Called To Be Amish by Marlene C. Miller

May 17, 2015

Called To Be Amish by Marlene C. Miller was one of the most interesting books that I have read in a long time. It has been years since I have read any biography/autobiography and I realize how much I love those kind of books. I love getting a first hand account of what it would be like to live if you were Amish and to help me better understand some of the fiction books that I read that have to do with the Amish. This is another book that I didn’t want to put down. Anyway in this book you get to hear about Marlene’s childhood and how her life was up until the time she chose to join the Amish and how things were for her after she joined them. I loved being about to see what her childhood was like and also what lead her to join the Amish. There are other books in this series and I am for sure going to be buying them and reading them because I love the behinds the scenes look at what life is really like for them and how things really are. If you love books about the Amish and/or biographies than I know you will love this book and need to check it out!

About The Book

Called to Be Amish (MennoMedia, February 2015)

Fewer than one hundred outsiders have joined the Old-Order Amish—and stayed—since 1950. Marlene C. Miller is one of them.

In this rare memoir, Marlene recounts her unhappy and abusive childhood, how she throws herself into cheerleading and marching band, and how she falls in love with Johnny, the gentle young Amish man who helps her lace her ice skates.

Against the wishes of both sets of parents, Marlene and Johnny get married and begin a family. Follow the author on this unusual journey to find out how God’s love called her out of bitterness and depression and into the warm embrace of her new Amish community.

Accompany her as she dons an Amish dress and prayer covering and gets baptized. Learn how she endures the strain of ten children, a hundred-acre farm, and accidents and tragedy, and find out how she comes close to walking away from it all. Turning Amish has proven to be anything but plain and simple for this former majorette. But nearly fifty years later, Marlene is still living out God’s call as an Old Order Amish woman.

About The Author

Marlene C. Miller joined the Amish as an adult and has been a member of the Old Order Amish for almost 50 years. She and her husband of 48 years live on a farm in Ohio surrounded by their nine children, more than 40 grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

Buy Your Own Copy

Add On Goodreads

A Beautiful Taste by Lilliana Anderson

May 13, 2015

A Beautiful Taste by Lilliana Anderson was a super sweet story. There are 5 or 6 books before this one in the series but you don’t have to read them in order to know what is going on in this book. I haven’t read any of the other ones and I had no problem following this story. It was an easy read which is nice but it also held my attention which some books that are easy to read aren’t able to do. I loved the characters in this book and the setting of the book. The one thing I do know is that I am going to have to go back and read the other books in this series because I truly enjoyed this book and the author’s writing. If you love contemporary romance novels than this is one that I think you need to read!

About The Book

It’s never easy to go back. That’s something chef, Bradley Rae is sweating bullets about as the date of his school’s kayaking team reunion draws near. When his friend and teammate, Elliot Roberts, convinces him to go, he thinks he’ll be fine going back there. After all, chances are, she won’t be there at all. It’s been almost ten years. Maybe she she’s moved away. Maybe he won’t see her at all…

Dakota Morgan is a girl with many regrets, and Bradley Rae is on top of that list. You see, she did something – she didn’t wait five minutes, and that tiny amount of impatience changed the course of her life forever.

When her father sets up a fundraising reunion for their family owned kayaking club, her heart beats out of control when she sees Brad’s name on that list. Part of her wants to refuse to go so she doesn’t have to face him. But a larger part of her needs to see him, even if it’s just a window into what might have been…

When Brad and Dakota meet again, will sparks fly, or will the past remain firmly in the past? And what about secrets? Can they survive the reality of what that one split decision, made all those years ago, has done? Or will they let it all go again?

About The Author

Australian born and bred, Lilliana Anderson has always loved to read and write considering it the best form of escapism that the world has to offer. Besides writing Angelien’s biographical trilogy, she also writes contemporary romance and drama all based around Aussie characters.

When she isn’t writing she is a wife, and a mother to four children. She has worked in a variety of industries and studied humanities before transferring to commerce/law at university.

She currently lives a fairly quiet life in suburban Melbourne.

Buy Your Own Copy

Kindle US

Kindle UK

Kindle AU

Kindle CA

Add On Goodreads

L.A. Rotten: A Tom Tanner Mystery by Jeff Klima

May 12, 2015

L.A. Rotten: A Tom Tanner Mystery by Jeff Klima was a great book. I loved this book because it is a return to the genre of books that I love the most. I don’t usually read tons of books like this and it is so nice to get to read ones like this and find new authors. Anyway back to this book. I enjoyed everything about this book so much so that I was sad when it ended because I loved the author’s style of writing and I also loved the characters in this book. I had to keep reading right up until the end because I had to know how it ended and how things worked out. I have to say that I really liked Tom from the start of the book and I hope that there will be more books with him in them because I loved him as the main character in this book. It is fast past and it kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the book. If you love mystery books than I know you will love this story.

About The Book

On Sale: May 12, 2015
Pages: 268
Published by : Alibi

For fans of Dexter and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Jeff Klima’s debut thriller is a chillingly suspenseful novel set in a world of violence and chaos—where one man finds himself right at home.

As an expert crime-scene cleaner, Thomas Tanner charges big money to carve out bullets, mop up fluids, disinfect walls, and dispose of whatever’s left of whomever was unlucky enough to require his services. For a handsome young ex-con determined to stay out of trouble, it’s practically a dream job—until he discovers a grisly pattern to his work: a string of gruesome murders at a cheap motel chain, always in Room 236.

While prying into a serial killer’s nasty scheme, Thomas finds himself with a sharp-witted strip-bar waitress plastered to his side—and his conscience. Even more surprising, the killer starts prying into his life, luring Thomas into a twisted friendship. As Thomas struggles against his adversary’s wicked whims, risking the lives of the few people he holds dear, bodies pile up everywhere he turns. With a psychopath calling the shots, Thomas has little choice but to clean house once and for all.

About The Author

Jeff Klima is the author of The Dead Janitors Club and the cofounder of Orange County Crime Scene Cleanup.

Add On Goodreads

Buy Your Own Copy

Enter To Win

a Rafflecopter giveaway

A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

May 10, 2015

A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade was a super sweet story. This is the third book in the series but you don’t have to read the other two in order to understand and follow along with this story. I love when I have read the series to be able to check back in with the characters that you come to love after reading a whole book about them. If you missed my reviews on the other two books you can click here and here to check them out. Anyway lets get back to the review of this book. Out of all the Porter brothers I have to say that Jake has been my favorite. Maybe that is because I grew up in the military but I really liked him and felt so bad for him because of everything he went through. I spent the whole time I was reading this book hoping that everything would work out great for Jake & Lyndie because I truly loved both of them. This is a sweet story that everyone who love contemporary romance books should check out!

About The Book

A Love Like Ours (Bethany House, May 2015)

Former Marine Jake Porter has far deeper scars than the one that marks his face. He struggles with symptoms of PTSD, lives a solitary life, and avoids relationships.

When Lyndie James, Jake’s childhood best friend, lands back in Holley, Texas, Jake cautiously hires her to exercise his Thoroughbreds. Lyndie is tender-hearted, fiercely determined, and afraid of nothing, just like she was as a child. Jake pairs her with Silver Leaf, a horse full of promise but lacking in results, hoping she can solve the mystery of the stallion’s reluctance to run.

Though Jake and Lyndie have grown into very different adults, the bond that existed during their childhood still ties them together. Against Jake’s will, Lyndie’s sparkling, optimistic personality begins to tear down the walls he’s built around his heart. A glimmer of the hope he’d thought he’d lost returns, but fears and regrets still plague him. Will Jake ever be able to love Lyndie like she deserves, or is his heart too shattered to mend?

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.

Add On Goodreads

Odin’s Shadow by Erin S. Riley

May 6, 2015

About The Book

Historical Romance

Date Published: April 2, 2015

Obsession. Treachery. Revenge. Redemption. Certain themes resonate across the centuries.

Selia is a girl on the verge of womanhood, frustrated by the confines of her gender and resentful of the freedom her brother boasts of. Intelligent and resourceful in a time when neither is valued in a female, she longs for an escape from her sheltered existence. Fascinated by the tales of Viking raids told by her maidservant, her hunger for independence is fed through the stories of heathen ferocity she hears at the woman’s knee.

A decision to sneak to the city’s harbor to view the Viking longships leads to an encounter with Alrik Ragnarson, a charismatic Viking warlord whose outward beauty masks a dark and tortured mind. With the knowledge that her father is about to announce her betrothal to a man she doesn’t love, Selia marries Alrik and within a day is on the longship bound for Norway and a new life.

While Selia’s relationship with her new husband grows, her friendship with his brother Ulfrik grows as well. And as Alrik’s character flaws come to light and tension mounts between the two brothers, Selia begins to have misgivings about her hasty marriage . . . especially when a secret from the past is revealed, one that threatens to destroy them all.

About The Author

Erin S. Riley has an undergraduate degree in psychology and a graduate degree in clinical counseling. She is also a board certified lactation consultant and has had extensive training in maternal-child health. Since Erin was a child, she has been fascinated with human nature and what motivates behavior. She enjoys writing stories that reflect real life: Erin’s books feature complicated, imperfect characters who love deeply, make reckless decisions, and try again until they get it right.

A lifelong lover of books, Erin taught herself to read at the age of four and hasn’t been without a book since. She is an equal-opportunity reader of fiction and non-fiction, and her shelves are filled with books on psychology, archaeology, anthropology, and general history. The social history of women and their place in society across the ages is a favorite reading topic of Erin’s.

Erin is drawn to any creative pursuit, from making hand-stitched quilts to producing mini-movies for family and friends from home videos. But writing has always been her passion. When Erin isn’t writing, she enjoys spending time with her two wonderful children, reading anything she can get her hands on, watching football, and renovating her house with her husband of 17 years who just happens to look like a Viking!

Website: erinsriley.wordpress.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/erinsrileyromance?ref=hl

Twitter:@erinsriley1

Blog: erinsriley.wordpress.com

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/20527200-odin-s-shadow

Buy Your Own Copy

Excerpt

(more…)

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander

May 5, 2015

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander was a great historical fiction book. I loved this book from the first chapter right up until the last page. There are historical fiction books that I just can’t get into because I don’t understand the time period but this isn’t one of those. This is the first book I have read by this author I can’t wait to check out other books she has written because she does a great job of making me feel like I am there with the characters. This is the second book in the “Belle Meade Plantation” series and I didn’t feel like I missed anything by not reading the first book in the series. This book was an easy read but still kept my attention which at times can be hard to do. If you love historical fiction that you will want to check out this great book!

About The Book

To Win Her Favor (Zondervan, May 2015)

A gifted rider in a world where ladies never race, Maggie Linden is determined that her horse will become a champion. But the one man who could help her has vowed to stay away from thoroughbred racing forever.

An Irishman far from home, Cullen McGrath left a once prosperous life in England because of a horse racing scandal that nearly ruined him. He’s come to Nashville for a fresh start, hoping to buy land and begin farming, all while determined to stay as far away from thoroughbred racing as possible. But starting over proves harder than he’d wagered, especially when Maggie Linden’s father makes him an offer he shouldn’t accept yet cannot possibly refuse.

Maggie is certain that her mare, Bourbon Belle, can take the top purse in the inaugural Peyton Stakes, the richest race ever run in America. Maggie only needs the chance to prove it. To give her that chance—and to save Linden Downs from being sold to the highest bidder—Maggie’s father, aging, yet wily as ever, makes a barter. His agreement includes one tiny, troublesome detail—Maggie must marry a man she’s never met. A man she never would have chosen for herself.

About The Author

Tamera Alexander is a best-selling novelist whose deeply drawn characters, thought-provoking plots, and poignant prose resonate with readers. Having lived in Colorado for seventeen years, she and her husband now make their home in Nashville, Tennessee, along with their two adult children who live near by. And don’t forget Jack, their precious—and precocious—silky terrier.