The Reformer (Power of the Matchmaker) by Jaima Fixsen

From the Power of the Matchmaker series:

Mary Buchanan has bigger worries than the radical journalist moving in next door who’s spoiling her father’s digestion: unrequited love for a footman, a fractious aunt, patiently awaiting her destiny…

Already she’s nearly eighteen. No sign of destiny yet, but Mary’s certain he’ll be handsome.

Then she meets the reformer, this Mr. Samuel Brown. Destiny is closer at hand than Mary has supposed—if she can just get Mr. Brown to realize it.

Amazon

About The Author

Jaima Fixsen lives in Alberta, Canada with her handsome husband and clever children. Mostly, she just tries to keep up.  

Website 

My Review

This is the final book in the matchmaker series, and I have enjoyed reading them all, all different and yet based on the same premise.
We are back in the 1830’s in merry old England, only its not merry at all, a lot chaos going on, and our girl Mary behind a pseudonym hides her art. A very controversial art, political cartoons, and we end up having a writer next door that writes for the paper. A match made in heaven?
What a great historical look at the political unrest at this period of time in England, and having an adamant father on one side and a man she admires on another. We also have Mrs. Chin, not Pearl as she was known in the other books, and she doesn’t seem to play as large a part.
Will Mary be able to achieve having the man of her dreams, or will fate play a trick on her? You are about to have a great journey here, and we are also going to Bath, to receive a healing?
I received this book through Inspired Kathy, and was not required to give a positive review. 

The Newcomer (Amish Beginnings #2) by Suzanne Woods Fisher

In 1737, Anna Konig and her fellow church members stagger off a small wooden ship after ten weeks at sea, eager to start a new life in the vibrant but raw Pennsylvania frontier. On the docks of Port Philadelphia waits bishop Jacob Bauer, founder of the settlement and father to ship carpenter Bairn. It's a time of new beginnings for the reunited Bauer family, and for Anna and Bairn's shipboard romance to blossom.
But this perfect moment cannot last. As Bairn grasps the reality of what it means to be Amish in the New World--isolated, rigid with expectations, under the thumb of his domineering father--his enthusiasm evaporates. When a sea captain offers the chance to cross the ocean one more time, Bairn grabs it. Just one more crossing, he promises Anna. But will she wait for him?
When Henrik Newman joins the church just as it makes its way to the frontier, Anna is torn. He seems to be everything Bairn is not--bold, devoted, and delighted to vie for her heart. And the most dramatic difference? He is here; Bairn is not.
Far from the frontier, an unexpected turn of events weaves together the lives of Bairn, Anna, and Henrik. When a secret is revealed, which true love will emerge?

Amazon


About The Author

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling, award winning author of fiction and non-fiction books about the Old Order Amish for Revell Books, host of the radio-show-turned-blog Amish Wisdom, a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazine.

Her interest in the Amish began with her grandfather, who was raised Plain. A theme in her books (her life!) is that you don’t have to “go Amish” to incorporate the principles of simple living.

Suzanne lives in California with her family and raises puppies for Guide Dogs for the Blind. To her way of thinking, you just can't life too seriously when a puppy is tearing through your house with someone's underwear in its mouth.

Suzanne can be found on-line at: www.suzannewoodsfisher.com

My Review

The Newcomer is a sequel to Anna’s Crossing, a book that was written because of the public wanted more, and I sure did.
This book focus on the settlement and all that Jacob Bauer has accomplished prior to the families arrival, and our journey with this sect of Amish to their new homestead. We are reunited with all we came to know in the first book, and Anna has her hopes set on Barin, but will he be able to come back to his family and faith? We are also following on little imp Felix, who also leads us to some famous people in American history.
Now, there is enough information presented to read this book alone, but don’t miss the first book in this series, you won’t be disappointed.
Loved the twists and turns and you will hope that everyone will be reunited and that all will be well in the end, but wow what a journey you are about to experience with the original Amish settlement in America. A different Amish story, but we are traveling back to the original roots, a don’t miss book.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Revell, and was not required to give a positive review. 

Two Suitors for Anna (Keepsake Pocket Quilt #3) by Molly Jebber

In 1903 Ohio, a young Amish woman must choose between the life she has long planned for and a new, very different future…
Since Anna Plank moved to Berlin, Ohio, with her widowed mamm and two schweschders, she’s found a real sense of belonging. As soon as her beloved Noah Schwartz proposes, they’ll begin a new chapter here together. But Noah has a surprise for Anna: once they’re married, he wants them to travel and live in other communities. Anna, who loves her home and her job at the quilt shop, is distraught when he takes her hesitation as rejection—and leaves.

Daniel Bontrager’s arrival adds to Anna’s confusion. Since taking over his late brother’s farm, the handsome roofer has offered friendship and gentle attentions. Yet the pull of first love is strong and deep, especially when Noah returns. Through each revelation, Anna must search her faith for guidance, knowing she is choosing not just a husband, but a life to nurture and to share.

Amazon


About The Author

I said to my loving husband, Ed, “I’ve always wanted to write a book. A story that readers would get lost in for a while.” He said, “Do it!” My daughter, Misty, brother, Mitch, and Mom, Sue said, “Take Ed’s advice, do it!” So I did. The road wasn’t easy, but the education, Amish research, and ride along the way to getting published taught me to take my favorite verse to heart.

“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Philippians 4:13 KJV

Why Amish Inspirational Romance?
I love their dedication to serve God. I visited Amish Country in Ohio many times. They work hard and have such a close knit friendship with each other. It’s heartwarming and uplifting. At the same time, they face hardships and difficult problems just like we do.

God answered my prayers and gave me the best mentor, author, and friend, Patricia Campbell, to hone my skills. I’m blessed to have Dawn Dowdle as my agent, and John S. from Kensington as my editor.

I’m thank for you, the reader, for being interested in my book!

I’d love to hear from you. www.mollyjebber.com.


My Review

This story is about the Plank family, a mother and three daughters living in the early 1900’s in an Amish Community in Berlin Ohio. In particular the story focus on Anna the oldest, and her romance with Noah, a man that is set to change her, and wants her to move to Lancaster PA, but things cannot remain smooth, and before he leaves a new settler moves to their community, Daniel Bontranger.
Ok you are going to find yourself rooting for one over the other, and found that with the things that are happening you are definitely swayed to choose one. There are some serious and sad events that take place, and they make your choice even more evident. While we do have some moments that will make you smile, especially the ones with pets.
You will be on a yo-yo ride, when first one and then the other of this special couple cannot make a major commitment, you will be page turning and looking for answers here.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Zebra, and was not required to give a positive review.

Unpunished (Gardiner and Renner #2) by Lisa Black

Maggie Gardiner, a forensic expert who studies the dead, and Jack Renner, a homicide cop who stalks the living, form an uneasy partnership to solve a series of murders in this powerful new thriller by the bestselling author of That Darkness. It begins with the kind of bizarre death that makes headlines--literally. A copy editor at the Cleveland Herald is found hanging above the grinding wheels of the newspaper assembly line, a wide strap wrapped around his throat. Forensic investigator Maggie Gardiner has her suspicions about this apparent suicide inside the tsunami of tensions that is the news industry today--and when the evidence suggests murder, Maggie has no choice but to place her trust in the one person she doesn't trust at all . . .
Jack Renner is a killer with a conscience, a vigilante with his own code of honor. In the past, Jack has used his skills and connections as a homicide detective to take the law into his own hands, all in the name of justice. He has only one problem: Maggie knows his secret. She insists he enforce the law, not subvert it. But when more newspaper employees are slain, Jack may be the only person who can help Maggie unmask the killer-- even if Jack is still checking names off his own private murder list.


About The Author

Lisa Black spent the happiest five years of her life in a morgue. Strange, perhaps, but true. After ten years as a secretary, she went back to school to get a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cleveland State University. In her job as a forensic scientist at the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office, she analyzed gunshot residue on hands and clothing, hairs, fibers, paint, glass, DNA, blood and many other forms of trace evidence, as well as crime scenes.
She had her life sorted out just the way she liked it until her husband got fed up with Cleveland snow and moved them to Florida, 1400 miles away from her family and her career. Not that she’s bitter or anything. Now she works as a latent print examiner for the city of Cape Coral, Florida, police department, working mostly with fingerprints and crime scenes.
Lisa has lectured at writer’s conventions and appeared on panels. In her life as a writer she’s a member of Sisters In Crime, Mystery Writers of America and International Thriller Writers. In her life as a forensic specialist she’s a member of the American Academy of Forensic Scientists, the International Association for Identification, the International Association of Bloodstain Pattern Analysts and is certified by the American Board of Criminalistics. She has had over 741 hours of instruction in forensic topics and has testified in over 50 trials.


My Review

There are a lot of gory murders that take place in this story, which I understand is the second in the series, now I haven’t read the first, but enough information was given for me to figure things out in this one.
The police detective is a Robin Hood type who believes in justice being handled by him, especially when the courts have let him down. I can see that there will be another book, as his on going system of justice will have to come to a head.
While this story has murders in the Cleveland newspaper, and we all understand that it is a dying industry. Sad, but that is progress, and it made a good backdrop for the tale. All we needed to do was figure out who was the culprit, and while we were looking our Maggie is the forensic part of the police, she takes samples, and hope they lead to the perpetrator. Our police detective is Jack; also our vigilante cop, and we still have to solve four murders, and maybe more, dealing with the paper.
The book kept me guessing, and I almost could sympathize with Jack, but that sure wouldn’t be justice, and with someone following leads that may finally find him out, you are probably going to want to read the next book.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Kensington, and was not required to give a positive review. 

Loving a Lawman (Cattle Creek, #1) by Amy Lillard

As cowboys, the Langston brothers of Cattle Creek, Texas, know it can hurt like hell to fall off a horse. But it can hurt even more to fall in love. . . .
 
Sheriff Seth Langston is head over heels for local wild child Jessie McAllen and has been for years. The trouble is she has eyes only for Seth’s rodeo star brother, Chase. Even though he considers Jessie his girl, Chase is an incorrigible ladies’ man with a wandering eye and no chance of settling down soon.

Jessie is ready to move away from Cattle Creek to put her feelings for Chase behind her, but after she shares a white-hot kiss with Seth, things get a little complicated. Jessie realizes her heart should have been his all along. And in the face of sudden tragedy, they’ll discover if their newfound passion will tear the Langston men apart or make the family stronger than ever.

Amazon


About The Author




Amy Lillard is a wife, mother, and bona fide Southern belle. Published author, expert corn bread maker, and Squirrel Princess.
I live in Tulsa, though I was born in Mississippi. I moved to the Sooner State when I was seventeen and met my soul mate and best friend not long after. I’ve retained a little of my Mississippi accent though most people think I’m from Texas. (?)  Rob and I have been married for over twenty years and have a son–a mom proclaimed prodigy, of course!
I love homemade tacos, shoes, and romance novels–not necessarily in that order. I’m a big fan of country music, a staunch proponent of saving the Oxford comma, and I’m shamefully obsessed with all things Harry Potter.
I  believe that God is love. I guess that’s why I adore romances.
I have always been intrigued with the Amish culture, their gentle ways and slower-paced lifestyle. (And I love, love, love the fact that they stay married for their lifetime.) But until recently I never thought to blend this interest with my penchant for romance. Okay, okay, I’m a bit old-fashioned and even enjoy the gender roles that are present in this culture.  I love to cook and take care of my family. Yes, that’s me June Cleaver with a laptop.
I dislike people trying to convince me to read the Twlight series (I’ll get to it or I won’t, either way I’m good with it), gratuitous violence, and strawberry ice cream. (I know I’m alone on this last one, and again, I’m good with it.)
Favorite movies–(besides HP) French Kiss, Maid of Honor, A Lot Like Love, Just Married, and Sweet Home Alabama. Oh, and Miss Congeniality, Sabrina (both versions) and a 1940′s movie called Dear Ruth. If you haven’t seen it, you should! A-dorable. Anything with Doris Day and most all of Marilyn’s and Audrey’s.


My Review

The premise of this book is a boy meets girl and rescues her, now girl idolizes boy and considers him her boyfriend. Never mind that the boy rescued her when she was seven and they are now in their mid-twenties, and he has groupies as he travels around the country on the rodeo circuit.
I found myself right in the middle between the main characters, as I kept walking in both of their shoes, I watched the light come on Seth when he sees the little children at his nieces birthday, but Jessie pulled on my heart strings, and actually so did her poor grandmother.
These two don’t seem to realize what they are experiencing, each lost in the thought of brother Chase, but will they wake up in time to find the happiness they deserve? There are some big bombshells about to fall, and some sweet happenings, but will it be enough to bring and keep these two together?
I received this book through the Author, and was not required to give a positive review.

Great Escapes Virtual Book Tours Presents: The Blessed Event by Frankie Bow

  
Amazon has priced The Blessed Event by Frankie Bow at just 99⊄ for the month of January! (Free on Kindle Unlimited)


 

The Blessed Event (The Professor Molly Mysteries) 

  Publisher: Hawaiian Heritage Press (June 10, 2016) Paperback: 344 pages ISBN-13: 978-1943476251 Kindle ASIN: B01GW5WUAE

 

Synopsis "You may wonder what my least-favorite student was doing in my living room. In a twist of fate that might seem hilarious if it happened to someone else, he was now my stepson." Professor Molly Barda is looking forward to a quiet summer in Mahina, Hawaii working on her research and adjusting to married life. But when a visit from her new husband's relatives coincides with a murder, Molly wonders what she's married into--and realizes she might have a killer under her roof.

 

About The Author

Like Molly Barda, Frankie Bow teaches at a public university. Unlike her protagonist, she is blessed with delightful students, sane colleagues, a loving family, and a perfectly nice office chair. She believes if life isn’t fair, at least it can be entertaining.

In addition to writing murder mysteries, she publishes in scholarly journals under her real name. Her experience with academic publishing has taught her to take nothing personally.

Author Links

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 Purchase Links Amazon




 


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Plain Admirer (Brides of Amish Country, #8) by Patricia Davids

Love Is Only A Letter Away

So what if Joann Yoder's Amish community deems her a spinster? She's content to stay single. In the meantime, she's working hard to finally buy her dream house. So it's problematic when she's fired from her job to make room for the owner's nephew, Roman Weaver. His blue eyes aside, she simply can't stand him! Good thing she has the secret letters she's been exchanging with a mystery man to keep her going. But who is writing her letters? And could she possibly fall for him in real life, too?

Amazon 


About The Author



Patricia Davids is an award winning author of more than 20 Inspirational and Amish romance novels. Her book, A Home for Hannah, won the Romantic Times Review's Choice Award for Best Love Inspired Novel of 2012. She was a finalist in the Review's Choice Awards and the National Reader's Choice Awards in 2011. She has sold nearly 2,000,000 books world-wide since her debut novel in 2006. Born and raised in central Kansas, Patricia has found a way to combine her Midwest values and sense of humor into emotionally rich novels that deal with contemporary subjects. Her Amish novels have become increasingly popular with readers who are looking for stories with a bit of nostalgia, a sweet romance, and a measure of faith in our turbulent world. Patricia currently resides with her family and her dog in Wichita, Kansas.
Patricia is a popular speaker for many kinds of groups. Drop her an email if you would like to find out more about having her speak to your group. 



My Review

Two people who have known each other forever, but really do not know one another, each has had their own pain of moving on in their lives, but they are true to being Amish.
I cringed when one of Joann’s brothers threw her new fishing pole, but that horrible act is the catalyst to bringing a better relationship between these two, without them even knowing it.
This quickly became a page-turner and I had to know if these two could make peace, and maybe more, or if they will draw a line of civil acknowledgement? A quick and fun and at times scary read!

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

BEST OF 2016 Giveaway Hop ~ Choice of One of These Books

For this giveaway I'm going to let you choose which book you would like from some of my favorites.

This one is a dystopian and I enjoy it so much, and book 2 is due out shortly, link to my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1876734964

This one has non-stop actions....my review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1533944108

A really good Amish romance story....my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1597100721

This is murder that will keep you spinning....my review https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1769150351


Good luck! Please fill out the attached Rafflecopter!!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

The Second Mrs. Hockaday by Susan Rivers

“All I had known for certain when I came around the hen house that first evening in July and saw my husband trudging into the yard after lifetimes spent away from us, a borrowed bag in his hand and the shadow of grief on his face, was that he had to be protected at all costs from knowing what had happened in his absence. I did not believe he could survive it.”

When Major Gryffth Hockaday is called to the front lines of the Civil War, his new bride is left to care for her husband’s three-hundred-acre farm and infant son. Placidia, a mere teenager herself living far from her family and completely unprepared to run a farm or raise a child, must endure the darkest days of the war on her own. By the time Major Hockaday returns two years later, Placidia is bound for jail, accused of having borne a child in his absence and murdering it. What really transpired in the two years he was away?

Inspired by a true incident, this saga conjures the era with uncanny immediacy. Amid the desperation of wartime, Placidia sees the social order of her Southern homeland unravel as her views on race and family are transformed. A love story, a story of racial divide, and a story of the South as it fell in the war, The Second Mrs. Hockaday reveals how that generation--and the next--began to see their world anew.

Amazon



About The Author

I began as a playwright, receiving the Julie Harris Playwriting Award and the New York Drama League Award, working as an NEA Writer-in-Residence in San Francisco, and being named as a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award for British and American Women Playwrights. I am a veteran of the Playwrights Festival at Sundance Institute for the Arts and the Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference and have crossed the country working on productions and workshops of my plays.
Fiction became my focus after starting my family and moving to the Carolinas in 1995.  I hold an MFA in Fiction-writing from Queens University of Charlotte in North Carolina and was awarded a Regional Artist Grant from the Arts and Sciences Council there.  Since 2009, my husband and I have made our home in a small town in South Carolina, where stray animals and stories are thick on the ground.  (None are turned away.)  
I teach English at a university in the upstate region of South Carolina and value my daily interactions with bright young men and women crafting their own relationships with language, heading down their own uncharted paths.

http://www.susanriverswriter.com/


My Review

It took me a few pages to get into this book, but once I did it quickly became a read that I couldn’t put down. We are soon walking in Palacidia’s shoes, and what a life this young girl led, and where she found the energy and courage to go on is amazing.
The book takes place in the South and during the Civil War, and more amazing it is based on a true story. While the text is mostly in the form of letters, and a diary, along with using the illustrations in books for paper, as it was scarce. We see the hardships these people faced, and meet slavery head on, and see it brutality and wonder why the fighting was going on.
When you see her in jail, and at one point you wonder if she is going to hang, and it kept me reading as fast as I could to get the answers. Such a powerful story, and one shows the other side of this horrible war, and yet we see the strong side of preservation in hard times.
I found myself rooting for her in both the good and bad times, what a great read, and I highly recommend it.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Algonquin Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

Write Now Literary Presents: Back From Broken ~ A Dancers Journey Back To Wholeness by Rosheka Henry

Write Now Literary is pleased to announce Back From Broken by Rosheka Henry Virtual book Tour January 9-20, 2017.

Book Release Date: June 2016

Genre: Religious/Self Help

About The Book
 

1. 

BACK FROM BROKEN is the story of one woman’s journey back to wholeness. It is one woman’s pursuit to getting rid of what was holding her back from being who God has called her to be. This story will give you the heartbreak and bitterness that one holds onto but decides to let go of so that Wholeness can begin.  This book will enlightened you, teach you what you need to know and empower you, and equip you with the tools that you need in order to walk in your wholeness, the last thing that I hope that this book can do for you is to impact you.

About The Author

ROSHEKA SHONTA HENRY is a native of Georgia, and was raised in Alabama. She grew up to love the medical field, and spent the majority of her career working at surrounding community hospitals as a phlebotomist and patient register. She is a proud and devoted member of Word of Truth Ministries, where her father, Pastor John L. Cook is the Sr. Pastor. She is also a certified dance instructor, where she leads the dance ministry at her church. She also teaches praise dancing in the surrounding churches. Rosheka’s praise dance ministry has been featured on local television stations numerous times. She has received awards as well as trophies for her profound work in her dance ministry. She is very devoted to Kingdom work. God is her driving force. She is the author              of            “BACK                FROM BROKEN…A    DANCERS        JOURNEY                BACK  TO WHOLENESS”, which is the autobiography of her life. She has written a gospel song called “Hallelujah” song by an up and coming artist, that can be downloaded on all major online music apps, such as iTunes and Google Play. She is also a single mother of three gifted children.

Her passion in life is to empower women, as well as men, and children. Her love for mankind has driven her to pursue a path that will inspire others to be all that they can be in life and in Christ. She is an inspirational speaker as well as an advocate for women who are broken. She works closely with her church and local food bank feeding the hungry.

Rosheka has also had the opportunity to model for The Wonderful World of Fashion Show. She has been known to grace the camera with her smile for multiple companies in her area. She has a bright future in ministry and is looking to open a Non-profit Organization THE BACK FROM BROKEN CENTER for broken women looking for inner help.

Click here to read the excerpt 

Author Website

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