The Angel of Forest Hill by Cindy Woodsmall
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Angel of Forest Hill was a sweet little Christmas novel. Rose is from a large family, the only girl of 12 children. Her mother was unloving and demanded a lot from her. She was sent to a neighboring community in West Virginia to help out a family where the mother had just given birth. When she gets there she finds that the women died in childbirth. She quickly agrees to enter into a marriage of convenience with Joel, the grieving husband for the sake of the children. She quickly becomes mama to his three kids. Will he ever love her the way he loved his deceased wife.

I loved how Rose took over the raising of his kids without complaint. I loved how she loved them like her own. I loved the friendship she had with Elise, a veterinarian. Elise was a shoulder to cry on and gave her good advice.

I can't say that there was anything I disliked about this novel except that I wish it could have been longer. I would say the author did a good job developing the story in a 200 page novel.


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If I'm Found by Terri Blackstock

If I'm Found is the second book in the If I Run series. Casey Cox is still on the run and dirty cops Keegan and Rollins are still in pursuit of her. If they find her she will be instantly dead. She knows too much. If you are expecting the story to resolved in this book you will be disappointed. It will not be resolved until the next book comes out. If you are hoping for a suspense-filled story you will not be disappointed! This book was even better than the last. Casey is still the same person who will go out of the way to help someone in need. She risks her freedom to help people.

I love it that the relationship between Casey and Dylan grew in this story but Casey discovered the most important relationship of all, a relationship with the Lord!

As I stated before the story is not resolved. The dirty cops are still after her and she will have to continue to run but more evidence was collected in this story and hopefully we will see the end in the next book. I am already looking forward to reading the next one. I just know it will be even better.

If I'm Found will be published on March 21, 2017. Thanks to Netgalley and Zondervan for providing me a digital copy to read and review.

My rating:  5 stars

An Amish Family Christmas by Shelley Shepard Gray
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

An Amish Family Christmas is the last book in The Charmed Amish Life. I think this one may have been my favorite of the four. This one focuses on Levi Kingsinger. He was the brother who escaped to Pinecraft Florida after the tragic fire that claimed the life of his father. He's back in Charm and living in a rundown neighborhood on Juniper Street. He meets Julia, a woman with a young child who has secrets. We learn in the first chapter that Julia is an unwed mother who has escaped an abusive fiance. I liked this part of the story that it portrays the Amish as real people who make mistakes and has the same problems as non Amish.

Another thing I enjoyed about this story is the back story around Tess. Tess is Simon's sister who we met in the previous book. Simon and Tess continue to reconnect in this book. Tess leaves her job and sets up a refuge in Charm for abused women and children. I love it that in this book Tess even found love. Enough on that. You will have to read to find out.

Overall, I was satisfied with this series and the ending. I'm looking forward to reading Shelley's next series which is the Amish of Hart County. There is a preview ate the end of this book and it looks like there will be a stalker in the next book!




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A Baxter Family Christmas by Karen Kingsbury

When I saw that there was a new Baxter novel coming out for the Christmas season 2016 I thought people were going to have to read the previous 24 novels she wrote about the Baxter/ Flanigan family to know what was going on. Guess what? You don't have too. Before the story even begins there is a two page summary of what has happened to each of the family members followed by a family tree. You could read and enjoy this book without even reading the previous 24 books which really should be read in order but not this one. 

To be honest I did not like Karen Kingsbury killing off one of the daughters and most of her immediate family in the last novel which was "Coming Home". I told myself I was not going to read another Baxter family novel again but I changed my mind and I'm glad I did. The aftermaths of that tragedy is handled by nicely in this book. It has been two years now and the family still has pain. Some of the family members are not handling too well when John Baxter, the patriarch of the Baxters wants to invite the recipient of Erin's heart to the Christmas Eve gathering. He has a couple of good reasons to invite her but I won't spoil it by revealing. You will have to read for yourself. There was also a sideline story that I also enjoyed and involved Brooke Baxter West's daughter Maddie. It has been 13 years since her sister nearly died from drowning in a pool and she feels responsible. She meets a Flanigan boy but does not feel worthy of a relationship with a boy. I think I enjoyed Maddie's story best.

Thanks to Howard Books and Netgalley for providing me an Ebook to review. A Baxter Family Christmas is due to be released October 25, 2016 and is surely going to be a bestseller!

Two by Two by Nicholas Sparks

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Not one of Spark's best books

Please don't judge the rest of the books Nicholas Sparks has written by this one. Much of the book is depressing. I loved the relationship the main character had with his daughter and the relationship he had with his sister. Up until his daughter was six his wife Vivian was a stay-at-home mom. Then she decides to go to work and then proceeds to treat Russ like crap. She was a self-centered shoppaholic woman. Russ was left with the child while she worked on her career. Nothing he did was good enough for her. She was critical of everything she did. Despite she did to him he wanted the marriage to work. She worked in PR for a billionaire. It was not a shocker when it was later revealed that she was having an affair with the billionaire. There were other things in the book that will move the reader to tears but I've said enough already so I won't reveal. Another thing that bothered me about the book was the characters had a low opinion of God and the church. I do appreciate the language was mainly clean. Not many sexual situations either but they did exist.

I have read reviews that many people have regretted spending money on this book. I'm happy that I did not. I was able to read a download from Overdrive.




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Taylor Lynne by Jennifer Peel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Taylor Lynne is book 2 in The Women of Merryton series. I had read the first book but I think I enjoyed this one better. I enjoyed re-visitng all the women of Merryton especially Jessie Belle. It was great to get caught up with what was happening in their lives. And that Cheyenne is a hoot. She kept me laughing. I hope Cheyenne finds love and gets her own story.

Taylor and Easton had once been married and had a daughter together. Taylor had left Merryton because she thought he was having an affair with his nurse. He loves her but does not fight the divorce and makes a mistake in marrying the woman he was having an emotional affair with later divorcing the second one years later but not before producing a child in the second marriage. Taylor moves back to town to that her daughter can get to know her father better. The second wife was a horrible person and stood in the way of Easton having a relationship with his daughter or even members of his family.

I loved the relationship between the two half-sisters. It was so natural and loving. Taylor's daughter was so sweet and mature. The younger daughter had emotional baggage having been damaged by biological mother who did not really love her. I love how Taylor loved Eaton's other child and treated her with kindness and love even though the child was the offspring of the woman who broke up her marriage.

I loved it that Easton realized the errors of his ways in not treating his wife the way he should have when they were first married. I love it that he pursued her but I also loved it that she did not give in easily.

Themes in this book were forgiveness. Taylor had to forgive her abusive father, her ex-husband Easton and finally herself. This was not easy for her to do. Forgiveness is not easy but it is healing.





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Fatal Frost by Nancy Mehl

I've been reading Nancy Mehl's Mennonite romantic suspense novels for years. She wrote three romantic suspense series centered around the Mennonite communities and I've read every last one. Well, with this novel she takes a different path. No Mennonite in site in her Defenders of Justice series. I started this book and I could not put it down. This book is very similar the the writings of Lynette Eason or Robin Carroll.  The characters are well-developed and the plots moves quickly. You think the characters are out of danger but don't breathe. Don't take your eyes off the page because they are very quickly in danger again. You will not regret reading this suspense driven book! You will probably stay up late reading. I'm already looking forward to reading Dark Deception which will be released sometime in May 2017.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me an e-copy of this book to review. This book is due to be released November 1, 2017.