The Talens' Tales

When Paul Elias receives a terminal diagnosis, only one thing is clear to him: if he is going to die, he must find someone to watch over his granddaughter, Pearl, who has been in his charge since her drug-addicted father disappeared. Paul decides to take her to Nysa--both the place where he grew up and the place where he lost his beloved wife under strange circumstances forty years earlier. Paul reconnects with an old friend but is not prepared for the onslaught of memory. And when Pearl starts vanishing at night and returning with increasingly bizarre tales, Paul begins to question her sanity, his own views on death, and the nature of reality itself.   I loved this book! I loved everything about it. The story, the narrator, the writing, the tone. It was so good! I think it is Smucker's best book yet! The story captivated me. The narrator's voice was wonderful. I found all of the characters interesting and complex. I always appreciate how Smucker weave the supernatural into the...

  With That Sounds Fun, Annie F. Downs offers an irresistible invitation to understand the meaning of fun, to embrace it and chase it, and to figure out what, exactly, sounds fun to you—then do it! Exploring some research and sharing some thoughts behind why fun matters, she shows you how to find, experience, and multiply your fun. With her signature storytelling style and whimsical vulnerability, Annie is the friend we all need to guide us back to staying true to ourselves and finding the fun we need. This book was so fun! I am a big fan of Annie F. Downs. I listen to her podcasts regularly and I have read several of her other books. And this one it just wonderful. It so Annie and such a good reminder that fun is good for us and important. I love the mix of personal story and reflection. Annie is able to to take a story and dig at it a little to see what is underneath all of that and what that may mean on a deeper level. I value the permission is gives that fun is a part of who we...

Headstrong and determined, linguistics student Johanna Berglund has very definite plans for her future . . . plans that do not include returning to her hometown and the secrets and heartaches she left behind. But when the only way to her intended future is through undertaking a translator position at a nearby camp for German POWs, she reluctantly accepts. Johanna arrives to find the once-sleepy Minnesota town exploding with hostility. Most patriotic citizens want nothing to do with German soldiers laboring in their fields, and they're not afraid to criticize those who work at the camp as well. When Johanna describes the trouble to her close friend Peter Ito, a language instructor at a school for military intelligence officers, he encourages her to give the town that rejected her a second chance. As Johanna interacts with the prisoners and censors their letters home, she begins to see them in a more sympathetic light, but advocating for better treatment makes her enemies in the comm...

In an aged brick cottage in London, the magic of the past comes alive each night for the family of a humble watchmaker. In her father's fireside stories, Lucy Claremont's fascination with the high seas begins, leading her to devote her life's work to discovering the whereabouts of a legendary lost ship. But when tragedy strikes, it's childhood friend Dashel and his knowledge of the stars that may help her solve the puzzle. Two hundred years earlier, three young lives are altered forever when a shepherd rescues the privileged son of a powerful admiral. As the children grow, war leads to unthinkable heartbreak, deep love, and a story of betrayal, sacrifice, and redemption that fades into obscurity as centuries pass. As Lucy and Dash explore mysterious ruins on the East Sussex coast, their search leads them to a community of souls and a long-hidden tale that may hold the answers--and the healing--they so desperately seek. This is the sophomore release from Amanda Dykes and...

Anjuli Paschall invites you to stop running from your pain and to discover that the deep end of your story is the way to intimacy with Christ. She extends a daring invitation to stay with your everyday aches, your guilt, your loneliness, your anger, your anxiety, your longings, and even your apathy. True power and transformation are found in the very places we resist the most. It's here, in the staying, where we move from merely knowing in our heads that God loves us to believing it in our hearts.  Stay  is an invitation to sit with God at the table of your soul--and be free. I LOVED this book! I started reading the book and after two chapters, I went back the beginning and started over with pencil in hand to take notes. Never have I read a Christian women's non-fiction book where I felt so seen, understood, encouraged and challenged. Paschall's personal stories are real and relatable. I enjoyed the short chapters and took my time going through them, wanting to savor the tr...

The Natchez Trace National Parkway stretches 444 miles from Nashville to Natchez, the oldest town on the Mississippi River. It's the perfect road for a relaxed pleasure drive. Unfortunately for park ranger Luke Fereday, lately it's being used to move drugs. Sent to Natchez to infiltrate the organization at the center of the drug ring, Luke arrives too late to a stakeout and discovers the body of his friend, park ranger John Danvers. John's daughter Brooke is determined to investigate her father's murder, but things are more complicated than they first appear, and Brooke soon finds herself the target of a killer who will do anything to silence her. Luke will have his hands full keeping her safe. But who's going to keep him safe when he realizes he's falling--hard--for the daughter of the man he failed to save? This a solid Christian romantic suspense. Though I did guess early on who the murder was, there were enough other surprises to keep me guessing and ...

 What is your favorite color? Pink and  Purple What is your favorite toy? Rainbow Loom What is your favorite food? Grilled Cheese What is your favorite tv show? Curious George What is your favorite game? Q-bitz What is your favorite animal? Cat and Bunny What is your favorite song? Jesus Loves Me What is your favorite book? Rainbow Magic Who is your best friend? Breanne and Molly What is your favorite thing to do outside? Jump on the trampoline What do you want for dinner on your birthday? Pancakes and jello What do you want to be when you grow up?  A vet or an artist