The Name I Call Myself

Some of my all time favorite movies are chick flicks with a touch of comedy added to completely make them memorable. The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran is exactly that and so much more. It involves a complex relationship between Faith Harp and her multi-millinaire fiancè, Peregrine Upperton or Perry for short. For one thing, you would think most women would jump at the chance to marry a handsome rich man who has eyes only for you, but Faith keeps him at arms length due in part to a past she hasn't yet shared with him. It's kinda hard when you have an abusive past with a number of men including your step father and then a roommate of Faith's and her brother Sam, named Snake.

Turns out that their stepfather Kane, is being released from prison and in doing so has vowed to take revenge out on Sam and Faith for putting him there. To top it off, Sam is struggling with all the mental issues that go with watching your mother brutally murdered and now the man who did it is being released from prison. It's no wonder Sam is a substance abuser and will use whatever he can find to help him escape from his past, but with all his panic attacks, he calls Faith whenever his life spirals out of control and she always comes to his rescue.

Perry's overbearing and controlling mother, wants Faith to wear her wedding gown which she and her best friend Marilyn have dubbed, The Ghost Web because it is so hideous and looks so horrible on Faith, that she would have to be dead to want to wear it. But Faith is a bit of a people pleaser and goes along with virtually everything that happens in her life, until she walks into the church her mother used to attend as a possible wedding venue and gets drafted into the choir. Believe it or not it will change her life in ways she could have never imagined, but first she will need to find a voice if she is to be heard. That is where Helmet head comes into play! Life is about to get so interesting.

I received The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran compliments of Lion Hudson Publishers and Kregel Publications. This novel will have you feeling all kinds of emotions from laughing out loud, to grabbing the nearest box of tissues. It is the perfect blend of comedy and romance to keep things interesting and engaged and I honestly enjoyed this novel more than I thought I would. It's like Monster-In-Law meets Pride and Prejudice. It is simply that good. But before you begin reading it, you will want to carve out a few hours so you can enjoy it uninterrupted. My favorite part is the purpose of the choir. Oh how I had one just like it here, I'd sign right up! For me, this one easily hit at 5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about The Name I Call Myself, Beth Moran or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran

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

To read more reviews on The Name I Call Myself, please visit Kregel Publication's website. 

 

I Hope You Dance

I can't only imagine how hard it must be to find yourself dealing with the grief of losing your husband, but then learning that you are left penniless and with a mountain of debt you didn't even know existed. With no where to go, Ruth Henderson decides to pack up her stuff and leave her old life behind and move back in with her parents in Southwell, Nottinghamshire along with her 14-year old daughter Maggie, whose way of dealing with what she is going through is coloring her hair wild colors. It doesn't make her all that popular in school and soon she finds herself being teased. Her only outlet is to resort to violence which leads to repetitive phone calls from the principal to have Ruth attempt to curtain her daughter's wild side.

Ruth knows in order to move forward she has to find a way to pay off the debt without her parents help, even though they offer to write a check to cover all her debts. She wills herself to take a job working for a classmate, who subsequently had an interest in the boy she fell in love with at school and soon retribution occurs when Vanessa, the clothing store owner, takes out her frustrations on Ruth as a way of her coming to beg for a job. Ruth finds solace in her mother's well intentions to get out of the house and make some friends and finds herself meeting with a great group of women once a month, who share their own frustrations in life at the moment over some great food, and plenty of prayers.

Ruth's only regret is the love she left behind even after she married her husband, and that is of her best friend and neighbor David Carrington, who is a TV personality on his own wildlife safari show and comes to town fairly regularly. With trying to find a way to keep her own head above water and keep her feelings for David locked away in the past, you know it is only matter of time before they too come to the surface to be dealt with. It is a story of hope, love, forgiveness and redemption that come with a life well lived.

I received I Hope You Dance by Beth Moran compliments of Kregel Publications. I did not receive any monetary compensation, aside from a free copy of this book in exchange for my own honest and personal opinions. This is the second book I have read from Beth Moran and once again love the escape back to old England to immerse myself in the small town life and English literature that accompanies her books. The characters are well developed and ones that seem truly genuine that you can care about what is going on in their lives. Not only do you find yourself rooting for Ruth and David but the many secondary characters we are introduced to like David's housekeeper Ana Luisa and his father, but also between Maggie and Seth who have more in common than they think. For me, this one deserved a full 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about I Hope You Dance, Beth Moran, or where you can pick up a copy of this book today, please click on the links below:

I Hope You Dance by Beth Moran 

You can find Beth Moran on Facebook to stay up to date with all her latest books.

To read more reviews on I Hope You Dance, please visit Kregel Publications website. 

Making Marion

I love it when you find a great novel that is written from an English author, because there are terms that are used that are quite different from the same words we would use here in the US. I've been delighted to partake of Beth Moran's latest novel, Making Marion: Where's Robin Hood When You Need Him? While it does utilize the elements from the story of Robin Hood, it is simply a whole lot more. There is simply something tucked away beneath the covers of this novel for everyone.

While I would classify this one as a contemporary romance, it adds some comedy to keep things a bit lively. Our main character, Marion Miller is searching for more information about her father, who has recently passed away. But more than that, it's about discovering who Marion really is in the process since dealing with some horrible things as a child, the first of which is losing her father, which she adored. Her mother, unable to deal with such a heavy loss, places all the blame on a young Marion at the time, for disturbing her father, instead of letting him rest. Her words are so harsh to Marion, telling her that she literally talked her father to death, that Marion refuses to speak another word in fear of killing her mother as well. It makes the reader really think about the things we may say to our own children and family members while caught up in deep emotion, and how that may impact them for the rest of their lives.

Marion's mother abandons her in a sense spending her days, locked away in her room, leaving a young child to essentially raise herself. Something that Marion will  have to work out by the conclusion of the novel. Meanwhile now that Marion is grown, she sets out to discover more about her father, since her mother refuses to speak with her. So she heads to the location of the annual Sherwood Festival, which takes place at the Peace and Pigs campsite. All Marion has to go off of is a picture of her father,dressed like Robin Hood and believes this is just the place to learn more about him. But like all family secrets, it will take a miracle to uncover the back story on her father. Along the way, she will be befriended by the owner of the Peaces and Pigs, Scarlett who immediately becomes a bit of a mentor and mother figure to Marion. She is one you truly LOVE by the end.

I received Making Marion by Beth Moran compliments of Kregel Publications and Lion Hudon Publishers for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions are strictly my own. This is a wonderful story of how something tragic like Marion's childhood is able to be restored by the love of others who simply let her mature under their watchful eyes and help her to heal all those scars from their past. It is a reminder as well that the things that have devastated us from the past, don't have to hold us back from the futures that lie in front of us and the harm that can come from the unwillingness to let go of the bitterness and anger taking root inside. I absolutely LOVED how it all turned out in the end, not all tied up with a pretty bow, but with some great reflection, a love for those mentors and angels who come along when we need them the most, and for restoration of our hearts. I easily give this one a 4.5 out of 5 stars.

For more information about Making Marion, Beth Moran or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

Making Marion: Where's Robin Hood When You Need Him by Beth Moran

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

To read more reviews on Making Marion, please visit Kregel Publication's website.