Life, Love and Books

Out of the Embers by Amanda Cabot The Mesquite Springs Series is a delight to read and Amanda Cabot spins a storyline that keeps us turning the pages. Evelyn Radcliffe has lost her home for the second time in 10 years, Her worst fears are confirmed that the watcher has found her, when the orphanage she was living in is burned to the ground. The only thing she knew to do was to keep moving to protect herself and her little charge. When they are found by horse rancher Wyatt Clark, it seems they have found refuge from the demons that was chasing them. Wyatt Clark has plans to set money aside for his sister and his mother to live on, while he goes out to explore the world around him. But he did not have any plans on falling in love and running for the mayor of Mesquite Springs. When Evelyn chooses to settle down and open restaurant like her parents owned, she did not expect it to take off like it does.  Even though she has felt like she has found a safe haven, da...

The Runaway Bride By Jody Hedlund In the second installment to The Bride Ship series, we return to the colony of British Columbia. With the shortage of women to men, the bride ships brought over eligible women that would marry the men in the colony. We meet wealthy Arabella Lawrence, who has ran away on her wedding day from the man she does not love. Her hope is she will find a  gentleman in her social circles, who will provide for her and love her. But she does not want to rush into a marriage and make the same mistakes she did before. As the town baker, Peter Kelly has put his all into building his business, now he has his eyes set on finding a bride from the newly arrived bride ship. When he meets Arabella for the first time, he is taken by her inner beauty. Peter than resolves to pursue Arabella and woo her, but his pursuit for her is thwarted by the savvy Lieutenant Richard Drummond. When the Navy Lieutenant Richard Drummond starts sh...

  Yes Sisters by Angelia White Friendships are amazing, the people we surround ourselves with can build us and at times they can pull us down. That one time that someone says something negative or we hear the word no, can send us deep into a dark place in our lives. Maybe someone has crushed a dream that you have had since you was a little girl. Or maybe it was a dream to start your own business and someone told you that you would not be good at that. For me it was teacher who said to me that I was not going to be able to pursue a dream in the medical field if I was not able to understand Math. But I had several women who was placed in my life in very strategic times that pushed me to pursue my dreams. Angelia helps us to see how building friendships with women who become our YES Sisters can help us to pursue our dreams. She shares personal stories that give us hope to keep moving forward. Also she shows we can overcome the negativity that has been thrown...

Two Steps Forward By Suzanne Woods Fisher In the third installment of the Deacons family, we return to Stoney Ridge to meet prodigal son Jimmy Fisher. His return stirs up an old family feud for his family, but Jimmy has no longing to be part of this. When Jimmy  is offered a job by his mothers rival, the pretty violet eyed Sylvie; he jumps at the chance to train her Arabian horse. Sylvie Schrock King has a dream to build Rising Star farm into a breeding farm for buggy horse for the Amish around her. When she finds out that the grown son of her next door neighbor is a expert at working with horses, it seems that she has hope on the horizon. As Jimmy's lazy smile and teasing ways work their way into Sylvie's heart, but is she being wooed so he can have the land that his mother has been claiming belongs to her family. Will Sylvie and Jimmy find the hope that come from above and the love that is growing between them? Suzanne Woods Fisher has done...

Breach of Trust by Rachael Dylan In the third installment of the Atlanta Justice, we follow Corporate litigator Mia Shaw as she faces danger down. When she finds a fellow colleague and dear friend murdered in his apartment, she vows to do whatever she can to make the killer pay. The only thing is the suspect is a friend of the tech guru Noah Ramierez. To Noah all the evidence is not adding up for him, now it is up to him to convince Mia that his friend is innocent.  Mia is given the task of taking over her  friends case, she uncovers some deep dark hidden secrets. She realizes she may have stumbled upon some corporate espionage, but she does not realize how much danger she is in. Her only ally is Noah, his gut says that Mia is in more danger than she realizes. Now he has to get her to be willing to allow him to protect her from the danger that is coming. Rachael Dylan writes a thrilling legal storyline, it will keep you on your toes till t...

A Rebel Heart(Daughtry House series) Beth White In the new series by Beth White, we are introduced to the time period after the Civil War. A time when our country was still healing from the devastation that had been left behind.  She introduces the Daughtry sisters; three young women raised in the deep south that is trying to salvage what is left of their beloved home. The eldest sister Selah meets Levi, a northerner; who offers her a solution to their money struggle. Selah's family has been hurt by the Yankees, so she has to keep her guard up around this one. But she never thought she would ever fall in love with one.  This is the third book I have read that was written by Beth White and each time she has written a story that draws the reader in to it. This is what I love about her books, they touch the readers and we learn about the time period of struggles and healing.   I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Revell. ...

Whisper by Mark Batterson  Have you ever longed to hear the voice of God in your life? In the days of the Bible times, it was something that was part of the lives of the Israelite.  The best-selling author of the book, Circle Maker introduces us to discovering the 7 languages of God. The voice that spoke the world around us into existence and breathed life into each human being is the same voice that spoke to Joseph in the prison and closed the mouths if the lions for Daniel in the lions den. That voice is the voice of God, who longs to speak love and hope into all of our lives. His voice comes as a whisper, not to make it difficult for us to hear him, but to draw us closer to him. If you are like many people it is hard to believe that God still speaks in our lives. Mark Batterson truly believes that God does speak to us!! Diving into this book we can open a door to decipher the Seven Languages of God; Scripture, Desires, Doors, Dreams, People, Pr...

He Calls You Beautiful  "Hearing the Voice of Jesus in the Song Of Songs" by Dee Brestin "I am my beloved's and my beloved is mine" a Quote from Song of Solomon. This Quote comes from one of the most misunderstood books of the bible. It seems it gets overlooked by so many in the church. Dee Brestin takes the time to break this book down to help us understand it. God wrote us a love song that shows us how much love He has for us as His children.  I love that she takes the chapter and breaks it down to where we can understand it. It does not matter if we are single, married or widowed, we are all alike in God's eyes. One of His Beloved!!!   This book can be used as an in depth bible study in a group setting or alone. I would recommend this book for all women to read.  I received a complimentary copy of this book from Blogging For Books and was under no obligation to post a review, positive or negative.*

Freedom's Ring by Heidi Chiavaroli This book was one of the best books that I have ever read, it grabbed my attention from the first page. It is written in two very different time periods that at the same time connect thru the struggles that face each of the female characters. We meet Annie David in 2015 and Liberty Caldwell in 1770, both living in Boston in two different time periods.  Still dealing with the aftermath of the Boston Masscare, Anne is struggling to find healing in her life. The guilt that weighs her down, over the injuries that her niece has suffered with from the bombing. When she learns the identity of the person who rescued her during the bombing, her life is turned upside down. She starts searching for the history of the original owner of the ring that has been in her possession since her accident. When Liberty is rescued by a very unlikely rescuer, her life takes a different turn. Under the protection of a British Lieutenant, she finds herself...

The One True Love of Alice Ann  by Eva Marie Everson This is the first book I have read by Eva Marie Everson, the thing that drew me to the book was the story line based during WWII. When I picked up the book and started to read it, I was drawn in to the story about a young girl during a time that was in a upheaval. I went thru a time period where like Alice Ann, I had a crush on a guy who had no interest in me. As the story progresses Alice Ann corresponds with her elder brothers friend Mack, that has been shipped overseas to fight the war. Letter writing was one of the ways to share news from home to the guys on the war front during that time period. Which compared to now days we have email, social media, cell phones, where we can just share news at the drop of a hat. The boys on the war front loved getting mail and packages from back home. In this story the letters that passed between Alice Ann and these two young men shared so much news of life on the front and at home...

An Amish Home: Four Novella's Beth Wiseman, Amy Clipston, Ruth Reid and Kathleen Fuller Four very amazing authors come together to create An Amish Home: Four Novellas. Each of these stories is very heartfelt and draw the reader into the book.  In A Cup Half Full, we meet a dear wife who longs for a child. Before they can have a family, Sarah was in an accident that causes her to lose the use of her legs. As her husband works to transform their home to adapt to the changes in their lives. Sarah to goes thru a transformation of her own in her spirit.  Home Sweet Home finds Chace and Mia O'Conner homeless and desperate to find a place to stay. When they are offered a place to stay and a job for Chace to bring in an income. Finding themselves living in a very rustic cabin with no modern conveniences, it wears on both of them. Instead of turning toward each other for the hope they end up at each other's throats blaming the other person.  With the hel...

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 ...

Another Day, Another Dali Sandra Orchard In the second Serena Jones mystery, Serena continues her pursuit on finding the truth out about the murder of her grandfather. When her grandmother asks her help with a friends missing painting, Serena finds herself mixed up into two investigations. The deeper she gets in the investigations the more danger she faces. Sandra Orchard takes art and mixes it up with a mystery. As a mystery lover I fell in love with this series from the first page to the last page of this book. I can't wait to see what Serena is going to get into next and which guy will she chose the super or the FBI guy.  

Home on the Range by Ruth Logan Herne The second book in the Double S Ranch series brings us back to Gray's Glen, Washington. We find the town still trying to rebuild after the disaster that has struck them. At the same time the Stafford brother Nick, has put his whole focus on working his family ranch and is now struggling to raise his daughters on his own. Ruth has done it again and written a story that pulls you in to the book. The little girls struggling with the issue of not having a mother in the picture, then all of sudden she reappears in their life. This story deals with a issue that is not touched very often in fiction. The struggle of a doting father trying to make the right decisions for his daughters without causing them more pain in the long run. Also the pain of having a parent that leaves and then chooses to reinsert themselves in their child lives for alternative reasons. I loved the way she created her characters to each have their own uniqueness a...

                                                      A Book Review of:                                   Sea Rose Lane                                             by Irene Hannon After suffering from a devastating layoff, attorney Eric Nash heads back to the one place that where things have not changed. Only to find out that his childhood home  is being transformed into a bed and breakfast.  Where he thought he would find peace and quiet to contemplate his next move in his career; instead he finds noise, chaos and distractions in the form a prickly blonde architect named BJ Stevens.  BJ is not looking...

Every Bride has Her Day Today is a special day for me, it is my wedding anniversary. On this day a very rainy afternoon my hubby and I stood in front of our beloved family and friends to say I do. The months that led up to that day, was a struggle for both of us. We had so many telling us how we should plan our special day, where we should have it at and what to wear for the day. When it came down to it, we planned a wedding that was us; as a couple. A Old Fashioned Campmeeting Wedding theme, that took place at a special place for my family.  Here is a few pics from my very special day!! Calming the brides nerves!! We chose a location that we both loved, a campmeeting grounds near where my parents grew up at and my grandmother took all of the grandkids too. It made it even more special that my dad was able to be there and walk me down the aisle. We chose a simple setting with not much decorations, but a look that played up our love of Count...

Change of Heart by Courtney Walsh Evelyn Brandt's life has been carefully constructed for her from the time she married her husband. One day her life is thrown into chaos when the FBI crashes her society lunch with the news of her husband being arrested for an embezzlement. She soon realizes that everything she thought he was, was truly the opposite of the man she thought she fell in love with. Choosing to walk away from the facade of a life, Evelyn withdraws from everyone and everything around her. The Valentine Volunteers  are not willing to allow one of their own to wither away and become a loner. Teaming up they make big plans to use Evelyn's long forgotten talent to re renovate the iconic lamppost hearts. By doing so Evelyn will be forced to work closely with her Ex-husband's best friend Trevor Whitney. Although Trevor has came to her rescue and offered her a place of refuge; his uneasiness to be a...