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Showing posts with label Cynthia Ruchti. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Cynthia Ruchti. Show all posts

Saturday, June 10, 2023

Audible Book Review: When the Morning Glory Blooms by Cynthia Ruchti

I enjoyed the three character lines of this touching story.
When the Morning Glory Blooms
By: Cynthia Ruchti
Narrated by: Melinda Sward

Length: 9h 27m
Release date: 08-05-15
Publisher: Audible Studios
Gender: Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction, Romance
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0 Overall; Story 4.0; Narration 4.0.


Publisher's Summary
Becky rocks a baby that rocked her world. Sixty years earlier, with her fiancé, Drew, in the middle of the Korean Conflict, Ivy throws herself into her work at a nursing home to keep her sanity and provide for the child Drew doesn't know is coming. Ivy cares for Anna, an elderly patient who taxes Ivy's listening ear until the day she suspects Anna's tall tales are not the ramblings of dementia. They're fragments of Anna's disjointed memories of a remarkable life. Finding a faint thread of hope she can't resist tugging, Ivy records Anna's memoir, scribbling furiously after hours to keep up with the woman's emotion-packed, grace-hemmed stories. Is Ivy's answer buried in Anna's past? Becky, Ivy, Anna - three women fight a tangled vine of deception in search of the blossoming simplicity of truth.
©2013 Cynthia Ruchti (P)2015 Audible, Inc.


Review:
This story follows the lives of three women who have connections through babies born to teens out of wedlock. The reader first meets Becky who is a current day grandmother raising her grandson while her teen daughter finishes high school. Becky loves her grandson but wasn’t expecting to be homebound at this time of her life. The little life they are nurturing impacts the whole family as they struggle with finances, time schedules, and prejudices of even close friends.

Ivy is a young woman in the 1950s whose boyfriend has gone off to war in South Korea. She is afraid to tell him the truth in a letter and can only dream and hope that he will come back and want to marry her. Ivy moves away from her former home to move in with her less than embracing father. She gets a job as a caregiver in a nursing home where she meets Anna.

Anna, a woman in her 80s is the first person to suspect that Ivy is pregnant and alone. Anna has a history that gives her insight into these matters, and she asks Ivy to write down her wonderful story of God’s fulfilling the dream of her youth and how her dram touched so many young mothers – her morning glories.

This was on my list for "Time of Day" goal and I saw that the free audio was expiring. I am glad to have read this sooner than later. The story seemed a little slow, dramatic, and depressing at first, but once I got to the second character, it pulled me in. I wanted to know what happened to each life and how they were connected in the end. I especially loved Anna’s story and how she encouraged Ivy. This is a story of God’s love, personal relationships, redemption, and second chances. I recommend this to readers who enjoy good Christian based, family stories.

Audio Notes: I was comfortable with the narration by Melinda Sward. The voices were distinct and the emotions well conveyed. I note some other reviewers mentioned mispronounced words, but I did not notice this problem. I appreciated having this audio, especially as a free title.

Source: 10/9/2021 Audible Plus Catalog title. This qualifies for 2023TBR, 2023Audiobook, and 2023Time of Day reading goals.

Saturday, January 18, 2020

Book Review: An Endless Christmas: A Novella by Cynthia Ruchti

This is lovely!
An Endless Christmas: A Novella
by Cynthia Ruchti
25205535

File Size: 1122 KB
Print Length: 183 pages
Publisher: Worthy Inspired (October 13, 2015)
ASIN: B07NVHR7HS
Genre: Christian Romance, Holiday
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0.


Award-winning novelist's heartwarming story about family and love lost, found, and finally truly revealed at Christmas.


Review:
Katie Vale has come with her boyfriend, Micah Binder, to the Binder grandparents’ cottage for Christmas. It was enough to get to meet all of his family but she wasn’t prepared for a marriage proposal. Katie does care for Micah, but Katie, an only child, comes from a toxic relationship background. She sees the strong, loving relationships in Micah’s large family, and she believes that she cannot subject this wonderful man to the risk shown by the failed relationships in her family and ancestors.

When Katie says “no” to the proposal she is prepared to face anger and resentment from the filled cottage. Instead, she is warmly welcomed and cared for. Katie wonders how she could ever fit in with these gracious, passionate people. Each day of the holiday the family shares a different tradition that shares the true meaning of Christmas. Katie is conflicted and thinks she may leave before Christmas eve but events have her standing with the family through a crisis. But can Micah convince Katie that he is willing to love her (baggage and all) for all their future Christmases?

This is a beautiful story of a strong Christian family who are truly loving, caring and share great Christmas traditions. The bonfire scene is great. Katie is a difficult character to understand because she was so absorbed by her past and her mistakes. Micah, on the other hand, is a warm, lovely character.

The ladies of my book club all enjoyed this book and we will look for more books from this author. I recommend this to readers who enjoy warm, Christian romance.

Ladies Book Club Book. Source: Print books from Christianbooks.com; ebook from Amazon $3.95. This qualifies for 2020TBR, 2020eBook and 2020Alphabet goal.

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