La Belle Design

Come Forth as Gold and After the Water Brooks are a duology written by Erica Dansereau. Read my reviews on each below. Content warning: Both books touch on heavy topics including assault and alcoholism though they are treated carefully and approached from a Christian perspective. Review of Come Forth as Gold by Erica Dansereau Come Forth as Gold by Erica Dansereau begins in Goldfield, Nevada in 1945 and is a touching story that follows the life of Kitty and Fly from the time they are children until their deaths. It’s a story of finding beauty in the every day, but it’s also a story of brokenness and healing. Erica doesn’t hold back with exposing the ugliness of the human condition, and her characters don’t miraculously and instantly let go of their pain and brokeness. The beauty, however, is that God is presented as the only one who offers true healing. Escaping the brokeness is shown as a process that takes a lifetime and will never become complete until we are made new and fully in G...

My friend Carrie Cotten's book, The Huntress, just came out as an audiobook and you will absolutely love it! If you haven't read the books in this Christian Medieval series with romance, this is a great time to start. The Huntress is the first book. Each book feels like an epic film from Carrie's descriptions and the romance just gets more amazing with each book. You will want to read them all. There is even a new book coming out in 2026, The Songbird. This audiobook is different than most audiobooks in that it has a male and female narrator as well as music and sound effects. It's like listening to a play and Windstep has done a great job with it. The Huntress is a beautiful tale that takes you to the land of Scotland before it was known as such. It follows the lives of the young Pictish princess Cyrene and the second son of the enemy King. It's an enemies to love, marriage of convenience romance mixed with battles, castles, and abundant  in faith. Get the series: ...

Headwater Holiday by Hannah Hood Lucero is a Christian military romantic suspense novella that drew me in instantly. Hannah knows just how to balance the action, suspense, romance, and faith perfectly. She wove them together in this story in a way that felt realistic.   Becky works for the navy as a cyber intelligence and linguistics specialist and Matt is an officer in the tiny town of Rosman, North Carolina where she finds herself on assignment. Their personalities are fun together with their grumpy sunshine, and I enjoyed the spark that grew between them over the course of the few days comprising most of the story. The tension in the story as Becky, Matt, and others dealt with insurgents, tried to figure out their plan, and decide how to thwart it felt realistic but never too heavy. Though I have the paperback, I loved listening to the audiobook version of it. The narrator did a great job with the voices, and I was able to get fully immersed in the story.  If you’re...

Until We All Find Home is  a Christian historical fiction family saga that will take you on the heartbreaking journey so many endured during the Civil War, but it ends with healing and hope. The four Young siblings were orphaned and separated at a very early age and the story begins with the oldest, Justin, searching for the others from his home in Chicago in 1961.  This book starts slowly with a lot of background, but once the action begins it doesn’t let up. There are multiple character arcs for the Young siblings and another family Justin is close with. The character’s lives weave together to form a beautiful story. Wood doesn’t shy away from hard things including man’s depravity with references to alcoholism, brothels, a  few curses using go to h***, and even taking God’s name in vain. Those things are all shown as sin. (I should also note that her other books have no cursing) That means the book touches on topics which would be too much for non adults, but it als...

New Augsburg is a Christian dystopian romance by Christa Petzold. It’s set 100 years in the future and centered around an idyllic Christian community that is  trying to be a place where Christians can live out their faith in an increasingly secular world that is making laws against expressions of faith. Lydia Klein works at her family owned press that publishes Christian materials. She recently lost her parents and in the midst of that loss she is faced with other difficulties. With  her brother’s lack of interest in the press, problems arise as do worries that the government may interfere. Lydia considers marrying a wealthy local man who shows an interest in helping, but as the story moves forward she questions that decision. I enjoyed the story and it’s look at what the future could hold. Lydia is faced with tough choices of how to uphold her faith, what God wants her to do when the government is going against that faith, and how romance and marriage can fit into her lif...

  Gratitude for God and the things He has provided should drive us to worship. In BSF (Bible Study Fellowship) last week, we were looking at Ezra and the return of the Jews to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple. They had been in captivity in Babylon for 70 years. In chapter 3 verse 3 it shows that they had reason to fear.  Ezra 3:3 (ESV) They set the altar in its place, for fear was on them because of the peoples of the lands, and they offered burnt offerings on it to the LORD, burnt offerings morning and evening. In the years they were gone others had filled in their land. Those others were not happy these Jewish people were returning and reclaiming things. And yet the first thing the Jewish people did was build an altar and worship. It immediately brought to mind David when he had disobeyed the Lord and recognized it then gone to build an altar at a place God commanded. It was to be built on land that belonged to someone else. Below is king David’s response to the man’s...

Needing some Christmas gift ideas for a book lover? Look no further, I've got some ideas for you. There are 3 sections: Section 1:The first section includes bookish gift ideas for all readers Section 2: The second section includes ideas for items to go with my books Section 3: The last section has Kim Griffin books. Christian Book Lovers Gift List*   * Important : Please keep in mind that any prices pictured may change. Some are shown as Black Friday deals which means they might change significantly. -Click on the pictures to go to the links. Section 1. Bookish gift ideas (for all readers) Kindle Unlimited Membership: Most of my books are included as well as books by many other Christian authors I know and whose books I recommend. Audible Membership: Click the picture for all the details. Thousands of titles are included For the audiobook listener. For Black Friday 2025 these are at a steep discount! Book lovers and faith mugs Chenille Throw (comes in different colors) Book ...