Christian Romance

The Gift by Shelley Shepard Gray

Book Review Graphic

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 Gift by Shelley Shepard Gray was another great book by this author.  I don’t think I have ever read a book by this author that I haven’t liked.  I really enjoyed the characters in this book and the setting of the book.  I have a couple of the other books in this series, so I really enjoyed getting to catch up with some of the characters along with getting to meet new characters.  If you are looking for books about Amish fiction, I would recommend any of the books by this author.  Even though her books are all in series, you don’t have to read them all to know what is going on.  You are able to just pick up one and start reading it.  I think this series might be my favorite series that she has done so far.  I can’t think of anything that I didn’t enjoy about this book, and I am sure that if you like Amish fiction you will love this book just as much as I did.

About The Book

New York Times Bestselling Author Shelley Shepard Gray gifts us with a special Christmas story about love and blessings in this next book in her Amish of Hart County series.

The Schwartz family is happy to be spending Christmas on their new farm in Hart County. But when Susanna Schwartz hears gunshots that causes her buggy to overturn, and then her little sister falls through a wooden bridge into the icy creek, it becomes clear from these dangerous “accidents” that someone wants them gone.

Neil Vance has been heartbroken ever since his parents lost their family farm. He knows it’s not the Schwartz family’s fault, but he can’t help but be resentful. Until he meets Susanna. She is kind-hearted and bold, and Neil can’t stop thinking about her pretty green eyes.

Neil thinks the accidents are just that, but Susanna’s father is convinced the Vance family is responsible. Susanna refuses to believe Neil would do anything to harm her. She’s fallen in love with him and knows he is a good man. But her family is ready to pack up and move, and time is running out to uncover the truth before someone gets hurt…or worse.

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.

Visit our blog Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on Pinterest

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

Rescued Hearts by Hope Toler Dougherty

Rescued Hearts Hope Toler Dougherty

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.

Rescued Hearts by Hope Toler Dougherty was a sweet story.  I did get bored from time to time as I was reading but that always passed after a couple of pages, so I didn’t have a hard time finishing this book like I have had with other books.  I really liked Brett right from the start, but Mary got on my nerves from time to time.  I always got annoyed at how at times she acted because I felt like she was whiny and all Brett wanted to do was keep her safe throughout the entire book.  She reminds me of girls who act tough around people, but in the end, they aren’t tough in the least.  I really enjoyed this author writing, and it kept me interested in the book, but it didn’t keep me on the edge of my seat like some other books have.  If you love mystery books than I am sure that you will love this book just as much as I did.

About The Book

Children’s clothing designer Mary Wade Kimball’s soft spot for animals leads to a hostage situation when she spots a briar- entangled kitten in front of an abandoned house. Beaten, bound, and gagged by the two thugs inside, Mary Wade loses hope for escape when a third villain returns with supplies.

Discovering the kidnapped woman ratchets the complications for undercover agent Brett Davis. Weighing the difference of ruining his three months’ investigation against the woman’s safety, Brett forsakes his mission and helps her escape, the bent-on-revenge brutes following behind.

When Mary Wade’s safety is threatened once more, Brett rescues her again. This time, her personal safety isn’t the only thing in jeopardy. Her heart is endangered as well.

About The Author

Before writing novels, Hope Toler Dougherty published non-fiction articles on topics ranging from gardening with children and environmental awareness to writing apprehension. A native North Carolinian, she likes cheering with her husband, Kevin, for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ACC basketball, and Army West Point Football.

Things that make her happy include her four children, writing and receiving real mail, cooking, reading, books, book stores, book clubs, used book sales, libraries, crocheting, and traveling. Things that make her sad include washing dishes, de-cluttering, dusting, sweeping, mopping…

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer

Book Review Graphic

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.

Bringing Maggie Home by Kim Vogel Sawyer was a book that I fell in love with.  This book combined two of the things that I currently love.  It combined reading, and it also combined my love for real crime / cold cases.  I also love this author writing, so this book had quite a bit to live up to, and I am happy to say that I enjoyed this book and was sad when I was done reading it.    I loved trying to figure out what happened to Maggie right along with the characters in this book.  I wasn’t able to figure it out before we find out the whole story so I loved that about this book.  Since this is Christian fiction, you don’t have to worry too much about what is going to happen during the book.  There is one thing that bugged me throughout the book and was Meghan’s mom Diane.  She reminded me of a pissed off teenage throughout the book, and I spend more time annoyed with how she acted and the things that she said to Hazel and Meghan.  All in all, I really enjoyed this book, and I am sure anyone who loves cold cases would also like this book.

About The Book

Decades of Loss, an Unsolved Mystery,
and a Rift Spanning Three Generations

Hazel DeFord is a woman haunted by her past. While berry picking in a blackberry thicket in 1943, ten-year old Hazel momentarily turns her back on her three-year old sister Maggie and the young girl disappears.

Almost seventy years later, the mystery remains unsolved and the secret guilt Hazel carries has alienated her from her daughter Diane, who can’t understand her mother’s overprotectiveness and near paranoia. While Diane resents her mother’s inexplicable eccentricities, her daughter Meghan—a cold case agent—cherishes her grandmother’s lavish attention and affection.

When a traffic accident forces Meghan to take a six-week leave-of-absence to recover, all three generations of DeFord women find themselves unexpectedly under the same roof. Meghan knows she will have to act as a mediator between the two headstrong and contentious women. But when they uncover Hazel’s painful secret, will Meghan also be able to use her investigative prowess to solve the family mystery and help bothwomen recover all that’s been lost?

About The Author

Kim Vogel Sawyer is the author of twenty-nine novels, including several CBA and ECPA bestsellers. Her books have won the ACFW Book of the Year Award, the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, and the Inspirational Readers Choice Award. Kim is active in her church, where she leads women’s fellowship and participates in both voice and bell choirs. In her spare time, she enjoys drama, quilting, and calligraphy. Kim and her husband, Don, reside in central Kansas, and have three daughters and nine grandchildren.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

The Pretender by Ta’Mara Hanscom

The Pretender Ta'Mara Hanscom

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 Pretender by Ta’Mara Hanscom was a book I thought I would really enjoy but in the end, I was bored throughout most of the book.  There were parts throughout the book that I did like but they never lasted long, and I always ended up bored and wanting to pick up something else to read.  This is the first book I have read by this author, and I don’t know that I will get any others to read.  This book was well written, but I just didn’t connect with the author and the characters in the book.  This does happen from time to time, and it makes me sad when it does happen, and I have to review the book because I hate having to leave reviews like this one.  Like I said it was well written and I am sure that it will be a great book for other people it just wasn’t the right fit for me.

About The Book

Set in South Dakota in 1975, where eighteen-year-olds could order 3.2 beer in a bar, and loaded guns were kept under the counter.
Frankie Valli sang “My Eyes Adored You,” and American soldiers returning from Vietnam struggled with their new reality.
It’s within this tumultuous season of American history that Tillie Caselli meets Noah Hansen, and they are never the same again. Their lives were mysteriously intertwined-and had been for many years-yet they had no idea.
From the moment they met, Tillie and Noah wanted to spend the rest of their lives together, but a deliberate omission will keep them apart—and that same omission will be responsible for the escape of a murderer, and a bride’s deception.

About The Author

Born and raised in South Dakota, Ta`Mara loves to write about the Great Plains and the beauty and people of Italia. While her husband and children manage their two pizza ristoranti, Ta`Mara works full time on The Caselli Family Series, and ministers to women. It is Ta`Mara s prayer that as the readers explore the truths in these volumes, they will come away with a new perspective on love, forgiveness, obedience, and God’s plan for marriage
Find out more about Ta’Mara at https://www.tamarahanscombooks.com.
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

The Pretender Ta'Mara Hanscom

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

Many Sparrows by Lori Benton

Book Review Graphic

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.

Many Sparrows by Lori Benton isn’t one of my favorite historical fiction books that I have read in the past year or so.  I had a tough time getting into the book, and I also had a hard time wanting to read this book.  I found that when I would put it down that, I wouldn’t go right back to it.  I read several other books while I was reading this one which isn’t something that I usually do.  I think my biggest problem was how slow this book seemed to go.  There were quite a few places that I wondered why they didn’t cut them out.  I felt bad for Clare throughout the book because of all of the horrible things that she had to go through.  I know that they only reason I kept reading what because I wanted to know what going to happen to Clare and how things were going to turn out for her.  If you love historical fiction novels than I would pick this book up or at least read other reviews to see if it would be a right for you.  If you have read this book what did you think of it?

About The Book

Either she and her children would emerge from that wilderness together, or none of them would. . . .
In 1774, the Ohio-Kentucky frontier pulses with rising tension and brutal conflicts as Colonists push westward and encroach upon Native American territories. The young Inglesby family is making the perilous journey west when an accident sends Philip back to Redstone Fort for help, forcing him to leave his pregnant wife Clare and their four-year old son Jacob on a remote mountain trail.
When Philip does not return and Jacob disappears from the wagon under the cover of darkness, Clare awakens the next morning to find herself utterly alone, in labor and wondering how she can to recover her son . . . especially when her second child is moments away from being born.
Clare will face the greatest fight of her life, as she struggles to reclaim her son from the Shawnee Indians now holding him captive. But with the battle lines sharply drawn, Jacob’s life might not be the only one at stake. When frontiersman Jeremiah Ring comes to her aid, can the stranger convince Clare that recovering her son will require the very thing her anguished heart is unwilling to do-be still, wait and let God fight this battle for them?

About The Author

Lori Benton was raised east of the Appalachian Mountains, surrounded by early American history going back three hundred years. Her novels transport readers to the eighteenth century, where she brings to life the Colonial and early Federal periods of American history. When she isn’t writing, reading, or researching, Lori enjoys exploring and photographing the Oregon wilderness with her husband. She is the author of “Burning Sky,” recipient of three Christy Awards, “The Pursuit of Tamsen Littlejohn,” Christy-nominee “The Wood’s Edge,” and “A Flight of Arrows.”
Find out more about Lori at http://loribenton.blogspot.com.
Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on PinterestView on Instagram

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret

The Sweet Smell of Magnolias and Memories by Celeste Fletcher McHale

Book Review Graphic

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from BookLook 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 Sweet Smell of Magnolias and Memories by Celeste Fletcher McHale was a sweet story. I loved the plot of this book because I am sure it has happened in the real world before and I always love books that could happen. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I would like to read her other book that she has released. When I think about this book, I just keep thinking about what a sweet story this book was. I did find that this book was predictable, but I loved that I haven’t read a book with this plot before. I felt bad for Jacey and everything that she had to have gone through to get her to where we meet her in this book. I didn’t care that much about Colin throughout the book which isn’t uncommon when I read books in this genre. I was able to predict what was going to happen but I was okay with that because I did enjoy this author writing. If you are looking for a new Christian romance book to read I think that you would enjoy this book just as much as I did.

About The Book

Jacey met the man of her dreams a year ago—and hasn’t seen him since. Finally relocating him as the pastor at her best friend’s wedding was the very last thing she expected.

A year ago, Jacey was trapped on a rooftop during a flood with perfect strangers, including a family and a man named Colin. After two days there together, she had no doubt that Colin was the man of her dreams. When they were finally rescued he tucked his phone number into her pocket. But an accident with the rescue boat left her hospitalized with amnesia and PTSD . . . and his number nowhere to be found.

Now, Jacey has still only recovered bits and pieces of her memory from that time. She clearly remembers Colin—but not his last name or any other details that would help her locate him. She’s trying to immerse herself in the joy of her best friend’s wedding . . . when she looks up at the end of the aisle only to discover Colin there in the minister’s role. Shock is an understatement.

On one hand, she’s elated to see him again. And then reality sets in. She never intended to get married or have kids. And being a minister’s wife was definitely never on her list. Was Colin not the man she thought he was? Or has the amnesia changed her more than she realized?

With the typical wit and honesty Celeste Fletcher McHale is becoming known for, it’s time for Jacey to take a fresh look at her life. Could this string of unexpected events have been setting her up for something far better than what she had planned for herself?

About The Author

Celeste Fletcher McHale is a Southern Lit author from Central Louisiana. Her debut novel, The Secret to Hummingbird Cake, is being released through HarperCollins Christian Publishing in February 2016.

Celeste earned a history degree and currently lives on her century-old family farm. She enjoys family, writing, football, baseball, and raising a variety of animals.

Buy A Copy

Add-On Goodreads

Let’s Be Friends

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2017 Margaret Margaret