by admin | Jul 20, 2015 | Books
MY REVIEW:
Beginning with the rescue of a kidnapped Montaukett princess Heather Flower, “To Capture Her Heart” follows the lives of Heather, her rescuer, and long-time friends and relatives in the area now known as Long Island, New York. Grieving over the murder of her new husband at their wedding, Heather soon finds herself the object of the affections of two men. Can we say “love triangle”?
To tell the truth, the primary subject of this novel is not as much the romance as the daily lives of the residents of Southold and the neighboring Indian fort. I found the descriptions of the hard work, challenges, and danger faced by all to be extremely interesting. I was mostly unaware of the enmity between the British and Dutch settlers in that area. If it was in my American history books, I certainly forgot.
Although the story is not a fast-moving one, it has a realistic blend of drama, danger, romance, and even grief. A strong emphasis is placed on faith including a scene where one major character is led to the Lord. There are several surprises in store for the reader. The outcome of the love triangle is not fully revealed until the very end.
“To Capture Her Heart” is an excellent follow-up to the first novel of The Southold Chronicles, “A Place in His Heart” but can easily stand on its own. Lovers of early American history will certainly want to read both.
This book was provided for review by Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
In an uncertain time, she faces a choice that will change her life forever
It is 1653 and Heather Flower, a princess of the Montaukett tribe, is celebrating her wedding feast when a rival tribe attacks, killing the groom and kidnapping her. Though her ransom is paid by an Englishman, she is bound by her captors and left to die–until she finds herself rescued by handsome Dutch Lieutenant Dirk Van Buren.
Still tender from her loss, Heather Flower begins to heal in the home of the Hortons, English friends of her people. Torn between her affection for Dirk and her longtime friendship with Ben Horton, Heather Flower must make a difficult choice–stay true to her friend or follow her heart.
Exploring a unique slice of history, Rebecca DeMarino transports you to the wild land that would eventually become Long Island, New York.
Read an excerpt from To Capture Her Heart Here.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Photo Credit: © Something Blue Photography
Rebecca DeMarino is the author of A Place in His Heart and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Romance Writers of America, and The Southold Long Island Historical Society. She was a 2011 Genesis Award semi-finalist. Rebecca is retired from a major airline and lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, Tom. Learn more at www.rebeccademarino.com.
To celebrate the release of “To Capture Her Heart” the author is hosting a giveaway on her blog.
Prizes being offered in the giveaway:
Grand Prize: $75.00 Gift Card of choice (Amazon, Target, iTunes or Google play), Signed copy of To Capture Her Heart & A Place in His Heart.
Runner Up Prize: $25.00 Gift card to Barnes & Noble, Signed copies of To Capture Her Heart & A Place in His Heart
Second Runner Up Prize: Signed copies of To Capture Her Heart & A Place in His Heart
ENTER HERE
To Capture Her Heart Book Launch
by admin | Jul 19, 2015 | Books, Free Kindle Books
Discover how it all began in this explosive prequel to Trial Run…
There isn’t much that can throw Charlie Hazard off balance. But the mystery woman with the striking eyes and the intense request to follow her—now—just might accomplish it.
Knowing little more than her beautiful name, Charlie leaves his post as a guard at the Satellite Beach community center for what he thinks is just another risk-containment job.
But Gabriella, an experimental psychologist, has far more in store for him than protection duty—if the two of them survive the test.
Leave behind your perceptions of what is possible and race into the unknown corridors of human consciousness in this breakneck prequel to Thomas Locke’s Trial Run. Click here http://tlocke.com/fault-lines/ to download “Double Edge,” free from your favorite online bookseller.
by admin | Jul 19, 2015 | Christian CDs, Giveaways, Music
MY REVIEW:
I have never eaten at Pizza Ranch and judging by the wonderful food photos on their website, it is probably a good thing they do not have a location in my area. It would be much too great a temptation for someone who is trying hard to limit her carbs. Actually, if I was a little younger and had some money to invest, I think a Pizza Ranch franchise would probably go over well here in west Tennessee, especially in one of the small towns just east of Memphis. I am particularly impressed by their vision and mission and encourage all who do have one of their restaurants withing easy driving distance to support them.
The Living Hope CD is a compilation of various artists whose songs encourage the listener to hope. The styles of the songs are quite varied with styles from folksy, to top 40, and even a little quirky. Obviously, not all of them will appeal to all listeners but I found that the more I listened, even the songs that were not exactly my preference grew on me. The album introduced me to a few artists I had not heard before and also contained songs by some old and new favorite artists. And let’s not forget “hope”. Each one of the songs contains lyrics that point to Jesus and the hope that is in him – and what could be better than that?
My favorite song on the CD is “Hold Onto Hope” by Ellie Holcomb. You can check out the other songs on the YouTube channel link below.
A copy of the CD was provided for review by FlyBy Promotions Blogger Network
About Pizza Ranch:
Adrie Groeneweg had a dream that started in Hull, IA, in 1981, when he was just 19 years old. It was simple. Why does everyone have to drive out of town to get a pizza? With just six specialty and single topping pizza recipes developed by Adrie’s mother, Lorraine, Pizza Ranch was born. Pizza Ranch’s vision and mission is to glorify God by positively impacting the world and to give every guest a legendary experience. They have 190+ locations across 13 states including Iowa, Minnesota, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Nebraska, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado.
About The Living Hope CD project:
On June 2, 2015, Pizza Ranch released a CD called Living Hope containing twelve songs from many of their favorite Christian artists. Most of the songs are brand-new and written exclusively for this CD around the theme of
Hope. Artists include Colton Dixon, Francesca Batistelli, Ellie Holcomb, Sidewalk Prophets, Kevin Max, Bart Millard, Passion Band featuring Kristian Stanfill, Michael W. Smith, and Mark Schultz.
The CD will be available to purchase for $5 plus tax exclusively in Pizza Ranch restaurants or for download at
pizzaranch.com/livinghope through August 31.
From Adrie Groeneweg, President & CEO of Pizza Ranch, Inc.: “This album has a very special meaning for Pizza Ranch. Although Pizza Ranch is not in the music business, many things have been happening, conversations have been taking place and doors have been opening for this album. Through these events, I believe it was obvious that God has been behind this for His specific purpose and putting it on our hearts to collectively create this project. As such, we call this our miracle album, Living Hope.”
SOCIAL • C O R N E R
Twitter: @PizzaRanch @PRServes
GIVEAWAY:
I will have one copy of the Living Hope CD to give one reader of this blog. If you would like to win a copy, please leave a comment below no later than Saturday, July 25.
“Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”
by admin | Jul 17, 2015 | Books, Historical, Mail Order Brides, Romance
MY REVIEW:
At the death of Anthony’s mother, three people want custody of him. Kate Dawson is Anthony’s teacher and loves him as a son. Two men also want Anthony – Silas, who may actually be Anthony’s father and another man who also calls him son. As Kate and Silas work together to work out what will be best for Anthony, she finds that both the boy and the man have caused major complications to her life and her job as teacher.
“A Bride at Last” is an attention grabbing story about two very wounded people who have difficulty trusting each other. Their friendship and mutual attraction grows despite the multiple complications they encounter yet misunderstandings threaten to come between them. Each character was well defined and it was easy to relate to both Silas and Kate and their situation. Anthony’s reactions to his circumstances were extreme but understandable from a child’s point of view.
The plot moved along at a good pace with a few unexpected twists and turns and at least one nice surprise before its end. “A Bride at Last” is a story that emphasizes faith, family and trust. I very much enjoyed this book and think I need to go back and read the previous books from this series.
This book was provided for review by LitFuse Publicity.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
Abandoned by his mail-order bride, Silas Jonesey has fought an uphill battle to recover from a pattern of poor choices. Now his prayers for reconciliation have finally come true and his estranged wife has contacted him with her whereabouts.
Kate Dawson was supposed to be a mail-order bride, but upon realizing she’d been deceived about her intended groom, she’s now settled into life as a schoolteacher. When the mother of a student passes away, Kate assumes she’ll take on care of nine-year-old Anthony–until two men suddenly show up in town, claiming to be the boy’s father.
Silas can see Anthony loves Kate, so he enlists her help in reaching out to the boy and attempting to prove his paternity to the court. When a common interest in Anthony leads to an interest in each other and Silas and Kate begin to think they can overcome their rocky start, neither is prepared for the secrets and past hurts that have yet to come to light. Can Silas, Kate, and Anthony’s wounded souls bind them together or will all that stands between them leave them lonely forever?
Read an excerpt from “A Bride at Last” HERE.
Learn more and purchase a copy.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Melissa Jagears, an ESL teacher by trade and the author of “A Bride for Keeps” and “A Bride in Store,” is a stay-at-home mother on a tiny Kansas farm with a fixer-upper house. She’s a member of ACFW and CROWN fiction marketing, and her passion is to help Christian believers mature in their faith and judge rightly.
Find out more about Melissa at http://melissajagears.com.
Can Silas and Kate overcome their rocky start and experience healing—and possibly love? Discover the answer in Melissa Jagears’ new book, A Bride at Last.
Neither Kate nor Silas is prepared for the secrets and past hurts that have yet to come to light as they attempt to prove nine-year-old Anthony’s paternity to the court. Can their wounded souls bind them together or will all that stands between them leave them lonely forever?
Celebrate the release of A Bride at Last by entering to win a $100 Memory-Making giveaway and RSVPing to Melissa’s August 4th author chat party!
One grand prize winner will receive:
- A $100 gift card to Netflix (for a family movie night), Shutterfly (to create a family memory book), or TablePlayGames (for a family game night)
- One copy of A Bride at Last
Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 8/4. The winner will be announced at Melissa’s 8/4 A Bride at Last Facebook author chat party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Melissa and fiction fans, as well as for a chance to win some great prizes!
RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 4th!
