Starving Hearts by Janine Mendenhall

September 3, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Starving Hearts by Janine Mendenhall was a great book. I usually am not the biggest fan of historical fiction books but I loved this authors writing. She was able to make me feel like I was there with the characters and I understood everything that was going on. I am not sure how she was able to do that and not bog down the book with details but she did and I loved that. I would have to say that I think this is my favorite author who writes historical fiction. You could tell when you are reading this book that the author really loves what she writes about. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series because I am hoping it will be just as good as this one is. If you like historical fiction, then you need to pick this one up because I am confident that you will love it as much as I did.

About The Book

Since her assault, Miss Annette Chetwynd has been plagued by nightmares and worries about an arranged marriage. But she yearns to find her anonymous rescuer. Unfortunately, her health and intellect prevent it. Both repel suitors and cause Annette to doubt God’s existence, at least until He answers her prayers in an unusual way …

Mr. Peter Adsley is joining the clergy, and he desires a godly wife by his side. After his failed attempt to obtain one, he engages in a clandestine meeting with the bewitching young woman who keeps crossing his path. But she is so unsettling.

Destined for disappointments, Peter and Annette endure disgraceful situations. Will Peter’s faith sustain him through overwhelming setbacks? Can Annette overcome her doubts? Or will their starving hearts yield to the machinations of a mad man?

About The Author

My interest in reading and historical ball gowns grew into a magnificent obsession with beauty and the Ultimate happily ever after.

I lose myself somewhere in time using: Downton Abbey, Pride and Prejudice or a number of other classics like Jane Eyre and Redeeming Love. I also cry over nearly everything Nicholas Sparks (because it ends sadly) and Amazing Grace, both the movie and the hymn, because they point to the Ultimate happily ever after.
(The crying could also stem from being lost in Austen one too many times, or because I’m a high school English teacher and the end of the school year is coming so quickly.)

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Monthly Book Reviews – September 2016

September 1, 2016

How is it already September 1st? I can’t believe how quickly this year is going. Here are the reviews that I have coming up this month.

September 3rd-Starving Hearts by Janine Mendenhall

September 6th-Alabama Irish by James Russell Lingerfelt

September 7th-House of Eire by June Gillam

September 12th-Scapegoat by Emilio Corsetti III

September 12th-Mummy’s Little Angel by JW Lawson

September 14th-An Amish Harvest by Beth Wiseman, Kathleen Fuller, Amy Clipston

September 18th-Secret Crush by Victoria Pinder

September 20th-There’s Been A Change Of Plans by Amy Koko

September 21th-Borderline Insanity by Jeff Miller

September 27th-Everlasting Lies by Barbara Warren

September 29th-The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan

September 30th-The Things We Said Today by Lise McClendon

Those are the reviews that I have coming up this month. I do have quite a few reviews coming up this month. I have already read quite a few of them, and so far I have enjoyed most of them. There is one that I wasn’t the biggest fan of, but you will have to wait and see which one that is.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult

August 31, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult was another great book by one of my favorite authors. I have read most of her books so when I got the chance to review this book I knew I had to. I love that this book tackles things that most authors would never want to write about because they are hard to write about. They also are controversial and could make people upset, so I love that she isn’t afraid to write about them. I loved everything about this book and the subject matter. I have always been a huge fan of her writing so I knew I was going to love this book and I was right. She is always able to get me interested in the book from the outset, and this book was no different. If you books that address current issues than I know you will love this book as much as I did. It is also a very easy book to read, and I was able to get through it pretty quickly.

About The Book

Ruth Jefferson is a labor and delivery nurse at a Connecticut hospital with more than twenty years’ experience. During her shift, Ruth begins a routine checkup on a newborn, only to be told a few minutes later that she’s been reassigned to another patient. The parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?

Ruth hesitates before performing CPR and, as a result, is charged with a serious crime. Kennedy McQuarrie, a white public defender, takes her case but gives unexpected advice: Kennedy insists that mentioning race in the courtroom is not a winning strategy. Conflicted by Kennedy’s counsel, Ruth tries to keep life as normal as possible for her family—especially her teenage son—as the case becomes a media sensation. As the trial moves forward, Ruth and Kennedy must gain each other’s trust, and come to see that what they’ve been taught their whole lives about others—and themselves—might be wrong.

With incredible empathy, intelligence, and candor, Jodi Picoult tackles race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion—and doesn’t offer easy answers. Small Great Things is a remarkable achievement from a writer at the top of her game.

About The Author

Jodi Picoult is the author of twenty-three novels, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Leaving Time, The Storyteller, Lone Wolf, Between the Lines, Sing You Home, House Rules, Handle with Care, Change of Heart, Nineteen Minutes, and My Sister’s Keeper. She lives in New Hampshire with her husband and three children.

Her new novel, SMALL GREAT THINGS, is available in hardcover, ebook, and audio on October 11th.

Website: http://www.jodipicoult.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jodipicoult

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jodipicoult

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Murder On Moonshine Hill by Joan C. Curtis

August 30, 2016

When Jenna decides to go to this wedding, she expects to dredge up old secrets and old hurts and she expects to see people from her past, but she doesn’t expect to stumble on a dead body.

Jenna’s friend is arrested. The wedding is cancelled. And Jenna’s tendency to stick her nose where it shouldn’t be leads her into the path of the killer.

Set in the serene mountains of North Carolina Murder on Moonshine Hill is filled with suspense, humor, and a quirky cast of supporting characters.

Releases August 23 Pre-order – Amazon / Nook

Pick up Book 1

On this anything but typical Monday morning Jenna Scali, who works part-time for a shrink, opens an email that depicts the brutal death of a young girl. On that same day the police uncover a dead coed two blocks from Jenna’s house. The e-murderer’s description creepily echos the death described in the newspapers.

When Jenna receives other emails, she takes what she knows to the police and thus begins her journey in the path of the e-murderer. Her curious nature impels her from e-messages to dead coeds to a ring of prostitutes. With the help of her quirky friends, Jenna learns that she’s more than a conduit for the killer. She’s his target. New secrets unfold, and finally her love life takes a tumble when the true killer emerges.

THE E-MURDERER is a race to find a psychotic killer before he kills again.

This new mystery series with a young female sleuth promises to keep you glued to your seat until the last page.

Buy on Amazon / Barnes and Noble / Kobo Books / MuseItUp Publishing

Watch the Book Trailer for e-Murder

Joan is an award-winning writer who has published 6 books and numerous stories. Readers compare her to the great Southern writer, Fanny Flagg. “She writes characters and a story that will

stay with you.”

Her debut mystery/suspense novel, The Clock Strikes Midnight, won the silver medal for fiction/suspense in the Global eBook Awards for 2015 and is a finalist for the Royal Palm Literary Award. The e-Murderer won first place in the Malice Domestic Grants competition for new writers.

Joan has been an avid reader for as long as she can remember. She reads all kinds of books, including women’s fiction, mysteries, biography, and nonfiction. Mystery/suspense with a psychological twist is exactly the kind of book Joan loves to read.

“I write about characters who remind me of myself at times and my sister at times, but never fully so. My stories are told from a woman’s point of view with a destiny. Characters drive my writing and my reading.”

Having grown up in the South with a mother from Westchester County New York, Joan has a unique take on blending the Southern traditions with the eye of a Northerner. She spent most of her childhood in North Carolina and now resides in Athens, Georgia.

Enter to win a copy of The Clock Strikes Midnight (award-winning book)

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Follow the Book Tour

Buy any one of Joan’s books this week and get a second
book of your choice free. For the deal they have to purchase
 from this link: MuseIt Publishing

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Promotional Book Tours in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

Murder on Moonshine Hill by Joan C. Curtis was an interesting book. This was more of a light-hearted mystery than what I have been reading lately and I really enjoyed that. This is the second book in the series but you don’t have to read the first book in order to understand what is going on in this one. I didn’t read the first book and I had no problem understand what was going on in this book. I have been reading tons of more intense mystery books lately so I loved the change of pace. This book still kept me wanting to read and I read it pretty quick as well. I am going to go back and read the first book in the series because I really enjoyed the characters in this book and I can’t wait to other books by her. If you love mystery or suspense books that I would give this one a shot because I am sure you will enjoy it.

The Things We Knew by Catherine West

August 27, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

The Things We Knew by Catherine West was a good book. This book was a slower book and not one of my favorites. Even with that being said I did still want to know how the book ended and what ended up happening so I didn’t have a problem finishing the book. This book reminded me of when I worked at the nursing home, and I loved Lynette’s dad right from the start. I have such a soft spot for older people like him. I did love that there was a little bit of a mystery, and I know that is why I wanted to keep reading the story because I always have to know how it all works out in the end. I love that I don’t have to worry about what will happen in the books because it is written by a Christian author. If you love Christian fiction than I know, you will love this book.

About The Book

A tragedy from the past resurfaces in this tale of family secrets and reignited love.

After her mother’s death twelve years ago, Lynette Carlisle watched her close-knit family unravel. One by one, her four older siblings left their Nantucket home and never returned. All seem to harbor animosity toward their father, silently blaming him for their mother’s death. Nobody will talk about that dreadful day, and Lynette can’t remember a bit of it.

But when next-door neighbor Nicholas Cooper returns to Nantucket, he brings the past with him. Once her brother’s best friend and Lynette’s first crush, Nick seems to hiding things from her. Lynette wonders what he knows about the day her mother died and hopes he might help her remember the things she can’t.

But Nick has no intention of telling Lynette the truth. Besides the damage it might cause his own family, he doesn’t want to risk harming the fragile friendship between him and the woman he once thought of as a kid sister.

As their father’s failing health and financial concerns bring the Carlisle siblings home, secrets begin to surface—secrets that will either restore their shattered relationships or separate the siblings forever. But pulling up anchor on the past propels them into the perfect storm, powerful enough to make them question all they ever believed in.

About The Author

Catherine West writes stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. When she’s not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border collie for long walks on the beach or tending to her roses and orchids. She and her husband have two grown children.

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The Loyal Heart by Shelley Shepard Gray

August 25, 2016

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest review. I received no other compensation and the opinions expressed in this review are one hundred percent true and my own.

The Loyal Heart by Shelley Shepard Gray was a book I knew I was going to love because of who wrote it. I can’t even count the numbers of books I have read by this author and so far I think I have enjoyed them all. This book takes place after the Civil War ended and from the moment I started the book I didn’t want to put the book down. This is one of the books that I started on a Sunday morning, and I didn’t go to bed until I finished the book. I felt bad for and liked Miranda from the outset. I did find the book more on the predictable side, but that is usually how books like this are for me. Even with me saying that I still really enjoyed this book. I know that if you like historical novels then you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

About The Book

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.

Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything.

After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda’s home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip’s name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.

Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He’s mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.
He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn’t prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well.

About The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, 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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