Archive | May, 2017

#BookReview: Trusting Grace by Maggie Brendan

22 May

Trusting Grace is a touching and tender tale! Well-crafted and wonderfully characterized, I found Grace and Robert, along with their families, to be most endearing. Overcoming their pasts, they share a heartwarming journey toward a promising future. It was a pleasure to step back in time and visit Montana’s Gallatin Valley; the setting is a lovely part of the story’s charm. While Trusting Grace concludes the Virtues and Vices of the Old West series, it can also easily be enjoyed as a stand-alone story.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

About the book:

All of her life, Grace Bidwell has longed for a loving husband and children, but now the chances of her dreams coming true are looking slim. Widowed and caring for her elderly father, she struggles to maintain her late husband’s ranch, until she places an ad for a hired hand.

Robert Frasier arrives in town with three pitiful, bedraggled children who have nothing but the tattered clothes on their backs and a load of hurt, pride, and anger. Believing this is divine intervention in her life, Grace welcomes them with open arms. As feelings grow between her and Robert, Grace will have to convince him that she is a woman who can be trusted with his heart.

Purchase a copy | Visit the author’s website

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#BookReview: The Chapel Car Bride by Judith Miller

20 May

The Chapel Car Bride is an engaging story! Offering a vivid glimpse into the past, I delighted in the details shared concerning chapel car ministry and coal mining. I love learning bits of history when I read! It was a pleasure to meet Hope Irvine and her father, endearing characters with hearts for service and helping others. With elements of drama, intrigue, and romance, I enjoyed this journey back in time and look forward to reading more from Judith Miller.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

About the book:

With her penchant for seeing the best in everyone, Hope Irvine sees a world full of good people in hard places. When her father accepts a position traveling in a chapel car as an on-the-rail missionary, she is determined to join him in his efforts and put her musical skills to good use by serving the mining families of West Virginia, saving their souls, and bettering their lives.

Luke Hughes shares Hope’s love of music and her love of God, but as a poor miner he knows he can offer her no future. Still, the notes she sings resonate in his heart. When she begins to travel with a young mine manager to neighboring counties, Luke can hardly suppress his jealousy. It isn’t until he begins to suspect these missions of mercy might be the mine manager’s cover for illegal purposes, though, that Luke feels justified in speaking up. But how can he discover the truth without hurting Hope or, worse, putting her in danger?

Purchase a copy | Visit the author’s website

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#BookReview: What Hope Remembers by Johnnie Alexander

18 May

It was such a pleasure to return to the community of Misty Willow! Having read the first two books in this series, I was eager to discover more about Amy Somers and delve deeper into her story. I enjoyed Amy’s rekindled relationship with Gabe Kendall and the navigation of their dramatic journey. I also enjoyed revisiting beloved characters from previous stories. Heartfelt and emotional, What Hope Remembers is a lovely addition to a charming series!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

About the book:

When Amy Somers loses her job as a lobbyist, she moves to Misty Willow, well aware that she’s crossing bridges she’d burned years before. With all the mistakes she’s made and the uncaring things she’s done–even to her own family–she can hardly believe that happiness will find her, especially when Gabe Kendall, her first crush and her first kiss, rides back into her life atop a buckskin mare.

A former Marine, Gabe is at loose ends after serving a prison sentence for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. He sees beyond Amy’s hard exterior to the girl he once knew and loved, and he longs to see her open her heart. Yet with his vision clouded by shame for his past and fears about the future, he finds it difficult to see the path ahead.

But the memory of that long-ago kiss just may have the power to reignite a romance that brings out the best in both of them.

Purchase a copy of What Hope Remembers.

Visit Johnnie Alexander’s website.

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#BookReview: True to You | $100 Cash Card + Prize Pack #Giveaway

16 May

A perfect balance of lighthearted humor and meaningful emotion, True to You is a most enjoyable read! I loved the characterization of the Bradford sisters and their unique family dynamic. Nora Bradford is a librarian and historian, and I found her bookish persona quite endearing. John Lawson, former Navy SEAL, is a chivalrous hero, and I delighted in the pairing of these polar opposites. Theirs is a clever and charming romance that leaves me eager to continue this exciting new series!

“She was bookish! She had no experience at holding eye contact with Navy SEALs. All the practice she’d put in with Mr. Darcy and Rochester and Adolphus didn’t seem to be holding her in good stead.”

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

Blog Tour Landing Page:
http://litfusegroup.com/author/bwade

Celebrate the launch of Becky Wade’s new series by entering to win a fabulous prize pack and $100 cash card!

One grand prize winner will receive:

  • A copy of True to You
  • A $100 Visa cash card
  • A prize pack hand-picked by Becky

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on May 30. The winner will be announced May 31 on the Litfuse blog.

 

About the book:

After a devastating heartbreak three years ago, genealogist and historical village owner Nora Bradford has decided that burying her nose in her work and her books is far safer than romance in the here and now.

Unlike Nora, former Navy SEAL and Medal of Honor recipient John Lawson is a modern-day man, usually 100 percent focused on the present. But when he’s diagnosed with an inherited condition, he’s forced to dig into the secrets of his past and his adoption as an infant, enlisting Nora to help him uncover the identity of his birth mother.
The more time they spend together, the more this pair of opposites suspects they just might be a perfect match. However, John’s already dating someone and Nora’s not sure she’s ready to trade her crushes on fictional heroes for the risks of a real relationship. Finding the answers they’re seeking will test the limits of their identity, their faith, and their devotion to one another.

Learn more and purchase a copy.

 

About the author:

Becky Wade is a California native who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and settled in Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market before putting her career on hold for several years to care for her three children. When God called her back to writing, Becky knew He meant for her to turn her attention to Christian fiction. She loves writing funny, modern, and inspirational contemporary romance! She’s the Carol Award, INSPY Award, and Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award winning author of My Stubborn Heart, the Porter Family series, and the Bradford Sisters Romance series.

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#BookReview: Looking Glass Lies by Varina Denman

8 May

Looking Glass Lies is a poignant and powerful novel! Richly layered, Denman tackles weighty, mature issues and does so with a deft hand. The emotional depth of the story is vast, and thoughts of the characters and their journeys continue to linger in my mind. This is a book that provokes both thought and discussion, making it a great book club selection. Heart-wrenching, yet hopeful, Looking Glass Lies is not soon to be forgotten!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

 

About the book:

For most of her adult life, Cecily Ross has compared herself to other women—and come up short. After a painful divorce from her emotionally abusive husband, Cecily returns to her hometown of Canyon, Texas, looking to heal.

But coming home isn’t what she expects. In a town as small as Canyon, her pain is difficult to escape—especially with her model-perfect ex–sister-in-law working at the town’s popular coffee-shop hangout. With help from her father, a support group, and an old friend who guides her to see her own strengths, Cecily may have a shot at overcoming her insecurities and learning to love again.

The true test comes when tragedy strikes, opening Cecily’s eyes to the harmfulness of her distorted views on beauty—and giving her the perfect opportunity to find peace at last.

About the author | Purchase links

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Friday Freebie

5 May

Kindle | Nook

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The winner is…

3 May

Thank you, Alexa, for sharing the Season of Joy giveaway!  

Thank you, dear readers, for visiting my blog!

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#BookReview: Love’s Winter Hope by Naomi Rawlings

2 May

I love every moment I spend in Eagle Harbor! I always marvel at the strength of Rawlings’ characters and their resilience in times of trial, and Jessalyn and Thomas’s story is no exception. Inspiration is beautifully woven through their journey, and my heart was stirred for this couple and the struggles they endured. Love’s Winter Hope is a tender tale of faith and forgiveness and one I highly recommend!

Love’s Winter Hope is Book 5 of the Eagle Harbor series and can be read independently of its predecessors. However, reading the series in order has allowed me to come to know and love this historical Michigan town and its residents, and I delight in the opportunity to return with each release. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book. No review was required, and all thoughts expressed are my own.

 

About the book:

When Jessalyn Dowrick’s husband left her and their three daughters to head west five years earlier, she had no choice but to pick up the pieces of her broken life and continue without him, eventually supporting herself as Eagle Harbor’s seamstress, and secretly hoping her husband would return. But days soon slipped into months, and months into years, all without word of Thomas or a cent of the money he’d promised to send.

While working day and night to build a new life that his wife would be proud of, Thomas wrote Jessalyn every week, asking her to come to South Dakota. But she never arrived. In fact, she never answered a single one of his letters. When he returns to Eagle Harbor in search of answers, he finds a woman who thought him dead . . . and soon regrets he didn’t come after her earlier.

As winter closes in and storms trap Thomas in town until the harbor opens in the spring, will he be able to convince his wife he’s worth a second chance?

Learn more about Love’s Winter Hope and purchase a copy.

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