#Free Bibles At Tyndale Rewards

If you could use a new bible and haven't signed up for Tyndale Rewards yet, this is the perfect time. They've got a ton of new bibles posted.  Shipping is even free!  Head on over and let me know if you pick something out. :)  Be blessed!

A Triple Knot: Intriguing Historical Fiction of the Lovely Joan of Kent

Fascinating... Emma Campion brings Plantagenet history to life and pulls the reader into the loves and losses, tragedies and triumphs of a dynamic woman, Joan, the Fair Maid of Kent.

-Karen Harper, NY Times

 

Yes, A Triple Knot will pull at your heart and inspire as the Fair Maid of Kent's life unfolds, I believe, as true to life as historical fiction could have done.  Joan of Kent's life was terribly interesting, but it was also part-times terribly heartbreaking and terribly inspiring. This was a strong woman, a woman who amazed me--even as a young girl.  A Triple Knot spans a 23 year period and sweeps the reader along as if she is truly in fourteenth century England.  Miss Campion is such a gifted author!  May I write as well as her someday!  In the meantime, I'm eagerly awaiting her next novel.  And now I must mention--the cover.  My hubby asked when he saw it, "What are you reading?!"  It looks quite suggestive and it isn't Christian historical fiction (many of my reads are).  However, the cover is misleading and I hoped it would be after I read the book synopsis--this is no "romance novel" in the racy sense of the term.  It's a clean read (cleaner than some "Christian fiction" I've read!) and I highly recommend it.  Wonderful, captivating, historical fiction that will whet your appetite for more Plantagenet history!

Emma Campion brings another fascinating woman from history to life in an enthralling story of political intrigue, personal tragedy, and illicit love.
Joan of Kent, renowned beauty and cousin to King Edward III, is destined for a politically strategic marriage. As the king begins a long dynastic struggle to claim the crown of France, plunging England into the Hundred Years’ War, he negotiates her betrothal to a potential ally and heir of a powerful lordship.

But Joan, haunted by nightmares of her father’s execution at the hands of her treacherous royal kin, fears the king’s selection and is not resigned to her fate. She secretly pledges herself to one of the king’s own knights, one who has become a trusted friend and protector. Now she must defend her vow as the king—furious at Joan’s defiance—prepares to marry her off to another man.

In A Triple Knot, Emma Campion brings Joan, the “Fair Maid of Kent” to glorious life, deftly weaving details of King Edward III’s extravagant court into a rich and emotionally resonant tale of intrigue, love, and betrayal.

Read the first chapter on Amazon.

Special thanks to the publisher for providing me with this book to review!

Little Critters Books #Giveaway

Two new books featuring the famous Little Critter!  In board book or soft cover.

I was so excited to see that The Little Critters books are back!  My brother and I loved these books as kids and now my kiddos love them, too. These 2 books have faith-inspired messages that show kids the importance of thankfulness and forgiveness. They're recommended for ages 3-7, but my 9 year old loves reading them to her little brother just as much as he likes hearing the stories. You can get these as soft covers for $3.59 on Amazon or as board books for $8.99. There are Kindle editions of each of these, too, for $1.99. So cute and great messages! Enter to win your own copy of these cute books.  Fill out the form below by  August 19th at 11 pm anyone's time.  And be sure to enter all of the other giveaways at our blog by clicking on the tabs above.  :) 

What were your favorite books to read when you were little?

Special thanks to the wonderful people at Tommy Mommy for providing me with this opportunity!

Creativity, Art, and Beauty in Auschwitz

Alma Rose, Jewish Violinist and Conductor
of the Women's Orchestra at Auschwitz

"We found ourselves hushed by delicate floating butterflies and cheery watercolor flowers that had no place within the camp's barbed wire walls.  We were moved by the coexistence of evil and sheer beauty, seemingly both allowed to flourish in the same place."

~Kristy Cambron, The Butterfly and the Violin

If you're like I was, you don't realize that after World War II ended, hundreds upon hundreds of Jewish prisoner artwork was found hidden throughout Auschwitz.  There were more than 200 artists of all nationalities as prisoners in Auschwitz, as well as in other concentration camps. 

If you're like I was, you also don't realize there was a women's prisoner orchestra.  Alma Rosé was a beautiful Jewish violinist who was forced to conduct the women's orchestra in the Auschwitz concentration camp.  This women's orchestra played upbeat music as women left to work throughout the camps each day.  Later, they were forced to play as new arrivals, women and children, walked unsuspecting to their deaths.  How could they do that?  How could they play their beautiful music as their fellow Jewish sisters walked to their deaths?  The story of The Butterfly and the Violin grapples that question.  This is a book that touched my heart, and taught me history I had no inkling of before.  I love books that do that!  And this one couldn't be released during a more perfect time!  If you follow the news at all, you know that anti-Semitism isn't dead. It's heartbreakingly alive and real.  It's what made the horrors of WWII possible.  And it's not something we should be ignoring.  God is certainly not ignoring it, and God's people should not take it lightly.

More than anything, this book, fiction though it may be, magnified  the steadfastness of the human spirit and the truth that God will make beauty from ashes.  Even in ashes.  When Jews found themselves in Auschwitz, they actually saw the horror of ashes floating on the breeze.  They endured things no human being should ever have to endure.  And yet, they found and even created beauty there.  My favorite Jewish prisoner artwork is by Mieczyslaw Koscielniak, painted in 1944 and 1945 during his imprisonment at Auschwitz:

 

To view more Jewish art of the Holocaust, visit Last Expressions.  To read the fictional account of the women's prisoner orchestra, read The Butterfly and the Violin.  Also, be sure and enter the giveaway and visit the author chat party.  You can sign up to win and to RSVP by clicking the pic below.  Have a blessed day, and pray for Israel!  And if you live near me and want to borrow this book, please let me know!

Special thanks to the wonderful author and the people at Litfuse for providing me with the opportunity to review this incredible book!