The Made-From-Scratch Life: Simple Ways to Create a Natural Home

The Made-From-Scratch Life: Simple Ways to Create a Natural Home is chocked full of tips on the homestead life including gardening, raising livestock, preserving foods and cooking. I have followed Melissa's blog for a couple of years and always learn something from what she posts on her blog. She also does podcasts and persiscopes and those have been enjoyable also.

If you enjoy the homestead life you will definitely learn from this book; however if you are not a believer in Christ you may be put off reading how her faith works in her everyday homestead life. I am a believer in Christ so this was a great inspiration to me.

Thanks to Harvest House and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this book to review. This book is due to be released on February 1, 2016.

Mermaid Moon by Colleen Coble

Mermaid Moon is the second in the series Sunset Cove. When you pick up and read a Colleen Coble novel you come to expect that it will be suspenseful and full of twists and this book did not disappoint. The book caught my interest from the first few pages when Mallory's father is found murdered on his boat. Mallory returns to the town and immediately her life and those she loves is in danger. She reconnects with a Kevin, a former boyfriend from her past. They have a painful history that they have to work through. He helps her in her quest to find out the truth and in the meantime old hurts are healed. I loved that part of the story and how it unfolded.

The theme of this book is second chances. I loved how Mallory and Kevin were able to work out their problem and got the opportunity for a second chance. There is some other characters who had second chances but to mention them would be giving away too much of the story line.

I loved the suspense and mystery in the story. I did not know who to suspect was behind all this until near the end. Sometimes you suspect one person and it turns out not to be the case. I like it when the author writes the story so well that you don't know who to suspect.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing me a copy of the novel to preview. Mermaid Moon is due to be released January 12, 2016.

Pure Soapmaking by Anne-Marie Faiola

I have several books on soapmaking in my collection of books and this one seems to be the best so far. I have always wanted to learn to make soap and despite my collection of soapmaking I have never attempted to make soap. This book gives clear instructions on making various kinds of soaps. The illustrations are the best I've seen in any of the soap books. This book may be the one to get me over my fear of making soap.

I'm thinking about getting rid of all my other soap books and get this one in a hard copy when it is released February 9, 2016.

Thanks to Netgalley and Storey Publishing for allowing me  to preview an e-copy of this book.

If I Run by Terri Blackstock

I have read every one of Terri Blackstock's suspense books and this is the first one I've read of hers that was told in the first person. It's told in the viewpoint of two persons. At first I didn't know whether or not I'd like reading it in first person but I quickly got into the flow and did not mind a bit. Having the story told in first person gets you into their mind. The firs person was Cassie Cox. She is on the run because her DNA is all over a murder scent. Her friend Brent was murdered and she knows she will be accused of this murder that she did not commit. Casey assumes the identity of a deceased woman who is approximately her own age. Casey is not a believer but the Lord throws people in her path who are and has an influence on Casey. The other person is Dylan Roberts a discharged military veteran suffering from PTSD. He has been hired by Brent's family to locate Casey. At first he believes Casey to be the killer but the more he studies her character doubts begin to formulate in his mind that she is a killer.

There is another mystery in the story, the story of a missing girl. This mystery is resolved but I will let you the reader know whether or not the girl is found dead or alive. Can't spoil it for you now can I?

I can tell you that if you read this book you won't be able to put it down. Gets really heavy on the suspense on the last few pages!

The only thing I did not enjoy about this book is that it left you hanging. Casey is still on the run. Hopefully, it will be resolved in the next book.

This book is due to be released on February 18, 2016. Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for allowing me to read and preview this book.

Nashville Eats by Jennifer Justus

Growing up in Nashville I was very interested in what was in Nashville Eats. I was pleasantly surprised to see some old family favorites. My mother rarely used a recipe so I didn't learn to cook some of these old southern favorites but this books clearly gives recipes for many of the favorites I grew up eating. It did not particularly read like a cookbook which I liked. I enjoyed the stories that went behind many of the recipes. I have several bookmarked that I'm wanting to try. Loved reading some of the history behind the recipes.

Thanks to Netgalley for providing me a digital copy of this book to review.

Playing with Fire by Tess Gerritsen

Playing with Fire is a stand alone novel by Tess Gerritsen.  This one does not have her Rizzio and Isles characters. I was not sure if I would enjoy this book with out Maura and Jane in it but this book did not disappoint. It kept me in suspense from the first chapter. Tess Gerritsen is a physician and has always had science behind her novel.  Until the very end I had thought she had gone the way of Stephen King with unexplained things happening to Julie Ansell. Julie was a gifted violinist and had purchased some unpublished sheet music while in Italy. Strange things started happening with her daughter every time she played the piece.

This novel has a dual storyline, the present with Julie and the past which is before World War II started with a Jewish family living in Italy. The father was a Luthier in Italy but the tragic story centered around Lorenzo and Laura. I can't comment too much on the past storyline as it will give too much of the storyline away. All I say is that the past and the future come together in the end.

I thought all the characters were well-developed. The characters were written in such a way that you started to care about them right away. The story was clean.  No sexual situations. Only some chaste kisses. The language was pretty clean also. Only three times where the character in the modern story used curse words.

Thanks to Netgalley and Ballatine books for furnishing me an digital copy of this book to read and review. This book is due for release on Ocotber 27.

Love in the Details by Becky Wade

Love in the Details: A November Wedding Story  is book 12 in the Year of Wedding Stories 2. I haven't read any of the other stories but when I saw that this one by Becky Wade was available on Netgalley I jumped at the opportunity to read it. Becky Wade is one of my favorite authors. I recently started reading her works a couple of  months ago. I read the first of her Porter series books and was hooked and then after that read everything she wrote. This book is a novela so it can be read in a couple of hours. It starts off with Holly writing a "Dear John" letter to her high school sweetheart breaking off with him. She still loves him dearly but breaks off with him at the urging of his mother so he can pursue a scholarship at MIT. The rest of the book is about them reconnecting eight years later when his best man is getting married. In the eight years that have passed Josh has become filthy rich. Holly is a successful author but far from rich. In a few of Becky Wade's novels she incorporates a little bit of humor and this one is no different. Holly's elderly neighbor was quite funny and there was a incidence at a wedding with something being spilled on flower girl dresses.  I think this book would have been better had it been a full-length novel instead of a novela. It would have been better had there been some conflict but it was basically free of conflict.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for allowing me to read and review this book which is due to be released October 27, 2015.

My Brother's Crown by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

My Brother's Crown is first in the series of the Cousins of the Dove series.

Catherine Gillet's story takes place in France during 1665. I enjoyed learning about the Hugenots . The Hugenots were a Christian group in France influenced by the teachings of John Calvin. It was interesting to read about the persecution of these people in France. It makes you appreciate the system of separation of church and state we have in the United States. The people in France at that time were under the rule of Louis XV. In this story the dragoons were police the city to try to force the Hugenots to convert to Catholicism. In this story the dragoons made life very hard for Elizabeth and her family. I will not reveal too much of the story since I do not want to spoil it for the reader. I admired the character of Elizabeth. She was a brave and gutsy trying to protect her family while still maintaining her faith.  She did not know who to trust. At one point she thought the only persons she could truly trust was herself and her beloved grandmere. 

The secondary story involved Rene Talbot, an ancestor of Elizabeth living in the present day in the United States. She is a scientist trying to decode an pamphlet that is centuries old. It is not until the end of Elizabeth's story that we learn the significance of that document. Like many other reviewers I did not feel that Rene's story was developed as well as Elizabeth's story. I felt the romance was a little rushed. There is also a mystery of a body in the woods that she and her cousins experienced as children but that storyline was not resolved in this books. Perhaps it will be in future books in this series. There are three other modern-day cousins where a book could be developed. I'm hoping in future books in this series we also get to hear from more stories of the other members of the Talbot and Gillett family.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harvest House publishers for allowing me to review an e-copy of this novel. This book is due to be released October 1, 2015. I look forward to reading the other novels in this series.

Rodeo Rescuer by Lynette Eason

Usually I find that plots of Love Inspired Suspense novels are not well developed and the characters are not either. Not so with this book.  The storyline grabs you from the first chapter. You never have a chance to get bored. You could not doze off. You would miss something. The characters have to be on their toes too. Tonya was in hiding from a stalker. She knows who the stalker is. It Hank and she only had three dates with him. He didn't take rejection too well when she said she no longer wanted to date him. He reacted by trying to kill her.  She now thinks that he has found her.  From the get go I knew Hank had found her but I also knew that he had help finding her. I had my suspicions of several people but did not know what the motive was.  I liked Tonya. She was no wallflower just waiting for someone to rescue her. She stood up for herself. Not a wimpy damsel in distress character.   I loved how she and Seth worked together to find the people who wanted to do her harm.

This book is the second novel in the Wranger's Corner series.  If you have not read the first book in the series which is "The Lawman Returns" I suggest you read it first because the bad guy in the first book is mentioned in this book. I did not realize this was a second book in a series and now I know who the villain will be in the first book which sort of spoils it for me.

Rodeo Rescuer will be released on September 1, 2015. Thanks to Netgalley and Love Inspired for allowing me to review this book.

The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

The story of "The Wedding Chapel" is told from six points of view. There is the modern Collette and Jimmy, two star crossed lovers. They had once been in love but circumstances beyond their control separated them. The circumstance were like orchestrated by a vicious jealous person who could not stand to see them happy. There is the Collette and Jimmy from the late 40s and 50, young and in love.  In the current day there is Taylor Branson and Jack Forrester/Gillingham. They married in a whirlwind and after six months are struggling. Jack loves his wife but does not know how to communicate to his wife. Part of his problems stems from his tumultuous childhood being shifted from one foster home to another. To have the story told from so many points of view may be confusing to some readers but the author did an excellent job of blending it all together so you did not get confused one bit.
First half of story started out slow but the pace picked up in the middle of the book. There were elements of mystery in the book that kept me reading like the mention of a box left to her by her granny. Taylor must find the box to discover the contents.  From reading the story you get an idea of where it is going and it does go there but there are some unexpected surprises in the novel that you do not expect. Good surprises that make you smile. When you think that this is it on the surprises the author drops another bombshell on the reader. I don't give many books a five star rating but this one certainly deserves it. The only other book I have read by this author is "The Wedding Dress" but I certainly do plan on reading more.

The Wedding Chapel is due to be released on November 17, 2015. Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for allowing me to preview this book.

Handbag Workshop by Anna Mazur

If you are a beginner in sewing this book is not for you. It is for the more complicated bags like leather. Although the designs in this book are lovely I'll probably never make any of these because I really don't want to get into leather construction. If I did want to get into leather construction I think the instructions are excellent. Detailed instructions and instructions on tools needed to construct leather bags.  I like to make bags but mine are more on the line of the cotton and canvass type bags.

Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to preview this book.

Whispers in the Reading Room by Shelley Gray

Whispers in the Reading Room is book 3 in the The Chicago World's Fair Mystery series by Shelley Gray.  I thoroughly enjoyed the book and could not put it down. I was intrigued by the pairing of two opposite people. Sebastian was a wealthy man who made his living running a gambling establishment. He was ashamed of his background being  the illegitimate son of a prostitute. Lydia is a librarian whose family has fallen on hard times. Her family had once been well off and now she struggles to make ends meet. Her spoiled mother wants to marry her off to someone not worthy of her so she can continue to live the lifestyle she once enjoyed. So these two people are totally different but they share a love of books and that is what brings them together. I could not put this book down because I wanted to see how this relationship was going to pan out.  There are some secondary characters that I enjoyed as much as the main characters.  These were the two employees of Sebastian Marks.

There is a murder midway in the book but there really isn't that much of a mystery in the book. If you are buying this book because you think it will be a great suspense book you will be disappointed. It was a great book but suspenseful it was not. The mystery played a minor role in the story.

I was pleased with the ending of this book and did not want it to end.  I was given an e-copy of this book to read compliments of  Netgalley and Zondervan.

Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade

At first I didn't like Ty Porter. After all he did abandon Celia after one night of marriage and after he consummated the marriage bed. He really did hurt her the next morning saying he loved another woman, Tawny. And what kind of name is Tawny? Sounds like a stripper name. Anyway he said that he had loved Tawny every since kindergarten. And when he reconnects with her nearly five years later he is irrated to learn that she kept from him the existence of a daughter. He's a bull rider and has an accident and returns to his hometown. He finally convinces Celia to move to Texas so he could be around his daughter more. Even then he still has hopes for Tawny but she is dating a doctor. But as the story progresses I grew more fond of Ty and came to really like him in the end as his love for Celia grew. He did so much for her and sacrificed a lot for her. She has a hard time trusting him but I really couldn't blame her since he had hurt her so much in the past.

Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade

I had a hard time identifying with Meg Cole. After all she was filthy rich and I'm not. I did love her character. She was thrust into the role of managing her father's empire after his unexpected death. She must preferred a simplier life. She even choose to love in the guest house on the estate instead of the mansion. I liked it that she had a strong faith. She didn't get this strong faith from her parents or their family but from her beloved nanny who took her to church every Sunday. I couldn't stand any of her extended family, the uncles, aunts and cousins. They had their nose so stuck in the air that it touched the ceiling. The only cousin of hers that I like was a male cousin, Brimm. I liked it that Meg decided to use her fortune to help those less fortunate than herself. Early in the book she decides to help an single mother get on her feet. The romance between her and Bo was sweet but she had been burned in the past by someone who wanted to be with her for her money so she had a hard time trusting men. I loved the character of Bo Porter. He was the ideal man and I saw basically no flaws with his character. He was almost too perfect. I can't wait to read the stories featuring his other siblings.

Among the Fair Magnolias (Four Southern Love Stories)

Among the Fair Magnolias is a collection of four novellas but the authors Tamera Alexander, Shelley Gray, Dorothy Love and Elizabeth Musser.

A Heart So True by Dorothy Love - Pretty good. I felt sorry for the character that she was being forced to marry a distant cousin by her manipulating father. Her father seemed to be more concerned about his political aspiration than the happiness of his daughter.


 To Mend a Dream by Tamera Alexander  - I enjoyed this novella. I have read Tamera's works before and she is an excellent writer and this book is no exception; however I did think the romance part of the story was a little rushed at the end. She needed more pages to develop the storyline. This story would have been better in a longer format instead of a novella. The author stated that the character was introduced in the book "To Win Her Favor" which will be.released.May 2015.  

 Love Beyond Limits by Elizabeth Musser - I did not enjoy this story at all, a complete snoozefest. I thought the character was a little self-centered. She threw herself on a man she could never have not even considering she was endangering his life.

 An Outlaw's Heart by Shelley Gray -  This was my favorite of all three.  Last year when I read "A Texan's Choice" there was a character in there that had a backstory and I wondered what happened to him. I reviewed that book and even stated that I wondered what happened to Russell and if he was even able to connect back with the woman he left behind in his hometown. In this book we find out. I was so excited.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tomas Nelson for providing me an e-copy of this book to review.
 

Justified by Varina Denman

Justified is book 2 of the Mended Hearts series. After the weekend I read Jaded and when I finished Jaded I just had to read Justified which focuses on Fawn Blaylock. In the first book she was the spoiled daughter of the rick cattleman, Neil Blaylock. Toward the end of the first book Fawn had just told her parents that she was pregnant and was promptly kicked out of the house with nothing but the clothes on her back. Neil Blaylock was a hypocritical Christian from the first book. He was a so called pillar of the Trapp, Texas church.  In this book we saw all the townspeople from the first book. In the first book I didn't care much for Lynda Turner but in this book she softens up quite a bit. She's still cynical but a little smoother on the edges. I loved Ruthie in this book. She is so down to earth and helped Fawn adjust to being poor. The toxic church from the first book is back and is a little better now that Neil Blaylock is no longer an elder but still has people in there who gossip and look down their noses at people who fall from grace but that is typical of any church.  And then there is the biological father of Fawn's baby Tyler Cruz. Fawn does not know if she should be with the baby's father. She thinks a baby should have both a mother and a father but Tyler has let her down several times. He's cheated on her, denied paternity and even slapped her around yet she takes him back six times. Will there be a 7th?  There is a growing friendship with JohnScot. At first he was there for her to help her out but the more time he spent with her he began to see the good in her that she did not see in herself.  The main problem with Fawn is that she kept putting herself down. She knows God has forgiven her for her past mistakes but finds it hard to forgive herself.

I highly recommend that you read Jaded first before you read Justified. You will enjoy the story more if you know some of the backstory of some of the other characters.

At the end of this book I got to read the first four chapters of the next book Jilted. This book will focus on Linda and Clyde. I'm looking forward to this one and have put it on my to be read list.

Thanks to David C. Cook and Netgalley for providing me an e-copy to read and review. Justified is due for release on June 2, 2015

A Worthy Pursuit by Karen Witemeyer

I have enjoyed everything by Karen Witmeyer so far and she did not disappoint me with this one. The character had a lot of spunk and committment to her little adopted family. I liked it that she was very protective of her charges. The first half of the book we get acquainted with Charlotte, the three kids in her charge and Stone, the man hired by Lily's grandfather to bring the child back to him. Lily's mother knew she was dying so before she died she requested that Lily be raised by Charlotte. As Stone spent time with Charlotte he comes to realize that the child belongs with Charlotte.  About midway in the book the pace picks up and never lets up until the end.  I like reading a book that keeps me on edge and this one did not fail in this respect. This book had its share of bad guys. There's Lily's grandfather who only wants the child to advance his riches and then there is Franklin the other tracker the grandfather hired when Stone did not follow through. Franklin is just evil through and through.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House Publishers for providing me an e-copy of this book to read and review. A Worthy Pursuit is due to be released on June 2, 2015.

A Heart's Obsession by Colleen Coble

A Heart's Obsession is book 2 in the Journey of the Heart series by Colleen. To get the full enjoyment of this series you really should read them in order. Each book is a short read. When we last saw Sarah Montgomery she had stayed behind at her home instead of following Rand out west. She stayed behind because her father was dying and Rand was not willing to wait. I am not liking Rand much at all in this series. He goes out west and within 2 months and beguiled by a woman at the post and becomes engaged to her. Sarah father eventually dies so she goes out west only to learn that Rand is engaged. Rand is less than warm to her at first meeting. I am hoping in the next book he can redeem himself since he is not willing to break up with the beautiful and conniving Jessica Dubois. I am really liking the character of Sarah Montgomery. She has a real concern and love for the native American people.

I am looking forward to the next book. This series would be better if it were one big book instead of broken down into short novels.

 

The Inn at Ocean's Edge by Colleen Coble

Luke and Megan's mother disappeared 25 years ago. Did their abusive alcoholic father have anything to do with her disappearing?  Claire witnesses a hotel employee murdered and then she is knocked unconscious and when she awakes the body is gone.  She finds information about herself that happened when she was 4.  And then there is Kate who is the product of an affair her mother her with her biological father. Kate is in never of a bone marrow transplant and needs a close relative to give her. Are of these events related.  With each new piece of information that was present I got more involved in the story and could not put the book down until I finished.  By the time I was about 60 percent finished with the book I was able to figure out some things but there was some things in the book that was a complete surprise to me. I liked most of the females in the book but Luke was the only male in the book who was nice.

I'm looking forward to reading more stories in this series.  Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for allowing me to read this book and review it.  This book is due to be released on April 14, 2015.

Past Suspicion by Therese Heckenkamp

This book is classified as youth fiction but I still enjoyed it. The heroine in the story is just 3 weeks shy of her 18th birthday.  Her father had died when she was quite young and her mother has recently died. Since she was a minor she was sent to live with her mother's brother, an uncle that she had never met.  Robin did not know anything about her mother's past. Her mother had kept her past a secret.  Robin grew up in California and the uncle lives in Wisconsin.  Robin cannot wait until she is 18 so she can return to California. While living with her uncle she begins to find out more about her mother. She meets two different young men who take an interest in her.  All through the book you don't know which young man to trust. Both of the young men had secrets that they kept from her. As Robin begins to unravel her mother's past she is put into danger. I kept flipping the pages to see what will happen next. This book was a free download and I am so happy I gave this writer a chance even though I've never read her before. The character in the book and the character's mother shared a love of Victoria Holt. I read Victoria Holt more than 30 years ago and reading this book renewed an interest in me to re-read some of Victoria Holt's books again. I look forward to reading more of this author.

A Heart's Disguise, Book 1 of the Journey of the Heart Series by Colleen Coble

This book is the first part in a three part series. I am enjoying this series but am wishing each book was longer or combining the three books into one longer book would have been better. I am going to have to wait one month for the next book and two months for part three. So far I am enjoying the characters but getting aggravated with them. I don't know why Sarah feels she has to make everyone happy. At the beginning she is willing to marry a man she does not love just to make her father happy? I got aggravated at Rand too. I felt he could have been a little more understanding with Sarah. I don't really like the way the book ends but I guess that will be resolved in the next book.

Plain Killing by Emma Miller

A young woman dressed Amish has been found dead in a pond. She has been missing for some time so her family assumed she no longer wanted to be Amish and left. There are a number of girls missing. Can Rachel help solve the mystery? Rachel was raised Amish but was never officially baptized so she is comfortable with both the Amish and English world. She can relate to the Amish and is very helpful with the local people in letting them know the Amish culture. She is close to her first cousin who is Amish and her cousin helps her solve mysteries. One of her cousin's best friends has been gone from the Amish for nearly two years so when a lead comes up that this girl is in New Orleans Rachel and her cousin travel to seedy parts of New Orleans to find the girl. One bothered me about the book is that Rachel's father quickly agreed that the cousin could accompany Rachel for New Orleans to find the girl. This would involve getting on an airplane. It is highly unlikely that the Amish would agree to this so this part of the story bothered me. The mystery about the girl in the pond is solved and most of the girls accounted for. Only one was not accounted for and I do wish this one could have been found too. Maybe the next book. I enjoyed this book and hope the author will write some more in this series.

Chasing Sunsets by Karen Kingsbury

Mary Catherine love God more than anything and wants to live life to the fullest way possible. She finds herself being attracted to Marcus, the baseball pitcher but she cannot let herself get too involved in a relationship with him or anybody else for that matter. She has a threatening health problem, a bad heart. She may not have much time to live. Besides Marcus currently has a girlfriend, Shelly. Shelly is shallow and immature and the more he is around Mary Catherine the more he desire a girl like Mary Catherine. The friendship between Mary Catherine and Marcus grows as they work in the community with troubled youth. One girl, Lexi is very troubled. She is involved with gangs and her boyfriend is responsible for critically injuring a young child.

I liked this book. The characters and the story were well developed but I must say that I am a little disappointed that we will have to wait until the next book in this series to find out what happens with some of the characters. This is the reason for the four stars instead of five. At the end of this book Mary Catherine was headed to Africa for six months against the advice of her doctors. The relationship between Marcus and Mary Catherine was left hanging. What will become of them? Also, will Lexi be scared straight and stay out of trouble? Will she give her life to Christ? All of these questions were unanswered in this book. I am just hoping that the time will not be long before the next book is released.

Thanks to Netgalley and Howard books for allowing me to read and review this book. Chasing Sunsets is due for a publication date of April 7, 2015.

The Amish Clockmaker by Mindy Starns Clark and Susan Meissner

The Amish Clockmaker is book 3 in the Men of Lancaster series and is the one of the series that I think it the best.  It is the story of two different Amish men. The first story is told in first person during the present time and is the story of Matthew Zook. He wants to expand the business that his grandfather started about 60 years ago. His grandfather had purchased land that was formerly owned by Claburn Raber, an Amish clockmaker who was accused of murdering his wife. He was innocent but his family and the community never believed his story that his wife was mentally ill. He was ex-communicated and left town never returning to Lancaster. It is important that Matthew locate Claburn Raber since there is a problem with the deed of one acre. A resort wants to acquire that one acre.  The second part deals with Claburn Raber. He marries the troubled Marian Beiler.  He loves her even though she does not return his love. Of course we learn in the first part that Marian dies and Claburn leaves town. I felt bad that most of Claburn's family dies believing that he a murderer. 
I felt the storyline and characters were well developed. It kept me turning the pages to determine the outcome. I don't want to give too much of the story away to spoil it for the reader. You won't regret reading this one. It is better written than most Amish fiction.

I received this ebook compliments of Netgalley and Harvest House publishers.

The Promise of Palm Grove by Shelley Shepard Gray

The Promise of Palm Grove is the first of the Brides of Pinecraft series. Pinecraft is on the west coast of Florida near Sarasota and is a choice vacation spot for Amish and Mennonites. This is a sweet story about, Leona Weaver,  a engaged girl who is having second thoughts about marrying her controlling boyfriend. She decides to take a vacation with a couple of her best friends. One of the friends is the fiance's sister and the other is her cousin. Even her fiance's sister thinks her brother is controlling. I felt her friends and family were very supportive of the decisions she made.  While in Florida she meets Zack who is everything she wants in a man.  He is kind to animals and looks after his handicapped sister.  She has a growing affection for Zack but can she make the decision to break up with Edmund?  There is a secondary story in the book which will be continued in the series. This story revolves around Beverly, the owner of the Bread and Breakfast inn that she inherited.

This is a quick read and I look forward to reading The Proposal at Siesta Key which is due to be released in May and A Wedding at Orange Blossom Inn which will be released in September. 

Deception at Sable Hill by Shelley Gray

Deception on Sable Hill is book two in the Chicago World's Fair Mystery. We meet Eloisa Corstairs in the previous book where she was violated by Douglas Sloan. It is not necessary to read the previous book as the events that happened to Eloisa are summarized in the beginning of this book. She keep all this pain to herself. She felt she was ruined. I felt bad for the character that she was not able to share this pain with her mother. Her mother only seemed to care about Eloisa marrying the right person, a person of her same station in life, a person with as much prestige and wealth as the Corstairs. Her mother never caught on that her daughter has suffered greatly at the hands of Douglas. Even the servants sensed that she had gone through great pain. I particularly liked her personal maid Juliette who was more like a personal friend than a maid. I am hoping that her life will be explored should there be a third book in this series.

There was a police detective who knew what happened to Eloisa and he helped her overcome many of her fears. They grew to care a great deal for each other but can they overcome the social obstacles? Sean Ryan was from a poor Irish family with no money. Could he possibly have a future with the beautiful Eloisa Corstairs?

The mystery in the novel was the Slasher who seemed to be targeting young women of wealth and prestige. I felt that this storyline was not developed enough to hold avid readers of mystery and suspense. The slasher was revealed at the end of the book and was not the person that I suspected.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for providing me an e-copy of this book to review. This book is due to be released on April 7, 2015.

Deadly Echoes by Nancy Mehl

If I could give this book ten stars I would but I can only give five. I knew from the get go it would be packed full of suspense. You can just about always count on a book by Nancy Mehl to be. She is that talented in writing suspense.

Deadly Echoes  is book 2 in the Finding Sanctuary series. Sarah Miller grew up as an orphan most of her life. Both of her parents were murdered when she was but 6 years old. Both her and her sister's lives were spared because they hid in a closet while the parents were being murdered. Her sister was the prettier one and was adopted but Sarah was never adopted. She bounced from foster home to foster home but she eventually did find peace in a little town called Sanctuary. Eventually she was re-united with her sister but then tragedy struck and Sarah was left with the care of her ten-year old niece, Cecily.

Sarah wants to find out what happened to her parents and her sister Hannah. She thinks the two are related but has no proof. She starts asking questions but she may be talking to the wrong people stirring things up putting herself and her niece in danger. Who can she trust? Is she trusting the wrong people?

One thing that I like about the book was that I could never figure out who responsible for all these murders. I did not know until nearly the end. I like an author who writes where I cannot figure out who it is. So many of the authors that I read I can usually figure it out. Not with Nancy Mehl. There were twists and turns all along the way. I can't wait until the next book in the series is released.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House Publishers for providing me an ebook of Deadly Echoes to review. This book is due to be released January 27, 2015.

Murder Served Simply by Isabella Alan (aka Amanda Flower)

This is a book three in Isalabella Allan's (aka Amanda Flower) Quilt Shop Mystery Series. It's a nice little cozy to read by the fire or in the summertime on the beach. It's the holiday season and Angie's parents are visiting her from Texas. They have brought with them an unwelcome guest who is Angie's ex boyfriend who broke her heart after courting her for seven years. He had realized his mistake and hopes to win her back despite the fact that Angie has moved on and is perfectly happy in her new quaint little town. There is a murder involved in this story. Of course, it's a cozy mystery as always Angie feels compelled to get involved to investigate on her own despite objects from the handsome law enforcer to get involved. As always she does not heed his advice and solves the mystery on her own. I thought the storyline was good but the person who did the killing and the motive was a bit lame.

I'm looking forward to reading the next story in the series which is "Murder, Plainly Read".

Die Again by Tess Gerritsen

The story starts six years earlier when a group of people are on a safari in Africa. The group consists of people of all ages from various parts of the continents. The jungle is full of dangerous animals that could kill their prey in a matter of seconds but the most dangerous animal could be the two-legged variety. One by one the people are killed off in a most gruesome manner. One person manages to escape and survives against all odds living in the jungle for two weeks.

Fast forward six years with Maura and Jane investigating a murder and then another. It takes a while for them to connect what happened in Africa six years ago to the present time.

I started this book on New Years Eve. I stayed up to 11:59 finishing this book. It had that much suspense! I love Tess Gerriten's characters Maura Isles and Jane Rizzio. The characters have so much depth to them then what you see in the tv series. The only criticism I would have would be the occasional expletives in the book but it is not too bad.  I cannot wait until the next Rizzoli & Isles book is released which will be at least another year.