In This Moment by Karen Kingsbury

In This Moment is part of the Baxter Family series. There are like 25 or 26 Baxter books before this but whose counting. You don't have to read all the previous books about the Baxter family to know what is going on. The author takes several pages in the beginning to give you a brief history of the Baxters and who is married to who. This book was not really about the Baxters although some of the Baxters were in it. The author's favorite Baxter Ashley was in it as she makes an appearance in all Baxter books but the main Baxter was Luke, the youngest of the five Baxter siblings. Luke is a lawyer who formerly was an entertainment lawyer. He is not a lawyer working for as a religious rights lawyer. He defends religious freedoms in schools and other public places. His fees are paid by donations people make to the organization where he is employed.

Enter Wendell Quinn, a high school principal who loves and is concerned about the students at his high school. Violence, failing grades and broken children prevail at his school. He is a godly man who is raising godly children alone. He wife had died a few years earlier. He has the full support of his family to start an after school Christian group for the kids in his school.

Be sure to have your hankerchiefs on hand. There are moments of heartache in this story that will bring tears in your eyes. There are moments of joy also such as a troubled girl coming to the faith. I loved seeing how she grew in her faith despite the turmoil she experienced in her home life. There is moments of danger in this book as one of the people principal Wendell is close to is being stalked.
Be on the lookout for a character from the Angels Walking series to make a cameo appearance.

I liked this book but the book would have been better without so much Baxters in it. I thought too many Baxters took away a little bit from this excellent story. It would have been enough with Luke Baxter in it. That is just my opinion. Some people just can't get enough of the Baxters. Also this book tended to get a little preachy if you know what I mean. I am not bothered by it since I am a devout Christian but some people who do not share my faith may be bothered by the frequency of it.

This book was an enjoyable read for me and I stayed up way too late to finish it. Thanks to Netgalley and Howard Books for providing me a digital copy of this book to read and review. In this Moment will be released on November 7, 2017.

The Engagement Plot by Krista Phillips

Those of you who enjoy tv programs such as the Bachelor and the Bachelorette will enjoy this story. In this story the program is called "The Price of Love". I'm not really a fan of programs where you watch people being slutty but when I read what this story was about I decided it would be an interesting read. Hanna is not your typical sexpot gal who goes on these shows. She is a devout Christian who wants to save herself for marriage. She is not one of these gals who is going to go into the fantasy suite and let the bachelor have his way with her knowing that he could possibly chose somebody else to marry. Because of the standards she has set she gets the nickname Holy Hanna. In the end the bachelor in this story choses her but that is just the beginning of the story. Really the beginning of the story is that they are already broken up because some off color remark that lead millions of people to believe that he and Hanna did the deed. Her reputation was ruined. She lost her job and her reputation was the fodder for tabloids. I loved it that she was concerned what this did to her Christian witness. I was really irritated with William, the hero of this story for destroying her like this. It was going to have to take a lot for me to start to like this character but in the end her won me over when I realized that he truly did love her. 

This book had its funny moments. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book. This book is due to be released on November 1, 2017.

Home of Her Heart by Shanna Hatfield

Home of Her Heart is second in the Hearts of the War series. I have not had the privilege of reading the first in the series but I plan on doing so. If you are familiar with the Pendleton Petticoat series of books this takes place in the same town but like 40 or more years later during World War II. Some of the same characters from that series make an appearance in this series. I think it is neat that you get to catch up with what they have done with their lives.

This is the story of Klayne Campbell and Delaney Danvers. They have an almost instant connection and fall quickly in love after only knowing each other a short time. They meet on New Years Eve and around the beginning of February they marry. Klayne wanted to marry so he could declare her as his beneficiary. I don't think he counted in falling madly in love with her so he did everything in his power to stay alive. 

This was an enjoyable read. Keep your hankerchiefs handy. There are some sad moments in the book. You will laugh and you will cry. There are moments of heartache and of joy.

I am looking forward to reading more in this series. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a digital copy of this book to read and review.

Justice Buried by Patricia Bradley

I have only recently started reading Patricia Bradley books and was hooked on her romantic suspense. I then sought out every book she has written starting out with reading all in the Logan Port series. A couple of weeks ago I finished book one in the Memphis Cold Case series. I was excited to see that Book 2, Justice Buried would soon be released and jumped on the opportunity to be an early reviewer. This book like all her previous books kept me up late at night wanting to finish the book. 

This book has some of the same characters as in the first book but this book could be read as a stand alone. If you read this book before you read the first book you would not be spoiled too much. There is nothing given away in this book that would take away the enjoyment of you reading this first book. Where the first book focused on Andi Holister this one adds a new character Kelsey Allen and Brad Hollister, Andi's brother is the leading man in this one.

Kelsey Allen is not afraid of heights. She repels up and down buildings testing their security. She also has a background in museum conservatory which comes in handy when she is hired by the Pink Palace Museum to test their security. As in any good romantic suspense novel there is a murder at the beginning of the book. There are many potential suspects and I had no clue until it was revealed to the heroine which was 90 percent into the book. I like a book that keeps me guessing and this one did the job. For me the story started off slow for me but it gained momentum the more I read.

I highly recommend this book if you like romantic suspense. Thanks to Netgalley and Revell Company for allowing me to read and review this book. Justice Buried is due to be released on September 5, 2017.

Hand Made: The Modern Woman's Guide to Made-from-Scratch Living by Melissa K. Norris

Hand Made is not just a book of recipes although it does have plenty of them. Melissa shares memories from her childhood. She gives tips on simplifying your life, cooking from scratch, soap making, herbal solutions, money saving tips, tips on making the holidays special and much more. Although she did not grow up during the depression she had loved ones who passed on their stories and tips to her. 

I had read her previous book The Made-from-Scratch Life and enjoyed it so I knew this book would be just as enjoyable. I follow her blog and listen to her podcast regularly. 

Thanks to Netgalley and Harvest House Publishers for allowing me to read and review a digital copy of this book. This book is due to be released on October 1, 2017 just in time to order and give as a Christmas gift to that special lady in your life.

I Know a Secret by Tess Gerritsen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I know when I decide to read a Tess Gerritsen book I won't be able to put it down and this one did not disappoint. This book kept me in suspense from the get go. As usual there is a murder, a gruesome one at that and not the only one. I thought I had it figured it halfway through the book but I was wrong. I then picked out another person I thought was it and was again proven wrong. Who it turned out to be took me totally by surprise.

In this book we saw the return of a couple of people from Maura's past who proved to be crucial in the solving of this crime. I can't wait until the next Rizzoli & Isles book is released. By the way the book series is totally different and way better than the TV series!


View all my reviews