The Chilbury Ladies' Choir: A Novel by Jennifer Ryan

The Chilbury Ladies' Choir was a delightful read!  I enjoyed each and every character, and they were characters indeed.  The novel is set in England in a charming village called Chilbury during WW2.  Since all the men are off at war, the Vicar announces that there will no longer be a choir.  Until, that is, a new music teacher moves to town and forms a new choir, one scandalously composed up of ladies only. The ladies find a new sense of purpose in the choir, as well as comfort in mourning and friendship in loneliness. 

The character-filled characters each have their own voice in the story.  They are Mrs. Tilling, a nurse whose only son enlists in the army and leaves her home alone and afraid. Next is Edwina Paltry, a midwife, who concocts a shocking scheme to earn a retirement fund for herself and her sister, Clara. After that are Kitty and Venetia Winthrop, teenage sisters and daughters to Lord and Brigadier Winthrop of Chilbury Manor. We also hear occasionally from Silvie, a ten-year old refugee from Czechoslovakia who lives with the Winthrop family, and  from Flt. Lt. Henry Brampton-Boyd, a young pilot who is in love with Venetia. Each of these Chilbury residents writes letters or journal entries that give us windows into their adventures and mishaps, heartbreaks and joys.

The novel is both humorous and heart warming.  It was well written and entertaining, a story about the resilience of the human spirit and the gift that is hope.  I enjoyed it immensely!  I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for my honest review.

Bringing Maggie Home: a novel by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Bringing Maggie Home was a very good read.  It was sad and happy, suspenseful and humorous.  It is a story of how childhood wounds can scar long into adulthood and affect generations to come.  It is also a story of the power of forgiveness and the hope of redemption.  It reminds us of the need for grace with each other, but most of all from God.

I really enjoyed each of the four main characters in this book: 80 year old Hazel, her daughter Diane, Diane's daughter Meghan, and Meghan's detective partner Sean. Different sections of each chapter are told through the eyes of one these characters, which I love.  It's so interesting to see the events of the book unfold with the various perspectives of these characters. 

The book is part mystery, part love story, and contains some interesting twists and turns.  I'm sure anyone who enjoys a well-written contemporary Christian fiction book will love it!  I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.