1st Place winner in the contemporary romance category of the 2010 Love Romances & More Golden Rose Award!
5 Hearts Award - The Romance Studio

My Review of Karen’s Reissued book, SHADOW BOXING!

Karen Wiesner’s book, Shadow Boxing, treats readers to a beautiful love story that speaks to the heart. From the first page I was captivated by the characters Justine and Joshua Samuels. I enjoyed reading this second book in the Family Heirlooms Series. I felt so invested in both characters, Justine and Joshua, that I wanted to reach out to them and offer them advice with their struggles in their marriage. Wiesner pulled me into the thoughts of her characters by giving more depth to their big worries and concerns about their married life together. Wiesner includes quotes about love at the beginning of each chapter which I also enjoyed.

Vashti, the teenage daughter of Justine and Joshua, is an important part of the story because she forces her parents to deal with their problems by giving them a mission trip to Mexico for their anniversary gift. Vashti fears that her parents will divorce when she goes off to college and they become empty nesters. She keeps her parents focused by an unique approach while they are all three in Mexico.

I highly recommend Shadow Boxing by Karen Wiesner and it’s a relevant Christian book that makes an emotional impact about love that you won’t forget. If you haven’t read Book One in the series, that’s no problem because this can be read as a stand alone.

BLURB
Joined before God and family out of a sense of responsibility? Or love?

As a teenager, Justine Morris’s escape from the pressures of caring for her dying father was stolen moments with Joshua Samuels. But their tender, desperate liaison found them facing teen pregnancy. Afraid of their Christian families’ responses to the situation, they married quickly and built a life for their child.

But now that their daughter is ready to fly the nest, Justine can no longer ignore the truth: She and Joshua haven’t had a real marriage for a long time. Maybe they never had one at all.

Joshua is only too aware that his busy, professional attorney wife is an independent woman who never really needed him. After nearly two decades of marriage, he’s quit trying to get more than a piece of her at a time. Without their daughter holding them together, he knows the chasm between them will grow to epic proportions.

Their empty nest looming, they face the hard questions. Had they married in love…or out of a hasty sense of responsibility? Was it God’s will for them to be together? And now, is it worth the effort to learn to become one as the Lord intends for a man and a woman…or better to simply let go?

Click here to buy from Amazon!
Click here to buy from Whiskey Creek Press!

Please grab a FREE copy of my contemporary romance, A PROPOSAL. It’s short and you can curl up on a cold winter afternoon and read it. If you should download THE PROPOSAL and read it, I’d appreciate a review on Amazon! The Proposal is FREE thru Tuesday, Jan. 22!

Here is the link: http://www.amazon.com/The-Proposal-ebook/dp/B00AZMSK1O/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358693413&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Proposal+by+Diane+Craver

BLURB:
Jacqueline Andrews hopes her boyfriend Brad’s surprise is an engagement ring for her twenty-sixth birthday. Her best friend, Tyler Jordan, wants Jacqueline to be happy but not with Brad. Tyler regrets blowing off Jacqueline’s confession of love for him before he left for college. When he returns to their small town as a physician’s assistant, he falls in love with her. He needs to win her love back. Will his hot kisses sway her? Or is she going to marry Brad?

REVIEWS:
“Craver’s story is deliciously honest and goes to show that what you wish for just might not be best thing for you. Sometimes the best thing for us is right in front of us and we just have to open our eyes to see it. Watching Brad, Jackie, and Tyler be honest with themselves and each other was refreshing.” ~~Sally Pink, reviewer

“Ms. Craver packs plenty of anticipation and emotional swings and round-a-bouts into this sweet romance that would give credit to a full length novel. This is not a simple story of friends to lovers to happy ever after; there is a need to forgive, understand past actions and come to terms with their consequences. Ms. Craver does not offer her readers a perfect heroine. Indeed, Jacqueline is a heroine most women can relate to. So full of future dreams she misses plenty of signals out there for her to spot is she only removed her rose colored spectacles.” ~~from LASR’s Review

Matilda, a reviewer, has given my book, A JOYFUL BREAK, the Coffee Time Reviewer’s Recommend Award from Coffee Time Romance & More. She said, “This award recognizes outstanding writing styles in all book types and genres. Your book has received this award because I feel it is above and beyond a 5 Cup Rating.” I’m so honored to receive this award. An award-winning author, Karen Wiesner, told me that few authors receive this fantastic award.

Here is the link: http://coffeetimeromance.com/CoffeeThoughts/a-joyful-break-by-diane-craver/

I’m thrilled with receving 5 cups for A JOYFUL BREAK. Click here to purchase!

REVIEW from CTR:
Rachel Hershberger feels she must get away from her Amish life in Fields Corner, Ohio. Life has not been easy for the past year. Her mother has died at a very young age, and she blames her father for not having a phone on their land to get help on time, not to mention the added pressure of caring more for her family than for a wedding she is now unsure of.

Rachel’s Aunt, Carrie, her mother’s sister, is ex-Amish and invites her to spend time with her family at the beach in Florida. Even though their life is much different from Rachel’s, she loves her niece and wants to help her through this rough time.

Spending time away from her simple life is a learning experience for Rachel. She experiences many firsts such as driving a car, wearing English clothes and some bad things like having her picture taken and becoming something it truly is not. So now she must decide between continuing her life as an Amish and joining the church, or stay in the English world.

I am a big fan of Amish romance. Just like so many others, their lifestyle fascinates me. The more I read, the more I find what Ms. Craver and others say is true, i.e. that each Amish order is different and hosts different rules, so some may be stricter than others. Reading A Joyful Break truly showed another side from what I have normally read. The struggles Rachel goes through make this story well worth reading, allowing the reader to connect with Rachel and others, as if it was their own life. Definitely a to-buy book.

Reviewer: Matilda

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Like chatting with a friend is the heading the reviewer gave her review of A CHRISTMAS GIFT!

It was posted on Amazon today! I love this review and have to share it - thank you so much, Kate!

By Kate Kindle “Author” (New York New York)
I enjoyed visiting with Debby Reeves and her family on their farm in Findlay, Ohio. Diane Craver has chosen a first person narrative style to write about what happened to her ‘family’, and especially to her father, Justin, the Christmas she was seven years old. The family is made up of many characters - Justin,Debby,Carl, Gail, Kathy, Grandma Fogle and Aunt Louise and Lucille as well as newcomer James. Most of these characters have histories that will touch the reader in the same way that our own family stories pluck at our heart strings. It’s almost like receiving daily letters from Diane, or phoning up to get the latest - the latest in 1957, that is. Thank you, Ms. Craver, for an uplifting reality story about courageous folks who take on the challenges of living with fortitude and vitality. Thanks, also, for writing this book that records the Fifties way back when I was a little girl of seven, too. Because of your endearing narration, it’s all coming back to me. How well I remember it, and how sweet it was!
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