Jaded

I just finished Jaded by Verina Denman the first book it the Mended Heart Series.

As a child, Ruthie was shunned by the local congregation. Thirteen years later, Ruthie’s heart begins to stir when an attractive single preacher arrives. But their relationship is bitterly opposed—unearthing a string of secrets which threaten to turn the church, the town, and her world upside-down.

Jaded is the rare novel that is both love story between a woman and man ... and God and His church. Plunging deep into the waters of shame, forgiveness and restoration, it will resonate with every woman who’s experienced a loss of heart ... and a thirst for hope.

This is a really good book.  Ruthie is born and raised in Trapp a small town in West Texas.  Like all small towns news travels fast.  When the town's new minister, Dodd Cummingham, moves to town everyone starts talking.  Not only is he younger and expected he moves in with his mom and younger brother.  Ruthie catches is eye from the beginning and the more she sees him the less she wants to.  Ruthie's family has been shunned from the church and most everyone in the town.  She's been ignored and talked about behind her back so much she has a negative attitude about everything.  Dodd befriends Ruthie's cousin JohnScott and soon has him baptized.  This puts a huge strain on Ruthie and JohnScott's relationship.  Will exposing the town's secrets bring the town together or break it more apart?

Murder Freshly Baked

I received a copy of Murder Freshly Baked by Vannetta Chapman from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When delicious baked goods become lethal, a trail of poetry leads to sweet-toothed killer.


Don’t taste it
Don’t share it
Just throw it away
If you try my bakery pie
You won’t live to see another day

The Amish Artisan Village of Middlebury, Indiana, might be the last place you would ever expect to find a murderer, but Amber has been managing the Village for decades, and there’s nothing she hasn’t seen. Or so she thought.

When poetic notes begin appearing around the bakery, warning that some of the pies have been poisoned, Amber is as confused as she is concerned. Who poisons pies? And more to the point, who leaves poems of warning after they’ve done it? When Amber decides to help the police track down the sweet-toothed saboteur, she enlists the young Hannah Troyer for another round of Amish-style detective work.

Meanwhile, an attractive, older Englischer is preying on the single women of the Village, dating several of them at a time and generally alarming everyone who cares about the Amish girls’ hearts. It’s going to be a long summer in Middlebury.

Can Amber and Hannah help the police before the Poison Poet strikes a target? Both women will need to draw on their faith to preserve the peaceful community they’ve built in Middlebury . . . and protect the hearts and health of the girls who work in the Amish Artisan Village.

This is the 3rd book in An Amish Village Mystery series.  Amber is once again pulled into a mystery at the Amish village that she manages.  This time a murder isn't what starts out the strange happenings.  Bad poetry and tainted pies are what are being found in the village shops.  Amber gets emails, from the 'pastry poet' as he/she becomes known, and is told to humble herself in front of the village.  Can Amber and her partners in solving crimes, Hannah, Pam and Tate help to find the guilty party before someone gets hurt?

Justified

I received a copy of Justified by Varoma Denman from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

In a small Texas town ruled by gossip, Fawn Blaylock believes others are justified in condemning her untimely pregnancy. Stifled by guilt, she yearns for grace while the local football coach treats her with gentle respect.

Justified perfectly captures the rhythm and romance of life in a small town, telling the unforgettable story of a woman searching for renewal, a man looking beyond what others see, and a community torn between judgment and love. It is the unforgettable story of broken dreams, second chances, and relentless hope.

Fawn Blaylock finds herself pregnant and homeless.  Her parents kick her out as soon as they find out about the baby.  Growing up she was given everything she ever wanted except for love from her parents.  She is offered a shack with the best view Fawn's ever seen.  She sees this as her chance to prove she can make it on her own.  Fawn gets a part time job at the local feed store helping with the books.  While at the feed store she begins to re-connect with her high school history teacher JohnScott Picket.  The more Fawn talks to JohnScott the more she realizes he's treating her with respect.  Respect is not something Fawn is used to receiving.  Will he help her to realize she's worth more than she realizes?

Falcon

I received a copy of Falcon by Ronie Kendig from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Special Forces operator Salvatore “Falcon” Russo vowed to never again speak to or trust Lieutenant Cassandra Walker after a tragedy four years ago. But as Raptor closes in on the cyber terrorists responsible for killing two of their own, Sal must put his life—and the lives of his teammates—in her hands. Despite his anger, Cassie is ill-prepared for his resistance and the fallout when she must protect the one asset who can end the attacks. As allies become enemies and hostiles become unlikely partners, Raptor fights for its very existence.

I just love Ronie Kendig and The Quiet Professionals books.  The Raptor Team works best together under stress.  They have their differences but will risk their lives to save each others and all innocent people around them.  Falcon focuses on Sal Russo and Cassie Walker and how they need to face their past and future together.  Sal and Raptor work together to stop cyber terrorists who plan to destroy everything.

Hooked

I received a copy of Hooked by Allen Wolf from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Desperate to find a soulmate in New York City, Shawn goes on one awkward date after another until he encounters the alluring Violet. He starts dating her, but his autism prevents him from understanding she's actually a prostitute. Drawn in by his kindness, Violet appreciates Shawn's quirky nature but conceals what she does after dark.

This comedic tale of two misfits takes a dramatic turn when they are forced to make life altering choices. Their only hope for a future is to discover the courage that comes from loving someone deeply.

This wasn't what I was expecting when I picked the book.  Shawn as autism and it has been hindering is dating life.  He lives with this Grandmother and knows she won't be around to help take care of him for ever.  He's made it is goal to find a wife.  After going on several dates that don't go anywhere he sneaks into an after work party and meets Violet.  What Shawn doesn't understand is she is a prostitute.  Shawn and Violet bond over coffee.  Will they have a future together?

Whenever You Come Around

I received a copy of Whenever You Come Around by Robin Lee Hatcher from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Just when Charity’s wild imagination failed her, a flesh-and-blood hero walked into her life.

Best-selling author Charity Anderson returns to her hometown of Kings Meadow to defeat a bad case of writer's block. She imagines she’ll spend a lonely summer writing and then return to her home in Boise. She soon finds herself caring for Buck Malone, a wilderness guide—and the object of her unrequited teenage crush. But what else can she do? Her dog Cocoa caused the accident that left Buck with a broken ankle and wrist, taking him off the trail for weeks of prime tourist-season work.

Buck and Charity have gone different ways since high school, and at first it seems they have little in common. Buck loves the simple, low-key life he's made for himself in the mountains of Idaho, and she’s a woman accustomed to the faster, bustling pace of the city. But spending so much time together has Buck hoping to change her mind about staying in the small town she thought she'd left behind for good.

It’s a summer for discovering that young love is a spark not soon extinguished.
This is a great book about overcoming your past and opening your heart for what God has in store for the future.  Charity has been running away from her past and everything that reminded her of it.  When her house suffers damage from a flood and needs extensive repairs she returns to her hometown for the summer.  She tries to lock herself in her parents house so she can work on her next book.  Her first day in town she runs into Buck Malone, an old classmate, and her dog causes him to break his right ankle and wrist.  She reluctantly offers to take care of Buck but soon finds herself looking forward to spending time with him.  Will she be able to face her past and embrace her future?

Falling Like Snowflakes

I received a copy of Falling Like Snowflakes by Denise Hunter from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Riding in a bus in the thickly falling snow, Eden Davis wonders how it ever came to this—fleeing under cover of night with young Micah sleeping fitfully in the seat beside her. When a winter storm strands them in Summer Harbor, Maine, Eden wonders if what might have been the end could be a new beginning.

Beau Callahan is a habitual problem-solver. He’s recently left his job with the sheriff’s department to take over the family Christmas tree farm to save it from insolvency. But he’s flummoxed. During the busiest season of the year, he’s shorthanded. Then Eden shows up looking for work, and Beau believes he’s been rescued. Competent, smart, and beautiful, Eden’s also guarded and quiet. He soon figures out she comes with a boatload of secrets. But Beau can’t seem to help himself from falling for her.

As Christmas Eve approaches, Beau discovers he’ll do anything to keep Eden safe. But who’s going to protect his heart from a woman who can’t seem to trust again?

Taken

I received Taken by Dee Henderson from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Abducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She has enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time.

When Shannon contacts private investigator and former cop Matthew Dane to help her navigate her reentry into society, she quickly discovers that gaining her freedom doesn't mean her troubles are over. For one thing, her brother is the leading candidate in the race for Illinois governor, and news of her escape will create a media frenzy. For another, the ransom her family reportedly paid years earlier appears to have been a scam; no one knows what happened to the money. And then there's the fact that Shannon's escape involved faking her own death. If the Jacoby family learns she is still alive, they'll stop at nothing to silence her.

If justice is to be done, and if Shannon's life is ever to get on track again, Matthew will need to discover exactly what happened to her--even if it means stirring up a hornet's nest of secrets.

What a good book that I'd love to see a follow up book to.  Shannon has spent the last eleven years in captivity.  When she finally is fee she seeks out Matthew Dane because he's been through this before.  Matthew's daughter Becky was abducted when she was young and Matthew was there to help her recover and adapt to a normal life.  Shannon hopes to use Matthew's police background and history with abducted women to help her find a new normal.  Together they help FBI and local police bring down the Jacoby family.

A Love Like Ours

I received an copy of A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Scarred from his military days, cowboy Jake Porter is content being alone...until his old friend Lyndie starts tearing down the walls he's built.
Former Marine Jake Porter has far deeper scars than the one that marks his face. He struggles with symptoms of PTSD, lives a solitary life, and avoids relationships.

When Lyndie James, Jake's childhood best friend, lands back in Holley, Texas, Jake cautiously hires her to exercise his Thoroughbreds. Lyndie is tender-hearted, fiercely determined, and afraid of nothing, just like she was as a child. Jake pairs her with Silver Leaf, a horse full of promise but lacking in results, hoping she can solve the mystery of the stallion's reluctance to run.

Though Jake and Lyndie have grown into very different adults, the bond that existed during their childhood still ties them together. Against Jake's will, Lyndie's sparkling, optimistic personality begins to tear down the walls he's built around his heart. A glimmer of the hope he'd thought he'd lost returns, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?