The Sea Prayers

The Sea Prayers

By Normandie Fischer

What an exciting read! Fischer takes us back to Beaufort, NC in this book, as she tells the story of a single mom barely making ends meet, and her daughter, who learns a huge secret about the dad she's never met: he’s her favorite singer and she listens to his music all the time.

There’s a sous chef who has overcome addiction and lives on a boat, an inherited house that requires more than the recipient can handle, and a town filled with people who know how to be the hands and feet of God. Date rape, emotional abuse, unforgiveness, and a missing child provide lots of conflict, plot twists, and reasons for our heroine to learn how to pray.

This is a love story, a faith story, and a family story. It’s about the past coming back to bite you, and learning how to make sure the future doesn’t run away without you.

I highly recommend Fischer’s latest installment in her Carolina Coast Series. This story definitely stands on its own, but if you’ve already met the lovely people from her other novels, you will enjoy it even more when several of them pop into this storyline too.  

Learn more about Normandie Fischer here: http://www.normandiefischer.com/ and you'll also find more information about all the other books in her Coastal Carolina Series. Don't worry about reading them in order, each book stands on its own, but the characters overlap for an extra bonus when you do read them all. 

Jennifer Fromke is a novelist who writes from NC, where she pines for colder temperatures all year long. Northerners by upbringing, she and her husband of 26 years have raised three Southern-ish children. Jennifer reviews books at Shetalksbooks.com and you can download a free story from her website when you sign up for her newsletter at jenniferfromke.com. She writes contemporary women’s fiction and her family’s annual Christmas letter, which she needs to get going on this week!

A Broken Kind of Beautiful

A Broken Kind a Beautiful

By Katie Ganshert

Ivy Clark is a professional model, turning heads everywhere she goes since at least the age of fourteen. The people in her life have used her for their own gain, pleasure, or in some cases, to witness their demise. She’s never known love, real love, and wouldn’t recognize it if it invited her into its home, served her sweet tea, and placed her favorite flowers in a vase.

The fashion industry is fickle, and when her career starts to slip, Ivy receives an unusual opportunity to salvage it. But she’ll need the expertise of a photographer who doesn’t take pictures anymore. And it will involve returning to the small town where she was forced to spend summers with a father who never gave her the time of day.

Davis Knight sees Ivy like no one else does. He sees the cracks, the pain, the hollowed hurting eyes behind her perfect visage. He punishes himself for the past and refuses to look hopefully into his own future, allthewhile keeping Ivy at arm’s length.

This story touches on some beautiful themes: unconditional love, true beauty, and learning how to see people through different eyes. The characters are well-drawn, and they linger in the best possible way. Though published three years ago, the book feels very fresh. I think every reader will see shadows of themselves as they read it.

You can learn more about Katie Ganshert here. You can check out her book for sale here.

When you see models on magazine covers, do you ever wonder what their life is like outside the spotlight? Do you wonder if anyone loves them for who they are instead of what they look like? Leave us a comment to be entered into this week's drawing!