Whispers of the Past by Lena Roach

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


We first meet Tessa as she finishes up the last day in her antique shop that has been in the family for over a 100 years. She and her family are nearly bankrupt but are trying to pay off creditors who are hounding their back. Her reputation as an authority as an antique's expert is in danger due to her uncle mishandling the business due to his gambling habits and other shady dealings. She may have lost her business and damage to her reputation but her faith in God remains steadfast. On her last day she meets Brian, a wealthy business looking for a rare chair. He eventually hires her to restore the family mansion after a fire destroyed may of it's valuable antiques. Brian is bitter against God and Christians after suffering a tragedy in his life.

This story kept me turning the pages. There are a couple of people in this story who do not want Tess to restore the mansion. She had to battle many obstacles in accomplishing her goal in restoring the mansion. She finds herself growing closer to Brian but she has suffered a bad relationship in the past and besides she and Brian do not agree on matters of the Lord.

I enjoyed reading this book. It was a free download. I went on Amazon looking for other works by her but this must be her first. This book was just released April 2016 of this year. I hope the author writes more stories that take place in Louisiana. I would not mind re-visiting these characters in a sequel. How about a story around her best friend Adrienne?




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The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck

If you read "The Wedding Dress" and "The Wedding Chapel" you will definitely love "The Wedding Shop". It is not really necessary to read the previous two books as this book can stand alone but I think you would really enjoy this book more if you read "The Wedding Dress" as Charlotte in that book has a significant role in "The Wedding Shop" toward the end of the book. I won't tell you what since I don't want to spoil the book for you the reader.

This book has a dual timeline. Both stories take place in Hearts Bend Tennessee. The first one is Cora Scott who has inherited her aunt's wedding shop. Cora is a sweet girl who knows the business and cares about her customers. Her one fault is that she pines for a good for nothing riverboat captain. Everyone in the town can see that he is a scoundrel but she is oblivious. She is starry-eyed and in love. I had to keep turning pages to find out how her story ended. Did she have the happy every ending?

The second timeline and the modern one was Haley. She returns to Heart's Bend after being in the military and really doesn't know what she wants to do. Her best friend from Heart's Bend had died a few months earlier. She finds out the old wedding shop is vacant and wants to restore it in memory of her best friend who had died. Her best friend's fiance turns up but can she start a relationship with her best friend's fiance? Her best friend is deceased so the fiance is free but she finds it difficult. Also she had secrets from her past that she must deal with before she can find love.

There were many questions running through my mind as I was reading this book. I was wondering how the stories would connect. Keep reading. You'll find the connection in the end. Many twists and turns in this book made it quite interesting.

Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for providing me a digital ARC of this book to read and review. This book is due to be released on August 16, 2016

Without Warning by Lynnette Eason

When I pick up a Lynette Eason book I know I am in for constant action and for the heroes and heroines to be in constant danger. I was not disappointed in the second in the series of the Elite Guardians. This book features Katie Singleton, one of the partners of the Elite Guardians. Her assignment is Daniel Matthews. Someone is out to harm Daniel, his business and his niece Riley. I loved the character of Riley. She showed so much maturity for a girl her age. I like the relationship of Katie and Daniel better in this book than the relationship in the previous book. It seem to be better developed.

About 80 percent into the book you learn who the culprit is and his motives. What keeps you guessing is who is aiding the culprit. I had to keep turning pages to find out! I'm looking forward to the next book in the series which will feature Maddy and Quinn. Maddie was the one who was attacked in the first book and almost died. That book will be released early in 2017.

Thanks to Netgalley and Revell books for providing me a digital copy of this book to review. This book is due to be released on August 2, 2016

Saving the Marquise's Granddaughter by Carrie Fancett Pagels

I loved reading about the Hugenots and what they went through in this book.  The year is 1742 and the Hugenots in France are suffering persecution. The Hugenots were a protestant group in France and were persecuted by the Catholic majority. Suzanne’s family suffered persecution and even though Suzanne did not share her parent’s faith her life was in danger.  Loved the character of Johan and how he was committed to protecting her and seeing her to safety. Loved seeing how Suzanne came into her own faith. Lots of adventure in this book.  I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes historical romance.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pelican Book Group for providing me a digital copy of this book to review.

Bridge to Haven by Varina Denman

We first meet Lynda Turner in book 3 of the Mended Hearts series. This story focuses on Lynda and Clyde Felten. I loved the character of Clyde when he was first introduced in the second book. Clyde got introduced to Christ while in prison serving a sentence for statuary rape. Clyde lived his Christian faith but he was human and sometimes let the evil Neil Blaylock stir him to anger. I felt it harder to like Lynda. Didn't really like her in the first two books. She was burned by the church and was very bitter against the church who believed the worst of her. She was unwilling to forgive the people who hurt her. Still bitter against God in the third book but Clyde had a wonderful influence on her and bitterness slowly melted away.

There was a mystery in the book that kept me turning pages. At the beginning of the book some bones were found. I had my theory as to who the bones belonged too and I kept reading wanting to know if my theory was right.

A lot of the reviewers are saying that you don't have to read the previous books to understand what is going on but I highly recommend that you do read the previous novels. Reading the previous novels were give you a better understanding of the characters and a better grip on the background of characters. This is particularly true of the character Neil Blaylock who plays an important role in all three of the books.

Thanks to Netgalley David Cook publishing for providing me a digital copy of this book to review. This book was released on June 1,2016. I plan on reading future works this author may produce.

My Sister's Prayer by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould

My Sister's Prayer is second in the Cousins of the Dove series by Mindy Starns Clark and Leslie Gould. Like the first book in the series this book has the dual timeline storyline, one current and one historical. The historical one is the next generation of Talbots and the first of the Talbots to come to the United States.  They are two Talbot sister, Celeste Talbot and her younger sister Berta. Against her parent's wishes Celeste falls in love with Jonathon. She defies her parents and runs off and boards a ship indenturing herself in exchange for passage. Jonathon is supposed to redeem her once she reaches the new world. While on the ship she realizes her sister is also on the ship and supposedly kidnapped against her will. Berta did not fare well on the ship. At one point they thought she would not make it.  Celeste did everything she could to take care of Berta. Things to not go as planned in the new world and the sisters face many hardships.  well on the trip across. She fell ill and  I will not go into details as I do not want to spoil this excellent story but I can tell you that the historical one keep me reading. I wanted to know if both survived the terrible ordeal they had to go through. There are many twists and turns in the historical one.

The modern one picks up where the first one left off. There is still the mystery of what the four girls witnessed almost 20 years ago. In this story more pieces of the puzzle are put into place but the mystery is still not solved. I'm looking forward to reading the last book in the series to find out what happened.  This story also includes two sisters who were two of the four girls. Madeline Talbot had taken on the task of looking after her sister Nicole who is recovering from a serious car accident. She also needs to make sure that Nicole stays in recovery from her addiction to drugs. This part of the story kept me reading. I wanted to find out if Nicole would stay off the drugs.  Also, there is a good looking doctor that Maddie is interested in. I wanted to keep reading to see how that would pan out.

In both stories there were two sisters and one sister taking care of the other. In both stories there was the sister who was deceitful but there was the bond that existed between the sisters in both stories.

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 September 1, 2016. I look forward to reading the third novel in the series.

A Daughter's Dream by Shelley Shepard Gray

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I must admit that I usually don't read Amish fiction very much but I do enjoy and have read every Amish fiction book that Shelly Shepard Gray has written. I love the way she writes her characters. This book is the second in The Charmed Amish Life series. This book focuses on Rebecca Kinsinger. Rebecca has always wanted to be a teacher so given an opportunity to sub for a close friend she does. Problem is that she is not very good at it and doesn't even enjoy it all that much. While subbing she meets Lily Yoder and Lily's uncle Jacob. She becomes friends with Jacob and he is pretty much in the same boat as her. He recently moved to Charm to help his grandparents raise the orphaned Lily. He is farming with his parents but he is not good at farming nor does he enjoy it either.

There are a couple of other side stories that was started in this book that I am looking forward to seeing completed in the next book like what happened to Levi Kinsinger? Why did he leave and will he return in the last book? Will the Kinsinger siblings Rebecca and Luke allow Simon to court their sister Amelia. The answers to these questions will be answered in the next book due to be released int he Fall 2016.




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