Pocket Prayers by Max Lucado

April 7, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of these books from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation for this review and all opinion’s expressed in this review are my own.

Pocket Prayers by Max Lucado I love the concept of these six books. I didn’t read all of them all the way through because you don’t need to since these are shorter books and are written with particular groups of people in mind. Even saying that I know that these books would be ideal for anyone who wants to take a few minutes and connect with God again. I found that for me these books were excellent when I needed to take a few minutes to de-stress or just a few moments to myself. These are an excellent way to bring God back into your day and to remind you to calm down and that God is in control of everything. The last thing I want to say about these books is what they asked us to do with them after we have reviewed them and they asked us to pass them on to people in our lives that we think could use them. I am going to pass these books along to people, and I hope to share with you who I gave each of them too and why I thought that they needed the book.

About The Book

Pocket Prayers (with various authors; Thomas Nelson, March 2016)

Bestselling author Max Lucado has teamed up with six authors to write the Pocket Prayers series for those in need of peace, renewal, rest, faith, hope, joy, direction, serenity, and courage.

Short, simple prayers are very effective, which is why each book in the series contains forty guided prayers and complementary scriptures for any situation, including for:

-Moms (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)
-Grads (written with daughter Andrea Lucado)
-Dads (written with Mark Mynheir)
-Military Life (written with Mark Mynheir)
-Teachers (written with blogger Jennifer Hale)
-Friends (written with Betsy St. Amant)

About The Author

More than 120 million readers have found inspiration and encouragement in the writings of Max Lucado. He lives with his wife, Denalyn, and their mischievous mutt, Andy, in San Antonio, Texas, where he serves the people of Oak Hills Church.

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Back In The Saddle by Ruth Logan HerneUpdated Review

March 30, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging For Books in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation.

Back In The Saddle by Ruth Logan Herne was an excellent book to read. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I am so glad that I read this book because I now have another great author that I can add to my list of great authors that I want to read in the future. I like all the characters in this book right from the start. I did spend most of the book hoping that Colt wouldn’t leave after the market recovered and what not. After I finished this book, I can’t wait for the next book in this series to come out. I fell in love with the entire cast of people in this book, and I can’t wait to catch up with them in the next book but also to find out more about the other characters. If you love chick lit, I know you will love this book, and it is also one that I will be keeping in my collection of books.

About The Book

About The Author

Ruth Logan Herne has more than half a million books in print, including fifteen Love Inspired contemporary novels. Back in the Saddle is the first book in her new western romance series. Ruth is a founding member ofSeekerville, a popular writing collective blog. A country girl who loves the big city, Ruth and her husband live on a farm in upstate New York.

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Playing The Part by Jen Turano

March 21, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are 100% mine.

Playing The Part by Jen Turano was an excellent book. I loved this book because so many strange and weird things happened throughout the entire book that I couldn’t help but laugh. If anything could go wrong, it did go wrong. I haven’t read a book like this for a while, and I am so glad that I got this one to review because it is going to be added to the books that keep after I am done with them. I was a huge fan of all of the characters that worked for Bram because you never knew what they were going to do next. Like when the shot a cannon to scare people away even though they were told not to do it. If you are looking for a fun historical fiction book to read I recommend this book one hundred percent because I think most people would enjoy this book. I loved the setting of this book and like I said before I loved the entire plot and all of the crazy but funny characters. I can’t say enough great things about this book, and since I don’t want to give anything away, I am going to end the review so that you won’t have any spoilers. If you do happen to check this book out, please let me know what you think of it.

About The Book

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan’s interest turns threatening. Lucinda’s widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta’s life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson’s estate to hide out.

Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there’s much more to him than society knows.

Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail’s matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can’t ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it’ll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.

About The Author

Jen Turano is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in Clothing and Textiles. She pursued a career in management for nine years before switching to full-time motherhood after the birth of her son. When she’s not writing, Jen can be found watching her teenage son participate in various activities, taking long walks with her husband and dog, socializing with friends, or delving into a good book. She lives in suburban Denver, Colorado. Learn more at http://www.jenturano.com.

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The Hearts We Mend by Kathryn Springer

March 10, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation. All the opinons in this review are 100% my honest thoughts and feelings.

The Hearts We Mend by Kathryn Springer was an excellent book. I have to admit that I didn’t realize that this was part of a series until I was a few chapters in and the for some reason it clicked in my head. I then went back and read my review of the first book because I wondered how I felt about it and I had to laugh because in the book I didn’t like Evie at all. But in this book I loved her right from the start. It is funny how you can like someone that you hated in the first book, but once the story is told through their eyes, you love them. I can’t say enough good things about this book and the author. I loved just about everything about this book and it was one that I read super quick because I had to know it all worked out. This book is one that I will be adding to my personal collection of books. If you love romance novels than I know, you will love this one just as much as I did.

About The Book

For young widow Evie Bennett, moving forward will mean deciding what to leave behind . . . and what to keep.

Widowed at the age of twenty-five when her firefighter husband was killed in the line of duty, Evie Bennett has spent the last thirteen years raising their son, Cody, in the close-knit community of Banister Falls. As the women’s ministry director of her church, Evie encourages women to boldly pursue God’s plan for their future . . . while she is content with her memories of the past. But Evie’s well-ordered life begins to change when she meets Jack Vale.

As Evie gets drawn into Jack’s world—a world that isn’t as safe and predictable as the one she’s worked so hard to create—he challenges her to open her eyes to the problems in the community . . . but will Evie open her heart to love again?

Because even though Jack isn’t anything like her late husband, he just might be everything she needs.

About The Author

Kathryn Springer, winner of the 2007 Write Touch Reader’s Award (long contemporary), grew up in a small town in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child, she spent many hours sitting at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of books – which eventually turned into a desire to tell stories of her own.

After a number of busy years, when she married her college sweetheart and became a stay-at-home mom, Kathryn rediscovered her love for writing. An unexpected snow day from school became the inspiration for a short story, which she submitted to Brio magazine. She went on to publish over a dozen more short stories for Brio, but it wasn’t until her youngest child started school that she decided to pursue her dream to write a novel. In August 2004, her Love Inspired® debut novel, Tested by Fire, was published.

Encouraging women in their faith journey is the reason Kathryn loves to write inspirational fiction. She hosts a women’s Bible study in her home and volunteers in a local MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) ministry. When she isn’t at the computer, you’ll find her curled up with a good book, spending time with family and friends or walking on the trails near her country home.

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Kissed By A Cowboy by Debra Clopton

February 10, 2016

Kissed By A Cowboy by Debra Clopton was an excellent book. This is the third book in the series, and you can just read this one if it is the only one that interests you. I do want to say that if you wish to read the entire series start at the beginning because this book will give things away if you start with it. I think Jarrod is my favorite character from this series because he seemed like he was the most relatable to me and someone I could see myself getting along with in the real world. I felt sorry for Cassidy and everything that she had gone through while growing up and even the things she went through as an adult. I think this book is the most relatable and one that most people will love. I can’t say enough great things about this series and this author writing. I think that most people would enjoy this book and series.

About The Book

Cassidy was looking for a home and a place to belong . . . not for a cowboy to steal her heart.

Having lived through her parents’ endless string of “matrimonial bliss gone wrong,” Cassidy Starr knows when the odds are not in her favor. Divorced and humiliated, her faith on rocky ground, Cassidy is through with love. She’s been bucked off that horse far too many times. Instead, she returns to Wishing Springs, Texas, and the rundown farm she’s inherited from her great aunt Roxie. She’ll reopen the strawberry farm and a bed & breakfast and follow in her aunt’s footsteps, remaining forever-independent, happy . . . and single.

Rancher Jarrod Monahan’s hands are full running the ranch, looking after his ailing grandfather, and chasing down a group of rustlers on the loose. He’s pushed his longing for a family to the bottom of his list of priorities. Besides, he was in love once but ran scared and lost his shot at happiness. But suddenly, the biggest regret of his life has moved in next door with a wounded heart, determined to become a spinster . . . and that’s a challenge that Jarrod can’t pass up.

Jarrod sets his mind to breaking down the walls around Cassidy’s stubborn heart. How can he show her that a cowboy’s kiss lasts forever? For the good folks of Wishing Springs, falling in love has never been so much fun to witness.

About The Author

Debra Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels. Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra’s goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.

Find Debra online:website, Facebook, Twitter

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Beyond The Silence by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse

January 29, 2016

Beyond The Silence by Tracie Peterson and Kimberley Woodhouse was an excellent book. The one bad thing I can say about this book is the fact that I did find a typo which bugged me. I am used to finding them from time to time because I do read a bunch or ARC or “advanced reader copies” where you see them because they haven’t been edited yet when we get those types. I shocked with this on because as far as I know it is the final copy that will be sold. It wasn’t a huge mistake it just made me read the sentence a few times to make sure that I wasn’t just reading it wrong.

Anyway, let’s get on with the review of this book. I liked Lillian from the first page right through the end of the book, but I was an even bigger fan of Woody because I felt so sorry for him and his son Jimmy. I saw a lot of the town I grew up in Angels Camp so I felt like I really could understand how hard it had to be on Woody to live in a town where people hate you for something you didn’t do or even who they assume you are. You can learn so much from this book while you are reading that I would recommend it to everyone. Not only did I learn things I actually enjoyed the story. This book was an excellent escape from real like for me.

About The Book

Lillian Porter has always wanted to fulfill her mother’s dream of going west, so when she hears about a nanny position in Angels Camp, California, she defies her grandfather and takes a chance on a new future. But she quickly wonders if she made the right choice. There are rumors in town that her new employer, Woodward Colton, caused the death of his wife. This accusation doesn’t match the man Lillian comes to know–and Mrs. Goodman, Woody’s long-time housekeeper, is decisively on Woody’s side–but many in town stay far away from Lillian because of her association with the Colton family.

Lillian’s six-year-old charge, Jimmy, was there when his mother died, and he hasn’t spoken a word since. Gently, Lillian tries to coax him out of his shell, hoping he’ll one day feel safe enough to tell her the truth about what happened. But the Colton olive farm is no longer a safe place. Lillian encounters suspicious characters on their land and mysterious damage done to the farm. Will Mrs. Goodman and Jimmy be able to speak what they know in time to save Lillian from tragedy?

About The Authors

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than 100 novels. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

Kimberley Woodhouse is a multipublished author of fiction and nonfiction. A popular speaker/teacher, she’s shared her theme of Joy Through Trials with over 150,000 people at more than a thousand venues across the country. She lives, writes, and homeschools with her husband of twenty-plus years and their two awesome teens live in Colorado.