Tuesday, June 15, 2010

The Hearth Mender by Andy Andrews {A Review and a giveaway!}




The Heart Mender by Andy Andrews is a unique blend of historical fact and engaging fiction showing the power of forgiveness.

In 1942, German subs are dispatched to the Gulf of Mexico to sink U.S. vessels carrying goods and fuel. While taking a late-night walk, Helen Mason—widowed by war—discovers the near-lifeless body of a German sailor. Enraged at the site of Josef Landermann's uniform, Helen is prepared to leave him to die when an unusual phrase, faintly uttered, changes her mind.

In The Heart Mender, a small town must prepare itself for the worst the world has to offer, and Josef and Helen must reconcile their pasts to create a future.


 I received this book in the mail on Friday. Even though I had wedding flowers to do, deliver and then a wedding to decorate for I was done reading it by Saturday evening. This book was totally my style as it is full of history, welling written dialogue, a thought provoking message and a bit of mystery.

  The book was inspired by a time capsule of sorts that the author dug up in his back yard. In it was German Marine memorabilia from WW2 and a few pictures. Andy was so curious about it that he started doing some investigating and found this intriguing story of a German sailor and a bitter American woman, widowed young as a result of the the war. I found the story totally amazing, it was funny at times and scary at times too. I did wish that he would have told more of the story but I guess it is better to be left wanting for more than to be bored with the story.

   I did find the way the story was written to be a little bit hard to follow a few times as the author would go from present day to WW2 time and then back again but as a general rule it was easy reading and fun too. I do appreciate the obvious time the author put into research. I would definitely recommend this book to others and this in one that I intend to make room for to keep on our shelves.

Now for the fun part!
Thomas Nelson Publishers sent me not just one book but two! They asked me to give a second copy away here. So if you would like to win this book please leave a comment on this post. Please tell me about a book you have enjoyed reading. I would especially enjoy hearing about any books that you like that would be suitable reading for my ten year old girl as we are continually running out of books for her.

 So if you want to win leave a comment that tells me about a favorite book and includes some way to reach you if you win. All other comments will be deleted. And for the sake of shipping costs I am going to limit this to USA only- sorry to my international readers! This contest will go until June 22.

Comments are now closed. The Winner is: Gary and Michelle!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com  book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255  : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

Oh, thanks for the opportunity! I read his book "The Noticer" and loved it! My 10-year-old loved the book The White Giraffe by Lauren St. John. It is about a girl who can "speak" to the animals. Adventurous and sweet!

Thanks!
Amara
kwasfamily@sbcglobal.net

Coupon Teacher said...

My favorite book is the bible. I couldn't choose anything else.

Sheila said...

My 9-year-old really enjoyed the Shadow Children series by Margaret Haddix. They are a little serious, so check them out yourself and see if you think she would enjoy them. It's about a society where only 2 children are allowed per family by the population police, and if a family has an additional child or children they have to keep them hidden. Honestly, that description wouldn't draw me, but the books are well-written. My daughter goes to a Christian school, and had gotten them from the school library, so I felt like they were probably okay, but did feel that I should read the first one just to be sure. It's a good read. :)

TopazTook said...

I love historical fiction! I recently read "Finn" by Jon Clinch (NOT for children, but interesting historical perspective) and "Claude and Camille" -- historical fiction based on the life of Claude Monet. (Again, not great for kids.)

If your daughter hasn't read them yet, though, the "All-of-a-Kind Family" series is some good historical fiction for kids.

Keren Ruth said...

I like "The Keeper of the Bees" by Gene Stratton-Porter. If I am missing summer I can read it and feel like I am kinda in summer.

sandra said...

Thanks for the giveaway...I'd love to win! For your daughter, I just read two very sweet books that would make great read alouds. The Basket of Flowers and The Hedge of Thorns..both by Lampligher publishing. You'll both love them!
sandramasters1@bellsouth.net

Kristen said...

My favorite books are the Little House on the Prairie series.

kristen_yeh (at) yahoo (dot) com

Martha said...

Fun! For M a good read that she would finish in short order is, The year of Miss Agnes by Kirkpatrick Hill. She might have read it already when she was here. Books that I can read over and over are the Chronicles of Narnia and the Little House books.

Gary and Michelle said...

Thanks for the opportunity to enter the giveaway.

A favorite book of mine is One Million Arrows - it is a wonderful wake up call for all Christians regarding the issue of raising children to be 'arrows' for Christ.

Michelle

northcutt8(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks

Anna said...

It is really hard for me to choose a favorite book. I recently read To Kill a Mockingbird and I Captured the Castle for the first time and enjoyed both quite a bit!

Abbi said...

Thanks everybody for your reading suggestions! The winner is Gary and Michelle.

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin