Love in the Details

I received a copy of Love in the Details by Becky Wade from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
When Josh returns to his hometown of Martinsburg, Texas, to help his best friend get married, he didn’t intend to run into church wedding coordinator—and ex-girlfriend—Holly. He can’t help but pine after the girl he never got over.

Holly broke up with Josh years ago in an attempt to ensure his future success. But she loved him then and still loves him now. As she helps him plan his best friend’s wedding, she can’t help but feel horrible for the pain she caused him. And even though she longs to be with Josh, she doesn’t feel worthy of his big-time lifestyle when she is more comfortable in her small town world. Will Josh and Holly be able to keep things as they are when their true feelings threaten to surface at every turn?

Another great book b Becky Wade.  Can seeing each other after so long be a good thing?  Holly and Josh were high school sweet hearts that still love each other after all this time.  Josh comes back to town for his best friends wedding.   Holly is the church wedding coordinator for the wedding of the century.  Can they work together without letting their feelings show?

Another Way Home

I received a copy of Another Way Home by Deborah Raney from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sometimes God’s ways are not at all what we expect … and exactly what we need.
Grant and Audrey are adding grandchildren to their family left and right, but middle daughter, Danae, and her husband, Dallas Brooks, have been trying for years with no baby in sight.

Though Danae is ready to consider adoption, Dallas will not even discuss it. Despairing of ever having a family of her own, Danae decides to pour her passion and energies into volunteer work with a newly opened women’s shelter in town. Looking for a good cause to fill her lonely days, she never expects to give her heart to the hurting women she meets there. She’s finally learning to live her life with gratitude, but then heart-wrenching events on Thanksgiving weekend threaten to pull the entire Whitman clan into turmoil—and leave them all forever changed.

This was a very hard book to put down.  I hadn't ready any of Deborah Raney's other books and this one reminded me of some of Karen Kingsbury books.  Deborah did a really good job of making the Whitman family very real and easy to relate to.  I love how they all got along and learned from each other through all of life's ups and downs.

The Five Times I Met Myself

I received a copy of The Five Times I Met Myself by James L. Rubart from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


What if you met your twenty-three year old self in a dream? What would you say?
Brock Matthews' once promising life is unraveling. His coffee company. His marriage.
So when he discovers his vivid dreams—where he encounters his younger self—might let him change his past mistakes, he jumps at the chance. The results are astonishing, but also disturbing.
Because getting what Brock wants most in the world will force him to give up the one thing he doesn't know how to let go of . . . and his greatest fear is it's already too late.

I have read several of James L. Rubart's books and have enjoyed every one of them.  This one was no different.  It truly made me wonder if I could go back and talk to my younger self would I want to and what would I say if I could?  Would it make me a different person if I did?  It also makes me wonder if I'm making the most of the life I have today.

Too Blessed to Be Stressed Cookbook

I received a copy of Too Blessed to Be Stressed Cookbook by Debora M. Coty from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Feeling overwhelmed by life's daily demands? Could you use some encouragement and inspiration in the kitchen? The Too Blessed to Be Stressed Cookbook to the rescue! Each of the 100-plus recipes can be prepared in 20 minutes or less, plus you'll encounter some fabulous tips and suggestions as well as funny foodie quotes, scripture selections, humorous stories of cooking misadventures, and more, along the way. Recipes are arranged into 4 categories--Heart-Healthy, Soul-Fed, Time-Wise, and Company-Happy--and are accompanied by appealing full-color photographs. You'll cheer as you soak up the joy Debora M. Coty brings into your life and home!

I really enjoyed the recipes and Debora's stories that she shared along with them.  There are several recipes that I can't wait to try.

Seeking the Star

I received a copy of Seeking the Star by Traci Borum from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
One December night, in the sleepy Cotswold village of Chilton Crosse, a drifter named Ben collapses on George and Mary Cartwright’s snow-covered doorstep. As Christmas cheer spreads throughout the village with a Dickens-themed festival, Mary nurses Ben back to health, but she becomes curious about the secrets he seems to carry.

On Christmas Eve, one of Ben’s secrets accidentally comes to light, forcing him to confront the darkness of his past and to rediscover the faith he once knew.

This was a good book with a great message.  George and Mary finds Ben passed out on their doorstep a few days before Christmas.  Without knowing anything about Ben they welcome him into their home and nurse him back to health.  As the days go on Ben finds their village feeling more and more like somewhere he belongs.  Ben has secrets that he's not sure he wants anyone to find out.  Can he continue to stay in the village without anyone finding out about his past?

The Fruitcake Murders

I received a copy of The Fruitcake Murders by Ace Collins from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Fruitcakes never die…but people do!

As Christmas 1946 draws near, thirty-something marine officer-turned-homicide detective Lane Walker has his hands full. Three men with seemingly no relationship to each other have been murdered, including the powerful District Attorney. The only connection between the crimes? The weapons: twenty-year-old unopened fruitcake tins manufactured by a company that is no longer in business. While some foods may be to die for, fruitcake isn't one of them! This heaping helping of murder will be no easy task for Walker, and he certainly doesn't need the determined and feisty Betsy Clayton, the political reporter for The Chicago Herald, getting in the way. Employing witty dialogue and historical accuracy, The Fruitcake Murders offers equal parts murder, mystery, and mayhem in a perplexing whodunit set in the days just after World War II.

This was a book that kept me guessing until the last page.  Having three people murdered buy an unopened fruit cake tin is definitely a different way to go.  Can Walker and Clayton find out who's behind the murders before the killer strikes again?

All Is Calm, All Is Bright

I received a copy of All is Calm, All Is Bright by Colleen Coble from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
All Is Calm
Brendan Waddell needs a place to recuperate. Lauren Everman needs a place to hide. It's going to be an unexpectedly romantic Christmas at Bluebird Ranch.
Brendan Waddell has always considered Bluebird Ranch a little piece of heaven: an idyllic ranch that pairs abused children with abused horses, run by one of his old Marine buddies. Now, recovering from an on-the-job injury, Brendan thinks the ranch is the perfect place to spend Christmas healing up.
When Lauren Everman was a seventeen-year-old foster kid, Bluebird Ranch was the safest place she knew. Now it's the perfect hideout for a woman on the run. As the witness to a murder, Lauren needs somewhere to lie low, and her skill with horses means she'll be able to lend a hand with the troubled kids at Bluebird—without answering too many questions.
Lauren's rich hair, high cheekbones, and dark eyes immediately get Brendan's attention—but so does her secretive behavior. This Special Ops Intel man knows a woman on the run when he sees one, and he's not about to let her put Bluebird Ranch at risk.
But as Brendan and Lauren get to know each other, their suspicions evaporate and romance starts to sizzle. But this would-be couple has more to worry about than each other—there's a killer on the loose who wants Lauren kept quiet.
All Is Bright
A romantic, Christmas wedding at her seaside hotel gives Delilah a chance to shine with her unique gifts. But will her light be snuffed out before the bride and groom say “I do”?
As manager of the Tidewater Inn, Delilah Carter has been planning a spectacular Christmas wedding for her friends at the grand hotel overlooking the ocean. While picking up still more twinkly lights and some last-minute groceries for the reception dinner, a huge truck runs her off the freezing, wet roads into the dark night. Her car stops just short of an enormous tree and the truck speeds off into the night. Delilah escapes with her life and has almost convinced herself the whole thing was an accident, but then she begins to receive threatening phone calls. With the wedding just hours away, she's distracted and anxious. Then Sheriff Tom Bourne stops by the inn and volunteers to help.
Tom has always had a soft spot for Delilah, and he's determined to protect her. But he is pulled away by a bizarre Christmas stunt that has the neighborhood reeling, and Delilah is attacked again.
Will Delilah have to cancel the Christmas wedding at Tidewater Inn? And will Tom's protection be enough to save Delilah from the shadowy figure looming in the background?

Another great book by Colleen Coble with two stories.  Brendan and Lauren are both at Bluebird Ranch to find themselves.  Brendan feels an instant connection with Lauren but also feels that she's hiding something.  Can they each work together to keep Lauren safe?
Delilah has been mothering everyone in Tidewater Inn for years.  She's doing all she can to plan the wedding of a lifetime for Elin and Marc.  Tom is the Sheriff in town and has had a crush on Delilah but hasn't had the courage to ask her out.  When she's targeted can Tom keep her safe and let his feeling show?