"Give Books, Not Roses" ~ Love Gently Falling © 2015 by Melody Carlson, and Keys of Heaven © 2015 by Adina Senft

Valentine's Day Two Book Giveaway + cHoCoLaTe!!!

Hachette Book Group is offering a "Give Books, Not Roses" Valentine's Day Giveaway of two books and a Southern Artisan Chocolate Bar from Olive & Sinclair Chocolate Company to one winner from Lane Hill House blog. Drawing will be on Sunday, February 8, 2015, to allow time for the shipment. Leave a comment below with your contact ...[at]...[dot]com information (U.S. only, this drawing).

   

Valentine’s Day is just around the corner! The crisp, cool air feels a little sweeter and stores are filling their shelves with greeting cards and candies. But instead of sharing the usual gifts, the way to someone’s heart can be through a story (and maybe a little bit of chocolate).

   --Christina Boys, Editor of Love Gently Falling by Melody Carlson and Keys of Heaven by Adina Senft

 

Southern Artisan Chocolate is hand crafted by Native Nashvillians in the heart of Music City. Olive and Sinclair is proud to be the original bean-to-bar chocolate maker of the South. Slow roasted and stone ground in small batches, select single origin beans are combined with pure brown sugar for a smooth and robust flavor that's unique to Southern Artisan Chocolate. A combination of traditional methods, modern European technique and classic southern flavors make Olive & Sinclair the new old fashioned chocolate. ~*net wt. 2.75 oz.*~ 

Keys of Heaven by Adina Senft ~*

Red valerian, sometimes called "keys of heaven" or "Jupiter's beard," often grows in rocky places where other plants don't flourish, such as in stone walls or against fences. But adverse conditions can produce a beautiful plant, brightening hard places with its sprays of red flowers.
   There are people like this, too. They grow in hard places where others wouldn't flourish--staying where God has put them, even if they might not have chosen to grow there. But they stay because they're needed, because their spirit transforms the hard place and makes it beautiful...
   --author Adina Senft

I liked this story of sharing what we know. A simple solution to us, is an aid to another. Sarah Yoder, continuing from book 1 in A Healing Grace series, Herb of Grace, is beginning to take patients by word of mouth to share her knowledge of healing plants she cultivates. When is it appropriate to pass on information in another's life when the whole story is not known, nor appreciated by the receiver? Sarah finds that it seems simpler to be on the outside looking in than it is to experience it herself. As it is a three-part story, the community and characters expand from their previous days. Growth is seen; beneficial to all?
Author Adina Senft is very expressive in her descriptions and draws us near to the thoughts and feelings of the characters you might meet in daily life. An excerpt intro to book 3 in the series, Balm of Gilead, is placed in the back, along with a reading group guide for Keys of Heaven and a glossary of words used.

I love this photo of the author! Obvious that she enjoys her flock of diversified rescued chickens.

Love Gently Falling by Melody Carlson ~*

Melody Carlson has been a favorite author of mine since reading her Back Home Again, the first book in the Grace Chapel Inn bed-and-breakfast series, and then on to her stand-alones. I like that she writes wholesome stories for a wide variety of age groups.

Love Gently Falling is a novella, shorter than Melody's novels, but just as absorbing. Rita Jansen is flexible and organized at the same time. In the opening, I like how she interacts with her roommate, Aubrey, and the relationship she has with others. Eager to help her, Aubrey makes arrangements for Rita's travel back home upon hearing of the illness of her mother. Rita is a giver too, and flows from a heart of respect and honor for others. The story is very fluid, as if you are there with their conversations. Flying from California's mild weather to opening the door to Chicago's windy city, is just the beginning of changes ahead for Rita. She sets herself aside to help her family. A very engaging story of communication and love that will be an encouragement to any day! What I liked most is the conflict resolution.

Also included within is the first chapter of Once Upon a Winter's Heart, for a further Valentine's Day read!


***Thank you to Hachette Book Group Faith Words for sending me the surprise chocolate bar and copies of  Love Gently Falling and Keys of Heaven for review. This review was written in my own words. No other compensation was received.***