How are we already almost in June?!?! It seems like we just started this year and now we are close to half way done. Anyway, let’s get on to the book reviews I have coming up this month.
Those are all of them, and I hope to see you back here tomorrow! If there is any book you would like me to review let me know and I will get a copy of it and review it for you here.
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 Beautiful Pretender by Melanie Dickerson was a sweet book. I did find the story predictable, but I still did love the book, and it was a nice break from some of the other books I have been reading lately. Because the stories in this series are based on fairy tales, most people will find them predictable, but I love that the books make it seem like something that could have happened. They take the characters from the stories and make them seem alive. They also brought the fairy tales alive for me because of how the books are written. I like Avelina from the start of the book, and I hoped that she would end up with Reinhart because I felt like they were perfect for each other. This book was one that I was able to sit down and read it one Sunday afternoon. This book would be perfect for teenagers and adults because of the subject matter and how well it is written. If you love fairy tales and historical fiction books than you need to check out this book because I know you will love it just like I do.
About The Book
The Beautiful Pretender (Thomas Nelson, May 2016)
What happens when a margrave realizes he’s fallen in love with a servant?
The Margrave of Thornbeck has to find a bride, fast. He invites ten noble-born ladies from around the country to be his guests at Thornbeck Castle for two weeks, a time to test these ladies and reveal their true character.
Avelina is only responsible for two things: making sure her deception goes undetected and avoiding being selected as the margrave’s bride. Since the latter seems unlikely, she concentrates on not getting caught. No one must know she is merely a maidservant, sent by the Earl of Plimmwald to stand in for his daughter, Dorothea.
Despite Avelina’s best attempts at diverting attention from herself, the margrave has taken notice. And try as she might, she can’t deny her own growing feelings. But something else is afoot in the castle. Something sinister that could have far worse—far deadlier—consequences. Will Avelina be able to stop the evil plot? And at what cost?
About The Author
Melanie Dickerson is the author of The Healer’s Apprentice, a Christy Award finalist and winner of the National Reader’s Choice Award for Best First Book. Melanie earned a bachelor’s degree in special education from the University of Alabama and has been a teacher and a missionary. She lives with her husband and two daughters in Huntsville, Alabama.
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.
Sister Eve And The Blue Nun by Lynne Hinton was interesting, to say the least. This is the third book in the series, and this is the first one I have read. You don’t have to read the other two first, but it might help, and I know I wondered from time to time what had happened before, but you don’t need to read them to understand this book. This book has one of the unique stories I have read in a while because of the main character is a Nun and also investigates murders. The only reason I got this book is that of the fact that Eve is a Nun and rides a motorcycle, and I had to know more. I enjoyed this book because even though it is a typical mystery book I like that the Eve was different from any other main character that I have ever read about. I enjoyed this book so much so that I am going to pick up the other books in the series and read them. If you are looking for something a little different to read this summer then I would tell you to pick up this book and give it a try. If you have read it what did you think of it?
About The Book
When Sister Eve returns to the monastery, the last thing she expects there is murder.
After solving several mysteries with her father at the Divine Private Detective Agency, Sister Eve finds herself torn between her calling as a nun and the thrill that comes with detecting. She knows she’s been using her father’s health as an excuse to extend her leave of absence from the monastery, but that excuse is running thin. She prays that a return visit to the monastery for a conference on the Blue Nun will help bring clarity to her calling, but when the conference speaker is murdered, Sister Eve’s two worlds collide.
Sister Eve knows the number one suspect, the victim’s brother and monk in residence, couldn’t possibly have committed the crime, and she’s determined to find the real killer. To do so means she must track down some mysterious newly discovered writings from the Blue Nun, said to date from the 17th Century, when the sister bi-located to the New Mexico region from her home in Spain. Could these texts from long ago be the key to today’s mystery? And will they offer any guidance to Sister Eve as she chooses which calling to follow?
Lynne Hinton is the pastor of St. Paul’s United Church of Christ in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. The author of numerous novels including Friendship Cake, Hope Springs, Forever Friends, Christmas Cake, and Wedding Cake, she lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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.
Through The Shadows by Karen Barnett was another great book in The Golden Gate Chronicles series. This is the third book in the series, and I think it may be my favorite in the series. I loved these characters, and I felt like I could relate to them more than I could the other characters. I also loved the subject of this book because it reminded me of one of my favorite author’s and her books that take place in North and South Korea and even though that this book takes place in San Francisco it reminded me of those books and I know that made me fall even more in love with this book. I could see myself acting like Elizabeth and Charles because the things that they are fighting against are also things that I would be against and try to change. This is a fantastic historical fiction book that I know just about everyone will love just as much as I do.
About The Book
The devastating earthquake is just two years past, but the city of San Francisco is still trying to recover. Destruction of this magnitude is not so easy to overcome-and neither are the past regrets shadowing Elizabeth King’s hopeful future.
Hoping to right her wrongs, Elizabeth dedicates herself to helping girls rescued from slavery in Chinatown brothels, even if it means putting her own life at risk to sneak through the gloomy alleys and rooftops where dangers lurk.
Putting her life on the line for a worthy cause is admirable. But opening her heart is even more terrifying. So when Elizabeth meets attorney, Charles McKinley–a man who dreams of reforming San Francisco’s crooked politics–Elizabeth begins to doubt: Can she maintain her pretense and hide her past? Or will her secret jeopardize both their futures?
About The Author
Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, andMistaken. 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.
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.
Hunting Hope by Nika Maples was such a great book and one I was glad that I got to review. When I first saw this book being offered to review, I didn’t sign up for it because I am not always a huge fan of books like this one. After I got a second email asking to review the book I figured what the hell it won’t hurt me to read it. In the end, I am so glad that I read the book because it gave me a new way to look at some of the hard things I have dealt with in my life. This book is a smaller book but right from the first page it made me think and made me want to look at my life differently. I also liked that this book was an easy read, and the author did a great job of making me understand what she was saying and things like that. I think this is one book that everyone should read at some point because it can teach everyone something.
About The Book
Hunting Hope: Dig Through the Darkness to Find the Light (April 2016, Worthy Inspired)
Hope is not an accident. Sometimes it has to be hunted, and hunting it takes courage.
Hope hunters know how to excavate hope from hardship. There is dirt underneath their fingernails and sweat on their shirts. They rake through the rubble of an unwanted situation, digging into difficult circumstances because they have come to expect that adversity will produce good. They believe that light always triumphs over darkness. They have learned to walk through winter with their eyes on spring.
Nika Maples became a hope hunter after suffering a massive brainstem stroke that left her quadriplegic in her twenties. Doctors warned that she had as little as 48 hours to live, and—if she lived at all—she would never walk or talk again. There was no hope on the horizon. So Nika started to hunt for it. Today, she not only walks, but she speaks to audiences everywhere about the power of hunting hope when a situation appears hopeless. She says hope remains camouflaged in the daily mundane. If we are not looking for it, we will miss it, though it is right before our eyes.
Whether you or someone you know is going through a situation that feels hopeless, you will find encouragement in Hunting Hope. Whether you are experiencing a medical trauma, a financial hardship, or a relational crisis, you will find empowerment in Hunting Hope. As you read, you will cling to 20 truths about God’s character and practice 5 daily disciplines that will develop your own character in crisis.
You will become a hope hunter.
Maybe it doesn’t matter what causes suffering in our lives as much as it matters what suffering causes in our lives. Maybe we were all meant to be hope hunters.
About The Author
Nika Maples is the author of Twelve Clean Pages, the memoir of her survival of lupus and a stroke that left her quadriplegic at age 20. After learning to walk and talk again, she became a public school teacher, winning 2007 Texas Secondary Teacher of the Year. She holds an MA in English Education from Columbia University and currently is pursuing an MDIV from The King’s University. When she is not traveling to speak, she lives, writes, and laughs as much as possible in Fort Worth, Texas.
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.
Her One and Only by Becky Wade was a sweet love story. I have read all the other books in this series, but you don’t have to read the other books to understand what is going on in this book. I love books like this one because you get caught up with the characters from the other books which I always enjoy. I have to share one thing that bugged me because it is the only thing I didn’t like about this book, and that is the fact that I don’t like the two people they have on the cover because in my head they don’t look anything like what I think the characters would look like. Even as I wrote that last statement, I had to laugh because that is the only thing that bugged me about the book. I loved this book and this series, and I don’t think that that will ever change.
About The Book
Romance Fans Eagerly Anticipate Every New Release from Becky Wade
Gray Fowler, star NFL tight end, is being pursued by a stalker, so his team hires a protection agency to keep Gray under the watch of a bodyguard at all times. When Gray meets Dru Porter, an agent assigned to him, he’s indignant. How can an attractive young female half his size possibly protect him?
But Dru’s a former Marine, an expert markswoman, and a black belt. She’s also ferociously determined to uncover the identity of Gray’s stalker. And she’s just as determined to avoid any kind of romantic attachment between herself and the rugged football player with the mysterious past. But the closer they get to finding the stalker, the closer they grow to each other. As the danger rises, can Dru and Gray entrust their hearts–and their lives–to one another?
About The Author
Becky Wade is a native of California who attended Baylor University, met and married a Texan, and moved to Dallas. She published historical romances for the general market, took time off to raise her children, then felt God nudging her to pursue contemporary Christian fiction. Becky’s work has been a finalist for both a RITA and an INSPY Award.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2016 Margaret Margaret
