December 30, 2015

The Gentleman's Quest









The Gentleman's Quest is one of the latest novellas by Camille Elliot.  You meet Honoria Dunbar on opening pages of this tale.  Honoria and her mother have been living with her uncle ever since her brother Stephen's death.  Now Honoria is feeling the pressure to leave this unfriendly environment for a new one with a man she does not love!

Suddenly Christopher Creagar appears out of nowhere.  A face from Honoria's past!  Christopher was her brother Stephen's best friend.  He has come bearing a gift.  Christopher had found a box of Stephen's in his family's barn.  This box holds a secret that only the firstborn son was privy to.  Honoria hopes this box holds a secret that will save her from a hopeless future.  Honoria sets off with Christopher in an attempt to discover what this secret is all about!

You will see danger at every turn and you wonder if Christopher and Honoria can come through this journey unscathed.  You will never guess how this situation will play out in the end!



December 26, 2015

The Spinster's Christmas






You meet Miranda Belmoore on the opening pages of Camille Elliot's latest Christmas novella, The Spinster's Christmas.  Your heart immediately goes out to Miranda as you see the humiliation she must endure as she is the penniless cousin who must rely on the benevolence of her family to survive.  As Christmastime has arrived, you soon meet some new figures who have come to join the celebration.  Miranda is especially pleased to see the arrival of Gerard Foremont, the man she lost her heart to years ago!

As you watch Miranda and Gerald become reacquainted, the scene suddenly becomes complicated when danger seems to have arrived on the scene as well!  Due to the injuries he acquired during his time in the navy, Gerald is slowed down by the cane he must use to move around.  Unfortunately, this causes Gerald to be limited in his attempts to protect Miranda from this danger!

Will Miranda and Gerald be able to discover who is behind these recent attacks in time to prevent a terrible outcome?  This is a fun mystery to follow to the conclusion!

Enjoy the ride!


December 19, 2015

One Enchanted Christmas












When you meet Maren Grant in One Enchanted Christmas by Melissa Tagg, you quickly learn that she is not only in search of some inspiration for her next book, but she is also in need of some direction in her personal life!

Remembering that Colin Renwycke, the handsome cover model for Maren's first book, had offered his family's farm as a place where she could find solace to work on her writing, Maren soon finds herself amongst the snow-covered cornfields of Iowa!  When Maren arrives at the farm, she does not find Colin, but instead his older brother, Drew!

As Maren settles into this farmhouse full of the Renwycke family, she is not only able to make progress on her novel, Maren soon gains so much more!

This tale was a bit slow-moving at first; however, once the story line got into gear, it was a fun ride to be a part off!



December 17, 2015

All is Calm







All is Calm, a Christmas novella written by Colleen Coble, takes you again to the Bluebird Ranch, where Allie and Rick have created a haven for young people in need of a shelter.  Only this time you meet a new character, Lauren Everman, who had visited the ranch as a young girl.  Now Lauren is returning as a young woman.  She came looking for a shelter for her horse, Angel, but she ends up needing a place to hide because she is wanted by the police!

What Lauren did not count on was Brendan Waddell, a former colleague of Rick's, showing up at about the same time.  Brendan is on medical leave from his intelligence position with the Special Ops.  Definitely not the type of person Lauren needs on the scene!  Little does she know that Brendan is the exact person she needs to help solve the mystery of who killed her former boss!

This is a fun tale as you follow Lauren and Brandan as they try to identify the true culprit!


December 12, 2015

The Painter's Daughter










You know when you begin reading The Painter's Daughter, the latest novel by Julie Klassen, that you are in store for a lot of action!  Captain Stephen Overtree finds himself on the hunt for his missing brother, Wesley.  Once again Wesley has run off to pursue his own dreams.  Only this time Wesley has left a young pregnant woman behind!

With Wesley nowhere to be found, Stephen decides that he must marry Sophia to protect her reputation.  Once they are married, Stephen proceeds to introduce Sophia to his family and his home at Overtree Hall.  Stephen and Sophia are barely becoming acquainted when unfortunately Stephen must leave to fulfill his responsibilities with the military.  Soon after Stephen leaves, Wesley suddenly shows up on the scene to further complicate the situation!

This book tells a tale where Sophia must decide in the end which path holds God's will for her.  The story will definitely hold your interest until you finally discover Sophia's final decision!


 I received this book from Bethany House in exchange for my unbiased review.



December 8, 2015

Abundant Life in Jesus: Devotions for Every Day of the Year







 






Abundant Life in Jesus by Nancy Gunthrie is a book full of encouragement with devotions for every day of the year!

Each entry starts with a bible verse, making it an easy way to focus on a scripture verse for the day.  What follows are words of encouragement, as if the words are coming from the very heart of God!

Enjoy this way to daily grow your walk with our God.  The packaging of this book is beautiful.....making it an ideal gift to give a friend!


I received this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my unbiased review


December 6, 2015

Until the Dawn


I recently read Until the Dawn, the latest novel by Elizabeth Camden.  On the opening pages of this tale, you meet Sophie van Riijn, a young woman who has grown up along the Hudson River Valley with the freedom to make Dierenpark, an abandoned mansion outside of town, like a second home.  When the wealthy Vandermark family suddenly returns to town after sixty years away, Sophie finds her quiet, idyllic life in this beautiful place about to drastically change!

Sophie soon learns that Quentin Vandermark has returned to make plans to fulfill his grandfather's wish to have the mansion destroyed.  The mansion holds a lot of painful family memories and his grandfather wants it permanently removed.  Sophie and her father, the local mayor, are hoping for time to seek out any reason to stop this terrible action.  When Sophie is hired on as a tutor for Quentin's young son, Pieter, you see their relationship changing for the better.  Quentin slowly begins to admire Sophie for the way she sees and interacts with the world around her.  When Quentin's grandfather suddenly shows up on the scene, you have no idea what will happen next!

Will Sophie have any impact on the way that Quentin views the world or will he simply move ahead with destroying this beautiful mansion?  A lot of truths will be revealed about this family by the final pages!




December 1, 2015

The Mountain Midwife

















The Mountain Midwife builds on the stories from Laurie Alice Eakes, The Midwives Series, only this latest book is written in a current day setting.  When her doorbell begins ringing in the middle of the night, Ashley Tolliver has no idea what to expect.  Ashley is the midwife for her small Appalachian community; however, she has never seen this couple, standing on her doorstep, before.  Now, Ashley must jump into action, as this young girl is about to give birth!

At about the same time several states away,  Hunter McDermott learns that the mother who raised him is actually not his birth-mother.  Suddenly Hunter does not know where he belongs!  He begins trying to track down information about his birth mother in the small mountain town where he was born.  Hunter and Ashley's paths collide when he learns that her grandmother was the midwife who delivered him all those years ago.  As Ashley begins to help Hunter discover more details about his background, she also begins to learn more about the strangers who showed up on her doorstep and then suddenly disappeared.   As both of these mysteries are slowly being solved, the feelings that seem to be developing between Hunter and Ashley may threaten her plans to move forward with her dream of becoming a doctor!

Hang on tight through this fast moving tale as some very interesting truths come to light by the end of this story!


I received this book from Zondervan in exchange for my unbiased review