Can't Wait Wednesday: No Place Like Home

Can't Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings that spotlights and discusses the books we're excited about that we've yet to read. Generally, they're books that are yet to be released. It's based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Looking forward to the next book in the series.

About the book: No Place Like Home

The girl he always loved ran away to join...the circus. But will a homecoming give him a second chance at giving her a reason to stay in this unrequited love romance?

Magnolia Bay’s development director, Cade Landry, would do anything for his town—and his family. So when the mayor—who also happens to be his father—decides to retire, he talks Cade into running for his seat. But Cade is already up to his dimpled cheeks in the town’s post-hurricane revitalization fundraiser—Magnolia Days, featuring a flashy Cajun Circus. If Cade can’t put the bay back on the map as a tourist town, he’ll let the whole community down…and worse yet, his father.

Rosalyn Dupree is a famous aerialist with a secret—actually, quite a few of them. Much to Cade’s relief, she agrees to return to Magnolia Bay for the first time in years as a headliner for the Cajun Circus. But neither her charming former school rival Cade nor her parents know she’s broke, in debt, and nursing a knee injury...among other things. She’d love to move back to the bay for good, but the beloved sport that used to let her fly has become her cage.

Despite her best efforts at resisting, sparks fly between Cade and Rosalyn as they work together on the circus fundraiser. But when everyone’s secrets are revealed and worlds collide, will Rosalyn find forgiveness and restoration in a town being rebuilt? Or will there never be anywhere to truly call home?

Magnolia Bay
Book 1: Where I Found You
Book 2: No Place Like Home
Book 3: Meant for Me

What are you waiting on this week?

Monthly Recap: April

 

 I first saw this monthly reflections idea on: Christian bookshelf reviews

April was another busy month with school vacation. 

 

What I've read:

(Reviews can be found under Book Review tag)

Kindle:

Audio:

Paperback:

Still in progress

What I would like to read in May:

Read:

Upcoming reads (hopeful):

Did I buy any new books?

Bought: Two

Freebies: None

Did I read everything I wanted too?

The following I had to carry over

January:

March:

April:

ARC/Netgalley update:

ARC/Netgalley books downloaded this month:

A bit better this month with the ARCs:

ARC/Netgalley books read and reviewed:

Send feedback on the following

How was your month?

Weekend Wrap-up: May 4th

 

 It’s Monday! What are you reading? is hosted by Book Date.

Life got a bit crazy with school holidays and working from home.

Finished

(Reviews can be found under Book Review tag)

Currently reading

Next up:

What are you reading this week?

Blog Posts Recap:

Here is my past week's Blog Posts.

Top Ten Tuesday

Can't Wait Wednesday

Book Spotlight Fridays!

Saturday Series Discovery

Adding to the Bookshelf:

Which Avid Reader do not add to their shelves! I try to limit mine to review books since I have so many owned on my TBR to read.  So did I add to my shelf this week? 

Three ARCs this week.

Bought: None

Freebies: None

Review: Doyle

Doyle by Susan May Warren
My rating: 💛💛💛

If we had clarity on God’s big plans, we might never follow. But He gives us direction for the next step and asks us to trust Him. That’s where you need to start.

So far during the series, Doyle was the serious brooding brother more in the background.

In this story, we as readers could see there was a lot more to this brooding brother. He stepped up and saved the day when needed, had compassion for others, was driven to find his way back to God’s plan for his life after a huge loss and has a big heart.

Tia wanted to start over after the loss she experienced which we read more about in book two, and sometimes tried too hard to prove herself which landed her in some tricky situations.

I loved going on this adventure with Doyle and Tia. I was never bored with something happening around every corner, if not with Doyle and Tia, with Doyle’s siblings. I really have a lot of questions about one character who might or not be a traitor and I loved all the cameos from some favourite characters from the author’s search and rescue series.

If you love action, danger, adventure, being kept in suspense and love a wonderful spiritual thread which wraps smoothly around the physical story, you should pick up Doyle and give him a chance to capture your heart.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

There's Trouble Up North...

Meet Doyle, who finds peril in paradise in this rivals romance, book 3 in the Minnesota Kingston series by USA Today bestselling author Susan May Warren

When love and danger collide, paradise plays by its own rules.

When Tiana Pepper lands on the lush island of Mariposa, she just wants to put her sad past behind her. Her goal is a new beginning as fundraiser and director of Hope House, a local orphanage.
Except she’s not the director. She’s co-director, and nobody told her she’d have to work with an impulsive, out-of-bounds, depend on his charm, annoying disaster rescuer, named Doyle Kingston.

She can run this show on her own, thanks.

Doyle Kingston, bearing the weight of his own grief, arrives at Hope House ready to leave behind a history of loss. He hopes to find forever homes for these orphans, and the last thing he expects is to have to work with a woman who thinks she’s the boss of this island paradise.

And yet…they have problems.

Like becoming the target of a local gang.

And boss, Billionaire Declan Stone has invited his fancy friends to the island to see Hope House up close, in hopes they’ll donate and get the orphanage on its feet. So…please, could they work together?

And wouldn’t you know it but among the donors is a treasure hunter who believes a pirate left a stash under Hope House. What-ever.

Then an earthquake rocks the island, kids go missing and Tia and Doyle have no choice but trust each other if they hope to save the children and each other.

Doyle is a pulse-pounding romantic suspense featuring rivals turned rescuers, where opposites attract amidst peril in paradise, are two hearts scarred by tragedy just might find a second chance at true love.

The Minnesota Kingstons
Jack
Conrad
Book 3: Doyle
Book 4: Austen
Book 5: Steinbeck

About the author:

Also see: Author Discovery: Susan May Warren

Susan May Warren Short Bio

Susan May Warren is the USA Today bestselling, Christy and RITA award-winning novelist of over sixty-five novels. An eight-time Christy award finalist, a three-time RITA Finalist, she’s also a multi-winner of the Inspirational Readers Choice award, and the ACFW Carol Award.

A seasoned women’s events speaker, she’s a popular writing teacher at conferences around the nation and the author of the beginning writer’s workbook: The Story Equation.

She is also the founder of www.MyBookTherapy.com, and Novel.Academy, a school for aspiring novelists. You can find her online at www.susanmaywarren.com.

Review: When the Heart Sings

When the Heart Sings by Liz Tolsma
My rating: 💛💛💛

Through singing of songs a couple found a way of staying connected even though they were separated.

The author again found a way to bring forth beauty in times of darkness, oppression and death. Through songs and the unconditional love and caring of a child, the characters found joy in the middle of sadness.

I like how the author used one German character to show that there were kindness and care from a group known only to show hatred and unkindness.

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

Natia has a secret, and she’s hiding him right beneath her captor’s nose...

The Nazis have forced Natia and Teodor from their Polish farm to a labor camp. When the couple is separated, Natia is chosen to be the housekeeper for the camp’s overseer, and Teodor is sent to work in the factory. Despite the strict camp rules—and the consequences for disobeying them—Natia finds a way to communicate with Teodor by sending messages through song as she passes Teodor’s dormitory. 

The stakes get higher when Natia finds a Jewish orphan on the overseer’s doorstep. She is determined to protect the boy and raise him as the child she and her husband were unable to bear— but if her German captors discover how much she’s hiding, both she and Teodor may pay the ultimate price. 

About the author:

Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her

husband, their son, and their two daughters. All of their children have been adopted internationally and one has special needs. Her novella, Under His Wings, appeared in the New York Times bestselling collection, A Log Cabin Christmas. Her debut novel, Snow on the Tulips, released in August of 2013. Daisies Are Forever released in May 2014. When not busy putting words to paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family. Please visit her blog at www.liztolsma.blogspot.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter (@LizTolsma). She is also a regular contributor to the Barn Door blog.

Review: The Melody of the Soul

The Melody of the Soul by Liz Tolsma
My rating: 💛💛💛

This was a refreshing and different take to WW2.

The author still embraced and showed the evil and darkness of the war, but also how music can heal the soul even in the most difficult of times.

The author also showed German characters who did not agree with what was happening, and who even tried to help the Jews.

*I read this on Everand.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

By 1943, Anna Zadok, a Jewish Christian living in Prague, has lost everything, including her career as a concert violinist and almost her entire family. The only person she has left is her beloved grandmother, and she's determined to keep her safe. But protecting Grandmother won't be easy--not with a Nazi officer billeted below them.

Anna must keep a low profile. There's one thing she refuses to give up, though. Despite instruments being declared illegal, Anna defiantly continues to practice her violin. She has to believe that the war will end someday and her career will be waiting. Fortunately for Anna, the officer, Horst Engel, enjoys her soothing music. It distracts him from his dissatisfaction with Nazi ideology and reminds him that beauty still exists in an increasingly ugly world.

When his neighbors face deportation, Horst is moved to risk everything to hide them. Anna finds herself falling in love with the handsome officer and his brave heart. But what he reveals to her might break her trust and stop the music forever. . . .

About the author:

Liz Tolsma has lived in Wisconsin most of her life, and she now resides next to a farm field with her

husband, their son, and their two daughters. All of their children have been adopted internationally and one has special needs. Her novella, Under His Wings, appeared in the New York Times bestselling collection, A Log Cabin Christmas. Her debut novel, Snow on the Tulips, released in August of 2013. Daisies Are Forever released in May 2014. When not busy putting words to paper, she enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping with her family. Please visit her blog at www.liztolsma.blogspot.com and follow her on Facebook and Twitter (@LizTolsma). She is also a regular contributor to the Barn Door blog.

Review: Meet Me at The Grand: A Jonathon Island Novel

Meet Me at The Grand: A Jonathon Island Novel by Lindsay Harrel
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

“God’s love for us is the anchor in the storm. And He will never abandon us.”

This was a great start to a series which promises to bring readers a small cozy location where everyone knows everyone, where people can come to for second chances and new beginnings.

Both Liam and Dani experienced loss and breakage of their family when they were young and are still dealing with long-lasting effects on their lives.

In their quest to bring the Grand Hotel back to life, they discovered a connection deeper than friendship, a path to allowing and trusting God for their healing and future and how meeting each other halfway could bring more joy and a promising future.

I enjoyed the spiritual messages throughout the story as well.


“God has never walked away from you. People are sinners, and God lets them walk their path. But He does promise to stay with us, even when we feel alone. The Bible says God is close to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. He’s been waiting for you all this time, Dani, aching to heal you. You’ve just been turning to other places for that healing instead.”

“The good thing about screwing up is it gives the rest of us the chance to practice forgiveness.”

*I received a complimentary copy from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

The Jonathon Island series is created by USA Today bestselling, award-winning author Susan May Warren.

She’s fighting to save her island’s legacy. He’s here to secure his family’s future. When their worlds collide, will they build something lasting—or tear each other apart?

Dani Sullivan is determined to revive Jonathon Island’s fading charm and reunite her fractured family. Her plan? Reopen the Grand Sullivan Hotel, a once-impressive landmark that’s been in disrepair for a decade. But without the funds to restore the hotel, Dani’s forced to accept help from Liam Stone—a big-city hotel developer whose sleek, modern vision is everything she’s trying to avoid.

Liam has never been one for small towns or rundown hotels, but this project isn’t just any job. His father’s health is declining, and if Liam can prove himself by turning the hotel around, he’ll finally earn the chance to take over the business so his dad can retire. But Jonathon Island is far from the high-end luxury projects he’s used to, and Dani’s fierce dedication to preserving its history clashes with everything Liam stands for.

As they battle over the future of the Grand, Liam starts to see Jonathon Island as more than just another project—it feels like the home he’s never had. But with his responsibilities pulling him back to Los Angeles, can he really stay? And can Dani trust him with her dream—and her heart?

A lot rides on the success of this project, but when emotions run high, will Dani and Liam find a way to work together—or will their differences tear them apart?

On Jonathon Island, love and loyalty are the ultimate balancing act.

Jonathon Island
Book 1: Meet Me at The Grand
Book 2: Meet Me on Lilac Lane
Book 3: Meet Me at the Fudge Shop
Book 4: Meet Me on Blueberry Hill
Book 5: Meet Me at Sunset Cove
Book 6: Meet Me at the Christmas Cottage

About the author:

Lindsay Harrel is a lifelong book nerd with a B.A. in journalism and M.A. in English. She lives in Arizona with her young family and two golden retrievers in serious need of training. Lindsay has held a variety of jobs, including curriculum editor for two universities, medical and business writer, and copywriter for a digital marketing agency. Now she juggles stay-at-home mommyhood with working freelance jobs, teaching college English courses online, and—of course—writing novels.

When she actually has time to do other things, she loves to sing, read, and sip passion iced teas from Starbucks. She loves to watch God work in ordinary lives to create something extraordinary, and she writes to bring hope to those who may have lost it along the way. Connect with her at www.LindsayHarrel.com and any other place she hangs out online, including Facebook and Twitter.