Top ten Tuesday: Love Freebie: Books with Heart in the Title

 

 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.

1.  To Steal a Heart

2.  Where the Heart Leads

3.  Where Two Hearts Meet

4.  Where Two Hearts Meet

5.  A Hopeful Heart

6.  Song of My Heart

7.  Paper Hearts

8.  Change of Heart

9.  A Bound Heart

10.  My Heart Remembers

Review: Until Leaves Fall in Paris

Until Leaves Fall in Paris by Sarah Sundin
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

Sarah Sundin again provided an emotional and captivating story set in France during WW2. Every time I read a novel by this author, I learn about a different aspect of WW2. This time I learned about how even though Paris allowed the Germans to invade peacefully, the French still resisted in a quieter, underground way.

At first I was a bit irritated with how Lucie treated Paul, but as the story slowly developed, Lucie did redeem herself. I loved Josie and her "stone-monsters" and how good Lucie and Josie connected.

Paul, I loved him and how he just took the judgment of everyone with integrity though he felt the rejection and loss of friends, especially for his little girl.

The story is beautifully written and for 80% it was slowly developing which matched well with the events - people living in Paris, quietly doing their small part in resisting the Germans, but then the danger grew and the last 20% I was really hoping these characters will be getting their HEA.

I loved that we were able to catch up to Peter and Evelyn from . Each book is a stand alone, even though there is a brief mention of the characters we met in the previous story.

Another great Historical fiction which fans of Sarah Sundin will love.

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

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About the book:

As the Nazis march toward Paris in 1940, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. Lucie struggles to run Green Leaf Books due to oppressive German laws and harsh conditions, but she finds a way to aid the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.

Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. After they meet in the bookstore, Paul and Lucie are drawn to each other, but she rejects him when she discovers he sells to the Germans. And for Paul to win her trust would mean betraying his mission.

Master of WWII-era fiction Sarah Sundin invites you onto the streets of occupied Paris to discover whether love or duty will prevail.

About the author:

Sarah Sundin enjoys writing about the drama and romance of the World War II era. She is the bestselling author of When Twilight Breaks (February 2021),The Land Beneath Us (2020), The Sky Above Us (2019) and The Sea Before Us (2018), as well as the Waves of Freedom, Wings of the Nightingale series, and Wings of Glory series. Her novel The Land Beneath Us was a 2020 Christy Award finalist, The Sky Above Us won the 2020 Carol Award, The Sea Before Us received the 2019 Reader's Choice Award from Faith, Hope, and Love. Both Through Waters Deep and When Tides Turn were named to Booklist's "101 Best Romance Novels of the Last 10 Years."

A mother of three, Sundin lives in northern California and teaches Sunday school and women's Bible studies. She enjoys speaking to community, church, and writers' groups. Sarah serves as Co-Director for the West Coast Christian Writers Conference.

Weekend Wrap-up: February 6th

 

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

Finished

Currently reading

Next up:

What are you reading this week?

Book Spotlight Fridays! Until Leaves Fall in Paris

 

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 Freda's Voice 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.

Enjoying this WW2 historical fiction from Sarah Sundin: 

Until Leaves Fall in Paris

About the book:

As the Nazis march toward Paris in 1940, American ballerina Lucie Girard buys her favorite English-language bookstore to allow the Jewish owners to escape. Lucie struggles to run Green Leaf Books due to oppressive German laws and harsh conditions, but she finds a way to aid the resistance by passing secret messages between the pages of her books.

Widower Paul Aubrey wants nothing more than to return to the States with his little girl, but the US Army convinces him to keep his factory running and obtain military information from his German customers. As the war rages on, Paul offers his own resistance by sabotaging his product and hiding British airmen in his factory. After they meet in the bookstore, Paul and Lucie are drawn to each other, but she rejects him when she discovers he sells to the Germans. And for Paul to win her trust would mean betraying his mission.

Master of WWII-era fiction Sarah Sundin invites you onto the streets of occupied Paris to discover whether love or duty will prevail.

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

Book Beginnings

As long as she kept dancing, Lucille Girard could pretend the world wasn't falling apart.

Friday 56

Paul hung up the phone.  Bentley Young's nurse had called to set an appointment to discuss treatment of Paul's fictitious ulcer.

My thoughts so far

I'm finding Sarah Sundan's stories very enjoyable and she is fast becoming a favourite historical fiction author of mine.  And it is always fun to visit Paris.

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

Review: Love's Sacred Song

Love's Sacred Song by Mesu Andrews
My rating: 💛💛💛💛

Mesu Andrews is probably my number one Biblical fiction author. The reason, she will take the Biblical truths and intertwine that with a fictional story which is filled with emotion and characters who pulls you in and holds your attention.

In this story, there were times where I was so frustrated with Solomon. He was know for his wisdom, but he made so many foolish and impulsive decisions when it comes to matters of the heart. Arielah was so wise and such a picture of sacrificial love. I loved her character.

What I loved the most about this story, was the way the author used Song of Songs and made it the dialect and thoughts of Arielah and Solomon and how the fictional story flowed they way Song of Songs was written.

Fans of Biblical fiction should pick this story up. I would recommend reading Song of Songs before reading this story, to get the complete setting for this story.

Review book 1 

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About the book:

Standing in the shadow of his famous father, young King Solomon wavers between fear and bravado, longing for a love that is true and pure--a love that can be his cornerstone.

A shepherdess in the northern city of Shunem, Arielah has known since she first laid eyes on Solomon that it was her destiny to become his bride. When her father secures a promise from Solomon to marry Arielah as a treaty bride to help unite the kingdom, it seems her dreams will come true.

But how can this simple shepherdess live as part of Solomon's harem? Can Solomon set aside his distractions to give himself completely to just one woman? Or will he let duty, deception, and the daily routine divide his heart?

Mesu Andrews expertly weaves the words of the Song of Solomon into this touching story of the power of love from a master storyteller.

About the author:

Mesu grew up with a variegated Christian heritage. With grandparents from the Pilgrim Holiness,

Nazarene, and Wesleyan Churches, her dad was a Quaker and mom charismatic. As you might imagine, God was a central figure in most family discussions, but theology was a battlefield and Scripture the weapon. As a rebellious teenager, Mesu rejected God and His Word, but discovered Jesus as a life-transforming Savior through the changed life of an old friend.

The desire for God's Word exploded with her new commitment, but devotional time was scarce due to the demands of a young wife and mother. So Mesu scoured the only two theology books available--children's Bible stories and her Bible. The stories she read to her daughters at night pointed her to the Bible passages she studied all day. She became an avid student of God's Word, searching historical and cultural settings as well as ancient texts and original languages.

Mesu and her husband Roy have raised those two daughters and now enjoy a tribe of grandkids, who get to hear those same Bible stories. Mesu's love for God's Word has never waned. She now writes biblical novels, rich with spiritual insight learned through fascinating discoveries in deep historical research.

Her first novel, Love Amid the Ashes (Revell)--the story of Job and the women who loved him--won the 2012 ECPA Book of the Year in the Debut Author Category. Her subsequent novels have released with high praise, shedding light on some of the shadowy women of Scripture. Love's Sacred Song (Revell, 2012) tells the story of the beloved shepherdess in King Solomon's Song of Solomon. Love in a Broken Vessel (Revell, 2013) tells the story of Hosea and Gomer and is the final stand-alone novel in the Treasures of His Love Series. Her fourth novel, In the Shadow of Jezebel (Revell, 2014) tells the fascinating story of Queen Athaliah and the courageous Princess Jehosheba.

The Treasures of the Nile series (Waterbrook/Multnomah, 2015-16) included The Pharaoh's Daughter and Miriam and spanned Moses' life from birth to the Exodus. Her 2017 release, Isaiah's Daughter (Waterbrook/Multnomah), explores the life and ministry of the prophet Isaiah and the tumultuous days of Judah under the reigns of Ahaz and Hezekiah but focuses on the woman Hephzibah--a fascinating character in Jewish legends.

Mesu writes in their log cabin tucked away in the beautiful Appalachian Mountains. Her best friend is an American Staffordshire Terrier named Zeke, who keeps her company on long writing days. Zeke also enjoys watching movies, long walks in the woods, and sitting by the fireplace on rainy days.

Review: The Oath

The Oath by Frank E. Peretti
My rating: 💛💛💛

Okay, so Frank Peretti is a master at writing speculative Christian fiction where the reader is being taken to a fictional world with such a deeper meaning/message. This one was no different. There was a lot of times I struggled to put the story down, though life and sleep required it, but other times I also found it okayish.

The representation of the dragon as the devil and the "black goo" as our sin and how it can stench our lives was well done.

I just found myself loving and more than this one.

View all my reviews

About the book:

Something sinister is at work in Hyde River, an isolated mining town in the mountains of the Pacific North-west. Something evil.

Under the cover of darkness, a predator strikes without warning - taking life in the most chilling and savage fashion.

The community of Hyde River watches in terror as residents suddenly vanish. Yet, the more the locals are pressed for information, the more they close ranks, sworn to secrecy by their forefathers' hidden sins.

Only when Hyde River's secrets are exposed is the true extent of the danger fully revealed. What the town discovers is something far more deadly than anything they'd imagined. Something that doesn't just stalk its victims, but has the power to turn hearts black with decay as it slowly fills their souls with darkness.

About the author:

FROM HIS WEBSITE:
With more than 12 million novels in print, Frank Peretti is nothing short of a publishing phenomenon and has been called “America’s hottest Christian novelist.”

Peretti is a natural storyteller who, as a youngster in Seattle, regularly gathered the neighborhood children for animated storytelling sessions. After graduating from high school, he began playing banjo with a local bluegrass group. He and his wife were married in 1972, and Peretti soon moved from touring with a pop band to launching a modest Christian music ministry. Peretti later spent time studying English, screen writing and film at UCLA and then assisted his father in pastoring a small Assembly of God church. In 1983, he gave up his pastoring position and began taking construction jobs to make ends meet. While working at a local ski factory, he began writing This Present Darkness, the book that would catapult him into the public eye. After numerous rejections from publishers and a slow start in sales, word-of-mouth enthusiasm finally lifted This Present Darkness onto a tidal wave of interest in spiritual warfare. The book appeared on Bookstore Journal’s bestseller list every month for more than eight years. Peretti’s two spiritual warfare novels, This Present Darkness (1998) and Piercing the Darkness (1989), captivated readers, together selling more than 3.5 million copies. The Oath was awarded the 1996 Gold Medallion Award for best fiction.

For kids, Peretti wrote The Cooper Kids Adventure Series (Crossways and Tommy Nelson), which remains a best-selling series for children with sales exceeding 1 million copies. In August 2000, Peretti released the hilarious children’s audiocassette series titled Wild and Wacky Totally True Bible Stories, reprising his role as Mr. Henry, the offbeat substitute Sunday School teacher found in two Visual Bible for Kids videos.

Peretti released his first-ever non-fiction book, The Wounded Spirit in 2000, which quickly became a best-seller. The book addresses the pain of “wounded spirits” and was writted as a result of painful childhood experiences.

Frank Peretti and his wife, Barbara Jean, live in the Western U.S. In spite of sudden fame and notoriety, Frank still lives a simple, well-rounded life that includes carpentry, banjo making, sculpturing, bicycling and hiking. He is also an avid pilot.

Can't Wait Wednesday! Driving Force

 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.

Season 3 of Sunrise Media Publishing features a favourite series by lead author Lynette Eason, releasing March 2022.  I'm hoping to reread the Elite Guardian series to be ready for this one as soon as possible: 

About the book: Driving Force

He’s the last client she wants to protect…

Elite Guardians bodyguard/former sniper CHRISTINA SHERMAN has protected uncooperative clients before—but this time, well her client is bossy, headstrong and occasionally eats off the floor. Yes, he’s a highly trained military working dog, but certainly her skills could be put to better use, right?

Not according to former Special Forces Air Commando GREY PARKER. He needs her help to protect his dog while he undergoes an experimental surgery that could restore his ability to walk. He just needs someone to keep his canine partner safe. Most of all, Grey wants back on his feet so he can track down a deranged scientist known as The Scavenger who unleashed a nerve agent that left Grey sidelined in a wheelchair.

When an attempt is made on Grey’s life, and dead bodies begin piling up—with evidence the same toxin is responsible—suddenly Christina is tasked with keeping both dog and soldier alive…and with them, the secrets that could stop a terrorist attack.

But this time, even Christina might be in over her head.

Dive into the exciting ignition to the Elite Guardians Collection.

What are you waiting on this week?