Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant

I love the cover of this book. It's so elegant and eye-catching. I remember seeing Betsy St. Amant's previous book and wanting to buy it immediately because of the cover. I'm easily drawn into a book by a well-done cover.

I couldn't help but laugh at the irony of this book. For Stella, it's like a bad dream come true. For Chase, he'd rather be anywhere else than on the same stage as Stella. Stella's mother has arranged for what seems to be the perfect job for Stella. This is the perfect chance for Stella to build her resume and finally step out into her own world. But when she steps on the stage, she never expects to see Chase... an ex she'd rather not see.

I had to laugh at one of the scenes when they first see each other again. It's was definitely a funny scenario. I appreciated the humor that was in the story. The book itself is a romance novel, but I felt like it was made more memorable because of the humor. The characters were not forgettable because they each had their own distinct personalities.

Betsy St. Amant has become and author that will remain on my top author list. I've recommended her to several friends because I know they won't be disappointed by her books.

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I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade

I have thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series so far, including this one. First of all, the covers are all well done. Just like the other two, this one has beautiful colors that complement the cover well and made me want to pick it up right away to read. The picture sums up the essence of the story well, in my opinion.

I was reading this book over Memorial Day weekend, which was quite fitting. Jake Porter, a former Marine, has seen things that no one should have to see. He fought for America in the war and has the scars to prove it. He's been harmed not just physically, but also emotionally. He has PTSD and feels like he is so undeserving of his childhood friend, Lyndie.

Jake was Lyndie's best friend who helped occupy Lyndie's time while her parents helped with her sister. If it wasn't for Jake, she may not have had a friend. After Lyndie moved away, she never forgets Jake. When she returns back to Texas, she will have to be the one to help Jake see that she will be there with him as he walks this road of healing.

I've always been a fan of Jake's brothers, and even more so in this book. They took on the big brother role when Jake refused to listen or give Lyndie a chance. Lyndie is a sweet, yet stubborn girl who refuses to take no for an answer.

I don't want to say goodbye to the Porter boys just yet. I'm really hoping Becky Wade has some more of their story to tell.

Read more reviews of this book by going to http://litfusegroup.com/author/bwade.

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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?
Learn more and purchase a copy at Becky’s website.

Becky Wade

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.

 

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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group and Bethany House Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

As Love Blooms by Lorna Seilstad

I have really enjoyed this series featuring the Gregory sisters. Lorna Seilstad has done an excellent job including humor and romance with a wonderful storyline. I like each of the sisters, but I think Tessa is my favorite. That surprised me some because she wasn't a favorite of mine after reading the first 2 books. However, I loved her spontaneity and how she kept Reese on his feet.

The way Reese rescued Tessa so many times had me laughing by the end. The poor man had to just have shaken his head when he had to do it again! Aunt Sam was another person I really liked reading about. I think she's a story in herself, which would be a good spin-off. I'm not sure if it will happen, but there's some opening into the whole Women's suffrage that would make an excellent series, as well.

Edward always seemed shady to me, so I couldn't decide until the end whether or not I liked him. I was a little surprised by the predicament Tessa found herself in because I never saw it coming with the person who was involved.

I liked the message of the book about speaking the truth and not keeping secrets. Secrets can tear a family apart, so Tessa had every right to worry about the plethora of secrets each person had and whether or not it would rip their family apart.

The cover to this book is also beautifully done. The contrasting colors really catch the eye of the readers.

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I received this book free from Revell Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.



The Art of Losing Yourself by Katie Ganshert

When I thought about how to sum up this book, two words came to my mind: raw and honest. I know this is a fiction book, but it felt so much like reading someone's autobiography. The story is written in first person from the perspective of both Carmen and Gracie.

Carmen and Gracie share the same mother, who has chosen alcohol over raising her children. Carmen is less affected by it because she's married and moved out. However, Gracie has felt the weight of her mother's choice. To cope, she has made some decisions that aren't the best. She's made them, of course, in order to survive emotionally and in some ways, physically.

Carmen is the one who went to one end of the spectrum in order to hide her flawed family. She tried to be perfect in every way. The fact that things aren't perfect in her life now leads to her feeling exposed. For Gracie, she went the opposite way in dealing with her dysfunctional family. She wasn't afraid to deal out the pain so others could hurt along with her. To say she built walls around her heart is putting it lightly. She's built a fortress.

I love the honesty in this book. It doesn't sugar coat the very real reality that teens face while growing up in a family that has chosen alcohol over their children. This is a very real reality for many people and I think so many can easily relate to this. Not everyone has a sister they can learn to love and depend on, though. Gracie and Carmen find one thing that brings them closer together and reminds them of so many memories.

Katie Ganshert is a new author to me, but I absolutely enjoyed her writing style. I am looking forward to her next book already.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Award-winning author, Katie Ganshert, graduated from the University of Wisconsin in Madison with a degree in education, and worked as a fifth grade teacher for several years before staying home to write full-time. She was born and raised in the Midwest, where she lives with her family. When she’s not busy penning novels or spending time with her people, she enjoys drinking coffee with friends, reading great literature, and eating copious amounts of dark chocolate.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Just like in my dream, I was drowning and nobody even noticed.

Every morning, Carmen Hart pastes on her made-for-TV smile and broadcasts the weather. She’s the Florida panhandle’s favorite meteorologist, married to everyone’s favorite high school football coach. They’re the perfect-looking couple, live in a nice house, and attend church on Sundays. From the outside, she’s a woman who has it all together.  But on the inside, Carmen Hart struggles with doubt. She wonders if she made a mistake when she married her husband. She wonders if God is as powerful as she once believed. Sometimes she wonders if He exists at all. After years of secret losses and empty arms, she’s not so sure anymore.

Until Carmen’s sister—seventeen year old runaway, Gracie Fisher—steps in and changes everything. Gracie is caught squatting at a boarded-up motel that belongs to Carmen’s aunt, and their mother is off on another one of her benders, which means Carmen has no other option but to take Gracie in. Is it possible for God to use a broken teenager and an abandoned motel to bring a woman’s faith and marriage back to life? Can two half-sisters make each other whole?

If you would like to read the first chapter of The Art of Losing Yourself, go HERE.
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I received this book free from CFBA and WaterBrook Press in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

The Things of Earth by Joe Rigney

When I read the back of this book, I couldn't wait to open it up and start reading it. I have long felt the conflict of loving the things God has provided because He is God and using it to bring glory to Him, to feeling guilty because I didn't want to make anything He gave me into an idol. It's was a toss up as to how I felt on different days and different times of my life. I wasn't certain that I quite understood it.

Joe Rigney does start out saying that he's a professor, so some of his wording can be a harder to read when you are tired. I felt like I needed to devote my full attention to what he was saying as I read, which is a good thing. I definitely understood it more than if he had used words that I didn't have to consider.

He starts the book by laying the foundation of who God is and what He has provided. If we don't understand that, we won't understand the main question of how to treasure God by enjoying His gifts. I appreciated that Rigney debated back and forth as to the flipside of the equation was when considering this question. It helped me to realize that I wasn't alone in my thought process and that it is okay to wrestle it out in my mind, even when it's hard to explain it.

Rigney constantly points the reader back to God. We enjoy God's gifts because we love Him and can use those gifts to bring Him glory. It's not necessarily bad to own a house or to have things. It's their use that makes it good or bad. Let me just say, reading this book has made shopping more interesting. I find myself pausing and actually thinking about the use of what I want, instead of whether it's a purchase for just me. It has helped in regards to my spending, too, because I'm checking my heart before I purchase.

If people are honest, I imagine many others wrestle with this topic of loving God and loving what He has given us. I learned a lot through this book and am thankful that it helped clarify some things for.me in Scripture.

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I received this book free from Crossway in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

Paper Hearts by Courtney Walsh

I absolutely love the cover on this book. It is very visually  appealing and made me excited to pick up this book to read. I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but if it doesn't have a pretty cover then I'm not as excited to read it. I'm not for sure why that is.

Of course, being a book lover (obviously), I enjoyed the setting of this book. Abigail owns a bookstore/coffee shop. Seriously. What book lover can't relate to this setting?! The two go hand-in-hand. Abigail has dreams of expanding and thinks that's possible at first. However, she quickly is let down when she sees a handsome man, although she hates to admit it, looking at the building. Jacob has come looking for a new start and just might have found it. This is how Abigail and Jacob's story begins to weave together with each other.

My favorite parts had to be when Abigail's mother intervenes in her dating life. Being from a small town, I can relate! I also liked the town natives, in general. They all had a huge interest in Abigail and wanted to see that girl married off!

Paper Hearts, the first book in this series, reminds us that we all make plans for our lives. We have the best intentions, but God ultimately knows the whole story of where we should be going in life and what we should be doing. It reminds us that we are to hold the reins loosely in our own lives and be willing to go and do whatever. It's a story of love and moving through the ugly in the past.

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I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.

To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander

I think I'm a bit partial to this series because I grew up in Middle Tennessee and frequented Nashville. Having known a little history about horses and the Belle Meade area, I was very excited to read this book. Not only that, but I have an Irish heritage so this book drew my interest from just those two aspects.

Maggie is a strong woman who isn't afraid of being a little different. Having had older brothers, she learned to shoot and ride horses with the best of them. She would do anything to help her dad and comfort him as he is aging and not well. Linden Farms is in trouble and is set to go to auction. When a man approaches her dad about his land, her dad brings up a stipulation in order for him to sell the land to this new man. It's a sweet deal for the man, if Maggie can agree to marry someone she hasn't met.

Cullen knows loss and has experienced two painful losses in his life. He's starting fresh in a new area, but didn't expect all of the hostility he received as an Irishman. He had heard about southern charm, but apparently that meant only certain people were met with southern hospitality.

Set in the 1860's, many issues are touched in this story. It was heartbreaking to read how much people discriminated against people from other countries and races. The fact that people came for a new life and ended up not being able to buy land was sad. I really enjoyed all of the history that Tamera Alexander put into this book about thoroughbred racing, and the history of women at this time.

This series is definitely one of my top favorites because it's close to my heart and hometown! I liked how she dealt with some tough issues during this time period and also showed how love can grow despite a marriage starting off in an arranged marriage.

Read more reviews on this book at http://litfusegroup.com/author/talexander. 

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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.
Learn more and purchase a copy at Tamera’s site.

Tamera Alexander

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.

 

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I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity Group in exchange for my honest opinion of this book.