Sunday, May 29, 2016

Weep in the Night

I received a copy of Weep In The Night by Valerie Massey Goree from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
After three years in the witness protection program, Sadie Malone's life in Texas is bland and humdrum—until she meets a new co-worker. Bowen Boudine ignites a flame in Sadie's long-dormant heart, but when she discovers he knows her true identity, she attempts to flee. He thwarts her escape and reveals the reason he's been sent to locate her. Bowen, a seasoned operative with International Retrieval Organization takes his job escorting Sadie safely back to California seriously, but quickly finds he's falling for her. Can he maintain a professional relationship while he protects her from the crime boss her testimony helped to convict?
A great book that keeps you guessing to the very end.  Sadie Malone is in the witness protection program and once again has moved to a new city with a new name.  A new coworker, Bowen Boudine, finds out her true identity and brings all of her fears to life again.  Can he convince her he's trying to help her?  Will the crime boss that she helped testify against find her again? 

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Londonderry Dreaming

I received a copy of Londonderry Dreaming by Christine Lindsay from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Acclaimed New York artist, Naomi Boyd, and music therapist, Keith Wilson, loved one another five years ago, until her grandfather separated them.
That root of bitterness keeps them apart until a letter from Keith’s grandmother, Ruth, draws Naomi to Londonderry to find she’s too late. Ruth has passed on. After the death of his beloved grandmother, Keith has also come to Londonderry only to open the door to his past . . .Naomi...beautiful as ever, the girl who broke his heart.
A mysterious painting in Ruth’s attic brings up questions about their grandparents’ entwined past and their own broken romance. More comfortable with the unspoken languages of art and music, Naomi and Keith find it difficult to share their old hurts and true feelings.
Will the majestic coastline of Northern Ireland inspire them to speak the words to bring peace to their grandparents’ memory and to rekindle love?
This took me a little while to get into but once I did it was hard to put down.  Keith Wilson goes back to Londonderry to help clean out his grandmothers house.  Naomi Boyd goes back to Londonderry because Ruth, Keith's grandmother, sent her a letter asking her to come see her.  What Naomi doesn't know is she's too late to talk to Ruth, who recently passed away.  Naomi offers to help Keith go through Ruth's house.  Can they work together and find a new way back together?

Sunday, May 15, 2016

The Promise of Home

I received a copy of The Promise of Home by Natasha Deen from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Agreeing to renovate a church in a remote northern Alberta town is an act of panic for a man anxious for a break from God, but ex-pastor Luke Parks needs escape from the girl who crushed his heart. He’s hoping to outrun his crisis of faith, but his doubts quickly find him. To make matters worse, he’s stuck with a snarky church secretary and saddled with an inexperienced assistant.
Through a chance encounter Luke discovers not just a lost kitten, but a deeper, richer side of the congregation. Just as he’s becoming comfortable in his new routine, life takes another swing. His ex-fiancĂ©e shows up begging for forgiveness, and in the process, turns his new friends against him.
As Luke struggles to figure out the line between accountability and forgiveness, he can’t help but wonder if he’ll ever find a place to call home.
Great book about forgiveness.  Luke is looking for a new beginning after being dumped by is fiancĂ©.  He thought is calling was as a pastor but his fist two churches let him go because of differences that Luke is having a hard time getting past.  His dad talks him into helping out as a handyman for a church in Home.  What he finds is a pastor who's ready to retire and a congregation looking for someone to step in.  Luke doesn't want all the niceness that the town is showering him with because he's to angry to realize that they truly care for him.  When he finds a lost kitten his eyes are opened to what his heart wasn't.

Thursday, May 12, 2016

Not So Far Away

I received a copy of Not So Far Away by Deborah Pierson Dill from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Laurel Kerr lives each day fearing it could be her last. Years of pleading with God for deliverance from her husband’s deadly temper have convinced her that she’s beneath the Lord’s notice. Still, she perseveres, hoping that a redeemed husband and a Christ-centered marriage might one day be possible. Dr. Boyd Wendall has a soft spot for Laurel. Although she’s not his to take care of, she stirs his protective instincts. Time and again he finds himself in the midst of her trouble, and he can’t help but believe there’s a reason for it. When Laurel’s deliverance comes suddenly and unexpectedly, it raises questions about Boyd’s integrity, reopens wounds from his past, and leads to a trial the two cannot escape. Apart, they are just one man and one woman facing tribulation. Together, they’ll discover that God is not so far away.
This book was hard to read at times, but ended great.  Laurel is in an abusive marriage with two sons.  She protects her boys as best she can.  Many times this has put her in the hospital.  The last time was the last straw for her and her boys.  Do they have the strength to make a better life for themselves when every and everyone is against them?

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Homeschooling Can Be Murder


I received a copy of Homeschooling Can Be Murder by Susan Lyttek from NetGalley in exchange for an honest request. 

Army wife and homeschooling mom, Jeanine Talbott has a busy week scheduled, so when her husband’s transfer orders come through, she decides to let him pick out the new house and move their goods while she and the kids slowly wrap up the life they've grown to love.

As she pulls up to their new residence, she discovers her darling bought a charming fixer-upper complete with rather unexpected neighbors—a graveyard full of Civil War veterans.

As the family, gets settled in Gentle Springs, Jeanine hears strange noises coming from next door. Then, James goes TDY and while he's gone, their dog escapes the yard and finds a fresh body in the cemetery. Suddenly, the Talbotts have two mysteries on their hands: who killed the treasure hunter the dog unearths, and what secret was he trying to uncover at the tomb of town hero, Captain Cooperton?

This was a really good book.  Many times I find it hard to relate to Army families situation, but this book made it very easy.  Jeanine Talbott is an Army wife who has to pack up and move her family every 2 - 4 years.  She's finding it very hard to move from the town her and her children called home for 4 years.  She's pulling what can be called just shy of a 2 year olds temper tantrum when it comes to the move.  Her husband finds and buys their next house without her even laying eyes on it.  What can be wrong with that?  The first is that the house is next door to a graveyard.  The next is when she and her children get to the new house one day before her husband leaves for training in California.  Can the situation get any crazier?

Saturday, May 7, 2016

Tender Mercies




I received a copy of Tender Mercies by Mary Manners from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Lexi Taylor resorts to hosting an online auction to raise money for her fledgling youth center, the last thing she expects is to be matched for a date with Cooper Jackson. Lured by the promise of a lucrative NFL career, the hometown hero and former University of Tennessee quarterback, broke off their engagement without so much as a backward glance. Now, six years later, he's come home to nurse an injured knee and his wounded pride—and he wants Lexi back.
But, a heartbreaking secret stands between them, and Lexi plans to keep it that way.
Can Cooper's gentleness and renewed faith coax the secret to the surface? And if he does, will forgiveness draw them close...or will their love be shattered forever?
This book pulled me in from the very beginning.  Lexi Taylor is doing what she loves - starting and running a youth center.  She's also taken in her nephew because his mother is trying to find herself and continually leaves him alone.  Lexi is the stable family member that he needs.  Cooper Jackson left town and Lexi for an NFL career and never looked back or so Lexi thinks.  Will an online auction to raise money for Lexi's youth center be what it takes to get Cooper back to town and into Lexi's life?