Pieces On Earth by Cathy Bryant

Book Information

• Paperback: 166 pages
• Publisher: WordVessel Press (November 4, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1941699103
• ISBN-13: 978-1941699102

Synopsis:

As the wife of a naval aviator in sunny Pensacola, Florida, Liv Tulley eagerly anticipates the first Christmas in several years with her husband, daughter, and extended family. Then her husband is unexpectedly deployed for an undetermined amount of time, smashing her white Christmas dreams to pieces. Can she find God's peace in the midst of life's pieces?

Review

A lovely Christmas-themed novella, which reminds the reader of the true meaning of Christmas. The title refers to how Liv's life and her holiday plans seem to be falling to pieces, but God is able to put them back together. It also refers to her daughter, Chesney, trying to remember her lines for a Christmas program and having a difficult time saying "peace on earth" rather than "pieces on earth."

Each of the characters touched my heart in a different way, but my favorite was definitely young Chesney. She is so open to listening to her parents tell her about God, and she often seems wise beyond her years, while at other times she seems like a typical preschooler.  The cover of the book is a great representation of her.

This is a story I will keep in my Christmas collection, and will recommend to others.  

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, and all thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.**

Rating

Five stars

About the author

Cathy Bryant’s first novel, TEXAS ROADS , a 2009 ACFW Genesis finalist and Amazon Kindle best-seller is available free for subscribers:http://bit.ly/1Dgbzoq. She's added five more books to the popular Miller's Creek novels, the latest being CROSSROADS . Cathy also writes Bible studies and devotionals. A Texas gal by birth, Cathy now lives in the lovely Sangre de Cristo mountains with her minister husband of over thirty years. Learn more about Cathy at http://www.CatBryant.com orhttp://www.amazon.com/Cathy-Bryant/e/....

Miller's Creek Novels:
TEXAS ROADS
A PATH LESS TRAVELED
THE WAY OF GRACE
PILGRIMAGE OF PROMISE
A BRIDGE UNBROKEN
CROSSROADS
MILLER'S CREEK COLLECTION 1
MILLER'S CREEK COLLECTION 2
MILLER'S CREEK FORGIVENESS COLLECTION

Other Books:
PIECES ON EARTH

THE FRAGRANCE OF CRUSHED VIOLETS: FORGIVING THE INEXCUSABLE
BELIEVE & KNOW: THE SEARCH FOR TRUTH 

February Release Feature PLUS A FREE Novella

What a wonderful debut! It's a story of redemption and forgiveness and love. The author, Jessica R Patch, sucked me in on the first page. I couldn't put it down. I can't wait for her next book to be released. Wonderful writer. Highly recommended read, especially around Christmas time, but could be read anytime. It's that good.                                                                                              ~fan review

About the book:

A rowdy bar owner. A widowed pastor’s wife. And Christmas hope that brings them together.

After widower Eden Snow’s church almost burns to the ground, she’s compelled to find a temporary place to hold services and Christmas cantata practices.

Has-been hockey player, Knox Everhart, has a reputation for being fast on the ice and with women. Except Eden. She’s always been a fascinating mystery to him, which is why he agrees to let her use the back room of his bar—with one rule: No converting his customers.

But when Eden brings the church to the bar, it offers something the bottle can’t. Hope. And he finds himself falling in love with a woman and a Savior he feels unworthy to pursue.

PURCHASE

Amazon

What COTT voters had to say:

--Jessica's my favorite! She is an awesome writer and a firecracker of a person.
--Jessica, your book sounds so hopeful for a season built on hope! Just what we need in these times. I look forward to reading your book.
--I throughly enjoyed Jessica Patch's "Under the Mistletoe" so my vote is for that! Can't wait for more in the series :)
--Hope Under Mistletoe by Jessical Patch has an intriguing fresh premise.
--Hope Under Mistletoe was a wonderful book! I loved how the story dealt with people getting through their hardships with the help of God. And as I told Jessica..it had the perfect romantic ending...And they lived happily ever after!!
--inspiring way to spread the message of Christ.
I loved Hope Under the Mistletoe! Jessica R. Patch created an inviting town, swoonworthy characters and just enough spice for this inspirational romance!
--A church in a bar? Really? Gotta read it...

Don't miss the free novella Jessica is offering!

Sign up for Jessica’s newsletter, Patched In, and receive the second novella in this Seasons of HopeJust the Way You Are, for FREE until April 22nd! Sign up HERE.
series,

Jessica hangs out on Facebook and Twitter so stop in and join the daily conversations. Also, don’t forget to stop by her Hope Under Mistletoe Pinterest board and meet the characters and take a peek at some of the scenes in the book!

About the free novella, Just the Way You Are:

When Pastor Gabe asks Audrey Gilbraith to use her mad florist skills to help him design a prayer garden, she’s all in, especially since it helps take her mind off the fact she’s about to lose her job and her apartment. But working closely with Gabe and not falling for him is complicated. She’s not pastor’s wife material, and she has the past to prove it.

Gabriel Brookson wants out of Audrey’s friend-zone, but when he pursues her romantically, he ruffles more than a few feathers in his congregation. How much is he willing to give up for this wonderful, quirky woman, and will Audrey accept him if he risks it all?

About the author: Jessica R. Patch lives in the mid-south where she pens inspirational contemporary romance and romantic suspense novels. When she’s not hunched over her laptop or going on adventurous trips in the name of research with willing friends, you can find her sneaking off to movies with her husband, watching way too much Netflix with her daughter, dominating her son at board games, and collecting recipes to amazing dishes she'll probably never cook. Her debut novel with Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense will release in January 2016. She is represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Management

~Find more great new releases at Clash of the Titles.com!~

Gator Bowl (A Biscuit Bowl Food Truck Novella), by J.J. Cook

Synopsis: From the national bestselling author of the Sweet Pepper Fire Brigade Mysteries comes a tasty prequel novella to J.J. Cook’s new series featuring Zoe Chase, a Southern food truck chef who serves justice on the side.
After quitting her job, the first thing Zoe Chase has to do is to drive out to the swamp to see her Uncle Saul. He still has the old Airstream trailer he once used for his own restaurant many years before, and Zoe is sure she can convince him to let her make a food truck out of it.
After making the perilous journey from Mobile, Alabama into the backcountry, Zoe finds her uncle embroiled in a cook-off with his neighbor—with the life of Saul’s albino alligator, Alabaster, in the balance. Once again, the gator has eaten chickens that didn’t belong to her. So Saul and his neighbor will each prepare a meal for a church social, and if Saul wins, the gator lives.
Now it’s up to Zoe to prove herself in the kitchen and come up with something no one has seen before—the biscuit bowl!

Thoughts: This is a prequel to the Biscuit Bowl series, which I have not yet started to read. If this novella is any indication, however, I am going to enjoy the entire series. Zoe and her "supporting cast" are a great group of people, and I love the personality of Zoe's cat, Creme Brulee. Her Uncle Saul's albino alligator, Alabaster, is fun to read about as well. I hope that we get to read more about Saul, Alabaster and Bonnie in the future. And I hope Ollie will continue to hang around with Zoe, as well...he seems like the kind of friend you can always use in your corner.

Looking forward to reading the two full length stories in this series in the very near future.

**I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are entirely my own.** 

My rating: Four stars

Larger Than Life, by Jodi Picoult

Synopsis: A researcher studying memory in elephants, Alice is fascinated by the bonds between mother and calf—the mother’s powerful protective instincts and her newborn’s unwavering loyalty. Living on a game reserve in Botswana, Alice is able to view the animals in their natural habitat—while following an important rule: She must only observe and never interfere. Then she finds an orphaned young elephant in the bush and cannot bear to leave the helpless baby behind. Thinking back on her own childhood, and on her shifting relationship with her mother, Alice risks her career to care for the calf. Yet what she comes to understand is the depth of a parent’s love. 

Thoughts: Short 78 page novella, a prequel to the novel coming out in October. Loved all the information about elephant behavior, as I've always found them fascinating. Anxious for October now, so I can read Leaving Time.

Have You Seen Marie?, Sandra Cisneros

Synopsis: The word "orphan" might not seem to apply to a fifty-three-year-old woman. Yet this is exactly how Sandra feels as she finds herself motherless, alone like "a glove left behind at the bus station." What just might save her is her search for someone else gone missing: Marie, the black-and-white cat of her friend, Roz, who ran off the day they arrived from Tacoma. As Sandra and Roz scour the streets of San Antonio, posting flyers and asking everywhere, "Have you seen Marie?" the pursuit of this one small creature takes on unexpected urgency and meaning.

Thoughts: Supposedly written for adults, but reads more like a children's book of loss and grief. I was more than just a little disappointed in it.

Broken Silence, Karen Rose

Synopsis: After a traumatic kidnapping, Daphne's boss insists that she take time off. But she refuses to sit on the sidelines when she meets a six-year-old girl who the police call Angel. Angel hasn't spoken a word since they found her four days ago next to a burned out car, frozen with shock, and not far from the bodies of two adults who may or may not have been her parents.

Joseph knows that helping Angel is exactly what Daphne needs right now. But when Daphne gets Angel to talk, a mysterious and chilling crime begins to unravel - one that drives Daphne into the darkest corners of her past as she and Joseph track a ruthless killer.

Thoughts: 73 page novella...full of suspense and emotion. Haven't read any of Rose's other books in this series, but I may have to check out more about Daphne in the future.