Life, Love and Books

Nine by Rachelle Dekker A secret organization with alternative agenda and a young girl with missing memories make for an very intriguing  read. From the first page to the last page in this book, will leave you wanting to know what is going to happen next. We meet Zoe, a young woman who has created a different life for herself, then one day in a young girl walks into the small town café. All this dazed young teenager can say is that she has to find a woman in Corpus Christi. Faced with a decision Zoe has to choose does she help this lost girl or just walk away. But deep down inside Zoe sees herself in this teenager. now she has to face  the things she has left behind. As they go on the run from the enemy, they have to make choices of who they can trust and who not to trust. I truly love reading books written by Rachelle Dekker, she writes a story that has twists and turns that will leave you breathless. I was given a complimentary copy of...

Don't Keep Silent by Elizabeth Goddard In the third installment of the Uncommon Justice series, we return to the McKade ranch in snowy Wyoming. Liam Mckade has returned to his childhood home to find out what he want to next in his life. Never did he ever think when he came back home to see his brothers did he think he would run into the one woman he didn't want to see again. Rae Burke's sister in law has disappeared for the second time and Rae's investigative reporter skills have been called upon by her brother. The clues lead her to the wintery Wyoming and its busy  ski slopes. But she was not prepared to run into someone from her past, that she has caused pain in their life. As Rae discovers clues along the way about her sisters in law past, that make her wonder if she ever knew  her sister in law at all. Her search starts to lead her down some very dark  twists and turns that lead her head on into danger....

Standoff By Patricia Bradley In the newest book by Patricia Bradley, she takes us to the Natchez Trace and we meet the Park Rangers that serve that area. Brooke Danvers is getting ready to change positions and join her father as a Park Ranger. Before she can be sworn in her father is found dead and his death is ruled a suicide.  Determined to find out who killed her father, Brooke starts investigating on her own with the assistance of her childhood friend Luke Fereday. Luke has been working as an undercover park ranger, trying to infiltrate a drug origination to stop the flow of drugs into the area. When he gets a phone call from Brookes dad informing him of a drug drop. But he arrives on the scene to late to help his old friend, determined to figure out who killed Brooke's dad.  When Luke realizes that Brooke has now became the target of the person who killed her father, he has to do the r...

Woman of Sunlight by Mary Connealy It is always a delight to read another book by Mary Connealy, she writes stories that capture us and will not let us go . Her latest series Brides of Hope Mountain does not disappoint us. In the second installment to the series, we find Ilsa Nordegren getting stir crazy after a long recovery from an illness. The Warden family had blown into the sisters lives turning their quiet oasis into a uproar. But what the sisters never thought they would find was love. , Mitch returned home a rich man looking to reunite with his family, but he finds the family homestead abandoned. When he finally locates his family up in the mountains, to his surprise he finds they have found sanctuary with three sisters. The youngest sister black haired  Ilsa catches his eye and intrigues him.   When the danger follows Mitch up into the mountains, he has to face the truth that he needs to find whoever has a price on ...

Collateral Damage By Lynette Eason Oh my, Oh my...this one is truly a breath taker to read. I just finished reading book and I was not able to put it down because I wanted to know if they finally caught the bad guys. In the first installment  of the Danger Never Sleeps series; we meet Brooke Adams,  a military psychiatrist who is wounded in a café bombing. Several months later she is still facing down the fears that follow at times after having a traumatic incident. Having made a decision to join a practice with a fellow colleague, but when she walks into the office one day to find her friend dead on the floor, her life is turned upside down again.  As a  former Special Ops Sergeant First Class Asher James has faced down many things in his time in the military. But now he is struggling with the one thing that is most needed by the body, sleep. Realizing he needs to find someone who can help him to face down this nightmare. When he mak...

Protecting Tanner Hollow By Lynette Eason Lynette Eason brings four suspense filled novellas in one book. From a old flame returning home, a witness to a murder, a mother on the run to protect her children and a forensic supervisor with a target on her back. Each of these stories interconnect thru out the book, bringing it to the end with the last story.  You do not feel as if you are left wanting to know where the other couples have went in life, they each have a cameo in the next novella till the end. This is something I loved about this book, Lynette gives you glimpses into the lives of the couples. This book will keep you turning the pages till the end of the book. "I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the publisher. A favorable review was not required, all views expressed are my own." 

Lady of a Thousand Treasures by Sandra Byrd As a talented evaluator of antiquities, Eleanor Sheffield has been trained to know the difference between a fake and the real thing. But when her father passes away and her uncles health is not the best, she has to step up and save the family business. As an unmarried woman in this era Eleanor is not allowed to run Sheffield Brothers on her own.  When an unexpected opportunity falls in their lap with the death of a very wealthy client who has chosen Eleanor as the temporary trustee of the estate. She is given the responsibility to make a very big decision of what will happen to the collection. To make a choice of giving the collection to the museum or allow it to stay with the only living son of the Baron, Harry.   Eleanor starts questioning  Harry's motives, when her uncle is attacked and their home is broken into.  With the debt collectors threats and the income that...

Thief of Corinth by Tessa Afshar In the newest novel about the Biblical time period by Tessa Afshar that is based in the city of Corinth. We are introduced to a young woman Ariadne who chooses to run away,  when she finds out she is going to be forced to marry a very mean man.  She finds safety in the home of her estranged father in the bustling rich trade  city of Corinth. Longing for a close relationship with Galenos, she stumbles on a very dark secret that had destroyed her father's marriage. Galenos is a Greek of high birth but he is also the infamous thief who has been robbing from the corrupt of the city.  When her fathers life is in danger,  Ariadne chooses to risk everything she has longed for to become Galenos apprentice. Blessed with a very unusual talent of athletic ability, she uses this to continue her fathers exploits leading her deeper into dangerous territ...

Under a Cloudless Sky by Chris Fabry The present and the past meet in this book about a Southern Coal mining town fighting to survive in a time where the big companies rule. We meet several very interesting characters in this storyline. Two of them are  Hollis Beasley, a landowner who is fighting to keep the land that his family had owned for years. Also feisty Ruby Handley Freeman whose children think that she is need of some fresh direction her life. Two very different people both taking a stand for something in their lives, paths that have crossed in the past. The storyline goes back and forth from 1933 to 2004, telling a story from the childhood of dear 83 yr old Ruby.   A story that has been hidden for years and is now begging to be told to her loved ones. The truth that has been kept quiet of what happened the day of the Massacre of 1933. Hollis's granddaughter has a interest in writing a article for the memorial that is being set up for the victi...

Deep Extraction: An FBI Task Force Novel by Diann Mills  Deep Extraction brings another thrilling read that dives into the deep world of oil drilling. The story follows an FBI agent and US Marshall who are investigating the mysterious death of a businessman and friend. When an oil and gas magnate Nathan Moore is found dead by his wife, she becomes the main suspect in the murder case.  Special Agent Tori  Templeton is torn between choosing to stand by her dear friend Sally's side or focus totally on finding the person who has killed Sally's husband. Joining Tori and her partner is recently reinstated Deputy US Marshall Cole Jeffers, who has just come back from a time away.   As more clues are unearthed that reveal a secret lifestyle that was unknown by victim's family it gets to be more difficult for those investigating the case. The more the team sift thru the clues it seems they are finding that the case may be more of a maze of bad new...

Long Time Gone by Mary Connealy Mary Connealy has taken us on another wild adventure that has excitement from the first page to the end of the last page. We  have met the Boden family in the first book in the series "No Way up, where we found out that their was someone out to get rid of the family.  The second installment follows the second brother Justin, as he takes over the care of the ranch; while Cole is laid up from being shot. Justin is still trying to deal with the thoughts that someone is out there wanting to kill each of the members of the Boden family. As new facts come to light, he starts to realize that anyone close to the family could be in more danger than before. Choosing to protect, he try's to push away the one female that has caught his eye and literally fell into his life. Angie is not looking to get married again, she just wants to be stronger person than she was before she came to the west.  But it seems that God had other plans for these two ...

Grace and the Preacher by Kim Vogel Sawyer The newest book from Kim Vogel Sawyer was very much one of the most interesting ones I have read. She pulled a storyline together and was able to share the message of standing up for what was right in the face of wrong. I love that there were two romances in the storyline, an older couple and the younger couple.  Grace gave up on finding her true love and had settled in her position as the postmistress for the town of Fairland. But when her beloved uncle chooses to step down from the pulpit and let a younger preacher take over his congregation. When the responsibility of corresponding to the new preacher was handed over to Grace, she took it on like all of her other duties. As time passed the letters increased, Grace grew eager to meet the new preacher. Theophil made a choice and now his past is trying to catch up with him. Ten years ago his cousins planned a train robbery and convinced Theo to help them. B...

Shine like the Dawn by Carrie Turansky Carrie Turansky brings us a very beautiful story that is set in time of  Edwardian Northern  England, Margaret Lounsbury life was uprooted four years ago when tragedy struck in the form of a boating accident taking the lives of her parents and older sister. Her grandmother took in Margaret and her younger sister providing them with a roof over their head and food on the table. Their days are spent with Margaret working in her grandmothers Millinery Shop, while she helps to raise her younger sister. Even though she is willing to do anything to protect her sister, her heart still weighs heavy with the loss of her parents and sister.  When Nathaniel Harcourt receives news from his stepmother telling him of his father's illness. He returns  back home to Morningside Manor in time to say his last goodbyes to his father. Now he is the heir to the partial control of his father's engineering company and the duty of repaying ...

Today we will be having a very special person visiting the Blog!! We welcome Rachelle Dekker, the author of the Seers series. The Returning  by Rachelle Dekker When I heard that Rachelle Dekker was the daughter of Ted Dekker, it really peaked  my interest in reading her first book The Choosing. I truly do love getting to read new authors books, because I never know when I might find another fave.   After I read The Choosing I was hooked and could not wait to read the next book. Rachelle is very good at taking a story line and moving it along in years; without making you feel like you missed out on something. Also she takes the Christian faith and puts it into a very different way of thinking that even had me looking at my life differently. It made me take a step back and see how much we are like Elise. That we each as believers have a light inside of us that we need to let shine on all who is around us. Also being able to see our Lord Jesus Christ po...

Fraying at the Edge by Cindy Woodsmall With the second installment of The Amish of Summer Grove, we return to find the lives of Ariana Brenneman and Skylar Nash turned all upside down. Both girls have found out that they had been switched at birth and now are to spend a whole year living with their birth families. With only one link to there old lives, each of these girls have to take another look at the world around them. Each from very different worlds now having to take another look at their lives and decide what is the next step to take.   Cindy Woodsmall has brought us another very heartwarming series, that reaches out to each one of us and pulls us in. The story line is about two babies switched at birth, that both come from two very different backgrounds. It is not easy to be uprooted from all you ever known and be placed in a total opposite lifestyle. The way Cindy takes each of the families and intertwine each of their stories, while keeping us turning each ...

Take Your Life Back:  How to Stop Letting the Past and Other People Control You by Stephen Arterburn , M.Ed.  and David Stoop, Ph.D. Just as the title says is what this book truly about, making the choice to take your life back and to become the person you are to be in life. If you are looking for hope in your life of overcoming feelings and habits that have controlled you for a long time look no more. Overcoming the hurts and habits that are keeping us from moving forward, while taking new and very positive steps toward change in our lives.Getting healing from the hurts, setbacks and broken relationships that have effected every day of our lives. As I was reading this book, I myself had to take time and look at my past to see the issues that was holding me back from going further in my life. I found this book to be very helpful at working on the problems that I felt I was stuck on and could not find the freedom from. To anyone that needs or is looking for a way ...

Missing by Lisa Harris The second book in the Nikki Boyd series, Missing follows Missing Persons Special Task Force agent Nikki Boyd. Usually Nikki does not investigate homicide cases, but this homicide case also has a missing person connected to the deceased. When a desperate phone call and several clues lead the team to a very grisly discovery on a boat owned by one of Nikki's dear friend Tyler Grant.   Still recovering from the untimely loss of his wife and emerging into the role of a single parent; Tyler has depended on Nikki for the past year of his life as a widower. Their relationship has been complicated, being Nikki was Tyler's wife best friend and as time has passed they have grown closer to each other. As more evidence is uncovered the more it looks like Tyler and his family are in danger and the their only lead is still on the run.  Will Nikki be able to find the missing woman before the bad guys find her? A...

The Magnolia Duchess by Beth White     Beth White brings us the the third installment to the Gulf Coast Chronicles with the sequel to The Creole Princess. Returning to Mobile Point in the summer of 1814 we find the British preparing to invade the colonies. We are introduced to a new heroine Fiona Lanier who is the daughter of Simon and Daisy Lanier. Being the only girl in her family of boys, she has been able to do whatever she wanted in life. When one day on a ride along the beach she finds a British soldier that has been washed up on the sand. Upon recognizing the soldier as a young man she had met years before in England. Taking a big risk Fiona brings the young man back to her home and nurses him back to health. After losing his memory in a shipwreck, Charlie Kincaid woke up to see the face of an angel caring for his wounds.  During his time of healing, Charlie falls more in love with Fiona and gets to know her family as the time passes...

Flirtation Walk  by Siri Mitchell    As the daughter of a con man, Lucinda Pennyworth has spent most of her life in and out of  boarding schools when she was not with her father. When she receives a letter informing of the sudden death of her father, she turns to the only family she knows of her mother's sister. Arriving at her aunt's house, Lucinda is determined to put her old life behind her and start a new one with her newfound family. Upon meeting Seth Westcott a young West Point cadet, hope blooms in her heart that there is a chance of finding a life of her own with a husband.  Seth Westcott is in a bind his mother has suddenly passed away and his sister was has lost their inheritance to a swindler. Unable to leave West Point, he chooses to lose all the hard work and be demoted from his position to be able to catch the guy that swindled his sister. Forced with a choice of losing his position and the girl he loves; he cho...

Mermaid Moon(A Sunset Cove Novel) by Colleen Coble Mallory Davis has not been back home for fifteen years, after getting a phone call from her father has he is dying; she decides to return home to find out the truth. With the help of her high school sweetheart Kevin O'Conner a game warden in down east Maine; she embarks on a path of finding out who killed her father.  Willing to keep Mallory safe and out of harm while holding her at a arms length away form his heart. As Mallory starts receiving death threats against her and her beloved daughter, it draws Kevin to want to protect both of them more. Their search deepens and more clues are uncovered leading to more questions on the past. Can Mallory and Kevin find the healing for their hearts, while trying to keep out of danger? Colleen Coble has written another spine tingling book that you will not be able to put down till the last page. I can't wait to read her next book.