Book Review - Back in the Saddle

I am a city girl, but I felt at home on the Stafford Ranch.  Back in the Saddle by Ruth Logan Herne introduces us to Cole Stafford, Sam Stafford and Angelina Morales.  Cole Stafford did not feel the ranch was his home so he left many years ago.  He became successful at a Wall Street investment firm instead of the cowboy he was raised to be.   Cole is the son of Sam Stafford who has made the Double S ranch successful. Their relationship is strained to say the least.  The last thing Cole wants to do is go back to the ranch when he has financial trouble.

When Cole returns, he discovers that his dad is different.   It takes time for Cole to understand that Sam Stafford has changed for the better.  Sam's housekeeper, Angelina, reminded him what is most important and that the Lord should be first.   Angelina is so much more than a housekeeper.  She is tough and sweet and is hiding from her past.  Cole and Angelina are attracted to each other, but their budding romance is challenged by their past and what the future might hold for the both of them.

Cole's return is like the story of The Prodigal Son as described on the back cover of this book.  Another story also came to mind while reading Back in the Saddle.   I was reminded of the Christmas Carol because Sam Stafford was like Ebenezer Scrooge.    He did not treat people right as he climbed the ladder of success.   After he started following God, he was trying to figure out how to make amends with his family and the community.   

I enjoyed this story, the characters, the romance and the ranch.  Yes, even the ranch seemed inviting to me.   The long days and the hard work does not sound that exciting, but it was real and wholesome.     The romance was sweet and learning how to trust in the Lord by everyone was honest.  A better definition of success was realized by Cole.  It is not measured by the amount of money you make, but by loving others and committing to their success.  I am definitely reading the second book about Cole's brother, Nick.

You can read more about the author, Ruth Logan Herne on her website.

Rating: 3 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for a review.

Book Review - I Can Read! Double Trouble

Double Trouble by Dandi Daley Mackall might grab your attention because of the cute horse on the cover.  This I Can Read book published by Zonderkidz has an important message about the truth and taking responsibilities for your actions.

Jen loved riding her horse, Bob.  One day, she rides Bob into a Mrs. Gray's flower garden.  It was not on purpose, but the flowers are ruined. She decides not to tell Mrs. Gray.   "It was such a little thing" so why not keep quiet.

Later, her horse starts to have a problem while walking.  The vet figures out the little thing that is causing a big problem.

Children can learn that not admitting when you are wrong is no small matter.   It affects you and the person you hurt.   

Young children and parents will enjoy this short story and beautiful illustrations.  

Rating: 4 stars

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Book Review - Luther and Katharina

Luther and Katharina: A Novel of Love and Rebellion by Jody Hedlund is about Martin Luther and his wife, Katharina.  Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation in Germany in the 16th century.   Luther was a former monk and preached against the Catholic church.  He was considered an enemy of the church.  He thought he could be killed at any time.

Katharina von Bora was a nun at the time she read Luther's writings. She became convinced that she could still serve God while not living a cloistered life.   Katharina and some of the other nuns decided to run away from the abbey to start a new life.   

Luther became responsible for the runaway nuns.   His goal was to find them a "suitable" man to marry or at least become employed by a family.   Katharina's goal was to get married and have children.   It did not seem like they would be suitable partners in love and ministry to each other.  Love bloomed between Luther and Katharina in the midst of external persecution and their own internal reservations about each other.  

There are many parts of the story that stand out.   One thing is Katharina's prayers.  Although she left the abbey, it still took her time to shed her past life.    Her prayers in the book shows how her relationship with God was maturing.

I loved this story because of the history.   I loved this story because of the spiritual and emotional transformation of Luther and Katharina.  I did not know much about Martin Luther.   While reading this book, I searched for more information about Luther and the Reformation. Historical fiction is at its best for me when I want to go beyond the story and read the history. 

I have already recommended this book to my local library who plans to order this book for circulation.  I have talked about it with my friends.   Do I like this book?  Absolutely!

You will want to read more books by Jody Hedlund.  Go to her website to discover her other books.    The Hearts of Faith series are about real people (missionaries and preachers).  You will want to dig deeper to find out more about the people she writes about.

Ratings:  4 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books for my opinion about this story.

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Book Review - Now & Forever

Now and Forever by Mary Connealy is book two in the Wild at Heart series.  Shannon and her sisters have been posing as men while fighting in the Civil War and homesteading.  Shannon has a love for sheep like The Good Shepherd.  Matthew is a mountain man who lives by himself.  His skills have made him a legend.   He prefers to be alone and only deals with people when necessary.

They met before, but their relationship is established by a wild adventure.  How could a couple not be bonded after running from a bear and falling into a dangerous river?   For about three chapters, we read about Shannon Wilde and Matthew Tucker as they struggle to survive.  Matthew learned that Shannon can take care of herself and him.

Many people are involved in their search and rescue - Shannon’s sisters & Matthew’s mountain men friends and family.  The teasing done by Matthew’s friends was so funny to me once they were found.   It also reminded me how different things are today.  A woman alone with a man back then for a long period of time almost means marriage.

The rest of the book is about Shannon and Matthew learning how to get along and figuring out who is trying to drive her off her land.   The villain in this book is scary.  You know who he is at the beginning, but he becomes more intense and dangerous as the story progresses.  

I like how the women in this book are very capable of taking caring of themselves during a time that was made for men.  Shannon learns how to make room for Matthew in her life.   He learns that living alone in the mountains is not as good as it was before getting to know Shannon.  You will enjoy this clean romance set in the 1800s.   The heroine is not frilly and dainty and the hero is not dashing and elegant.   Shannon and Matthew is the right combination of brave, strong, caring and sweet.

Rating: 4 stars

This book was given to me by Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review.  

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Book Review - Arkansas Weddings

Romance, Arkansas sounds like a lovely, romantic place to meet and fall in love.    It is for three couples in Arkansas Weddings.    The road to “happily ever after” is not smooth, but the journey is worth it.  Did you know that Romance, Arkansas is a real place?   It is a town located near the center of Arkansas. 

According to Wikipedia, the Romance post office is popular for postmarks that people want for Valentine’s Day and wedding invitations.  This fact was included in the second story.

In a small town, everyone seems to know everybody and that holds true in the town of Romance. The three stories are all connected based on past and current relationships.  Those connections make the book more interesting because you are able to catch up the life of the couple from the previous story.

The first story is about Adrea, a florist and Grayson, a grieving pastor.   Adrea was betrayed by a former boyfriend.  Somehow, she still manages to make beautiful floral creations for happy couples.  Grayson has a church to take care of, but his heart is still broken over the loss of his wife.   Valentine’s Day ties Adrea and Grayson together in ways that they cannot imagine when they first meet.   Grayson has been ordering flowers for his wife every Valentine’s Day.  Adrea has been arranging the flowers, but never met Grayson because she always worked in the back of the shop.  Adrea’s brother, Mark takes a job at Grayson’s church which puts them in regular contact.

Can you really move on when you lose someone so precious to you?  Can you trust anyone when your dreams have been crushed by betrayal?  Adrea and Grayson find out that they both can heal and move forward with God’s help.

The second story is centered around a man taking caring of his nephew and a woman who was reluctant to come back to her hometown.  The relationship starts as an employer and employee. Then it gets complicated as their feelings start to grow for each other.

In the third story, you can read about a woman with a bad reputation who thinks too much has happened to change other people’s opinions about her.  Her latest renovation project has her working again with a former boyfriend.   He recently found out that he was adopted and is trying to figure out if wants to reveal his true identity to his family.

All the stories are tied together well.  God is part of each story line.  I like that you get to visit Romance, Arkansas three times through all of these romances.  

Rating: 3 stars

This eBook was provided to me from NetGalley.

This review has an affiliate link through the book image.

Book Review - Silenced (Alaskan Courage)

Silenced by Dani Pettrey was so good that I can hardly wait for her next book in 2015.   This book is number 4 in the Alaskan Courage series. Every book is like watching an episode in my favorite TV series.  I look forward to each book.   I am completely into what happens to the McKenna family.  

Silenced is about Kayden McKenna.  She is very strong.  She climbs, exercises, eats healthy and runs with dogs.  Kayden does not want to get close to anyone.  Even her siblings recognize that she puts up a wall. The crack in her armor is her feelings for Jake Westin.  Before she knew his true identity, she convinced herself that he came from a shady background.  It was easy to dismiss him. The previous book, Stranded let us know more about Jake.  He is a much better man than Kayden thought.  Now she must deal with her growing attraction to Jake when she would rather protect her heart.  

Kayden and Jake get to spend a lot of time together while the investigate the murder of a climber.  I liked how I was able to learn more about climbing during their investigation.   The murder weapon was unique.  It was not like you could lift prints from this particular weapon.  With Kayden’s expertise in climbing and Jake’s professional detective work, they get closer to an answer.  Silenced is another great tale of murder, mystery and suspense.  I suggest you start with the first book, Submerged. The build up to Jake and Kayden’s relationship can be found in the previous books.

Visit the author's website to read her background and about her other books.

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House and Netgalley for an honest review.

Rating: 4 stars

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Book Review - Stranded (Alaskan Courage - Book Three)

A cruise ship is an intriguing place to have a mystery.  It’s even better in Alaska in the book Stranded by Dani Pettrey.  Darcy St. James wants to help her reporter friend on an Alaskan cruise.  After boarding the cruise ship, Darcy’s friend disappears.  

On this trip, Darcy runs into Gage McKenna again.   He is in charge of some of the cruise excursions. Darcy and Gage met before while trying to solve a murder mystery in the previous book, Shattered.  There are unresolved feelings from their last meeting so you have tension right away when they see each other again on the cruise.  One major problem between them is Darcy’s faith in God.   Gage’s past personal tragedy causes him to doubt the goodness of God.

Explanation from the cruise staff about the disappearance of Darcy’s friend are not satisfactory.  Darcy digs deeper with help from Gage.  They find more disappearances and even murder.  The pursuit of the truth puts them in danger from an unknown source.   The reason for the disappearances are disturbing and sad.  It reminded me of terrible things that are actually going on in this world.  Despite the sinister things happening in the background, I thought the overnight excursions were a great idea.   The whole cruise was truly set for adventure.

Pettrey has woven together a great mystery again in Stranded, book three of the Alaskan Courage series.   I wanted to keep reading.  I was nervous when I knew the bad guy was close.  I cheered when the good guys came to the rescue. I am enjoying this series about the McKenna family.  It’s like a great mini-series.

Once you start the series, you will be looking for the next book.  I cannot wait to read Silenced. You can read more about the author, Dani Pettrey and this series on her website. 

Rating: 5 stars

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers for my opinion.

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Book Review - A Home For My Heart

A Home for My Heart by Anne Mateer describes the plight of orphans and Sadie Sillsby’s desire to see their lives filled with love.   Sadie is an assistant at the Raystown Home for Orphans.   She understands these children because she was also a resident of the Home. Throughout the story, you will see her try her best to distance herself from her background which landed her at the Home in the first place.

Sadie is in love with Blaine.  Their love was built on friendship and a mutual understanding of what it is like to come from unstable family situations.   Sadie receives a wonderful opportunity to become the matron of the Home because the current matron decides to get married.   The matron must remain single to stay in the position.  Sadie is torn between a life with Blaine and “this calling” to the children.  She accepts the position which drives a wedge between herself and Blaine.

The new job seems like a natural fit for Sadie.  She loves the children at the Home and wants their life to improve with a forever family.   The position of matron comes with more responsibility than expected - managing staff, soliciting donations and writing up expense reports.  She would rather play baseball with the kids and tuck them into bed at night.

Sadie has difficulty determining what is real or fake.  Is her newly hired assistant, Viola right for the job?   Does Earl, a representative from The Children’s Aid Society have the best interest of her and the Home at heart?  Has Blaine really moved on without her?  Mrs. Fore is the wise cook that seems to truly understand the nature of people.   Miranda is the housekeeper who is misunderstood, but is an undiscovered jewel.

Through prayer, Sadie eventually understands who and what is most important.   As she matures, she makes decisions to follow the will of the Lord.   That decision has wonderful results for herself and her community.

I liked this book.  It was a sweet story with a young main character who was passionate about her work for children, but grew to be more concerned about God’s will.

Rating: 3 stars

I received this book from Bethany House Publishers for my opinion about this book.

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Book Review - Shattered (Alaskan Courage - Book Two)

An open and shut murder case in Alaska...right?  Reef McKenna was found with the victim and the evidence points to him as the murderer.  The sheriff is ready to close this case as quickly as possible due to the overwhelming evidence.  Reef’s sister, Piper, is not ready to lose him.  She does everything possible to prove her brother’s innocence.   She expects that those that are close to the McKenna family will see Reef’s innocence especially Deputy Landon Grainger.  Landon has been a part of the McKenna family for years.  Piper is like a sister to him until romantic feelings start to change his perspective.

Piper and Landon disagree many times on how to solve the murder case.  She places herself in danger more than once to discover the truth. Landon is trying to let the facts tell the story. Conflict comes up often between the two because of unresolved feelings and their approach to solving the case.

I really enjoyed this book.  Here are a few reasons why I think you should read it. This book is a good murder mystery.  The answer was not obvious to me initially who committed the murder.  Bravo to the author for keeping me guessing.   The dialogue between Piper and Landon was fun especially before their true feelings were realized.  The location of Alaska was great.  It became its own character to me like someone or some place I wanted to visit.

Shattered is a romantic suspense novel, but there are some excellent spiritual lessons for us, too.  Landon is a rugged, manly character who depends on himself.   There comes a point in the book where he realizes that he is not in control.  He humbles himself before God when he is hit with this realization.

One of my favorite quotes is advice from Piper’s older brother, Cole to Landon “You need to be sure you are in the right place, that the urge to self-destruct isn’t your default setting anymore, that God is the one steering your life.”

This book has so much of what I like in a story - mystery, interesting people, great location and a reminder that God is with us through it all.

Shattered is book 2 of the Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey.   You can read this book without reading Submerged, but I highly recommend reading book 1 first.  

Rating: 4 stars

This book was provided to me by Bethany House Publishers for my opinion about this book.

My posts might contain affiliate links.  Read my disclosure statement.

Book Review - Submerged

I feel like I have been to Alaska after reading Submerged (Alaskan Courage) by Dani Pettrey.    It is full of suspense, romance and a very important message of forgiveness and love.

Bailey Craig has to return to her hometown of Yancey, Alaska because of the death of her aunt. It is the last place she wants to be because of a bad reputation she created when she was a teenager.   Despite a bad start in her early years, she has done well for herself.  

The second worst part of this trip other than saying goodbye to her aunt is meeting Cole McKenna again.  They were in a relationship, but Bailey was struggling with insecurity at that time and hurt Cole.   Their relationship ended, but it still haunts the both of them.

Bailey wanted to tie up loose ends in Yancey as quickly as possible and get back to her life where no one knew her reputation.    Despite Bailey’s desire to make a quick exit, she decides to stay in Yancey because there is a possibility that her aunt’s death was not an accident.  She works with Cole and the Yancey police force to solve the mystery.   Being close to Cole is exciting and terrifying at the same time.   Bailey does not want to be drawn to him because as soon as the mystery is solved she plans to resume her life elsewhere.

While the murder mystery and the intrigue of Russian Alaskan history has my attention, I am also drawn to Bailey's struggle with her past and present.  She became a Christian after leaving Yancey, but she still views herself as a person not worthy of God's blessings.  She accepts the views of other people who saw her at her worst rather than how God sees her.   Cole told her "You need to start seeing yourself through God's eyes...When God looks at you He sees His beloved child."

This story does have something valuable that is submerged or hidden that has everyone on the hunt for it.   The most important thing that is submerged is the truth that Bailey has forgotten or never really knew...God loves her!

I enjoyed this book because of the romance, suspense and the reminder that I am God's beloved child.

I received a free copy of this book from Bethany House.

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Book Review - A Most Unsuitable Match

Fannie Rousseau and I have something in common...a belief that we were not good enough to be a preacher’s wife.

Before Fannie met the man of her dreams who would be a preacher, we meet her in St. Charles, Missouri 1869.  She just lost her mother.  The strained relationship between the two only made her mother’s death more painful.  Some things would never would be resolved.  Fortunately, Fannie had Hannah who worked for her family.  Hannah was very much family to Fannie and gave her the mothering that she needed.

Fannie thought she was the only left in her family until she found letters in her mother’s things that let her know that she had an aunt.  Her hope that she is alive leads her to take a trip on a steamboat to find her.  She was escorted on this journey by Hannah.   

On the trip, she meets Samuel Beck who is more than just a hired hand on the steamboat.  He has a higher calling on his life and he is looking for someone, too.   Her search for her aunt leads her to an area of the country that is less “civilized” than she has known.  Being in the “wilderness” helps her to grow as a woman.  She has to do things that she did not do before in St. Charles.

This was a slow read for me and I was not completely caught up in the story at first.  I became more interested as I kept on reading.  I did want to find Fannie’s aunt and I also wanted to know if Samuel ever finds his sister.  The change in Fannie from a protected young woman to one who has to take care of herself was interesting.     The journey brings Samuel and Fannie closer, but Fannie believes that he is too good for her.  She realizes that he is called to be a preacher and she does not think she has what it takes to be a preacher’s wife.  She believed that they were an unsuitable match because of her flaws.   Samuel also had growing to do because he was preaching before he even accepted the fact that he was a preacher.  I felt like Fannie when I met my husband.  Both Fannie and I had to realize that if God calls us for the job that He will equip us with everything we need to do what He asks.

Overall this was a good read and I do recommend A Most Unsuitable Match.

A free copy of this book was given to me by Bethany House in exchange for my thoughts about this story.

Book Review - Dry As Rain

Dry As Rain by Gina Holmes is about a marriage near its end.   Eric and Kyra Yoshida are the main characters in this relationship tragedy.  The whole story is from Eric's point of view so we do not get to see much of Kyra's thoughts.  In chapter 1, we learn he met the love of his life.   In chapter 2, we fast forward years later and now Eric is thinking "I woke up in bed with a woman who was not my wife".  He was separated from his wife, but he was STILL married.   Misunderstandings and lack of communication caused them to drift apart.

An ironic thing happened after he committed infidelity...he learned that his wife was in accident and a part of her memory was gone.   Her memory was so gone that she did not remember the separation or the bad feelings between her and Eric.  Did he tell her right away about their current situation?  Of course not.  He had moments where he thought that he should, but he wanted to hold on to her as long as possible.  Her loving attitude towards him made him realize how much he missed her.  

Others thought that he should tell her the truth right away instead of waiting.  Of course, Eric was hoping that maybe the bad part of their marriage would be forgotten permanently.    While her memory was gone, he became a better husband.  He was hoping that when her memory did return that his latest actions would work in his favor.  

This book is good.  I kept reading because I just had to know what would happen to Eric and Kyra.  I have started some books and could not finish because I did not care about the characters or I did not understand the plot.   I cared about Eric and his imperfect self.  I wanted to know how Kyra would deal with such a betrayal and whether their marriage would survive.  

When this book starts Eric is mad at Adam and Eve because he thought if they had not messed up that all of humanity would be in Paradise right now.  By the end of the book, he realizes he is just like them.   He was tempted and flawed, but forgiven.

Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.  All opinions expressed are my own.