Love Letters from God - A Review

Published - April 2017, Zondervan Books
Author - Glenys Nellist
Title - Love Letters from God
Format - ebook, hardcover
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About the book -
In this heart-warming picture book designed for girls, author Glenys Nellist tells the inspiring stories of incredible women in the Bible. With beautiful illustrations by Rachel Clowes and sweet lift-the-flap envelopes, each story delivers a special message for children to open as they read their own personal love letters from God. Full of warmth and love, this picture book will fill girls’ hearts with the wonder of the Lord. The stories of Eve, Miriam, Esther, Mary, and many more will delight children and remind them of the bond they can share with God, just like the women of the Bible.

My Thoughts -
This was cute. Each story has a special letter to open. I found that it was longer than most Bible story books I'd read. I enjoyed it though.

I received a copy for free from the publisher to review. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating - 4 stars

What Hope Remembers - A Review

Published May 2017, Revell Books
Series - Misty Willow Book 3
Author - Johnnie Alexander
Title - What Hope Remembers
Format - e-book, paper
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Amy Somers never dreamed that she'd be living in the country. Yet after walking away from her career, she discovered she needed her family. And her family happens to live in the country. Amy's hoping to figure out who she is when she runs into childhood crush, Gabe Kendall. Gabe is a former Marine with a prison record. He happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. As he tries to make sense of his life now, he finds himself drawn to the girl he never forgot. Can these two hearts find healing together?

I didn't like Amy in the first book. I thought she was a brat. I didn't care much for her in the see book either. But this book showed how more there was to her. By the, I actually liked her. I loved Gabe though. I loved how he wanted to take care of his family.

This series is great. I have enjoyed each one.

I received this book for free from the publisher for the purpose of sharing my honest opinion. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of women's fiction.

Rating - 4 stars

Long Time Gone - A Review

Published - March 2017, Bethany House
Series - Cimarron Legacy Book 2
Author - Mary Connealy
Title - Long Time Gone
Format - ebook, paper
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The Bodens are still in danger. Someone wants their ranch. With Chance recovering in Denver, the running of the ranch falls to his children - Cole, Justin, and Sadie. Only now Cole's been shot and is fighting for his life. Justin and Heath, Sadie's husband, put plans in place to find the traitor. To complicate matters, the beautiful Angie DuPree is staying at the ranch to help ensure that Cole is on the mend. Justin finds the woman to be a big distraction. Will having her at the ranch put her life in danger?

It was a delight to return to the Cimarron Ranch. I saw the sparks between Justin and Angie in the first book, and eagerly devoured their story. While the problems at the ranch didn't get completely resolved in this book, there have been some that were resolved. I can't wait for the third book to really wrap up the ends.

I received this book for free from the publisher for the purpose of providing my honest opinion. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Mary Connealy, westerns, historical fiction

Rating - 4 stars

True To You - A Review

Published - May 2017, Bethany House
Series - Bradford Sisters Book 1
Author - Becky Wade
Title - True to You
Format - ebook, paper
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Nora Bradford loves her job. She is a genealogist and the owner of a cute historical village. She loves to be around people and to help them. When former Navy SEAL, John Lawson enters her life, she wants to help him find his birth mother. Yet she doesn't count on falling for him.

This book is just as cute as the others that this author has written. First of all, I love the cover! It's gorgeous!

I loved getting to know Nora and John. I loved being a part of their search for answers for John. I also enjoyed getting to know Nora's sisters. 

I read this book rather quickly. It was light-hearted and fun. 

I received a copy of the book for free from the publisher in order to share my own opinion about the book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Becky Wade, contemporary romance

Rating - 4 stars

The Illusionist's Apprentice - A Review

Published - March 2017, Thomas Nelson
Author - Kristy Cambron
Title - The Illusionist's Apprentice
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the book (from Goodreads):
Harry Houdini’s one-time apprentice holds fantastic secrets about the greatest illusionist in the world. But someone wants to claim them . . . or silence her before she can reveal them on her own.

Boston, 1926. Jenny “Wren” Lockhart is a bold eccentric—even for a female vaudevillian. As notorious for her inherited wealth and gentleman’s dress as she is for her unsavory upbringing in the back halls of a vaudeville theater, Wren lives in a world that challenges all manner of conventions.

In the months following Houdini’s death, Wren is drawn into a web of mystery surrounding a spiritualist by the name of Horace Stapleton, a man defamed by Houdini’s ardent debunking of fraudulent mystics in the years leading up to his death. But in a public illusion that goes terribly wrong, one man is dead and another stands charged with his murder. Though he’s known as one of her teacher’s greatest critics, Wren must decide to become the one thing she never wanted to be: Stapleton’s defender.

Forced to team up with the newly formed FBI, Wren races against time and an unknown enemy, all to prove the innocence of a hated man. In a world of illusion, of the vaudeville halls that showcase the flamboyant and the strange, Wren’s carefully constructed world threatens to collapse around her.

Layered with mystery, illusion, and the artistry of the Jazz Age’s bygone vaudeville era, The Illusionist’s Apprentice is a journey through love and loss and the underpinnings of faith on each life’s stage. 



My Thoughts:
This one was different than the others I've read by this author. It was more of a mystery. I was still captivated by it though! I love how rich in detail the book is. I love how Wren must decide what secrets she can share while at the same time trying to keep herself, and her identity, out of the spotlight. 

I've not really thought about the way that magicians/illusionists work. This book was a fascinating glimpse into that world.

I received this book for free from the Booklook Blogger Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Kristy Cambron

Rating - 4 stars

Invitation - A Review

Published - April 2017, Bethany House
Series - Harbingers Cycle Book 1
Authors - Bill Myers, Frank Peretti, Angela Hunt, Alton Gansky
Title - Invitation
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the book (Goodreads):
Four Bestselling Authors Team Up for Thrilling Supernatural Suspense - Gathering four stories from four bestselling author friends, Invitation is the first collection in the ongoing Harbingers series. 

In "The Call" by Bill Myers, four strangers are drawn together to help a student at the mysterious Institute for Advanced Psychic Studies. His gifts are supposedly being honed to assist world leaders . . . but there are some very disturbing strings attached. 

Frank Peretti's "The Haunted" confronts a supernatural mystery, a case of murder, and an exploration into the darkness of the human heart, all centering around a mysterious house. 

In Angela Hunt's "The Sentinels," animals around the world are mysteriously dying. What could it mean? When the tragedy begins to touch Andi's dreams, she discovers a terrifying theory. 

"The Girl" by Alton Gansky is a gripping tale of a young barefoot girl found holding a scroll in the snowy Oregon mountains. She is sweet, innocent--apparently not of this world--and something wants to kill her.

My Thoughts:
This was unlike any other collection of novellas I've ever read. In this case, each novella builds on the previous one. Each one was told in first person. 

I was captivated immediately with this book. I've read books by these authors before, so I knew their writing styles. What I didn't expect to happen was that I was pulled completely into the book. The characters moved seamlessly from one novella to another. I cannot wait for the next installment of this series to come out. 

I received this book for free from the publisher for the purpose of providing my opinion. I was not compensated in any way for this book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of Bill Myers, Angela Hunt, Frank Peretti, Alton Gansky, suspense

Rating - 5 stars

With Love Wherever You Are - A Review

Published - March 2017, Tyndale House
Author - Dandi Daley MacKall
Title - With Love, Wherever You Are
Format - ebook, paper, audio
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About the book from Goodreads:
Everyone knows that war romances never last . . .
After a whirlwind romance and wedding, Helen Eberhart Daley, an army nurse, and Lieutenant Frank Daley, M.D. are sent to the front lines of Europe with only letters to connect them for months at a time.

Surrounded by danger and desperately wounded patients, they soon find that only the war seems real--and their marriage more and more like a distant dream. If they make it through the war, will their marriage survive?

My Thoughts:
I admit it. I'm a sucker for wartime romances. This one caught me immediately. Because it's based on the author's parent's love story. I loved everything about this book. Both Frank and Helen were well written. My heart rejoiced and broke for them as they navigated a war separated marriage. I also really enjoyed the secondary characters. Their letters made me feel like I really knew these characters.

At the end of the book, the author, in her note, explains how she came to write her parents' story. I think that was probably my favorite part. 

I loved this book. 

I received a copy of the book from the publisher for free in order to share my honest opinions about this book. I was not compensated in any way. My thoughts and opinions are my own. 

Recommended to fans of WWII, historical fiction, Sarah Sundin

Rating - 5 stars