fiction · Three Star

Lucky Strike by Janine Amesta

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Description:

Is finding an unexpected gem a lucky strike?

After getting a late jumpstart in life, Luna Lanza isn’t afraid to get what she wants, including the place of her dreams. When she loses out on the perfect duplex and settles for a standard apartment, she’s disappointed. But Luna remains determined to make it work, even if it sparks a contentious relationship with her new landlord– the same guy she accidentally kissed in an impromptu photo shoot.

Still grieving the sudden death of his brother, reformed bad boy Sam Sunderland feels trapped managing his father’s rundown apartment building. When the spunky beauty, who unexpectedly kissed him, moves in full of ideas, he can’t help being intrigued– that is until she starts changing things behind his back, endangering his position and the relationship with his father.

Sam and Luna wrangle over rules and misunderstandings while fighting against the undeniable attraction between them. It’s a hard lesson to learn that ‘perfect’ can take many different forms. But will the renovations they do together lay a foundation to something more?

My Review:

This story was cute. I had not read anything else in this series but feel like it could be one of those stand alone books as well. I really found that Luna came off as a snob and a Miss no it all who could do no wrong. I found that she really just was so mean to those in her life and chalked it up to be “brutally Honest” person. I really liked Mia and Ross they were so sweet and had such and loving kindness to those in there lives. Sam was one of this don’t judge a book by the cover because what you see is not what they are. He was a bit mysterious at first but as the book went on his true colors came out. I felt that he put up with a lot from Luna and his parents but he also loved deeply and only wanted the best for those in his life. There is sexual content in the book so it may not be suitable for all. overall it was an ok read. 

Where to Buy the book:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

www.janineamesta.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Janine’s other books. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

Christian fiction · four star

The Amish Quiltmaker’s Unlikely Match Jennifer Beckstrand

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Description:

Filled with her trademark humor and relatable characters, award-winning author Jennifer Beckstrand’s blends quilting, matchmaking, and a close-knit Colorado community in her newest Amish Quiltmaker novel, as independent-minded quilter Esther Kiem sets her sights on an unusual match between the shyest Yoder sister and a professional baseball player…

Perfect for fans of Charlotte Hubbard, Wanda Brunstetter, and Linda Byler.

Though Mary Yoder longs to marry someday, she finds caring for her community’s injured and sick is much easier than courting. But when Englischer Clay Markham crashes his car nearby, Mary’s nursing shows her his hidden wounds are more painful than his injuries. Though she’s irresistibly drawn to his kind nature, can she risk letting him into her heart?

On the run from his troubled past, ex-pro baseball player Clay can’t believe the quiet sanctuary he’s found under Mary’s care. Her gentle faith and knowledge are somehow giving him hope he can change his life—and offer her the love she truly deserves. But when his secrets catch up with him, can he and Mary find the courage to face the truth, set things to rights . . . and make way for a future together?

My Review:

I really liked Mary she was this spit fire and she really was reserved but had an amazing group of friends and family that had her back and would help her with anything. She also knew when to fight for what was right. I was not a real big fan of Clay I felt he tried to be the martyr the whole story and after a while he just became annoying. I LOVED Cathy she hands down made this book, she had me laughing and also gasping at things that was coming out of her mouth, you defiantly knew where you stood with her for sure. I also loved Mary’s sister’s they were so fun. Overall this was a fun read and a clean read, however there are some very tough topics discussed so may not be suitable for all readers. 

Where to Buy the book:

www.christianbook.com

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

www.jenniferbeckstrand.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Jennifer’s other books. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

Christian fiction · five star

Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble

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Description:

There’s only one thing more dangerous than family secrets.

Since her police-officer husband Eric’s mysterious murder, Carly Harris has been struggling to support herself and their infant son. Her career as an antique dealer isn’t sustainable, nor is her dream of becoming a novelist. So when her grandmother proposes she and her two sisters restore the family’s large Beaufort home and turn it into a bed-and-breakfast, she immediately gets to work clearing out the house. In the process, she uncovers a family secret that Eric kept hidden. And an heirloom that the wrong person wouldn’t hesitate to kill for.

Homicide detective Lucas Bennett isn’t his neighbor’s biggest fan, not since she broke his brother’s heart years ago. But when Carly turns to Lucas for help, believing she’s found a lost Fabergé egg that would be worth millions and that could put her family’s lives in danger, he can’t help but get involved. Soon, they’re entangled in a mystery with threads that lead all the way to the Russian mafia. Lucas has gotten in deep, and while he trusts his ability to keep Carly and her family safe, he begins to realize he’s vulnerable to an unexpected kind of danger. And he’s helpless to stop the freefall. As they continue working closely together, Carly and Lucas realize they may have found something more precious than gold. Yet it’s only a matter of time before Carly—or, worse, someone she loves—gets hurt.

My Review:

I could not put this book down, it was so good and literally had me on the edge waiting to see what was going to happen next. There was one person in the end that I so wanted to know what happened with her, so to be honest it left me wanting so much more from this family. I loved Mary and Carly they had the biggest hearts and really wanted what was best for everyone. This family was small but very mighty. Lucas was so judgey at the beginning however you can see throughout the book what he was that way and how he works through it and you really get to see a side of a character truly grow. His relationship with his brother was so close and they really were there for each other no matter what. The mystery behind the story was so fun and will keep you guessing from the very start. Overall this book was well worth the read and I could not put it down. 

Where to Buy the book:

Christian Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

colleencoble.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Colleen’s other books, You will not be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

fiction · Two Star

Love, Just In Natalie Murray

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 Description:

Sydney TV news reporter Josie Larsen is approaching thirty and coming dangerously close to failing at life. Lost in a vortex of other people’s career milestones, engagement parties and baby showers, Josie is perennially single, abandoned by her globetrotting family, and invisible to her boss – except for the one time he tuned in while she was mid-panic-attack on live TV. As punishment, Josie is shipped off to cover another reporter’s six-month leave at a regional bureau in Newcastle. But Josie has more waiting for her in Newcastle than yawn-inducing stories about bicycle lane protests. The city is also the domain of Zac Jameson – her best friend since high school. This should be a happy turn of events, but Zac has barely spoken to Josie for the past two years. Not since a tragic event caused him to leave Sydney to try and cope with his grief. Now thrown back into each other’s lives, Josie and Zac have to navigate their neglected friendship and secret attraction to each other while struggling with their careers and mental health. 

My Review:

This book was not for me. I will start off saying I have never read anything by this author so I was excited to check this book out. However the way the story was told was just to much, There are 44 chapters and and Epilogue in the book every other chapter is in the past it jumps around I found this to be distracting not always easy to keep up with, and yes the chapters are labeled but still found this too be annoying. I wish the author would have either picked the past or the present but not try and squeeze both into the story this way. For grown adult I found Josie acting like a young girl in high school or early college years. I found Zac standoffish and just overall annoyed at Josie no matter what she did for most of the story. The story is told from Josie’s point of view. Overall like I stated this book was not for me and I really struggled with even finishing it. 

Where to Buy the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

www.nataliemurrayauthor.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Natalie’s other books. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

Christian fiction · five star

Double Take Lynette Eason

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Description:

Detective James Cross has been honorably discharged from the Army Criminal Investigation Division due to wounds sustained when an IED blew up near him. Now with the Lake City Police Department, he’s rooming with this good buddy and partner, Cole, while he figures out his family dynamics.

Physician Assistant Lainie Jackson is eighteen months out from an attempted murder perpetrated by her ex, which ended when she managed to grab the weapon and shoot him. When he appears to have survived and is back to finish the job he started, Lainie insists it’s not possible. But someone keeps trying to kill her, and she keeps seeing his face.

Together, Lainie and James must work together to find out who, exactly, is after her and why he wants her dead. And failure is not an option.

USA Today bestselling author Lynette Eason will leave you breathless with this fast-paced first book in a brand-new series.

My Review:

I could not put this book down there where so many twist and turns I wasn’t sure what was going to happen next. While some of the story was calm/slow pace even in this moments made you wonder who was after Lainie. I liked Lainie even though with her family she was a “push over”, I feel like we all have those moment so it made her very relatable. James was very reserved but the author made who so relatable as well. I will say I want to know more about Cole he was so active in this book it leaves you wanting more from him. Overall this book was a great read and the author kept it clean so suitable for all those suspense readers out there. 

Where to Buy the book:

Christian Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

lynetteeason.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Lynette’s other books, You will not be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

fiction · four star

Balancing Act Emily March

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Description:

Return to Lake in the Clouds, Colorado, with this feel-good, emotional story about family, healing, and second chances from a New York Times bestselling author!  
 
Genevieve Prentice is learning that reinventing herself is a bit like downsizing a house. Deciding what to keep and what needs to go gets complicated. After settling into life in Lake in the Clouds, Colorado, with her sister’s help, she’s finally finding her balance. But Genevieve’s newfound steadiness is threatened when her daughter Willow unexpectedly arrives carrying a mountain of emotional baggage.

Willow Eldridge needs a fresh start, but that can’t happen until she comes clean about her family’s secrets. Thankfully, between caring for her two young children and planning her brother’s wedding, Willow has plenty of reasons to delay the uncomfortable heart-to-heart with her mother. Yet when Willow grows close to her kind but standoffish neighbor and suspects he is keeping secrets of his own, she realizes there’s no moving forward without facing what came before…

Can Genevieve and Willow jettison the pain of the past to create the future they so desperately crave? Beneath the crystal blue skies of Lake in the Clouds, anything seems possible.

My Review:

The sisters are back!!! I swear I never know there the author is going to take Vivie and Helen on there next journey/adventure but oh my are the always up to no good. I loved getting to read Willow’s story it was a tough one that’s for sure. There was a bomb shell that was dropped and it just broke my heart for her. I really Liked Noah he was this broken person with some much to loose yet so willing to accept Willow and Drew into his life. His story was another one where the author draws you into the situation and has away of getting to the heart. I have to say this series so far has been really good the author is not holding back on tough subjects and faces in a way that most struggle to but in the end come out with there head above the water. Overall there was a fun read there was some curse words and the mention of sex so that may not be suitable for all but its well worth the read and such fun characters I truly can’t wait for more. 

Where to Buy the book:

Apple Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

emilymarch.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Emily’s other books, You will not be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

fiction · four star

A Merry Bramble Christmas CJ Carmichael 

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Description:

Bramble House B & B is booked for the Christmas season, and new owner Amy Arden and her husband Chet Hardwick are excited to spend their first Yuletide season as a married couple. To spread the joy of the season, they have carefully selected their guests for the week before Christmas including two very special people.

Oliver Rivers is coming to Marietta to fulfill his mother’s deathbed wish…to locate the daughter his mother gave up when she was fifteen. When that doesn’t go as planned, he finds himself gravitating to another guest at Bramble House.

Everyone calls Gemma Granger the runaway bride, but they don’t know she was deceived by her fiancé and fled to Bramble House to nurse her broken heart. Instead, Gemma finds herself feeling an instant connection with Oliver and helping him bond with his long-lost family.

Oliver suspects Gemma is taking on him and other projects to avoid dealing with her heartbreak. But the truth is that with each passing day, Gemma is discovering that her real life and her real love might not be where she thought it was.

My Review:

I loved coming back to the Bramble house you just never know what characters you are going to encounter and this book did not disappoint in that. You had a runaway bride, Gemma but in this case she was running more or less to find who she was and ending a relationship that was headed no where was the cherry on top. She has the biggest heart and she just fit right in with the town of Marietta. Oliver was on a mission to connect with a sister he knew nothing about but was determined to have a relationship with her and her son since he had not other family. He too had a big heart and wanted what was best for his nephew and sister but also would did not want to hurt them. I loved the Caraways where a fun bunch but the secret that came out about them just drove home how life is precious and what a big heart Amy and Chet have for their visitors. Overall this was a fun read as well as a clean read making it suitable for all and well worth it. 

Where to Buy the book:

Apple Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

cjcarmichael.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out C.J. Carmichael’s other books, You will not be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

fiction · five star

The Christmas Cottage Jane Porter

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Description:

Spending a charming Christmas in the English countryside sounds perfect as long as he doesn’t show up…

Ella Roberts is ecstatic to be heading to Bakewell to spend Christmas with her sister and brother-in-law, the new Earl and Countess Sherbourne, and represent her family at the holiday reception they’re hosting at Langley Park. She’s also excited to visit the Peak District, inspiration for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. However, she’s determined to avoid the most arrogant and irritatingly handsome man, Baird MacLauren. One unforgettable kiss is one too many. 

Baird MacLauren was happy to serve as the best man for Alec Sherbourne’s wedding in the San Juan Islands, but he didn’t expect the sparks and chemistry with the bride’s stunning sister. The intense chemistry is too powerful for the rational Scot, and after a passionate kiss, he rejected Ella as the most logical action. He has no room in his life for emotion and plans to avoid Ella during her visit. But when an emergency keeps Alec in London days before Christmas, Baird steps in to help until Alec can arrive home to Langley Park. 

With Christmas upon them, Ella and Baird must work together to ensure Cara and the Sherbournes will have the perfect holiday. Can the magic of the season bring these two opposites together?

My Review:

This book did not disappoint at all. What I like about this author is she has a way of making you feel like you are right there or even watching the story as a movie. I just loved the small town feel of it but such large wonderful characters. I like Ella she was a pistol she said what was on her mind no matter what. She loved fiercely and would stop at nothing to protect those she loved and cared for. I Loved her relationship with her sister and Alec. Baird was more laid back and reserved, he also spoke his mind but also kept his feelings close to the vest so that he would not get hurt. But he was also super fun read he felt like your best friends brother who alway looked out for you so big heart and all. I loved the staff and the aunts and uncle of Langley house what an amazing group of characters they truly felt like there own community and looking out what was best for everyone. Overall I would say this book was worth the read for me. I did not read the first one and I am ready to grab that along with any others in this series, so worth it. 

Where to Buy the book:

Apple Books

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Where you can connect with the author:

janeporter.com

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Jane’s other books, You will not be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

fiction · one star

Kitchen Heat Kathleen McFall and Clark Hays

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Description:

Welcome to the Rose and Thorn where steamy romance is always on the menu. 

Kassi is ever the optimist. She uprooted her life and moved across the country with her young daughter to give her damaged marriage one last shot. Now she’s broke, stuck in Portland and feeling like an idiot. Worse, her degree in filmmaking won’t pay the bills.

When Kassi lands a waitress job at the infamous Rose and Thorn restaurant, she thinks her luck may finally be changing, especially after meeting Clay—head chef and the most beautiful man she’s ever seen. Their white-hot attraction is instant and undeniable. But after her marriage disaster, Kassi has sworn off relationships or even dating, maybe forever.

So, what’s a girl to do? Put him in a sexy screenplay, of course.

Kassi is writing a movie script for a contest. It’s a long shot, an impossible shot, but it could be her ticket to Hollywood. She comes up with a new plot about a hot chef and a waitress falling madly in love (and bed).

It doesn’t take long before Kassi’s imaginary relationship and reality collide in unpredictable ways but as things steam up in the restaurant kitchen, not everyone may be able to stand the heat, including hunky Clay. Turns out he’s dealing with a heartbreak of his own that he may never get over, not even for Kassi.

The first in the Restaurantland Romance series, Kitchen Heat is a slow burn friends-to-lovers story crackling with off-beat humor and featuring a flirtatious cast of waiters, customers and cooks, set in the pre-internet 1990s before cells, social media and streaming.

My Review:Let me first start off and say this book was not for me. I grew up in the time in the 90’s so I can get the whole no internet aspect the authors went with. However in my opinion this book was just bad. I felt like for grown adults they all acted like high school students who seemed more entitled that the kids now than the teens in the 90’s. The story was all over the place, what I mean by that the authors would have the story going one way and then throw in some sort of political “thought” that did not have to do with anything that was going on. The story wasn’t even about political justice but the was what it felt the authors kept throwing in and in the most random ways, This went on for the whole story. The destain that the authors shown towards curtain race was eye rolling. I felt like the story truly was all over the place. I can not say I would recommend this book. 

Where to Buy the book:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments. 

fiction · four star

A Christmas Changes Everything Isabelle Grace

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Description:

This Christmas, Holly and Chace are getting the best present of all – a second chance.

Holly McCade is godmother to two little girls – a role she takes very seriously. So she immediately offers to care for the twins when, three weeks before Christmas, their father is injured and their mother has to rush off to tend to him.

Only Holly won’t be handling the situation alone. The twins’ Uncle Chace, the man Holly almost married, is also coming to help.

Formerly an elite soldier, now a private security specialist, Chace Dutton is trained to deal with the toughest, scariest situations. Yet nothing has prepared him for the daunting task of sharing childcare duties with the only woman he’s ever loved.

The woman who tore his heart to shreds when she said she could never be with a man who might be killed every time he went to work.

Now, eight years later and living under the same roof, Chace and Holly are given a glimpse into how their life together might have been.

Will they have the courage to rekindle their love and grab hold of this second chance? Or is all the mistletoe for nothing?

Now,a full-length novel, A Christmas Changes Everything, was previously published as the novella Mistletoe and Holly.

My Review:

I thought this was a cute love story. Its definitely a second chance at love story with characters who are laid back and easy to follow where you feel like you are just catching up with friends. I liked Holly and Kit the sisters are to fun and I hope Kit’s story will come soon cause I can see it now she is going to be a pistol. Holly was super cautious when it came to Chace but not in the annoying way but more so that she didn’t want to over do laying her heart back on the line. She was fun the fun aunt with Emme and Wren and those two kept everyone on the toes for sure. Chace was one of those guys you see what you get an he’s not going to hold back where you stand with him. He was such a big push over when it came to his nieces it had me laughing because it was so relatable. Overall this book was a fun read, however there is sex and strong language so may not be suitable for all. 

Where to Buy the book:

Amazon

Where you can connect with the author:

Facebook

While at your favorite bookstore/website check out Isabelle’s other books, You will not be disappointed. Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments.