Review: Return to Boone's Hollow

Return to Boone's Hollow by Kim Vogel Sawyer
My rating: 💛💛💛

Rating 3.5

I enjoyed being back in Boone’s Hallow and seeing all the characters from the first book playing such an important role in the second book as well.

This story was filled with love, loss, forgiveness and reconciliation.

I would recommend reading book one before reading book two.

I listened to the audiobook on Audible.

Book 1 - The Librarian of Boone's Hallow 

View all my reviews

About the book:

With Pap hauled off to the state penitentiary, Bettina finally feels safe. Living with Nanny Fay Tucker, working as a packhorse librarian, and being courted by Shay Leeson is a life beyond anything she'd imagined. And it's only going to get better. Because soon she'll be an honorary auntie to her best friend Addie's baby, and--for sure not much longer--she'll exchange vows with Shay and become his wife. Things in Boone's Hollow couldn't be rosier...until she gets word that the governor suspended Pap's sentence and he'll be coming back sooner than she expected.
Shay wants to marry her real quick and take her out of Boone's Hollow. But how can she go with Nanny Fay needs her and Addie's baby isn't here yet? Pap's return creates a storm in her relationship with Shay. And then another storm--one brewing way overseas--stirs trouble all over Black Mountain.

Will Bettina's world fall apart again? Or will the lessons she's learned from Nanny Fay about holding tight to the One who can calm any storm take her to a place of peace?

About the author:

Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher that someday people would check out her book in the library. The little-girl dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer's Return. Kim's titles now exceed 1.5 million copies and are available in six different languages. A former elementary school teacher, she now enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Kim's passion lies in writing stories that point the reader to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. When Kim isn't writing, you'll find her traveling with her retired military hubby, spoiling her granddarlings, petting the cats, quilting, or--as time allows--participating in community theater. You can learn more about Kim's writing and speaking ministries at her website, KimVogelSawyer.com.

Review: A Hopeful Heart

A Hopeful Heart by Kim Vogel Sawyer
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

Rating 3.75

I enjoyed this historical adventure story filled with missing cattle, ladies learning to be prairie brides and friendships.

I had a good suspicion of who was behind the missing cattle but was almost sad when it turned out to be true.

I enjoyed the love stories contained in this book and also the villains. The faith element was really strong and I loved how the author used the characters to tell readers the story of God’s love for us.

*I listened to the audiobook on Everand.*

View all my reviews

About the book:

Dowryless and desperate, Tressa Neill applies to the inaugural class of Wyatt Herdsman School in Barnett, Kansas, in 1888. The school's one-of-a-kind program teaches young women from the East the skills needed to become a rancher--or the wife of one. Shy and small for her twenty-two years, Tressa is convinced she'll never have what it takes to survive Hattie Wyatt's hands-on instruction in skills such as milking a cow, branding a calf, riding a horse, and cooking up a mess of grub for hungry ranch hands. But what other options does she have? Abel Samms wants nothing to do with the group of potential brides his neighbor brought to town. He was smitten with an eastern girl once--and he got his heart broken. But there's something about quiet Tressa and her bumbling ways that makes him take notice. When Tressa's life is endangered, will Abel risk his own life--and his heart--to help this eastern girl?

About the author:

Award-winning, bestselling author Kim Vogel Sawyer told her kindergarten teacher that someday people would check out her book in the library. The little-girl dream came true in 2006 with the release of Waiting for Summer's Return. Kim's titles now exceed 1.5 million copies and are available in six different languages. A former elementary school teacher, she now enjoys a full-time writing and speaking ministry. Kim's passion lies in writing stories that point the reader to a deeper, more intimate relationship with God. When Kim isn't writing, you'll find her traveling with her retired military hubby, spoiling her granddarlings, petting the cats, quilting, or--as time allows--participating in community theater. You can learn more about Kim's writing and speaking ministries at her website, KimVogelSawyer.com.

Review: Dawn's Hidden Threat: A Missing in Alaska, Romantic Suspense Novella

Dawn's Hidden Threat: A Missing in Alaska, Romantic Suspense Novella by Elizabeth Goddard
My rating: 💛💛💛

This was an action packed novella which kicked off the Missing in Alaska series.

I enjoyed the amnesia plot and how the characters had a past history and how the chemistry rekindled with the Alaska meet up.

Twists and turns made this novella a fast paced story in the great setting of Alaska.

Review book 1: Counter Attack

Review book 2: Shadows at Dusk

Review book 3: Hidden in the Night 

View all my reviews

About the book:

An Unexpected Search and Rescue . . .

When Ridge Ledger’s SAR and avalanche dog discovers an injured woman, Ridge is surprised that she’s the woman who broke his heart two months ago---in California. Not Alaska. He doesn’t know why she’s not still in the Lower 48, and he’s caught off guard when she attacks him as if fighting for her life. He’s shocked to learn the woman he loved has forgotten him.

Uncovers a Hidden Threat.

Angie Harris—is that even her name? —can’t recall who she is. She doesn’t know whom to trust, except for the man who rescued her from a cold dark cave and a grizzly bear. But she can’t forget the face of the one who tried to kill her. Remembering the reason that she came to Alaska is vital to her survival, and as it turns out, Ridge’s survival too.

*Previously published in the Heroes in the Crossfire collection.

About the author:

Winner of an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award in Suspense, Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi

with her rescue kitty, Suzy, and loves to write suspense with a twist of romance. Her Logan Point series is available at all on-line retailers and major bookstores. In September 2017, JUSTICE BURIED, the second book in the Memphis Cold Case Novels will release.

Her workshops on writing include online courses with American Christian Fiction Writers, workshops at the Mid-South Christian Writer’s Conference, ACFW Minnesota NICE and Memphis ACFW. When she has time, she likes to throw mud on a wheel and see what happens.

I love connecting with readers on my blog every Tuesday where I have a Mystery Question for them to solve: www.patriciabradleyauthor.com/blog
Twitter: @ptbradley1
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/patriciabradleyauthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ptbradley/

Book Spotlight Friday! What We Hide

Book Beginnings and Friday56

Book Beginnings is a weekly meme hosted by Rose City Reader that asks you to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you're reading. Friday 56 is hosted by My Head is Full of Books and asks you to grab a book (any book), turn to page 56 or 56% in your e-reader and share a non-spoiler sentence or two.  First Line Friday is a weekly meme hosted by Reading is my Superpower that asks you to share the first sentence of the book you're reading.

Colleen Coble is always a favourite and this first book in a new series with Rick Acker started out very interesting.

What We Hide

About the book:

The past has a way of catching up with us.

Savannah Webster is trying to find her way forward. She and her husband, Hez, have been separated since their two-year-old daughter drowned and he began numbing his grief and guilt with alcohol. She returned to Tupelo Grove University, which her family helped found nearly a century ago, to teach history.

But within twenty-four hours three different grenades fall into her (1) her estranged husband--a former DA--appears in her office asking for her help starting a clinic devoted to freeing wrongly convicted defendants, (2) she discovers paperwork proving that someone is selling off the university's pre-Columbian artifacts, and (3) she finds the body of the university president and falls under suspicion herself for his murder.

With the odds stacked against her, there's no one Savannah trusts to defend her but Hez. The president's murder and the missing artifacts are only scratches on the surface. The only hope they've got is each other, and they're going to have to put their past behind them if they're going to stay alive long enough to uncover all that's hidden.

*************************************************************

Book Beginnings

DEATH IS A LONELY BUSINESS.

Friday 56

The video showed Cardin arguing with a man in the parking lot behind the history building.

My thoughts so far

So far I am intrigued by who is behind everything.

   ************************************************************* 

Can't Wait Wednesday! Flashback

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.

Excited to continue with this explosive series:

About the book: Flashback

SECRETS. BETRAYAL. SACRIFICE.
THIS TIME, THEY'RE NOT JUST FIGHTING FIRE.

An original series created by bestselling authors Susan May Warren and Lisa Phillips.

He’s the last person she wants to see…

Allie Monroe is desperate for a fresh start. Grieving the loss of her first SAR dog, she’s gone to Montana to train her new K9, Scout. And when two boys go missing during a wildfire, she’s brought on board to find them.

But the one person tasked to help her is the last person she wants to see—arrogant and dangerous Dakota Masterson.

It’ll take exactly this man to save everything she loves.

Former SWAT officer Dakota Masterson is a new man after confronting the demons of his past, including his first unfortunate meeting with Allie. But admittedly, she’s the last person he thought he’d see again…or have to work with. Still, maybe this is his chance to prove to her that he’s a different man—because she’s the one woman he can’t seem to forget.

However, with the flames closing in, finding the boys might mean confronting the painful memories of their short-lived relationship. Then, Allie’s dog goes missing, suddenly someone is shooting at them, and they find themselves in a race against a wildfire and a threat that wants them dead. More, when Allie goes missing, Dakota’s past—and his issues—come roaring back.

It’ll take the SWAT officer in him to save the day, but will it cost them a future they both long for?

Get ready to be swept away in a world where survival, redemption, and second chances collide in book three of the Chasing Fire: Montana series.

What are you waiting on this week?

Top Ten Tuesday: Most Anticipated Books Releasing During the Second Half of 2024

 

Join in the Top Ten Tuesday fun! Top Ten Tuesday was created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

Here is some of the Books I am excited about releasing in the second half of the year and hope to read:

1.  One Last Promise

2. Target Acquired

3. Over the Edge

4. One Last Stand

5. Unforgotten

6. Deadly Revenge

7. An Honorable Deception

8. Brave

9. Specters in the Glass House

10. Before We Were Us

Weekend Wrap-Up: June 23rd

 

 

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

Just a more relaxed week with some of us recovering from Sinus.

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? 

Two ARCs this week.

Bought: One Freebie

Review: Just the Way You Are

Just the Way You Are by Pepper Basham
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

This was a lovely story set in Britain and America, about new beginnings and redemptions.

Eisley and Wes had a great connection from the start and the struggles in their relationship which was linked to their past histories was realistic.

I adored Eisley’s little girl and her tight family! I hope it is not the last time we see them.

View all my reviews

About the book:

Single mom, Eisley Barrett, prefers to keep romance housed within a centuries-old mystery, but when she travels to England to unearth the secret, an actor with a sordid past offers her heart a very different type of discovery.

Wes Harrison has a past he's ashamed to confess. Suspicious and cynical, he's managed to avoid romantic entanglements since a tragedy upended his career and life, that is until American Eisley Barrett comes along. Her authenticity and kindness upend his bitter assumptions and send his heart into unscripted territory.

When his past threatens to ruin a second chance at love, can some Appalachian matchmaking and letters from the grave salvage their unexpected romance?

Humor, love, mystery, cute kids, crazy families, and culture clashes make this Britallachian Romance a unique and delightful romantic comedy sprinkled with adventure.

About the author:

Pepper D Basham has been telling tales ever since she was a little girl. When her grandmother called her a “writer” at the age of ten, Pepper took it as gospel and has enjoyed various types of writing styles ever since. A native of the Blue Ridge Mountains, mom of five, speech-language pathologist, and lover of chocolate, Pepper enjoys sprinkling her native Appalachian culture into her fiction wherever she can. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC, where she works with kids who have special needs, searches for unique hats, and plots new ways to annoy her wonderful friends at her writing blog, The Writer’s Alley.

Review: Belinda Blake and the Snake in the Grass

Belinda Blake and the Snake in the Grass by Heather Day Gilbert
My rating: 💛💛💛

An intriguing cosy mystery with a unique introvert who would rather spend her time pet sitting exotic pets than humans, this was a great first book in a new series.

There was a few twists and turns which kept me guessing and it was only until the last reveal that I realised all the parties who was involved.

I am looking forward to seeing what other mysteries Belinda and het exotic pets will find themselves in the middle off.

View all my reviews

About the book:

When exotic pet-sitter Belinda Blake moves into a carriage house in tony Greenwich, Connecticut, she’s hoping to find some new clients. Instead she discovers a corpse in the garden—and a knack for solving murders...

Belinda doesn’t rattle easily, but move-in day has been eventful, to say the least. The python in her care tried to slither to freedom—just as she met Stone Carrington the fifth, her landlords’ disarmingly handsome son. With the constrictor back in its cage, she heads out to the garden, only to discover a designer shoe poking out of the boxwood hedge—and it's attached to a woman’s dead body.

The victim was a Carrington family friend, and no one in their circle seems above suspicion. Between client trips to Manhattan and visits to her family in upstate New York, Belinda begins to put the pieces together. But even as she’s falling for Stone’s numerous charms, Belinda wonders if she’s cozying up to a killer. And soon, daily contact with a deadly reptile might be the least dangerous part of her life.

About the author:

Award-winning novelist Heather Day Gilbert enjoys writing mysteries and Viking historicals. She brings authentic family relationships to the page, and she particularly delights in heroines who take a stand to protect those they love. Avid readers say Heather's realistic characters—no matter what century—feel like best friends. When she's not plotting stories, this native West Virginian can often be found hanging out with her husband and four children, playing video games, or reading Agatha Christie novels.

Find Heather on Pinterest (heatherdgilbert), Instagram (@heatherdaygilbert), Twitter (@heatherdgilbert), and Facebook (heatherdaygilbert). You can find all her books at heatherdaygilbert.com.

Review: You're the Reason

You're the Reason by Tari Faris
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

This was my first book by Tari Faris and my first visit to heritage, Michigan but I plan to go back and catch up with all the character’s stories.

Seth had a lot of baggage from making bad decisions in his youth, and still faces the consequences of those decisions while trying to make a fresh start.

Grace physical challenges which led her on the path home and in Seth’s life and to answer the questions about why she dances, was real and to me a great contrast between the two characters, one where an absent parent led to poor decisions and one where one’s controlling parents impacted on your perceptions of love.

My favorite part was of a little girl saying she loves to dance because she is sure it makes God smile.

I really enjoyed this story of redemption, new beginnings and finding your way back to doing what God created you to do.

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


View all my reviews

About the book:

How could she ever love the man blamed for her brother’s death? A novel of Redemption, Forgiveness, and Unrequited Love in this Home to Heritage novel.

"Tari Faris delivers a masterful blend of romance and redemption in this compelling tale that will tug at your heartstrings and inspire your soul. A must-read for anyone who believes in the power of second chances." USA Today best-selling author Susan May Warren

She never intended to return to Heritage.

When an injury sidelines her, Grace Howell leaves her life as a ballerina and returns to Heritage, Michigan, to heal. Teaching dance is just a temporary gig, until she finds herself unexpectedly charmed by small-town life and her growing attachment to Seth Warner, a man from her past with a troubled history of his own.

He’s back in Heritage as a changed man.

The last place Seth thought he’d return is Heritage, but a felony record has narrowed his options, compelling him back to a community that hasn’t forgotten his transgressions. Dreams of starting a Ninja Gym give him purpose, yet it’s his entanglement with Grace—the woman he once let slip away—that ignites his desire to stay. Is this his chance at redemption and to live out the love he’s always harbored?

But can they forget the past?

When Grace’s old ballet company offers her a chance to come back, she’s faced with a heart-wrenching pursue the dream she’s always known or stay with the community and man that have captured her heart, even as that love is put to the test.

But has Seth really changed?

Seth’s world is rocked by a confrontation that threatens to pull him back into the world he’s tried so hard to escape. He must fight to clear his name and protect his future with Grace, proving that his commitment to change is more than just talk.
With their happiness hanging by a thread, the decisions they make will define their fates and the heart of Heritage itself.

HOME TO HERITAGE
You’re the Reason
Here With Me
Christmas With You

RESTORING HERITAGE
P.S. Goodbye (prequel novella)
You Belong With Me
Until I Met You
While It Was Snowing (novella)
Since You’ve Been Gone
Upon a Midnight Snow (Christmas novella)

About the author:

I have been writing fiction for more than twelve years. It has been an exciting journey for this math-loving-

dyslexic girl. I had read less than a handful of novels by the time I graduated from college and I thought I would end up in the field of science or math. But God had other plans and I wouldn't trade this journey for anything. As someone told me once, God's plans may not be easy, and they may not always make sense but they are never boring.


In addition to my writing, I also work for My Book Therapy as a special project project manager and write for LearnHowToWriteAnNovel.com and you can find me blogging over there on occasion.

​When I am not writing or working, I spend time with my amazing husband. We have been married for fifteen wonderful years and have three sweet children. In my free time, I love coffee, rock hounding with my husband and kids, and distracting myself from housework.

Can't Wait Wednesday! The Summer of Yes

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.

I am looking forward to the story behind this cute cover:

About the book: The Summer of Yes

A near-death experience catapults workaholic junior editor Kelsey Worthington into changing her life--one yes at a time.

Kelsey Worthington always dreamed of being a writer, but she's settled into a routine of helping other people tell their stories in her job as a junior editor. She doesn't go outside of her comfort zone. Her relationships are safe. Her job is secure. Her existence is stable. And she's great with that.

And then, the accident.

While she's in the hospital overnight, she meets an older woman named Georgina Tate--a glass-ceiling-shattering, wildly successful businesswoman. Georgina sacrificed everything to become the woman she is today, but now, with a pair of failing kidneys and only a handful of months left to live, Georgina is forced to come face-to-face with her regrets. Kelsey is forced to reckon with her own list of "things I'll do someday," and she starts to ask a simple but life-changing What if I said yes to all the things I normally say no to? And The Yes Plan is born.

It takes some convincing, but Georgina finally agrees to go along with Kelsey on her Summer of Yes adventures. The two of them set off to see what might be out there waiting for them if they simply open themselves up to it. Together, they say yes to whatever comes their way--a whole day being tourists in their own New York City, dinner with strangers, a convertible that is far from practical but so much fun. But when Kelsey springs a surprise visit to Georgina's son Hayden and Georgina's ex-husband (who is not so much of an ex), the older woman is less than thrilled. But this is where the true journey begins.

Two stories of love, forgiveness, regret, romance, and finding a way to live a fearless life intertwine as these two women make an indelible impression on each other. And it all starts with a simple "yes."

What are you waiting on this week?

Review: Hidden in the Night

Hidden in the Night by Elizabeth Goddard
My rating: 💛💛💛

This third installment in the Missing Alaska series (each book can be read as a standalone), was intriguing, included a missing person, a murder, a lost manuscript with an unknown danger in trying to recover it, and a sweet building romance.

Though I enjoyed this story, for some reason I did not find it as suspenseful as the prior books in this series. For me the danger and action and suspense only really grabbed me in that can’t-put-down plot I love around the last 30% of the story.

Still, there was a lot happening which led to an action packed mystery.

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

Review book 1: Counter Attack

Review book 2: Shadows at Dusk


View all my reviews

About the book:

At the behest of her ailing mother, former FBI special agent turned rare-book collector Ivy Elliott arrives in Alaska to secure an unpublished Jack London manuscript kept secreted away for decades. But when she arrives, she learns the manuscript is gone--taken by the granddaughter of the woman who possessed it. Ivy sets off in pursuit, not just to save the manuscript but to save the vulnerable girl, who was previously trafficked and has no idea what she's getting herself into.

Joining forces with Alaska State Trooper Nolan Long, Ivy must battle a blizzard, sabotage, and the worst of an Alaskan winter as the search goes on. But every answer they find only raises more questions--and the danger to their lives and to the missing girl may only be the tip of the iceberg.

Don't miss this breathtaking race for truth set amid the glorious--and deadly--Glacier Bay from USA Today bestselling author Elizabeth Goddard.

About the author:

Winner of an Inspirational Readers’ Choice Award in Suspense, Patricia Bradley lives in North Mississippi

with her rescue kitty, Suzy, and loves to write suspense with a twist of romance. Her Logan Point series is available at all on-line retailers and major bookstores. In September 2017, JUSTICE BURIED, the second book in the Memphis Cold Case Novels will release.

Her workshops on writing include online courses with American Christian Fiction Writers, workshops at the Mid-South Christian Writer’s Conference, ACFW Minnesota NICE and Memphis ACFW. When she has time, she likes to throw mud on a wheel and see what happens.

I love connecting with readers on my blog every Tuesday where I have a Mystery Question for them to solve: www.patriciabradleyauthor.com/blog
Twitter: @ptbradley1
FaceBook: www.facebook.com/patriciabradleyauthor
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/ptbradley/