When Love Arrives by Johnnie Alexander

From the publisher:
Dani Prescott came to the children's hospital to spy on Brett Somers--so how did she end up on a date with him? Weeks earlier she'd seen an interview in which he blamed her mother for the plane crash that had killed his parents. But the crash had killed her mother as well, so Dani can't believe the story Brett's trying to sell to the media.

Vowing to find a way to discredit the privileged--and maddeningly handsome--Brett, Dani has been following him and taking photos, hoping to find something she can use against him. But when she catches his eye instead, she quickly finds herself offering up a fake name and agreeing to a date. Brett knows this mystery girl is hiding something--but he's got his own secrets to keep. What will happen when he discovers who she really is? Will Dani and Brett look beyond their own heartaches to discover a love that could heal their deepest pain?

Fresh, flirty, and fast-paced, When Love Arrives is an engaging story that will have readers falling in love with the characters as they navigate the tricky waters between romance and revenge.
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I loved this book.  Having "met" Brett in the first book of the Misty Willow Series I already was interested in his story.  You will definitely want to read the first book Where She Belongs in the series before this one.

Dani and Brett were great characters to read.  You felt the flaws but loved them both anyways.  The tension between the secrets each have and the romance that is growing was a fun read.  Readers will be drawn into the story and love it the whole way through.

It is hard to say what exactly was so wonderful about the book but I just really enjoyed it!  I know you will too!

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my  honest review.

Earth Psalms: Reflections on How God Speaks Through Nature by Francine Rivers

This is a beautiful book.  I have always enjoyed Francine Rivers as a fictional writer and to have her write this devotional focused on God's "second book": nature is very special.  There are 52 sections, one for each week of the year.  Each week is focused on a different aspect of creation.  At the end of each section is  a "Reflect" "Apply" and "Connect With God" section that you can do alone, journal, or use as a discussion.  The Bible verses that she has chosen to go with each chapter could be something you memorize or put somewhere you can see it through out that week.

I read this with my family, which includes  two year old.  He sat on my lap and listened and looked at the pictures.  I love that these are short enough to do with my young family and yet deep enough that it causes me to pause and look at creation differently. 

The pictures are bright and engaging.  This is a great devotional book and I highly recommend it.

I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for my honest review.

Total Family Makeover by Melissa Spoelstra

From the publisher:
God calls us as parents to be key disciple-makers in our children’s lives, but if we’re honest, some days it’s a battle just to get them dressed and ready for school on time. How can you mold their hearts when sometimes you can’t even find their shoes?
In Total Family Makeover, author Melissa Spoelstra gives parents a way—a sort of spiritual track to run on—when it comes to building family discipleship. She focuses on eight key habits of growth:
•         Spending Time in Prayer
•         Reading God's Word
•         Growing Through a Mentoring Relationship
•         Finding Community in the Church
•         Serving Others
•         Taking Time to Rest
•         Giving Back to God
•         Sharing Your Faith
Disciples are made, not born. Whether your children are babes in arms or teenagers getting ready to leave the nest, making disciples at home starts with you! Give your family a makeover with this practical approach to helping your children learn what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
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I will be honest, I wasn't that excited about reading this book.  I more thought, "This will be good for me to read as a parent."  But inwardly I was kind of dreading it.  I didn't want it to be added to the list of things I should do but would never actually do.  Even getting the book I felt a little dismayed at the amount of information that seemed packed into the page.  But then I began reading...

WOW.  I couldn't be more glad or thankful that I started to read this book.  I couldn't stop reading it.  There was so much in this book that spoke to my heart as a parent trying to raise my children for God.  Melissa Spoelstra's writing is easy and engaging to read.  She doesn't expect you to do things exactly like her but invites you to create these 8 steps in ways that will fit your family. 

Each chapter has two sections: Modeling and Training.  I wish I had words eloquent enough to express how good this was for my soul.  This book is more than just a book on how to help raise your kids for Jesus, it is a way to help you get your soul and spirit back into the places that you need them to be so that you can model what you long for your kids to have in their lives. 

I highly, highly recommend this book.  We've already begun to put this into practice at our home and it fills my heart with joy.

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

To Have and To Hold by Betsy St. Amant, Becky Wade, and Katie Ganshert

From the publishers:

Love Takes the Cake: A September Wedding Story by Betsy St. Amant


Charlotte Cantrell is always the baker; never the bride. When Will, a regular at Charlotte’s bakery, catches her attention, she can only hope that he is the reliable man this single mother has always hoped to find. The problem is that he’s regularly stopping in to buy cookies for another girl. But when Charlotte is hired to bake a host of wedding goodies for a difficult bride and finds out Will is the best man, she has the perfect opportunity to get to know him better—and find out how serious Will is about this other girl in his life.

My Review:
Charlotte's bakery had me getting up and making something delicious just so I could eat along with her characters. Seriously, the writing made you want to visit this place.  I love how Will and Charlotte have a friendship, even though they don't really know each other, just from him visiting the store so regularly. 

It also was a good read because so many of us have things in our past that shape us and often times hold us back from the future.  This book, through the character's struggles, will help readers comes to realize that it doesn't have to hold them back, it might shape them, but it doesn't mean they can't have a full and complete life.


The Perfect Arrangement: An October Wedding Story by Katie Ganshert


Amelia Woods is a small-town wallflower and the proud owner of Forget-Me-Nots, a quaint flower shop. Her love life has always been a bit lackluster—until she ends up in an embarrassing fender-bender with handsome Nate Gallagher. Meanwhile, Amelia’s younger brother, William, has proposed to his girlfriend. Amelia would be excited except she has evidence that the fiancée is not who she says she is. It seems Nate is the only one available for any advice-giving, and he’s good at it—and pretty fun to talk to, too. As Amelia works to craft the perfect flower arrangements for other people, she begins to wonder if real love is better than the dream. And if it is, will Nate still be interested when he learns who she is?

My Review:

This was a brilliant novella.  There was a lot packed into this little book and yet, it was just perfect. I loved hearing all of the details about the flower shop and Amelia's life as a florist.  The supporting characters were definitely a strength to the book.  There were people to love and dislike in a way that is only human and natural in real life.  This story felt like it could easily have happened.

 

I felt just as eager as Nate and Amelia felt to read each others email.  I was in agony when there was a lapse in communication.  Why did he/she write back yet?!  Written as only Katie Ganshert can write this beautiful love story is perfect.  Not because the characters are perfect, or the situation, but because of its imperfections and the way that it all works together for good.  I like the emailing back and forth.  It added a different dimension to the story and allowed the reader a new way to get to know the characters and see what was going on. 

Love in the Details: A November Wedding Story by Becky Wade


When Josh returns to his hometown of Martinsburg, Texas, to help his best friend get married, he didn’t intend to run into church wedding coordinator—and ex-girlfriend—Holly. He can’t help but pine after the girl he never got over. Holly broke up with Josh years ago in an attempt to ensure his future success. But she loved him then and still loves him now. As she helps him plan his best friend’s wedding, she longs to be with Josh but doesn’t feel worthy of his big-time lifestyle when she is more comfortable in her small-town world. Will Josh and Holly be able to keep things as they are when their true feelings threaten to surface at every turn?

My Review:

As soon as I read the first pages, I felt myself sinking into this novella.  Josh and Holly's high school love that ended too soon made my heart ache.  Yet, it shows how sometimes things that happen, that we won't enjoy--can still benefit us in the end.  Holly and Josh have grown since they have been apart and also grow with their interaction to each other. I love how Becky Wade's book can make you swoon and feel all romantic, and yet she tucks in truths that are solid and deep.

Becky Wade's writing is wonderful.  Even in this novella you could tell that she was the type of writing to draw you in and keep you.  I wanted to read more about Josh and Holly, but the novella was perfect in its novella form. 

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Just a Kiss by Denise Hunter

From the publisher:
Watching the love of his life fall for his brother was enough to send Riley straight to boot camp. But over a year later, he’s officially a marine, and Beau and Paige are no longer an item. When Riley’s tour in Afghanistan is up, he intends to confess his feelings to Paige and win his best friend’s heart once and for all.
But all that changes when an IED takes the life of a comrade and leaves Riley an amputee. Now he’s heading home, injured and troubled. His plans to win Paige are a distant dream. She deserves so much more than the man that’s left. All he can do now is put some healthy distance between them. But upon his return he discovers his family has arranged for him to stay with Paige.
Paige is a nurturer at heart and happy to take care of her best buddy. By all appearances Riley is adjusting miraculously well to his disability. But as the days pass, Paige begins to see that the smiles and laughter are just a mask for the pain he’s hiding. To make matters worse, her job is in serious jeopardy. The animal shelter that she’s poured her heart into has lost its funding, and she has three months to come up with the money needed to save it.
As the weeks wear on, Paige’s feelings for Riley begin to shift into uncharted territory. Why is she suddenly noticing his arm muscles and the way his lips curl at the corners? Will she be able to deny her feelings for another Callahan brother? And will Riley let his heart heal so he can let Paige in?

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I think my biggest complaint with this book is that it wasn't longer and the series is over.  I want to know more about the Callahans!  I have loved this series and this book was no exception.  Denise Hunter writes her stories in such a way that you put other books aside just to dive into the stories she is creating.

Something I liked about this story was that it showed how while love is so important it is not the thing that really  heals you and makes you whole, the only thing that can do that is God and His work in us. 

Paige and Riley's story have been hinted at since the first book in this series and all a long you find yourself eager to have a chance to read their story.  This is a believable and enjoyable story.  Readers will fall in love with Paige and Riley and will enjoy hearing about the other Callahan stories as this is the final book in the series.

I highly recommend not only this book but the whole series.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

A Modern Way to Cook by Anna Jones

I am so excited about this book. I am a vegetarian so, first of all I love how thick this book is.  I could tell when I picked it up that it was going to be filled with things I could cook my family.

It got even better as I opened the book and began to read.  This amazing cookbook is broken down by how long it takes you to cook a meal.  15, 20, 30, 40 minutes...what you have time to cook, you can cook.  I cannot say how happy I was that there were recipes for 15 minutes!  Often when I don't have time to cook I end up feeding my family things that aren't the healthiest (boxed mac and cheese anyone?) but if I can cook a healthy vegetarian meal in 15 minutes then I am beyond excited! 

I am ready to put this book to the test.  I am going to use it to help plan meals and have these kind of ingreidents on hand so I can pull together a healthy and delicious meal. 

I also love when cookbooks have pictures and this one has beautiful ones.  Not every recipe has a picture but most do.  I think this book is going to be a hit in our home as well as yours.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Starving Hearts by Janine Mendenhall

From the publisher:
Since her assault, Miss Annette Chetwynd has been plagued by nightmares and worries about an arranged marriage. But she yearns to find her anonymous rescuer. Unfortunately, her health and intellect prevent it. Both repel suitors and cause Annette to doubt God's existence, at least until He answers her prayers in an unusual way...

Mr. Peter Adsley is joining the clergy, and he desires a godly wife by his side. After a failed attempt to obtain one, he engages in a clandestine meeting with the bewitching young woman who keeps crossing his path. But she is so unsettling.

Destined for disappointments, Peter and Annette both endure disgraceful situations. Will Peter s faith sustain him through overwhelming setbacks? Can Annette overcome her doubts? Or will their starving hearts yield to the machinations of a mad man?
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Janine Mendenhall has creates a book that will have you wishing the next in the series was already out.  I cannot wait to read the second in the series as it is based off of a character I long to know more about.

Annette is an interesting character to read.  Her strength in certain ways an then her physical weaknesses are contrast that I think will help readers identify with their own strengths and weaknesses in their lives. 

Peter's narrow view of what he is supposed to do in life is broadened by his encounters with Annette.  I liked this aspect a lot.  Sometimes we view our "mission" in just one area but God might bring us to another area whether we liked it or not.

I love the issues that were dealt with in the book.  I teared up during the ship scenes and my heart was wrenched to think of the suffering of those beautiful people.

Something that I think was probably my favorite part was the "mad man" and how you see him as more than he is and I cannot wait to read more about him in the next book.

I received this book free from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.