Hello, bookish friends!

Wintertime, while a good and necessary season, has never been my favorite. But books make it better! Here are two bright books that have helped ease me through some of these long, dark wintry days.

Dear Henry, Love Edith

Dear Henry, Love Edith  by Becca Kinzer. Ever find yourself praying for a good book to come your way? The right kind of book, maybe especially after a particularly dry reading spell? One that’s entertaining and wholesome and even a little bit extraordinary? That’s how I felt when this gem landed in my lap.

Prior to this, I’d honestly grown so sick of sorting through the morally low junk that’s out there. Becca Kinzer’s debut, however, I found delightful in every way — well paced, winsome and light without being frivolous, with endearing characters I loved spending time with. 

Another thing I loved was that Becca Kinzer wrote this book with a global accent–setting hers partly in South Africa. I enjoyed how she pulled these disparate threads together in a winning way.

As I’ve said before, I don’t usually fall for romances, but this one is a cut above most. I loved it. It’s only January, but I can promise you that Dear Henry, Love Edith will be one of this year’s most recommended reads.

Double the Lies

Double the Lies by Patricia Raybon. Three things immediately drew me to protagonist Annalee Spain: her vibrant voice, her ease in talking to Jesus, and her unique mix of steely street-smarts with sweet vulnerability.

I can’t remember when I’ve enjoyed a narrative voice so much as Annalee’s. Hers is winsome, wholesome, engaging, and just plain likable. My favorite part was how natural she is in conversation with the Lord.

Patricia Raybon, highly acclaimed writer of non-fiction before trying her hand at fiction — very successfully, I might add — puts her storytelling gifts to good use here. Tone, pacing, characters, and the ratcheting up of stakes – these are all masterfully developed and executed upon a foundation of biblical values. I greatly appreciated her clear-eyed addressing of racial injustice that was the reality of Klan-led Denver in the 1920s.

Patricia’s writing is beautiful, her phrasing often unexpected. It was a delight to dwell among these carefully crafted pages.

I’ll be adding both Dear Henry, Love Edith  and Double the Lies to my list of recommended reading, as well as to my forever shelf.

And stay tuned — within the next week or so, I’ll be back with fun behind-the-scenes glimpses of both these books and their very gifted authors.

Happy reading!

🌺Katherine xo

With thanks to Tyndale Publishers for providing me a free copy of these books to review. All opinions are mine.