Showing posts with label Bethany Pierce. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bethany Pierce. Show all posts

Sunday, 6 February 2011

Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce

"...I preferred books to playmates. I spent recess sitting on the detention wall reading Nancy Drew mysteries and Anne of Green Gables."

Amy Gallagher's passion for words began at a young age and was her avenue of escape from a speech impediment, her father's desertion and the responsibility of her baby brother while their mother worked support her young children. Determined to become a renowned author, Amy leaves a respectable job and pursues a Master's degree but as the years pass and rejections build up, Amy's dreams stagnate.

Uninspired by the way her life has turned out, Amy is challenged by Eli Moretti, an artist and friend to her room mate Zoe, who comes to live with them due to Zoe's charitable tendancies. Eli's very appearance, from his second hand clothes, heavy silver rings and Celtic tattoo, offends Amy's sense of propriety, yet his innate confidence attracts her to the man he might be beneath the vagabond appearance. As Amy reevaluates her choices in life and the basis of her faith, she confronts her fears, religiosity and relationships from a new perspective.

Bethany Pierce's novel is an honest revelation of the life of an almost thirty year old single Christian woman grappling with the pressures of disappointment, temptation and the long lasting impact of her parent's divorce when she was a child. Bravely taking on subject matter often ignored in Christian Fiction, Bethany enables the reader to journey with Amy as she examines her didactic religious upbringing, is attracted physically and emotionally to a man whose faith looks different to hers and faces the truth behind her father's desertion of his family. While the story laboured a little for me in the middle, Bethany does not assume or state the obvious instead she uses subtle prose and underlying implications to stimulate and challenge the reader to ponder the real life issues most of us struggle with, whether we are willing to admit it or not. Readers who want to read a pretty and formulaic novel will not find what they are looking for in this story but those wanting a dose of realism in their reading will be more than satisfied. I look forward to more novels willing to stretch the boundaries by this young and talented author.


As seen at TitleTrakk.com

With thanks to TitleTrakk & Bethany for my review copy


Relz Reviewz Extras

Visit Bethany's website and blog

Buy Bethany's books at Amazon or Koorong

Thursday, 18 March 2010

Coming in September/October from Bethany House

Here's a preview of some of Bethany's releases for later this year. I have to admit that I am looking forward to the contemporary novels the most and am thrilled to see Kristen's A Rush of Wings getting a new cover and new audience - great book!

As always, I'd love to know your thoughts on covers or story and which one appeals to you the most. Stay tuned for more from Bethany soon:)




Ruth Livingstone's life changes drastically the day her father puts a young child in her arms and sends her to a small village in New Jersey under an assumed name. There Ruth pretends to be a widow and quietly secludes herself until her father is acquitted of a crime. But with the emergence of the penny press, the imagination of the reading public is stirred, and her father's trial stands center stage. Asher Tripp is the brash newspaperman who determines that this case is the event he can use to redeem himself as a journalist.

Ruth finds solace tending a garden along the banks of the Toms River--a place where she can find a measure of peace in the midst of the sorrow that continues to build. It is also here that Asher Tripp finds a temporary residence, all in an attempt to discover if the lovely creature known as Widow Malloy is truly Ruth Livingstone, the woman every newspaper has been looking for. Love begins to slowly bloom but is the affection they share strong enough to withstand the secrets that separate them?

September, 2010





The Thorn by Beverly Lewis

Lancaster County, with its rolling meadows and secret byways, may seem idyllic, but it is not without its thorns. The Rose Trilogy is the stirring saga of two Amish sisters on the fringes of the church, and the unforeseen discoveries that change their lives.

Rose Kauffman, a spirited young woman, has a close friendship with the bishop's foster son. Nick dresses Plain and works hard but stirs up plenty of trouble too. Rose's sister cautions her against becoming too involved, but Rose is being courted by a good, Amish fellow, so dismisses the warnings. Meanwhile, Rose keeps house for an English widower but is startled when he forbids her to ever go upstairs. What is the man hiding?

Rose's older sister, Hen, knows more than she should about falling for the wrong man. Unable to abandon her Amish ways, Hen is soon separated from her very modern husband. Mattie, their young daughter, must visit her father regularly, but Hen demands she wear Amish attire--and speak Pennsylvania Dutch, despite her husband's wishes. Will Hen be able to reestablish her place among the People she abandoned? And will she be able to convince Rose to steer clear of rogue neighbor Nick?

September, 2010





Gretchen Kohler is an Amana storekeeper's daughter with a secret passion for writing. But artistic pursuits are frowned upon in her conservative Amana village, so she confines her poems and stories to her journals, letting only close friends read them. When a young reporter comes into her store, she believes she's found a kindred spirit. She shares a few of her stories with him--only to have her trust betrayed in the worst of ways, resulting in trouble for her entire community. The scandal is made even worse by the fact that gypsies have camped nearby and seem to be preying upon the Amanans' compassionate, pacifist nature. Will Gretchen lose her job, her reputation, and the love of her childhood beau all because of one bad decision?

September, 2010






In Every Heartbeat by Kim Vogel Sawyer

As three friends who grew up in the same orphanage head off to college together, they each harbor a cherished dream. Libby wishes to become a famous journalist, Pete plans to study to become a minister, and Bennett wants to join a fraternity and have as much fun as possible. But as tensions rise around the world on the brink of World War I, the friends' differing aspirations and opinions begin to divide them, as well. And when Libby makes a shocking discovery about Pete's family, will it drive a final wedge between the friends or bond them in ways they never anticipated?

September, 2010











There are two things twenty-nine-year-old Jackie Donovan asks God for: an honest, wonderful man to marry, and to own a bed-and-breakfast in the Outer Banks region. In the meantime, Jackie works for Lighthouse Views magazine, writing articles about other local business owners, and intrepidly goes on the blind dates set up by her well-meaning but oh-so-clueless relatives.

There's one specific property Jackie dreams of purchasing: the Bailey Place, a fabulous old home where Jackie spent many happy childhood afternoons, a place that has now fallen into disrepair because of its outrageous price tag. When Jackie meets handsome Davis Erickson, who holds the key to the Bailey Place, Jackie is sure God has answered both her prayers. But as Jackie learns some disturbing details about Davis's past, she begins to question her own motivation. Will she risk her long-held dreams to find out the truth?

October, 2010




Amy Inspired by Bethany Pierce

Amy Gallagher is an aspiring writer who, after countless rejections, has settled for a career as an English professor in small-town Ohio just to pay the bills. All her dreams suddenly start to unravel as rejections pile up--both from publishers and her boyfriend. But just as Amy fears her life is stuck in a holding pattern, she meets the mysterious, attractive, and unavailable Eli.

She struggles to walk the fine line between friendship and something more with Eli, even as staying true to her faith becomes unexpectedly complicated. When secrets, tragedy, and p
oor decisions cause rifts in Amy's relationships, she must come to terms with who she's become, her unrealized aspirations for her life, and the state of her faith. Can she dare to hope that she will find love and fulfillment despite it all?

October, 2010




A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann (repackaged)

Though her panic is real, Noelle St. Claire is uncertain what danger she is fleeing. Fragmented images and slivers of memory have driven her to abandon her wealthy, sheltered life for the hope of a haven--remote and safe.

Noelle's arrival at the Rocky Mountain horse ranch owned by Rick Spencer and his brother Morgan causes more than a little stir. Beautiful, vulnerable, yet strangely secretive, Noelle is an enigma the two contrasting brothers seek to unlock. Is her impenetrable shell protecting her from true danger--or imagined fears?

October, 2010

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