by admin | Sep 29, 2015 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Romance
MY REVIEW:
Okay, maybe “Last Chance Hero” wasn’t the most exciting book ever but sometimes it is good to just relax with a feel-good book without too much suspense or drama. I personally enjoyed my trip back to Last Chance, New Mexico where I renewed my acquaintance with several old friends and made a few new ones as well. I think I might enjoy living in a small town where high school football and green chilies are an important part of life.
As the new doctor in town, Jessica MacLeod has a few adjustments to make including the unaccustomed menu items at the Dip ’n’ Dine and the town’s obsession with football. Once the high school football hero, Andy Ryan has returned to coach his former team and discovers that he is expected to take the team to a repeat of their “glory days”. With very little in common, Jessica and Andy are an unlikely couple but I’ve heard that opposites attract. Could that be the case with Jessica and Andy?
“Last Chance Hero” was populated with true-to-life characters with very real issues. The story was relieved with humorous incidents that were just the right touch. No one was perfect and even at least one obnoxious character had some good moments. I liked the way the author handled the faith element by having Jessica initially resistant but gradually warming to it as the story progressed. I could envision it happening just that way.
All-in-all, “Last Chance Hero” was a satisfying read and I hope to have the chance to return to Last Chance again in the near future. I can see this series going on for awhile. I just hope the author and publisher agree.
This book was provided for review by
Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
What happens when your heart is intercepted before you even know it’s in play?
The folks in Last Chance, New Mexico, could not be more pleased. Dr. Jessica MacLeod has opened an office right on Main Street and Andy Ryan, the best athlete the little town ever produced, has come home from the NFL to coach the high school football team. Unfortunately, Dr. Jess immediately gets off on the wrong foot with this football-obsessed town when she admits that she’s never seen a football game, isn’t really interested in doing so, and in fact doesn’t know a first down from a goalpost.
Despite having little in common, Jess and Andy find themselves drawn to each other. But when a disagreement over the future of an injured player puts them both on the defensive, it begins to look like this game is over . . .
Read an excerpt from Last Chance Hero HERE.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Cathleen Armstrong lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband, Ed, and their corgi. Though she has been in California for many years now, her roots remain deep in New Mexico where she grew up and where much of her family still lives. After she and Ed raised three children, she returned to college and earned a BA in English. Her debut novel Welcome to Last Chance won the 2009 American Christian Fiction Writers Genesis Award for Women’s Fiction. Learn more at www.cathleenarmstrong.com.
by admin | Sep 29, 2015 | Books, Contemporary Fiction, Suspense
This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingThe Bones Will SpeakThomas Nelson (August 11, 2015)byCarrie Stuart ParksABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Carrie Stuart Parks is an award-winning fine artist and internationally known forensic artist. Along with her husband, Rick, she travels across the US and Canada teaching courses in forensic art to law enforcement as well as civilian participants. She has won numerous awards for career excellence. Carrie is a popular platform speaker, presenting a variety of topics from crime to creativity.
Animals have always been a large part of her life. Her parents, Ned and Evelyn Stuart, started Skeel Kennel Great Pyrenees in 1960. Carrie inherited the kennel and continues with her beloved dogs as both an AKC judge and former president of the Great Pyrenees Club of America. She lives on the same ranch she grew up on in Northern Idaho.
ABOUT THE BOOK
A killer with a penchant for torture has taken notice of forensic expert Gwen Marcey . . . and her daughter.
When Gwen Marcey’s dog comes home with a human skull and then leads her to a cabin in the woods near her Montana home, she realizes there’s a serial killer in her community. And when she finds a tortured young girl clinging to life on the cabin floor, she knows this killer is a lunatic.
Yet what unsettles Gwen most is that the victim looks uncannily like her daughter.
The search for the torturer leads back in time to a neo-Nazi bombing in Washington state—a bombing with only one connection to Montana: Gwen. The group has a race-not-grace model of salvation . . . and they’ve marked Gwen as a race traitor.
When it becomes clear that the killer has a score to settle, Gwen finds herself in a battle against time. She will have to use all of her forensic skills to find the killer before he can carry out his threat to destroy her—and the only family she has left.
If you would like to read the first chapter of The Bones Will Speak, go HERE.
MY REVIEW:
Now that I have read both “A Cry From the Dust” and “The Bones Will Speak” I am certain that I will have a place on my bookshelves for any forthcoming novel by Carrie Stuart Parks. I have always enjoyed suspense novels but in the past few years have begun to shy away from those that have too much gore. Carrie’s books have just enough details to ramp up the suspense as well as give the crimes credibility but she does not include anything that makes me cringe or keeps me awake at night. I also like the fact that she draws from her own career and personal experiences for her plot and character development.
In “The Bones Will Speak” forensic artist Gwen Marcey is trying to pick up the pieces after a bout with cancer, an unwanted divorce, and financial pressures due to the loss of her job. A discontented teen daughter adds to her stress. When her dog brings home a human skull, Gwen’s life becomes even more complicated as more bodies are discovered and there is even a possibility that she and her daughter are being targeted by a serial killer.
This book had me turning the pages as fast as I could read. I didn’t want to put it down until I found out who the killer could be. Plenty of twists and surprises kept the story moving and the tension built throughout the book until its climatic last pages. I can’t wait to read about Gwen’s next adventure.
by admin | Sep 26, 2015 | Books, Colonial America, Historical, Romance
MY REVIEW:
A historical romance filled with wonderful characters, “The Mistress of Tall Acre” is another winner from the desk of author Laura Frantz. I believe I have read each and every one of her novels and as the old saying goes “I haven’t met one yet that I didn’t love”. I have long been an avid reader of historical fiction and Laura ranks near the top of my favorite must read list.
The heroine Sophie has been deserted by her father, a Tory sympathizer and her brother has never returned from the war. With no income and shunned by most of her neighbors, Sophie and the old woman who lives with her are hard pressed to find enough food to survive, let alone come up with the back taxes to keep the family property. Marrying her neighbor Seamus Ogilvy seems to be an excellent solution to both of their problems – but at what cost? A story filled with classic misunderstandings and secrets kept from each other, “The Mistress of tall Acre” contains fabulous glimpses into the lives of both rich and poor following the American Revolution.
Sophie was a special character who reached out in love to those around her despite her own mistreatment. Lily Cate was a little charmer who added a touch of levity to the tale and Seamus was the perfect hero even if he was somewhat disillusioned by the war and the actions of his wife. I loved the totally unexpected surprises that popped up later in the tale and was happy with the way it all worked out in the end. You will have to read it for yourself to learn what happened because I’m not telling.
Once again, I can recommend the latest book by Laura Frantz. Read it for yourself to find out why I always plan to acquire each new book she publishes. They are that good!
This book was provided for review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
There can be only one mistress of Tall Acre . . .
The American Revolution is finally over, and Sophie Menzies is starved for good news. When her nearest neighbor, General Seamus Ogilvy, finally comes home to Tall Acre, she hopes it is a sign of better days to come. But the general is now a widower with a small daughter in desperate need of a mother. Nearly destitute, Sophie agrees to marry Seamus and become the mistress of Tall Acre in what seems a safe, sensible arrangement. But when a woman from the general’s past returns without warning, the ties that bind this fledgling family together will be strained to the utmost. When all is said and done, who will be the rightful mistress of Tall Acre?
Triumph and tragedy, loyalty and betrayal–you will find it all in the rich pages of this newest novel from the talented pen of Laura Frantz.
Read an excerpt from The Mistress of Tall Acre.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Laura Frantz is a lover of history, is the author of The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Courting Morrow Little, and The Colonel’s Lady, and currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons.
by admin | Sep 26, 2015 | Books, England, Historical, Regency, Romance
MY REVIEW:
Kristi Ann Hunter has combined a historical England setting with a spunky heroine, a dashing hero, witty dialogue, lots of humor, and just the right amount of romance and intrigue to produce a perfectly entertaining tale in her debut full-length novel. This tangled tale revolves around a young woman who instead of writing in a journal has spent years writing letters containing her innermost thoughts to her brother’s best friend Marsh but never mailing them. The fun begins when Marsh accidentally gets hold of one of the letters and proceeds to write back to Miranda. Despite her mortification, she continues to write to him and they get to know each other through the letters. Little does she know that she actually knows him better than that!
To be absolutely truthful, I am finding it difficult to write this review without spoilers. I liked the fact that the hero and heroine were not perfect and that their relationship grew over the course of the book rather than being a love-at-first-sight kind of attraction. The inclusion of a strong Christian message was welcome but not overdone in my opinion. I like that Bethany House has not compromised on that facet of their books. Perhaps some of the language used was too modern for the time period as some reviewers have mentioned, but it did not take away from my enjoyment of the story. In fact, I was probably too involved in the story to notice. This was such a fun and yet suspenseful book that I hope to find time to read it again soon.
Thank you, Bethany House for taking a chance with another new author. Kristi Ann Hunter is a keeper and I look forward to reading many more novels from her.
This book was provided for review by Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother’s old school friend, the Duke of Marshington. Since she’s never actually met the man she has no intention of ever sending the letters and is mortified when her brother’s mysterious new valet, Marlow, mistakenly mails one of the letters to the unsuspecting duke.
Shockingly, this breach of etiquette results in a reply from the duke that soon leads to a lively correspondence. Insecurity about her previous lack of suitors soon becomes confusion as Miranda finds herself equally intrigued by Marlow, a man she has come to depend upon but whose behavior grows more suspicious by the day. As the secret goings-on at her family’s estate come to light, one thing is certain: Miranda’s heart is far from all that’s at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.
Read an excerpt from A Noble Masquerade.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
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Kristi Ann Hunter graduated from Georgia Tech with a degree in Computer Science but always knew she wanted to write. Kristi is an RWA Golden Heart contest winner, an ACFW Genesis contest winner, and a Georgia Romance Writers Maggie Award for Excellence winner. She is a founding member and the coordinator of the Regency Reflections blog and lives with her husband and three children in Georgia. Find her online at www.kristiannhunter.com.
