Treasures of Norway SWEEPSTAKES by Lauraine Snelling!

To celebrate the release of her new novel, An Untamed Heart, author Lauraine Snelling and Bethany House Publishers are pleased to present the TREASURES OF NORWAY Sweepstakes, and your chance to win one of three spectacular prizes, all closely connected to the story.

Read on!!

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Twenty-year-old Ingeborg Strand is certain she is destined to be an old maid.

She’s had several suitors but none she deemed worthy of spending her life with. That is, until she meets a university student from Oslo, and feelings stronger than friendship begin to develop between them. But tragedy strikes, and the future begins to look bleaker than ever.

Grief settles heavily over Ingeborg, and her mother suggests that she leave Norway and start afresh in America, as so many others have done before her. But how will she accomplish that with little money and no one to accompany her?

It isn’t long before she meets Roald Bjorklund, a widower who has been planning to go to America for some time, lured by the promise of free land. He’s a good man, a hard-working man–and he has a young son who desperately needs a mother. He’s clearly interested in Ingeborg, but is he the answer to her prayers? And what about love? This isn’t how she’s always imagined it.

Ingeborg Strand has a heartrending decision to make…

(Click on the book cover to read an excerpt!)

GIVEAWAY!!
TO ENTER, click the banner below and complete the entry box, anytime between October 5 and October 24.

Check out these amazing prizes!!


GRAND PRIZE:

HAPPY HOUSECLEANER PRIZE PACK

In An Untamed Heart, young Ingeborg Strand is tasked with cleaning her Onkel Frode's house, an ominous task indeed! But Ingeborg never backs down from tough tasks, and the result is a house so clean, any woman in Norway would be proud to call it home.

We might not have the luxury of a housecleaning visit from Ingeborg, but our Grand Prize winner will win the next best thing: a $200 housecleaning gift card to Maids.com, plus a handmade Tokheim Fjordhorse Mug and a bag of Ingebretsen's Viking Coffee so you can brew a cuppa, sit back, and relax while your house is transformed.

SECOND PRIZE:

GUNLAUG'S GOURMET PRIZE PACK

Ingeborg and her cousin Gunlaug are some of the best cooks in the in the mountain village of Valdres, Norway. Cookies, cheeses, flatbreads, jams...their cooking and baking is a culinary-lover's dream!

Our Second Prize winner will have Gunlaug's and Ingeborg's favorite Norwegian foods delivered right to their door with this $120 Norwegian gourmet prize pack.

This package includes fresh Norwegian lefse, cheeses, flatbread, Nordic butter, jelly, Romme Grot cream porridge, Gjende shortbread, Uff Da chips, Fattigman cookies, and Norwegian chocolate.

THIRD PRIZE:

CHRISTMAS IN NORWAY PRIZE PACK

Ingeborg and the Strand family prepare for Christmas with music and handmade decorations, while secretly weaving and carving special gifts to give each other in celebration of Gott Jul.

Our Third Prize winner will have the chance to bring Gott Jul to their home this holiday season, with this $100 Christmas In Norway prize pack.

This prize includes a Norwegian Christmas CD, a set of 2 Norwegian wood spool candle holders, and a woven, 14" wide x 43" long, Åttebladrose Christmas table runner, perfect for dressing your dining table in the warm colors of Norway.

This giveaway starts October 5, 2013 and ends October 24, 2013 @ 11:59 pm (PST). Entry is open to US residents only, age 18 and over. Winners will be selected Friday, October 25, 2013, and announced at laurainesnelling.com.

**DISCLOSURE: Lauraine shared a thank you gift with me in exchange for sharing this giveaway with my readers. Please read my full disclosure policy HERE.**

Valley of Dreams by Lauraine Snelling

I’m never sure whether I like Lauraine’s books or not…and I think I’ve read all of them but her Return to Red River series. Obviously, since I’ve read so many, there must be something that draws me to them (Blessing in Disguise was my favorite book, because it felt different than all of her other books).

The stories are fine, but that’s about it. I never find them overly exciting or something that I can hardly put down.

Cassie’s story in Valley of Dreams was much the same. The story just plods along, with no outstanding characters or situations to keep me riveted.

Cassie parents owned a Wild West show, into which she was born and raised. Cassie is the star sharpshooter in this traveling caravan, the only life she has ever known. After her parents die and her ‘Uncle’ disbands the show, Cassie feels her only choice is to try and find the ‘Valley of Dreams’ her father always talked of.

If you like to wait to read a series...

A Measure of Mercy by Lauraine Snelling

Another opportunity from CFBA, I anxiously awaited my copy of Lauraine Snelling's A Measure of Mercy.

Having already read this series and this series by Lauraine, I was excited to see that Astrid was the main character in the first book of Lauraine's newest series, Home to Blessing.
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ABOUT THE BOOK:

Eighteen-year-old Astrid Bjorklund has always dreamed of becoming a doctor. She had intended to study medicine in Chicago or Grand Forks, but when a disaster wiped out a major portion of her family's income, Astrid stayed home instead, receiving hands-on training from Dr. Elizabeth.

Joshua Landsverk left Blessing two years ago, but he's never forgotten Astrid. Returning to town, he seeks to court her.

Astrid is attracted to him, and when the opportunity unexpectedly opens for her to go to Chicago for medical training, she finds it difficult to leave. Love blossoms through their letters, but upon arriving back home, she makes a heartbreaking discovery. She learns he's left town--again. Believing Joshua no longer loves her, Astrid makes an impetuous, heart-wrenching decision.

Will she regret the choice she's made? Will she have to give up love to pursue her dream?
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Thank you so much, Lauraine and Bethany House, for sending me a copy of A Measure of Mercy!

You can read the first chapter of A Measure of Mercy below:

A Measure of Mercy

Recommend: YES; if you have enjoyed Lauraine's previous series about Blessing and the Bjorklunds, you'll want to pick up a copy of A Measure of Mercy.




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Tags: Lauraine Snelling A Measure of Mercy Christian fiction Bethany House book reviews Blessing South Dakota Red River Valley

Red River of the North by Lauraine Snelling

I just finished reading Lauraine Snelling’s Red River of the North series.

The six books follow the Bjorklunds, a Norwegian family who decide to make a new life in America.

Brothers Roald and Carl Bjorklund, along with their wives and children, are the first to leave their homeland for this new country. Together, they struggle to build their dreams in what will eventually become North Dakota.

After both brothers die during the winter months, wives Ingeborg and Kaaren struggle to keep the homestead alive and thriving.

Each following book continues the stories of Ingeborg and Kaaren as well as other Bjorklunds who continue their trek to America.

If you enjoyed Janette Oke’s Love Comes Softly series, I think you will enjoy the Red River of the North books. They aren’t really the same - I think Lauraine's books are a bit more serious, or show more of the reality and harshness of homesteading - but both are very similar in the prairie and community life aspect.

As I began book 5, the story began slowing for me. I found myself anxious to begin another book, but wanted to finish the whole series. I plodded through the rest of book 5 and picked up book 6, expecting to skim/rush through it so I could start the next book waiting on my shelf.

Well, I DID rush through book 6, but not because I was anxious to be done with the series. Book 6, Blessing in Disguise was the best of all the books! I LOVED it!

One of the few remaining Bjorklunds in Norway, Augusta reluctantly agrees to come to America to help in her mother’s boardinghouse. Not believing the importance of learning English before she leaves, Augusta is confused and bewildered at her long trip west.

Because of the language barrier, Augusta gets on the wrong train and ends up miles from where her family is expecting her. Instead, Augusta lands right into the arms of a young rancher, Kane, waiting at the station for his Norwegian mail-order bride.

Kane doesn’t understand Norwegian…Augusta doesn’t understand English. What a mess. ;-) It was great!

Although I'd read book 6 all by itself again, the entire series was very enjoyable. A bit more of a deeper read I thought than Janette Oke’s books, but enjoyable just the same.

I am always amazed at stories of those who worked so hard to build their dreams in America. I don’t think too many today have that kind of work ethic and determination. I find weeding my garden a terribly difficult task!

Lauraine Snelling also wrote three more books, Return to Red River, which I would like to read. I have already read the “Daughters of Blessing” series, which focuses on several of the children from Red River of the North.

(As a side note): I am very excited that I have been recently accepted into another reviewer group. Even more exciting, one of the first books I'll be reviewing for them (in October) is Lauraine's newest book, A Measure of Mercy. At the end of this post, I didn't know I'd get to finally read more about Astrid!

By Bethany House.

Recommend: YES




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Tags: Lauraine Snelling Red River of the North Christian fiction Bethany House book reviews Bjorklund Norwegian immigrants

Daughters of Blessing by Lauraine Snelling

These four books by Lauraine Snelling revisit the town of Blessing, North Dakota where her series, Red River of the North, also takes place. The Daughters of Blessing series tells the stories of the next generation of the Bjorklund family and friends.

I don’t believe you have to read the Red River of the North series first… I didn’t (although, I’m planning to…and, I’m sure it would clarify the history of some of the family members).


Book 1, A Promise for Ellie, focuses on the love life of Ellie Wold and Andrew Bjorklund. Andrew’s father requests, without explanation, that the young couple wait a few months longer to marry than originally planned.

Frustrated with the restriction and everyone around him, Andrew must learn to work through his anger during the waiting period, which brings about its own set of troubles.


In Sophie’s Dilemma, Sophie convinces Hamre Bjorklund to ignore her father’s decision and elope.

Sophie’s rebellion causes heartache to her family and especially herself, when she realizes life with an absent fisherman husband was not what she’d romantically imagined.

When her situation becomes such that she feels she has no choice but return to Blessing, Sophie is unsure of her welcome or how her heart could ever heal.


Grace Knutson’s story is told in book 3 of Daughters of Blessing. Grace, born deaf, is the polar opposite of her twin sister, Sophie. Quiet and steady, Grace loves her home and family and has no desire to ever leave.

Fearing rumors of his son’s lifestyle, wealthy New Yorker, Mr. Gould, sends Jonathan to Blessing for a summer of farm labor. Surprisingly, Jonathan enjoys the hard work and the feeling of community.

But Jonathan wonders if farming is truly what he loves…or is it just the nearness of Grace? What would his father say if he chose farming over his father's plans for his future? And dear, sweet Grace? Would she ever meet the standards of his affluent family, especially his mother’s?


In the final book, Rebecca’s Reward, young Rebecca is dreaming of love…with no available prospects. Two overly protective brothers aren’t helping matters, either.

Jumping at the chance to visit her cousin in Bismarck, Rebecca is soon second guessing many of her hopes and dreams. Will she ever find love and true happiness?

I enjoyed these books. They weren’t in the can’t-put-down department, but they were nice, pleasant stories. I thought that book 3, A Touch of Grace, was the most enjoyable.

I am looking forward to reading the six books in Lauraine’s Red River of the North series to learn more about Ingeborg’s life.

I am also glad to see that Lauraine has written another book, this time about Astrid!! I kept hoping through all 4 books that more would be said about her! A Measure of Mercy will be released at the end of September.

Published by Bethany House.

Recommend: YES




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Tags: Lauraine Snelling Daughters of Blessing Christian fiction Bethany House book reviews A Promise for Ellie Sophie's Dilemma A Touch of Grace Rebecca's Reward Blessing, ND Red River of the North