Home » Books I Love

Thankful by Shelley Shepard Gray

23 May
Written By

shelley shepard gray thankful return to sugarcreek
Thankful by Shelley Shepard Gray was an amazing book to read. I loved this book but that isn’t a huge surprise to me. I loved the first book and I wasn’t let down by this book. In this book you get to follow along with Christina & Aden as they figure out what is going with them. This is such a sweet book and it is one that I am going to keep and add to my collection. I also can’t wait for the next book to come out because I love the characters in these books!

Thankful

About The Book

Thankful, Book Two in the Return to Sugarcreek series

New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray captures the beauty, devotion, and warmth of Amish life in this engaging tale of family, commitment, trust, and love set in the beloved community of Sugarcreek.

Christina Kempf has always known that God chose Aden Reese to be her husband. As children, he was there to save her when she fell through the ice, and he’s been by her side ever since. After his parents died in a car accident ten years ago, the Kempfs raised Aden as one of their own, and everyone sees Aden and Christina as brother and sister. But Christina has never given up hope that Aden will one day ask her to be his wife.

Aden always planned to court Christina. But losing his mother and father changed everything—except his love for her. Her parents generously welcomed him into their home and treated him like a son. He can’t betray their kindness by admitting his feelings for the girl who is like a sister . . . yet so much more.
Pressured by her parents to court, Christina begins to accept the attentions of Sugarcreek’s young men, and now, Aden must make a choice. Will he stand by and watch the love of his life slip away? Or will he risk losing the love and trust of the family he holds dear to tell Christina how he truly feels?

Thankful includes a P.S. section with additional insights from the author, background material, suggestions for further reading, and more.

Shelley Shepard Gray

About The Author

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Timesbestseller, a two-time USA Todaybestseller, 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.

Connect with Shelley: website, Facebook

Buy Your Copy Here

Find More Information & Reviews Here

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Autumn Getaway by Jennifer Gracen

16 May
Written By

Book Review Graphic

Autumn Getaway by Jennifer Gracen was a super fun book to read. From the moment I started reading this book I was hooked. I loved the characters and the authors writing. I was so sad when the book was done because I want to know what happens next and I have to know what happens with Sam & Lydia. I can’t wait for the next book to come out because I am sure that it won’t let me down just like this one didn’t.

 

9781620153598_p0_v1_s260x420

About The Book

Author Jennifer Gracen brings together a colorful cast of friends and family in Book One of the Seasons of Love series, AUTUMN GETAWAY. Newly divorced mom Lydia is just getting back on her feet. Her college roommate’s wedding promises a much-needed getaway weekend with old friends, at a beautiful manor in Connecticut. When she meets Sam, a handsome friend of the groom, she’s nearly overwhelmed by a confusing mix of hope and trepidation. Their instant connection feels intensely real, to both of them, but the ink is barely dry on her divorce decree. It takes all her nerve, and more than a little prodding from her girlfriends, to convince Lydia to give her heart - and Sam - a chance. But when the magical weekend comes to a close, Sam must return to Chicago, while Lydia heads back to her complicated life and young son in New York. Can their newfound connection survive the trials of physical distance and years of emotional baggage?

7021239

About The Author

Jennifer Gracen hails from Long Island, New York, where she lives with her two young sons. She loves to write contemporary romance for readers who seek better days, authentic characters, and satisfying endings. When she isn’t taking care of her kids, doing freelance copy editing/proofreading, reading, or talking to friends on Twitter and Facebook, Jennifer writes. And a result of that writing is the 4 book SEASONS OF LOVE series, published by Booktrope Publishing. Book 1, AUTUMN GETAWAY, will be released in April 2014.
Jennifer is a member of the Romance Writers of America and is active in the Long Island Romance Writers (RWA Chapter 160). In 2014, she is serving as Secretary for the LIRW, her first time as a board member. She’s shocked her family hasn’t yet staged an intervention for her addiction to social media.

Buy Your Copy Here!

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Add It On Goodreads

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

10% Happier by Dan Harris

14 May
Written By

Dan Harris 10% Happier Nightline
10% Happier by Dan Harris was an amazing book to read. There are parts of this book that I did find myself getting bogged down because some of the words that are used I had to look up and it frustrated me. I recently got this book on Audible so I can listen to it because I know there is alot that I can learn from this book and it is things that I can do in my life.

unnamed (1)

About The Book

10% Happier takes readers on a ride from the outer reaches of neuroscience to the inner sanctum of network news to the bizarre fringes of America’s spiritual scene, and leaves them with a takeaway that could actually change their lives.

After having a nationally televised panic attack on Good Morning America, Dan Harris knew he had to make some changes. A lifelong nonbeliever, he found himself on a bizarre adventure, involving a disgraced pastor, a mysterious self-help guru, and a gaggle of brain scientists. Eventually, Harris realized that the source of his problems was the very thing he always thought was his greatest asset: the incessant, insatiable voice in his head, which had both propelled him through the ranks of a hyper-competitive business and also led him to make the profoundly stupid decisions that provoked his on-air freak-out.

We all have a voice in our head. It’s what has us losing our temper unnecessarily, checking our email compulsively, eating when we’re not hungry, and fixating on the past and the future at the expense of the present. Most of us would assume we’re stuck with this voice — that there’s nothing we can do to rein it in — but Harris stumbled upon an effective way to do just that. It’s a far cry from the miracle cures peddled by the self-help swamis he met; instead, it’s something he always assumed to be either impossible or useless: meditation. After learning about research that suggests meditation can do everything from lower your blood pressure to essentially rewire your brain, Harris took a deep dive into the underreported world of CEOs, scientists, and even marines who are now using it for increased calm, focus, and happiness.

unnamed

About The Author

Dan Harris is the coanchor of Nightline and the weekend editions of Good Morning America. He regularly reports for 20/20, World News with Diane Sawyer, and the weekday editions of Good Morning America. Before joining ABC News fourteen years ago, he worked for local news outlets in Boston and Maine. He lives with his wife, Bianca, in New York City. This is his first book.

Buy Your Copy Here!

Find More Information Here!

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

A Promise in Pieces by Emily Wierenga

9 May
Written By

Quilts of Love Emily Wierenga A Promise in Pieces
A Promise in Pieces by Emily Wierenga was an amazing book. I loved this book because it has to do with WWII and everyone knows that I loved that time period. I don’t know that I have ever read a book that has to do with WWII that I haven’t liked. Anyway lets get to this review. I loved the authors writing but I have to say I didn’t like the ending. I feel like parts of the book were never wrapped up and I was left wondering about how things worked out and what characters thought about things. I feel like the ending was rushed and that kind of made me sad because I am still wondering what happened with some of the loose ends. All in all it was a great book and I am still glad that I read it.

A Promise in Pieces

About The Book

A baby quilt touches many hearts as it travels from family-to-family and through generations.

After the end of World War II, Clara Kirkpatrick returns from the Women’s Army Corp to deliver a dying soldier’s last wishes: convey his love to his young widow, Mattie, with apologies for the missed life they had planned to share.
Struggling with her own post-war trauma, Clara thinks she’s not prepared to handle the grief of this broken family. Yet upon meeting Mattie, and receiving a baby quilt that will never cuddle the soldier’s baby, Clara vows to honor the sacrifices that family made.
Now a labor and delivery nurse in her rural hometown, Clara wraps each new babe in the gifted quilt and later stitches the child’s name into the cloth. As each new child is welcomed by the quilt, Clara begins to wonder whatever happened to Mattie—and if her own life would ever experience the love of a newborn. Little does she know that she will have the opportunity to re-gift the special quilt—years later and carrying even greater significance than when it was first bestowed.

Emily Wierenga

About The Author

Emily Wierenga is a former editor, ghostwriter, freelance writer and staff journalist, a monthly columnist for The Christian Courier, and the author of Save My Children(Castle Quay Books, 2008), Chasing Silhouettes (Ampelon Publishing, 2012) and Mom in the Mirror(Rowman & Littlefield, 2013). Emily resides in Alberta, Canada. This is her first novel.

Learn more about Emily at: http://www.emilywierenga.com

Quilts Of Love

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.

Buy Your Copy Here!

Find More Information Here

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Critical Condition by Richard L. Mabry, M.D.

2 May
Written By

Richard Mabry Critical Condition
Critical Condition by Richard L. Mabry, M.D. was a great book to read. Once again I was not let down by Richard Mabry’s medical suspense book. I have loved both of the other books I have read by him. I love his books and I can’t wait for the next one to come out. In this book you get to follow along with Shannon as she tries to find out why a man was killed on her front lawn along with her trying to figure out if she wants to marry her longtime boyfriend. I love how up until the end you still aren’t sure what is going on.

Critical Condition

About The Book

Dr. Frasier couldn’t save the gunshot victim on her front lawn. Now she’s fighting for her own life.
It began as a quiet dinner party honoring Dr. Shannon Frasier’s colleague, but became a nightmare when a man was shot on her lawn, reviving emotions from a similar episode a decade ago. Then a midnight call from her sister, Megan, causes Shannon to fear that her sister is on drugs again.
Her “almost-fiancé” Dr. Mark Gilbert’s support only adds to Shannon’s feelings of guilt, since she can’t bring herself to fully commit to him. She turns for help to her pastor-father, only to learn that he’s just been diagnosed with leukemia. Shannon thought it couldn’t get any worse. Then the late-night, threatening phone calls begin, the rough voice asking, “What did he say before he died?”
With everything around her in a critical state, simply staying alive will require all the resources and focus Shannon has.

Dr. Richard Mabry

About The Author

A retired physician, Dr. Richard Mabry is the author of four critically acclaimed novels of medical suspense. His previous works have been finalists for the Carol Award and Romantic Times Reader’s Choice Award, and have won the Selah Award. He is a past Vice-President of American Christian Fiction Writers and a member of the International Thriller Writers. He and his wife live in North Texas.
Connect with Richard at: http://rmabry.com

Buy Your Copy Here

Find More Information & Reviews Here!

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Do You Judge?

30 Apr
Written By

Do You Judge

I would love to say that I don’t judge but it is so hard not to judge a book by what the cover looks like. As all of you know I am an avid reader and I have found lately that when I pick a book to read for myself that I am picking books that have super cool looking covers. I think that is part of the reason I would rather read an actual book instead of reading one on my Nook.

When I received books that have plain covers I always put them off until the last possible day to read them but when books have great covers I find myself wanting to read them right when I get them. I have to say that I always seem to be shocked when I do finally read a book that I wasn’t interested in because of the cover and I fall in love with the story and the authors writing. This has also gone the other way tons of times as well and those times I am so let down.

So the final answer is that yes I do judge a book by its cover but still read the other books where I don’t like the covers as much. I do judge books but I also read books that I don’t like the covers because I learned years ago that even if the cover sucks chances are the book itself is amazing.

Do you judge a book by the cover?

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Tea & Primroses by Tess Thompson

29 Apr
Written By

Book Review Graphic

Tea & Primroses by Tess Thompson was a fun book to read. I didn’t read book on in this series but I do want to go back and read it now that I have finished this book. At first I wasn’t sure if I was going to like this book but after I read a few pages I was hooked and didn’t want to stop reading it until I finished the book. I loved the characters. I also love how the author tells the story and I can’t wait to read more books in this series.

Tea Primroses

About The Book

Nothing is as it seemed in calm, quaint Legley Bay.

Famous novelist Constance Mansfield lived a seemingly straightforward – if private – and somewhat predictable life. Friends, beloved daughter Sutton, a beautiful home, and all the success an author could wish for. A perfect life….but was it?

When a hit and run accident suddenly takes her mother’s life, Sutton finds hidden secrets with her heartbreak. Emotional walls she assumed Constance had built to protect her privacy may have been to protect something – or someone – else entirely. Family and friends return home for support, including her own lost-love, Declan. He’s the first thing she craves to help her cope with her loss and the questions she’s left with, but he’s also the last person she wants to see. Will he be able to put down roots at last?

Can the loss of true love be the making of a life, or is it destined to be the undoing of everything? When money, power and love combine across time, anything is possible.

Tess Thompson

About The Author

Tess Thompson is a novelist and playwright. She has a BFA in Drama from the University of Southern California.

After some success as a playwright she decided to write a novel, a dream she’d held since childhood. She began working on her first novel, Riversong while her second daughter was eight months old, writing during naptimes and weekends. She considers it a small miracle and the good-nature of her second child (read: a good napper) that it was ever finished. Riversong was released in April 2011 by Booktrope, a Seattle publisher and subsequently became a #1 Nook book and Kindle best seller. Learn more about Booktrope at www.booktrope.com

Like her main character in Riversong, Tess is from a small town in Southern Oregon. She currently lives in Snoqualmie, Washington with her two small daughters where she is inspired daily by the view of the Cascade Mountains from her home office window.

She was an active member of the theatre community in Seattle as an actor and director during the late nineties. In 2000 she wrote her first full-length play, My Lady’s Hand which subsequently won the 2001 first place prize for new work at the Burien Theatre.

A voracious reader, Tess’s favorite thing to do is to curl up on a rainy afternoon and read a novel. She also enjoys movies, theatre, wine and food. She is fed emotionally by her friends and family and cherishes relationships above all else.

Tess will be releasing her second novel, Caramel and Magnolias, in February 2013. She is busy working a historical fiction set in 1930’s Alabama that is based on a short story of her great-great grandmother’s.

Buy A Copy!

Amazon

Be My Friend On Goodreads!

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Critical Condition Kindle HDX Giveaway from Richard Mabry!

25 Apr
Written By

Richard Mabry‘s latest medical suspense, Critical Condition, is receiving high praise. USA TODAY says, “Mabry combines his medical expertise with a story that will keep you on the edge of your seat.”


Richard is celebrating the release with a Kindle HDX giveaway!

criticalcondition-400-click

One grand prize winner will receive:

  • A Kindle Fire HDX
  • Critical Condition by Richard Mabry

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on May 11th. Winner will be announced May 13th on Richard’s blog.


Don’t miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Richard’s blog on May 13th to see if you won.

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

Touched With Fire by Chris Datta

24 Apr
Written By

TWF GiveawayWelcome to the REVIEW EVENT for Chris Datta’s Historical Fiction Novel Touched with Fire! We have a great giveaway at the bottom of the post and hope you enjoy hearing about this fabulous book. But first, the details:

Tight3DduckyEllen Craft is property

In this case, of her half-sister Debra, to whom she was given as a wedding gift. The illegitimate daughter of a Georgia plantation owner and a house slave, she learned to hate her own image, which so closely resembled that of her “father:” the same wiry build, the same blue eyes, and the same pale—indeed, lily-white—skin.

Ellen lives a solitary life until she falls, unexpectedly, in love with a dark-skinned slave named William Craft, and together they devise a plan to run North. Ellie will pose as a gentleman planter bound for Philadelphia accompanied by his “boy” Will. They make it as far as Baltimore when Will is turned back, and Ellie has no choice but continue. With no way of knowing if he is dead or alive, she resolves to make a second journey—South again. And so Elijah Craft enlists with the 125th Ohio Volunteers of the Union Army: she will literally fight her way back to her husband.

Eli/Ellie’s journey is the story of an extraordinary individual and an abiding love, but also of the corrosive effects of slavery, and of a nation at a watershed moment.

Author: Christopher Datta

Genre: Historical/Women’s/African American Fiction

Kindle - Nook - Smashwords - PAPERBACK

Review:

From the minute I started this book right up until the end of the book. I haven’t read a book like this before in the aspect that it is from the slaves point of view and it was an amazing change in perspective for me. I also can’t wait to check out more books by him. I loved how Ellen was white but because of her mother she was treated as a slave. The one part this sticks out to me was when there was a woman visiting from the north and she didn’t understand why Ellen was treated as she was even though she was white. For me that sticks out because it breaks my heart to know what other people will do to people because of their skin color. Anyway this is a great historical fiction part and I would recommend it to anyone.

FTC:I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review Event Schedule:

Date Blog
21-Apr My Devotional Thoughts
21-Apr Deal Sharing Aunt
22-Apr Jelly Side Up - Promo Only
22-Apr Our Wolves Den
23-Apr rubina ramesh
23-Apr The Mama Games
24-Apr My Writer’s Cramp
24-Apr The World As I See It
25-Apr I am indeed
25-Apr Rachel Delane
26-Apr Rick And Eileen Bremner
26-Apr Author Interrupted
27-Apr Anna Tan
27-Apr Pete Waugh
28-Apr Alexa B
28-Apr Michelle Willms

About the Author:

Born inChris1 Washington, DC Chris Datta, Foreign Service officer, has been on numerous battlefields for his job and country. He has seen mass graves, brought war criminals to justice and in this new chapter, Datta brings readers a stunning historical account of the American Civil War with Touched with Fire. His attention to detail is superb, and his experiences abroad have given him ample stories to tell for years to come.

His action packed life has taken him across the world from the United States to Liberia and Southern Sudan. Not only serving in active war zones but often battling tropical diseases, Datta has nurtured his fascination with civil conflict by diving into the history books and historical records of America’s past. His research is meticulous, and his attention to detail creates vivid pictures of the past.

Follow Chris on his website for updates about new releases and upcoming events: http://touchedwithfire.org

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret

A Sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson

23 Apr
Written By

Tracie Peterson A Sensible Arrangement
A Sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson was a fun book. I started this book and didn’t want to put it down until I got about halfway through the book. I am not sure why but I struggled to finish this book and I think it was because the middle of the book got kind of slow and I always felt like I was waiting for something to happen and nothing really did happen. I did like this book though and I love Tracie Peterson’s books so I can’t wait to read more of her books.

A Sensible Arrangement

About The Book

A Lone Star Brides book.
Marty Dandridge Olson is ready to leave behind the pain of the past.
Answering an advertisement for a “Lone Star bride,” she leaves her Texas ranch and heads to Denver to marry a man she doesn’t know.
Jake Wythe is the man waiting for her.
Burned by love, he marries now simply to satisfy the board of Morgan Bank, which believes a man of his standing in society should be wed. Together Jake and Marty agree they are done with romance and love and will make this nothing more than a marriage of convenience.
When missing money and a collapsing economy threaten his job, Jake’s yearning to return to ranching grows ever stronger, much to Marty’s dismay. But a fondness has grown between them, as well, further complicating matters.
What will happen when their relationship shifts in unexpected ways . . . and dreams and secrets collide?

Tracie Peterson

About The Author

Tracie Peterson is the award-winning author of over eighty novels, both historical and contemporary. Her avid research resonates in her stories, as seen in her bestselling Heirs of Montana, and Alaskan Quest series. Tracie and her family make their home in Montana.
Learn more about Tracie at: www.traciepeterson.com

Buy Your Copy Here!

Find More Reviews & Informations Here!

FTC3

Digiprove sealCopyright secured by Digiprove © 2014 Margaret Margaret
«Previous Page
Next Page»