Month: October 2015

Becky Sawyer’s life unravels in a single day. Not only does she catch her boyfriend, the man she hoped to marry, lip-locked with another woman, she also receives the gut-wrenching news that her grandfather, the man who raised her, is dying. His last wish? To see her happily married. Heartbroken, Becky seeks inspiration in the pages of the Holy Scriptures. And finds it in the story of Isaac and Rebekah.

If love couldn’t keep his parents together, Luke Masterson wonders what will make a marriage last. He decides to steer clear of all women—especially crazy ones like Becky Sawyer, who employs a friend to find her a husband. But when he feels the dogged promptings of the Holy Spirit to move across the country and marry a complete stranger, it seems love has little to do with it anyway.

With commitment their only foundation, and love constantly thwarted, can an arranged marriage find happiness in the twenty-first century?

Review

I loved the concept of this novel. I was immediately pulled in and eager to see how this book would work. And for the first half of the novel, it did. However, Rebekah got on my nerves. She treated Luke like she was doing him a massive favor and he was being paid millions. Somewhere along the line, she forgot it was all her idea. Luke, of course, was perfect. A perfect hero and and annoying heroine equals an unhappy reader. But! The idea was wonderful!

From bestselling author of Lulu’s Cafe.
Some mistakes create accidental blessings.
Jillian (Jewels) Whitman lives with her mistakes and tries to move past the biggest one of her life – Dillon Bleu – Rocker and once best friend.
After saying goodbye to the lakeside trailer park of his youth, Dillon sets out to make something of himself only to discover all he needs is his Jewel. After hitting it big in the music industry, Dillon heads back to ask for a second chance.
Only… Nothing is ever as easy as it seems…
A southern tale of rags to riches where a man’s worth is ultimately found in his heart.

Review

This book pulled me in immediately. I started this book with the intention of reading a chapter and taking a nap. No nap occurred. The romance of this book just totally pulled me in. I have merely one complaint with this book: the author “hides” an important fact for a while and that fact bothered me so much that I questioned whether this was really a Christian novel. However, once the fact was revealed, I was cool. I just didn’t understand why she decided to hide that info.

Cover Love- I wanted to do cover love, but I think I shall wait until I have more than one cover to share

Reading Post-Nothing has jumped out to me lately on the reading front

Writing Post- I have a great one! It’s all about doing self-publishing with a company instead of on your own. But I’m thinking of waiting until this new book is almost ready to come out before I post it.

Randomness-I’ve got nothing.

So, you tell me, book wise, what’s up?

Julia Broeder is only six months shy of graduating from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania when one small decision spirals out of control and results in her expulsion. Hoping to travel the world as a missionary doctor, her only choice is to return back home…or throw herself upon the mercy of Ashton Carlyle.

Formal and straight-laced, Ashton Carlyle is not pleased to see an expelled Julia arrive at his Manhattan office. His position as a junior attorney for the Vandermark family’s world-famous shipping empire entails taking care of the Broeders, longtime employees of the Vandermark family. But Ashton has no intention now of using his employer’s resources in defense of Julia’s impulsive and reckless actions.

What Ashton did not expect was a scathing reprimand from none other than the Vandermark family patriarch or the bewildering resistance from Julia herself when he’s forced to change his tune. At an impasse, Ashton and Julia never anticipated the revelations that arise or the adventure that awaits them.

In this novella, award-winning novelist Elizabeth Camden introduces readers to the world of the grand Hudson River Valley estate Dierenpark and the enigmatic Vandermark family. Includes an extended preview of Until the Dawn, Camden’s full-length Dierenpark novel.

Review

I liked this novella. I will say that at first, Julia seemed a bit annoying. But, you begin to really like her. As always, Camden has crafted a bright woman who is forward thinking and yet manages to not come across as fighting against her current era. Ashton is a complex and fascinating hero and I enjoyed their love story. I definitely felt like this should be read before Until the Dawn came out because it lays the foundation for that novel. Read it!

Willet Dura ekes out a living as an assistant reeve in the city of Bunard, the royal city, investigating minor and not-so-minor crimes in the poor quarter. Ever since a terrible battle, Willet’s been drawn to the dead, and has an uncanny ability not only to solve their crimes, but even to know when one has been committed.

When a gifted musician is found dead in the merchants’ quarter of the city, everyone assumes by the signs that the old man simply died of a stroke, but Willet’s intuition tells him better. When he learns that this is the second death within the last month of one of the gifted, those with a rare inherited ability, he begins to suspect that something more is afoot, and he soon finds himself chasing a mystery that could bring down the very kingdom of Collum.

Review

Well worth reading. In fact, I can’t imagine starting the series without reading this novella. For me, this really works and is actually less of a novella and more like the first third of the novel. You are introduced to Willet, you learn about the fantasy system, and you get the foundation of the romance. Read it!

HE’S COMING FOR THEM. AND THE KINGDOM.

I really like Sarah Sundin’s. What do you think?

Corbin Gage can stand up to anyone . . . But his own divided house will bring him to his knees. Corbin, a longtime legal champion for the downtrodden, is slowly drinking himself into the grave. His love for ‘mountain water’ has cost him his marriage to the godliest woman he knows, ruined his relationship with his daughter, Roxy, and reduced the business at his small Georgia law firm to a level where he can barely keep the bill collectors at bay. But it isn’t until his son, Ray, threatens to limit Corbin’s time with his grandson that Corbin begins to acknowledge he might have a problem. Despite the mess that surrounds his personal life and against the advice of everyone he knows, Corbin takes on a high-stakes tort case on behalf of two boys who have contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to an alleged chemical exposure. The defendant, a fertilizer company, is the largest employer in the area. The lawsuit becomes a tornado that sucks Corbin, Ray, and Roxy into an increasingly deadly vortex. Equally intense pressure within the family threatens to destroy, once and for all, the thin threads that connect them. Corbin must find the strength to stand up to his personal demons. Justice for two dying boys depends on it . . . his family depends on it

Review

Reading a Robert Whitlow book is always a joy and leaves me with a desire to pray more; to have a better relationship with Christ so that things happen. Here’s my thoughts:

What I liked:

The writing. Whitlow won’t win wards for best drama, but he will win awards for best storytelling and character development. I get so involved in his books and really end up loving his characters.

The legal aspect of this book. I mean, sure, its a “legal thriller” of course there are legal aspects. But, as an attorney it’s nice to read a legal book that “feels” real. Even the way things wrapped up legally felt real (even though I wasn’t crazy about it).

The characters.They felt real. They had flaws and good points and I was so invested in all of them.

Spiritually, there is this great theme of prayer and how people can pray for years and maybe even die before their prayers get answered. But they get answered.

What I didn’t like:

There were moments when there was a bit of an information dump and I skimmed a bit.

Romantic scale: 4

Overall, a really good book. It might take a minute to get into it, but once you are in, you will definitely want to know what happens next.

Corbin Gage can stand up to anyone . . . But his own divided house will bring him to his knees. Corbin, a longtime legal champion for the downtrodden, is slowly drinking himself into the grave. His love for ‘mountain water’ has cost him his marriage to the godliest woman he knows, ruined his relationship with his daughter, Roxy, and reduced the business at his small Georgia law firm to a level where he can barely keep the bill collectors at bay. But it isn’t until his son, Ray, threatens to limit Corbin’s time with his grandson that Corbin begins to acknowledge he might have a problem. Despite the mess that surrounds his personal life and against the advice of everyone he knows, Corbin takes on a high-stakes tort case on behalf of two boys who have contracted non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma due to an alleged chemical exposure. The defendant, a fertilizer company, is the largest employer in the area. The lawsuit becomes a tornado that sucks Corbin, Ray, and Roxy into an increasingly deadly vortex. Equally intense pressure within the family threatens to destroy, once and for all, the thin threads that connect them. Corbin must find the strength to stand up to his personal demons. Justice for two dying boys depends on it . . . his family depends on it.

What are you reading this week?

She stole his heart.
He stole her peace.
Can hope steal their pain?

At the age of eighteen, Lacey Carmichael was a wild girl bent on fun, promised to Jack Carmichael, a straight-and-narrow pastor’s kid bent on the seminary. When her father kicks her out of the house, she runs away from Isle of Hope, turning her back on everything she loves. Now, eight years later, she’s back as a woman of faith, hoping to make amends to the father she defied, the boyfriend she deserted, and the best friend she denied. Only the bridges she’s burned are still smoldering, kindled by an adulterous affair by Jack’s pastor father that damaged his son’s faith. But can a turning of tables—and hearts—lead the way back to “hope” for them all?

Holly ended things to give him a better life, but she was the future he’d always dreamed of.

Eight years have passed since Holly last saw her high school sweetheart, Josh. Now the wedding of Josh’s best friend has brought him back to Martinsburg, Texas.  His duties as best man and Holly’s as the church’s volunteer wedding coordinator link them together.  As they work behind the scenes to plan a beautiful November wedding for their friends, they’re forced to confront painful reminders of what might have been.

Holly broke up with Josh all those years ago in an attempt to ensure his future success. However, she never told him the true reason behind her actions and now must decide whether to keep her secret hidden.  She’s terrified of letting herself fall for him because she barely managed to piece her life back together after losing him the last time.

Not a day’s gone by since Josh parted from Holly that he hasn’t thought about her.  The pain of the past eight years has been too much to bear and he doesn’t want to make himself vulnerable to her again. But the more time he spends with her, the harder it is to deny the love he still has for her.

Will Josh and Holly risk their hearts on the hope that God’s timing really can be best?

A lonely wedding chapel built as a tribute to lost love just might hold the long-awaited secret to hope and reconciliation.

For sixty years, the wedding chapel has stood silent and empty. Retired football hall-of-famer Jimmy “Coach” Westbrook built the chapel by hand, stone by stone, for his beautiful and beloved Collette Greer, whom he lost so many years ago. The chapel is a sanctuary for his memories, a monument to true love, and a testament to his survival of the deepest pain and loss.

Photographer Taylor Branson left her hometown of Heart’s Bend, Tennessee to make a new life for herself in New York. Taylor had lots to run away from, not least of all a family history of broken promises and broken dreams. Love catches Taylor off guard when she falls for Jack Forester, a successful advertising executive, and their whirlwind romance leads to an elopement – and then to second guesses. Jack, in spite of his very real love for Taylor, is battling his own demons and struggles to show her his true self and the depths of his love for her.

When Taylor takes a photography assignment in Heart’s Bend, she is thrown back into her own past and encounters family secrets buried deep beneath the sands of time. And when Taylor and Coach’s journeys collide, they each rediscover the heartbeat of their own dreams as they learn that the love they long to hold is well worth waiting for.

Bailey Wilde is one of the best new ranchers in the West. She’s been living disguised as a man for a while, but when Gage Coulter comes to drive her off her homestead, he quickly realizes he’s dealing with a woman–a very tough, very intriguing woman at that.

Gage is an honest man, but he didn’t make his fortune being weak. He won’t break the law, but he’ll push as hard as he can within it. Five thousand acres of his best range land is lost to him because Bailey’s homestead is located right across the only suitable entrance to a canyon full of lush grass. Gage has to regain access to his land–and he’s got to go through Bailey to do it.

Spending a winter alone has a way of making a person crave some human contact. In a moment of weakness, Bailey agrees to a wild plan Gage concocts. Can these two independent, life-toughened homesteaders loosen up enough to earn each other’s respect–and maybe find love in
the process?

Review

There is something charming about reading a Mary Connealy western romance. This one was equally so. Here’s why:

What I liked:

Gage and Bailey. I knew Bailey and Gage were meant to be since the first novel in the series and it was worth the wait to see them together.

Marriage. Connealy rarely waits long before her hero and heroine are married quickly. And I really think this works because in those days people didn’t necessarily marry for love; they married for children, for safety, for help, or out of sheer loneliness. Connealy always hits the reality of this so well.

Suspense. I wouldn’t necessarily call this a mystery since the who-done-it really takes a back seat to everything else, but I will say that I was surprised by who the “bad” guy was. As a finish to the series though, it was perfect.

Humor. This book had its funny moments.

Spiritually, there is a theme of forgiveness and accepting God’s forgiveness so you can forgive yourself.

What I didn’t like:

We know Bailey fought in the Civil War and that she’s damaged because of it. In this book we learn why. The reason was strange and sad and quite incongruous with the rest of the tone of the book. I understood that it was supposed to not be happy, but it kind of pulled me out of the story.

The romance. Gage and Bailey get married early on, but I can’t really see why they fell in love except that they just lived together.

Romance scale: 6.5

Overall, it was what I expected: cute, mostly light, fluffy, and a solid conclusion to a fun series.

**I received this copy from BethanyHouse. My opinion was not affected in anyway.**

Julia Broeder is only six months shy of graduating from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania when one small decision spirals out of control and results in her expulsion. Hoping to travel the world as a missionary doctor, her only choice is to return back home…or throw herself upon the mercy of Ashton Carlyle.

Formal and straight-laced, Ashton Carlyle is not pleased to see an expelled Julia arrive at his Manhattan office. His position as a junior attorney for the Vandermark family’s world-famous shipping empire entails taking care of the Broeders, longtime employees of the Vandermark family. But Ashton has no intention now of using his employer’s resources in defense of Julia’s impulsive and reckless actions.

What Ashton did not expect was a scathing reprimand from none other than the Vandermark family patriarch or the bewildering resistance from Julia herself when he’s forced to change his tune. At an impasse, Ashton and Julia never anticipated the revelations that arise or the adventure that awaits them.

A volunteer for the newly established Weather Bureau, Sophie van Riijn needs access to the highest spot in her village to report the most accurate readings. Fascinated by Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion high atop a windswept cliff in the Hudson River Valley, Sophie knows no better option despite a lack of permission from the absent owners.

The first Vandermark to return to the area in sixty years, Quentin intends to put an end to the shadowy rumors about the property that has brought nothing but trouble upon his family. Ready to tear down the mansion, he is furious to discover a local woman has been trespassing on his land.

Instantly at odds, Quentin and Sophie find common ground when she is the only one who can reach his troubled son. There’s a light within Sophie that Quentin has never known, and a small spark of the hope that left him years ago begins to grow. But when the secrets of Dierenpark and the Vandermark family history are no longer content to stay in the past, will tragedy triumph or can their tenuous hope prevail?

Sophie Dupont, daughter of a portrait painter, assists her father in his studio, keeping her own artwork out of sight. She often walks the cliffside path along the north Devon coast, popular with artists and poets. It’s where she met the handsome Wesley Overtree, the first man to tell her she’s beautiful.

Captain Stephen Overtree is accustomed to taking on his brother’s neglected duties. Home on leave, he’s sent to find Wesley. Knowing his brother rented a cottage from a fellow painter, he travels to Devonshire and meets Miss Dupont, the painter’s daughter. He’s startled to recognize her from a miniature portrait he carries with him–one of Wesley’s discarded works. But his happiness plummets when he realizes Wesley has left her with child and sailed away to Italy in search of a new muse.

Wanting to do something worthwhile with his life, Stephen proposes to Sophie. He does not offer love, or even a future together, but he can save her from scandal. If he dies in battle, as he believes he will, she’ll be a respectable widow with the protection of his family.

Desperate for a way to escape her predicament, Sophie agrees to marry a stranger and travel to his family’s estate. But at Overtree Hall, her problems are just beginning. Will she regret marrying Captain Overtree when a repentant Wesley returns? Or will she find herself torn between the father of her child and her growing affection for the husband she barely knows?

What are you reading this week?