Patty Pick for 03/24/2016 is "I Shall Be Near to You" by Erin Lindsay McCabe

If you like feisty female characters, Rosetta is for you. She definitely does  not 

act the proper lady for her age or the times. She noticed Jeremiah one day and 

after he helped her defend herself, she was all his. It took a while to move Jeremiah 

to recognize that fact and act on it, but he always had Rosetta in mind for his future too. 

This love story starts when Rosetta and Jeremiah marry. Not too long after they are wed, he joins the army to earn money so they can be able to buy a farm of their own. No one really knew what the war was like or what they would be subjected to. Everyone thought the Civil War has marching and then they would be home before you knew it. Rosetta sets off after him within a few days. She cut her hair and altered a set of his clothes to make 

her look like a man so she could be near him in the Army. Nowhere did she feel safe but by Jeremiah's side. They struggle to keep her identity a secret and manage to steal time together.  

I didn't know there were real women who served in battle in the Civil War. This is a love 

story between Jeremiah and Rosetta. The setting just happens to be during the final 

days of the Civil War, but don't let their surroundings sway you from reading this book. 

And by all means, read the authors notes and her sources from the end of the book. Erin 

Lindsay McCabe did her research for this book and that helped this story become as much 

a historical account as a love story. I always love to learn something new when I read, and this novel taught me more about the woman who fought in the Civil War. 

Patty Pick for 3/17/16 is "The Gates Manor Band" by Jan Hemby

A wonderful part of this book is it's uplifting quality. The story will pull you along with well-written characters and mysterious happenings. As we start our story, Julia is dealing with a family scenario, like a lot of us, where her mother has dementia and her father is the primary care-giver. After her mother passes away, Julia is visited by a series of confusing surprises, a strange phone call and a flashback to her high school days. Someone is sending her a message and that someone is God. 

Sometimes He takes a more direct route and that route is prodding Julia to locate her best friend from high school, Margaret. As one event leads to another, we witness the chain of life situations that can follow one good deed after another. With Julia leading the way, she finds Margaret and helps her to deal with the tragic horrors she endured as a teenager and that in turns leads Margaret to finding a way to deal with her addictions and sharing the lie she has been living with her brother, Preston.

The cast from the past and the present come together to solve problems and delve 

deeper into their faith. They find out that by listening carefully, they can find the way 

that life wants to lead them. And in turn, they will go forward to be a help to others. 

Pay it forward is the theme that runs through this tale and you will enjoy solving each 

character's dilemma as they come along. Watching the ending take place will renew your 

faith in others. Take the ride.....