Here to Stay - A Review

Published - May 2014, Bethany House Publishers

Series - Where Love Begins book 2

Author - Melissa Tagg

Title - Here to Stay

Format - ebook, paper

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Blake Hunziker returns to his hometown of Whisper Shore, Michigan on the heels of his "celebrity" status as Miranda Woodruff's fake husband. He's ready to come to grips with his past and to put his years of wandering the globe behind him. When his father and the town's Chamber of Commerce offer him the job of getting the town ready for the Christmas festival, Blake agrees. There's only one problem. He has no idea how to run a festival. Autumn Kingsley is running her family's inn and dreaming of leaving her small town. Her inn is in need of a lot of TLC and when a high profile potential investor checks in, Autumn is determined to put her inn at its best. Though with no money for repairs, Autumn doesn't know how she will put the inn's best forward to her investor. When she runs into Blake, he offers a solution to both of their problems. He'll help with the repairs around the inn if she'll help him with the festival. Autumn knows that both of their families will protest the bargain due to a long held feud between them, but she agrees to Blake's offer. What she doesn't expect is to start to fall for the man. What's Blake to do when the man who has stopped running begins to fall in love with the girl who can't wait to leave?

After loving Melissa Tagg's debut novel, Made to Last, last year, I eagerly anticipated Blake's story. I'd grown to love him in Made to Last and had very high expectations for this book. I'm pleased to say that this book exceeded all of my expectations.

This one was filled with humor like the first. I loved how Blake wanted to show he'd changed and had moved far from his nickname of "Blaze." I loved how he went out of his way to help someone or to assist Autumn. For her part, Autumn needed to discover who she really was and what made her happy. I loved her journey.

Seriously, if this were a movie, it had all of the makings of a chick flick that I'd enjoy over and over. I loved this book just as much as the first.

I received this book for free from the author as part of her Tagg Team to help promote the book. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of romantic comedies, chick lit, Janice Thompson, Becky Wade, Melissa Tagg, contemporary romance

Rating - 5 stars

The Dream Dress - A Review

Publisher - Revell Books, a division Baker Publishing House, available February 2014

Series - Weddings by Design book 3

Author - Janice Thompson

Title - The Dream Dress

Format - ebook, paper

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Gabi Delgado longs to be more than just a "material girl" at the high end bridal shop on Galveston Island. She spends her nights sketching and creating her own designs of bridal gowns. Unfortunately for Gabi, her boss only sees her as an alterations specialist. When a handsome reporter from Texas Bride magazine arrives at the bridal shop to do a feature story on the designs created by Gabi's boss, he soon discovers Gabi's talent and decides to feature both Gabi's designs and her boss's. The more time that Gabi spends with Jordan (the reporter) the more that sparks fly between them. Not only is Gabi attracted to him, she's drawn to his faith. Add in Bella Neeley, the Splendora Sisters, two best friends, and a Spanish grandmother, Gabi soon finds herself willing to take a chance and soar on her own.

As always, I know I'm in for a humorous adventure anytime I pick up one of Janice Thompson's books. This one is no exception. I loved all of the characters, especially Gabi. I also loved all of the Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers references and quotes. Janice has a way of creating characters that yearn for something more, and then gently delivering a solid faith message.

Jordan was such a sweet heart. I loved that Gabi kept thinking of him as Prince William. I also loved the constant references to Cinderella. I know fairy tale retellings are a big thing right now, and this is not one. But I could still see the elements of a simple Cinderella story. I wish the Club Wed, the Parma John's pizzaria, Scarlet's bakery were real spots on Galveston Island that I could visit on my next trip to the Island. But they're not. I have to content myself with visiting them over and over through both the Weddings by Bella series and this one, Weddings by Design. I am eagerly looking forward to book 4.

I received the kindle version of this book for free from Revell Books via NetGalley for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of chick lit, romantic comedy, Janice Thompson, Rachel Hauck, Becky Wade, Melissa Tagg, Abby Gaines

Rating - 4 stars

Undeniably Yours - A Review

When Megan Cole's oil tycoon father dies unexpectedly, she suddenly finds herself at the helm of his company and his holdings. His holdings include not only the multi-million dollar Cole Oil, but also a horse farm on the family's ranch. As Meg tries to navigate the life of a corporate business woman, she wants to unload some of the holdings. Unfortunately for Bo Porter, one of the holdings she wants to unload is the horse farm. Bo convinces Meg to give him six months to get the farm out of debt before she sells it. During the six months, Bo and Meg fight an attraction to each other that neither feels can go anywhere. Yet when Meg's past suddenly arrives, she finds that a future with Bo is a lot more attractive than the demons of her past. Will they figure out what it is that God has in store for them? And will Meg find her place in her father's oil world?

This is the first book I've read by Becky Wade, though I have her debut novel on my Kindle. I just hadn't gotten around to reading it yet. This book hit me while I was in a mood of not really wanting to read. The last few books I'd read had been pretty deep, so I wanted something light and fun. This book met that goal. First of all the cover of the book alludes to fun. I found the characters to be delightful. Meg's a rich girl but isn't a spoiled brat. She has for the past several years lived on a very modest salary. She's also got an almost country girl simplicity to her. Bo is every inch the cowboy. He works and manages a horse farm. He seems to be more at home in a pair of dirty jeans and boots than a business suit. Yet for all his country boy charm, he is also fiercely protective of those he loves, including Meg. I loved seeing how he was willing to fight for the time to prove to Meg that the farm was a good investment. Some of the secondary characters were sweet as well.

For me, this was a perfect relaxing, fun book that I didn't have to think while reading.

I received this book for free from Bethany House for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommend to fans of chick lit, contemporary romance, Karen Witemeyer, Robin Jones Gunn

Rating - 4 stars

Picture Perfect - A Review

Hannah McDermott wants to be Galveston Island's premiere wedding photographer and the one that Bella Neely refers to her brides. The problem? That spot is currently held by the handsome Drew Kincaid. As Hannah deals with a bridezilla,  she and Drew find out that they have more in common than just photography. Toss in the Italian Rossi family, the gang from Splendora, a best friend, and a movie star, and Picture Perfect will delight the reader with humor and grace.

It was so much fun to revisit Bella and the gang at Club Wed in this brand new series. I actually enjoyed seeing how Hannah struggles with her feeling of inadequacy and seeing Bella (who struggled with some of those same feelings in the Weddings by Bella series) talk Hannah through those issues. I found Drew to be delightful. While this particular book wasn't quite as funny as some of the other ones in either the Weddings by Bella series or the Backstage Pass series, I did find myself thoroughly enjoying it. It was a fast read for me.

I received the Kindle edition for free from the publisher, Revell Books via NetGalley for the purpose of reviewing. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of romantic comedy, Krista McGee, Mary Connealy, and chick-lit.

Rating - 4 stars

Available February, 2013 at your favorite bookstore from Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Getaway Girlz - A Review

Vivian Taylor is shocked when her marriage collapses. So what does she do? She calls one of her best friends. Before she knows it, Vivian, and her best friends - Lucy, Kate, and Wendy are on a plane headed for a much needed girls getaway in Mexico. Planning to spend a week on the beach, the girls aren't expecting to be drawn into an investigation of the murder of a young man they'd met on the beach, let alone have one of them be accused of the murder. Determined to clear the name of one of them and to find the real killer, the girls begin an investigation of their own. They have a list of suspects, but the authorities don't take them seriously. Will they be stuck in Mexico indefinitely?

Let me just say that if I hadn't been asked to read this book by the brother of one of the authors, I probably wouldn't have read it. It's not my typical style and genre. That said, I was drawn into the story pretty quickly. The characters are fun and quirky. I love the friendship between the girls. I also love how they are determined to make sure that they take care of each other. The plot twists were intriguing. I loved how the girls were determined to find the killer and gave everyone nicknames on their suspect list. There is quite a lot of humor in the book. Yet there is also a lot of language and drinking in the book too. So if language and drinking offends you, then I don't recommend this to you. However, if it doesn't bother you, you may just enjoy this book. Would I read other things by this author? Maybe. I did grow a bit attached to Lucy, Kate, Wendy, and Vivian.

Recommend to fans of a good beach read, adventure and suspense, and chick lit.

I read this book at the request of a childhood friend of mine, the brother of one of the authors. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Rating - I struggled with deciding how many stars to rate it. In my opinion it is really, for me at least, a 3.5 star rating. So for Amazon purposes it's 4 stars.