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Dangerous to Know by Megan Whitson Lee

by admin | Jul 12, 2018 | Books, England, Historical, Romance

MY REVIEW:

Dangerous to Know was not at all what I expected when I agreed to review this book. I assumed it would follow the usual pattern for a Regency romance novel but I was in for quite a surprise. Featuring an emotionally tortured hero who defied most dictates of society, the story was often dark and disturbing. For some reason Lord Brumby was sought after by all the young women, perhaps because of his bad boy tendencies which are often attractive for all the wrong reasons. Isabella Bankmill was one of those young women and although all she recommended many of the obvious signs, she ignored them and soon lived to regret her poor choices.

Dangerous to Know is quite well written and was difficult to put down once I got into it. I did not like Lord Bromby at all and wanted to step into the pages of the book and shake some sense into Isabella. It is a heart-breaking account of what can happen when one person allows another to take precedence over the Lord in their life.

Loosely based on the life of Lord Byron, this book is not for readers looking for a light entertaining romance but is perfect for those looking for a bit more meat in their reading choices.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Audra Jennings, Publicist. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

“Don’t look at him, dear. He’s dangerous.”

Isabella Bankmill seeks a husband whose character matches her list of requirements. The man must share her faith, but he must also possess a certain je ne sais quoi. The enigmatical Lord Gregory Gordon Bromby—London’s newest literary sensation—certainly possesses the latter. Despite a deformed foot and alarming views on politics and religion, he attracts the ladies in droves.

Haunted by his past and overwhelmed by his newfound celebrity status, Lord Bromby’s obsession with his own doom leads to reckless behavior. When he is stalked by an obsessive aristocrat seeking an elopement, Bromby’s friends urge him to marry a suitable lady as soon as possible. Intrigued by Isabella’s convictions and hoping to avoid further scandal, Bromby proposes to Isabella.

Isabella also receives an offer of marriage from kind-hearted philanthropist, David Beringer—a man equally devoted to his faith—but she only has eyes for Lord Bromby. Blinded by his talent and good looks, Isabella convinces herself that he’s not as dangerous as everyone claims. But when Bromby’s world violently collides with hers, Isabella must decide once and for all who is lord of her life. God or Bromby?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Megan Whitson Lee is an anglophile and a recovering runaway. Over the years, she escaped to England and Australia before finally settling down in the US. These days, she lives a relatively quiet life as a wife, a mom of two greyhounds, an editor for Pelican Book Group, and a high school English teacher. She now escapes by writing novels instead of jumping on planes to foreign countries. Her novel, Captives, won the 2016 Director’s Choice Award and was a finalist for a Selah Award in the women’s contemporary fiction category at Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference.

Megan writes women’s contemporary thrillers and historical fiction featuring characters standing at the crossroads of major life decisions.

Website:             www.meganwhitsonlee.com
Facebook:           https://www.facebook.com/meganwhitsonlee/
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Just Let Go by Courtney Walsh

by admin | Jul 4, 2018 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance

MY REVIEW:

The small lakeside town of Harbor Pointe, Michigan was not a place down-on-his-luck champion skier Grady Benson would ever want to spend much time. No, it did not have the luxuries and entertainment Grady had become accustomed to in his celebrity lifestyle. Needless to say, he was not at all happy about his enforced community service for several weeks – not when he needed to hit the slopes hard to be assured of a place on the next Olympic team. On the other hand, Quinn Collins had never left Harbor Pointe and did not intend to ever do so. She was so straight-laced that her friends swore they could set their clocks by her routine. She was NOT at all happy to have the full-of-himself Grady assigned to her team for the annual winter festival. I bet most readers can guess what happens between this totally mismatched pair. Of course they can but it is so much fun to follow along their sometimes amusing but always interesting road to the romantic conclusion of their story.

As always, Walsh’s characters are realistic and well-rounded. Both Grady and Quinn have backgrounds that contributed to their fears and outlook on life. I loved how even though they each seemed to rub each other the wrong way, their relationship helped open their eyes to some deep internal truths that helped to start their healing and eventually led to forgiveness and restoration for them both. The spiritual content of the story was strong and could easily be an encouragement to many readers.

I thoroughly enjoyed Just Let Go as well as several other of this author’s books. It was fun to catch up with characters from Just Look Up also. I am certainly looking forward to the next installment of this excellent series.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Title: Just Let Go

Author: Courtney Walsh

Release Date: June 5, 2018

Genre: Contemporary Romance

For Quinn Collins, buying the flower shop in downtown Harbor Pointe fulfills a childhood dream, but also gives her the chance to stick it to her mom, who owned the store before skipping town twenty years ago and never looking back. Completing much-needed renovations, however, while also competing for a prestigious flower competition with her mother as the head judge, soon has Quinn in over her head. Not that she’d ever ask for help.

Luckily, she may not need to. Quinn’s father and his meddling friends find the perfect solution in notorious Olympic skier Grady Benson, who had only planned on passing through the old-fashioned lakeside town. But when a heated confrontation leads to property damage, helping Quinn as a community-service sentence seems like the quickest way out—and the best way to avoid more negative press.

Quinn finds Grady reckless and entitled; he thinks she’s uptight and too regimented. Yet as the two begin to hammer and saw, Quinn sees glimpses of the vulnerability behind the bravado, and Grady learns from her passion and determination, qualities he seems to have lost along the way. But when a well-intentioned omission has devastating consequences, Grady finds himself cast out of town—and Quinn’s life—possibly forever. Forced to face the hurt holding her back, Quinn must finally let go or risk missing out on the adventure of a lifetime.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Courtney Walsh is a novelist, artist, theatre director, and playwright. Her debut novel, A Sweethaven Summer, hit the New York Times and USA Today e-book bestseller lists and was a Carol Award finalist in the debut author category. She has written two more books in the Sweethaven series, as well as two craft books and several full-length musicals. Courtney lives in Illinois with her husband and three children. Visit her online at www.courtneywalshwrites.com.

BLOG STOPS:

By The Book, June 26

Faithfully Bookish, June 26

Luv’N Lambert Life, June 26

Reading Is My SuperPower, June 27

Among the Reads, June 27

Splashes of Joy, June 27

God is Love, June 28

Fiction Aficionado, June 28

Genesis 5020, June 28

All-of-a-kind Mom, June 28

Carpe Diem, June 29

Christian Chick’s Thoughts, June 29

100 Pages per Hour, June 29

The Power of Words, June 30

Lighthouse Academy, June 30

Radiant Light, June 30

Just the Write Escape, June 30

Quiet Quilter, July 1

C Jane Read, July 1

A Baker’s Perspective, July 1

Cordially Barbara, July 2

Baker kella, July 2

The Christian Fiction Girl, July 3

Remembrancy, July 3

amandainpa, July 3

Two Points of Interest, July 4

Daysong Reflections, July 4

SusanLovesBooks, July 4

Vicky Sluiter, July 5

proud to be an autism mom, July 5

Moments Dipped in Ink, July 6

Pause for Tales, July 6

Bibliophile Reviews, July 7

Texas Book-aholic, July 7

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 7

Janices book reviews, July 8

Bigreadersite, July 8

Blossoms and Blessings, July 8

Godly Book Reviews, July 9

Jeanette’s Thoughts, July 9

Christian Author, J.E.Grace, July 9

GIVEAWAY:

To celebrate her tour, Courtney Walsh is giving away a grand prize of a library of Courtney Walsh’s books and a $25 Amazon gift card!!

Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries!

https://promosimple.com/ps/d0a4/just-let-go-celebration-tour-giveaway

Breath of Heaven by Alana Terry

by admin | Jul 3, 2018 | Books, Contemporary Fiction

MY REVIEW:

Breath of Heaven is a lovely story written from the perspective of a new pastor’s wife. Not only are Katrina and her pastor husband young newlyweds but city girl Katrina is unaccustomed to small towns and the expectations church members have for their pastor’s wife.

The book is well written and realistically told as would be expected from an author with experience as a pastor’s wife. The reader may well wonder how much of the story is drawn from her own experiences. I enjoyed reading Katrina’s story as she walked through numerous difficulties and temptations to come out on the other side contented with her life as she learned to depend on the Lord rather than others.

I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Celebrate Lit. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.

ABOUT THE BOOK:

Click to purchase

Title: Breath of Heaven

Author: Alana Terry

Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Release Date: December 9, 2017

She hasn’t fallen out of love with her husband. She just can’t stand his church.

Nobody told Katrina being a pastor’s wife would be easy. But she never imagined that the stress she and her husband would face from his new job could so easily destroy their marriage.

In spite of her mother’s disapproval, Katrina marries a pastor whose job immediately plucks her away from her music, her symphony, and the city life she loves and plants her in the small town of Orchard Grove, Washington.

If she knew going into her new life that she’d be sacrificing her music career for a congregation full of gossips and backbiters and that the pressure of her husband’s new job would turn him into someone she hardly recognizes anymore, she might have reconsidered marrying him in the first place.

Unfortunately, it’s too late to do anything about that now.

Or is it?

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Alana is a pastor’s wife, homeschooling mom, self-diagnosed chicken lady, and Christian suspense author. Her novels have won awards from Women of Faith, Book Club Network, Grace Awards, Readers’ Favorite, and more. Alana’s passion for social justice, human rights, and religious freedom shines through her writing, and her books are known for raising tough questions without preaching. She and her family live in rural Alaska where the northern lights in the winter and midnight sun in the summer make hauling water, surviving the annual mosquito apocalypse, and cleaning goat stalls in negative forty degrees worth every second.

GUEST POST FROM ALANA TERRY:

I used to think being a pastor’s wife would be glamorous. Now I know better!

Although I’ve loved the different churches where my husband has been called to serve, being a couple in full-time ministry can definitely take its toll on a marriage.

Breath of Heaven is a novel in my Orchard Grove Christian women’s fiction series, which deals with real-life couples facing real-life issues. In Breath of Heaven, two newlyweds are thrown into the world of church politics, and the honeymoon period is quickly over.

I wrote this novel to give an inside peek at what it’s like if you’ve never been a pastor’s wife as well as to offer some hope and encouragement to women who know the stress of being married to someone in full-time ministry.