What Once was Lost by Kim Vogel Sawyer

The setting of this book is in 1890, on a small Kansas farm, where Christina Willems cares for a unique group of individuals that have been displaced and don't have money to stay elsewhere. Some are orphaned children, some elderly individuals, one young woman who became pregnant at a young age. They all connect in a unique way and love and help one another. Then, a fire hits their home and they have no where to go. Miss Willems finds places for everyone to stay while their farm house gets fixed, however, no one will take the young blind boy, Tommy. Miss Willems approaches the reclusive mill owner, Levi Johnson, and he says yes, after Miss Willems pushes him really hard. The bond that Tommy and Levi build surprises everyone. Then, obstacles for rebuilding the farm begin to come up and Miss Willems is faced with major decisions. She also starts to build a friendship with Levi that affects her future much too.

I enjoyed this book- it only took me two days to read it. I could relate to the heart of Miss Willems and also her struggle to find herself in the midst of loving others. I appreciated the learning she did along the way in the book about how you can't continue to serve out of your own strength, but how she needed to see her mission as God's work that she was taking part of. I also loved the growth that Tommy, the young blind boy did in the book. He started out very insecure and feeling unloved and unwanted. By the end of the book, he had grown in so many ways. His character really connected with my heart. This was a great book. I'd definitely suggest it to others!

*This is a Blogging for Books review- check out this great opportunity to receive free new books for the option of blogging and reviewing about them!

the living room by robert whitlow

I really liked this book by Robert Whitlow. In this novel, the main character, Amy Clarke, is a mom that lives with a secret. For years, she has traveled to a holy special place in her dreams—a place she calls the Living Room. When she wakes up, her faith and energy are supernaturally restored. It is also during her dreams where she finds inspiration to write books. At some point, her dreams begin to change and begin to give her signs of things that are happening in real life. It takes the story into places no one expects. 

This is my first time to read a Robert Whitlow novel and I would definitely suggest it to others. I throughly enjoyed it. It was not certain where the story line was going and I appreciated that- as often in Christian fiction- I feel like I can easily predict the story. I liked some of the suspense and the subtle Christian focus. I liked the characters and the surprise ending. I definitely want to check out more books by Robert Whitlow!

*This review was written for Book Sneeze.