One of my favorite types of fiction is historical. It's so fun to get to dive into history and see what the people around events might have been thinking and feeling. Perhaps this love for historical fiction comes from my early love of biographies and trying to understand how people who lived during events felt, instead of just seeing how history views the event itself.

I'm really looking forward to sharing some of my favorite books from this genre. 

Goodreads | Amazon

My Reviews of Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3

There are times you go through as a reader when you wonder why you even bother reading anymore. All the books seem to have the same story and message. And then, a book comes along that reminds you why you read. A Home for My Heart did that for me. It avoided so many of the cliche stories and characters I had read when reading about orphans and those that cared for them at this time. Yet, this story still showed some of the historical challenges.

Note: the author recently changed covers and went to using her given name.

Goodreads | Amazon

Amy Lynn Green is among my favorite authors, and that's with just two books out! (Anyone else have her next book on pre-order?) However, The Lines Between Us captures something unique and wonderful. Not only does it share some very interesting historical facts, but also captures the struggles and attitudes toward those who were conscientious objectors. It didn't wrap everything up with a bow but left some questions unanswered while still being a completely satisfying read.

Goodreads | Amazon 

(The kindle edition is on sale for 0.99!)

The American Revolution is such a fascinating time in history and so much more complex than we often think of it as. I loved this novel about spies, Quakers who wouldn't fight, and the hard choices so many faced during this time. The romance was sweet and slow. I just so adore this book on so many levels.

Goodreads | Amazon

My Review

It's pretty obvious by now that Joanna Davidson Politano is a new favorite author (another whose next book I've pre-ordered). This is among my favorites. It is historical fiction, set in England. I love how Politano gives strong female characters that also seem to fit into their historical context. I get a little weary of the very modern attitudes I find in so many women in historical fiction. This book was beautifully written, and historically rich, and the faith message just left me wanting to hug the book. Too bad I was listening to the audiobook. 

Goodreads | Amazon

My Review

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Ah, romance. I always enjoy a well-done romance, but at times it's hard to find romances that I really, really like. However, I have found several I like. Today, I will share five romances that stand out to me.

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Get my Emma retelling for free HERE

I love Sarah Sundin's books, but this is my favorite of hers. The two main characters have a lot to learn, one about friendship and the other about leadership. They write to each other encouraging each other to keep up the good work and giving advice. I love how they fall in love through the letters, without knowing what the other looks like. 

Goodreads | Amazon

Read my review HERE

One of the best things about Wings of a Dream by Anne Mateer is that it isn't primarily a romance book. It's about a girl discovering herself at the end of World War I and along the way she finds love. This story is compelling and so satisfying. Now I want to go curl up with a mug of hot cider and reread it!

Goodreads | Amazon

I grew up hearing my dad read Grace Livingston Hill books to my mom many evenings. This is just about my favorite romance she wrote. The book follows two siblings as they find love, but I loved the sweetness of McRae's love story. It's a nostalgic read that is perfect for fall weather.

Goodreads | Amazon

This last book is perhaps the oddest for me. This book starts out with the two main characters not liking each other at all, a ploy I usually hate. Yet, in this biblical fiction book, it works out to show how God's grace and mercy can be extended to heal wounds and change lives. I love how the romance turned out in this book, especially how I felt it reflected the heart of God.

I don't have a proper review written, but I would say this one has some darker elements that make it best for ages 15 or over.

Goodreads | Amazon

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Welcome to day two of Five Fall Favorites! Today, we dive into the fantasy realm. Which is perfect, as often they are perfect for chilly evenings, hot drinks, and fires. I've never been very into fantasy, but there are a few special books and series that have buried themselves deep into my heart.

Goodreads | Amazon

My review of Book 1| Book 2 | Book 3

Jaye L. Knight is a gifted writer. I knew that from the first book I read by her under her other pen name. This series is full of emotion from page one. Each of the characters is vividly written and has their own journey to take. Knight weaves not only a compelling story but one full of deep faith messages in the face of adversity. Each story in the Ilyon Chronicles is not only powerful but also encouraging. 

Goodreads | Amazon

Read my reviews for Book 1 | Book 2 | Book 3 | Book 4 | Book 5

If you enjoy allegories, you will enjoy this series. Chuck Black wrote the Kingdom series as an allegorical retelling of the Bible from beginning to end. I really enjoyed these stories. They were an interesting idea and lots of fun. As with all allegories, it isn't perfect, but it is a fun perspective.

Goodreads | Amazon

My Review of the series

The Five Fall Favorites giveaway includes…

Decorative fall items (pumpkins, gnomes, and blanket scarf)

A fall mug (there will be tea!)

Annie’s Life in Lists by Kristin Mahoney

Hedgehog journal

Kiera by Kate Willis (hardcover)

Brothers and Betrayal by Sarah Holman (paperback)

Should We Tell Her? by Lillian Keith (paperback)

The Road to Bremen by Kelsey Bryant (paperback)

Anthology including a story by Abigail Harris (paperback)

Most books are contributions by participating authors. Ships to contiguous US only. Winner will have 48 hours to respond after being contacted.

Enter HERE

Get this book for free HERE

Last, make sure you head over to Kate's blog and check out the other blogs involved in Five Fall Favorites.

Welcome to Five Fall Favorites! For those who might not know me, I plan to use this post to introduce myself as well as the five books that, in our hostess Kate's words, make me me. I love this idea because it lets me show you the book equivalent to a personal playlist. These are the books that have molded and shaped me over the years. Are you ready to dive in?

From my earliest memories, I've been part of a loving Christian family that placed God first in everything. Did we make mistakes? Oh yeah! But I'm so grateful to have godly parents, siblings, and to be married to a man of godly character. I have to say the number one book that makes me me is the Bible. I've tried to read it daily since I was very young and I try to build my life around Jesus and the truth of His word. In fact, you can often find me in the morning digging into scripture, and when my husband gets off work we read a chapter or two. Currently, I'm using my Maranatha NIV Worship Bible. I love the old NIV and the songs in the margins that help me to worship.

Amazon | Goodreads

When I was young, I loved to read. But about the time I was ten, I found a series that had an impact on my faith and my outlook on life. It was a series that continues to inspire my writing, especially for young people. It also helped continue my love for history. The Sarah's Journey series became an instant favorite of mine. Sarah doesn't always have the best attitude about things, but she learns and grows. Wanda Luttrell showed through the story how Sarah's bad attitudes hurt her and how God changed her over time. Besides, the series was full of historical adventure.

Goodreads | Amazon

Goodreads | Amazon | My Review

We all battle with our thoughts from time to time. God was so good and brought this gem of a book into my life during a time I was battling some depression and anxiety. I'll be honest, I wasn't sure that I would be able to apply this book. It felt too hard, but I decided to try. It took time, but I found victory and now have the biblical tools to help me take my thoughts captive. This book continues to impact my life and challenge me to keep loving God with all my mind. It's the book I find myself recommending most often to my friends.

Goodreads | Amazon

Me and my two youngest sisters in Colorado

Of all the memories from my teen years, among my favorites are sitting in the middle of the woods, my sisters all sitting around working, while Rose or I read this book aloud together. We also listened to it in audiobook form many times. This book is more than a classic. It is a book about sisters and finding your place in the world. It continues to inspire me.

Goodreads | Amazon

Make sure to enter the giveaway!!

You can enter HERE

Maker sure to check out Kate's Blog and all the others taking part in FFF.

Lastly....

Grab it HERE

A few days ago, a follower on my Instagram account reached out to me and asked me if I was okay. After all, I had gone silent on all my accounts. I didn't even finish my August Amazingness posts. Even this post, which I started a couple of weeks ago, has sat, waiting for me to finish writing it and actually do something on the blog. So why haven't I?

Truth is, I just felt burnt out.

Usually, I'm good at knowing when I'm getting close to burnt out so I can slow myself down. This time, my writing burnout came on suddenly and I just didn't feel like I could write, promote, or even get on social media. I'm not even sure why. Life is going well. Most of my writing burnouts come because of emotional exhaustion in life. 

As an author, one of the important parts of my job is making meaningful connections with my readers. In my ideal world, this would be through either in-person events or from them just reading my blog. But that isn't always how things happen. Most of my readers are looking to make the connection to me as an author on social media. 

This means I need to keep up with how and where on social media they are connecting.

In the last year, videos on Instagram or TikTok are the big deal. Many of my writer friends have created brilliant videos and some of my readers have been wanting me to do the same. But I'll let you in on a secret: I have no talent when it comes to short videos. I tried. I recorded a lot, tried to make some reels, and tried to get inspired to jump on the trend.

And I burned myself out.

I got so discouraged with it because I was trying to connect with readers, and I couldn't even put something together that I wanted to watch, much less share. It sent me into a spiral of wondering how I was going to keep connected with the readers I cared about as social media continues to change.  I felt so defeated. I felt like a failure.

Over the last few weeks, I've slowly been figuring out what I need to do. I still don't have all the answers. Part of me just wants to pull back from all social media and just post blog posts. Of course, I would miss all my readers I get to connect with, so that isn't going to happen.

I'm looking forward figuring out exactly what I need to do and how to make those meaningful connections with the skills I have. 

What are some of the ways you like to connect with authors? What makes a online connection meaningful to you?