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.
BLOG STOPS:
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 28
Ladybug Chronicles, June 28
Quiet Quilter, June 29
The Power of Words, June 29
Just the Write Escape, June 30
Splashes of Joy, June 30
Mary Hake, July 1
Lots of Helpers, July 1
proud to be an autism mom, July 2
Bibliophile Reviews, July 2
All-of-a-kind Mom, July 3
Daysong Reflections, July 3
Texas Book-aholic, July 4
Jeanette’s Thoughts, July 4
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 5
Janices book reviews, July 5
Carpe Diem, July 6
A Baker’s Perspective, July 6
Bigreadersite, July 7
Christian Author, J.E.Grace, July 8
Margaret Kazmierczak, July 8 (Interview)
A Reader’s Brain, July 9
The Christian Fiction Girl, July 9
Blogging With Carol, July 10
Jen Around the World, July 10
Godly Book Reviews, July 11
GIVEAWAY:
To celebrate her tour, Alana is giving away a grand prize of books 1-3 in the Orchard Grove Christian women’s series (paperback or ebook)!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/d06f/breath-of-heaven-celebration-tour-giveaway
by admin | Jun 29, 2018 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
MY REVIEW:
A Place to Call Home is an engaging, easy-to-read, contemporary romance that held my interest until the end. I read fiction for relaxation and enjoyment and do not tend to analyze or critique the novels I read so this book met my requirements.
I enjoyed the development of the romance between Kurt and Molly despite her misgivings about him at first. His very demeanor and caring nature made it obvious that he was a person who could be trusted. Although there was a bit of drama and mystery, overall A Place to Call Home was primarily just an enjoyable, well-written tale with a sweet romance, some cute kids, and lots of forgiveness and reconciliation. What more could a gal require for a lazy summer evening other than a comfy chair and a tall cold drink?
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:
An ex-con finds forgiveness and love in this contemporary Christian romance.
STARTING OVER
After serving six years in prison for the false charge of manslaughter in the death of his wife, Kurt Jansen must overcome a world of bitterness if he wants to start a new life. But his first priority is securing a restoration job to pay a private investigator to find the real killer and a lawyer to get his kids back.Hiring a convicted wife-killer isn’t what kind-hearted Molly Finnerty bargains for as part of the prison ministry she supports. However, she begins to believe Kurt’s claim of innocence and gradually finds a great deal to like about him—perhaps more to like than she should. Can they overcome the past and find forgiveness and love?
BOOKS IN THE FRONT PORCH PROMISES SERIES:
- A Place to Call Home
- A Love to Call Mine
- A Family to Call Ours
Each book stands alone, but the stories are connected through setting or characters.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Merrillee Whren is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author who writes inspirational romance. She is the Winner of the 2003 Golden Heart Award for best inspirational romance manuscript presented by Romance Writers of America. She has also been the recipient of the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award. She is married to her own personal hero, her husband of forty- plus years, and has two grown daughters. She has lived in Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Chicago and Florida but now makes her home in the Arizona desert. She spends her free time playing tennis or walking while she does the plotting for her novels. Please visit her Website and signup for her newsletter and connect with her on Facebook.
Social Media Links:
by admin | Jun 29, 2018 | Books, Historical, Post Civil War, Romance
MY REVIEW:
Having read Beth White’s previous series, The Gulf Coast Chronicles, I was delighted to receive a review copy of A Rebel Heart, first book in her latest series. It was everything I expected and more. I have thoroughly enjoyed reading White’s historical fiction about the South that contains an intimate view of the lives and experiences of people who lived during a tumultuous period in our country.
A Rebel Heart gets off to a speedy start with a disastrous train derailment and a daring rescue in which the primary characters Selah and Levi meet. Their paths cross later and the two of them eventually end up working together in a scheme to save her family’s damaged plantation home in Mississippi. The characters come alive in a plot wrought with action, danger, secrets, misunderstandings, suspense, and romance. I liked seeing how they had to learn to depend upon each other and their faith in order to survive and thrive during the difficult days of post Civil War reconstruction.
I look forward to the rest of this series because I can’t wait to learn what happens with Selah’s two sisters and their cousin. I hope you will give this excellent book a chance too.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
“Full of intrigue, grit, and grace, A Rebel Heart is Beth White at her finest.”—Jocelyn Green, award-winning author of A Refuge Assured
Five years after the final shot was fired in the War Between the States, Selah Daughtry can barely manage to keep herself, her two younger sisters, and their spinster cousin fed and clothed. With their family’s Mississippi plantation swamped by debt and the Big House falling down around them, the only option seems to be giving up their ancestral land–until a hotel management agent for the railroad offers her hope for the future.
If she’ll turn her home into a hotel, Levi Riggins says, he can all but guarantee it will be saved. Selah isn’t sure she entirely trusts the handsome Yankee. Yet what other options does she have? She’ll have to stay on her guard . . . but she never expected to have to guard her heart.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Beth White‘s day job is teaching music at an inner-city high school in historic Mobile, Alabama. A native Mississippian, she writes historical romance with a Southern drawl and is the author of The Pelican Bride and The Creole Princess. Her novels have won the American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award, the RT Book Club Reviewers’ Choice Award, and the Inspirational Reader’s Choice Award. Learn more at www.bethwhite.net.
by admin | Jun 27, 2018 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Love Inspired, Romantic Suspense
MY REVIEW:
What would you do if your relaxing kayak ride down the river was interrupted by a woman’s scream and gunshots? Personally, I’m such a chicken that I would probably turn that thing around and head back the way I came from. Of course Tanner Brody is too dedicated a police officer to do that, even if his new job hasn’t yet officially begun. That decision quickly puts his life on the line as he finds a young woman who doesn’t remember anything but it is evident that someone wants her dead. His protective instincts kick into high gear and one page-turning, breath-holding, suspense-filled story ensues.
I have read few novels with more twists and turns and secrets than Fatal Recall, yet somehow the author managed to pack it all within the covers of a short Love Inspired Suspense novel. Characters are well developed, especially Tanner who is the perfect hero with his strong sense of duty. I enjoyed every minute of this book from the danger and (of course) romance to the characters’ need to depend on God to see them through.
I would strongly recommend Fatal Recall to anyone who enjoys superbly crafted suspense and also appreciate a novel that can be finished in a relatively short time. Once again Carol Post has made me a happy reader.
I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book provided by the author. A favorable review was not required. All views expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Amnesia stole her memory—
a killer wants her dead
When Paige Tatem loses her memory, she knows just two things: she has a target on her back, and police officer Tanner Brody is the only man she trusts to protect her. As they piece together her past, Tanner wonders what lies hidden in Paige’s mind. And as the truth begins to emerge, it becomes clear that a ruthless enemy wants certain secrets to stay buried.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
From medical secretary to court reporter to property manager to owner of a special events decorating company, Carol’s resume reads like someone who doesn’t know what she wants to be when she grows up. But her one constant has always been her love for writing. She lives in Central Florida with her husband and enjoys sailing, hiking and camping. Her daughters and grandson live too far away for her liking, so she pours all that nurturing into caring for three fat cats and one spoiled dog.
