Rising Darkness by Nancy Mehl

This book, Rising Darkness, by Nancy Mehl is a book kind of suspenseful Mennonite-based book with a little romance as well. The concept of the book is that a girl who was raised in an abusive neglectful Mennonite home has left the faith and is on her way to becoming a great reporter. She has a lead that she hopes will catapult her into "great reporter" status. She has gotten a lead regarding an old robbery-turned-murder that has remained unsolved for many years and hopes to discover the criminal and expose him through her story.

The trail takes her into a Mennonite community, which falls into conflict with her upbringing and her turn away from the faith. She pretends she is someone who she is not and begins her investigation.

Throughout the story she meets some interesting characters and does some searching of her own. I will not tell you more, in case you decide to read the book :)

I thought it was an okay book, a bit predictable, and a bit unbelievable. I honestly didn't really like the main character Sophie at all. She wasn't really likeable, and I wish her character had been a bit more developed, or maybe a bit more like a real person. In the end there is a change of heart as well as some surprise entanglements. . . all in all I thought it was okay. Maybe a book you'd get out of the library and read, but maybe not buy. It was a good clean story, but not a favorite.

I received this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review.

Amish Christmas at North Star by Cindy Woodsmall, Mindy Starns Clark, Amanda Flower, Katie Ganshert

This book, Amish Christmas at North Star is a collection of four stories about Amish families or connections that occur in or related to the town of North Star. The stories are written by different authors: Cindy Woodsmall, Mindy Starns Clark (and Emily Clark), Amanda Flower, and Katie Ganshert. I have read books by several of those authors before this book, so I was excited to get into this book. I generally like to read stories that are all related, which added to the appeal.

When I received the book, I dove right into it, enjoying the first story (by Katie Ganshert) a lot. The second one, though, for some reason, didn't "click" with me -- I actually put the book down for several days before picking it up to read more. The third was okay, not really compelling either. I did like the fourth one (by Mindy Starns Clark/Emily Clark.

The stories follow a bit in the lives of four individuals who were born the same night, at an Amish birthing center, assisted by the same midwife. They are all stories with a bit of romance, of course, and are good, clean stories, and interesting enough, though 2 are much more interesting than the other two. Though they are all about the same town, the stories didn't intertwine at all.

I guess I'd say that they are a good read, however, two of the four books were just kind of blah. I wouldn't recommend NOT reading the book, but just wanted to say that I was surprised that two of them were not quite pageturners for me.

I received this book from the publisher for the purpose of this review. I was not required to write a positive review.