Clash Champ--Her One and Only by Becky Wade

Congratulations to Becky Wade 

and her novel

Her One and Only

for taking home this month's Clash crown!

PURCHASE

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

About the book:

After ten years in the NFL, super star Gray Fowler is accustomed to obsessive fans. But when Gray starts receiving death threats from a stalker, his team hires an executive protection agency to guard him until the culprit is caught. Dealing with bodyguards 24/7 is a headache, especially when one of them is a young, beautiful woman. How can a female half his size possibly protect him better than he can protect himself?

Dru Porter is a former Marine, an expert markswoman, and a black belt–none of which saved her from disaster on her last assignment. In order to rebuild her tarnished reputation, she’s determined to find Gray’s stalker and, since relationships between agents and clients are forbidden, avoid a romantic attachment between herself and the rugged football player with the mysterious past.

Yet every secret that leads Dru closer to the stalker also draws her closer to Gray. As the danger escalates, they’ll survive only if they can learn to trust their lives — and their hearts — to one another.

Becky also has a FREE book sale going on RIGHT NOW!

Undeniably Yours

Free on Amazon

What Becky's voters had to say:

~I have read and loved Becky Wade's books for awhile now! She is talented and brilliant. I love having the option to read romantic fiction that is Christian based and clean for the soul. It's wonderful! Thank you!!

~I wouldn't even need a beach to want to read your book, Becky Wade!

~LOVE Becky Wade!! Loved the conclusion to the Porter Family Series!! Perfect book poolside or other Summer destination or really any place any time!! :)

~Even though I have only read one of the books on this list (I look forward to checking some more of these out) i want to thank all the authors for doing what they do. I believe God uses you to help others. I love reading because it can just help me escape sometimes and than start fresh and go forward. Also encouraging our relationship with God through seeing your characters growing in faith. Thank you for writing even when it toughs because it makes a difference and matters to people like me!!!

~I just received a whole set of Becky Wade's books and can't wait to read them

~Becky Wade, I love your books. Keep up the great work

~I have loved all of Becky Wade's books! I am never disappointed with any of her books - I look forward to each next one. They are always on my to purchase list as soon as they come out - one of my new favorite authors! :)

Review: The Butterfly Bride by Lacy Williams

A Lovely Romance Novella

A Butterfly Bride is the third and final book in the Lone Star Brides trilogy from Serenade Books. Each novella is a standalone story from a different author: The Bluebonnet Bride by Pamela Tracy, The Bull Rider’s Bride by Vickie McDonough, then The Butterfly Bride from Lacy Williams.

Yes, The Butterfly Bride is a novella, so it’s a short read—great for those who want a sweet romance they can read in an evening and finish with an ahhh feeling.

Luke Starr is horsesitting the family ranch while his twin brothers are on their respective honeymoons. He’s counting the days until he can leave again . . . until he meets special education teacher Jessica Sadler, one of the teachers supervising a school visit to the ranch that Gramma forgot to tell him about. He’s worried children could get hurt on a working ranch; she can’t see how tagging butterflies could be dangerous.

Anyway, this is a romance novella, so one thing leads to another until they admit their mutual attraction and get over themselves long enough to do something about it. We all know what the end game is going to be, and we all know the fun is in the journey as two characters have to deal with their mutual issues. And the journey is a lot of fun.

Recommended for romance fans.

Thanks to Seranade Books for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Love’s a Stage by Rene Gutteridge and Cheryl McKay

Deception ... for a good cause?

Aly Brewster and Nick Armstrong have been friends for five years, since their first year in college. They’re both now in grad school, with Aly studying to become a marriage therapist like her father, and Nick studying theatre. Nick’s been in love with Aly for years, but she’s always rebuffed his proposals, believing an actor won’t make a good marriage partner. Her ambition is to have the perfect marriage, like her parents.


But all isn’t well in the Brewster household, and Aly comes up with a ridiculous plan to get her parents to see they are meant to be together: she’ll announce her engagement, and beg them not to announce their divorce until after her ceremony. Now to find a groom … Well, who better to ask than the theatre major?

I could admire Aly’s desire to see her parents together and determination to make that succeed, although that didn’t entirely cover my discomfort at the way she treated Nick. Not that Nick was unwilling—the opposite—but I didn’t think Aly-the-future-couples-therapist did a good job in considering whether or not what she was asking was ethical or appropriate. Or kind.

Nick is equally determined. Despite being rejected time and time again, he still loves Aly and is convinced she’s the only woman for him … which is why he agrees to go through with her ridiculous scheme (and I’m sorry, but it really is ridiculous. But it makes a great plot for a novel!). But even he doesn’t bargain on how difficult he will find it to pretend to be engaged to Aly, especially around her parents. I don’t want to add spoilers, but the awkward why-do-you-want-to-marry-my-daughter scene was simply brilliant (even Aly thought so!).

The one thing (two things?) that didn’t work for me about Love’s a Stage were the prologue and epilogue. They were in a different viewpoint and voice than the rest of the novel, and one which was less attractive, less endearing and less readable. It wasn’t a good way to start, and the epilogue left me with a quizzical ‘say-what?’ expression where I should have had a smile (I did have a smile at the end of the last chapter).

An enjoyable romance, recommended for those who like contemporary Christian romance especially with the friends to more plot.

Thanks to Redbud Press for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Counting on a Cowboy by Debra Clopton

Bo Monahan is happy for his brother, who has just married a journalist who is popularising Wishing Spring, Texas, as a location of single men looking for wives. Bo might be single, but that doesn’t mean he’s looking for commitment. But commitment finds Bo, in the form of Levi, a baby who is left on his doorstep, apparently his son.

Abby Knightley lost her husband two years ago, and still has recovered--or stopped blaming herself. She’s read Maggie’s columns, and decided a move to Wishing Springs is what she needs. She’s not looking for a husband, just for hope. But she can’t help falling for Levi, and being attracted to his handsome father.

I did like progression of the relationship between Abby and Bo, although I found Abby annoying at times. Sure, I could understand her animosity towards drunk drivers, but that didn’t (in my view) necessitate her hatred of a character merely because he drank. That’s like hating all men because one hurt you, or hating all Australians because they beat us in rugby (sometimes). It just seemed immature.

Counting on a Cowboy is the second book in Clopton’s new Four of Hearts Ranch series. Like the first, it’s a little formulaic, with most of the focus on the main couple but some slightly awkward scenes from the viewpoint of minor characters (mostly awkward because I was wondering why bit players were viewpoint characters). There were also some oddities around Levi—he was first described as a baby, then we found out he turned one a month ago, then he was twelve months old, then he was less than a year … I suspect I was reading an unproofed version, so let’s hope those glitches are picked up before it is printed.

The other thing missing was the Christian content. Counting on a Cowboy is from Thomas Nelson, a major CBA publishing house, yet the Christian content is best described as sparse. Abby goes to church once; Bo not at all. Both characters make occasional references to God or prayer, but faith isn’t a major theme for either character, despite forgiveness being a major issue for Abby. (In fact, God seems to be more important to the minor characters).

Overall, Counting on a Cowboy had potential, but felt as if it was trying to replicate a successful formula at the expense of originality. A solid read, but not something I’d re-read.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Debra Clopton at her website.

Review: Love on a Deadline by Kathryn Springer

Lovely Romance Novella

Journalist Mackenzie Davis is working for the Red Leaf Register, the paper in her home town, while she waits for her big break in a major publication. Meanwhile she’s left covering insignificant local interest stories. And now her high school nemesis is marrying a rising movie star, and she’s been asked to cover the wedding preparations … which are being undertaken by her high school crush, the boy next door, the brother of said high school nemesis.

“This was Hollis Channing they were talking about. The girl who’s been taking selfies a decade before there’d been a name for it.”

The characters were well-developed, with a convincing and believable rationale for the big misunderstanding she and Ethan had in high school. I was especially impressed by the way she was able to show change in the various characters—not just Mac and Ethan—and the way she brought all the threads of the plot together. The plot was another strength, as it had more complexity than I usually see in a novella.

I think this is the first book I’ve read by Kathryn Springer, but I’ll certainly be keen to read more, as Love on a Deadline was a thoroughly enjoyable short romance

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: The Curiosity Keeper by Sarah Ladd

Amazon Book Description

“It is not just a ruby, as you say. It is large as a quail’s egg, still untouched and unpolished. And it is rumored to either bless or curse whoever possesses it.”

Camille Iverness can take care of herself. She’s done so since the day her mother abandoned the family and left Camille to run their shabby curiosity shop. But when a violent betrayal leaves her injured with no place to hide, Camille must allow a mysterious stranger to come to her aid.

Jonathan Gilchrist never wanted to inherit Kettering Hall. As a second son, he was content to work as the village apothecary. But when his brother’s death made him heir just as his father’s foolish decisions put the estate at risk, only the sale of a priceless possession—a ruby called the Bevoy—can save the family from ruin. But the gem has disappeared. And all trails lead to Iverness Curiosity Shop—and the beautiful shop girl who may be the answer to his many questions.

Caught at the intersection of blessings and curses, greed and deceit, these two determined souls must unite to protect what they hold dear. But when a passion that shines far brighter than any gem is ignited, they will have to decide how much they are willing to risk for their future, love, and happiness.

My Review

The Curiosity Keeper is set during the Regency, a period I usually love, but there was nothing especially Regency about it—it could have been set at any time in nineteenth century England. There was nothing especially Regency in either the setting, the characters, or the plot—in fact, the central plot device of the missing Bevoy ruby seemed more gothic Victorian than Regency. In hindsight, this may have contributed to the general feeling of malaise I felt while reading: while it was a perfectly sound novel, with no obvious defects, I didn’t find it especially original or interesting.

Sarah Ladd won the 2011 Genesis Award for her first novel, The Heiress of Winterwood, and I very much enjoyed that and its two sequels. But The Curiosity Keeper, first in her new Treasures of Surrey series, fell flat for me. The writing was solid, but nothing sparkled. It all felt a little contrived, and I found it difficult to relate to either Camille or Jonathan. Camille was too passive for someone who was supposed to be intelligent (and if she really was that clever, why hadn’t she worked out the truth behind her family and their shop?). Jonathan was the second son who had no interest in stepping into his unwanted inheritance. And they both had fathers most charitably described as imperfect … perhaps too imperfect.

Overall, The Curiosity Keeper was unmemorable, at least for me. Perhaps a little too much Jane Eyre, and not enough Jane Austen.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Sarah Ladd at her website.

Review: Picture Perfect Love by Melissa McClone

Good, but I'm not sold

Two years ago, Jenna Harrison’s fiancé dumped her the day before their wedding after accusing her of posting an embarrassing Photoshopped picture of him on Facebook, a photo which forced him to withdraw from an election campaign. Now he’s back, apologetic, and wants her to photograph his sister’s wedding—Amber, who has finally confessed to being responsible for posting the picture.

Jenna has changed since she was engaged to Ash. Their breakup brought her to rock-bottom financially and spiritually, but she joined a new church and is now a strong character, but not a perfect one and I liked that. Her struggle to forgive Ash felt real, especially when he had been too self-absorbed to see the financial and professional problems he’d caused her. She was a well-developed and likeable character.

Ash wasn’t so well developed. The breakup had benefited him financially, although he was never man enough to tell Jenna that (which annoyed me). He also didn’t seem to be her equal spiritually—I got the impression he went to church out of habit rather than actually having a personal faith. And I didn’t see any character change in him, either in the course of the novella, or between the Ash Jenna remembered from two years ago and the one in front of her today. Did he lack depth because this is a novella and there wasn’t the word count to develop him further? Possibly, but I’ve read plenty of novellas which managed to do a better job of developing both the hero and heroine.

As a romance novella, Picture Perfect Love is supposed to have a happy-ever-after ending (well, technically a romantically satisfying and optimistic ending). I’m not convinced. Jenna and Ash? Maybe. There was physical attraction in spades, so if that’s enough to maintain a relationship, they’ll be fine. But Amber and Toby? No. Amber is too immature and has difficulties with concepts like truth and repentance. I found her unlikeable, and couldn’t see why a sweetheart like Toby was interested in her, let alone marrying her.

Overall, Picture Perfect was well-written, but a good romance needs a lovable hero as well as a believable heroine and I’m not sold.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Beth Vogt

Good Characters, Good Concept ...

Paramedic Vanessa Hollister married Logan Hollister (yes, same last names) when she was eighteen and divorced him two years later for reasons unknown (we did find out later in the book. It would have been nice to have understood this earlier, but no. This kind of information was disclosed through flashbacks which I found annoying because they were disrupting the present-time story).

Vanessa is now living in Denver and engaged to Dr Ted Topliff, who has the idea to have a romantic destination wedding in Destin, Florida, to coincide with a medical conference he will be attending. Yep. How romantic. Vanessa doesn’t think this is a good idea, not because of the obvious sign that her husband-to-be isn't exactly making the wedding a priority, but because that’s where she met Logan. Sure enough, when she visits Florida to plan the wedding, she runs into Logan, and things don’t exactly go as planned …

This was a sweet romance along the lines of Sweet Home Alabama (with a destination wedding theme), about rediscovering love and second chances … At least, it was a sweet romance as long as I didn’t think about it too much. If I think about it, the romance suddenly seems too fast, and not entirely convincing. I could see from the flashbacks how and why eighteen-year-old Vanessa and Logan fell in love, and I could see that twenty-eight year-old Logan still loved Vanessa--although I suspect he loved eighteen-year-old Vanessa, because he really didn’t spend enough time with the twenty-eight-year-old one. But I wasn't convinced by Vanessa. As a result, I just wasn’t convinced by the romance.

Thanks to Howard Books and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. To find out more about Beth Vogt, visit her website.

Review: Firefly Summer by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Excellent Contemporary Romance!

This is the third Kathleen Y’Barbo book I’ve read, and it’s taken me a while to try again after I didn’t enjoy the first two. One was the last book in a series, which made it harder to pick up. The other was the first book in a series, but I didn’t like it because the back cover copy gave away two major plot points within the book, and I found it difficult to engage with parts of the plot. They felt a little ‘off’ to me (I later found out it was badly-marketed—it wasn’t historical romance, as I’d thought, but steampunk, which explained those aspects I felt were ‘off’). I also read hints that Y’Barbo herself hadn’t been pleased with the way the book was marketed, which inspired me to try her writing again. She’s now changed publisher and moved to contemporary fiction, a move which can only be for the better given her previous publishers substandard effort on the earlier book.

What about Firefly Summer?

Excellent.

The story starts shortly after Sessa Lee Chambers’s husband dies, leaving her distraught and with a five-year-old son to raise alone. It then moves forward in time by a couple of decades to mature Sessa, who now has a successful business restoring wooden carousel horses, a dream she’d shared with her husband. But life takes a few unexpected turns and she finds herself caring for her infant granddaughter … and befriending the man who killed her son.

Sessa is a fabulous character. She’s gone from the so-distraught-she’s-good-for-nothing widow to the strong woman with a healthy social life and thriving business. It’s also good to see a character who’s had a less-than-perfect life: her son rejected his Christian upbringing and his mother, which is something Sessa blames herself for. That’s rare in Christian romance, probably because most novels don’t feature characters old enough to have adult children, or grandchildren. It was especially good to see a romance featuring a mature couple—a reminder that romance isn’t just for the young.

Both Sessa and Trey had issues with the perceived and actual sins in their past, and with forgiveness for both themselves and each other. This aspect of the plot had the potential to be awkward and cringe-inducing, but Y’Barbo’s writing prowess shone through and it was excellent. The one thing missing was tying up the loose end about the red cowboy hat (you’ll have to read it to know what I mean).

Overall, an excellent novel and I’ll look forward to reading more from Kathleen Y’Barbo in the future.

Thanks to Redbud Press for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: A Heart's Betrayal by Colleen Coble

Emmie finds shelter in the arms of a soldier in Fort Laramie, Wyoming, but will her big secret drive them apart? Find out in book four, A Heart's Betrayal, of Colleen Coble's A Journey of the Heart series. Suddenly displaced, powerless, and ashamed, Emmie can’t stay in Wabash, Indiana. She makes a hopeful start for Fort Laramie to find her friend Sarah Montgomery and a new beginning. But when she arrives, she discovers she’s pregnant—and without a husband. The new start she’d hoped for slips from her fingers.

Melt into summer with a new giveaway from Colleen: four books (books one–four in Colleen's A Journey of the Heart series) and a box of chocolates to pair with your new books!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of A Heart's Betrayal
• A box of Colleen's favorite chocolate truffles from DeBrand Fine Chocolates
• A copy of A Heart's Disguise
• A copy of A Heart's Obsession
• A copy of A Heart's Danger

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 30th. Winner will be announced July 1st on Colleen's website.

Spoilers in the Book Description. Again.

Well done, Thomas Nelson (and Litfuse Publicity). Yet again you’ve done Colleen Coble the huge disservice of giving away the key plot twist in the book description. I understand that writing these advertising blurbs is hard, but let me give you a hint: the objective is to hook the reader into buying and reading the book, not give them a plot synopsis. Here's the Amazon Book Description:

Emmie finds shelter in the arms of a soldier, but her secret could drive them apart.

When Emmie Croftner answered the door to her late husband’s home, she discovered an awful truth: her deceased husband was a bigamist. And what’s more, the home she thought she inherited never belonged to her at all.

Suddenly displaced, powerless, and ashamed, Emmie can’t stay in Wabash, Indiana. She makes a hopeful start for Fort Laramie, Wyoming, to find her friend Sarah Montgomery and a new beginning. But when she arrives, she discovers she’s pregnant—and without a husband. The new start she’d hoped for slips from her fingers.

But then she meets Isaac Liddle, a handsome soldier with a kind heart. When he begins to court her, Emmie wonders whether she could ever really be his—and whether she dares to tell him she is carrying another man’s baby.

No, Emmie doesn't find shelter in the arms of a soldier, at least not in this novella. She's not also worried about any secret which cold drive them apart—she doesn’t discover she’s pregnant until the final chapter of this novella. Despite the book description, she meets Isaac when she arrives in Indiana, weeks before she discovers she's pregnant.

The writing is good, the characters are interesting, and I have to say I’m interested in the story of Emmie Munroe/Croftner. This is partly because I’m interested in her dilemma as the pregnant non-wife of a bigamist, and I want to know why she is so different from her rotten brother, Ben, who persecuted Sarah and Rand in the first three novellas in this collection. But I should have listened to my own advice (in my review to the first novella, A Heart’s Disguise) not to read the book descriptions. Because I’m now afraid I already know everything important that happens in these three novellas, which takes away any possibility of suspense (which Coble is known for) or even surprise.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: SPLASH! by Various Authors

2015 Reading Challenge – Short Stories

SPLASH! is a compilation of nine faith-filled romance novellas by indie authors from around the world. Yes, I know novellas aren’t exactly short stories, but I haven’t read short stories in years and Amazon had this listed in the Christian Short Stories category. I figure that means it counts.

It’s hard to review nine different stories by nine different authors. I’ve and enjoyed read previous books by the first three authors, but the other six were new to me. No matter. My previous knowledge of the first three set high expectations I hoped the others would match.

Overall my expectations were met. Yes, the writing and editing was better in some stories than others. Yes, I liked some of the stories better than others (with nine stories there is always going to be a couple I like more or less than the others, for whatever reason). Yes, the Christian element was stronger in some stories than others. But all nine had a solid Christian message, and it was good to see (read?).

I’m sure you don’t want to read my extended views of each novella, so I’m going to give you a whistle-stop tour of all nine, prefaced by one simple statement: this is a great light read, and you might just find a new favourite author.

His Perfect Catch by Narelle Atkins, set on the beaches of New South Wales, Australia. Mia is escaping Sydney—and her ex-boyfriend—and finds hew new next-door neighbour is Pete, her teenage crush. There’s a heap of attraction, but is Pete planning to move back to Sydney? I edited this story which means I’m naturally biased towards it, but I did enjoy Mia and Pete’s story, especially the location (it’s not New Zealand, but it’s close), and the fishing scenes (Mia might not be as high maintenance as Pete thinks, but flat shoes are still a stretch for this city girl).

Sweet Serenade by Valerie Comer, set in the wilds of Canada, in which outgoing tour guide Carly finds she is attracted to the brooding Reed, despite her cousin’s assertion that he’s a standoffish ice man. A fun story, and I especially liked the way Carly and Reed were able to stand up for themselves and their beliefs in a lake of lukewarm churchgoers. This is one of those novellas I’d like to have been longer, so we could see more of Carly and Reed sharing their faith as they fall in love. It’s the third novella in a series, but works just fine as a standalone story.

More than Friends by Autumn Macarthur, set near Edinburgh, as Catriona is desperate for a man to chaperone a church trip to the beach with her and a minibus full of disabled children. She turns to Alistair Murray, her brother’s best friend, a work colleague … and the teenage crush she never quite got over. Friends to more-than-friends is one of my favourite plot devices, and this one had me smiling as Ally and Cat worked things out.

Love Flies In by Heidi McCahan, set in Alaska as new Christian Tisha McDowell reconnects with her college nemesis Chase Binford, the guy she used to hassle for his Christian faith … and apparently kissed. Once. I always enjoy stories set in Alaksa—it’s the US with a twist—and this novella showcased the setting well. And, yes, there was some romance once Chase worked a few things out. Men. Eternally frustrating, but you can’t have a Christian romance without one.

Testing the Waters by Lesley Ann McDaniel, set in Crescent Cove, Oregon, where Curt Mason is working as a waiter to help out a friend, and meets the gorgeous and glamourous Theresé from Paris. Except she’s actually plain Theresa Reynolds from Portland. I was initially hesitant about this—I’m not a fan of lying heroines or heroes—but the author redeemed the plot and wove in an important point about being who we are meant to be in God, so I was more than pleased with the end.

The Lifeguards the Swim Team and Frozen Custard by Carol Moncado has an intriguing and potentially amusing title, but the story didn’t live up to the promise, partly because I never got a fix on where it was set, and I had some initial confusion about a couple of the characters. But it was fun once it got going, and my lasting complaint was it ended too quickly (an unfortunate side-effect of the novella!).

Time and Tide by Lynette Sowell, set in Chincoteague Island, Virginia, where fashion writer Karyn Lewis has retreated following the loss of her job. She reconnects with high school friend Brodie … but gets a shock when she meets his daughter. This wasn’t one of my favourite stories—I didn’t see enough chemistry between Karyn and Brodie, and the plot seemed too detailed for the novella format. It’s ironic, because Lynette Sowell is probably the best-known author in this set, but I found the other stories featured stronger, fresher writing.

Draw You Near by Jan Thompson is set in Savannah, Georgia, where Londoner Lars Cargill has come to find the mysterious woman in a painting by Abilene Dupree. This had potential, and parts of the story were really sweet, but Lars came across as more American than British (perhaps he’s really from New England). On the plus side, there was plenty of chemistry and a shared faith between Lars and Abilene, but that came to a head too quickly and the last quarter of the story dragged. A lot.

Orphaned Hearts by Marion Ueckermann, set in Zambia near the mighty Zambezi River and Victoria Falls. I’m a sucker for exotic locations, and my only experience of Africa is Egypt, so this story really attracted me. Lady Abigail goes to Africa to spend a year teaching in an orphanage … and to get away from an ex-fiancé she can’t ever see herself marrying. She meets handsome widower Simon, who runs a different kind of orphanage—an elephant sanctuary—but who has given up on God since the death of his wife in childbirth. No, the plot isn’t exactly unique, but the setting is and that made what could have been a ho-hum story rather special.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading these novellas, and have certainly found some more authors to add to my to-watch list. My ever-longer to-watch list. Some of these novels are part of a series of novels or novellas, but they can all be read as standalone stories.

Thanks to the authors for providing a free ebook for review.

I do have one free copy of the SPLASH! Kindle ebook to give away—leave a comment to be in the draw to win (winner drawn one week from the publication of this post).

Review: Kiss The Cowboy by Julie Jarnagin

Amazon Book Description

What if your competition for your dream job…was your dream man? All Lucy Pickett needs to become executive chef in one of Dallas’s finest restaurants is to pull off the high-profile wedding she’s catering. So what if she’s forced to share duties with Dylan Lawson, a modern-day chuck-wagon cook? So what if he’s got rugged looks and cowboy charm? None of that is going to knock her off her game. 

Until she learns the restaurateur is considering Dylan for the position she wants. Game on–and it’s a winner-take-all event! 

Dylan Lawson finally has the opportunity he’s been waiting for to prove he can do more than just be a ranch hand. The only thing standing in his way is the fiery chef fighting for the same position. Will the heated competition scorch any chance they have for love?

My Review

Food and cowboys? In Texas? What more could you want in a good novel? Well, to be able to EAT the scrumptious-sounding food these two prepare as they each fight for their dream job: Lucy so she can prove to herself—and her family—that she’s got what it takes to be successful, and Wyatt to pay medical and college bills. All they’ve got to do is combine her haute cuisine with his down-home cooking and gain the agreement of the cowboy groom, the socialite bride, and the eccentric matriarch. And ignore the fact that it’s not just the food that sizzles …

Kiss the Cowboy was an enjoyable combination of witty banter, chemistry, deeper discoveries, and more than one sizzling kiss. It was a good plot which managed to neither speed nor drag, likeable (loveable?) characters it was easy to sympathise and empathise with, and a solid Christian message about the importance of finding and living the life God wants for us, not the life others thing we should have.

The Kindle version of this book includes a free novella, which is Heather and Wyatt’s story. If you haven’t already read it, you might want to read it first—not that you have to read it to enjoy Kiss the Cowboy, but I prefer to read a series in order. I don’t know why, because it’s a romance novella, so it’s pretty obvious what the ending is going to be. Nevertheless, I prefer not to read what came before after reading what came after.

Thanks to Redbud Press for providing a free ebook for review.

Review: Married 'til Monday by Denise Hunter

Not Your Typical Christian Romance

Ryan and Abby McKinley divorced three years ago, but Ryan is still in love with his wife. A chance telephone call from her parents provides him with the perfect opportunity to spend time with Abby and try to find out what went wrong. He and Abby embark on a road trip to visit her parents for their wedding anniversary … with Ryan tagging along because Abby never told her parents she was divorced. Hmm …

It’s tempting to think Ryan is too-perfect. After all, he’s the perfect gentleman, a strong Christian, loves and supports his family, and spends hours working with his high school football team to teach them about both football and life. But he has one fault: he takes everything at face value and doesn’t see beyond the obvious (something I’ve found is common to the male of the species). This is illustrated early in the book when he’s thinking his younger sister, PJ, “had always led a charmed life”: anyone who has read the earlier books in this series will know that’s not exactly true. As we find out, you can’t take everyone at face value in life or in marriage.

Abby first appears to be normal, but as she takes her unplanned and unwanted road trip with Ryan, we (and Ryan) gradually discover that her normality is a façade that’s so well constructed even Abby doesn’t understand it’s there. It’s a powerful story with lessons for all couples, married or not, and I especially liked seeing a Christian romance novel showing that love and romance is about more than the wedding—it’s about the marriage, and the baggage and brokenness we each bring into that relationship.

I’ve been looking forward to reading Married 'til Monday since I finished the third book in The Chapel Springs Romance Series and realised the fourth story was going to reunite Ryan and Abby. It didn’t disappoint me. I’ve enjoyed all four books, but I think my favourites are this and Dancing with Fireflies, because they both step out of the Christian norm in terms of plot, while still delivering a strong Christian message. Recommended.

Thanks to Thomas Nelson and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Denise Hunter at her website.

This book counts towards my 2015 Reading Challenge as A book I can finish in a day. Yes, that's most good books, but I picked this because I was so keen to read it, and it more than lived up to my expectations. 

Review: London Tides by Carla Laureano

Excellent characters in a great location

London Tides is the much-awaited sequel to RITA Award-winner Five Days in Skye, which was about James MacDonald. It’s been too long, partly because the author has released two fantasy novels (as C.E. Laureano) in the meantime. I thoroughly enjoyed Five Days in Skye, so was looking forward to reading this sequel. I found it hard to get in to, but in the end it didn’t disappoint.

Grace Brennan is a photojournalist who’s spent the last ten years working in war zones. She’s produced some amazing photographs, but the personal cost has been too high, as illustrated by numerous tattoos commemorating colleagues she has lost … as well as the nightmares and the flashbacks. Now she’s back in London with no idea what to do, except reconnect with

Ian MacDonald is an ex-Olympic rower and Chief Operations Officer of his brother’s growing hospitality business, which includes several restaurants, a BBC TV show, books, and a hotel. He’s almost forty, and still single after since the love of his life left him ten years ago, six months before their wedding. He forgave her, he still loves her, and now she’s back.

The author has done an excellent job in researching London life and locations, particularly around rowing. But there were a handful of language glitches which reminded me the novel is written by an American, not a Londoner. Or perhaps the language was edited to make it more accessible to American audiences. Either way, these glitches meant I did have some trouble getting in to the story.

My other possible area of concern was around the Christian elements of the plot. It was obvious neither Ian nor Grace were practicing Christians ten years ago, and their present faith was also ambiguous. There wasn’t a distinct faith thread to appeal to the Christian reader, yet there were perhaps too many ‘God’ references to appeal to the general market reader. The low-key Christianity might appeal to British Christian readers (who prefer their Christian fiction not be too overt), but those readers will pick up on the language glitches.

These two issues aside, I enjoyed London Tides. Grace was a fascinating character, driven by forces she didn’t entirely understand. Ian was an amalgamation of many of the men I worked with in London, and I’m pretty sure I met his mother at least once. There was plenty of attraction between the two right from the start (and it was good to see in kept in check), but there was also plenty of conflict, mainly arising from Grace’s (understandable) personal lack of direction. This combination made for an excellent plot, with a variety of characters and a welcome cameo from James and Andrea (from Five Days in Skye).

Now I’m waiting for the final book, to see if Serena meets her match …

Thanks to David C Cook and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Carla Laureano at her website.

Review: A Stranger's Secret by Laurie Alice Eakes

Slow and Unengaging

Widowed Lady Morwenna Trelawny Penvanan wants nothing more than to be left in her rundown mansion, but her grandparents want her to move back to their estate … or marry one of her pursuers. Plans change when she finds a shipwreck survivor on her private beach, a strange man with the Trelawny family crest on his pendant.

David Chastain is a shipbuilder who has travelled to Cornwell to try and solve the mystery of his father’s death, and the disappearance of their family’s money. But now he’s injured and in the care of an angel …

A Stranger's Secret never engaged me. I didn’t understand why Morwenna chose to live in the rundown Penvanan when her grandparents lived in luxury only a short distance away, and where where her parents? These questions were answered, but not until too late for my liking (and I had read the first book in the series, A Lady’s Honor, so that wasn’t the reason).

I found the first three-quarters of the novel very slow, which wasn’t helped by Morwenna’s overlong interior monologue (which still didn’t give any information about how she got into her situation, or why she wouldn’t accept help). David wasn’t any better: late in the book, we found out he knew more than he’d let on, which was a problem I had with the first book in the series as well. In contrast, the ending was fast—too fast. I never felt as though I got to know either character.

The historical research and sense of time and place was excellent, as were the Christian themes. However, I found some of the writing to be overly complex, almost archaic, even for a novel set during the Regency. There were several times when I found myself reading and rereading sentences in order to understand what was being said. I never had that problem reading Jane Austen.

Overall, I found A Stranger’s Secret a struggle to finish, because it took so long to get interesting and I felt no connection with any of the characters.

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Laurie Alice Eakes at her website.

Review and Giveaway: A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

Fall in love with Becky Wade's new book, A Love Like Ours, a story of healing, romance, and cowboys. A glimmer of the hope Jake thought he’d lost returns when Lyndie lands back in Texas, 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?

To celebrate the release of her new book, Becky is giving away a $100 cash card and a book-inspired prize pack!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A $100 cash card
• A copy of A Love Like Ours
• A copy of the Secretariat DVD
• A scarf
• A dog-tag/cross keychain
• A pair of earrings
• A Scarf
• A Texas-shaped cutting board
• A Jake Porter mug

 

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 26th. Winner will be announced May 27th on Becky's site.

My Review: Tortured hero, quirky heroine

A Love Like Ours is the third in the Porter Family series, and is Jake’s story. Jake had a cameo in the previous novel in the series, and struck me as a fascinating character even then, a tortured soul suffering from PTSD following his Marine service in Afghanistan who now trains Thoroughbred horses on the family ranch.

His childhood friend Lyndie James has recently moved back to Whispering Springs, and wants a job on the ranch as an exercise trainer. She finds Jake wounded, but there’s still the connection between them there was two decades ago, the last time they met. But will Jake let her in?

I thought Lyndie was an excellent character, a fascinating mix of horse-mad jockey, imaginative author-artist, and a woman of deep Christian faith. She had a quirky way of looking at the world—and Jake, who she described as Mr Tall, Dark and Brooding, a description which characterised him well.

Jake was a harder character to get to know, but that was part of his character: his PTSD and survivor guilt holds him back from opening up from others, which means he’s a more remote character than most fictional heroes in romance. But the tortured hero has an appeal, not least to the woman—Lyndie—who wants to ‘fix’ him. There is also the appeal of a couple reunited after years apart yet still connected in some undefinable way, a reminder that true love is unconditional and never-ending.

There were a two things about A Love Like Ours which bugged me. One was the way characters kept stating and interrupting each other (she stated, he interrupted) etc. It felt odd. The other was the secondary will-they-won’t-they romance with Lyndie’s neighbour, Amber (who series fans might remember from the earlier books in the series, Undeniably Yours and Meant to Be Mine). It wasn’t that I didn’t like seeing Amber again, more than it detracted from Lyndie’s developing relationship with Jake, which is what I wanted to see.

Despite these minor glitches, I thoroughly enjoyed A Love Like Ours. Lyndie and Jake are special and unique characters, and while I almost thought they weren’t going to make it, I need not have worried. It was a definite “awww” ending, with plenty of wonderful kisses in as well.

Thanks to Litfuse and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Becky Wade at Litfuse Publicity, or at Becky's website.

Review: Uncharted Inheritance by Keely Brooke Keith

I'm reviewing at The Christian Manifesto today!

From the author of The Land Uncharted and Uncharted Redemption comes the third book in the Uncharted series, Uncharted Inheritance. Written like a historical, set like a sci-fi, and filled with romance, Uncharted Inheritance concludes this suspenseful story of life in a hidden land.

Bethany Colburn finally turns eighteen and Everett Foster is about to confess his love for her. When a new man arrives in the village of Good Springs, he brings charm Bethany has never encountered and illness the Land has never known. While the medicinal power of the gray leaf tree is put to the test and the Colburn family’s strength is stretched thin, Bethany must learn to protect her true inheritance. Uncharted Inheritance weaves heartbreak and hope while delivering long-awaited answers in this suspenseful story of life in a hidden land.

That description doesn’t tell you a lot, does it? Actually, I think that’s a good thing. I often find book descriptions for sequels give away major plot points for the earlier books, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Anyway, to read the rest of my review, click here pop over to The Christian Manifesto.

While you're there, take a look at some of the other reviews - they have a large team of fiction reviewers, with diverse tastes. Let me know what you think!

Review: Deception on Sable Hill by Shelley Gray

Excellent. 

Shelley Gray is more commonly known as Shelley Shepherd Gray, bestselling author of Amish fiction. I haven’t read any of her Amish fiction, but I think I’ve read the three contemporary romantic suspense novels she’s published as Shelley Gray, and they are excellent. Excellent writing, strong characters, and hard-hitting plots touching on some major contemporary issues.

Deception on Sable Hill is, as far as I can tell, Gray’s second historical novel, following Secrets of Sloane House. It’s part of her series set in Chicago during the 1893 World’s Fair, although the Fair isn’t a major feature. Anyway, Sable Hill is the exclusive part of town, although Miss Eloisa Carstairs has found out that exclusive doesn’t necessarily mean safe ...

In hindsight, Deception on Sable Hill shouldn’t have worked. While it’s entirely believable that Mrs Carstairs was so self-absorbed that she didn’t notice the anguish Eloisa was going through, it’s much less likely that she didn’t notice Eloisa spending far too much time with that police detective. It would be unusual for a lady of Eloisa Carstairs’s station to spend time with an Irish police detective under normal circumstances … but this is a novel, and Eloisa’s circumstances are hardly normal.

Maybe it shouldn’t have worked, but it did, and that’s a testament to Shelley Gray’s consistently excellent characterisation and strong writing, Even if logic says the plot shouldn’t work, Gray managed to convince me it did, and I was swept up in a romantic suspense novel set against the backdrop of the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair (a popular topic, it seems: Deeanne Gist is also writing a series set in and around the Fair).

Deception on Sable Hill is the sequel to The Secrets of Sloane House, but can easily be read as a standalone novel (I own The Secrets of Sloane House, but haven’t yet read it. This reminds me I must). Recommended for those who like historical romance … especially historical romance with a mystery/suspense twist. Recommended.

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Shelley Gray at her website.

Review: Serving up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt

Not Me

When wedding caterer Meadow Larson’s kitchen roof collapses, her high school nemesis comes to the rescue, offering his barn as a temporary kitchen. While Colin McGrath never led the bullies in the popular crowd who made her high school years a misery, he never called them on their behaviour either. Now he says he’s changed. Can she believe him?

Yes, I can see that a person can change after high school. I can see that they might regret some of their teenage decisions and behaviour (who doesn’t?). But I never got an impression of how Colin had changed, which meant I didn’t get that he had changed. I only saw the almost-perfect Christian contractor he now is.

I also didn’t really get Meadow. If she hated high school and everyone in town bullied her, why did she stay? Here’s the other thing I didn’t get. She appears to be operating a commercial catering business out of her house, and when her kitchen is destroyed, she uses the home kitchen of her building contractor. Really? A bachelor who lives in a barn has a kitchen good enough to use for commercial catering? And it doesn’t have to be certified as meeting local hygiene standards?

Okay, these might be minor issues, and it seems most people are loving Serving Up a Sweetheart. But it didn’t work for me. The writing was good, and I thought the Christian aspects were excellent. But the characters were too good to be true, and I thought the plot was too complex to adequately cover in such a short word count. Overall, average.

Thanks to Zondervan and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review. You can find out more about Cheryl Wyatt at her website.

Review and Giveaway: A Heart's Obsession by Colleen Coble

Can a woman held captive by her family make it back to the one man she knows she can trust? Find out in book two, A Heart's Obsession, of Colleen Coble's Journey of the Heart series. When Sarah Montgomery’s father succumbs to his long illness, Sarah is faced with a life-altering choice: submit to her brother’s will and marry the deceptive Ben Croftner . . . or escape through the dangerous American West to reclaim the heart of her beloved Rand Campbell at Fort Laramie, Wyoming.

Celebrate book two in Colleen's A Journey of the Heart series by entering to win a Kindle Fire and RSVPing to her May 5th author chat party!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire
• A copy of A Heart's Disguise
• A copy of A Heart's Obsession
• A copy of The Inn at Ocean's Edge (blog tour coming in mid-April)

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 7th. Winner will be announced May 8th on Colleen's website. Plus be sure to clear your calendar on the evening of May 5th because Colleen is hosting an author chat party on Facebook to celebrate her A Journey of the Heart series and the release of The Inn at Ocean's Edge! RSVP here!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on May 5th!

My Review

Lieutenant Rand Campbell left his intended in Wabash, Indiana when he was posted to Fort Laramie, Wyoming, because she wouldn’t leave her family. The prospect of a forced marriage to liar Ben Croftner gives Sarah Montgomery the push she needs to leave her family and find Rand—and marry him. But when she arrives at Fort Laramie, she finds things aren’t as she expected …

I didn't enjoy the first novella in this collection because the publisher’s description gave away all the key plot points. They didn’t make quite the same mistake with this second book, but the description still covers the first two-thirds of the story (although this time I made sure I didn’t actually read the book description, just in case).

I’m still not sold on the series. Rand is almost the perfect man, except for one error of judgement about the true character of the pretty Miss Jessica DuBois. Sarah was too wishy-washy for my tastes in the first book (A Heart’s Disguise), but seems to have grown a spine on the trip to Wyoming. She also has a respect for the local Indian population that seems a little uncharacteristic for a sheltered woman of her time.

The minor characters were, if anything, worse. We didn’t get the opportunity to get to know either Ben Croftner or Jessica DuBois in any detail, which meant they came across as clichés. The plot moved along too quickly, in that the characters (Rand, in particular) had dramatic changes in their feelings without any logic or explanation. The other problem was the end: it was very abrupt, as though it was just cut off. Perhaps it was—after all, there are another four novellas in the series after this one.

Thanks to Litfuse Publicity and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

This book counts towards my 2015 Reading Challenge as a book with a love triangle.