Three Shoeboxes

I've been a huge fan of Steven Manchester's novel since I read my first one. I guess what draws me to continue to read anything he writes is his ability to cut to the core of what we all feel deep down inside ourselves. Those are often places we hope we never have to visit in our lifetime and being exposed to them from a safe place allows us to see things from different perspectives and wonder if we were in the same situation, how might we deal with what the characters face.

In his latest novel, Three Shoeboxes, Mac Anderson, is living the dream. He has a successful career as an ad executive, a wonderful home, loving wife, three wonderful children and the support of those in his community. Yet he would never have expected that the one night as he was driving home from an anniversary dinner with his wife, that this would be the catalyst that would change everything and strip it away piece by piece.

As he begins to experience what can only be described as panic attacks, Mac refuses to let anyone into what he is dealing with. Perhaps that is that manly pride that as the head of the house, one needs to hold it all together at all times. Even though his wife Jen can clearly see he is dealing with issues, he continues to keep her at bay. As each of these attacks grows more frequent and out of control, Mac finally relents to getting some personal help. Yet even the therapist can seem to grasp the sudden turn around in his life and be able to help him deal with things.

So Mac gives up and tries to resolve the issues on his own, becoming more and more hostile, argumentative and even resorting to alcohol to put this attacks to rest. Only it just drives a deeper and widening gap between his family until he loses control one night and from then out out, even is family no longer wants anything to do with him and now he faces the loss of his job, the support of family and friends and now living on the street he faces his demons alone. Is it all lost? Can he find his way back home? Or is he just one bullet shy from ending it all? You'll have to find out by picking up this novel.

I received Three Shoeboxes by Steven Manchester compliments of The Story Plant. This is an emotional story that could face anyone at anytime, and makes us all understand how precious moments are in life and how quickly it can all change. It makes the reader reassess what it the most valuable things in your life and how you might face the challenges Mac faces. Does he have the faith in himself to fight his way back to the man he used to be? I'll let you decide when you pick this one up. For me, again a stellar 5 star novel in my opinion.

For more information about Steven Manchester, Three Shoeboxes or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Three Shoeboxes by Steven Manchester

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The Heart Between Us

When you think about it medical technology has come a long way in the way of being able to offer patients the ability to have a heart transplant. The one thing sustaining life within all of us can at any time and without any reason, suddenly stop working. There isn't a reset button or the ability to power cycle a human being like we can with technology but to take a once beating heart from one person and transplant it in someone else is truly a miracle in of itself.

Megan Jacobs is just such a person. Struggling with growing up her entire life watching the life she wished she could have be lived out in her twin Crystal. She had to be the one carefully watched by not only her friends but her family who understood the implications of living with a weak heart. Who could fault any of them for wanting to make sure she didn't overexert herself trying to play sports, the one who spent most of her time in hospital beds than her own. Who could even blame Megan for wanting everything she felt denied to her all because of something she was born with and couldn't change.

This would be a pattern that would set itself up for both girls during their adult life as well. Megan would remain the secluded single girl taking the only job that offered no health risks, a librarian while her sister gets the perfect life of following her dreams and starting her own family. Yet when she is given the opportunity of a life time to receive a donor heart from a young girl named Amanda, she wants to make a connection to know who the girl was that lost her life so she could have a chance at another one for herself. Amanda's parents gift her with a journal in which Amanda wrote a Bucket List of all the things she wished she could have done but unfortunately never had the time to do. Megan finds that she can gift them both by following her dream to travel and visit the places Amanda always wished she could go. But will she be able to convince her parents to let up on the tight reins that have kept over her life to allow her to live the new one God had blessed her with?

I received The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel compliments of TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson Publishers. I absolutely LOVE this novel because it conveys so many of the emotions one can feel being on both sides of the fence. To love a daughter enough you'd do anything to keep her safe, and for the one who wants to experience all life has to offer even if it only lasts just one more day. Will Amanda's heart heal more than just one person in the process at giving Megan a new start at a life she could only dream about before? Pick this one up to find out. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion.

For more information about The Heart Between Us, Lindsay Harrel or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Heart Between Us by Lindsay Harrel

You can find Lindsay Harrel on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

To read more reviews on The Heart Between Us, please visit TLC's Book Tour page. 

The Man He Never Was

There is only one novel of James L. Rubart's I haven't read and I will correct that very soon. However to understand his style of writing, it is not going to be something you can easily figure out like most novels. Most of his take the reader on a journey that may have not been expecting and with that I believe comes a greater understanding that we share similar qualities with the characters he pens to life in his novels.

The Man He Never Was is exactly like that. You have the main character Toren Daniels who mysteriously wakes up in a hotel room with no recollection of why he is there. He believed he went bed beside his wife in his own home, but that is not what has happened, nor will he like what he is about to discover. Eight months of his life have completely vanished without a trace. He has no memory other than the rage he used to have to contend with is no longer present in his life, leaving his with a calming peace in places where only there used to be burning rage and anger. His only clue is a mysterious package that arrives, telling him that the anger that has robbed him not only of his chance with the NFL but also with his family.

He vaguely remembers that anger as it seems that he is looking outside of the former person he was and all he knows from those he talks with is he apparently wrote a suicide note, and vanished into thin air, leaving people to believe he followed through on his threat. Even his wife and children have moved on and his wife is now in love with someone else. Through vague recollections and pieces of what might have occurred he struggles to get back what he has lost, without losing himself to the former man he was. Using the examples of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, along with the Hulk, Toren believes he may have been experimented on, giving some kind of mind altering drink but as he feels that peace and contentment slipping away, he knows he is running out of time and the dark beast within is threatening to become unleashed again.

I received The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart compliments of TLC Book Tours and Thomas Nelson Publishers. There are so many spins in this novel that unless you are familiar with James' work you might just get lost before you settle in and wait for the outcome. Most often than we'd like to admit, there is a bit of darkness in all of us. Some can make peace with it while keeping it under control and there are others that allow it to dominate the person they become and in the process are lost like children who can't find their way home. "Henry Jekyll says that he and every other man and woman is not truly one, but truly two, and he sees the human soul as the ultimate battleground of our lives - one part of us an angel and the other a demon, both struggling for mastery and destruction of the other." You'll have to see what you get from this when you finish, but for me, another well done masterpiece. There is even a reader's discussion guide included which would make this a great novel for book clubs. For me, another well deserved 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about The Man He Never Was, James L. Rubart or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart

You can find James L. Rubart on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Man He Never Was, please visit TLC Book Tour page. 

High Cotton

What do you think when you hear the word "Family Reunion?"

For some, it might be the opportunity to get together with those wonderful members of the family that are separated by the miles on rare moments like a family reunion.

For others it might be cringe worthy. Those are the times when you know family drama is about to become a full-blown theatrical production and that is just what Shay Henke has on her mind when she receives another invitation to the Bucklin Family Reunion. It seems like her family is always finding a way to bring everyone together even though its not all that it is cracked up to be. But then again, it's probably like that for most families. Time to reunite, share some beloved family memories and traditions and leave the drama hopefully in the closet for now and just smile and get along right?

Well if you have read any of Debby Mayne's novels, you know you are about to join in, whether you're ready or not to join in with the Bucklin clan. So grab a glass of sweet tea and sit back and unwind as all the wonderful characters she has created in her latest novel High Cotton is unveiled in the first of her series, the Bucklin Family Reunion! This is truly all about bringing a bit of the South and all it's traditions, sayings, accents and more to those who have never been privy to such a family affair. And you just know its not going to go off without a hitch either.

Just the cover alone is what got me wanting to read this, besides the premise of a wonderful drama filled family reunion that doesn't involve me personally and being a fan of anything Debby Mayne rights just makes me pick it up without having to know if it's going to be good or not. That's the thing with exceptional authors that write books that take you into the story line transporting you right in the middle of things. You've got those well-meaning elderly women who are wondering when you are going to find the right man and settle down before one becomes an old maid, the men in the family who would rather be doing anything but attending another one of these lively events and those in the family who believe it is their job to be a personal savior to anyone needing help.

I received High Cotton by Debby Mayne compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Gilead Publishing. I can't wait to read the very next novel Fit to Be Tied coming on the heels of this one, but as all exceptional series are, they are never soon enough for those of us that want even more. This is a wonderful summer novel and one I highly recommend and that is why I am giving this a 4.5 out of 5 stars. If this is your first Debby Mayne novel, you will want to check out everything else she has written, they are all wonderful novels that would definitely make it to my summer reading list.

For more information about High Cotton, Debby Mayne or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

High Cotton by Debby Mayne

You can find Debby Mayne on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on High Cotton, please visit Gilead Publishing's website. 

Adverse Possession

It takes a lot to scare me and make me want to not turn off the lights.

Especially books lately because I am very selective on which ones I will review or read anymore. This excludes most of the best selling authors because they don't line up with the same spiritual values that now dictate my reading choices for the most part. However with that being said, Jess Hanna, managed to do just that.

In his second book, Adverse Possession, the best way I can describe it is the Exorcism with a Christian twist. If that doesn't peak your interest I don't know what will and trust me this book gives it all to you in just the right doses to make you reconsider whether you should finish it or not. Not because it isn't a great book, but the suspense, thrill factor is on steroids. Finally an author who gets it. Gives it to you in small amounts so your mind begins to wonder what could it be and what is going on.

Andy Forrester is a buy it and flip it investor who finds a house he might just promise his family that will finally be their forever home. Lately what has been happening is that the family will stay in on of his latest fixer uppers long enough for the work to be done, before its time to move out so that can be sold. But he realizes that this isn't the kind of life for his wife and two small children, Jonathan and Alexis. So he really chooses a fixer upper in a small isolated part of town where the house has been sitting vacant and unsold for some time. (Clue 1).

As the construction gets underway the first accident occurs when a construction worker has his fingers severed while standing next to a power saw. He claims it just started itself and soon he is rushed off to the hospital, but not before Andy attempts to clean up the blood, and realizes the only place it remains is on the saw. (Clue 2).

While the family attempts to live in the home, a random power outage occurs in the home, twice a day and both at the same time. 10:27am or pm, the power will go out and resume at exactly 10:28 am or pm. There is nothing they are doing and it replays itself like on an endless loop every single day and night. The family just passes it off and old wiring in the house since it is causing any harm. Yet will the beginning of the families complacency attitude be just the thing that leaves the door open for even more chilling things to come? Have the family moved into a haunted house or something even more sinister? You'll have to pick this one up and find out.

Adverse Possession by Jess Hanna is a powerful book that reminds us all of the power of complacency in our own faith and how much the power of God can do and can't do when it is wielded by those who know Him and those who don't. For me, this one really spooked me pretty well as it should because people far too often don't realize how innocent activity in their own life can open the door for other spiritual beings to make themselves quite at home. No pun intended. For those of you that LOVE your books to be a bit on the edge of your seat, don't read it alone, keep the lights on kind of fiction? This is it! I give this one a 5 out of 5 stars because it did what it was intended to do.

You can find more information about Adverse Possession, Jess Hanna or how to pick up a copy of this book today, by clicking on the links below:

Adverse Possession by Jess Hanna

You can find Jess Hanna on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest books.

The Road to Hell

I don't know how I passed this book up?

I kept coming across fellow Book Reviewers that I know, that said how amazing this book was for a first time author, Jess Hanna and for those that love supernatural and spiritual warfare fiction genre's this was a must read. To say that it got my curiosity up was a bit of an understatement. I was even willing to pay for this one since I respected the opinions of my fellow peers not to steer me wrong. Thankfully, I had uploaded it some time ago, along with the second novel when it was offered FREE and never had the time to fully dedicate some time to reading it. Last night I finished it and so glad I did.

First of all if you love that supernatural, spiritual warfare novels like from such greats as Frank Peretti's Piercing the Darkness and This Present Darkness, do yourself a favor and pick this one up. It focuses on the life of one man Lucas Stone, who has made a name for himself working for Valiant Public Relations and never really considered at any point in his career he would find himself jobless. But that is just what happens to him, caught up in thinking he would skate by with another client who wanted to be "served" by Lucas but was left high and dry instead. It was the straw that broke the camel's back with the agency.

Now jobless and without any future prospects the drive home that day would forever change his life when he gets into an accident he failed to see coming. In an instant both is physical mobility and his spiritual outlook on life would change in a heartbeat as he fights both for his physical life and his spiritual one as well, when he finds that instead of taking that journey into the tunnel of light, he is pulled down into the vacuum of hell only to realize what a tragic mistake he took. After a handful of days in the hospital enduring physical therapy, he now is faced with mounting medical bills and no way of paying them. God sends him a man named Mike that would teach him about unconditional love and what a true Christian walk looks like with human skin on.

Throughout the book, Lucas' life is moved with other characters that have crossed his path and will play a pivotal role in the culmination of the purest evil known to man in the physical world as Lucas is once again faced with a public relations nightmare when one of his clients seeks him out to help him launch his career as an author who has written a controversial book on what the real definition of hell looks like. Is it the same as the one Lucas experiences or it this a wolf in sheep's clothing. For me, this is a phenomenal novel and one I couldn't wait to finish. It is well worth all 5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion and now I can't wait to read his other novel Adverse Possession. 

The Road to Hell by Jess Hanna

You can find Jess Hanna on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

Beneath the Bellemont Sky

Sometimes the best way we can understand our future is to spend some time looking through the past. For America, a lot changed when we entered WWII, and as thousands of husbands, brothers, and fathers left to serve, women stepped up in a role not familiar to them to pick up in factories where the men left off, their way of helping in the war effort.

As the war ended, and some men returned home, often times with less than they had before, with disabilities, missing limbs, and dealing with PTSD, women were again challenged to step into the roles vacated to help those returning home. Then again, there were those women who married before the war, and were notified that their husband, was killed and would not be returning home. This set the stage for the beginnings of the women's right movement as men returned to go back to work, women who enjoyed working were now faced with resuming the role of a full-time wife and mother, and wanted the respect and recognition that they got in working that was missing in their domestic roles.

That is the stage set for Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneè S. Clark. For the Larsen family, having a farm is what helped them to get by during the war and now that the men are beginning to return home, the women in the family are looking forward to having the men take over the farm tasks. Vera and her four children have moved back home after learning her husband wouldn't be coming home after all and a way to help make ends meet. The hardest part for any of them is learning to move forward into an unknown future when all they have known is their past. As the town attempts to resume normal life, Andrew Larsen returns with a French wife and now the town's socialites have decided to snub her at every attempt, partly because one of them had hoped that Andrew might return to marry her instead.

Vera knows she has to find a new start for her life and finds solace in the new teacher that comes to town, Dominick Whitaker, who is finding starting over in a small town might just be what he needs but also brings its own share of problems as well. Vera and Dominick hit it off as friends being in similar places in their futures and find an instant connection in their conversations, one that lasts beyond the time they spend with each other. Will Dominick be ready to take on a ready made family or will something in their pasts keep them apart despite their growing affections for one another?

I received Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneè S. Clark compliments of Covenant Communications. I truly LOVE the novels set among the war time because so much was forced to change to help benefit everyone both in serving in the war or supporting those who left behind those empty places. Change was forced whether one embraced it or not. And in a small town of Wyoming, one can only imagine that everyone knew everyone else. When the war came to a close, some women wanted to stay working, and raising a family and not everyone wanted to return back to their former lives, especially when things we so different. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and give it a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Beneath the Bellemont Sky, Raneè S. Clark or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Beneath the Bellemont Sky by Raneè S. Clark

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To read more reviews on Beneath the Bellemont Sky, please visit Amazon's website.

The Stars Above Northumberland

I have to admit it. I'm guilty.

Guilty of being hooked on what some might label the genre as Traditional Regencies! Fans of Jane Austen's novels and fans of Downton Abbey understand exactly what I am saying. It is a genre like any other because of the social implications for women back in the 1800's. Women had little to say in the way things were handled and often time had very little to do except accept what social standards dictated at the time.

For Meriwether Sturgess, that was a life of seven years to a mean man whom she married that had one persona on the outside and another in the quiet confines within his home and in their marriage. That is why it came as no shock when the man died quite unexpectedly leaving her not only a widow and single mother to their two children, but also the large financial inheritance she would assume or rather oversee until her son Crispen was old enough to assume the responsibilities of running the Sturgess finances and holdings.

But for Meri, she simply planned carefully for the last seven years, holding back a small fund from her husband's allotment of her monthly expenses to keep up appearances for both herself and the children. Along with the jewelry he bestowed upon her, she kept it all hidden until the day she could change both her own circumstances and that of her children. She shared no affections for her husbands family and couldn't wait to leave the estate under the guise of needing to get away and be with her family to deal with her grief. There was no turning back for Meri.

Now she has returned to live with her Aunt Annabel at the Rosewell Manor and finds a bit of a surprise to learn that her childhood friend, Elliot Rosewell has returned as well and he hopes to find a second chance at love with Meri and her two children, something he has deeply regretted for those same seven years, watching her go and marry another man, while he had to deal with his own broken heart. But like all great romances, there are bound to be complications which work against our dear couple in an effort to keep them apart but will these secrets truly be the ones that keep their love from full blossoming?

I received The Stars Above Northumberland by Anita Stansfield compliments of Covenant Communications. I absolutely LOVED this entire novel, although at the beginning there are parts of the novel that appear repetitive as though you just read the same pages previously. Once you get pass those however, you find yourself ever rooting for our beloved couple and know that Meri's quick departure will not be a lasting one. No one can ever truly run from their pasts. I have loved reading Anita Stansfields novels and now anxiously await each new one she pens. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about The Stars Above Northumberland, Anita Stansfield or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Stars Above Northumberland by Anita Stansfield

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To read more reviews on The Stars Above Northumberland, please visit Covenant Communications website. 

A Light on the Hill

One of my favorite new genres is biblical fiction. It is taking factual events from the Bible, and creating a bit of a backstory to the characters we know about, but not everything about. It might even use a major biblical event as the setting for the novel, such as Connilyn Cossette has done brilliantly in her series, Cities of Refuge. The first novel in the series is A Light on The Hill, and takes the readers back just after the fall of the walls of Jericho.

Back to the lands filled with the idol worship of false gods, where temples were built to commemorate and worship those idol images. Moriyah was a young girl when she was kidnapped and branded on her face as a temple prostitute even though she never was violated in that manner. It would be a brand she would forever face discrimination and rumors about what those who knew of her perceived her to be. It would also make finding a suitable husband for her, almost an impossibility. What man would want to deal with a wife who had to remain covered by a veil whenever she went out in public. Yet even that did nothing to prevent the stares or public shame she had to endure.

When Moriyah learns that her father has found a suitable match for her, she believes God has finally heard her prayer. She believes the young man she meets on the night of a festival is the same man promised to marry her. However she soon learns that he is simply the youngest of the brothers, her father has arranged to marry her. He is not the one. The man she is forced to marry is the oldest brother and the only desire he has for her, is her dowry that her father has promised to any man who will marry her, vineyards beyond riches. She faces her own challenges dealing with not only her potential future husband, but he has vowed she will remain forever veiled so no one will ever look at her and see who she really is.

I received A Light on The Hill by Connilyn Cossette compliments of Bethany House Publishers. This is such a wonderful novel in that during my own Bible reading, I have read about the horror stories of the people who lived behind the walls of Jericho and the things they did they flew in the face of the God of the Bible. We see glimpses of that with Joshua and how he brought down the walls, and of the prostitute Rahab that hid the men of God who would have been killed had they been discovered. It was the same favor that saved the life of not only her but her family as well. This picks up after that has occurred and shows the fall out of the life of those trapped behind those walls that now have to deal with the repercussions of that lifestyle, even if they didn't agree with it. A wonderful discussion guide is included at the conclusion of this novel that makes for a great book club selection. For me, I can't wait to read the remaining novels that will follow this one, and thus the reason for giving this one a well deserved 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about A Light on The Hill, Connilyn Cossette or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

A Light on The Hill by Connilyn Cossette

You can find Connilyn Cossette on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on A Light on The Hill, please visit Bethany House Publisher's website.

My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate Utah

"There is no darkness, but ignorance."

That is the central theme for the novel, My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate Utah, by Angie Dicken. Taking readers into the heart of the west in Castle Gate, Utah during the 1900's, we find racial prejudice present even in the past. For those immigrating from Greece to settle in the small towns ripe with the hope of prosperity and opportunity, they also face discrimination based on the fact, they are not considered true Americans and have to settle in a place outside of town known as Greek Town.

It is here that the Pappas family has found hope with the opening of their restaurant serving Greek food to those that work in the mines, more Greek immigrants. For someone like Alex who came here to make money to help care for the health of his wife back home, but tragically couldn't make enough before she passed away. He then used that money to bring his own family to America where they can all be together to make it in this new world.

Leanna McKee, a school teacher in Castle Rock, has found her own grief here, losing her husband Jack in an accident that left her a widow but also one with outstanding gambling debts her husband incurred without her knowledge. She dreams for a way to move forward in San Francisco where she has connections with her family, but without funds, she has to stay where she is until she has saved enough to make the move there. Thankfully that opportunity comes to her via Alex Pappas who needs someone to escort his niece and nephew back and forth to school while their parents tend to the health of their mother during her pregnancy. When he offers to pay her, she immediately accepts! Is this truly an opportunity from God or is this a complication she should avoid with the tensions building in Castle Rock against those that associate with the Greeks?

I received My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate Utah by Angie Dicken compliments of Barbour Publishing and Net Galley. I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for immigrants to come to this country, legally at that time and the tensions that they had to deal with. Just friendships with those immigrants was often meet with hostility and anger to ensure that the discrimination would continue, despite how very wrong it was. I love how it is something that is worked out between Alex and Leanna by the conclusion of the novel, but also highlights a time in our own history when things did not goes as smooth as we might have believed. It also shows how strong traditions and culture were to those immigrants. Things they didn't want to leave behind.I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about My Heart Belongs in Castle Rock Utah, Angie Dicken or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate Utah by Angie Dicken

You can find Angie Dicken on Facebook where you can stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on My Heart Belongs in Castle Gate Utah, please visit Barbour Publishing's website. 

His Risk

I have fallen in love with Shelley Shepard Gray's latest series, The Amish of Hart County. In the fourth book in the series, His Risk, readers are once again transported back to the Amish community of Hart County. There you pick back up with familiar characters from the previous novels as they now become secondary characters in this novel.

Alice Yoder is the community's school teacher and she adores her job. She believes it is truly her calling and the one thing that brings her the most joy. However when she undertakes watching her brother's home while they vacation in Pinecraft and also care for Valentine, their cat. It is one job she truly looks forward to is a quiet night at the end of a busy day. She just didn't expect to find her curiosity peaked by the young man standing outside her neighbors home. Being a bit bold, she finds herself wanting to know who he is and why he is staying at their home.

Calvin Fisher is now staying with his brother, Mark and his wife Waneta as he undergoes a risky surgery to remove a cancerous kidney. He hopes that he will be able to be there for his brother as much as he helped to raise Calvin as a child. Both of his parents had their own issues to deal with and for Calvin, it meant leaving the Amish community. However know he has come home, but with it comes a threat that he believes he can handle as he works as an undercover DEA agent for a well known crime syndicate. Now that he has worked his way up in earning the King's loyalty, he believes he can balance the roles he is playing while keeping everyone safe.

But when his undercover life begins to show signs of being in Hart County, Calvin believes that he has brought a very real risk to those he cares about and even those he might begin to fall for. Will he be able to end the double life he is living before he endangers those he loves the most?

I received His Risk by Shelley Shepard Gray compliments of Avon Inspire, a division of Harper Collins Publishers. This is such a cross over genre because you are combining a love for the Amish with its connection to the English world in a suspenseful way. Without realizing it, and while they remain very much divided in their faith and ideals, there are no physical walls to keep one from encroaching on the other as it does in this series of novels by Shelley Shepard Gray. I think she orchestrates it masterfully in that you don't even realize that you're reading two very different genres in a well blended series. I have loved every single one and am looking forward to the next one in this series. Finally authors who simply don't end a good thing after three books! This one is worthy of all 5 out of 5 stars in my own opinion.

For more information about His Risk, Shelley Shepard Gray or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

His Risk by Shelley Shepard Gray

You can find Shelley Shepard Gray on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on His Risk, please visit Harper Collins Publisher's website.

The Masterpiece

I have fallen in love with Francine River's novels.

So whenever I hear that she has written a new one, it's an automatic response for me to buy it. I don't even have to know what it is about, because I love the way she writes her novels. I know it will be life changing for me. I know it will also challenge me in a good way as well.

So when her latest novel, The Masterpiece arrived, I couldn't wait to carve out some time to sit back and enjoy my book, like someone would enjoy a fine wine, a decadent dessert or whatever will cause you to get excited because it is something you will look forward to.

I was not disappointed.

The story takes place between a struggling famous artist, Roman Velasco, who has to come to terms with his past before he can ever move forward in his future. To say he is a success at painting is an understatement and his paintings are always sold out for obscene amounts of money. He can't seem to find a way to manage all the time in between and has gone through so many personal assistants, the agency is down to its final candidate and if he isn't happy with this one, they are done trying to work with him.

Fortunately for Grace Moore, she needs this job and will stop at nothing to ensure she makes enough money that she can move out of the home she shares with a couple that had hoped to adopt her young son when he was born. They are still hoping she will change her mind and thus the reason for letting her stay. They understand how difficult it is for a single mother to make it in Los Angeles alone! So Grace is will to pass along a little "grace" to Roman and hopefully find a way for the two to work together. But she will also need to come to terms with her own past, and one that can apply a little grace to both of their lives.

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers is an exceptional look into the pasts that we think define who we are today and unfortunately for some hold us back in the very areas that God wants to release us from. While Grace has the faith to work through some of her issues, there are some still holding her back. Yet at least, she begins to peel back the layers of Roman's past and help him to see that God is his only hope for a future, that is if she can reach him before his has a tragic accident that will forever change them both. Well worth all 5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion and now proud to add this novel to my permanent library.

For more information about The Masterpiece, Francine Rivers or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Masterpiece by Francine Rivers

You can find Francine Rivers on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Masterpiece, visit Tyndale House Publishers website. 

The View From Rainshadow Bay

Just read the first two pages.

If you can manage to put the novel down after that and decide you have other things to do instead, I would have to check to see if you are still breathing. Of course, for me, I didn't realize I was holding my breath as I read those first two pages. What begins as a full adrenaline rush with the prologue beginning of The View From Rainshadow Bay, the latest novel from Colleen Coble in her Lavender Tides Series. She is truly one talented author in her ability to jump seamlessly from one genre to another without breaking a sweat.

In what marks the beginning of a new trilogy, suspense and murder mystery fans will want to jump on this series. The books opens quickly with a murder that will connect itself into the storyline that begins with what has happened a year later. We need that to help connect the dots to what happened earlier and why that would be so relevant to the characters we meet in the novel. Shauna McDade finds herself working through the recent loss of her husband Jack in a climbing incident, and one for which she holds Zach Bannister responsible as his best friend. Now she is forced to make her way as a single parent to her five year old son, as a helicopter charter pilot, using the skills she learned in the Navy. The last thing she needs is another loss on her plate and she will do whatever she can to make ends meet financially.

But like all great novels, things are about to get messy and complicated, when her business partner is murdered and leaving behind a message that Shauna and her son are in danger as well. Of course, now is when you have to learn to release your breath again, because things have just increased to put Shauna and her son at risk while they try to uncover what it is that is causing them to both be the focal point of a murder threat. She will have to learn to trust Zach again if she hopes to keep her son alive, despite all the threats that are now beginning to appear.

I received The View From Rainshadow Bay by Colleen Coble compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and TLC Book Tours. I guess you could say I am hooked and I love both a complex mystery to engage my brain, because I try to piece together my own clues to figure it out before the ending of the book. The intensity between Shauna and Zach is crazy because you have Zach trying so hard to make amends for the guilt he feels for Jack's death, and he also has to win over Shauna's trust to allow him to help her, even when she is fighting against her own personal feelings towards him. Let's just say I know you will LOVE how this one all plays out in the end. Well worth all 5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion.

For more information about The View From Rainshadow Bay, Colleen Coble or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The View From Rainshadow Bay by Colleen Coble

You can find Colleen Coble on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The View From Rainshadow Bay, please visit TLC Book Tour's page. 

Girl, Wash Your Face

Sometimes as women we need that emotional cheerleader in our life that takes whatever we are going through to take us by the hand and give us that much needed talk to stop feeling sorry for whatever you're going through and get moving forward. Yet all too often we fall for the lies our own self is telling us. Lies that we aren't a good enough mom, while others around us seem to breeze through motherhood without a care in the world. Lies that all of our dreams will remain just that, dreams of a life we never got around to living. Lies that we are not good enough, when God cared enough to make us the fine women we are today. Don't you need someone to give you that honest talk to shake you out of your pity party of one and get moving on with your life with a better outlook for tomorrow.

Enter Rachel Hollis, who I think resembles Anna Kendrick quite a bit and who always seems to have it together and never seems to have a bad day, a bad month or even a bad year. Yet as women that is how we constantly compare ourselves to others around us instead of comparing our yesterday person to our today person. Why do we do that? In her book, Girl, Wash Your Face, Rachel gets brutally honest, like your best friend would and holds nothing back to get you through the lies she faced and quite honestly like most of the lies all women believe. It is a cry along with her book as she faces adoption struggles, laugh with her when she shares the most incredible stories of her own life and gives you a transparent look at how she can appear to have it all together on the outside and is barely holding it all together on the inside.

She is the one friend I think all of dream of having. She is the person who would come cry with you while your enduring one of life's most challenging struggles, like losing her brother to suicide and then helping you back on your feet to show you that you don't have to stay in that place, and you can use what you're going through to make you stronger. She is such a wonder to listen to and trust me, all of us women NEED this book. I found so many great take away's that I believe I'm going to have to buy another one so I can have a pristine copy, while this one is my reference source to run to when I need a quick pick me up. For me, this book is a much needed book for all women both young and old and why I feel it is beyond worthy of 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Girl, Wash Your Face, Rachel Hollis, or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

Girl, Wash Your Face by Rachel Hollis

You can find https://www.facebook.com/TheChicSite/Rachel Hollis on Facebook to stay up to date with all her wonderful projects.

Steal Away Home

I've been in love with Billy Coffey's ability to weave a story so well, that you are instantly transported from wherever you are to wherever he decides to take you. He has a way with words that goes beyond what one can describe except to say that it is a true gift to spin such a story, it make you wonder if there isn't a nugget of truth in there somewhere and he is taking you back to one of his memories so you can see it like he did. I've had the delight to read each and every single novel he has written and they all come with a uniqueness that you are picking up something sacred. I've been reading his short stories through his blog for years and was thrilled when he began to write novels.

You can sense that good ol' boy charm gleaned from the words that spill forth from the pages of his latest, Steal Away Home. I knew at some point in time we would see a story about Billy's love of baseball and feel this one is definitely a home run. One needs to understand something when you read one of his novels. They are all different in a sense that he is taking readers to often times, unexplored places within the character's mind to see things the way they did. In this novel it is through the eyes of Owen Cross, who like most young boys dreamed that one day he might make it to the big league spending childhood summers playing ball in sandlots with his friends. His natural ability is captivated upon by his father who watched his own dreams of making it into major league baseball slip away with a shoulder injury and now pushes Owen to the big dreams.

The one thing competing with Owen is a young girl who has captured his heart much like baseball did. He hopes that when it makes it big, he will be able to pull Micky along with him and rescue her from the life of being a less-than living among the small community of Mattingly, mostly being what the upper classes would consider plain white trash. But Owen sees the same thing in her that his dad sees in him, the opportunity for so much more than they could even dream. The novel toggles back and forth from Owen's childhood and his time with Micky, to the current day where he is making a debut of sorts in the big league, filling in if needed. The story is magical in the sense that you feel like you're Owen, the struggles he faces when people try and keep him and Micky apart, the differences in their upbringing and the outcome of the future for them both.

I received Steal Away Home by Billy Coffey compliments of Thomas Nelson Publishers and TLC Book Tours. This is such a beautiful story and I wasn't sure how receptive I would be of one involving a baseball player, but then movies like A League of Their Own and For the Love of the Game. It reminds you that times were simple in those days. Baseball was the epitome of technology and it is what drew people together for a common cause, to root for their team. I love the way Billy crafted this story in taking me back to those days of his childhood and how the decisions he made affect his future in ways no one could predict. Once again this one will sit like a priceless treasure in my own personal library and I can say it is getting full. Well down for hitting a grand slam in this novel and deserving of all 5 out of 5 stars in this reader's opinion.

For more information about Steal Away Home, Billy Coffey or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Steal Away Home by Billy Coffey

You can find Billy Coffey on Facebook to stay up to date with all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on Steal Away Home, please visit TLC Book Tour page. 

The Melody of the Soul

Something that soothes that savage beast is music. It can take us back to memorable moments of the past or even help us pass the time during a tragic situation until something better comes along. That is the common thread in the latest novel by Liz Tolsma, The Melody of the Soul. This is the first novel in the Music of Hope Series. World War II genre fans will adore this as the setting between Anna Zadok who has just watched her family step away and left her behind to tend for her aging grandmother while the Nazi's occupy their small town in Prague. It is the one thing she didn't want to happen, for them to be separated but also knows that she can't give up on the one thing that she loves, which is playing her violin. Not from reading music, but from hearing it in her heart and soul. It defines who she is and what she is feeling with each note she plays.

However all musical instruments are outlawed and those found in possession of them will face harsh repercussions. But it is all that remains of her and the love she has for her family. Yet when a Nazi officer, Horst Engel, takes possession of her home and removes the occupants living on the lower level, she believes it is only a matter of time before they will force her and her aging grandmother to leave. She prepares to pack up what meager belongings they have so when it is time, they are ready. During the time she waits however she begins to play and what connects her to the music is the very same thread that reaches into the soul of Horst and he locates the source of the music.

He summons both of them into the lower level of the house he is occupying and asks her to play specific music that she knows and he loves. Perhaps they both are in situations they have no control over and while both know what roles they must play, it is the music that connects them to a better place before the war began. Yet will it connect them in other ways as well? Can a Jewish Christian find love with a Nazi officer in the midst of a war that threatens to divide who they both are? You'll have to check out The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma to find out.

I received The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma compliments of Litfuse Publicity and Gilead Publishing. What I really enjoyed about this novel is first, the setting. I am a huge fan of WWII and using that as a setting really forces readers into a place in history that is vibrant, real and terrifying depending on whose side you might find yourself on. Second, placing a budding romance between two very different characters who have their own shared beliefs, enemies really makes you wonder what will be the catalyst that changes for them both that will cause them to defy the odds for love over war. There are some amazing historical notes at the conclusion of the novel that show how the author incorporated real events into the creation of not only this novel but the series! For me, this one easily rates a 4.5 out of 5 stars and I can't wait for the next novel due out in the Fall of 2018.

For more information about The Melody of the Soul, Liz Tolsma or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma

You can find Liz Tolsma on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Melody of The Soul, please visit Litfuse Publicity's Book Tour Page.

Travel back in time to 1943 and meet Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian and concert violinist whose career is ended because of Nazi occupation in Prague. Don't miss the new historical novel, The Melody of the Soul, by Liz Tolsma. Though musical instruments have been declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to play the violin. But Officer Horst Engel, quartered in Anna's flat and dissatisfied with German ideology, enjoys her soothing music. When Anna and her grandmother face deportation, Horst risks everything to protect them.

Join Liz Tolsma and other bookworms for a Facebook Live event on February 6, plus enter to win Liz's prize pack giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• One copy of The Melody of the Soul
• A garnet bracelet
• A box of Czech Republic chocolate

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on February 6. The winner will be announced at Liz's Facebook Live Party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Liz and other readers, as well as for a chance to win other prizes!

RSVP today and spread the word-tell your friends about the giveaway and Facebook Live party via social media and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 6th!

A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection

If you're new to Amish fiction, and love the idea of a Christmas setting with some great story lines, then you might want to pick up A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance collection. In it you will find 9 different Christmas Romances of Amish, Mennonite, Quaker and Amana settlements, which vary in some of the dress styles, their religious beliefs, and manner of speech. They hold fast to the belief that what happens stays in their communities to handle and marrying outside of the church, can often result in a shunning from the community especially if they have been baptized into their churches.

Yet the one thing that remains clear in all of them, is their sense of support within the community. Help is always offered from within regarding medical issue, issues dealing with breaking the law and tragedies. They are always there for one another. The best part also of this series, is it gives you a brief insight into the style of writing each of the nine authors. This will help you decide if you want to pick up full length novels of other books in that genre as well. It is well worth it too, if time is an issue. Reading them one at a time, as you have time available, keeps you from feeling overwhelmed about not being able to get through a larger novel, than these nine stories provide.

The nine authors that have contributed to this collection are: Jerry Eicher, Olivia Newport, Lauralee Bliss, Ramona K.Cecil, Dianne Christner, Melanie Dobson, Rachael O. Phillips, Claire Sanders, and Anna Schmidt. I have read quite a few of the novels of most of these authors, so it was a nice change of pace to meet some I had never heard of before. This collection is comparable to the length of a full size novel and in it, you get 9 short stories that feel like so much more than a simple novella. There is also a wonderful treat included at the conclusion of each one, a recipe that you can make at home from the story! Just the cover of this collection invites the reader to curl up by the fire on a cold wintery night.

I received A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection by various authors compliments of Barbour Publishing and NetGalley. This is such a beautiful collection of wonderful heartwarming stories of faith, hope and love set among the Christmas season. This is a must have for lovers of Amish Romance, and even for those who want a great sampling of the various communities mentioned in this review. For me, this really introduced me to some authors I had never heard of before, as well as bring back some favorites from best selling authors as well. For me, this collection would rate a 4 out of 5 stars. There are some stories that really didn't connect with me as a reader, and wanted to get through them to something else, especially the Quaker stories with their 'thee's and thou's in how they speak to one another. Kind of like trying to understand Shakespeare in high school, yet overall a great collection.

For more information about A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection by various authors

You can read more reviews of A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection by visiting Barbour Publishing's website. 

An Amish Christmas Love

I love reading Christmas novels during anytime throughout the year and happened upon An Amish Christmas Love, by four extremely talented authors, Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Ruth Reid, and Kelly Irvin. In this delightful collection of four novella's each of the authors shares a wonderfully sweet Amish romance all tucked inside this book. This is perfect for busy readers, who can just sit down and read one at a time, and still feel like they've read a full length novel.

In Winter Kisses by Beth Wiseman, three generations of Amish women find love with the wonderful men who they rent out their rooms for a construction job nearby. All of them have various reasons for wanting to find the right man but will they all be successful in their endeavors as Christmas is coming.

The Christmas Cat by Amy Clipston finds a lonely widow as Christmas Eve approaches with no one to share the day with as she fondly remembers her husband Henry, until a wayward cat finds her home during a winter storm. With it comes changes she never expected in her life, when she realizes she is never really alone.

Snow Angels by Kelly Irvin pairs an Amish couple up with the past one of them wishes would never come back to town. Now that she is here, will those old familiar feelings from the past threaten a relationship already on rocky ground?

And finally in Home for Christmas by Ruth Reid, a young English woman returns to her Aunts home she has inherited as a winter storm approaches and finds her GPS directions have led her to enter a home she thought was her Aunts, but turns out to be a Amish father and her young daughter. But did she really take a wrong turn after all?

I received An Amish Christmas Love by Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kelly Irvin and Ruth Reid compliments of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers. Each of these wonderful stories generate a wonderful sense of love, family, faith and hope and truly feel like you've gotten 4 novels in one. I have to say my favorite one might just be the Christmas Cat, because it reminds us that while we might missing a loved one's presence here, their memories are never gone! At the conclusion of each, you will find some discussion guide questions that are wonderful for book clubs. For me, this collection really is worth all 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about An Amish Christmas Love, Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kelly Irvin, Ruth Reid or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

An Amish Christmas Love by Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Kelly Irvin, Ruth Reid

You can find Beth Wiseman on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

You can find Amy Clipston on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

You can find Kelly Irvin on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

You can find Ruth Reid on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on An Amish Christmas Love, please visit Thomas Nelson Publisher's website. 

The Christmas Blessing

What is it about romance set among the backdrop of the war? Perhaps its the sensing that time is of the essence and it inspires people to share their truth heartfelt feelings with one another in the event that they will be taken from them far too soon. If you're like me and LOVE that nostalgic romance set during WWII, then pick up Melody Carlson's novel, The Christmas Blessing. It is set in San Diego during 1944 with that romantic couple who have met and instantly fallen in love. Yet before they can marry, James Bradley is called back to his base to be deployed without a moment's notice.

Poor Amelia Richards has a completed intent to wed certificate that James filled out and knows that hopefully this war will end soon and James will return so they can marry. But fate is that ugly judge of what will happen and Amelia learns that James has died and will not be coming home. Now she has to deal with the outcome of what she will be able to do, when she realizes that their one night of romance has conceived a son from that night. As a single mother, not even being able to claim war widow status, she remembers that James told her a bit about her family that lives in Montana and she is sure that perhaps they might even want to help her and poor Jimmie out.

As she plans on making the trip to Montana she isn't sure what she will do if James' parents don't believe her or worse, attempt to take Jimmie away seeing as she is not even married. How could she possibly afford to take care of Jimmie when they don't even know what will happen next. So she takes what money she has in an attempt to give it ago while she searches for James parents, until then she will simply stay a few days at the cheapest hotel in hopes of finding a job as a beautician locally and fate will smile favorably on her this time. What she doesn't plan on is that she is coming down with a pretty horrible cold and now it seems she has passed it along to Jimmie. Without any funds how will she be able to provide care for both of them.

I received The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson compliments of NetGalley and Revell Publishing Group, a division of Baker Publishing. This is such a wonderful story and I don't want to give any more away. The setting is heartwarming and the overall situation is completely believable as something that probably happened to many young men and women during the 1940's. Fans of anything relating to WWII will absolutely adore this short novel that really feels like so much more. I easily give this one a 5 out of 5 stars and reminds you that God can even work a miracle during the most tumultuous of times.

For more information about The Christmas Blessing, Melody Carlson or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Christmas Blessing by Melody Carlson 

You can find Melody Carlson on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Christmas Blessing, please visit Baker Publishing's website. 

An Inconvenient Beauty

Downton Abbey fans, Jane Austen diehards, want to get hooked on an incredible series of novels? Check out the Hawthorne House Series by Kristi Ann Hunter and you will be as hooked if not more than you are on your favorite area of interest surrounding the traditional Regency Romance genres! An Inconvenient Beauty is book 4 and the possible final one in the series and wraps up the love interest surrounding Griffith, Duke of Riverton!  Now that all his siblings are married off and beginning their own lives, Griffith realizes as the oldest, he must find a way to settle down and produce an heir for the families wealth to be inherited to. Only he isn't about to settle for just anyone that society deems is the right and top choice for him.

His entire family has married for love and not necessarily based on where a suitable lady fell on the social ladder in London. He wants someone who isn't really thinking she might be able to offer anyone, that way she won't necessarily have to work at being the best at all the social graces that come from marrying a Duke, one of the highest honors after royalty that is. With it comes a responsibility and a certain standard that must be maintained to keep things in proper order. Griffith believes he has found a suitable wife in the wallflower Miss Frederica St. Claire who is now going into her fourth season with no potential matches. She would make the perfect wife, because no one would even compete with her plain and homely looks and she wouldn't be out to impress him with things he isn't looking for. Now all he has to do is convince her by simply asking her to dance. Even all of London's society has been wagering on just who he might settle with.

Most think that Griffith will settle for the most beautiful and society's pick of the top females. In fact, her cousin Miss Isabella Breckenridge is working her way to doing just that with all the eligible young and older men vying for the honor to court her. He isn't at all interested in her but in Miss St. Claire instead, but everytime he calls on her, she is unable to communicate and sends signals that she isn't the slightest bit interested in the most eligible and wealthy bachelor in London. It seems Miss St. Claire has her own interests in a young man who has returned from the war, a solider whom she thought dead. Now it seems that Freddie will do all she can to push the Duke's attentions off to Isabella instead and often times it is under the most trying of situations, but then again, Isabella isn't interested in the Duke, because her Uncle wants her to focus her attentions on the members of the House of Commons to sway their vote for an Apothecary Bill he is pushing to be passed. He promises that he will take care of Isabella's family, simple sheep herders in North Umberland, but will anyone discover the true meaning behind Isabella's actions?

I received An Inconvenient Beauty by Kristi Ann Hunter compliments of Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley. This has been such a dream to enjoy every single novel in this series and trust me, you will want to read them in order to understand all the relationships within the Duke's family and how each came to marry the one they have chosen to spend the rest of their life with and ones that they will LOVE first and foremost over what society deems is acceptable. I LOVE Isabella's character because she isn't interested in the Duke for marriage, so it keeps her guard down and she can be the person she is on the inside without having to fake her way through being proper and with that Griffith falls for the true woman she is over the lady she is acting like. Well worthy of all 5 out of 5 stars and only wish there were more to look forward to in this series. There are some historical facts that were incorporated in this novel that are revealed at the conclusion of this novel in the Author's Note section.

For more information about An Inconvenient Beauty, Kristi Ann Hunter or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

An Inconvenient Beauty by Kristi Ann Hunter

You can find Kristi Ann Hunter on Facebook to enjoy all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on An Inconvenient Beauty, please visit Bethany House Publisher's website.

Heart of the West

Love women who are full of fire and determination, especially when it comes to what they want in life over what their influential parents want for them instead. Kate Donahue had to run away quite literally to head west after receiving her certification as a doctor. The man she was suppose to marry wanted nothing but someone who might make him look good as a senator and being a doctor was not in the plans, despite how much her mother and father begged her to reconsider. She waited for everyone in her household to leave and she simply packed up what she could and bought a train ticket heading to Craig, Colorado where she read an advertisement promising new business in the growing town. Surely they would need a doctor.

When she arrived she wasn't looking for any man's attention, and yet that is precisely what Stanley Jones was used to getting his way and he wasn't about to take Kate's no for her final answer. He reminded Kate of the same kind of man she walked away from in Long Island. She wasn't about to be curtailed by another one now. Yet for the Jones family, it seems they were used to things going there way and it none of the town's proprietors were going to say anything to contradict their wishes, even if it meant keeping the local law close and in their pocket. So Kate would be on her own to start up a medical practice but she received less than warm invites from those in town. For sure she would have the women in town who would come to her for medical needs, but how was she going to make a living working in trade and bartered services. Her parents reminded her if she walked away from their wishes she would forfeit her entire inheritance so she would have to find a way to stretch what little savings she had left.

She doesn't plan on falling for anyone in town but when Stanley Jones begins to bark orders to a small crippled boy named Logan and an Irish sheep rancher by the name of Lucas McCurdy she was about to go against the Jones family in a bad way. Knowing that they wouldn't do anything to her personally, they vetted their anger in other ways like trying to intimidate and frighten off McCurdy to take his sheep and head back to Ireland. Logan was another story as his brother was Stanley and he was proud to boss his little brother around, not that he would amount to much being as crippled as he was. It is going to take more than grit and raw determination to make her way in Craig, but then again, what does Kate have to lose by giving up? She certainly has no plans on heading back home any time soon and she vows to make sure that Stanley understands that loud and clear.

I received Heart of the West by Carolyn Twede Frank compliments of Covenant Communications. I absolutely LOVE it when authors choose to right about a strong and determined female character that defies what society deems is appropriate. Kate Donahue is by far one of my favorites. I love that she had already gotten her doctor's certification and now it was all about following her dream to head west and so glad I picked up this novel to enjoy. Even more is the delectable recipe for Lavender's Cinnamon Rolls. Can't wait to mix up a batch. My only hope is that this author has more western romances up her sleeve and now I have her name on my watch list. This one easily garners a 5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

For more information about Heart of the West, Carolyn Twede Frank or where you can pick up a copy of this novel, please click on the links below:

Heart of the West by Carolyn Twede Frank

You can find Carolyn Twede Frank on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Heart of the West, please visit Covenant Communication's website. 

Kill Shot

What immediately drew me to want to read this novel was the fact that technology could be developed or imagined that would allow a novice to be able to fire a gun and have a bullet be programmed to kill a specific person without having to be skilled enough to be a professional marksman. Chilling to consider the repercussions if such a device was developed. What is worse is to imagine that it is and was stolen along with 3 dozen of the self-steering bullets. Are they intended for 3 dozen targets or are they about to be sold to the highest bidder?

When the body count begins to rise, the White Knights, a specialized FBI task force is called in to quickly figure out who the potential killer is and to recover the remainder of the specialized bullets before they are sold or used. Heading up the investigation is Rick Cannon who has his own demons to face, and now he will have to put aside his differences and feelings to work with Dr. Olivia Dobbs, a therapist who has been working with two former Marines to deal with their PTSD, and now both of them are dead with the self-steering bullets. When Olivia is also targeted, Rick Cannon will ensure that she remain safe even if it means taking a bullet himself, but first he has to clear her from being the suspect.

At first, this novel was a bit of a challenge to really settle into, based on all the action that happens at the beginning of the novel. Since this is part of a series, and not reading the first one, Fatal Mistake, I was wondering if I would be able to enjoy this one. I can tell you I did. I had to remove myself from all the distractions happening around me to be able to truly tune into this one and once I did, I was hooked. From the chemistry happening between Agent Rick Cannon and Dr. Dobbs, I had to know how this would turn out. Perhaps my favorite character is one of the specialized team members, Brynn, as she is the computer hacker for the team. I learned a bit about the deeper workings of the internet I never knew about and I could only pray self-steering bullets are not a reality considering where technology is headed.

I received Kill Shot by Susan Sleeman compliments of Faith Words, a division of Hachette Book Groups. A Discussion Guide is included at the conclusion of this novel that would make it a perfect selection for book clubs. I can't wait to go back and read this series from the beginning and pick up Fatal Mistake. There is enough information in this one that allows you to move through the novel without having to read the first one. The first conveys a bit of why Rick Cannon is so far removed from things and why those mistakes cost him everything and now make him second guess how involved he will allow himself to become. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and easily give it a 5 out of 5 stars. Finally a novel that doesn't have to sacrifice a story line to deal with profanity or other issues you might find in similar novels. What a breath of fresh air this one is!

For more information about Kill Shot, Susan Sleeman or where you can preorder a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Kill Shot by Susan Sleeman 

You can find Susan Sleeman on Facebook to stay up to date on all her latest novels.

To read more reviews on Kill Shot, please visit Hachette Book Group's website. 

You're Gonna Love Me

Nick Chastain was a risk taker. There wasn't anything that he wouldn't do. From extreme sports and even the occasional dare, he never turned down an offer. He believed in living life to the fullest despite what risks there might be that something could go wrong. It was this attitude that both attracted Samantha Winters to him. They met at an accounting class and for Nick, she was his biggest challenge. They attempted to make a go at it with their relationship but with Sam's fears that one day Nick would be killed, they abruptly ended things on a bitter note.

It wasn't Sam's fault she felt this way, after watching her dad die while skiing, she knew that something life was ugly. This is why she wouldn't do anything or be with anyone who took those kinds of risks. Yet even after their breakup Sam had second thoughts and tried to reach out to Nick in hopes they might be able to work something out, but all her emails and text messages were never turned. That might be why she was more than surprised when she headed back to Idaho to care for her grandmother who was injured while horseback riding. It also gave her a much needed break working for a boss she hates, but she isn't one to quit when the going got tough. At least might give her time to put her own life in perspective.

When she saw Nick at the hospital, it definitely put things in perspective. He was the one to help her grandmother get help when he saw her fall from her horse. He is also more than surprised because Nick isn't that same guy as he was two years ago. He desperately wanted to tell Sam about the new life he was facing and the challenges that came with almost losing his life, two years ago, but it might also mean giving up on the chance to love anyone else again. If only they could find a way to resolve the past and find hope for a future.

I received You're Gonna Love Me by Robin Lee Hatcher compliments of NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Publishers. This is the second novel in the Thunder Creek series, and I absolutely LOVE the blunt honesty that comes across in this novel. Both characters are changed by something that made them face the certainty of death and it forever changed how they looked to the future. It is going to take some kindly advice from Sam's grandmother to put things in the light that they truly are. Only God knows what the future holds and to think otherwise doesn't convey that faith that they both claim to hold on to. A Discussion Guide is included at the conclusion of this book that would make this a wonderful book club selection. I give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars in my opinion.

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You're Gonna Love Me by Robin Lee Hatcher

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To read more reviews on You're Gonna Love Me, please visit Thomas Nelson Publisher's website.