Journey of Promise is the second book in the series, but can be read alone too. I was originally going to review both books, but I didn’t finish the first one in time for this review, so I’m only going to review Journey of Promise. My review is under the description below. . . . 

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Journey of Promise

When converts Richard and Leah Kenyon leave Wales and heed the call to Zion, they are unprepared for the toll exacted by the journey. To face the incredible odds mounted against them they call upon the Lord’s tender mercies to see them through and strengthen their love for one another. Their story will remind you where to turn during your trials.

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Mommy Bookworm’s Thoughts: I LOVE historical fiction. I also love historical non-fiction, but historical fiction books seem to pull me into the story instead of just giving the facts like non-fiction books do. When I read historical fiction books, I often feel like I’m right there with the family or people in the story more than just an account of what happened (unless it’s a biography). Growing up in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, I have also always loved pioneer stories. My mother joined the LDS church when I was a baby, so I don’t have pioneer ancestors but I have always loved hearing the stories of the pioneers and things they went through to move West. Although I grew up in the LDS church, I still had to go through a time of conversion myself where I had to decide whether it was the path I wanted to follow in my own life. Therefore, I love hearing about other people’s conversion stories and seeing how they have changed their lives. This book series is a combination of the conversion story and the pioneer story, so it is very intriguing to me! Although it is fiction, it is written in such a way that it could have truly happened this way with a real family. I felt a part of the lives of the Kenyon family and felt their sorrows and joys through their emotional, spiritual, and physical journey from Wales to The United States and from the East to the West. I don’t know if the author is planning more books in this series, but I would be interested in reading more into this family, or even more of this type of story again! These books are not as detailed as The Work & The Glory series by Gerald Lund, which is another LDS fiction series (that also has non-fiction mixed in with it), but these are great for a quick overview of the LDS church and what life would have been like for pioneer families. 

Here is an excerpt from the book: 

Her heart thudded in her chest as she turned and walked up the gangway. Richard paused and looked back to say something to the Saints, but she didn’t stop to listen, making her way onto the ship. She stood on the deck of the steamer as the autumn breezes blew cool and damp off Cardiff Bay. Her heart knotted as she looked out over the pier, hoping against hope that her mother might come to say good-bye. I don’t want to leave . . . I can’t . . . this is home . . .

            She pressed her lips together and choked back tears as her eyes scanned the fringes of her native village. Her gaze rose to the hills, still green, to the sky awash in clouds, then down to the surging bay. The smell of briny water filled her nostrils and the call of seabirds cried overhead. Leah closed her eyes, attempting to etch the pictures in her mind, and called upon her memory to remember Wales and never forget.

            Richard slid his arm around Leah’s shoulders. “ ’Tis hard, I know,” he said as if he could read her mind.

            His touch gave her a sense of reassurance. She could feel his strength lending itself to her, lifting and carrying her beyond doubt. Richard kissed her temple and held her as the ropes were loosed from the moorings. She turned to him, her eyes burning into his. “Let me look at you, Richard.Let me look to you and our future. I cannot bear to watch us leave . . .”

            She buried her face against his chest. Richard encircled his wife and held her as the steamer pulled away. 

All That Was Promised (Book 1)

In 1847 Wales Methodist Minister Richard Kenyon converts to Mormonism. Richard’s newfound faith is put to the test when he faces the anger of his former congregation, his wife’s indecisiveness, his brother’s betrayal, and the murderous intentions of misinformed villagers.

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Mommy Bookworm’s Thoughts: I didn’t finish reading this book because I wanted to make sure I had time to finish Journey of Promise since it’s the newer book. However, now that I’m done with Journey of Promise I’m going to go back and finish the first book because what I did read was very interesting and pulled me into the life of the Kenyon family. 

Author Vickie Hall

Vickie is a native of Utah, but growing up, lived in the states of Colorado, Idaho, Montana, and Nebraska. When she’s not writing, she’s composing music, or shopping with her sister. She loves animals of all kinds and camping with her family. Her favorite pastime is watching old movies on TCM, and unashamedly has a crush on Cary Grant.

Links:

Blog * Website * Facebook * Goodreads

Tour Giveaway

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Ends 5/26/13

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Author Rachael Renee Anderson

Rachael Anderson is the author of four books: Divinely Designed, Luck of the Draw, Minor Adjustments, and The Reluctant Bachelorette. She’s the mother of four and is pretty good at breaking up fights, or at least sending guilty parties to their rooms. She can’t sing, doesn’t dance, and despises tragedies. But she recently figured out how yeast works and can now make homemade bread, which she is really good at eating.

Working It Out

A chance encounter . . . 

Grace Warren’s life is safe and predictable—exactly the way she likes it. But when she gets roped into going to an auction to help out a friend, everything changes. She meets Seth Tuttle—a guy who unexpectedly kisses her then disappears, leaving her flustered and upset. If she never sees him again, it will be too soon.

A chance for love . . .  

Weeks later, when Seth limps into Grace’s rehab clinic post surgery, she immediately recognizes him. Unfortunately, he’s every bit as frustrating and annoying as she remembered. Yet there’s something about him that makes her second-guess her carefully placed boundaries even though he’s everything she’s sure she doesn’t want in a man. But maybe Seth is exactly what Grace has needed all along—assuming she’s willing to risk safe and predictable for a chance at love.
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Ends 5/31/13

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Mommy Bookworm

Overview from Goodreads: Can a terrier named Lucky bounce back from some bad luck. “Lucky” the illustrated book by Craig Inglis is a puppy tale any child will love. With an easy-to-read story and beautiful illustrations by Richard Kinsey, the uplifting, enlightening picture book shows children that they can overcome even the most challenging of problems with the love of friends and with plenty of determination. Positive and joyful, this highly original, instructive book will spark animail lovers everywhere, and show children the power of positive thinking in difficult times, such as a life-changing physical disability, through the triumphant story of a lovable, plucky dog named Lucky.

Daisy Bookworm’s Thoughts (8 years old): I like the illustrations because they are colorful. I like the tricks that the owner taught the dog. I was happy the dog lived after the accident. I thought it was funny how they were so happy they were almost flying. I would recommend this book for people younger than me. It was easy for me to read.

Dahlia Bookworm’s Thoughts (12 years old): I like the pictures because they are funny. For example, the sun has an arm and waves to the man. I like how the dog learned lots of tricks and how he could still do them after his accident. I like how the puppy made the best of losing his leg. It was easy for me to read and I would recommend it to kids younger than me.

Mommy Bookworm’s Thoughts: I enjoyed the book. The illustrations are very colorful and have some funny details if you pay attention. For instance, the vet’s scrubs have “Cool Dog Doc” written on the pocket and the pet store is shaped like a dog. It is a sweet story about a dog who overcomes the challenge of losing a leg. It’s neat that the owner doesn’t just give up after the accident and continues helping the dog and they keep having a great fulfilling life together. When I looked at different sites, they didn’t say what age group the book is geared for. I classified it as 3-8 because I think that younger children would enjoy the pictures even though they wouldn’t be able to read the book yet. I think it is a book that can help children know it’s okay to be different and that you don’t have to give up when bad things happen.

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I know we have really slacked off the reviews & I really do apologize for that, but life has gotten very hectic and we just haven’t had time to do much leisure reading. We will post the first of the Children’s reviews tomorrow & we hope to do one or two per day for the next 2 weeks to at least catch up on those. I’m over a year behind on “grown-up” books and will not be accepting any more reviews for the foreseeable future since I start school at The University of Texas at Austin at the end of August and have 2 more intense years of study there before getting my Bachelor’s. I, again, apologize since I did not fully comprehend the demand of book reviews when we started this blog. We will mainly just be doing reviews in the summers from here on out and will do reviews sparingly during other school breaks or other times throughout the year as we have time for leisure reading. We did recently disconnect our cable, so we will probably seek out books more during our leisure time now! 

Mommy Bookworm

They were the only 2 people who entered & since there were 2 winners, they both won!

Victoria will be getting the paperback copies of the Dragon Stones Saga & Renee will be getting the ebook copies! 

Overview from Goodreads: Vosper’s Revenge is the final book in Kristian Alva’s popular “Dragon Stones” trilogy.
As the races of Durn stand on the brink of war, the power-hungry emperor plans his conquest of the entire continent. The dragon riders are fragmented. They have been scattered across the land; weakened by the discovery of a traitor in their own ranks.

Are the riders strong enough to defeat Vosper before he destroys them all?

Mommy Bookworm’s Thoughts: Vosper’s Revenge is another action-packed book by Kristian Alva. I have had the pleasure of reviewing all three books in this series and the page-turning drama continues through the very end of the series. There is continued drama, suspense, mystery, intrigue, and magic in this masterful conclusion. There are still dragons, battles, elves, dragon riders, and opposing forces also. The opposition is stronger in this book, but so are the dragon riders! Elias, the young new dragon rider, has grown physically and has improved his magic skills during the last year and surprises many around him with those changes. Although there is plenty of action, Ms. Alva wonderfully weaves in tender moments that touch the reader’s heart, like when Elias curls up to sleep on his dragon’s tail since his dragon has grown too big to sleep on Elias’ shoulder as in the second book.

There is never a dull moment as this series wraps up things left unsolved in the other books and also quietly hints at something else to draw the reader into the upcoming series. I can honestly say this has been the most enjoyable, entertaining, and page-turning set of books I have read in a long time, even though it made me cry unexpectedly, and I look forward to future books by Ms. Alva! 

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I am not accepting new requests for the foreseeable future. It will be at least January 2013 and maybe longer than that. I am still a full-time student and have started working part-time again too. I have gotten behind on books I already committed to reading and have over 30 books to try to read this summer to catch up. My guess is that I still won’t finish all of them this summer and will have to keep reading in the fall too. 

Therefore, I am not accepting new requests at this time. I’m sorry. Life takes precedence over a blog I started as a hobby.

Mommy Bookworm 

Thanks again to all who entered! 

Mommy Bookworm

Congratulations, Ladies! Julie was the first winner picked for Oath of Office, so she won the hardcover copy that Michael Palmer will send her. Denise won the paperback Advanced Reader Copy that I read.

Congrats!!! Thanks to all who entered! Please check out the links on the original post for ways to purchase the book if you’re still interested in reading it!