Song of Silence - Cynthia Ruchti

Lucy is not just another music teacher; she's a music teacher driven by passion for music, as well as facing the challenge of engaging kids and helping them to appreciate music whatever their initial point of view.  Not only that, but she is carrying on the legacy of her father, who started the music program at Willowcrest.  Now, facing forced early retirement, she's left floundering, without a known purpose in life.  How does she handle the loss of her passion and identity, while dealing with a husband who's happy to have her home and grown children who suddenly need her again?  Does music even fit into this new life of hers?  What about when a deaf woman and her autistic son suddenly are added to the mix? Where is God and the gift He's given her now?

There were so many vibrant characters and poignant storylines in this book that it's difficult to know where to begin.  Lucy faced such a daunting journey of learning whether her job made her important in people's lives, or whether the person she was in that job surpassed the position and could continue to change people's lives for the better.  Finding new ways to improve her marriage, even at 56 years old, was daunting to her, and I appreciated the interactions with her therapist and her book club, HHATT (He's Home ALL the Time).  It was a good mix of humor at their husbands' lack of awareness to their true needs and feeling, but their own awareness that their husbands were good men, doing the best they could to show their wives they loved them.  Lucy's husband, Charlie, was a good representation of this paradox - throwing Lucy an unwanted retirement party one day, and yet giving her sign language lessons another.

There were some deeper issues and relationships in this story that could have been delved into a little deeper - Sasha's background and relationship with Sam, Caden's upbringing and separation from his mom, the individual members of the HHATT club and how they came through therapy, as well as several of Lucy's students.  However, they served to enrich the story and bring depth to Lucy's journey to finding her new identity in Christ, and where music fit in, so it wasn't a major detraction; it just shows well-written characters that the reader will want more of.  Personally, I could have done with a little less of Lucy's wallowing in her job loss and could have used more interactions with the other characters.  Being stuck, however, was probably more realistic, and didn't ring untrue.

I give this book 4 stars.  Even though I am not a music person by talent, interest, or training, the musical references were not over the top, and Lucy's search for meaning after her life upheaval was relatable to any career or passion.  Learning to love her people well, and to appreciate their love for her made for rich and engaging reading that I think many people could enjoy and benefit from.

You can find Song of Silence HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a copy of this e-book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.

Beyond the Storm - by Carolyn Zane

Abigail Durham is an accomplished hairdresser, living in the small town of Rawston in the Midwest.  As she worries about the stress of fixing a food cart for a fundraiser, and chats with her Aunt Selma about quilt ideas, and thinks about the man she danced with last night, a storm is bearing down on the town.  Not just any storm, but an EF5 tornado that will bring unimaginable devastation to the town and community.  As so many have asked before, Abigail will have to ponder where God is during the storms of life as she and her town try to heal.

I put off reading this book for awhile when I saw that it was part of a "quilt" series.  As much as I actually do like to sew, sometimes I find books about sewing to be, shall we say, less than exciting. Once I started it though, I was immediately sucked into the drama of the storm and the lives of the people living through it, and I could not put it down until I finished it.  Even though the plot of the story as it related to quilting became obvious partway through the book, it was a subtle plot line and one that worked well with the story of the need for the community to piece itself back together after such a tragedy.  The characters were rich enough that I felt myself torn between disbelief that every important character could make it through such devastation, and not wanting any of them to be killed off.  I won't lie and say that I didn't cry through the end of this book.

This book was far more enjoyable than I expected.  I give it 4 stars, and will look to read the next books in this series, hoping for more stories that don't shy from the hard questions about God, but rather uses the strength of its characters' faith to draw others to him through the hard questions.  (Note about the series: I see that each of the books in this series is by a different author)

You can find Beyond the Storm for sale HERE.
You can find the author's website HERE.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.