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19 March 2024

Book Review | Love's Promis by Penny Zeller

 

Today I am reviewing Love's Promise by Penny Zeller which has just released. 

Book description

Can one man's love win a fragile woman's heart?

After Amaya Alvarado lost her fiancĂ© to a senseless tragedy, she vows never to love again. Two years later, at her grandmother’s request, she travels to Poplar Springs to assist with the mercantile and help care for her ailing grandfather. During a stagecoach accident and a confrontation with nefarious outlaws, she crosses paths with a man named Silas McFadden who rescues her and the other passengers. A bond between them soon forms.

Silas is not the man he once was. After a stint on the wrong side of the law, he’s now a respectable rancher in Poplar Springs, Wyoming. After becoming a man of faith, he determines to live his life for the One who gave him a second chance. He just never imagined that second chance might include Amaya. Now all he has to do is ensure his past doesn’t return and destroy his and Amaya’s fragile relationship.

My Review

Another great book by Penny Zeller. This one takes us back to Poplar Springs where we meet some familiar characters as well as some new ones. This time the story is about Silas who we have previously met and Amaya who is new to the town coming to help her grandparents with the mercantile store. 

The book starts with Silas helping Grandmama as her husband is unwell and awaiting her grand-daughter Amaya's arrival. She asks Silas to meet the stagecoach because of outlaws in the area. I won't say much of this except the Beginning really does set up the whole book. Amaya was engaged to Russell who was killed in a previous book and has vowed never to marry because he was the love of her life. She feels to love another would diminish her love for him. Silas yearns to be a good husband and father like his friend John Mark. We see the struggles both characters face. 

There are also a cast of fun characters including Gertrude and her pet cat who has set up a matchmaking service. Also, Pritchard the mayor is back again, and his character is larger than life. There is so much I would love to talk about, but I don't give spoilers but once you read it I would be happy to chat about the book with you. 

There is a strong faith element in this books which deals with forgiveness, uncertainty and other topic. If you have read the other books in the series this is a great book to end the series. If you haven't read the others, you would still be able to follow along but there would be a few things you maybe unclear about. It wouldn't detract from the story at all.

Can't wait for more books by this author.

Click to buy



18 March 2024

Book Review | One Wrong Move by Dani Pettrey

 



Today I am Reviewing One Wrong Move by Dani Pettrey

Book description

Taunting riddles.
A deadly string of heists.
Two broken hearts trapped in a killer's game.


Christian Macleod was pulled into a life of crime at a young age by his con artist parents. Now making amends for his corrupt past, he has become one of the country's foremost security experts. When a string of Southwestern art heists captures the FBI's attention, Christian is paired up with a gifted insurance investigator who has her own checkered past.

Andi Forster was a brilliant FBI forensic analyst until one of her colleagues destroyed her career, blaming her for mishandling evidence. She now puts those skills to work investigating insurance fraud, and this latest high-stakes case will test her gift to the limit. Drawn deep into a dangerous game with an opponent bent on revenge, Christian and Andi are in a race against the clock to catch him, but the perpetrator's game is far from finished, and one wrong move could be the death of them both.

My Review

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

I watched an interview with Dani Pettrey about this book and it made me want to read it. There is something about Private detectives that interest me. In this book Andi is an insurance investigator and Christian is a private detective with skills in security. They meet at a crime scene and end up working the case together. The bad guys are playing with them leaving clues on Andi's car. We learn early on Andi was a former FBI agent working in the lab. From the blurb we know Christian was raised by con artists for parents but will take a while to learn his whole story. Other characters include Christian's brother Deckard and sister Riley, along with Andi's friend Harper plus a couple others. As well as the bad guys.

The action starts from the start and continues right through the book. We also have the romance happening as well. there are many twists and turns which kept me reading. This wasn't a light read but each day I ended wanting to read more but I also needed sleep. It is my first book by Dani Pettrey but it won't be my last. I normally don't read a lot of suspense mainly stick to Love Inspired Suspense but may now read more in this genre. I eagerly await the next book in this series to see what will happen next in this family of Detectives.

There is a strong faith thread throughout the book as well. I would love to say more but I don't give away spoilers.


11 March 2024

Book Review of Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson

 


Today I am reviewing Just for the Summer by Melody Carlson releasing 19 March 2024

Book description:

Ginny Masters manages a popular boutique hotel in Seattle and manages it with aplomb. But the daily challenges and irritations of a fast-paced job and a demanding boss are starting to get to her. Jacqueline Potter manages her grandfather’s fishing lodge in Idaho because it was the only job she could find after graduating with her hospitality degree. She’s grateful for the work but longs for a more sophisticated and cosmopolitan life she’s just not going to find in this backwoods town.

The solution to both their problems seems obvious. Just for the summer, they’ll swap jobs and lifestyles. But they never anticipated swapping love interests . . .

In this fabulous new twist on an age-old fable, award-winning and bestselling author Melody Carlson introduces you to two career-focused women who are about to discover that there’s more to finding happiness than just switching up the scenery.

My Review:

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy.

I was hooked from the first paragraph. The story is about Ginny and Jacqueline. Both are in jobs managing hotel or resorts of different sorts. Ginny in Seattle in a Boutique hotel and Jacqueline in a fishing lodge. Through a site for a job swap they are able to swap jobs for a set time. In this case the summer. There are quite a few interesting characters. Ginny’s boss Diane is very demanding and comes across as unreasonable and difficult to work for. Jacqueline is working for her Grandfather who she portrays as being stuck in time and unwilling to change the lodge.

There are other characters that help make the story but I won’t say much as I want you to find out more. Its also Ginny and Jacqueline have a few things in common from childhood but interesting how different the Women reacted to this. I loved Ginny and her get up and go attitude but at times I wanted to reach in and shake Jacqueline for her attitude. It was interesting to see how the Summer played out and how the characters grow. I would love to talk more about this book as there is so much to unpack but you will have to read. Then we can talk about it.

The book does have a romance thread but its not the main thread.

Have your read any books by Melody Carlson. Have you ever read about a job swap before.


8 March 2024

Book review of Levi's Vow by Penny Zeller

 


Today I am reviewing Levi's Vow by Penny Zeller

Book description

A man running from his past. A woman facing an uncertain future.

Wrongfully imprisoned for a crime and disowned by his family, Levi Callahan endeavors to put the past behind him. When he travels to the Idaho Territory and secures a job on a small farm, he has no idea he’ll once again be defending the vulnerable.

Norah Hammett knows what it means to suffer loss. After her husband leaves her and their children for a “better” life and her hired hand steals from her, she is left to run the farm alone. When ruthless men attempt to steal Norah's Idaho farm, can Levi, a man running from his past, help her save it? Or will he prove to be disloyal like the rest of the men in her life?

Will God use desperate circumstances to bring two hurting hearts together?

My review

Thanks to the publisher for my review copy.

I was hooked from the very beginning. We meet Norah at the general store placing an ad for a hired hand for her farm where she is accosted by a man warning her off hiring someone. We also meet Levi who has been falsely accused and in jail. Both characters have past hurts and are determined to protect themselves from being hurt again. We see the man warning not to hire someone again and there is a lot of action throughout the book. I use the term action as some people equate drama with angsts which is totally wrong in this case. 

I didn't want to put the book down and I didn't want it to end. I could see this as a movie as I was seeing the scenes play out in my mind. I have to mention the children 6 year old Enoch and 4 year old Hazel. Hazel steals so many moments in this book. She is a chatterbox and some of her comments and questions are so funny.

This is a faith filled, action packed novella by Penny Zeller. I haven't read a book by the author I haven't like but I think each book gets a little better. Looking forward to her next book





4 February 2018

Book Review The Calico & Cowboys by Mary Connealy



Description
Love sneaks up on eight couples in the Old West.

The Old West comes to life under the talented pen of bestselling author Mary Connealy. Enjoy a lighthearted ride alongside seven historical and one contemporary cowboys and the women who tame their hearts.

The Advent Bride
Melanie Douglas is alone on the Nebraska plains, teaching school to get by. She finds a unique box with hidden drawers to use over the advent season to engage a young boy in his schooling. When Henry O’Keeffe sees a positive change in his son, he has to see for himself what this new teacher is doing.

A Bride Rides Herd
Matt Reeves arrives at his brother’s ranch to find Betsy Harden alone with the little girls during a cattle drive. Will the ladies be too much to handle when Matt steps in for the missing ranch hand?

His Surprise Family
A lonely young rancher orders a mail-order bride and after the vows are spoken, she “surprises” him with her three little brothers. No amount of apologies Meghan McCray gives are going to make Silas Harden, Jr. believe a word she says. Should Silas just build himself another house and let his mail-order family take over the one he’s got?

Homestead on the Range
Widow Elle Winter meets new homesteader Colin Samuelson on the Nebraska prairie, but the attraction between them is soon dampened by the discovery that they have seven children between them. Soon their children are working against them to bring the two families together.

Sophie’s Other Daughter
Dr. Ike Reeves comes home to visit his family only to bring trouble in the form of outlaws who believe he witnessed their latest crime. When the gang traps Ike and his old nemesis, Lauren McClellen, in a cave, they must work together to outsmart the thugs. But will their time together put them in a compromising situation that will threaten both of their good reputations?

The Sweetwater Bride
Debba McClain takes offense at being offered a wedding in exchange for valuable water rights. But she doesn’t like to see a good man’s cattle die of thirst—and the rancher Tanner Harden is rather handsome.

Texas Tea
Luke Reeves has gotten wealthy in the oil business and goes to visit his uncle to convince him to sign over the oil rights to his land. But when he meets his grown up adopted cousin Libby Cooper, he may be forced to give up one dream to win another.

Hope for Christmas
It might be 2016, but Montana is still a mighty rough place to survive the winter. When Silas Harden finds the very pregnant Kelsey Black in a wrecked car surrounded by a pack of wolves in the heart of a blizzard he takes her to his remote home. What will Silas do when the baby decides to come and Kelsey confesses why she was out in such a terrible storm?

My Review
I love Mary's books. This book is a series of novella's that include siblings that have full novels and here we get to know what happens to the siblings that do not have a novel. For example the youngest of Sophie's Daughters, and the Reeve's Boys and even Belle's children. The first novella is totally new characters and the last is a contemporary but the hero is related to the historical characters.
I loved the book I loved seeing what happened to different characters and loved the dangers that Mary always adds to her books. A really good read.

Thanks to Netgalley for my review copy

28 January 2018

Australia Day giveaway

In honour of Australia day 12 authors are giving away a book and a $50 Amazon gift voucher. For Australian readers mostly will be print books and for international readers an ebook.

http://www.iolagoulton.com/paperback-giveaway/

Click here.


Book Review: Cracked Ice Featuring Darlene Franklin


One December night, an ice storm blows through Oklahoma City, leaving thousands without power. Meet the residents of Primrose Apartments. Young, old, alone, in love, prey and predator. What happens when the lights go out? LINDA’S YULETIDE LINKS by Darlene Franklin Linda Turner doesn't mind being homebound. Not as long as her aides arrive on time. Not as long as her life-sustaining machines keep running. But what happens an ice storm makes driving impossible, power unavailable--and her batteries run down? SIBLINGS by Toni Chism Matt and Harry have remained both brothers and friends their whole lives, strengthened by a boyhood vow to never let anything come between them. When an ice storm blows both frosty air and two beautiful women into their midst, will their vow hold to the very end? EVER AFTER by Bill Garrison Kim is starting life over in a new apartment with her three kids, when an intruder breaks in and threatens everything she holds dear. Survival may depend on the one thing she had given up on, her family. VEILED IN ICE by Kat Lewis My name is Celeste Ventris and there are two things I'm sure of. One, my wedding is tomorrow. And, two, I'm pretty certain there's a thief in my apartment. Merry-freakin'-Christmas to me. FOLLOWING AFTER by Sue Merriam Nora Bitterman has just completed the perfect crime. Everything so well planned, she’ll never get caught - or will she? BAD HAIR DAY by Shannon Pearson Ashlee wonders if she will ever get married. An ice storm cancels their plans, is it the end of the line for her and Ryan? BINARY by Chris Tarpley Jacob has been free of his sadistic and wicked twin brother John for years. Now, John is coming to visit. With John and Jacob together again in the same small space, what will happen when the lights go out? CRACKED ICE: What Happens When the Lights Go Out? is the second volume of short stories compiled by members of Oklahoma Christian Fiction Writers. Several authors appear in both Legacy Letters and Cracked in Ice.


My Review:
This book has several short stories in it all totally different. There were some I really loved and a few I didn't connect with as well but I am sure others would connect with them. I like the premise of this book where we see a blackout in one apartment block and what happens to different residents. I have to say I am not sure I want to be in this apartment building. I also have never been in an ice storm to have this happen but we did have a statewide blackout a year ago for many hours and its interesting how you realise just how reliant we are on electricity.

30 November 2017

Herald Press Blog Tour God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church by Brad Roth

 
God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church 
by Brad Roth. 

ABOUT THE BOOK

Rural places are often seen as insular and declining, all pickup trucks and gas stations with no gas. Another popular vision of rural life is more nostalgic: amber waves of grain, quaint streets, and the idyllic family farm.

Neither story meets rural communities and congregations on their own terms, writes Brad Roth in his new book, God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church (Herald Press, September 2017). In an era in which many are prescribing solutions to rural dilemmas, Roth writes, “We need a new approach, one that sees rural communities not as places to pity or lionize but simply as places, places open to God’s goodness and in need of God’s grace.”

Addressing issues such as population shifts, economics, and value systems, Roth takes a comprehensive look at issues facing the rural church today. He then offers a theological and practical alternative to church growth strategies, which are frequently imported from suburban and urban congregations and which rely on success stories and flashy metrics.

Calling leaders, pastors, and outsiders to “love the church as we discover it while still dreaming of where God is leading us,” Roth outlines a vision for vibrant rural churches that includes disciplines such as praising, abiding, watching, praying, growing, and befriending. “The rural church represents Christ’s commitment to be among all people everywhere, regardless of the value attributed to them by global centers of power,” he writes.

“This is a book I will assign to divinity students and to a prominent position on my shelf,” says Leonard Sweet in the book’s foreword. “Brad Roth tells stories that will linger in my mind and imagination and shape how I think about the future of all churches.”

 
 
 
 
ABOUT BRAD ROTH

Bradley Roth serves as pastor at West Zion Mennonite Church in Moundridge, Kansas. He grew up baling hay, tending sheep, and shearing Christmas trees on a farm in Illinois. He is a graduate of Augustana College, Harvard Divinity School, and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Brad has a heart for serving God and God’s people in rural communities. He’s passionate about sharing faith in word and deed and living out God’s love in the community. He and his wife, Lici, enjoy bicycling, tending a garden, keeping chickens, and playing with their two sons.

$16.99 USD
5.5 x 8.5 in. paperback
ISBN 978-1-5138-0161-2
eBook  $13.99 │ 978-1-5138-0240-4

Release date: September 19, 2017 

Available from Herald PressAmazon, and your favorite bookseller.

29 November 2017

RABT Book Tour Hayden The Perfect Hedgehog by Arla Jayne





Children's Book
Date Published: 6/5/17
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing

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Hayden has always lived in Tiny Yard with his mom. He has never met anyone different. Come along with Hayden the Perfect Hedgehog on this first adventure away from home and witness how differences should be handled.



About the Author


Arla worked in corporate America for over 30 years. Her favorite responsibility was diversity training. This experience, combined with her love of children drove her to create this series with the intent to bring diversity and acceptance understanding to the youngest readers. Arla is married to her wonderful husband, Ron. She had one sonwhich this book honors. Marriage have her 4 beautiful young ladies. Being a mom to these wonderful people is her favorite job!

Contact Links


Purchase Link




Reading Addiction Blog Tours


My Review:
This is a sweet book about a Hedgehog on his first trip outside his yard and he encounters another animal and makes fun of him. His mother sings a song he doesn't understand about being yourself. She explains that by making fun of others it is mean and she is disappointed with what he said. She explains how we are all different but that makes us all special. This is a book that shows children that everyone is different and that we should embrace them. I loved the book. 

27 November 2017

The Beloved Christmas Quilt by Wanda, Jean and Richelle Brunstetter


Description

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