A Review of The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Blitz for The Rhythm of Fractured Grace by Amanda Wen hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: The Rhythm of Fractured Grace
Series: Sedgwick County Chronicles #3
Author: Amanda Wen
Publisher: Kregel Publications
Release Date: February 20, 2024
Genre: Christian Split Time Romantic Women’s Fiction

Is Siobhan too far gone to respond to the song of a God who’s calling her back to him?

When a new customer brings a badly damaged violin into Siobhan Walsh’s shop, it is exactly the sort of challenge she craves. The man who brought it in is not. He’s too close to the painful past that left her heart and her faith in shambles. Matt Buchanan has had a rough start as the new worship pastor. A car accident on his way into town left him with a nearly totaled truck, and an heirloom violin in pieces. When he takes it to a repair shop, he’s fascinated with the restoration process–and with the edgy, closed-off woman doing the work. As their friendship deepens and turns into more, they both discover secrets that force them to face past wounds. And the history of the violin reveals more about their current problems than they could have ever expected. On the nineteenth-century frontier, a gruesome tomahawk attack wiped out most of Deborah Caldwell’s family. Her greatest solace after the tragedy is the music from her father’s prized violin. Given her horrendous scars, she’d resigned herself to a spinster’s life. But Levi Martinson’s gentle love starts to chip away at her hardened heart, until devastating details about the attack are revealed, putting their love–and Deborah’s shaky faith–to the ultimate test. Full of forgiveness and the message that no one is too damaged for God’s healing touch, the final book in the split-time Sedgwick County Chronicles will thrill fans of Rachel Hauck, Lisa Wingate, and Kristy Cambron. PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Christianbook | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop | BookBub

More Books in Series

My Thoughts

This is the third book in a series but, as with many of these kinds of trilogies, it can be read on its own and feel complete. Amanda Wen seemed to strike a real chord with me on this one with the church leadership aspect. As a pastor’s wife I have been privy to stories like this one in real life. I am sad to say that there is an ugly side to ministry because of the corruptness of some people’s hearts.

I loved the way Wen wove the past and the present together. I am always a sucker for history and genealogy and this incorporates it well. Siobhan, an instrument repair tech, is brought a very old violin and connects with her half sister, a researcher, to find out it’s story and how it came to belong to the owner, Matt.

I also love how Matt wrestles with his own role as a music minister and his heart for true praise and worship in a very “flashy” church. Without giving too much away, one of my favorite scenes in the book is a worship night at a local coffee shop. There is just nothing like true worship of Jesus. It was a beautiful moment.

I really enjoyed this book start to finish and hope to see more from Amanda Wen soon. She has a very engaging and comfortable writing style and I feel like I get to know her characters more deeply. I recommend this book wholeheartedly. I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the author. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.

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About the Author

Amanda Wen is a Selah Award–winning, Parable best-selling author of inspirational romance and split-time women’s fiction, including Roots of Wood and Stone and The Songs That Could Have Been, and a professional musician. Wen currently lives in Wichita, Kansas, with her husband and three children.

Connect with Amanda by visiting amandawen.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.

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Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive a signed copy of the book, a mug, chai mix, and a kitsugi heart necklace!

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight February 21, 2024 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on February 28, 2024. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Stuff you might not know… Friday Things Post

I know people typically do this kind of thing on social media. I do have an Instagram but I just thought this would be a more fitting place to put this list. If I have done a “things about me” post I don’t remember when so I will update you here for a Friday Things post.

1. I love gardening… even in the very frustrating desert southwest. It has been a battle and an adventure. I have found some things that grow well here over the years and some that do not. I currently have two pomegranate bushes and an olive tree that seem to really like it her. I have a wisteria plant tucked into a shaded corner that I baby the heck out of and it is still alive despite stubbornly giving me zero flowers. I will keep working on that.
2. I was a homeschooling mom. I home-schooled all of my children until they moved into the public school in 6th grade. I have been chastised for doing both… homeschooling and allowing them to attend public school. They are, for the most part, really well balanced thoughtful children that seemed to survive both. I don’t think I would have been so willing to put them in public school when I did had their father not actually been a teacher on the campus where they attended. Are there some regrets? Maybe a few but overall they had great teachers and we prayed them through all of it. Our baby is now a college student and the other three are making their way in the world in jobs they love.
3. I am still a “crunchy wife/mom” in many respects. I cook from scratch, grow a garden, learn new skills regularly, and still make granola, can stuff, and collect compost. I reduce, reuse, recycle and “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” I can also be heard saying annoyingly old fashion things like “many hands make light work” and “a stitch in time saves nine” among a dozen other things like that. LOL
4. My favorite sandwich is a BLT but sometimes I add avocado, too.
5. I have way too many coffee cups but still seem to come home from vacation with at least three more and a teacup.
6. I am an avid murder mystery fan… in books and video. I am very excited about the Magpie Murders coming on PBS. I also have a Britbox subscription… so I am never without a murder to solve.
7. I don’t drink sodas anymore and have not for at least 5 years. I do, however, have a lovely Soda Stream and some Bubly flavors that I enjoy as a treat several times a week. No sugar involved.
8. I own a Berkey now… I saved up a long time for that thing but don’t regret that purchase one bit. I told you I was crunchy!
9. My current favorite hymn… that keeps landing in my pathway, is Abide With Me. It is gorgeous! This version is so lovely, too!
10. I am now a “stay at home” wife/mom again after many years of working part time. I love it and am so glad to have come full circle. Puttering about my home at my own pace is certainly my favorite way to live.

My Wisteria among the weeds… the golden/bronze leaves are brand new growth. It has enjoyed the rainy season and cooler temps. Still praying for purple flowers but it brings me joy!

I also love roses… new ones starting to show again. It is a blessing to be able to grow roses year round in the desert.

What about you? Have you shared ten things about you? If you have feel free to drop me a note in the comments and I would love to read your list, too. Until Next Week…

~Leann

National Vinyl Record Day – Aug. 12, 2022

I don’t celebrate all the days date websites load calendars with but every now and then one hits my radar. In this year of exploring a more analog way of life the topic of “Vinyl” is of great interest to me. Because of that nerd learning tendency I have I thought I would share this with you in case you are a nerd, too. LOL

August 12th is National Vinyl Record Day. If you have some vinyl and a lovely old (or new) turntable then I encourage you to get that out today and enjoy some analog music.

I have been on a bit of a journey this year with a trend toward analog. I have been reading more paper books instead of digital e-books, taking more pictures with a camera instead of a phone. I have an old 35mm camera but the price of film jumped through the roof as soon as I made a plan to try doing that again but the price is coming down so maybe I will dive in soon.

I am also keeping a bullet journal and writing things down instead of keeping them on my computer and phone. I keep a paper calendar and habit, eating, and exercise logs on paper. I love the feel of a good pen under my fingertips. I also have a real fondness for pencils. There is just something very old school about writing and underlining in books with a pencil in hand.

I have even picked up some real instruments to play some of my own live music and we attend live music concerts when we have the opportunity. It helps that all of our children work in or are studying music so they have performances to attend. For those who don’t know we have four children with jobs such as sound engineer, teacher and an ethno-musicology missions graduate student (yes, that is a thing) plus our youngest is starting college as a low brass performance major (with a goal of serving in the military, maybe). This kind of thing happens because Dan spent 25 years in public school and now two years in a private school as a band director and I am musically inclined as well. For the record… no one will be a millionaire in their field but they are happy and working so we take great joy in that. Plus, we love all the live music when everyone is home together. LOL

Needless to say, music is a huge part of our lives in this family…. that brings us back to the 12th. I heard a report from a news segment on my favorite news outlet a few days ago.

The WNG.ORG clip from Monday August 8th podcast can be found here by scrolling down to the vinyl record part of the report. It covers information about the history of records and players…

“August 12th, 1877—145 years ago. Thomas Edison sketched out a device he called the “phonograph.” The US Patent office issued Edison a patent for the invention a few months later. Edison’s device was not the first to record sound, but his phonograph soon became the industry standard.” (I edited the tense for clarity here)

They also took information from this video… how records are made in RCA Part 2 and a fun song called Vinyl Records by Todd Snider. Report by Paul Butler for wng.org’s History Book segment. I encourage you to check out the podcast on a regular basis. It is a great source of news and information with no bias outside of a Christian worldview on reporting.

I will be listening to some old 45s and maybe an album or two tomorrow. Do you have any “vinyl” music? What was and/or is a favorite from your vinyl listening days? Feel free to share in the comments below.

Other Food for Thought…

Analog or Digital: What is the Difference?

Which Sounds Better, Analog or Digital Music?

Analog versus Digital Music: Is there a difference?

Want to learn more about the Analog Resurgence? Check out this book… There is a large section on “vinyl” that I found fascinating.

David Sax also has a new book coming in November on this topic called The Future Is Analog.

You can also find turntables and newly pressed vinyl just about anywhere now. I have seen them at Walmart and Target. If you live near a used bookstore there is a chance you can find vinyl there, too. I hope you will take time to just sit back and listen to something this weekend. It does a body and brain good to do such things. Until next time…

Happy Listening!

~Leann

Photo by Drew Perales on Unsplash

Oh The Places We’ll Go… Adventures with our Adult Children

February has flown by! I know we have not reached the end but so much has already happened that it surely feels like it’s time for a new month. LOL I won’t make this long and tedious but I thought some of you (my long time friends around here) might like to see a few of our adventures for this month.

We started with a road trip to Abilene, TX for a senior recital for our middle son. He is a double major and has been required to have a junior recital, a senior recital and he still has a composition recital ahead of him. He plays the trumpet and is a performance/theory and composition student at his university. It was a lovely recital and if you are interested in seeing it you can check it out on YouTube with this link.

The next morning we headed to San Antonio for the annual TMEA convention. With Dan being a band director and the children being musicians and music majors over the years we have made many trips for this convention. Three times we have gone to hear one of our children play in an all-state band or a college ensemble. This year… our final year with children in public school, we got to hear our youngest play in the top Jazz Band in Texas.

It was a remarkable experience for him and such a thrill for us. His conductor for the week was Vincent Gardner. If you are a trombone fan or a jazz fan or a Wynton Marsalis fan you might know that name. He was such an inspiration to the young adults sitting in his band for the week. Here is a photo we snapped after the concert with him. I think the smile on our boy says it all!

We also toured around the downtown area a bit and had a brisk walk down to the Alamo and went to a favorite restaurant we visit when we are there – Schilo’s. The River Walk was lovely even if it was a bit windy on some days. Here are a few more photos.

We also celebrated our adult daughter’s birthday with a Nutella Cheesecake from Nigella Lawson

Birthday Pie

and we are eagerly anticipating the arrival of our first granddaughter.

In the remaining days of this February I am focusing on some reading and planning for the days ahead. It takes me a week or so to recover from travel these days so things are going to be chill until the next event. I have some new ukulele tunes and some fitness and cleaning goals and some new recipes to try.

IN OTHER NEWS…

If you are looking for some relief on your grocery bill this might be of benefit for you…. a commercial of sorts but I never share anything with you I don’t LOVE AND USE. I wanted to share these two companies with you because I love them… I am not a paid influencer for these companies.

We have started ordering some of our produce from a company called Misfits Market and I am really pleased with this service. It saves us some money (up to 40% from grocery store prices), it saves irregular produce from being thrown out, and every order helps American farmers. I can plan ahead and have an order arrive to fill our menu for the next week. If you want to try this service you can use my code to get a $15.00 discount off your first order. I will share more about this service in the days to come with photos so you can see how it works. I still use Thrive Market (get 40% with your first order by using my code if you would like to try them) for some items like my collagen, gluten free items, and allergy friendly items we cannot get locally and such but for fresh produce Misfits Market is a real gem. I love both services very much and have saved a lot by using them.

Sorry for the bad lighting on this but it will give you some idea of how lovely this box is!

So now you are caught up with us. LOL I am hoping to get back in the swing of writing. Travel always throws my routine off but I don’t begrudge the family time and road trips. There is a newsletter planned for March. I have some bookish and foodie things coming up. Until next time…

Blessings to you all!

~Leann

It’s Not Christmas Until I Hear…

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

We are a very music focused family. Everyone plays instruments and sings. So far, all the children have gotten degrees and certifications in some aspect of the musical field of study. The youngest is planning a music degree, too. The Christmas rehearsals often start around the first part of October for all the ensembles Dan and the children are involved with. We limit the official start of Christmas music in our home until the day after Thanksgiving EXCEPT for rehearsal music. It keeps us from burning out on holiday tunes too early. LOL

My children use Spotify and iTunes pretty regularly but Dan and I still have the old CDs that come out of storage this time of year. We make the stack by the CD player and we play tunes in the house while we are moving through our days. I know there are easier ways to play music but this is comfortable. LOL I do have an iTunes playlist for traveling in the car but if I am at home it’s the CD player for me. I have a stack that I listen to every year that are musts for me. The following albums are my favorites that complete the Christmas season experience for me… extremely eclectic and in no particular order.

Now, what is on your MUST LISTEN list for you during the Christmas season? Inquiring minds want to know! Drop your favorite or favorites in the comments below. Until next time…

Happy Listening!

~Leann