The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt

February 7, 2017

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.

The Good Daughter by Alexandra Burt was a hard book for me stay interested in. Once I was about halfway in I did want to finish the book but this is one of those books that took me longer to get through because I would always want to read other books instead of this one. I really was interested in this book because of the back cover, and that is why I didn’t give up on it even though it took me a few months to read the entire book. I did feel like the book was slow in some parts and in others parts it almost went too fast. If you enjoy mystery books than I would for sure tell you to check this book out and let me know what you think of it.

About The Book

From the author of Remember Mia comes the tale of a young woman in search of her past, and the mother who will do anything to keep it hidden…

What if you were the worst crime your mother ever committed?

Dahlia Waller’s childhood memories consist of stuffy cars, seedy motels, and a rootless existence traveling the country with her eccentric mother. Now grown, she desperately wants to distance herself from that life. Yet one thing is stopping her from moving forward: she has questions.

In order to understand her past, Dahlia must go back. Back to her mother in the stifling town of Aurora, Texas. Back into the past of a woman on the brink of madness. But after she discovers three grave-like mounds on a neighboring farm, she ll learn that in her mother s world of secrets, not all questions are meant to be answered…

About The Author

Born in Fulda, Germany, a baroque town in the East Hesse Highlands, I spent my childhood accompanying my two older brothers on local countryside adventures, roaming abandoned farm houses, ancient beech woods cratered by WW2 bombings, and sandstone towers rumored to have housed witches waiting to be burned at the stakes. A gluttonous reader long before online bookstores, grocery store crime novels, and large book chains cropped up in every city, I made do with a small town library in the city hall building. After I exhausted the children’s section, I moved on to crime fiction and serial killers.

While pursuing literary translations, I decided to tell my own stories. After three years of writing classes and gluttonous reading, my short fiction appeared in the Freedom Fiction Journal, All Things Girl, and MUSED Literary Review.

I currently live in Central Texas with my husband, my daughter, and two Chocolate Labrador Retrievers.

I am currently working on my third novel.

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SEALs of Honor: Chase by Dale Mayer

February 2, 2017

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Aurora Publicity 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.

SEALs of Honor: Chase by Dale Mayer was a book I knew I would love just from the cover of it. These are the types of books I will pick up when I want a book that I can get lost in. There is something about this genre of book, and I usually end up buying them so when I saw I could get this one to review I knew I had to get a copy. I enjoyed everything about this author and her books. I am so glad to have found her because I know have another author to read books by. I loved this author’s style of writing and how she was able to get me interested right from the first page. I would say that this book is predictable, but most books are for me at this point because I have read so many of them. I also really enjoyed her characters, and I found that I was looking at them as if they were real people. I know that if you love chick lit books and books that have military people in them than I know you will love this book as much as I do.

About The Book

This is the next installment in the SEALs of the Honor series.

Everyone has something in their history they’d like to keep buried in the past…
Chase has more than most. And his secrets are about to blow wide open as one really bad part of his past has come looking for him.
Vanessa is all about moving forward in her life and not looking back. There are enough painful memories in her history for a lifetime.
But when she gets embroiled in Chase’s problems, they become her problems too.
Both need to deal with their pasts because if they don’t, they might no longer have a future.

About The Author

Dale Mayer is a USA Today bestselling author best known for her Psychic Visions and Family Blood Ties series. Her contemporary romances are raw and full of passion and emotion (Second Chances, SKIN), her thrillers will keep you guessing (By Death series), and her romantic comedies will keep you giggling (It’s a Dog’s Life and Charmin Marvin Romantic Comedy series).

She honors the stories that come to her – and some of them are crazy and break all the rules and cross multiple genres!

To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, companion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series. All her books are available in print and ebook format.

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Stars in the Grass by Ann Marie Stewart

January 25, 2017

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.

Stars in the Grass by Ann Marie Stewart was another book that I like right from the start. Like the book that I reviewed yesterday, this is the first book I have read by this author, and I am so glad that I got the chance to read this book. I really loved the author’s style of writing and how reading her book was so easy. It just flowed so well that I was able to get through this book quickly. She put just the right amount of details into the book which I also loved because I got everything I needed but it didn’t have so much in it that I got bogged down or lost in all the details. I loved watching how the characters grew and changed throughout the book. If you love books that tackle real life problems than I know you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

About The Book

The idyllic world of nine-year-old Abby McAndrews is transformed when a tragedy tears her family apart. Before the accident, her dad, Reverend John McAndrews, had all the answers, but now his questions and guilt threaten to destroy his family. Abby’s fifteen-year-old brother, Matt, begins an angry descent as he acts out in dangerous ways. Her mother tries to hold her grieving family together, but when Abby’s dad refuses to move on, the family is at a crossroads. Set in a small Midwestern town in 1970, Abby’s heartbreaking remembrances are balanced by humor and nostalgia as her family struggles with—and ultimately celebrates—an authentic story of faith and life after loss.

About The Author

I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t writing stories, putting on plays, or belting songs. Ever since grade school when my dad substituted me in for his turn at the Toastmaster podium and I held a captive audience with my speech, I’ve loved making people laugh and cry.

I originated AMG’s Preparing My Heart series, write the column “Ann’s Lovin’ Ewe” for The Country Register and blog for Mentoring Moments. My first novel, Stars in the Grass comes out February 2017.

When I’m not writing, I’m waving my arms directing musicals, teaching middle schoolers, or watching UVA Basketball or Madam Secretary. In my free time I hang out with my husband, raising two lovely daughters and a whole flock of fuzzy sheep on Skye Moor Farm, in Virginia–where unscripted drama provides plenty of entertaining material.

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Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall

January 24, 2017

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.

Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall was a super interesting book. Once I started this book I didn’t want to stop reading it until it was finished. As I am sitting here thinking about this book I still can’t put my finger on what I like so much about this book. Usually, it has to do with the writing or the characters, but this time I feel like it was just the whole package. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I am going to add her to my list of authors to check out later when I have more time to pick out books to read. If you like young adult type books that I know you will enjoy this book as much as I did.

About The Book

At seventeen, Norah has accepted that the four walls of her house delineate her life. She knows that fearing everything from inland tsunamis to odd numbers is irrational, but her mind insists the world outside is too big, too dangerous. So she stays safe inside, watching others’ lives through her windows and social media feed.

But when Luke arrives on her doorstep, he doesn’t see a girl defined by medical terms and mental health. Instead, he sees a girl who is funny, smart, and brave. And Norah likes what he sees.

Their friendship turns deeper, but Norah knows Luke deserves a normal girl. One who can walk beneath the open sky. One who is unafraid of kissing. One who isn’t so screwed up. Can she let him go for his own good—or can Norah learn to see herself through Luke’s eyes?

About The Author

I’m a young adult author, mental health mouth, anxious agoraphobic, lover of cheese, film nerd, book bird, identical twin, and rumoured pink Power Ranger.

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The Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green

January 17, 2017

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 Mark of the King by Jocelyn Green was an okay book. At times I did find myself getting bored with this book and I also felt like from time to time I got lost because I had a hard time focusing on this book. For some reason, I just could get into this book. I am not usually a huge fan of historical fiction books, but I had a hard time stay engaged with this book. This is the first book I have read this book and because I had such a hard time staying interested in this book I don’t think I will read her books in the future. I think I am going to hang on to this book for a few years and see if when I try and read it again if I don’t enjoy it more next time. If you enjoy historical fiction books, I would say to read an excerpt of this book before you buy it or see if your local library has a copy of it that way if you don’t enjoy it you would be out any money.

About The Book

Sweeping Historical Fiction Set at the Edge of the Continent
After being imprisoned and branded for the death of her client, twenty-five-year-old midwife Julianne Chevalier trades her life sentence for exile to the fledgling 1720s French colony of Louisiana, where she hopes to be reunited with her brother, serving there as a soldier. To make the journey, though, women must be married, and Julianne is forced to wed a fellow convict.
When they arrive in New Orleans, there is no news of Benjamin, Julianne’s brother, and searching for answers proves dangerous. What is behind the mystery, and does military officer Marc-Paul Girard know more than he is letting on?
With her dreams of a new life shattered, Julianne must find her way in this dangerous, rugged land, despite never being able to escape the king’s mark on her shoulder that brands her a criminal beyond redemption.

About The Author

Jocelyn Green inspires faith and courage as the award-winning author of ten books to date, including Wedded to War, a Christy Award finalist in 2013; Widow of Gettysburg; Yankee in Atlanta; and The 5 Love Languages Military Edition, which she coauthored with bestselling author Dr. Gary Chapman. A former military wife herself, her passion for military families informs all of her writing as well as her numerous speaking opportunities. Jocelyn graduated from Taylor University with a BA in English and now lives with her husband and two children in Iowa.

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The Angel of Forest Hill by Cindy Woodsmall

January 11, 2017

FTC: I received a free copy of this book from Blogging for Books 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 Angel of Forest Hill by Cindy Woodsmall was a sweet story. I am a huge fan of Amish fiction books as you all know and I was sad when this book was done because it was such a sweet Christmas story. I did read this book around Christmas time and I was so glad that I did. This book did put me in a great mood when I finished it. It was a shorter book so I was able to get it read in about a day which I also enjoyed. I really loved the characters in this book and I saw a lot of myself in Rose and I spent the entire book hoping that things would work out with Rose and Joel. If you are looking for a sweet Amish fiction book than I would for sure recommend this book to you.

About The Book

A time of anticipation. A season of miracles.

Because of Joel s impossible situation, twenty-one-year-old Rose must sacrifice everything. As days pass into years in the midst of the beautiful hills, the laughter of children, and God s providence is it too much for Rose to hope for love in return?

An amazing journey toward love and belonging, filled with the wonder of the season of Christ s birth.

When Old Order Amish Rose Kurtz is asked to leave her family, travel deep into West Virginia, and help Joel Dienner with his children in the wake of tragedy, the quiet young woman recognizes a home where she might find kindness instead of criticism and hope replacing harsh words. She agrees to stay in Forest Hill and become Joel s wife for the sake of his family needs, but their marriage is to be a partnership, one built from need, not love and affection.
As the years pass, Rose continues to beckon Joel to join life again, to take joy in his growing children, and to awaken his heart to the possibility of new love. Joel hopes that Rose can move beyond deep-rooted hurts to see the beautiful Christmas ahead, their season. But will the arrival of a beautiful widow and a series of misunderstandings reverse how far Rose and Joel have come?”

About The Author

Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times and CBA best-selling author who has written nineteen (and counting!) works of fiction and one of nonfiction. She and her dearest Old Order Amish friend, Miriam Flaud, coauthored the nonfiction, Plain Wisdom: An Invitation into an Amish Home and the Hearts of Two Women. Cindy’s been featured on ABC Nightline and the front page of the Wall Street Journal, and has worked with National Geographic on a documentary concerning Amish life. In June of 2013, the Wall Street Journal listed Cindy as one of the top three Amish fiction writers.

She is also a veteran homeschool mom who no longer holds that position. As her children progressed in age, her desire to write grew stronger. After working through reservations whether this desire was something she should pursue, she began her writing journey. Her husband was her staunchest supporter as she aimed for what seemed impossible.

She’s won Fiction Book of the Year, Reviewer’s Choice Awards, Inspirational Reader’s Choice Contest, as well as one of Crossings’ Best Books of the Year. She’s been a finalist for the prestigious Christy, Rita, and Carol Awards, Christian Book of the Year, and Christian Retailers Choice Awards.

Her real-life connections with Amish Mennonite and Old Order Amish families enrich her novels with authenticity. Though she didn’t realize it at the time, seeds were sown years ago that began preparing Cindy to write these books. At the age of ten, while living in the dairy country of Maryland, she became best friends with Luann, a Plain Mennonite girl. Luann, like all the females in her family, wore the prayer Kapp and cape dresses. Her parents didn’t allow television or radios, and many other modern conveniences were frowned upon. During the numerous times Luann came to Cindy’s house to spend the night, her rules came with her and the two were careful to obey them—afraid that if they didn’t, the adults would end their friendship. Although the rules were much easier to keep when they spent the night at Luann’s because her family didn’t own any of the forbidden items, both sets of parents were uncomfortable with the relationship and a small infraction of any kind would have been enough reason for the parents to end the relationship. While navigating around the adults’ disapproval and the obstacles in each other’s lifestyle, the two girls bonded in true friendship that lasted into their teen years, until Cindy’s family moved to another region of the US.

As an adult, Cindy became friends with a wonderful Old Order Amish family who opened their home to her. Although the two women, Miriam and Cindy, live seven hundred miles apart geographically, and a century apart by customs, when they come together they never lack for commonality, laughter, and dreams of what only God can accomplish through His children. Over the years Cindy has continued to make wonderful friendships with those inside the Amish and Mennonite communities—from the most conservative ones to the most liberal.

Cindy and her husband reside near the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains in their now empty nest.