Thursday, July 6, 2017

Summer Reads 2017


Whether you enjoy spending you time in the mountains, or




at the beach, for me I need a book on hand, or several.

These are a few of the ones I hope to consume this summer, and I bet you have several that you could add to these. Enjoy the warm temps, unfortunately they don't last.

These are just a few of those that are waiting for me to start page turning!





First this cover called to me!

Description

High As the Heavens by Kate Breslin






In 1917, Evelyn Marche is just one of many women who has been widowed by the war. A British nurse trapped in German-occupied Brussels, she spends her days working at a hospital and her nights as a waitress in her aunt and uncle's café. Eve also has a carefully guarded secret keeping her in constant danger: She's a spy working for a Belgian resistance group in league with the British Secret Service.

When a British plane crashes in Brussels Park, Eve is the first to reach the downed plane and is shocked to discover she recognizes the badly injured pilot. British RFC Captain Simon Forrester is now a prisoner of war, and Eve knows he could be shot as a spy at any time. She risks her own life to hide him from the Germans, but as the danger mounts and the secrets between them grow, their chance of survival looks grim. And even if they do make it out alive, the truth of what lies between them may be more than any love can overcome.


Amazon


About The Author




Former bookseller-turned-author Kate Breslin enjoys life in the Pacific Northwest with her husband and family. A writer of travel articles and award-winning poetry, Kate received Christian Retailing's 2015 Best Award for First Time Author and her first novel, For Such A Time, won American Christian Fiction Writers 2015 Carol Award. Kate's second novel, Not By Sight released in August, 2015. When she's not writing inspirational fiction, Kate enjoys reading or taking long walks in Washington's beautiful woodlands. She also likes traveling to new places, both within the U.S. and abroad, having toured Greece, Rome, and much of Western Europe. New destinations make for fresh story ideas. Please visit her at www.katebreslin.com 


My Review


Once you turn the first page will you be hooked on this story including time and place, and will be walking in our heroine’s shoes, this is WWI.
We meet Evelyn, Eve, as a teenage, and even then she has an attraction for her father’s student Simon, and we follow her whirlwind romance and wedding. So little time, and yet so much love, you will ache that they had to say goodbye.
A woman that does all she can to help her parent’s homeland, Belgium, with heart in hand she goes above and beyond. She is a nurse and a good one; she uses this to help in fighting the enemy in ingenious ways.
You will feel the sense of loss, and then found, and loss again, a roller coaster ride, and all the while a feeling that you are being led by God. There are so many beloved characters here, and yet you are waiting for the other shoe to drop and find that one who is not what they seem, and yet hoping for the best.
As the last page is turned there was a sense of loss as I wanted to continue in their lives, and yet you want the evil that was in Europe at that time defeated. What a great read!
I received this book through Bethany House Blogging Program, and was not required to give a positive review.  

Wednesday, July 5, 2017

I Am A Reader Not A Writer Presents:The Ghost Of You And Me Blog Tour & $25 Gift Card

   


The Ghost of You and Me by Kelly Oram


 How do you tell someone who hates you and blames you for the death of his best friend that you miss him? From the bestselling teen and young adult author of Cinder & Ella comes a new heart-wrenching romance sure to bring all the feels. The tragic death of Spencer Schott unravels the lives of the two people he loved most—his girlfriend, Bailey, and his best friend, Wes. Secrets and guilt from that fateful night keep both Bailey and Wes from overcoming Spencer’s loss and moving on with their lives. Now, nearly a year later, both Bailey and Wes are still so broken over what happened that Spencer can’t find peace in the afterlife. In order to put his soul to rest, he’s given one chance to come back and set things right...even if that means setting up his girlfriend with his best friend. With the emotional resonance of Jellicoe Road and the magical realism of The Lovely Bones, The Ghost of You and Me is a story about overcoming grief, finding redemption for past mistakes, and the healing power of friendship and love. Fans of John Green, Sarah Dessen, and Nicholas Sparks are sure to love this haunting new tale from Kelly Oram. This is a clean young adult romance stand alone novel that reads like contemporary drama romance and has just a touch of magical realism



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Author Kelly Oram

 Kelly Oram wrote her first novel at age fifteen--a fan fiction about her favorite music group, The Backstreet Boys, for which her family and friends still tease her. She's obsessed with reading, talks way too much, and likes to eat frosting by the spoonful. She lives outside of Phoenix, Arizona with her husband, four children, and her cat, Mr. Darcy.






     


$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash Giveaway Ends 7/26/17 Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author.

VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tuesday, July 4, 2017

Abiding Mercy (Amish Mercies #1) by Ruth Reid






When doing the right thing will only lead to more heartache, how do you know what you are supposed to do?

Sixteen-year-old Faith has worked full time in her parents' Amish restaurant since she finished eighth grade. She loves her Amish community--and the recent romantic attentions of her longtime friend, Gideon. When her sister seems to be getting too friendly with Englischers, and her parents are in a buggy accident, Faith only wants to escape into her dream of joining the church and getting married.

But then a local newspaper runs a story about a child named Adriana who was kidnapped fifteen years earlier, and everything Faith has held true comes into question.

Suddenly the community Faith has known her whole life seems unreal. Can she even trust her own family? And how will she ever find home again if she no longer belongs in the world she knows best?


Amazon

About The Author







Ruth Reid is a CBA and ECPA best-selling author of the Heaven on Earth series. She's a full-time pharmacist who lives in Florida with her husband and three children. When attending Ferris State University School of Pharmacy in Big Rapids, Michigan, she lived on the outskirts of an Amish community and had several occasions to visit the Amish farms. Her interest grew into love as she saw the beauty in living a simple life.

Website


My Review





Come and immerse yourself in the life of Faith, aka Adrianna, a sixteen year old Amish girl, and you won’t want to let her go. As the book opens a horrible thing happens and an eighteen-month-old infant is snatched, but as you read God was looking out for her, and when all is said and done, you will wonder if it was his way of bringing others into the fold.
We are with Faith as she goes about her everyday life as a responsible Amish woman, and she is one busy girl. She is confident and knows who she is and what she wants, and seems to have a joy about her.
Suddenly her world collapse and she is no longer Faith but Adrianna, and where there should be joy there is now sorrow. I felt myself torn in so many directions, and as a mother, where did I want her to be. If life is unfair, this has to be one of those horrible moments when you want to be in two places at once, and be happy there.
The author did an amazing job with this fictional story, and yet it seemed so real, and when you find out why she was kept, makes more sense to me. I loved this book, and although it ends, you can imagine the future.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Thomas Nelson, and was not required to give a positive review.

Monday, July 3, 2017

Plain Haven by Susan Lantz Simpson






Lilly Brandt was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now she is running for her life—straight into a small, obscure Amish community in Southern Maryland. Now as Hannah Kurtz, she knows she won’t be staying in Cherry Hill long enough to form any attachments, but she hadn’t counted on meeting and being attracted to the kind, young man with the amazing blue eyes.
Jacob Beiler, a skilled young furniture maker, has made a vow of his own. After being jilted by the girl he trusted right before he was about to propose, he decides to focus strictly on honing his craft and guarding his heart from any future injury. When Hannah Kurtz enters his world, she drops into his mending heart as well. Against his better judgement, he allows himself to care again and to trust another woman.
When the Amish community discovers Hannah is not really Amish and that she is not even Hannah Kurtz, Jacob feels betrayed yet again. Will he be able to forgive Hannah’s necessary deception, or will he walk away from love forever?


Amazon


About The Author






Susan Lantz Simpson has been writing stories and poetry ever since she penned her first poem at the age of six. She has always loved the magic of words and how they can entertain and enlighten others. Her love of words and books led her to earn a degree in English/Education. She has taught students from Prekindergarten to high school and has also worked as an editor for the federal government. She also holds a degree in nursing and has worked in hospitals and in community health. She writes inspirational stories of love and faith and has published a middle-grade novel (Ginger and the Bully). She lives in Maryland and is the mother of two wonderful daughters. She is a member of ACFW and Maryland Christian Writers Group. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys reading, walking, and doing needlework.
  My Review


fell in love with the story from the first page, and it kept me reading late into the night.
The author developed a great concept of hiding a witness in Amish country, no that is not new, but she did such a great job of immersing Hannah, aka Lilly, into the culture, that you sometimes forgot that she really wasn’t Amish.
Hannah is a gentle kind soul, that is now really running for her life because she witnessed a body being thrown, so from evil, she has found peace, or so she hopes. Then we meet Jacob who is now smitten with Hannah, but she isn’t really Amish, is he about to be thrown for a loop again?
I really hated this story to come to an end, I wanted to move in with Rebecca and become a member of this family, and I loved the children!
I received this book through NetGalley and Vinspire Publishing, LLC, and was not required to give a positive review.

Saturday, July 1, 2017

My Heart Belongs on Mackinac Island: Maude’s Mooring by Carrie Fancett Pagels






Moor your heart on Mackinac Island along with resident sweetheart Maude Welling, an heiress trying to prove her worth by working incognito as a maid at the Grand Hotel. Meet Ben Steffans, a journalist posing as a wealthy industrialist who has come to the island to uncover a story about impoverished men pursuing heiresses at the famed hotel. Will a growing love between Maude and Ben be scuttled when truths are revealed in this Gilded Age romance?

Amazon


About The Author





Carrie Fancett Pagels is an ECPA bestselling and award-winning author of Christian historical romance. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn't "cure" her overactive imagination! She resides with her family in the Historic Triangle of Virginia, which is perfect for her love of history. Carrie loves to read, bake, bead, and travel – but not all at the same time!

Website


My Review




This story brings to mind the quote “Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive”, and the author has it coming on more than one front. Whether it is from our reporter Ben, or from Maude’s Grandmother or her Mother, or even her former beau, they all seem to hidden something.
The setting for this book is beautiful Mackinac Island, and year 1895, and we have arrived at a beautiful time of the year, spring, the rebirth, and full of the scents of blooming lilacs and other flowers.
The author has us wondering what is going on when Maude’s intended arrives back on the island, and as we are running with her to greet him, we see he is not alone. This is also the moment that Maude meets Ben Steffans, and soon Ada Fox, and these two along with Maude’s brother Jack will warm your heart.
Surprises abound here and we hope for the best now and in the future, and sure would love to hear how our Jack does in the Olympics!
Prevalent throughout this book is the love of God, and we see how many practice their faith in their everyday lives.
Come and get lost in this sweet story, and the lives of these characters, some are really going to surprise you.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Barbour Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

Freedom To Read Giveaway Hop ~ $10 Amazon Gift Card



Because we enjoy the Freedom to Read whatever we wish, I am going to give away a $10 Amazon Gift Card, so you can choose a book of your choice, and enjoy! Just fill out the below Rafflecopter! VOID WHERE PROHIBITED


a Rafflecopter giveaway


 

A Stunning Betrayal by Terence J Davis

  A violent home invasion in Beverly Hills leaves a man dead and draws the FBI into Emily and Ben Miller’s past. Agent McBride, upon seein...