Short review: Rescuing Finley (Forever Home #1) by Dan Walsh

About the book:

Amy Wallace has made plenty of mistakes in her young life, but she didn’t see this one coming. Chris Seger is a marine serving in Afghanistan. His life is forever altered by a single, fateful step. A mother of another Afghan war vet suffers a devastating loss, which changes the course of Finley’s life for good. Finley is a mostly golden retriever, who suddenly finds himself alone and confused in a dog shelter. Could this prison actually become the place where Finley finally finds freedom? Rescuing Finley tells the story of how one rescue dog powerfully impacts three tragic lives and puts all of them on a road toward redemption and healing.

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Short Review: Abandoned Memories by MaryLu Tyndall

About the book:

In MaryLu Tyndall’s stunning conclusion to her Escape from Paradise series, Angeline Moore longs to make a fresh start in the Confederate colony of New Hope, Brazil. James Callaway longs to create a city free from immoral women who caused his failure as a preacher. But a series of strange happenings soon lead the colonists to believe they have been brought to this place for a divine purpose.

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Review: Like Moonlight At Low Tide by Nicole Quigley

About the book:

When high school junior Melissa Keiser returns to her hometown of Anna Maria Island, Florida, she has one goal: hide from the bullies who had convinced her she was the ugliest girl in school. But when she is caught sneaking into a neighbor's pool at night, everything changes. Something is different now that Melissa is sixteen, and the guys and popular girls who once made her life miserable have taken notice. When Melissa gets the chance to escape life in a house ruled by her mom's latest boyfriend, she must choose where her loyalties lie between a long-time crush, a new friend, and her surfer brother who makes it impossible to forget her roots. Just as Melissa seems to achieve everything she ever wanted, she loses a loved one to suicide. Melissa must not only grieve for her loss, she must find the truth about the three boys who loved her and discover that joy sometimes comes from the most unexpected place of all.

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Review: A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

About the book:

Sometimes everything you ever learned about yourself is wrong

Fashion is a fickle industry, a frightening fact for twenty-four year old model Ivy Clark. Ten years in and she’s learned a sacred truth—appearance is everything. Nobody cares about her broken past as long as she looks beautiful for the camera. This is the only life Ivy knows—so when it starts to unravel, she’ll do anything to hold on. Even if that means moving to the quaint island town of Greenbrier, South Carolina, to be the new face of her stepmother’s bridal wear line—an irony too rich for words, since Ivy is far from the pure bride in white.

If only her tenuous future didn’t rest in the hands of Davis Knight, her mysterious new photographer. Not only did he walk away from the kind of success Ivy longs for to work maintenance at a local church, he treats her differently than any man ever has. Somehow, Davis sees through the façade she works so hard to maintain. He, along with a cast of other characters, challenges everything Ivy has come to believe about beauty and worth. Is it possible that God sees her—a woman stained and broken by the world—yet wants her still?

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Review: Deluge by Lisa T. Bergren

About the book:

WARNING TO MY BELOVED RIVER TRIBE: HARD THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS BOOK. Get your Kleenex ready...If you're not ready for some special characters to perish from plague and in battle, you won't want to read it. Seriously. You can walk away now and we can part as friends. BUT, that said, there's also a ton of romance and suspense and fun too! To embrace life, and live it to the fullest, we must appreciate the day--and occasionally face down death--and our beloved Forellis and Betarrinis learn that all over again. Ready? Ready. We can DO this... --Lisa

IT'S ONE THING TO BATTLE FOR LIFE...BUT WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN DEATH ITSELF COMES HUNTING?

The Bettarinis and Forellis have found rich fulfillment together in medieval Italia. But after fighting off countless enemies, they now must face the worst foe of all. As the Black Death closes in upon them, threatening everything and everyone they hold dear, Lia and Gabi–and the knights they love–must dig deep within to decide how they might remain safe…and if they need to risk it all in order to truly live as they’re called.

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Review: Blur by Steven James

About the book:

The isolated town of Beldon, Wisconsin, is shocked when a high school freshman’s body is found in Lake Algonquin. Just like everyone in the community, sixteen-year-old Daniel Byers believes that Emily Jackson’s death was accidental. But at her funeral, when he has a terrifying vision of her, his world begins to rip apart at the seams.

Convinced that Emily’s appearance was more than just a mere hallucination, Daniel begins to look carefully into her death, even as he increasingly loses the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality.

What’s real? What’s not? Where does reality end and madness begin?

As Daniel struggles to find the truth, his world begins to crumble around him as he slips further and further into his own private blurred reality.

Full of mind-bending twists and turns, Blur launches a new trilogy of young adult thrillers from Steven James, a master of suspense.

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Review: The Substitute Bride by Janet Dean

The Substitute Bride by Janet Dean
Love Inspired Historical / 2010
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:

Fleeing an arranged marriage, debutante Elizabeth Manning exchanges places with a mail-order bride bound for New Harmony, Iowa. Life on the frontier can't be worse than forced wedlock to pay her father's gambling debts. But Ted Logan's rustic lifestyle and rambunctious children prove to be more of a challenge than Elizabeth expects. She doesn't know how to be a mother or a wife. She doesn't even know how to tell Ted the truth about her past--especially as her feelings for him grow. Little does she know, Ted's hiding secrets of his own, and when their pasts collide, there's more than one heart at stake.

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The Substitute Bride was a good Love Inspired Historical read. I really loved the first half of the book, but the last half (in my opinion) wasn't as good...hence the four stars rating. I loved how Elizabeth took the place of a mail-order bride who had cold feet and Elizabeth met the potential husband instead. I thought that was really unique.

The characters were nice. I liked how Ted overcame the things in his past and showcased a redeemed life. Elizabeth annoyed me a little bit with what she did towards the end (won't say what to avoid spoilers), but she also made me laugh at times. :)

All in all, a good read. I loved the first half and liked the last half. If you enjoy quick inspirational historical romance reads, I think you'd like The Substitute Bride.

*I did not get this book for review - I won a copy and was not required to review it, but chose to. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

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Review: Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren

Take a Chance on Me by Susan May Warren
Christiansen Family series: Book One

Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:

Darek Christiansen is almost a dream bachelor—oldest son in the large Christiansen clan, heir to their historic Evergreen Lake Resort, and doting father. But he’s also wounded and angry since the tragic death of his wife, Felicity. No woman in Deep Haven dares come near.

New assistant county attorney Ivy Madison simply doesn’t know any better when she bids on Darek at the charity auction. Nor does she know that when she crafted a plea bargain three years ago to keep Jensen Atwood out of jail and in Deep Haven fulfilling community service, she was releasing the man responsible for Felicity’s death. All Ivy knows is that the Christiansens feel like the family she’s always longed for. And once she gets past Darek’s tough exterior, she finds a man she could spend the rest of her life with. Which scares her almost as much as Darek learning of her involvement in his wife’s case.

Caught between new love and old grudges, Darek must decide if he can set aside the past for a future with Ivy—a future more and more at risk as an approaching wildfire threatens to wipe out the Christiansen resort and Deep Haven itself.

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I've read more than a dozen of Susan May Warren's books and I don't think any of them have disappointed me, so I wasn't surprised that I loved Take A Chance On Me.

There were so many things about Take A Chance On Me that I loved! I'll name a couple of them:

The Setting: I've only read a couple of Warren's "Deep Haven" novels, but I really liked how it was a small-town set in Minnesota. The location and writing-style was just great - it almost felt like Deep Haven and the Christiansen's resort really existed!

The Characters: I loved the way the Christiansens bantered with each other. I found myself chuckling quite a few times as a result of that. ;) I also really liked Jensen and all of the other secondary (though in a way, they were almost main) characters.

The story was very interesting and I thought it was great how there wasn't just one, but two, romance stories in Take A Chance On Me. The ending was really good and I liked how it wasn't a typical ending. I also loved the message of forgiveness/grace.

Overall, a wonderful read! I enjoyed the whole book, but the last so many chapters were especially good. I recommend Take A Chance On Me to fans of contemporary romance novels. It Had To Be You is next on my reading list and I'm beyond excited about it!

*I did not get this book for review. I bought it when it was a Kindle freebie. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

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Review: Quest for Celestia: A Reimagining of the Pilgrim's Progress by Steven James

Quest for Celestia: A Reimagining of The Pilgrim's Progress by Steven James
Thirsty / 2006
Find on: Amazon, Goodreads

About the book:

Join Kadin on his journey to Celestia in this creative reimagining of John Bunyan's Christian classic, The Pilgrim's Progress. Kadin's faith is challenged and strengthened as he seeks to rid himself of the growth on his neck and make his way to Celestia. Steven James uses his master storytelling ability to re-create the life-changing journey of The Pilgrim's Progress for readers ages 14 to 19.

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My thoughts:

Quest for Celestia was a great read! I wasn't too sure if I'd like it, but once I read a couple chapters, I was into the story and ended up loving it!

Ever since I began reading the Patrick Bowers Files, in 2011, Steven James has been one of my favorite authors. I've enjoyed all ten fiction novels I've read of his, including Quest for Celestia. This book had a different feel to it than the other books (as can be expected, since they are thrillers and this is a fantasy/reimagining of The Pilgrim's Progress).

Overall, I loved reading this book! I'm so glad I decided to buy it earlier this month. I recommend Quest for Celestia to anyone that typically enjoys these types of reads. I am eagerly anticipating the release of Steven James' upcoming books, Checkmate (Patrick Bowers Files) and Blur (Blur Trilogy).

*I did not get this for review. I purchased my copy. As always, all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.*

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Just a note: this book was rereleased in 2012 with a new cover. Here it is:

I used the original, since that is the edition I read.

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