Review: Castle on the Rise (Lost Castle #2) by Kristy Cambron

About the book:

A storied castle. A band of rebels. And a nation chasing the centuries-old dream of freedom . . . What legacy will they leave behind?

When Laine Forrester travels to France to attend her longtime friend's vineyard wedding, she expects to find a bride on the brink of a fairy-tale life. But after a series of unforeseen setbacks--a devastating diagnosis, a castle restoration put on hold, and the emergence of deep-seated family dynamics that threaten to derail the new couple's fledgling marriage--it seems the storybook life Laine had imagined for her friend--and once, for herself--is suddenly crumbling before her eyes.

With hopes of resurrecting a happy ending for one of them, Laine throws support behind her friend and agrees to accompany the couple to the groom's family home in Ireland, where the merging of a mysterious inheritance, long-buried wounds, and a fractured family set out to upend the trip from the start. It's in the unlikely corners of a historic Dublin pub, and across the wide-open moors bordering Ireland's majestic Wicklow Mountains, that Laine is slowly drawn in by the land and the people, sparking hope for something she never imagined possible: the courage to heal. But with secrets of her own--and a heart afraid to trust again--Laine must determine how much she's willing to risk in mending the broken places within herself, and whether she believes that even through the depths of our pain, a beautiful story can emerge.

Set in three time-periods--the revolutionary era of the late eighteenth century, Ireland's turbulent Easter week of the 1916 Rising, and present day--Castle on the Rise weaves a story of legacy, conviction, and redemption against the backdrop of Dublin's storied streets, and the stretch of Ireland's stunning emerald shores. It raises the question: given the choice between the fairy tale or a life of truly anchored faith--which legacy would you choose?

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Castle on the Rise is the second book in the Lost Castle series. I'm sad to say that I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book, The Lost Castle. I don't know if it was the book or just my reading mood, but I had a hard time following all three timelines. I also wasn't fond of a few things that happened in the book.

I did like the setting. It was nice to read a book about Ireland, even if the storyline wasn't a happy one at times.

All in all, I liked Castle on the Rise but didn't love it.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

Find the book on:
Amazon, Goodreads

This post may contain “affiliate links.” This means if you click on a link with my affiliate code and purchase an item(s), I will receive an affiliate commission. You won't be charged extra, I'll just receive a small percentage of the purchase price. See my disclosure page here.

Review: Texas Baby Pursuit (Lone Star Justice #4) by Margaret Daley

About the book:

On a kidnapper’s trail…

Lone Star Justice never fails

Minutes after his baby nephew is kidnapped, Texas Ranger Dallas Sanders traces the crime to a child trafficking ring hiding in plain sight. As he and local sheriff Rachel Young race to expose the sinister conspiracy, they’re determined to keep their relationship professional. But when Rachel’s infant daughter is also abducted, can she and Dallas rescue the children in time…and survive to have a future together?

My rating:
3 stars
(View my rating system)

My thoughts:

Texas Baby Pursuit was one of those stories that just breaks your heart. It starts out with the hero's daughter calling him that someone kidnapped the baby and you could just feel the shock and emotion in that call. As the story continued, you find out that there is a whole lot more to the story than just the kidnapping and there were several twists.

I didn't care for the romance that much. Mainly because it just felt a bit too rushed at times and I just didn't love it. The ending was intense and I liked how everything got wrapped up nicely.

All in all, Texas Baby Pursuit was a good read and I liked it.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention/review it on my blog. I was not required to give a positive review, only my honest opinion - which I've done. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own and I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.*

Find the book on:
Amazon, Goodreads

This post may contain “affiliate links.” This means if you click on a link with my affiliate code and purchase an item(s), I will receive an affiliate commission. You won't be charged extra, I'll just receive a small percentage of the purchase price. See my disclosure page here.

Review: Storm Front bySusan May Warren

About the book:

Life and love hang in the balance during a deadly summer of storms.

A tornado has destroyed a small Minnesota community, and among the missing are not only a group of students but also PEAK Rescue team leader Chet King. Ty Remington will stop at nothing to rescue his mentor, not even when the girl he loved--and lost--walks back into his life. But Brette needs his help more than he knows, despite her stubborn determination to push him away. And when he gets a second chance, loving her just might cost him more than he can imagine.

A blogger for Vortex Storm Chasers, Brette Arnold didn't expect her adventures to land her in the same place as Ty, the guy who she walked--no, ran--from over a year ago. She had her reasons--good ones. The kind that tell her that falling for him again would only lead to heartache. But Ty isn't the kind of man to give up--not on the missing students or on her.

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: Breaking the Fear Cycle: How to Find Peace for Your Anxious Heart by Maria Furlough

About the book:

Overcome fear for good

The Bible calls us to "fear not" on many occasions. But just how do we accomplish that when every news item seems designed to get us wringing our hands? Using her own story as a catalyst, Maria Furlough discusses how to overcome fear for good. With practicality and passion, she shows us the steps we can take to bring those fears to God rather than act on them and to trust God with the future.

When we give God full control over our lives, choosing his sovereignty over our own ability, we can break the cycle of fear, grow through suffering, and trust God to fulfill his promises of protection and peace. If you are filled with anxiety about your personal circumstances, the state of the world today, or even your fear-clogged social media feeds, you'll welcome this hands-on journey from fear to freedom.

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: The Draw of Kings by Patrick W. Carr

About the book:

Dark Forces Have Gathered and the Final Battle for Illustra Has Begun

Their journey to Merakh should have made Errol and his companions heroes of the realm. Instead, they've been branded enemies of the kingdom.

In the wake of the king's death, Duke Weir is ruling the country--and he intends to marry Adora to bring an heir from the royal line. With Errol and the others imprisoned and the identity of the rightful heir to the throne still hidden in secrecy, Illustra is on the verge of civil war--and threatened by hostile forces gathering on every side.

A dangerous mission to free Errol is attempted, but the dangers facing the kingdom mount with every passing moment. The barrier has fallen, ferrals are swarming toward the land, and their enemies draw ever closer. Will the discovery of the true heir turn back the tide of Illustra's destruction?

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: Rules of Murder (Drew Farthering Mystery #1) by Julianna Deering

About the book:

Introducing Drew Farthering

From the tip of his black Homburg hat to the crease in his cheviot trousers, he's the epitome of a stylish 1930s English gentleman. His only problem? The body he just discovered. Drew Farthering loves a good mystery, although he generally expects to find it in the pages of a novel, not on the grounds of his country estate. With the help of beautiful and whip-smart Madeline Parker, a guest from America, Drew proposes to use the lessons he's learned reading his mysteries to solve the crime. Before long, he realizes this is no lark, and no one at Farthering Place is who he or she appears to be -- not the blackmailer, not the adulterer, not the embezzler and not even Drew himself. Trying hard to remain one step ahead of the killer -- and trying harder to impress Madeline -- Drew must decide how far to take this dangerous game.

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: The Earth is Full by B.D. Riehl

I read this book back in 2014 and somehow missed posting my review here. I hope you find this "old" review helpful. :)

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About the book:

Suchin is a young Thai girl and a victim of human trafficking in the city of Pattaya, Thailand. She is trapped in a dark world of corruption and perversity with little hope of ever escaping her captivity.
Lydia is a pretty and privileged eighteen-year-old American girl, with a hard heart and a cynical attitude toward her life and others. She has kept her deepest secrets private, and is on a downward spiral of resistance and rebellion.
Charlotte is a middle class stay-at-home mom and housewife who is living the life she desires. However, she often finds herself consumed by her discontentment and overwhelmed by the mundane routine of her life and her feelings of inadequacy.

Three aching souls are brought together from across the globe as a result of an unexpected mission. Despite threats of corruption and potential violent retaliation, one organization risks everything to show God’s love to the most barren and bleak corners of the world and to prove that, despite the extreme oppression and injustice in the world, the Earth is full of God’s unfailing love. Will these women’s hearts be shrouded in darkness forever, or can God’s light, which cancels out all darkness, transform their lives as they become Children of Deliverance?

The Earth Is Full is a story of hope, rescue, and redemption that will touch your heart and soul.

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: The Rancher's Secret Child by Brenda Minton

About the book:

Can he cowboy up for fatherhood?
He had no room for love...until now.

After meeting the son he never knew he had, Marcus Palermo’s simple life turns upside down. Complicating things further is Lissa Hart, the boy’s lovely guardian. She’ll help him become a parent—but falling for a gruff cowboy is not in her plans. Will she realize her future lies in Bluebonnet Springs with the rugged rancher?

My rating:
3 stars

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My thoughts:

Review: Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig

About the book:

This Is the Way the World Ends. 

Four years after a tragic mission decimated his team, Cole "Tox" Russell has been disavowed by the United States. And that's fine--he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed, Tox is lured back into action.

Tox and his former Special Forces team regroup to work with FBI deception expert, Kasey Cortes, and fiery archaeologist, Tzivia Khalon, to search the globe for answers--and a cure. As the mission leads from one continent to another, it becomes clear they're not just fighting a plague but battling an ancient secret society whose true goals remain hidden.

With time running out and the threat for a global pandemic rising, Tox and his team realize their sole chance might be to reach back through centuries of silence to find the only answer that can save them all.

Link to the free prequel: http://amzn.to/2yFEPbJ

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: The Bridge by Karen Kingsbury

About the book:

Now a Hallmark Channel movie event, The Bridge, along with prequel The Beginning, is a heartwarming story of two couples who find love in a bookstore and experience the sort of miracle that can only happen at Christmastime.

#1 New York Times bestselling author Karen Kingsbury has written a modern-day classic with this unforgettable love story set against the struggle of the American bookstore. Molly Allen lives alone in Portland, but she left her heart back in Tennessee when she walked away from Ryan five years ago. They had a rare sort of love she hasn’t found since.

Ryan Kelly lives in Nashville after a broken engagement and several years on the road touring with a country music duo. Sometimes when he’s lonely, he visits The Bridge—the oldest bookstore in historic downtown Franklin—and remembers the hours he and Molly once spent there.

For over four decades, Charlie and Donna Barton have run The Bridge, providing customers with coffee, conversation, and shelves of classics—even through dismal sales and the rise of digital books. Then the hundred-year flood sweeps through Franklin and destroys everything. The bank is about to pull the store’s lease when tragedy strikes. Can two generations of readers rally together to save The Bridge? And is it possible that an unforgettable love might lead to the miracle of a second chance?

My rating:
3 stars
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My thoughts:

Review: Distant Contact by D.I. Telbat

About the book:

In DISTANT CONTACT, Book One in The COIL Legacy Series by D.I. Telbat, we find that a distant shadow hovers over the Caspertein family. Greed and Muslim extremism threaten to erase America's beloved family as killers rise to avenge an accidental death.

There may be no hope for family reconciliation before it's too late. Wynter Caspertein is a primary target of a sword-wielding assassin. Rudy Caspertein is presumed dead but struggles to survive in the Arctic.

In the midst of Middle East terror, the estranged brother emerges. Titus Caspertein scoffs at the danger and flies to the aid of his sister. His Russian companion, Oleg, joins him, and the two undercover COIL agents juggle the needs of persecuted Christians with the Iranian threat that spans from the Ozarks of Arkansas to the deserts of Syria.

Join D.I. Telbat as he draws us into a COIL saga of faith and conflict, dark plots of Christian persecution, and the perseverance of men and women who trust Jesus Christ for strength and final victory.

Distant Contact follows the Prequel, Distant Boundary. It includes a free map download, a character sketch, Endnotes featuring Vision Beyond Borders Refugee Ministry, and a Bonus Chapter from the next book in the series, Distant Front. Cover design is by Streetlight Graphics.

My rating:

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Review: Mist of Midnight by Sandra Byrd

About the book:

In the first of a brand-new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands.

Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her...and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca's name, but her home and incomes.

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father's investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives—does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, will she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”?

A captivating Gothic love story set against a backdrop of intrigue and danger, Mist of Midnight will leave you breathless.

My rating:

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Review: The Elite of the Weak by Precarious Yates

About the book:

Book 1 of Revelation Special Ops

Crawling through an air duct in Queens...spending all night alone in an African jungle...that's normal for teenage spy Hadassah Michelman. She wants to join Revelation Special Ops, a Christian organization that works to rescue kids from modern slavery.

Hadassah's life is about to get a whole lot crazier.

The spies of Revelation Special Ops are the elite of the weak. Weak because their hearts are broken for the oppressed. Elite because they keep the code.

My rating:

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Review: A Daring Sacrifice by Jody Hedlund

About the book:

In this new historical YA romance novel from author Jody Hedlund, when a young maiden dedicates her life to protecting the mistreated, she finds herself in opposition with a wealthy knight in her cruel uncle’s service—and before long, both are forced to fight their feelings for each other as well.

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Review: Every Bride Needs a Groom by Janice Thompson

About the book:

Somewhere in a sea of tulle and taffeta, satin and crepe, Katie Fisher needs to find a key ingredient of the perfect wedding--the groom.
Small-town girl Katie Fisher is busy planning her fairy-tale wedding. Sure, her boyfriend hasn't managed to pop the question just yet, but that doesn't mean she shouldn't enter a contest in Texas Bride magazine to win the dress of her dreams, right? Anyway, she's sure he'll be getting down on one knee any time now. And a one-of-a-kind designer dress doesn't just fall out of the sky right when you need it.

But when Katie's boyfriend takes a job in another town and breaks up with her--on the very same day she wins her dream dress--her world is turned upside down. Dare she go to Dallas to claim her prize? And will the hunky pro basketball player who runs the beyond-swanky bridal shop--yeah, you read that right--discover her humiliating secret if she does?

My rating:
 
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Review: Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner

About the book:

She stood at a crossroads, half-aware that her choice would send her down a path from which there could be no turning back. But instead of two choices, she saw only one—because it was all she really wanted to see…

Current day, Oxford, England. Young American scholar Kendra Van Zant, eager to pursue her vision of a perfect life, interviews Isabel McFarland just when the elderly woman is ready to give up secrets about the war that she has kept for decades...beginning with who she really is. What Kendra receives from Isabel is both a gift and a burden--one that will test her convictions and her heart.

1940s, England. As Hitler wages an unprecedented war against London’s civilian population, one million children are evacuated to foster homes in the rural countryside. But even as fifteen-year-old Emmy Downtree and her much younger sister Julia find refuge in a charming Cotswold cottage, Emmy’s burning ambition to return to the city and apprentice with a fashion designer pits her against Julia’s profound need for her sister’s presence. Acting at cross purposes just as the Luftwaffe rains down its terrible destruction, the sisters are cruelly separated, and their lives are transformed…

My rating:
 
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Review: Vines of Entanglement by Lisa Cox Carter

About the book:

A tangled web of lies characterizes the life Laura Mabry has built for herself and her son after the tragic death of her husband. But Laura’s carefully constructed world slides off its axis when she stumbles upon the body of a young college student on the recreational trails of Raleigh’s Greenway. What’s worse, Detective Jon Locklear is Laura’s worst nightmare...and her dream come true.

Jon has spent years trying to forget Laura. Past experience has taught him that he can’t trust her, but old habits—like old loves—die hard. When the killer turns his attention on Laura, Jon may be the only one who can save her.

Truth and murder lurk just around the corner for Laura. Can she find the courage to face her deepest fears and unravel the lies of her past before she and her son become the Greenway Killer’s next victims.

My rating:

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My thoughts: