Litfuse Reviewer

Picture Perfect Love by Melissa McClone

Book Review

Picture Perfect Love by Melissa McClone was a sweet story.  This is a novella so I was able to read it in a few hours which I am sure by now you all know that this is my favorite kind of  book.  That being said I did love these characters enough that I wished it had been longer but I still liked it this way.   I loved watching how Jenna worked through her emotions having to deal with Ashton.  I loved how she leaned on her new church as she got through everything she had to do as well.  This is the first book I have read by this author and I have added her on my list of authors to check out more books by them.

Picture Perfect Love

About The Book

Picture Perfect Love (Zondervan, May 2015)

When image becomes everything, it’s up to love to refocus the heart.

Photographer Jenna Harrison wants every bride and groom to look picture perfect on their special day, putting her heart into every wedding to give the couple memorable images of their love. But her own heart is still broken, the unworn wedding dress hanging in her closet a reminder that relationships aren’t always as perfect as they look through her camera lens. But Jenna has faith that she will find true love. Until then, she must be patient and trust in God’s plan and His perfect timing.

Attorney Ashton Vance is the one that got away. When an embarrassing Photoshopped picture of put an end to his political aspirations, he blamed Jenna. So what if the photo led to his being offered a dream job and changing his life for the better? Jenna betrayed his trust, and two years later, Ashton’s heart still hasn’t recovered.

It was me. His younger sister’s three words turn Ashton’s world upside down. He must ask Jenna’s forgiveness, but can he risk his heart a second time? Even if Jenna can forgive him, dare he hope for a second chance at her love?

Melissa McClone

About The Author

Melissa McClone has published more than thirty novels with Harlequin and Tule Publishing Group. She has also been nominated for Romance Writers of America’s RITA® award. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, three school-aged children, two spoiled Norwegian Elkhounds and cats who think they rule the house.

Find Melissa online: website, Twitter, Facebook

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret

Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor by Melanie Dobson

Book Review

Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor by Melanie Dobson was an amazing story.  I was confused through the first part of the book but once I caught on to what was going on and who was who it was better.  I was confused about who was who and how they were related to each other.  Even though I was confused through part of the book I still didn’t want to put it down and because I loved the characters and the whole premise of this book was amazing.  I loved Libby from the first time she appears right up until the end of the story.  I think I loved her because she was so innocent and I loved that quality about her.  I loved seeing the all the different generations and how they dealt with a lot of the same things that the older generations went through.  I loved Maggie and how she tried to keep her daughters from going through the same things she went through and even though she tried her children dealt with the same things that she did.  If you are looking for a book that makes you think than I know you will love this book as much as I do.

Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor

About The Book

Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor (Howard, June 2015)

When Heather Toulson returns to her parents’ cottage in the English countryside, she uncovers long-hidden secrets about her family history and stumbles onto the truth about a sixty-year-old murder.

Libby, a free spirit who can’t be tamed by her parents, finds solace with her neighbor Oliver, the son of Lord Croft of Ladenbrooke Manor. Libby finds herself pregnant and alone when her father kicks her out and Oliver mysteriously drowns in a nearby river. Though theories spread across the English countryside, no one is ever held responsible for Oliver’s death.

Sixty years later, Heather Toulson, returning to her family’s cottage in the shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor, is filled with mixed emotions. She’s mourning her father’s passing but can’t let go of the anger and resentment over their strained relationship. Adding to her confusion, Heather has an uneasy reunion with her first love, all while sorting through her family’s belongings left behind in the cottage. What she uncovers will change everything she thought she knew about her family’s history.

Award-winning author Melanie Dobson seamlessly weaves the past and present together, fluidly unraveling the decades-old mystery and reveals how the characters are connected in shocking ways.

Set in a charming world of thatched cottages, lush gardens, and lovely summer evenings, this romantic and historical mystery brings to light the secrets and heartaches that have divided a family for generations.

Melanie Dobson

About The Author

Melanie Dobson is the award-winning author of thirteen historical romance, suspense, and contemporary novels. Two of her novels won Carol Awards in 2011, and Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana won Best Novel of Indiana in 2010. Melanie lives with her husband Jon and two daughters near Portland, Oregon.

Find Melanie online: website, Twitter, Facebook

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret

Beyond The Ashes by Karen Barnett

Book Review

Beyond The Ashes by Karen Barnett was an interesting book.  I did review the first book in this series so if you want to check out that review you can click here and it will take you to it.  You don’t have to worry about reading that book first because they don’t have to go in order like the other series I am currently reading which is always nice.  I love reading historical fiction books because it gives you a peek into the lives of people who lived then and even though I know they aren’t really people I know there had to be people like the characters back then.  I loved following along with Ruby and she how she changes after she goes to San Francisco after her husband passed away.  This book takes place after the earthquakes and fires that happened in San Francisco in the 1900’s.  I loved this story because it allowed me to check back in with the characters I love so much from the first book and it also gave me more characters to love.  If you love historical romance novels than I would recommend this book to you.

Beyond The Ashes by Karen Barnett

About The Book

Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)

Where better to rebuild and face one’s fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she’ll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn’t anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he’d always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert’s widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald’s fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they’re striving to cure. Together they must ask—is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

Karen Barnett

About The Author

Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she’s not writing novels, she loves speaking at women’s events, libraries, and book clubs.

 

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret

Summer’s List by Anita Higman

Book Review

Summer’s List by Anita Higman was a great book for the summer.  I loved following along with Summer as she goes through the list of things her grandma wants Summer to complete before her grandma passes away.  This was such a unique story which I love because after reading a ton of books I feel like all the stories are basically the same and they follow the same pattern.  Now this story did follow a pattern but I was still intrigued because the plot was unique.  I have read several other books by Anita Higman and I have loved them all.  This is another author that I am pretty sure I would love anything they wrote because she is an amazing author.   I loved watching Summer & Martin work through the list together.  If you are looking for a great summer  book to read please check this one out and let me know what you think when you finish the book.

Summer's List by Anita Higman

About The Book

Summer’s List (River North, June 2015)

A dying wish alters the course of a young woman’s life.

Life hadn’t been easy for Summer Snow. In acts of selflessness—caring for her ailing parents and running her grandmother’s bookstore—she had forfeited her youth and dreams for the needs of others. And the only tries she had at love . . . didn’t turn out. She had the bookstore, she had her beloved granny, but she was missing something—or someone.

Opportunity strikes when Granny sends Summer on an unexpected adventure with one Martin Langtree, a kind but gangly young man from Summer’s past. A childhood friendship is rekindled, a romance is sparked, and mysteries are solved in one magical Texas summer. Will Summer strike out on love again, or will things finally go her way?

Anita Higman

About The Author

Best-selling and award-winning author, Anita Higman, has over thirty books published (several coauthored) for adults and children. She’s been a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston and has a BA degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Anita loves good movies, exotic teas, and brunch with her friends.

 

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret

Fatal Trauma by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

Book Review

Fatal Trauma by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. was an amazing book.  This  book brings the two things I love most in life in a book.  I have read two other books by this author and I have loved them just as much as I loved this one.  I have to say that I wasn’t a huge fan of Kelly at first and to be honest I am not sure why.  I liked Mark from the start which is crazy to me because usually I don’t like characters like Mark right at the start and I usually love characters like Kelly.  By the end of the book I did love both of them but it did take time for me to grow to love Kelly.  Parts of this book I did see coming and figure a few things out before they happened but not much so that is always a good thing with these kinds of books for me.  If you love medical thrillers than I know you will love this  book and any of the others books by this author.

Fatal Trauma

About The Book

Fatal Trauma (Abingdon Press, May 2015)

A gunman who has nothing to lose faces a doctor who could lose it all to prove his innocence.

When Dr. Mark Baker and Nurse Kelly Atkinson are held at the mercy of a dangerous gunman, the lives of every emergency room patient are at stake. At the end of the evening three men are dead. One of them is a police officer who couldn’t be saved despite Mark’s best efforts. The other two are members of the feared Zeta drug cartel.

Though the standoff is over, the killing is not, because when the drug cartel loses its members, revenge is not far behind. Facing an adversary whose desires are dark and efforts are ruthless, Mark finds himself under suspicion as a killer, yet still a potential victim. When he turns to his high school sweetheart, attorney Gwen Woodruff, for help, Kelly helplessly looks on, as she hides her own feelings for the good doctor.

At the height of the conflict, three questions remain: Who is the shooter? Who will the next victim be? And can Mark prove his innocence before the gun turns on him?

Dr. Richard Mabry

About The Author

A retired physician, Dr. Richard Mabry is the author of seven critically acclaimed novels of medical suspense. His previous works have been finalists for the Carol Award and Romantic Times Reader’s Choice Award, and have won the Selah Award. He is a past Vice-President of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of the International Thriller Writers. He and his wife live in North Texas.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret

The Proposal At Siesta Key by Shelley Shepard Gray

Book Review

The Proposal At Siesta Key by Shelley Shepard Gray was a great story.  I did read the first book in this series so if you want to check out that review you can click here but you won’t be lost if this is the first book you pick up and read in the series.  I love all the books that Shelley has written about the Amish so going into this book I expected to love it as well.  I always get worried when I start reading a book and already expect the book to be amazing because I have been let down before but this book didn’t let me down at all.  I loved this book.  I instantly loved Penny from the first page right through the end.  At the start of the book I wasn’t a huge fan of Michael but after I was a few chapters in I did start to like him as well.  I loved that we got to check back in with some of the characters from the first book as well because I like to see how they are doing.  If you love Amish fiction than I would for sure recommend this book to you.

The Proposal at Siesta Key

About The Book

The Proposal at Siesta Key (Avon Inspire, May 2015)

A young Amish woman, yearning for freedom, crosses paths with a handsome Mennonite celebrity in a deeply moving tale of friendship and self-discovery—the second installment in the unforgettable New York Times bestselling author’s new Amish Brides of Pinecraft series.

Penny Troyer rarely disobeys her parents. In the years since her sister’s tragic death, they’ve wanted nothing more than to keep her safe…even if it means never leaving the house.

But tonight, she’s bending the rules because Michael Knoxx, the most famous member of The Knoxx Family Singers, a traveling Mennonite Evangelical family —is scheduled to speak. Penny has heard of Michael—how he lost part of his leg in a terrible accident and uses the experience to inspire others—and knows she must meet him. So, for the first time ever, Penny stands up to her parents and goes out on her own.

Though he speaks about living life to the fullest, Michael knows he needs to take his own advice. Life on the road is grueling and Michael wants to slow down, to rest…to perhaps meet someone who sees him as a man, not just a celebrity. So when a twist of fate allows him the chance to stay a little longer in Pinecraft, Michael knows God is showing him a new path, especially when he discovers how much he and Penny Troyer have in common.

But new friendships can’t stop time. Soon, Michael’s time in Pinecraft will be over and he’ll be back on the road. Her time with Michael has brought her happiness, but will she be able to follow her heart? Or will she be faced with the one thing she’s sure she’ll never have the courage to do?

Shelley Shepard Gray

About The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

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Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2015 Margaret Margaret