14“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.

6 For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given;
and the government shall be upon[a] his shoulder,
    and his name shall be called[b]
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7 Of the increase of his government and of peace
    there will be no end,
on the throne of David and over his kingdom,
    to establish it and to uphold it
with justice and with righteousness
    from this time forth and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this

   1Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus, that a census be taken of all the inhabited earth. 2This was the first census taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. 3And everyone was on his way to register for the census, each to his own city. 4Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and family of David, 5in order to register along with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was with child. 6While they were there, the days were completed for her to give birth. 7And she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

      8In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; 11for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12“This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.” 13And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

      14“Glory to God in the highest,
            And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

      15When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, “Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us.” 16So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

What books are you hoping to find under the tree...
or what books did you find under the tree??

Merry Christmas!

Title: Searching For You
Author: Jody Hedlund
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 384
ISBN: 9780764218064
Publication Date: December 4th, 2018

About the Book:

Her Search for a Place to Call Home
Leads Her to the Last Place She Ever Expected
For years, Sophie Neumann has been running from the orphanages of 1850s New York City. Tasked with caring for two younger children, she's determined not to let them be taken from her, and not to abandon them the same way her older sisters did her. But times are growing desperate, and when she falls in with the wrong crowd and witnesses a crime, she realizes fleeing the state is her only option.

Disappearing with her two young charges into a group of orphans heading west by train, Sophie hopes to find safety and a happy life. But when the train stops in Illinois, she faces an agonizing decision as the orphans will be placed in new homes. Afraid she'll lose them forever, she finds help in a familiar face she never expected to see so far from New York.

Reinhold Weiss has finally purchased his own small farm in Illinois. With mounting debts, a harvest to bring in, and past scars that still haunt him, Reinhold is in no position to give his heart away . . . but can he say no when his long-lost friend shows up on a nearby farm pleading for his help?

My Thoughts:
I'm so happy to finally have the ending of this series! I'm sad it ended, but so very happy with how it all came together.

We have followed the stories of Elise and Marianne and now we have the answers to their little sister Sophie. These sisters have all dealt with hardships and we finally get to have the mystery solved about what happened to Sophie, Nicholas, and Olivia.

Sophie has lived a very hard life since she young, and with time, it has gotten harder. She has battled hunger, cold, and other people all while trying to keep her and the littles she has been watching since they were born, safe.

Sophie has not only battled the outward battles, but she is in a constant battle with her memories. Everyone she has ever loved has left her. She feels unloved and unwanted. It's a hard road she is battling. After dealing with personal issues, she is put in a position where she needs to flee to keep her and the young children safe.She boards and orphan train and heads west, like her sisters did before her, but in a whole other way. Instead of working for the children's aide society, she is going as an orphan to a new home placement.

We have see how the these trains helped build up towns and then go about placing children. Now we see what the experience is like from the child's perspective.

We also have followed Reinhold's story along with the sister's in these books. He has dealt with his own hardships and personal issues. His story has been intertwined with the sisters and it is good to see how his story is played out as well. However, he is a stubborn man and you get very frustrated with some of his choice, but he isn't perfect and his choices show, but he tries to help.

Along with reading this book, I also downloaded the audio book. It was narrated beautifully. I was happy to hear that the same performer was back to narrate the last of the series. She carried the stories well.

This was a great story. It was book that touched on many things that were relatable in certain areas. Self-worth, anger issues. They can be difficult topics to cover, but they were handled smoothly.

It was a great story and I was sad to see this series end, but I really enjoyed how it was closed out.

I can't wait to see what Jody Hedlund will share with us next!

5 out of 5

About the Author:
Jody Hedlund (www.jodyhedlund.com) is the author of over 20 novels, including Love Unexpected, Captured by Love, Unending Devotion, The Preacher's Bride, and A Noble Groom, winner of the 2014 Carol Award for historical romance. She received a bachelor's degree from Taylor University and a master's from the University of Wisconsin, both in social work. She lives in Michigan with her husband and five children. She loves hearing from readers on Facebook and on her blog.






Thank you to the author I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Reading Next:


Recently On the Blog:
Top Ten Tuesday: Winter TBR
Waiting On Wednesday: Flight of the Raven
Review: Mark of the Raven by Morgan L. Busse

Title: Mark of the Raven
Author: Morgan L. Busse
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 352
ISBN: 9780764232220
Publication Date: November 6th, 2018

About the Book:

Dreamwalker. Nightwatcher. Lady of Ravenwood. 
Lady Selene Has Come into Her Family's Power.
But Has She Inherited a Gift or a Curse?
Lady Selene is heir to the House of Ravenwood and the secret family gift of dreamwalking. As a dreamwalker, she can enter a person's dreams and manipulate their greatest fears or desires. Soon after the gifting, however, Selene discovers that the Ravenwood women have been secretly using their gift to gather information or to assassinate those responsible for the fall of House Ravenwood to the Dominia Empire hundreds of years ago.

As she becomes more entrenched in Ravenwood's dark past, Selene longs to find out the true reason behind her family's gift, believing that its original intent could not have been for such evil purposes, but she is torn about upholding her family's legacy--a legacy that supports her people. Selene's dilemma comes to a head when she is tasked with assassinating the one man who can bring peace to the nations--but who is also prophesied to bring about the downfall of her own house.

One path holds glory and power and will solidify her position as Lady of Ravenwood. The other path holds shame and likely death. Which will she choose? And is she willing to pay the price for the path chosen?

My Thoughts:
I really like well written fantasy. I'm very picky over it. I will admit, but when I find a book, I'm beyond thrilled!

Mark of the Raven is a story that starts off strong! I brings you right in to Selene's world and keeps building on it.

I love the opening of the book. I love the dark and a little ominous undertones of the start. The depth and background of Selene and her family and rich and vivid and bring you further into the story. The rivalry that Selene's sister feels for her you can understand. You can see where she is coming from, but you also don't want her to feel that way. The writing allows you to see all sides of the story. The history that is presented of Selene's family and that of the other families surrounding is phenomenal! So much detail.

When we are introduced to Nighwalking and what it does, it starts of very exciting. The training that Selene has go through with her mother....who is very intense, is one that is exhausting for her, but enlightening for the reader.

I loved how this story had two POV. it opened up the story so much more. It was smooth going between Selene and Damien. They were very different people, but each had so much to add to the story. And then the ending! Oh, the ending!

I went between reading this book and listening to the audio. The audio was fantastic! The narrator's performance was great and kept the flow of the story going and her voice fit, it enhanced the story.

If you're looking for a great adventure with superb writing, Mark of the Raven is a book that will be perfect for you. And....the best thing is, there isn't much of a wait for book 2, Flight of the Raven.

This is a story not only for fantasy lovers, but really for anyone. I think this is book great for young and old.

5 out of 5



About the Author:
Morgan L. Busse (www.morganlbusse.com) is a writer by day and a mother by night. She is the author of the Follower of the Word series and the new steampunk series The Soul Chronicles. Her debut novel, Daughter of Light, was a Christy and Carol Award finalist. During her spare time she enjoys playing games, taking long walks, and dreaming about her next novel. She and her family live in Bloomington, Illinois.







Thank you to the publisher, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Waiting On:
Title: Flight of the Raven
Author: Morgan L. Busse
Publisher: Bethany House
Publication Date: April 30th, 2019

About the Book:

Exiled and on the run, Selene Ravenwood is in search of the real reason her family was given the gift of dreamwalking but first she must adapt to her marriage with the man she was originally assigned to kill. With war impending and a dark being after her gift, she finds herself at a crossroads but time is running out and soon her choice will be made for her.

What are you waiting on this week?
Any fun continuations of a series?
Let me know in the comments below. :-)