Willy and Sherman: Battle on the Beach

On August 17, 2019 I had the great pleasure of attending D-day Ohio with my boyfriend. It was a fantastic day and full of battles and LOTS of walking! While I was there my boyfriend purchased this book for me and I finally had time to sit and read it this week. 

Willy and Sherman: Battle on the Beach is a cute book for younger readers about a jeep and a tank who become friends and help the US soldiers in the battle on Normandy beach. It has many beautiful illustrations and is easy to read and understand with some interesting historical notes in the back. If you're teaching your children about D-day and World War Two I highly recommend adding this book to your reading list! It is historical fiction but is full of facts about the tanks and jeeps as well as the battle itself.  You can buy it on Amazon as a hardcover, paperback or in Kindle format.

Russian History

When I was in school, my mom often assigned me books to read. Half for my own learning and half so she'd know if it was a book my siblings would enjoy as they are not as enthusiastic about reading as I am. Often I enjoyed these books immensely in spite of them being nonfiction. Among these books I enjoyed are a series of books on Russian historical figures written by Robert K. Massie.
First, a little about the author...

Robert Kinloch Massie III (born January 5, 1929) is an American historian and biographer. He has devoted much of his career to studying the House of Romanov, Russia's royal family from 1613 to 1917.




THE BOOKS
The books that I read written by this author are as follows, listed from the one I liked best to the least (though still very much liked).

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

This book is about the greatest Russian empress who ever lived. It goes through her life slowly building up the character before you so you get a feel for what she was like even as you see her progress towards the throne. You experience every triumph and every downfall, every joy and every tear the woman went through. A thick book for sure but worthwhile to read every page.


Nicholas and Alexandra

This book is about the relationship between the last Tsar of Russia and Queen Victoria's granddaughter, Alexandra. It starts of the beginning of their time together and goes through every change in their life and every important detail that would eventually cause the end of the Romanov rule. It shows Nicholas' reaction to the births of his girls and finally his son, how he dealt with the opposition of the people of his country. It tells of the strange relationship between Alexandra and the infamous Rasputin and the lives of the Romanov princesses and prince. A heartbreaking story to read but very interesting.

Peter the Great

The ruler who was feared by many and loved by others, who was a contradiction and likely was not an easy person to live with. This well written book goes through Peter's rise to the throne which he shared with his brother, Ivan. It tells of how he expanded the Russian kingdom far beyond the original borders and the changes he made to the operation of the kingdom. This was actually the first of the books that my mom had me read and it was one I couldn't put down so I knew the rest of the books by this author would be an easy read for me. It is thick but it is a good one!

These books are available on Amazon and I've included the links in the titles of each. Read them for yourself and let me know what you thought!

Until next time,

Knights of Arrathtrae Series by Chuck Black

To me, The Knights of Arrethtrae series is one of the best allegorical book series ever written since Pilgrim's Progress. I love this series!

This series by Chuck Black is an allegory of Christians vs. Satan and his evil minions. The books are set with a medieval flair and are full of adventure, drama, emotion and faith. They each have discussions in the back that explain the different parts of each book. I have read every book and have found that they are absolutely hard to put down! I highly recommend the Knights of Arrethtrae. They have audiobooks as well that are SUPERBLY done!

Here are the books in the series

Sir Kendrick & the Casle of Bel Lione

Sir Bentley and Holbrook Court

Sir Dalton and the Shadow Heart

Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue

My personal favorite... Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor

Sir Rowan and the Camerian Conquest

Also by Chuck Black is the Kingdom series that is an allegorical retelling of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation that makes you want to reread the Bible yourself! Absolutely WONDERFUL! (Only one thing though....the fall of Adam and Eve is an apple according to this story.)

These MUST be read in order so you don't miss anything!

1. Kingdom Dawn
2. Kingdom's Hope
3. Kingdom's Edge
4. Kingdom's Call
5. Kingdom's Quest
6. Kingdom's Reign

They come in audiobooks as well and are narrated by the same TWO people as the other series. I stress TWO because the two people that do the voices are so talented that it sounds like you're listening to a full cast drama! In addition to the fantastic narration, the music that helps set the tone was composed and played by Chuck Black's daughter, Elizabeth.

For more information about these two series, check out Chuck's website! There you will find more interesting information about his books, coloring pages, wallpaper, videos and he even has a shop where you can get Kingdom gifts!

Feel free to comment below and let me know what you think of these books!

Loving Adina

Back in 2013, two young girls threaded together a story they had been working on for months. It was published and printed... Now I am here to share the little story behind Loving Adina.

2012.... Emma Qualls and I, both aspiring authors and great friends, decided to write a story together. We talked about our ideas and finally started writing a story set in 1940s Austria. It is the story of two teenagers who must face hard decisions that may cause death to either one. We split the story evenly between us, each taking on the life of one of the main characters and weaving in the extras that the two come in contact with, including some historical figures of their time. Once we started, we couldn't stop and eagerly awaited the next part to arrive from each other.... Now I must tell you that we did NOT write it by email or text. No, we took up pencil and paper and wrote each of our parts and sent them by mail to each other. It was a long process but very rewarding and so much fun!

2013... Our story was complete. Now to get it together. Emma and I lived 4 hours apart and rarely got a chance to be together. I planned a "Picnic with the Past" with a group of girls, including Emma and her sister, and I invited Emma to stay with me. Using her laptop, we laced together the parts we had eventually typed out and then I added the finishing touches in the next few weeks. Having previously discussed the idea of publishing, it was decided that we would use a free publishing company to start off our writing career. (It may not have been the wisest course but we were determined to see our book printed.) Emma's dad did not want her to sign the contract, as it asked for more information than he wanted her to give, so I put my name down as the sole author. But if you look inside the pages of this book, you will find I gave acknowledgement to her help.

On July 31, 2013, Loving Adina hit the market and our little story was made available to the public. It is exciting to see it available online with my name on it! It is now available on Amazon and you can order it for less than $20 (before shipping)!

Though there are flaws with our book, due to my editing errors, we are proud to present it to you! If you are interested in reading it, please click the title in this post highlighted in blue and proceed to Amazon. If you enjoyed it, please post a review on Amazon!

Dear Kate: A Novel by Hannah Duggan and Narrated by Felisha Caldeira

I was asked to listen to the narration of this story and do an honest review... WOW! This book is absolutely amazing! The theme of redemption and overcoming fear is strong and the adventure keeps you at the edge of your seat! Felisha Caldeira did a wonderful job narrating it too!!


Here is the "Publisher's Summary"...

At a time when thousands are fleeing tyranny to find a home in the New World, 17-year-old Kate Elyot witnesses a tragic accident that orphans a little girl named Emily. Suddenly the sole guardian of a child she's never met, Kate's only guide to the girl's surviving family is a signet ring and a letter sewn into Emily's dress addressed to Kate. Unsure of whether she has walked into a fateful calling or a fatal coincidence, Kate is determined to get Emily home but is unprepared for the journey awaiting her.

Captain Anthony Scot will not rest until his enemy Simon Cephas is punished for a crime long forgotten. The signet ring that Emily carries is the evidence Scot needs to convict his rival. He is willing to obtain the ring at any cost in order to destroy Cephas. Can Kate fight to free Emily from those who would use her to destroy her Puritan family? Will her courage sustain her as she is brought face to face with her worst fears, deepest regrets, and a God she cannot bring herself to trust?

In the story Kate quotes a lot from this poem and she really broke it down to where I really thought about each part. It's amazing! I loved it so much I thought I'd share it.

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too well pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we have dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wider seas
Where storms will show your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.

We ask You to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push into the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

~Sir Francis Drake

I loved this book and did NOT want it to end! It did have the perfect ending though and I really enjoyed it. If you haven't read/listened to it, you should definitely try it out!