Love Finds You In Camelot Tennessee

Love Finds You in Camelot Tennessee, by Janice Hanna is more than a quirky romance about two people who love their town and want to save it. It’s a story about a small community that joins together for a greater good and in the process accomplishes what everyone thought was impossible.

Camelot is filled with street names like Excalibur Drive and Lancelot Lane that help  inspire Amy Hart’s latest idea which she runs past her best friend Steve, the Mayor of Camelot, for approval.

Steve would do about anything to save the town including taking on the biggest job of his life–Putting on the musical Camelot to draw tourists to the small town.

Love Finds You in Camelot Tennessee is a laugh out loud read that is sure to entertain.

A Narrow Path

A Narrow Path by Gail Sattler hooked me from page one. This contemporary Mennonite romance left me wanting more.

Miranda Klassen accepted a year long commission to write and direct a musical for the Mennonite church in a small Minnesota town. She is excited about the opportunity, but soon realizes she doesn’t fit in with the old Mennonite ways. She works hard to be accepted especially by her biggest critic, the music director, Ted Wiebe.

Ted Wiebe is shocked that the woman they hired from Seattle to take over the church musical is not like his people. She’s modern, wears jeans and is more comfortable with a cell phone than a pen and paper.

I’ve been a fan of Sattler’s for years and haven’t read a book yet by her that I didn’t like. I was especially impressed with how I could “see” the story clearly in my mind. A Narrow Path was a refreshing take on all the Amish and in this case Mennonite books out there.

A Hope Undaunted

A Hope Undaunted, a historical romance  by Julie Lessman had me riveted. Usually it takes a romantic suspense to do that, but this book delivered with plenty of natural tension.

Katie O’Connor has her life all planned out. She will marry a wealthy man and become an attorney representing women’s rights. But when her boyfriend delivers her home late one time too many her dad grounds her for the summer and forces her to volunteer at  Boston Children’s Aid Society. A move that changes the course of her life.

Luke McGee, along with his best friend run Boston Children’s Aid Society. He is determined to make life miserable for Katie because of their past, but his boss intervenes and what could have been the longest summer in history turns out to be not so bad.

It’s a little hard to describe this book because it gets in the head of several characters and they are all woven perfectly together. I’ve never read a book like this, especially one meant for the Christian market. It addressed the challenges of life honestly, and didn’t have the normal veil we see in Christian books. I LOVED A Hope Undaunted, but it’s probably not for readers who prefer conservative Christian books.

When the Smoke Clears

When the Smoke Clears the first book in the Deadly Reunions series by Lynette Eason is romantic suspense at its best.

Suspended for not listening to her captain, fire fighter Alexia Allen, returns home to visit her ill mother and attend her ten year high school class reunion. From the moment she steps into her childhood home her life becomes a roller coaster as she is met with arson, murder, attempted murder and kidnapping.

Hunter Graham the man she had a crush on in high school is now a police detective and is determined to protect Alexia and find the person threatening her before it’s too late.

I’d tell you more, by but I don’t want to spoil the story. I’ve read several books by Eason and enjoyed them all, but this is by far my favorite.

Freezing Point

Freezing Point by Elizabeth Goddard is sure to please with fantastic romance and suspense.

Homeland Security agent, Jesse Mitchell is working undercover as an ice sculptor. Just when things start to heat up, reporter Casey Wilkes shows up on the loading dock threatening Jesse’s mission. In order to get Casey to safety and out of sight he promises her an exclusive interview regarding an upcoming ice sculpture competition.

Fleeing a stalker Casey ends up at her aunt and uncles place in California. She convinces the editor of the local paper to give her a chance and attempts to start her life over. But danger seems to follow wherever she goes.

If you’d like to read more about the author and her other books you can visit her web site at http://elizabethgoddard.com/

I for one am a new fan of Goddard and will be looking for books by her in the future. I hope you enjoy Freezing Point as much as I did.

Firethorn

I can think of only one word to describe Firethorn by Ronie Kendig–Intense. Firethorn is the final book in the Discarded Heroes series and it delivers. From the opening page this book takes off and never slows down.

Griffin Riddell is in prison for a murder he didn’t commit when his black ops team Nightshade is attacked.  Covert operative Kazi Faron takes on the job of reassembling the team and she starts by breaking Griffen from prison. Griffin and Kazi work together to find his team and in the process Kazi learns that there are honorable men in the world that can be trusted.

If you are looking for a sweet romance or an easy read then Firethorn is not for you. However, if you desire  heart thumping action then I highly recommend this book.

If you haven’t read any of the other books in the series I recommend reading those first. There are a lot of characters and even with the glossary of characters it was confusing at times for me until I had everything straight in my mind. That being said this book was one amazing scene after another. The physicality of the story reminds me of a great action movie and I wouldn’t be surprised to see this made into a movie someday.

Nipped in the bud

Nipped in the bud by Susan Sleeman entertained me to the end. This whodunit romance is riddled with roll-your-eyes humor and engaging characters.

While digging at the local park Paige discovers a body buried in the site she’d been hired to landscape. Unfortunately she’s considered the prime suspect and the police aren’t looking for the real killer. Paige’s friends call in Adam, an out-of-town attorney, to manage her legal case, meanwhile Paige sets out to find the real killer.

I enjoyed the interaction of the characters and humorous moments between Paige and her attorney Adam. However I had the murder figured out long before the end. I don’t want to spoil anything for you so I’ll leave it at that, but I suspect you will probably experience my frustration regarding this one aspect. Don’t let that scare you away from this book though, because the story is more than figuring out the murder and I don’t regret the time I spent reading it.

Normally I wouldn’t post a review on a book with any kind of negative comment included, but I sincerely enjoyed this book except for that one aspect. Nipped in the bud  is filled with quirky humor and worth your time if you’re in the mood for a fun read.

The best thing of all is that if you are an Amazon Prime member you can borrow Nipped in the bud for free.

The Merchant’s Daughter

Before I tell you about The Merchant’s Daughter I wanted to wish everyone a happy new year. I look forward to reading many wonderful books this year. Generally I’m not one to make a resolution but this year I’ve made an exception and actually made two. The first being, I want to read at least one book a week. Granted that’s not much of a stretch.:) Did you make a resolution? Now onto our book of the week, which is currently only $1.99 for Nook and Kindle, but you must  purchase it today because according to Melanie  it goes back to regular price tomorrow.

The Merchant’s Daughter is one of the best books I have ever read. Now that’s saying a lot considering how many I’ve read. The most surprising thing to me is that it’s a YA romance set in medieval times.

Melanie Dickerson’s new release is about Annabel, a merchant’s daughter, who is forced  into indentured servitude to Lord Ranulf le Wyse. When her father dies and his ships are destroyed the family is left with little money and even less desire to work in the fields as required by their village. After three years of shirking their duty, the family is sentenced to pay a ridiculously high fee or one of them must be an indentured servant for three years.

Annabel’s brothers want her to marry the bailiff so he will pay their future fees and they won’t have to work, but Annabel refuses. Annabel’s dream is to live in the nunnery so that she will be able to read the Scriptures. She does not want to marry a man old enough to be her father. Feeling rejected and unloved by her family, Annabell agrees she will serve the lord and moves to his property.

I would love to tell you more, but I don’t want to spoil the story for you. It’s rare that I read a book I can’t put down, but this book is an exception. I almost read it from cover to cover in one day. The Merchant’s Daughter is a wonderful love story that I highly recommend. To view the trailer or to read more about The Merchant’s Daughter, visit Melanie’s website at

http://www.melaniedickerson.com/books.html

A Texas Legacy Christmas

 

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas! I have one Christmas book left to review this month. It’s not a new release, but I’m a  fairly new fan of DiAnn Mills, so I read it anyway.

A Texas Legacy Christmas is a delightful story of life’s unexpected twists and turns. Love and forgiveness unfold in this historical romance.

Newspaper man, Zack Kahler has no idea a fall on the ice will change the course of his life, but  two orphans pinch more than his wallet when they offer him help up–they take his heart as well.

Chloe Weaver, homeless and hungry secures a job at the only respectable boarding house in town. She is relieved to have plenty of food and a roof over her head, but then Zack, her childhood crush, moves back to town with two children in tow. She is immediately smitten with his children and falls in love with Zack all over again.

Check out more books by DiAnn Mills at diannmills.com

A Home For Christmas

A Home For Christmas  includes two stories. The Sweetest Gift by Mary Connealy, and A Christmas Angel, by Robin Lee Hatcher. I really enjoyed these sweet easy to read historical Christmas stories.

Although The Sweetest Gift used a much written plot (widower needs a wife to care for his child and marries a stranger) the story was told in a fresh way, and I LOVED it.

Spinster, librarian and concert pianist, Adelaide Snyder agrees to honor her  friend’s dying wish and marry her husband in order to care for their two-year-old daughter. Adelaide has a lot to learn about life in the country, but she is up to the challenge and earns the respect and love of her new family. She learns much about herself in the process and discovers that true love is unselfish.

In A Christmas Angel we meet a young girl who was injured in a fall and unable to walk. Desperate to help his daughter, widower, Mick Gerrard, asks his in-laws for help. Their reply isn’t what he expected.

Nurse, Jennifer Whitmore jumps at the opportunity to head out west to Idaho to help her niece. She had a school girl crush on Mitch  when he worked in her father’s mercantile. Of course he’d never noticed her and had married her stepsister. But she was determined to help her niece if she could.

I hope one day this short story will be developed into a full length novel. I really enjoyed A Christmas Angel and wanted to keep reading when the story ended even though it had a satisfying ending.