Forever After by Deborah Raney

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Publication Date: June 14, 2011
Series: A Hanover Falls Novel (can be read alone)
Genre: Christan Romance
Reviewed For: Glass House
My Rating:




Book Blurb: A fire killed his best friend and his lifelong dream of being a firefighter. The same fire killed her husband and hopes for a family. Can new dreams replace old?

Lucas Vermontez was a proud firefighter like his father. Now, not only has he lost his father and his best friend, Zach, in the fire at the Grove Street homeless shelter, but the devoted rookie can no longer do the work he loves after being crippled in the tragic event. When friendship with his buddy’s beautiful widow turns into more, he wonders, what could he possibly offer Jenna? Jenna Morgan is trying to grieve her husband’s death like a proper widow, but the truth is, she never really loved Zach. His death feels more like a relief to her. But that relief is short-lived when she loses her home and the financial support of her in-laws. Now the secrets of her past threaten to destroy her future.

Can the two forget the painful past and discover new reasons to live and love?

My Thoughts: This was a very heartwarming story, that was impossible to put down. I had to know what was going to happen to Zach and to Jenna.  Each of them was going through so much in their lives as they hit the one year mark where Lucas lost his father and partner in a fire, and Jenna lost her husband, whom was Lucas's partner. Lucas is left not able to work as a firefighter and may never be able too.  When seeing Jenna again, he wants her, but knows how wrong this is. However somehow the two lives keep interweaving and a friendship builds. One they each want more of, but Jenna is hesitant. Jenna is learning who she is. Her in-laws are rich and controlling and she has to learn to break free from them and stand up for herself.

This book is remarkable. We see each character change and grow. These two come together in the end and as a reader it just warms you hears. Your happy and excited to see these two get their happy ending. I did not read book 1 in this series called Almost Forever. I am sure it is the background story to this book, however not positive. When I was contacted to review this, I was told I was able to review this one as a standalone and they were correct. 

I recommend this book to anyone who likes christan romance and a good clean heartfelt romance. No hanky panky in this book, only a little kissing. I think you will enjoy it as much as I did though!

 

Catching Moondrops by Jennifer Erin Valent

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Publication Date: October 1, 2010
Genre: Christen Romance/ General Fiction
Series: Book 3
Reviewed for: Tyndale House Publishers
My Rating:



Book Blurb: Jessilyn Lassiter no longer has to convince people she’s not a child. Having just turned 19 in the summer of 1938, her love for Luke Talley has never been more real. And Luke is finally beginning to care for her in the way she’s always dreamed of. But their budding romance is interrupted when Tal Pritchett—a young, black doctor—comes to Calloway, stealing the heart of Jessilyn’s best friend, Gemma, and stirring up the racial prejudice that has been simmering just beneath the town’s surface. The tension starts to bubble over when Jessie’s elderly neighbor Miss Cleta becomes the first white townsperson to accept Tal’s treatment. And when a young black man is lynched, Calloway is brought to its knees once again as Jessilyn realizes that her anger can make her heart as full of hate as the klan members who have terrorized her town and her family.

My Thoughts: This is a book to get swept away in. Jessilyn is a character that appeals to the reader. When I received this book for review, I didn't realize that it was the third in the series. You will want to look for the first two books before reading this so you have a little more background to this story. You can however pick out the pieces and still enjoy the book if you decide to read this story alone.

This book touches a on a lot of subjects. Some may be harder for some readers to read as there is a lot of racial issues in this book. Putting that aside, this is a story you can fall in love with. The author really plays your emotions and knows what string to pull on your heart. I would recommend reading the first two however  Fireflies in December, and Cottonwood Whispers.


I recommend this book to anyone who loves taking a trip back in history. This book is set in the 1930's and really captures what people were going through at this time. This book does have a romance in it, so if your one of those who loves reading about two people falling in love, this book is also a great choice for you.


 

The Pirate Queen by Patricia Hickman

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Publication Date: August 10, 2010
Genre: Christen Romance
Read For: Blogging For Books
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My Rating:


Book Blurb: The envy of all her friends, wife and mother Saphora Warren is the model of southern gentility and accomplishment. She lives in a beautiful Lake Norman home, and has raised three capable adult children. Her husband is a successful plastic surgeon—and a philanderer. It is for that reason that, after hosting a garden party for Southern Living magazine, Saphora packs her bags to escape the trappings of the picturesque-but-vacant life. 

Saphora’s departure is interrupted by her husband Bender’s early arrival home, and his words that change her life forever: I’m dying.
 Against her desires, Saphora agrees to take care of Bender as he fights his illness. They relocate, at his insistence, to their coastal home in Oriental—the same house she had chosen for her private getaway. When her idyllic retreat is overrun by her grown children, grandchildren, townspeople, relatives, and a precocious neighbor child, Saphora’s escape to paradise is anything but the life she had imagined. As she gropes for evidence of God's presence amid the turmoil, can she discover that the richest treasures come in surprising packages?

My Thoughts: This was an amazing story. When I first sat down with this book, I figured this was going to be a chick-lit type of book. Instead I was taken on an emotional roller coaster. Within the first two chapters, you know that this book is going to end sadly. Saphora's husband whom she was going to leave, finds out he has a brain tumor and its terminal. So they head to their home in Oriental for him to be there as he goes through treatment. As a reader, you know how this is going to end and that you will need Kleenex's. However, the author throws in another character for the reader to fall in love with, a little boy named Tobias.  This little boy was born with AIDS and Saphora and her family love this boy and try hard to help him and his family learn to stand there grounds against others who just don't understand.  Even with the tears and heartache in this book, you still end this book with a happy ending. Something you just didn't see coming at the beginning. As I stated, this is an amazing story. I loved it and when it came time to rate it, there was no other rating then 5 stars.

I recommend this book to almost any reader. Sometimes you just need a book to sit down and read that isn't full of killers, or two people falling in love, you just need a story.

 

A Billion Reasons Why by Kristin Billerbeck

Publication Date: February 1, 2011
Genre; Chick-lit/ Christian Romance
Format I Read: Paperback
My Rating:


Book blurb: He's a handsome billionaire. She's not impressed. 
Katie McKenna has never loved any man but one; billionaire Luc DeForges. He was her first love. But there are a billion reasons why she's engaged instead to Dexter Hastings, a solid and stable man who wants the same things she does; marriage and a family but all of the things that she wants without the deep-seeded pain and fear of being abandoned that Luc brings. 
Dexter and she have worked an arrangement that's akin to faith without action, love without deeds -- a dead faith. Going home to New Orleans to sing for her childhood friend's wedding, Katie must search her heart to find out if any of her reasons for being with Dexter are stronger than love. Only when Katie steps fully into faith and jumps off the cliff of life into the arms of Luc does she understand the fullness of God's grace.


My Thoughts: I love Kristen Billerbeck. I read her Ashley Series almost a year ago now and fell in love with this authors writing. So, when I was on Booksneeze.com and they were offering this book for review, I jumped on it. I was so excited when it came in the mail. This book did not leave me disappointed in anyway. I was glad though, with this being chick-lit that it didn't have the same kinda whiny character, if you know what I mean. Katie was well down to earth, she grew a ton in this book. She was always confidant in herself and that helped me enjoy this book. Katie is engaged to Dexter and her love from eight years ago, Luc returns. He's charming, good looking, rich,  but has the reputation of a playboy. Oh and he broke Katie's heart eight years ago when she proposed to him in front of the whole town and he turned her down. Dexter is dependable, passionless, predictable and seems perfect for marriage! Which way will Katie's heart lead her?

You will love this book. This is a good clean read that will leave your heart warmed. It is catching and you will put this book down, only to want to make time to pick it up again. The cover itself is adorable and your going to love having it sitting out just so you can look at it and others can see it. Check it out and head over to booksneeze.com and see what others have been saying about it.



**This book was provided to me by the publisher in return for an honest review.**

Two Tickets To The Christmas Ball

Publication Date: October 5, 2010
Pages: 246
Genre: Christian Romance
My Rating:


Summary: In a sleepy, snow-covered city, Cora Crowder is busy preparing for the holiday season. Searching for a perfect gift, a fortuitous trip to Warner, Werner, and Wizbotterdadrsquo;s (a most unusual bookshop) leads to an unexpected encounter with co-worker Simon Derrick. And the surprise discovery of a ticket for a truly one-of-a-kind Christmas Ball. Every year, the matchmaking booksellers of the Sage Street bookshop host an enchanting, old-fashioned Christmas Ball for the romantic matches theyrsquo;ve decided to bring together. This year, will Simon and Cora discover a perfect chemistry in their opposite personalities and shared faith? Or will the matchmakersrsquo; best laid plans end up ruining everything this holiday

My Thoughts: This was a well crafted and beautiful story. Your attention will be grabbed from the beginning. Cora and Derrick are two lost souls who are looking for love, even though they did not fully realize it. It took the work of wizards to help these two realize everything they had been looking for, had not been to far from them this whole time. The Christmas wizard ball is not a ball that many know about and as the story goes on, you learn that this ball happens every year in away for God to get two people. Derrick is the first to realize his feelings as he watches her with his sister Sandy, who readers will fall inlove with also. Cora wants to, but she is unsure of his feelings, since Derrick has always come across as slightly uptight. Reading as the two learn their love for one another is a lot of fun. Each come from very differant families. Derrick who has a well built and full of love christian family, and Cora has a family who are drugs addicts and are not christian.

If you pick up this book to add to your holiday reads, you won't be sorry. Instead you will get lost in a magical story with wizards, crazy ladies who own an antique dress shop, a street that only Derrick, Cora and Sandy can see, and a love story.


**This book was provided to me by the publishers in return for my honest review.**

Driftwood Lane by Denise Hunter

Publication Date: July 6, 2010
Pages: 325
Genre: Christian Romance
My Rating:


Book Summary: (Goodreads) Meridith can handle anything: guardianship of three distant siblings, a dilapidated Bed-and-Breakfast, even an ever-present handyman who's dismantling more than her fireplace--or can she?

When the death of Meridith's estranged father leaves her with custody of three siblings she's never met, she reluctantly goes to Nantucket to care for them--but only until their uncle returns from his trip. Little does she know, the uncle is already there under the guise of her friendly handyman, with plans of his own.

Will the love that grows between them be strong enough to overcome the secrets that brought them both to Driftwood Lane?

My Thoughts: When I first started this book, I thought "oh no, the classic woman left with kids after their parents die and  falls in love with man" book. However, you quickly learn that is not the case with this story. Meridith is a level headed 25 year old and sometimes she came across as much older then that. I often forgot  she was that young until it would be referenced. Meridith has never met her siblings, since her father left her and her mother years ago. In the beginning she wants to wait on the kids uncle, Uncle J to arrive so she can transfer guardianship of the children to him. However, Uncle J decides to pretend to be a handyman who Meridith has hired to fix up the house. The children are in on this. Meridith begins to have feelings for Jake. You spend the story waiting for her to figure out that this Jake is actually Uncle J. It leaves for an addictive story of wondering how she is going to find out. Are the kids going to slip up, will someone in town mention it, or will Jake come out and finally tell her?

This is a great romance and you will fall in love with the characters and Nantucket. I know I want to book a vacation there. It sounds like a special place. Being a christian romance, this is a very clean romance story.




***I received a copy of this book for review from Crazy Book Tours.***