More Than Making It by Erin Odom

I have been following Erin Odom's blog the Humbled Homemaker on for a couple of years. She really is humble. I would love to know her in real life. I was thrilled to be able to read the ARC copy of her new book, More Thank Making It. She shares the struggles financially she and her husband had as a young couple. By writing this book she outlines what they did wrong. Buying a house at the wrong time was one thing but she shared other things too. She shares so other people won't make the same mistakes she and her husband made. She always shares some money saving tips that I already knew but I think it would be beneficial for younger people who don't know this stuff yet. She admits to being on financial assistance and was embarrassed by it. She felt she was judged by people. This got me to thinking about my attitude when I see someone pull out food stamps. I'll try not to be so judgemental of people in the future. 

I loved reading how she and her husband were able to finally get off the government assistance by hard work. I'm happy for her that her blog has been successful and has been instrumental in them getting off government assistance.

Blind Spot by Dani Pettrey

Third in the Chesapeake Valor series, Blind Spot has two story lines going on. One is a murder at a retreat center. One person is found dead and two are missing and presumed dead. I pretty much was able to figure out who the murderer was in this story line although I did not know the reason.

In this book we are introduced to a new character who is described as a blend of Jack Reacher and Jason Bourne. He will play a pivotal part in this book.

The other story line involved terrorist which is a continuing story line from the previous books. Decker Grey and Tanner are heavily involved in this story. They were introduced in the previous books but we get to know them better in this one. Sometimes this story line was confusing due to the different characters but the story kept me engaged. Decker and Tanner's lives were in danger several times and I kept wondering how they would escape with their lives intact. Some situations were very intense and they escaped with the skin of their teeth. Just when you thought you could breath with one terrorist problem solved another one crept up but you were left with a clifthanger that will not be solved until the next book. I can't wait. 

Blind Spot's release date is October 3. Thanks to Netgalley and Bethany House for providing me a digital copy of this book to read and review.

Vanishing Point by Lisa Harris
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Vanishing Point is book 4 in the Nikki Boyd Files series but she is a secondary character is this book. She does not even appear until after the first 200 pages and not very often then. The main characters are FBI Jordan Lambert and Detective Garrett Addison and their main focus is to find the serial killer who identifies himself as the Angel Abductor and is responsible for the murder of several teen girls. The evidence points that he is responsible for the disappearance of Nikki Boyd's sister Sarah but unlike the other girls Sarah's body has never been found. Jordan and Garrett have a history together but they never came get together. Careers and distances keep them apart too many years. They must work together to solve the mystery of the serial killer before he strikes again. There were some twists that I did not see coming.

We find out what happened to Nikki's sister in this book. Is she found alive or did she suffer the fate of the girls who were murdered? You will have to read this keep you up all night book to find out. This could possibly be the last book in the series since several things were wrapped up in addition to the mystery of what happened to Sarah Boyd. I have enjoyed this series and hope that the author writes more romantic suspense books sooner than later.

Vanishing Point is due to be released on November 7, 2017. Thanks to Baker Publishing and the Early Reviewer program at LibraryThing for providing me an ARC to read and review.


View all my reviews

Assaulted Caramel by Amanda Flower
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bailey King gets a call from her Amish grandmother that her grandfather is seriously ill. Bailey at the time is living and working in New York City as a chocolatier. She is up for the position as a head chocolatier but goes to Ohio anyway to see to her grandfather who she got her love of chocolates from. Her grandparents own and operate a candy shop in Ohio. While she is there a businessman who is trying to buy up all the Amish businesses on the block where her grandparents operate is murdered inside their candy shop. He is stabbed with a candy knife. Her grandparents had been the last holdout into this shady man's dealing. They refused to sell out. The Amish shops on both sides of the candy shop at sold out. Bailey tries to investigate but there is tight lips among the Amish community. What are they hiding and who are they trying to protect? I did not know who the killer was until it was revealed to the main character and I was shocked. I love a story where I am not able to guess who the murderer was.

There were moments in this book that kept me laughing such as the pet pig who has free reign inside a church. Also Bailey's best friend Cass who came down from New York to fetch her was a hoot. You never knew what was going to come out of her mouth.

Assaulted Caramel is the first in the Amish Candy Shop mysteries. I look forward to reading Lethal Licorice which is will be released in the Spring of 2018.



View all my reviews

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.