Life, Love and Books

A Heart Adrift By Laura Frantz A Heart Adrift is a story of a long lost love reunited in a time filled with the threat of war. We meet twenty-eight year old, Esmee Shaw who has devoted her life to making sweet treats that brings smiles to those who eat them. But her own heart is heavy as she longs to find a passion that fills her each day. To Esmee's surprise, one day her long lost love walks back into her life turning it upside down.  Captain Henri Lennox returns to port from a lengthy absence, with plans to complete the lighthouse that he and Esmee had dreamed of together as a couple. His return brings him back into Esmee's life and their romance is rekindled as the days go by. But the wounds of their past still hang over each of them as they navigate back toward other. The threat of war has the colonial government requesting Henri to lead a secret naval expedition against the French. With their future being plunged into the unknown, Henri and Esmee have to cling to the ho...

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 ...

An Uncommon Woman  by Laura Frantz I am a big fan of historical reads and this one from Laura Frantz did not disappoint me. Also I was even surprised to find some areas mentioned that seemed very familiar to me. So it was very interesting to find that the area was being written about is now part of Pennsylvania.  It takes place the mountains of western Virginia territory in 1770, we meet the heroine  Tessa Swan, who was raised with 5 brothers. So she has learned to be tough and face the challenges straight on. One day into her life walks Clay Tygart, the one man that can truly intrigue her like no other has. But he brings back into her life her long lost friend, Keturah. This adds a little confusion to their lives, the stigma of being an Indian captive can cause a lot of issues for her friend. But Tessa is willing to help her dear friend to acclimate back to living in her old life.  As a former Lenape Indian captive himself, Clay ...

An Amish Christmas Bakery by Amy Clipston, Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller and Kelly Irvin Sorry I am a little late on sharing this review, but I think we need a little Christmas Cheer at the beginning of this new year.  Cookies and Cheer by Amy Clipston Alyssa Byler has amazing ideas for the bakery store display window, for this Christmas season she comes up with the idea of a Sugar cookie Nativity scene. She reaches out to the local blacksmith's son, Kyle Smoker to make the much needed cookie cutters. When the display brings in more customers than the bakery can handle, Alyssa starts to put in more hours at work then she has time for. While Kyle is starting to feel overwhelmed by the amount of orders that are coming in for the cookie cutters. Will Kyle and Alyssa be able to put aside the craziness of the holiday rush to see what it is right in front of them? Will they be able to see the beauty of Christmas and the love it bring to us?...

Habits of the Heart 5 Daily Exercises for Living like Jesus Do you have a deep longing inside you to live a life that is fully and deeply engaged in your faith? Do you feel like you are lacking in your prayer life? Is your heart aching to be closer to the one who died on the cross for you? Real change can only happen when we make a choice to train our heart into the habit of practising godliness. The most important thing the bible says we can do is to train our spirit and this book gives guidance on how to do this. This little book is more than a devotional, it is a way of taking yourself to a deeper level in your walk with Jesus. Each week has a focused exercise that helps you to change your habits or thoughts about your life and walk with the Lord. If one of your New Years resolutions is to deepen your spiritual walk this is the book for you.  I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale Blogging and was under no obligation to...

  To Wager Her Heart By Tamera Alexander In her latest work, Tamera Alexander brings us back to the lovely Belle Meade Plantation. We meet a very strong hearted young woman, Alexander Jamison and a gentleman from the Colorado Territory Sylas Rutledge. Needing someone to help him make his way thru the tangles of the Nashville society, Sylas was willing to ask for help from a beautiful socialite. Dealing with the pressures of being forced to marry a man she does not love. Alexander makes a choice that her father disagrees with causing her to be disowned by her family. With no where to turn for help, she accepts the offer to tutor Sylas in the ways of society.    As Alexander pursues her passion of teaching others in the only place that will take a chance on a young woman teacher. She finds a place at Fisk University, the first freedman university in the United States. By using her connections in the Nashville Society, Alexander is able to help Sylas fi...