontier of the 1870s doesn't approve of such innovations as women attending medical school. To leave grief and guilt behind, as well as support herself and her challenging young son, Jennie cares for an elderly woman using skills she's developed on her own. When her patient dies, Jennie discovers that her heart has become entangled with the woman's widowed husband, a man many years her senior. Their unlikely romance may lead her to her ultimate goal--but the road will be winding and the way forward will not always be clear. Will Jennie find shelter in life's storms? Will she discover where healing truly lives? 

Through her award-winning, layered storytelling, New York Times bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick invites readers to leave behind their preconceived notions about love and life as they, along with Jennie, discover that dreams may be deferred--but they never really die. Based on a true story

Pick up your copy here...

https://www.amazon.com/All-Left-Behind-Jane-Kirkpatrick/dp/0800727002/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1504510671&sr=1-1&keywords=all+she+left+behind+by+jane+Kirkpatrick

If you'd like more information about me, please come visit my website at www.jkbooks.com and click on my blog. My dog also has a blog and you can find out what it's like to be Bodacious Bo, too. A monthly newsletter called Story Sparks is my way of sharing books about authors I enjoy as well as commenting on life and love. You'll find out more about me than you probably ever wanted to know!

One item not listed on my lists of books is my selection included in an anthology called "Crazy Woman Creek: Women Rewrite the American West" published by Houghton Mifflin I also have a piece in Storytellers II, a book published a few years ago by Multnomah Press and a few short selections in Daily Guideposts of a few years back. My first novella, "The Courting Quilt" is part of a collection that made the New York Times bestsellers September 2011 in a collection called Log Cabin Christmas. The rest of my writing, as they say, is history. Or it was until my first contemporary came out this fall. Called Barcelona Calling, it's the story of a writer who loses her way as she seeks fulfillment thinking she'll find it with fame. It's a laugh out loud book according to reviewers. I hope you'll enjoy it.

My Thoughts...

If you like historical fiction I think you will enjoy "All She Has Left". The book touches on subjects such as womens rights. When reading the book you can tell the author did her research. Some people have forgotten how far our country has come with womens rights. Kirkpatrick created a very strong female lead with Jennie. Your heart will ache for her as she struggles to overcome being abused. Her faith is the main thing that gets her through. There are mentions the Bible throughout the book. The book over all is well written and is a story that will grab your attention and keep it till the very end.

I gave this book 4 stars. I recommend it for historical fiction lovers.

The Mary Reader received this book from the publisher for review. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are our own.