Blog Tour: After All

After All: A Hanover Falls Novel

About the Book:

Eighteen months after the tragic Grove Street Fire took the life of her husband and four other heroic firefighters, Susan Marlowe thinks she’s finally beginning to heal. But then she discovers that David carried a secret to his grave—a secret that changes everything she thought about their marriage. For the sake of their sons, can Susan forgive the unforgivable?

Andrea Morley lost her closest friend in the fire. But she has no right to mourn him. Instead, she must forever grieve in silence—for someone else’s husband. Peter Brennan carries the weight of the world on his shoulders. As Hanover Falls fire chief, he was responsible for the brave firefighters who lost their lives that awful November night. Can he ever shake the feeling that he could have somehow prevented the tragedy? And now it seems he might find comfort in the arms of the woman he least expected.

My Comments:

I enjoyed this third, and I guess final book in the Hanover Falls series.  Many familiar characters from the other books make appearances, and while the book reads fine as a stand-alone, there are a lot of references to the back story. 

As in  the other books, Raney does a good job of creating a suspenseful situation and then resolving it, and not quite in the manner you'd expect.  The book is Christian fiction but on the lighter side religion-wise.  However, the need to forgive both yourself and others is a  primary theme.  

I'd like to thank Glass Road PR for sending me a review copy and I'd like to apologize for the late review.  Grade:  B.

About the Author:

Deborah Raney is the award- winning author of numerous novels, including A Nest of Sparrows and the RITA award-winning Beneath a Southern Sky and its sequel, After the Rains. Deborah's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, was the inspiration for World Wide Picture's highly acclaimed film of the same title, which in December 2004 aired on prime time network TV for the second time. Deb's novella, Playing by Heart, was a National Readers Choice Award winner and a 2004 Christy Award finalist. Her novel with Howard/Simon & Schuster, Yesterday's Embers, appeared on the ECPA Christian fiction bestseller list. Known for her sensitive portrayal of family struggles and relationships, Deb has also written nonfiction books and articles and often speaks at women's retreats and writers' conferences around the country. She and her husband, illustrator/author Ken Raney, have four children and make their home in Kansas. Learn more at www.deborahraney.com.

Other Raney Books I've reviewed:

Almost Forever

Forever After

Beneath a Southern Sky

Yesterday's Embers

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Hello, and welcome.  Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival is a way for Catholic bloggers to share their best posts with each other.  The preferred method of participation is for you to do a post on your blog that highlights and links to some or all of your post for the week, like this one does for mine.  The idea is that by reading that one post I can get the flavor  of your blog, and, hopefully for you, click through to read your posts if they interest me.  If you post infrequently, you can link to your posts directly, but your post should also link back here.  You use the inlinkz gadget below to link to your post.

If you'd like a weekly reminder to post, join our yahoogroup.

This week I published several book reviews:
Midnight Promises is a sweet clean romance but I took issue with the way it handled Catholic annulments.
Sew Iconic shows you how to sew some dresses you'd recognize from the movies.
Cold Creek Reunion is a pretty basic romance.
Finding Our Way Home is a Christian novel in which two women of different ages help each other find the way.
Five Miles South of Peculiar is a wonderful Christian novel about three sisters.

Review: Midnight Promises

Midnight Promises (The Sweet Magnolias)

About the Book:

When Elliott Cruz first courted struggling single mom Karen Ames, it it was a romance worthy of any Sweet Magnolia fantasy. The sexy personal trainer made it his mission to restore Karen's strength—physical and emotional—and to charm her children.

Now, a few years into the marriage, colliding dreams threaten to tear a few years into the marriage, colliding dreams threaten to tear them them apart. Elliott's desire to finance the business opportunity of a lifetime with their hard-earned "baby money" stirs Karen's deep-rooted financial insecurities. It's the discovery that their brother-in-law is cheating on Elliott's sister—and thinks it's justified—that puts their irreconcilable differences into perspective. Will their own loving fidelity be a bond so strong they can triumph against all odds?

My Comments:

Most romantic novels tell the story of how a couple met and fell in  love.  Midnight Promises is the story of how a couple learns to live that love.  Elliott and Karen love each other and and want their marriage to work.  However, each is the product of his/her upbringing.  Elliott has more of his macho Latino dad in him that what he realizes, and Karen's ex taught her that she couldn't count on anyone besides herself.  As they learn to trust, to discuss, to work together they truly become a couple.

I enjoyed the story.  I thought it got a little overly sweet at times, and for Karen and Elliott,everything works out beautifully, probably better than it would in real life.  Fans of the Sweet Magnolia series will enjoy catching up with old friends and life in Serenity.  It is mentioned several times that Karen and Elliott are intimate,however, we don't get to watch.

One criticism I have is that when Elliott's sister and brother-in-law are discussing divorce and she mentions getting a Catholic annulment, her husband remarks that it will make their children b--(illegitimate).  Here is what the Canon Law Professionals website has to say about that:

At the time of the child’s birth, they were born of a legal marriage in civil law and a putative marriage in canon law (which means that everyone thought in good faith that the marriage was valid). So at the moment of the child's birth, he or she was civilly and canonically legitimate. An annulment DOES NOT retroactively affect a child's legitimacy.

I don't expect a treatise on Canon Law when reading a secular novel; however, there was little reason to bring up this response, and in my opinion, Woods should not have brought up the topic of the legitimacy of children in an annulled marriage unless she was going to properly explain it.

I'd like to thank the publisher for making a review copy available via NetGalley.  Grade:  B.

Other Books by Sherryl Woods which I have reviewed:

An O'Brien Family Christmas

Moonlight Cove

Sweet Tea at Sunrise

Honeysuckle Summer

The Summer Garden

Beach Lane

Short Review: Sew Inconic

About the Book:

From Marilyn Monroe’s billowy white halter in The Seven Year Itch to Audrey Hepburn’s effortlessly chic black number in Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the silver screen’s stunning dresses have always left stylish women enchanted. But no matter how many trips they’ve taken to the mall or even to designer boutiques, it’s still always been nearly impossible to find those dream dresses.

But now, with Sew Iconic, they can finally have the show-stopping outfits they’ve always wanted! This amazing guide includes sewing patterns, tips on materials, and clear instructions for making the dresses of Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth, Kate Winslet, and many more iconic actresses. Beautiful photographs throughout show the full skirts and fun tops in all their glory and are paired with stories of the clothes, the designers, and the films — all timeless classics.

My Comments:

Like most girls my age, I learned to sew.  Like most women today, I don't sew.  Today I can buy ready-made clothes for the same price, or less, that what it would cost to sew them, and I know I'm not wasting my money on something that, while it fits, just doesn't flatter me.  Still, some people do sew and they usually do it to be able to create their own fashions or make things that aren't shown in every store.

Some dresses are recognizable by many people, like Marilyn Monroe's dress shown on the cover above.  This book teaches you how to make ten dresses you'd recognize.  It also takes you through many of the lessons we were taught, back in the day.  I'll admit I'm the world's worst at reading a "how-to" book and then actually doing it, but with the knowledge I have about sewing, I think that most of the patterns in that book are going to be beyond the capabilities of most newbies; however there is one I think that first-timers could do--though I'd try it first with fabric that doesn't cost an arm and a leg.  

If sewing isn't your thing, the book is still a fascinating look at some beautiful dresses, and includes information about the movies in which they were seen.