Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Landmark (Painter Place Saga #4) by Pamela Poole






After graduating college and arriving home to Painter Place in the summer of 1960, a young bachelor named Wyeth Painter dreams of living a quiet life. But his father sends him to London to teach an art class where he meets and falls for model Chrissy Carnet, an American from D.C. By the time he discovers the stunning young lady's father is a fearsome international spy who brought them together, Wyeth's heart is in chaos.

But Chrissy is determined to follow him and daydreams of creating a home on his island. With the Island Summer Dance looming ahead, Wyeth tries to protect Painter Place from any danger her presence might bring. Will Wyeth force himself to get over her, or can both their dreams intertwine and come true?


Amazon


About The Author






Pamela Poole is an artist and author currently living in Raleigh, NC with her husband Mark, but they dream of moving back to the coast someday. Pamela's love of living in the South is lavished into her creative subject matter. She believes that art and stories are only worthwhile when they are filled with beauty and hope that survive in spite of all life’s challenges.

Pamela is a member of various author and artist organizations. Her FREE painting demos can be found on her YouTube channel, and FREE coloring pages can be downloaded from her websites. Stay up to date with Pamela Poole Fine Art and Southern Sky Publishing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and Pamela Poole Art on YouTube.


Website


My Review

I struggled with this book, and it does highlight the values I hold dear, but it is the first book in this series that I have read, and I felt lost most of the time.
There is romance here, good clean romance, with the values of a deep Christian Faith, and I agreed with all that was offered, and I really loved the compassion given to those who have sinned.
I did love how these characters kept to their Christian values throughout their lives, and they were tested and tempted everywhere!
I love the description of this beautiful island that they lived on in South Carolina, and that it was settled by the Painter Family, and the home, which made me want the room with the veranda with the ocean view.
A sweet romance, a bit of mystery and an epilogue!

I received this book through Celebrate Lit and was not required to give a positive review.

Celebrate Lit Presents: Landmark by Pamela Poole

Landmark FB Cover

About the Book

Book: Landmark
Author: Pamela Poole
Genre: Inspired Southern Fiction
Release Date: July 2019

A daydream. A dance. A dangerous rendezvous.

After graduating college and arriving home to Painter Place in the summer of 1960, a young bachelor named Wyeth Painter dreams of living a quiet life. But his father sends him to London to teach an art class where he meets and falls for model Chrissy Carnet, an American from D.C. By the time he discovers the stunning young lady’s father is a fearsome international spy who brought them together, Wyeth’s heart is in chaos.
But Chrissy is determined to follow him and daydreams of creating a home on his island. With the Island Summer Dance looming ahead, Wyeth tries to protect Painter Place from any danger her presence might bring. Will Wyeth force himself to get over her, or can both their dreams intertwine and come true?

Click here to purchase your copy.

About the Author

Pamela Poole’s Sunflower Hat
Inspiring Southern Ambiance

Pamela Poole’s love for the South inspires all her books and paintings. The setting for her novels and short stories in the Painter Place Saga is a fictional island between Charleston, SC and Myrtle Beach. Pamela lives life loving Jesus and her family as a wife, mother, and GiGi, and she is blessed with true friends. She and her husband Mark currently live in Raleigh, North Carolina, but she considers the Lowcounty of South Carolina “home.” Pamela is a member of various author and artist organizations.
“Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20,21

More from Pamela

Hi, I’m Pamela Poole, and I live an amazing life as an artist and author! What makes my life amazing isn’t the things I get to do. It’s the scope of experiences, from devasating to incredibly wonderful, that are used by Christ to weave my story and make it one worth telling and living.
Have you ever noticed that people entertain themselves at the expense of the sufferring of others? What about the book you’re currently reading? Would you be interested in the story if the author didn’t drag the characters through excruciating ordeals so they could grow into a better person? We tend to pray for protection from trouble for ourselves and loved ones, then we relish reading or watching others as they cope with it. Their stories are the ones we find amazing. What irony!
In my latest novel, Landmark, I take readers back to the year 1960 to journey with the Painter and Gregoy families as they navigate through trouble on the verge of a tumultuous new decade. Their efforts to do the right things as they walk with Christ will not eliminate the valuable struggle ahead of them. Like other novels in the saga, Landmark is a nostalgic, entertaining, and wholesome story, yet it is packed with meaningful insights that encourage us as we set up our own landmarks to mark the times when Jesus was faithful through our struggles.
Landmark is the first book in the saga chronologically.

Blog Stops

Moments With Mercy, September 17
My Devotional Thoughts, September 19 (Author Interview)
Pause for Tales, September 21
Texas Book-aholic, September 23
janicesbookreviews, September 24
Maureen’s Musings , September 25
Blossoms and Blessings, September 26 (Author Interview)
A Reader’s Brain, September 27
Artistic Nobody, September 28 (Spotlight)
Inklings and notions, September 29
Godly Book Reviews, September 30

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Pamela is giving away a grand prize package containing a Kindle, unique coastal kitchen towel, and an original 4×4 mini painting, “Atlantic Tides” (painted by the author)!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

New Beginnings at Promise Lodge (Promise Lodge #4) by Charlotte Hubbard






Spring blossoms with new life and new beginnings for the flourishing Amish community of Promise Lodge. And as a just-opened bakery sweetens the air with fresh-baked goodness, residents will find that change can be a most joyous test . . .

Recently widowed after twenty years of marriage, Frances Lehman is only just tasting the freedom and opportunity that her Promise Lodge friends enjoy. So she's not about to be pressured into marriage by her widowed brother-in-law, even if she and her daughter have no real means of support. Much more promising is her new friendship with Preacher Marlin Kurtz, though their respective families don't see their relationship as proper . . .

When Frances suffers a serious injury, she's determined to prove she can recover--and remain
independent--without burdening Marlin. Now, with his steadfast belief in real love tested, Marlin's hope is that Promise Lodge's irrepressible residents can help him restore Frances's joy--and that faith will show them a way to turn their fragile second chance into a blessed and abiding future together


Amazon


About The Author






Drawing upon her experiences in Jamesport, the largest Old Order Amish community west of the Mississippi, longtime Missourian Charlotte Hubbard (a.k.a. Naomi King) writes of simpler times and a faith-based lifestyle in her new Seasons of the Heart series. Like her heroine, Miriam Lantz, Charlotte considers it her personal mission to feed people—to share hearth and home. Faith and family, farming and food preservation are hallmarks of her lifestyle, and the foundation of her earlier Angels of Mercy series. She’s a deacon, a dedicated church musician and choir member, and when she’s not writing, she loves to try new recipes, crochet, and sew. Charlotte now lives in Minnesota with her husband and their border collie. 

Website


My Review





Oh, how I loved being back at Promise Lodge, would love to live here and be a part of their community.
We pick up where we left off in the last book [and I see there is another to follow this one, and I’m not patiently waiting], and Frances is now trying to move on after the loss of her husband. Our Grace is still fumbling, and I keep hoping there will be someone for her, but keep reading, there may be light at the end of the tunnel.
A book full of emotions, lots of love, smiles, tears and some heart ache, and a read I could not put down until the end, and then I wanted more.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review.

An Amish Second Christmas by Shelley Shepard Gray, Patricia Johns , Virginia Wise






For the Amish, the day after Christmas is for family, feasting, and exchanging simple gifts. And for three different couples, it will bring another precious chance for love . . .

THEIR SECOND CHANCE
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Shelley Shepard Gray
Amish nanny Hannah Eicher never thought she'd ever see Rob Prince again. There was no way a relationship between her and the handsome English fireman could overcome her family's objections--and their personal differences. But when he saves her from a sudden blaze, Hannah longs to see if they can turn holiday hope into a lifetime of happiness . . .

HIS AMISH ANGEL * Patricia Johns
She's too outspoken to be a proper Amish wife. So as advice columnist "Miss Amish," Maggie Lapp helps Amish and English with their romantic problems. But when her tradition-minded former fianc� accidentally reveals her secret, Maggie will need more than a miracle to make things right--and find a perfect love for all the Christmases to come . . .

AN HEIRLOOM CHRISTMAS * Virginia Wise
Rachel Miller won't let her disability keep her from selling heirloom plants and proving she can be independent. She certainly doesn't need reckless Joseph Webber working at her greenhouse to pay off a disastrous Rumspringa stunt. But she and Joseph have more in common than they think--and their surprising holiday partnership might just blossom into forever joy


Amazon


About The Authors


Shelley Shepard Gray









Shelley Shepard Gray has published over seventy novels. She currently writes Amish romances for Harper Collins, Kensington, and Simon & Schuster and contemporary women’s fiction for Blackstone Publishing.

Her novels have been Holt Medallion winners and Inspirational Readers Choice and Carol finalists. Shelley’s novels have appeared on both the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.

Her novels have been highlighted in the Philadelphia Enquirer, Washington Post, Time Magazine, and USA Today. She has also been interviewed on NPR as well as numerous regional radio stations.
Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s degree in English literature and elementary education and later obtained her master’s degree in educational administration. She currently lives in Colorado Springs and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two young adults, and always has a dachshund by her side. She is an active member of her church, on Facebook and on Twitter. She also has a website, www.shelleyshepardgray.com



Patricia John







Patricia Johns has her Honors BA in English Literature from University of Toronto. She writes from Alberta, Canada, where she lives with her husband and son.  

website  



Virginia Wise



After Virginia’s oldest son left for college and her youngest son began high school, she finally had time to pursue her dream of writing novels. Virginia dusted off the keyboard she once used as a magazine editor and journalist, to create a world that combines her love of romance, history, and Plain living.

Her Amish New World series takes readers on a journey into the 18th century Pennsylvania wilderness and the pioneering days of the first American Amish. Each carefully researched novel brings a bygone era to life and connects readers to this forgotten time by weaving familiar Amish romances into an historic frontier setting.
Virginia’s Wise's favorite pastimes include wandering Lancaster County’s Amish country and exploring living history museums that inspire her stories and help her connect readers with a forgotten past. When she’s not writing, Virginia enjoys painting and taking long walks in the woods.


My Review





Three novellas by three different authors, and each is as great as the next in telling their stories.
A romance in each, but also concerned parents that tend to hover, but are the same as most in the care and loving of their children. All of the stories are different, but all take place in and around Amish communities and each quickly becomes a page turner, we need to know the outcome!
Your invited along to enjoy the stories of these three different couples, and you don’t want to miss the chance to follow their lives and know the endings!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kennsington, and was not required to give a positive review.



A Christmas Haven: An Amish Christmas Romance by Cindy Woodsmall, Erin Woodsmall






For fans of holiday romances and Amish life comes a new Christmas tale of surprising expectations and discovering miracles.

Old Order Amish Ivy Zook is wrestling with her need to shed her community's ways so she can grow the business of her dreams: planning parties. As long as she's stuck living without modernization, she can barely get her business on its feet. But if she leaves too soon, she'd cause trouble for her sister, Holly, who is planning her wedding to Joshua Smucker. All of their plans become twice as complicated when an old car crashes into the storefront of Greene's Pharmacy, carrying a Swartzentruber (ultra-conservative sect) Amish man, Arlan, and his very ill sister.

The Zooks take in Arlan and Madga, tending to the woman's illness and Arlan begins helping around the family farm. Ivy and Arlan are on different tracks, one wanting to leave her community and the other to return to his. But both young people are trying to discover what God has in store for their futures and what miracles might lie around the corner this Christmas season.

Amazon


About The Authors






Her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, seeds were sown years ago that began preparing Cindy to write these books. At the age of ten, while living in the dairy country of Maryland, she became best friends with Luann, a Plain Mennonite girl. Luann, like all the females in her family, wore the prayer Kapp and cape dresses. Her parents didn’t allow television or radios, and many other modern conveniences were frowned upon. During the numerous times Luann came to Cindy’s house to spend the night, her rules came with her and the two were careful to obey them—afraid that if they didn’t, the adults would end their friendship. Although the rules were much easier to keep when they spent the night at Luann’s because her family didn’t own any of the forbidden items, both sets of parents were uncomfortable with the relationship and a small infraction of any kind would have been enough reason for the parents to end the relationship. While navigating around the adults’ disapproval and the obstacles in each other’s lifestyle, the two girls bonded in true friendship that lasted into their teen years, until Cindy’s family moved to another region of the US.

As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children. Over the years Cindy has continued to make wonderful friendships with those inside the Amish and Mennonite communities—from the most conservative ones to the most liberal.

Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest.






ERIN WOODSMALL is a writer, musician, wife, and mom of three. She has edited, brainstormed, and researched books with Cindy for almost a decade.


My Review




I enjoyed this second book in this series, and love being updated in the lives of the previous characters, and now moving on with some of the other folks me met in Christmas Remedy, and note that they can stand alone, but love having read both.
We meet a young man willing to sacrifice all he has for the love and care of his sister, and an Amish woman who feels the grass is greener on the other side of the fence.
The author treats us to some information about different groups of the Amish religion, and with this story we see some of what it is like to be a member of the strictest sect, Swartzentruber.
Most of all I so enjoyed the epilogue, we get to know the future after the books conclusion.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Waterbrook, and was not required to give a positive review.

Monday, September 23, 2019

One More River to Cross by Jane Kirkpatrick






In 1844, two years before the Donner Party, the Stevens-Murphy company left Missouri to be the first wagons into California through the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Mostly Irish Catholics, the party sought religious freedom and education in the mission-dominated land and enjoyed a safe journey--until October, when a heavy snowstorm forced difficult decisions. The first of many for young Mary Sullivan, newlywed Sarah Montgomery, the widow Ellen Murphy, and her pregnant sister-in-law Maolisa.

When the party separates in three directions, each risks losing those they loved and faces the prospect of learning that adversity can destroy or redefine. Two women and four men go overland around Lake Tahoe, three men stay to guard the heaviest wagons--and the rest of the party, including eight women and seventeen children, huddle in a makeshift cabin at the headwaters of the Yuba River waiting for rescue . . . or their deaths.

Award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick plunges you deep into a landscape of challenge where fear and courage go hand in hand for a story of friendship, family, and hope that will remind you of what truly matters in times of trial.


Amazon


About The Author






Jane is internationally recognized for her lively presentations and well-researched stories that encourage and inspire.
A New York Times Bestselling author, her works have appeared in more than 50 national publications including The Oregonian, Private Pilot and Daily Guideposts. With more than 1.5 million books in print, her 30 novels and non-fiction titles draw readers from all ages and genders. Most are historical novels based on the lives of actual historical women often about ordinary women who lived extraordinary lives. Her works have won numerous national awards including the WILLA Literary Award, the Carol Award, USABestBooks.com, Will Roger's Medallion Award and in 1996, her first novel, A Sweetness to the Soul, won the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage and National Cowboy Museum. Her novels have also been finalists for the Spur Award, the Oregon Book Award, the Christy, Reader's Choice and the WILLA in both fiction and non-fiction. Several titles have been Literary Guild and Book of the Month choices and been on the bestsellers list for independent bookstores across the country, in the Pacific Northwest and the Christian Booksellers Association. Her books have been translated into German, Dutch, Finnish and Chinese.


Website


My Review




All the while I’m reading this story, I had the feeling that I would never be warm again, or not starving.
The author made this story so real, and then I read her notes at the end of the book, and found out that this is based on real people. Along that note, I loved all the updates on these folks that we sure cared about.
As you are reading this you kept wondering how they ended up in these circumstances, and then you remember what happened to the famous party that came after them, and I had to wonder how many if any of them would be left at the end of the book.
An eye opener of courage and perseverance.
I received this book through the Revell Readers Program, and was not required to give a positive review

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Christmas in Winter Hill by Melody Carlson






Krista Galloway is not a fan of Christmas. After her rough childhood in multiple foster homes, the holiday season just brings too many bad memories to the surface. But when she accepts a job as a city manager in the mountain town of Winter Hill, Washington, Christmas is part of the deal. The small town is famous for its Christmasville celebration, something that the city manager . . . well, manages.

As she tries to make her tiny new apartment feel like home for her and her eight-year-old daughter, Emily, Krista begins to wonder if this move was a mistake. She doesn't always feel welcomed in the close-knit town, and Emily continually wonders, "Where's the snow?" Can a friendly stranger and his family help restore Krista's Christmas spirit before the big day?

Bestselling author Melody Carlson invites you to spend this holiday season in a town you'll never forget--and never want to leave.


Amazon















Wednesday, September 18, 2019

You Belong with Me (Restoring Heritage #1) by Tari Faris


Realtor Hannah Thornton has many talents. Unfortunately, selling houses in the town where her family name is practically poison isn't one of them. When a business tycoon determines to raze historic homes in the small town of Heritage, Michigan, and replace them with a strip mall, Hannah resolves to stop him. She sets about helping Heritage win a restoration grant that will put the town back on the map--and hopefully finally repay the financial debt Hannah's mother caused the town. But at first no one supports her efforts--not even her best friend, Luke.

Luke Johnson may have grown up in Heritage, but as a foster kid he never truly felt as if he belonged. Now he has a chance to score a job as assistant fire chief and earn his place in the town. But when the interview process and Hannah's restoration project start unearthing things from his past, Luke must decide if belonging is worth the pain of being honest about who he is--and who he was.

Amazon


About The Author







I have been writing fiction for more than twelve years. It has been an exciting journey for this math-loving-dyslexic girl. I had read less than a handful of novels by the time I graduated from college and I thought I would end up in the field of science or math. But God had other plans and I wouldn't trade this journey for anything. As someone told me once, God's plans may not be easy, and they may not always make sense but they are never boring.


In addition to my writing, I also work for My Book Therapy as a special project project manager and blog coordinator for LearnHowToWriteAnNovel.com and you can find me blogging over there on occasion.

​When I am not writing or working, I spend time with my amazing husband. We have been married for fifteen wonderful years and have three sweet children. In my free time, I love coffee, rock hounding with my husband and kids, and distracting myself from housework.


**If you are looking to read P.S. Goodbye it is currently only available to my newsletter subscribers. To get a copy, just go to www.tarifaris.com and sign up**


My Review


 I live in a small town and this book resonated with me, but we delve deeper and into the lives of the inhabitants here, and all is not how it seems.
I loved the compassion these people showed, even if there were a few naysayers, but we are all caught up on what we think others are thinking, and the author has given us several characters that we get to know and they are having trouble traveling in their lives, because they are going in a direction the opposite of what they should.
I did love that this is a faith centered book, and watch as some of the individuals we are following struggle to do their own will, just like real life.
There is some sweet clean romance here, and love of family, also trying to find a family, and there is another book to come!
I received this book through the Revell Readers Program, and was not required to give a positive review 

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

The Amish Christmas Matchmaker (Indiana Amish Brides #4) by Vannetta Chapman





She’ll find him a wife for Christmas…Which of these Indiana Amish Brides is next?

With her wedding business thriving, Annie Kauffmann could never leave her beloved Amish community. So when handsome Amish cowboy Levi Lapp tries to convince her father to move the family to Texas, she must put a stop to it. If Annie finds Levi a wife, he might forget his dream of moving…but can she keep from falling for him herself?


Amazon


About The Author





xVannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She is the author of over twenty novels, including the Pebble Creek Amish series, Shipshewana Amish Mystery Series, and Plain and Simple Miracle series. Vannetta is a Carol award winner, a Christy finalist, and she also received more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She currently writes Christian suspense, Amish romance, and Amish mystery. She was a teacher for 15 years and resides in the Texas hill country. For more information, visit her at www.VannettaChapman.com


My Review


This is a different twist on an Amish story, and yes, I enjoyed it. That being said I knew the ending early on, but it was an interesting journey getting there, and a few surprises.
When the person you love is almost taken from you, sometimes you wake up and realize what is really important!
I did love the epilogue at the end of the book, it really makes me want to carry on in the lives of these characters.

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Harlequin, and was not required to give a positive review.



Monday, September 16, 2019

The Gryphon Heist (Talia Inger #1) by James R. Hannibal






Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe--a department only known as "Other." When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology, she figures she'll be back in DC within a few days. But that's before she knows where the designs are stored--and who's after them. With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where only criminal minds and unlikely strategies will keep the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault, hovering in the mesosphere.

Even Tyler is more than he seems, and Talia begins to wonder: Is he helping her? Or using her access to CIA resources to pull off an epic heist for his own dark purposes?

In this Ocean's Eleven-meets-Mission Impossible thriller, former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James R. Hannibal offers you a nonstop thrill ride through the most daring heist ever conceived.


Amazon 

About The Author




James R. Hannibal is the author of the award-winning Section 13 Mystery/fantasy series from Simon and Schuster Young Readers and the Thriller Award nominated Nick Baron series from Berkley Books. As a former stealth bomber pilot and drone pilot James is no stranger to action or secrets. He has been shot at, locked up by a surface to air missile system, and aided the capture of High Value Targets.  

Website


My Review





The author has given us a book that reads like you’re watching a movie, and I found myself ducking as the bullets were flying.
We meet evil head on, but soon wonder whom to trust? Conflicting feelings of grief, revenge, or forgiveness!
As you quickly page turn to find the answers here, you quickly realize what these amazing people are trying to do, and what the possible outcomes can be.
As we immerse ourselves in the lives of these characters, and surprises abound here, I am happy to see that there is another book in this series coming.
You don’t want to miss this one!
I received this book through the Revell Reads Program, and was not required to give a positive review.

Thursday, September 12, 2019

Celebrate Lit Presents: Samson & Amish Delilah

samson and Amish Delilah FB Banner

About this Book

Book: Samson & Amish Delilah
Author: Thomas Nye
Genre: Christian Amish Fiction
Release Date: August 19, 2019
Samson and Amish Delilah
Everyone in America has fallen in love with Delilah, leading lady in a bestselling Amish novel. When media giants discover that Delilah is a real person, the pursuit is on. Dave joins the search not realizing that by finding her, he would fall into the story and become Samson.

Click here to get your copy!



About the Author

Thomas
Thomas Nye writes novels about horses and Amish life, with a touch of romance, and a foundation of faith in Christ. He and his wife, Shari, live on her family farm where they raised five children. Their six grandchildren love to visit Karma and Karla, a team of draft horses which Thomas purchased from an Amish friend. Walking a mail route for the U.S. Postal Service keeps Thomas close to nature and affords him many quiet hours which he uses to dream up novels. Over three decades of friendships with Amish neighbors has revealed a simple wisdom that he weaves into his writing.

More from Thomas

Most authors agree that during the course of writing a novel, the characters seem to come alive and emerge with personality traits we ourselves didn’t originally plan to give them. Not only did the lead characters of Samson and Delilah take on a life of their own, they also pulled the story in a direction I never planned to go.
Samson and Amish Delilah is a book about a book. You will soon discover that the characters are reading along with you. They even try to guess the ending and have discussions about it. As I worked on the final few chapters, I could almost feel Samson and Delilah urging me forward, as though they needed me to write out solutions to the issues they were facing. I could almost hear them calling to me, “Please—finish this book—we want the world to hear our story.”
Maybe all of this is just me projecting my feelings on them. LOL. Either way, I’ve gotten to know Samson and Delilah pretty well and I’m sure they would want you to smile, laugh, cry, and learn about the power of forgiveness along with them.
Thomas Nye
P.S. It so happens that I feel Samson and Delilah nudging me forward with a follow-up novel. Wink, wink.

Blog Stops

For Him and My Family, September 7
Batya’s Bits, September 7
Moments, September 8
D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, September 9
Bigreadersite, September 10
Pause for Tales, September 12
Maureen’s Musings, September 12
Emily Yager, September 13
Older & Smarter?, September 14
Texas Book-aholic, September 15
Mary Hake, September 15
janicesbookreviews, September 17
Inklings and notions, September 18
For The Love of Books, September 18
A Reader’s Brain, September 19

Giveaway


To celebrate his tour, Thomas is giving away a Thomas Nye Gift Box, which includes four books by Thomas Nye: Samson and Amish Delilah, Under the Heavens, Amish Park, and Plain Everyday Heroes!! Along with bookmarkers and an Amish designed coloring book!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.


My Review


A book about a fictional book based on reality, and to find the woman the book is based on, we journey along.
As we travel through several States we endeavor to learn more about this “Englisher” and his travel companions, an Amish woman and her six-year-old brother.
As they travel references are made to Princess Di, and you get the feeling that history may be repeating itself, as they work and run to try and loose the media.
Facts are revealed, and surprises abound, although I concluded the ending early on, you get to enjoy precocious Earl!

I received this book through Celebrate Lit, and was not required to give a positive review.


Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Strands of Truth by Colleen Coble







Harper Taylor is used to being alone. Her mother passed away in a car accident when she was an infant, she never knew who her father was, and now even the widowed grandmother who raised her is gone. She’s done just fine investing her marine biology degree and her energy into her pen shell business.
The last thing she expects is for the DNA test she took to reveal a likely half-sister. And when she and Annabelle meet, there are striking similarities in their stories. Is it just coincidence that both their mothers died tragically without revealing Harper and Annabelle’s father’s name?
When Harper’s business partner has a stroke, his son Ridge steps in to help. Before long, he's spending more time with her than the business would dictate . . . and Harper finds she doesn’t mind in the least.
When yet another tragedy strikes close to home, though, Harper and Ridge realize that the secrets of the past can’t stay there. They’ll have to unravel Harper’s past before they can secure their future.

Amazon

About The Author




USAToday bestselling author Colleen Coble lives with her husband, Dave, in Indiana. She is the author of dozens of novels including the Rock Harbor Series, the Aloha Reef Series, the Mercy Falls Series, the Hope Beach Series, the Lonestar Series and two Women of Faith fiction selections, Alaska Twilight and Midnight Sea. She has more than 2 million books in print.

Website 


My Review




I found this book to be a page turner, there seems to be non-stop action, and you may think whom the perpetrator is but, then you quickly change your mind, but who is after these women?
The author gives us a roller coaster of emotions here, as humans we tend to cling to our families, but to have none, such a hard thing.
Today’s modern technology gives many new hopes to find their roots, and part of this book is what happens when we find those we are related to.
I didn’t figure this one out ahead of time, so was surprised how everything turned out. I just wish I could continue on in the lives of these characters!

I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review.

The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels




Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family's ignominious past. She thought she'd finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.

When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father's scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book--a first edition Catcher in the Rye--is soon followed by the other books she shared with Peter nearly twenty years ago, with one arriving in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she's about to be exposed all over again?

Amazon


About The Author






ERIN BARTELS is the author of WE HOPE FOR BETTER THINGS and THE WORDS BETWEEN US, which was a finalist for the 2015 Rising Star Award from the Women’s Fiction Writers Association. Her short story “This Elegant Ruin” was a finalist in The Saturday Evening Post 2014 Great American Fiction Contest. Her poems have been published by The Lyric and The East Lansing Poetry Attack. A member of the Capital City Writers Association and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association, she is former features editor of WFWA’s Write On! magazine and current director of the annual WFWA Writers Retreat in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Erin lives in the beautiful, water-defined state of Michigan where she is never more than a ninety minute drive from one of the Great Lakes or six miles from an inland lake, river, or stream. She grew up in the Bay City area waiting for freighters and sailboats at drawbridges and watching the best 4th of July fireworks displays in the nation. She spent her college and young married years in Grand Rapids feeling decidedly not-Dutch. She currently lives with her husband and son in Lansing, nestled somewhere between angry protesters on the Capitol lawn and couch-burning frat boys at Michigan State University. And yet, she claims it is really quite peaceful.

Erin is represented by Nephele Tempest of The Knight Agency. Find her on Facebook @ErinBartelsAuthor, on Twitter @ErinLBartels, or on Instagram @erinbartelswrites.



My Review






A book you don’t want to give up on, it just kept getting better and better, and will keep you reading to the end for answers.
This is the second book that I have read by this author, and I loved the first so much that I had to read this one, and it sure didn’t disappoint!
In the beginning the author gives a child really, she is 14, and the unthinkable has happened to her and her family, but she is a survivor, and we journey with her to Forgiveness! This is really quite a journey and we meet unforgettable people along the way.
A great read to get lost in!
I received this book through the Revell Reads Program, and was not required to give a positive review.




Friday, September 6, 2019

Celebrate Lit Presents: Surf Smugglers by Melody Carlson

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About the Book

Book: Surf Smugglers
Author: Melody Carlson
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: August 15, 2019

Surf Smugglers Cover
In the summer of 1917, US troops join the allied forces in the Great War. Back in Sunset Cove, Oregon, other battles wage. Anna McDowell continues to fight old fashioned stereotypes as she runs a newspaper committed to truth. Despite opposition, she’s determined to expose ongoing rum-running and prohibition lawlessness.
Adding to Anna’s frustrations, her good friend Dr. Daniel seems to run hot and cold. He loves Oregon, and maybe Anna too, but he’s pulled by his East Coast family responsibilities. Even the lure of a new modern Sunset Cove hospital doesn’t seem enough to keep him in Sunset Cove.
Meanwhile, Anna’s strong-willed daughter Katy continues to develop her dress shop by inviting family friend Sarah Rose to help out. But the woman’s presence tests the small town’s tolerance. And Anna’s concern that her daughter is growing up too fast is confirmed when Katy’s romantic life takes an unexpected turn, which Anna fears is influenced by the pressure of a devastating war that is not only changing the entire world but Sunset Cove as well.

Click here to grab your copy.

About the Author

Melody Carlson

Melody Carlson has written more than 200 books (with sales around 6.5 million) for teens, women, and children. That’s a lot of books, but mostly she considers herself a “storyteller.” Her young adult novels (Diary of a Teenage Girl, True Colors etc.) appeal to teenage girls around the world. Her annual Christmas novellas become more popular each year. She’s won a number of awards (including RT’s Career Achievement Award, the Rita, and the Gold medallion) and some of her books have been optioned for film/TV. Carlson has two grown sons and makes her home in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and yellow Lab dog.

More from Melody

My favorite way to learn history is through historical fiction—both by reading and by writing it. And I’ve discovered that World War 1 (previously known as the Great War, since WW2 had yet to happen) is quite fascinating. As well as incredibly sad. But I’m amazed at how science and technology evolved so quickly in this era. Whether it was advancement in automotive, communication, medicine . . . the culture was rapidly changing. And the war pushed it along at an even faster pace.
Another factor that makes this era interesting is prohibition. Oregon, my home state and where I set my series, was one of the earliest states to adopt prohibition of alcohol—in 1914. As a result, Oregon became ripe territory for bootlegging and rum-running along the coastline. And because my series involves a small town coastal newspaper that’s run (gasp!) by a woman, it gets even more interesting—and exciting!
Speaking of women, the suffrage movement was approved in Oregon in 1912—also well ahead of the rest of the nation (and the main reason that prohibition passed). My theory on why this happened is that the brave women who’d made the arduous journey West (via perilous wagon train or long hard voyages on clipper ships) were strong and opinionated and tough. And many of them were sick and tired of drunken slacker husbands. Also, thanks to Oregon’s amazing land donation act of 1850, many of these women were equal landowners to their husbands—and land equaled power.
Of course, what these suffragette-prohibition supporters didn’t realize is that banning alcohol would make matters worse because bootlegging and rum-running suddenly became a very lucrative business. The crime rate soared and the booze continued to flow freely. But all this makes for good newspaper stories, keeping our female editor in chief rather busy. In the first two books of the series, Anna McDowell has her hands full with trying to run her ailing father’s newspaper, restoring family relationships, and staying ahead of the growing crime element in Sunset Cove.
By book three, Surf Smugglers, Anna has her feet under her and doing a good job of standing up to the criminal element in their region. But by now the Great War is really heating up and the United States must get involved. Of course, this means that many young men, as well as Anna’s very good friend Dr. Daniel Hollister, are being shipped overseas to serve. Meanwhile, there is plenty of trouble at home. And the rum-runners, who despise the newspaper’s support of prohibition, target Anna’s good friend Sarah Rose because she’s a woman of color who’s sought refuge from the big city . . . and naturally things get dicey.
I’m currently finishing up the fourth and final book of the Legacy if Sunset Cove series, and I’m sad to think my ‘history lesson’ in this interesting era is drawing to an end. Not only have I learned a lot, I’ve really come to love the McDowell family . . . and I’m getting worried that not all the men from Sunset Cove will survive the brutal war. Of course, this is fiction . . . but the war was very real and the losses were great. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the war to end all wars like they’d hoped, but I appreciate the sentiment . . . and continue to pray for world peace.

Blog Stops

The Avid Reader, August 31
Connect in Fiction, August 31
Among the Reads, September 1
She Lives To Read, September 1
For Him and My Family, September 2
Just the Write Escape, September 3
Patiently Waiting, September 3
Blogging With Carol , September 3
CarpeDiem, September 4
Betti Mace, September 4
Wishful Endings, September 5
Remembrancy, September 5
Maureen’s Musings, September 6
Bigreadersite , September 7
Hallie Reads, September 8
Moments, September 9
Simple Harvest Reads, September 9
Locks, Hooks and Books, September 10
Pause for Tales, September 10
To Everything A Season, September 10
Retrospective Spines, September 11
Texas Book-aholic, September 11
Older & Smarter?, September 12
janicesbookreviews, September 13
A Reader’s Brain, September 13
Inklings and notions , September 13

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Melody is giving away the grand prize of three of her books: Harbor Secrets, Riptide Rumors, and Surf Smugglers!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

My Review


This is the third book in this series that I have enjoyed, and yes, they can be read alone, but we are continuing on in the lives of this newspaper family.
With this book, the War in Europe is becoming real for these people, along with the crime of bootlegging. This book does touch on a lot of different subjects, including prejudice.
Coming and enjoy another installment at Sunset Cove Oregon, you won’t be disappointed!

I received this book through Celebrate Lit, and was not required to give a positive review.

Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours Presents: Cats, Carats and Killers (Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries) by T. C. LoTempio

  Cats, Carats and Killers (Urban Tails Pet Shop Mysteries) by T. C. LoTempio About Cats, Carats, and Killers Cats, Carat...