All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant

September 11, 2014

All’s Fair in Love and Cupcakes by Betsy St. Amant wasn’t my favorite book to read. I did love it when I started reading it and I got about half way through and then it was all I could do to force myself to finish the book. I think it all has to do with the fact that I have read so many books that I knew what was going to happen and for some reason I couldn’t get interested in this book again. I really did enjoy the characters and the authors writing but this just wasn’t the right fit for me. Even though I had a hard time towards the end I would still recommend this book because it was a good book.

About The Book

Kat Varland has had enough of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry.

At twenty-six years old, Kat is still living in the shadows of her family in Bayou Bend, Louisiana. Still working shifts at her Aunt Maggie’s bakery. Still wondering what to do with her passion for baking and her business degree. And still single.

But when Lucas Brannen, Kat’s best friend, signs her up for a reality TV bake-off on Cupcake Combat, everything Kat ever wanted is suddenly dangled in front of her: creative license as a baker, recognition as a visionary . . . and a job at a famous bakery in New York.

As the competition heats up, Lucas realizes he might have made a huge mistake. As much as he wants the best for Kat, the only thing he wants for himself—her—is suddenly in danger of slipping away.

The bright lights of reality cooking wars and the chance at a successful career dazzle Kat’s senses and Lucas is faced with a difficult choice: help his friend achieve her dreams . . . or sabotage her chances to keep her in Louisiana.

About The Author

Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana with her young daughter and has a heart for sharing the amazing news of God’s grace through her novels. A freelance journalist, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she’s not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing.

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A Grand Design by Amber Stockton

September 10, 2014

A Grand Design by Amber Stockton was another great book in this series of books. There has only ever been one book in this series that I didn’t like so this book had a lot to live up to. This book takes place in one of my favorite places and that is Mackinac Island. I went there the summer I graduated from high school and I loved everything about it. Anyway lets get back to the review. This was such a sweet story and I instantly fell in love with the characters and the setting. The one thing I didn’t really like is parts of this book seemed rushed and I also wish it could have been a little bit longer because there were parts I wished she would have gone into more details about it. Overall this was a great book and a great addition to The Quilts Of Love series.

About The Book

A getaway on a charming island may be just what Alyssa needs—if only she can let go of her past.

When Alyssa Denham, a single career woman, wins a fun getaway for two on Mackinac Island where her grandmother lives, she gives her carefree best friend a call. Together, they tour the old shops and hidden treasures of the quaint island while helping Alyssa’s grandmother piece together an heirloom quilt. Their quest gains them entrance into the homes of many longtime residents of the island, parts of the city that are otherwise off limits to tourists.

As the quilt’s story takes shape, Alyssa gains amazing insight into her grandmother’s life . . . and attracts the attention of the handsome Scott Whitman, an island resident in charge of hotel transportation. Will memories of her past keep Alyssa from letting go? Or will the quest to piece together the heirloom quilt restore Alyssa’s fractured heart—and bring healing to her entire family?

About Quilts of Love

Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. TheQuilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women’s fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

About The Author

Amber Stockton is an award-winning author, a national speaker, and a direct-sales brand partner with Nerium International. She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Colorado. They have a daughter and a son, and an Aussie/retriever mix named Roxie. Three of her novels have won annual reader’s choice awards.

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Home To Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney

September 9, 2014

Home To Chicory Lane by Deborah Raney was a fun book to read. I love this authors writing and I was so glad that I got to review this one. I loved following along and Landyn tries to figure out what is going to do with her marriage. It was great to read a book where the characters are able to work through their problems and in the end realize that they are still in love and in the end stay married. I fell in love with the characters and I can’t wait for the next book so that I can check back in with them all.

About The Book

Landyn longs for home, but her mother may have other plans.

Audrey Whitman’s dreams are coming true. Now that their five kids are grown, she and her husband, Grant, are turning their beloved family home into a cozy bed and breakfast just a mile outside of Langhorne, Missouri.

Opening weekend makes Audrey anxious, with family and friends coming from all over to help celebrate the occasion. But when Audrey’s daughter, Landyn, arrives, the U-Haul she’s pulling makes it clear she’s not just here for a few days. Audrey immediately has questions. What happened in New York that sent Landyn running home? Where was Landyn’s husband, Chase? And what else was her daughter not telling her? One thing was for sure, the Chicory Inn was off to a rocky start. Can Audrey still realize her dream and at the same time provide the comfort of home her daughter so desperately needs?

About The Author

Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas—the setting of many of Deborah’s novels—for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away.

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The Achilles Heel by Karyn Rae

August 29, 2014

The Achilles Heel by Karyn Rae was an amazing book. Parts of this book seemed totally ridiculous because I am big into thinking that things in a book could really happen but I doubt any of this could really happen so that bothered me a little book. In whole the book was amazing and I am hoping that the next book will have the same characters because I did fall in love with them. If you love thrillers I know you will enjoy this book and I can’t wait for the next one.

About The Book

Annie Whitman’s ordinary Midwest life is shattered with the sudden death of her husband Jack. Thirty-five and failing at life as a widow, she turns to the comforts of vodka in an attempt to camouflage the cold sheets of an empty bed. The necessary inebriation helps her to cope with Jack’s death, but proves to be a deterrent in recovering any sense of normalcy. After spending several months at the bottom of a bottle, Annie stumbles upon a lockbox in the crawl space of her basement. Opening this box also opens her eyes to the likelihood that Jack Whitman might not have been the honest and doting man she married.
Annie embarks on a mission to the Virgin Islands to uncover the truth about her husband’s past and seek safety from her brother-in-law, who seems to be the captain of his own sinking ship. While settling into paradise, she meets the wickedly handsome, but surprisingly reserved Kessler Carlisle, who is struggling with his retirement from country music superstardom. With Kessler’s help, Annie discovers the heart’s uncanny ability to heal, and the possibility that dead men don’t always keep their secrets-even if they’re buried in the Caribbean waters of St. Croix.
The Achilles Heel delves into the formidable fact that everyone harbors darkness, and some will go to the depths of the ocean to keep their secrets hidden.

About The Author

Karyn Rae is an emerging Romantic-Suspense author. Her debut novel, The Achilles Heel was released in May 2014. She is a member of the Romance Writers of America, and the Columbia Chapter of the Missouri Writers Guild. Karyn resides in Missouri with her husband, son, daughter, and chocolate lab- Augusta Mae.

The first part of Karyn’s life was spent in the South, and the last fifteen years have played out in the Midwest, but she’s still holding on to a shred of her Southern roots. She is a wife, mother, daughter, and sister who has made it her mission in life to carve out a career for herself, while keeping the husband and the children happy.

http://www.karynrae.me

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Pretty Girl by Amy Heugh

August 28, 2014

Book Review Graphic Pretty Girl by Amy Heugh was a good book. I did find that I got bogged down in the details at times but that isn’t always a bad thing. I did fall in love with the characters and just want things to work out for both. I think she nailed how high school is for certain people and it made the story even more real to me. Even though I did get lost in some of the details in the book I loved the characters and I hope that she will do a follow-up book so we can see where the characters end up.

About The Book

If there were one day that she could change it would be the day she was taken.

After her parents’ divorce, seventeen-year-old Izzy Scott and her mother move to the old town of St. Augustine to begin a new life, a life beyond the media attention and the memories of the traumatic experiences that left an everlasting affect on their family.

The former ballerina is trying to adjust to the outside world without suffering a panic attack and exposing who she is – all while getting through her senior year at a new school. That’s easy to say until she meets local boy Mason Winchester, a boy with a tragic past.

Mason has a reputation for violence, but a love for motorcycles. At the age of eleven he lost his mother to cancer and from then he has been running from something, but could never really get away.

Like any other angry teenager, he just wants to be left alone and to have nothing to do with anyone else because he believed that he had nothing to offer. That changes the moment he saw what was in the new girl eyes.

Tragedy wasn’t new to either of their lives but among the secrets and the memories the one thing they both never excepted was to find hope.

*This book is recommended for readers 18+ for violence, language, and some adult situations.*

About The Author

I’m a Graphic Designer living in Cape Town, South Africa.

The one thing I love more than reading a story is writing one. If I’m not at work, I’m writing about people, their problems, their emotions and how they are trying to deal with everyday life. It’s the reason why I write.

I’m a designer, an artist, avid movie goer, amateur psychologist and a secret hopeless romantic with a health dose of reality.

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Alone at Midnight: Short Horror Collection by Scott Zavoda

August 20, 2014

Alone at Midnight: Short Horror Collection by Scott Zavoda wasn’t something I would usually pick up to read. I am not a huge fan of horror books but I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and read this book. That being said it wasn’t my favorite book but that had nothing to do with the authors writing or the stories themselves. The author did a great job writing this book and I hope he will keep writing because he does have a talent. I am glad I got to read these stories but they just weren’t the right match for me.

About The Book

Scott Zavoda delivers with hellish vividness and aching emotion.
These seven tales will claw at your soul. Already sold as singles, “Bobby” and “Beneath the Sand”, have garnered rave reviews. They’re included along with five more gripping stories.

Randy Bivins gets a shocking phone call two days before Christmas. The stranger says he stole his Christmas tree. What Randy discovers is maybe a tradition worth dying for. “Oh Christmas Tree”

A simple fishing trip turns deadly for Danny and his disabled brother,
Bobby. A gut-wrenching tale of two young brothers who will do anything
for a day away from their abusive father and the constant bullying at
school. But a wheelchair with a history might change everything.
“Bobby”

Now that surfing, dating, and every aspect of a California retirement are off limits, he paints and pretends the beach isn’t so close. But traces of sand are showing up again in this Vietnam Vet’s house and that can only mean one thing. “Beneath the Sand”

Trapped in a morbid, bloody, decaying land, the hot breath of his pursuer lathers his neck. Jimmy wants to believe he doesn’t know where he is, but he can’t. “Castle Point”

Henry Conroy pilots a Navajo across the stormy Midwest with a coffin in the back. He knows the faster he gets there, the sooner that scratching sound will stop. “Fright Flight”

Flowers for Mom and The Calling are two more stories with an evil twist.

These are more than just horror stories. They are filled with character, emotion, and have a way of sticking inside your heart for a long time to come.

About The Author

I was born in Cleveland Ohio, tried to move away twice but the city kept sucking me back in. So here I am, family of four, an unbelievably motivating wife, and two lovely girls.

I used to hide Dean Koontz and Stephen King books inside my school text books . . . nobody knew or stopped me or said a teenager shouldn’t read those things. I earned a D in English two consecutive years and nearly flunked a subject they used to teach called handwriting. And now I write. Can you believe it?

But people always loved my stories. In fourth grade they begged me to read one I’d written for a class assignment but I was too bashful to do it. I got The Young Authors Award in Elementary school for something I’d written, though I really didn’t’ care. I was just doing the stupid assignment.

https://www.facebook.com/ScottZavoda.Author

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