My New Favorite: The River of Time Series

I recently got Waterfall, book one in The River of Time series, by Lisa T. Bergren for free on my Kindle. I read it, loved it, went to Barnes & Noble, and bought the sequel, Cascade.

Y'all. If I spend money on a new book - not used - you know I love it. I only buy books from used book stores because I'm a tightwad. Like Fred Mertz. Ok, well, I bought The Reluctant Prophet by Nancy Rue from Lifeway the other day because it was on sale for $8.

It was amazing. They both were. I think I liked Waterfall better, but they were both really, really good.

A movie producer was reading it back in June, so cross your fingers! I would love to see this series make it to the big screen.

Check out the River of Time Series Facebook page!

The Sweetest Thing by Elizabeth Musser

The Singleton family's fortunes seem unaffected by the Great Depression, and Perri--along with the other girls at Atlanta's elite Washington Seminary--lives a carefree life of tea dances with college boys, matinees at the cinema, and debut parties. But when tragedies strike, Perri is confronted with a world far different from the one she has always known.

At the insistence of her parents, Mary "Dobbs" Dillard, the daughter of an itinerant preacher, is sent from inner-city Chicago to live with her aunt and attend Washington Seminary, bringing confrontation and radical ideas. Her arrival intersects at the point of Perri's ultimate crisis, and the tragedy forges an unlikely friendship.

From the first page, I knew this was my kind of book. It had that southern charm and familiarity. I also love reading about the Great Depression, and this was a whole new side I had never seen before. You usually don't read about wealth and people having a good time at parties, it's usually heartbreaking stories about families starving and having to give away children. Of course, this book had both. Rich families and very poor families. I think it was a great balance between the two.

I love Atlanta, so the setting was great for me. I also loved the bits about Chicago and Moody Bible Institute. Everything was well researched and fun to read about. You also got emerged into the culture back then. From pop-calling to fashion to the Sawdust Trail, I loved every bit of it.

I was afraid that it was going to turn into a kid-solves-complex-mystery-even-when-after-they-were-told-to-stay-away book, but it didn't, which I was glad. You see too many of those and they're predictable and boring. Instead, it had just enough mystery to keep you reading and add depth to the plot. Overall, I enjoyed the book very much!

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes from Bethany House. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.