My Stubborn Heart, book #16

 

Here I am half way through the alphabet!  

Super cute book with lots of God and lots of fun and some honest and realistic people.  10/10.

Kate Donovan is burned out on work, worn down by her dating relationships, and in need of an adventure. When her grandmother asks Kate to accompany her to Redbud, Pennsylvania, to restore the grand old house she grew up in, Kate jumps at the chance, takes a leave of absence from her job as a social worker, and the two of them set off.  Upon her arrival in Redbud, Kate meets Matt Jarreau, the man her grandmother has hired to renovate the house. From the first moment she meets Matt, Kate can't help but be attracted to him--he's got a combination of good looks and charisma that draw and tug at her. But she knows there's zero chance of a romance between them. Matt's in love with his dead wife, and even if he weren't, Kate realizes that she's way too ordinary for him. For Matt Jarreau is no ordinary guy. Kate discovers that he was once a great NHL hockey player who left the sport when his wife--an honest-to-goodness former Miss America--was diagnosed with brain cancer. Matt's been hiding from people, from God, and from his past ever since. Yet Kate is absolutely determined to befriend him, to try to reach him, to help him in some small way.  No, Kate's not looking for love. She knows better than that by now. But when the stilted, uncomfortable interactions between Kate and Matt slowly shift into something more, is God finally answering the longing of her heart? Or will Kate be required to give up more than she ever dreamed?  (picture and description at Amazon)

Several "N" books to chose from, wonder what will be next?!?

Keep reading!

Melissa

Love Unexpected, book #15

 

I wasn't sure I was going to like this book initially, but in the end I absolutely loved it.  Yes, some things need to be kept in the past, but some things need to be said.  Sweet story of good things for undeserving people finally coming around.

All Emma Chambers ever wanted was a home, but when her steamboat sinks just outside Presque Isle, she's left destitute and with no place to stay.  An unlikely solution arises when the lighthouse keeper arrives in town. He's just lost his wife and is having a difficult time caring for his child. So a traveling preacher gets the idea that the keeper and Emma might be the answer to each other's dilemma. After a hasty marriage, she finds herself heading to the lighthouse with this handsome but quiet stranger. Nothing in her aimless life, though, has prepared her for parenting a rambunctious toddler, as well as managing a household.  Emma soon suspects Patrick may be hiding something from her, and then she hears a disturbing rumor about the circumstances surrounding his late wife's death. It seems as if her wish for a home and family of her own could end up leading her once more into turbulent waters.  (pictures and description at Amazon)

Happy Spring and Sunshine!  Keep reading!

Melissa

Kiss the Bride : Three Summer Love Stories, book #14

 

I had a really hard time finding a "K" book because apparently I only had one in my vast collection!! And I even looked at my "real books" too!  I guess if I make it back around again some time I'll just have to read a book on Korea or something.  😆

Meet the people who make it all happen—the photographers, chefs, and the writers who have helped orchestrate and document the perfect day for countless couples—as they find their own happy endings in three sweet novellas.

Picture Perfect Love: A June Wedding Story by Melissa McClone

When image becomes everything, it’s up to love to refocus the heart. Photographer Jenna Harrison wants every bride and groom to look picture perfect on their special day. But her own heart is still broken, the unworn wedding dress hanging in her closet a reminder that relationships aren’t always as perfect as they look through her camera lens. Attorney Ashton Vance is the one that got away, but he wrongly blamed Jenna for ruining his political aspirations. Even if Jenna can forgive him, dare he hope for a second chance at her love?

I Hope You Dance: A July Wedding Story by Robin Lee Hatcher

Will a sworn bachelor determined to stay single fall in love with his dance teacher? Grant Nichols is a genius in the kitchen and a klutz on the dance floor. But his friend’s wedding is shaping up to be a shindig the likes of which Kings Meadow has never seen—including dancing. Lots of dancing. Former rodeo queen Skye Foster is offering dance lessons for the wedding party. Grant and Skye are no match on paper. But when they step onto the dance floor, they create a melody all their own.

Love on a Deadline: An August Wedding Story by Kathryn Springer

MacKenzie “Mac” Davis returns to her hometown of Red Leaf, Wisconsin, and takes a job at the weekly newspaper writing about social events. When Hollis Channing, Mac’s high school nemesis, returns to Red Leaf to marry her celebrity fiancé, the editor asks Mac to cover all the festivities for the newspaper. The last thing Mac wants to do is reconnect with the person who made her life miserable when she was a teenager . . . unless it’s spending time with Ethan Channing, the bride’s older brother—and Mac’s first crush.  (picture and description at Amazon)

Luckily my next book was easier to pick out!

Keep reading!

Melissa

Juliette and the Monday ManDates, book #13

 

Katie drew this one for me as well and it was another winner!  Cute, funny, serious, silly, all the things I love in a book.  Except, OOPS!  Its the first in a series and now I want to read all of them!!

Juliette is perfectly content with her quiet nights at home alone, especially when they include Mr. Yu's takeout and sappy RomComs.  But her sisters think she’s teetering on the brink of spinsterhood. So they've come up with an intervention plan: weekly blind dates until their Jules finds her knight in shining armor… or until they run out of single guy friends.  They’re calling it The Monday ManDates.  Survival skills kicking in, Juliette secretly names each new Monday man. There’s TheraPaul, Frisky Frank, and TAZ the Rock Star, for starters. Then there’s the Officer Manly Man, the policeman with a penchant for pulling Juliette over when she’s at her very worst.  With a lineup like that, positively identifying her happily-ever-after seems like a long shot.  Then again, maybe, just maybe, she’s looking for love in all the wrong places. (picture and description at Amazon)

Next up is a "K" book and it has been a bit of a challenge as I had ONE "K" book.  I even checked in my "The " books and "A " books -- none.  I even went through my lenghty Book List on Amazon and looked through all the books on my shelves.  So I guess I will read this one and then I'll won't be able to read "K" books after this, unless I can find another one!

Happy Reading!

Melissa

The Inn at Ocean's Edge, book #12

 

Oh my word!!  Katie was home this past week on Spring Break, so I let her pick my next two books.  She is definately just as good of a picker as Roger is because this one HIT THE BALL OUT OF THE PARK!!!  It has been a while since I read a Colleen Coble book and I had forgotten how good she was.  This one will have you sitting on the edge of your seat - or bed! - through out the entire thing.

In 1989, Claire Dellamare disappeared from her own fourth birthday party at the Hotel Tourmaline on the island of Folly Shoals, Maine. She showed up a year later at the same hotel, with a note pinned to her dress but no explanation. Nobody knows where Claire spent that year—and until now, Claire didn’t even know she had ever been missing.  But when Claire returns to the Hotel Tourmaline for a business meeting with her CEO father, disturbing memories begin to surface . . . despite her parents’ best efforts to keep them forgotten.  Luke Rocco lost his mother under equally mysterious circumstances—at the same time Claire disappeared. After a chance encounter reveals the unlikely link between them, Claire and Luke set out together to uncover the truth about what happened that fateful year.  With flashbacks swimming just beneath her consciousness and a murderer threatening her safety, Claire’s very life depends on unscrambling her past . . . even if her family refuses to acknowledge it. Someone—maybe everyone—is hiding something from Claire, and it could cost her everything to drag the truth out into the light.  (book and description from Amazon)

I hope the next one Katie picked out is just as amazing!

Keep Reading!

Melissa

Heart's Awakening, book #11

 

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this or not, it's got a pretty basic plot line: pioneer/out west etc widower man with kid/kids needs help, marries "in name only" a widow/spinster etc but then they probably end up falling in love.

Yes, that is how this one ended up also (of course, no surprises) but the way they get there is always a ride.  I'd recommend it, even if you might be bored with the story type.

With no means to support herself, Ellie Kilmer agrees to work as a housekeeper for the young widower who lives on Dillon Island, hopeful she can obtain a proper reference. But Jackson Smith quickly realizes that Ellie's presence may solve his own problems--both the rearing of his young boys and the scandal that surrounds his first marriage. When a marriage of convenience is offered, Ellie is initially humiliated. Though she is past the age most women marry, she has more pride than to agree to his outlandish suggestion. Yet what options does she have? To marry would mean a home and stability. So despite the rumors circling Jackson and his first wife, Ellie accepts this unlikely proposal... (picture and description at Amazon)

As I venture into an "I" book, it occurred to me I need to adjust a little how I am going about this.  In my large and somewhat clunky spreadsheets I simply have all the books whose title starts with "The" under T.  So no wonder sometimes there weren't very many books for a particular letter.  From now on, I'm going to adjust my "picking list" to include books that start with "The" where the second word starts with whatever letter I am working on at the time.  

Keep Reading!

Melissa

Georgia on Her Mind, book #10

 

After the intensity of the other one, this was a fun, quick read.  Rachel Hauck never fails to entertain.  Although it was like eating cotton candy, it was still yummy!

On a sunny Monday morning, Macy Moore was on the fast track to success. By noon, all of her dreams were derailed.  Macy Moore skedaddled from her hometown of Beauty, Georgia to Florida in order to make her own way in the world. Successful and happy, she couldn’t be more proud of her corporate executive job, her just-perfect boyfriend and her beach side condo. But it all falls apart when reads the first email of the day. She’s demoted to the lowest rung on the corporate ladder . . . and dumped! She goes from being “someone” to a being “nobody,” all on the eve of returning home to emcee her high school reunion.  Thank goodness for the “Single Saved Sisters.” With loyal friends Lucy, Adriane and Tamara by her side, Macy retreats to the House of Joe for coffee, consolation and heart-to-heart consultation. Can they help her put her life back together? Yet it's when her former heartthrob, Dylan, shows up on her doorstep, that Macy begins to realize that leaving Beauty, Georgia took her away from everything in life she really loved. (picture and description from Amazon)

Keep Reading!

Melissa

Five Days in May, book #9

 

This book.  This book.  I don't even know where to start.  I was so excited to read it, but I was not too far in before I realized this was probably a mistake.  I even picked it for Book Club and earlier this week sent an apology text telling everyone it was a super sad book and if they had not started reading it yet to not even bother.  I couldn't see too much Jesus in it, every single person was in a really hard situation, and I was not anticipating it ending well. (I mean, just look at the cover!) 

But, four good things came from this book.

1.  The writing was indeed amazing.  This is one where by reading the book the author is so descriptive that even though the setting in 1963, you can see -- hear -- smell -- FEEL -- everything as though you were right there in the middle of the action.  That could be one of the reasons this book was so challenging to read, it FELT real.

2.  In the last 20% of the book everything started coming together -- and fast!  Just like the tornado that was about to rip through the little town.  It almost as if the tornado was symbolic of the action in the book. 

3.  There is some Jesus in it.  Even though it is not as obviously stated, He is there, protecting the ones who need to be protected; softening hearts, emboldening souls and bringing reconciliation.  

4.  In the end, the bad guy dies, the good guys win and life turns around for them, but also a good guy died.  But in the big picture of things, that was ok too.  

Do I recommend it?  That is not a question for me to answer.  If you enjoy books intense like this, then yes, read it.  If you don't, then don't.  Your life will not be missing anything if you don't.  But I will say, for someone who likes to stick to cowboys, indians, pioneers, westerns, romance, I read it.  I lived to tell.  And it took me on a ride I won't soon forget.

Three members of the McIntosh family are setting appointments with death: Friday, May 10, 1963. That's the day an F5 tornado will rip across Oklahoma, obliterating everything in its path.  Pastor Mac McIntosh lost his faith when his wife died — it's time to end the charade. But when a mysterious inmate called Princess is set to be executed, he grudgingly agrees to meet with her in her final days.  Princess has watched Mac and his family for years, looking out through someone else's eyes. She speaks to Mac's heart with insight and grace, while in her own heart she harbors a secret she's determined to carry to her grave about the little sister she confessed to beheading 14 years ago.  Princess knows the monster tornado is coming. She calls it The Big Ugly and she pleads with Mac to run! But by then, it's too late. For all of them. (picture and description from Amazon)

We might need to take a break before we just into something else.  Or read something light and funny.  

Keep reading, even when it is hard!

Melissa

The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip, book #8

 

I had heard rave reviews about this book from various places, so I was excited when it was finally time to read an E book so I could get to it.  The hype was worth every word.  Go read it.

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she's been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who's just entered hospice care.  But there's more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she's not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it's a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that's just what Mrs. Kip will give her--but she's going to have to work for it. (description and photo from Amazon)

One of my favorite quotes from the book, one I hope to live by:

Happy Reading!

Melissa

God's Plan for the Unexpected Bride, book #7

 

So, funny story about this book.  Since I am trying to read through the alphabet I was thinking my next book would be an E book, but then our "picker" for Book Club chose this G book.  I debated if I should:

a. Read an E book and F book really fast before I started this

b. Read this first and count it as my G book, I mean who says I have to read the books in alphabet order?

c. Read it as a "freebie" and when I get to G just pick another one.

When I realized it was 436 pages and I had two weeks before Book Club I figured I better ditch (a) and decide later whether I go with (b) or (c).

The book was a little slow at first, but once I got about half way through I was all in.  I recommend it, just make sure you stick with it

His teenage brother places a mail-order bride ad and now Ray is bound to her forever…

Josephine flees from her fiancée, who wants nothing but her father's fortune. Determined to seek redemption and safety, she answers a mail-order bride ad.  Ray is responsible for his teenage brother after their parents' passing. His strictness is tested when Oliver, in an attempt to defy Ray's doubts about his capabilities, places a mail-order bride ad, to prove that he is mature enough to handle marriage.  Deceived by Oliver's lie, Josephine knows she cannot marry an underage suitor, so she grapples with an unexpected solution - to wed his grumpy older brother. Is this God's plan for her?  (photo and description from Amazon)

Now I am on to read my E book, one I have been very excited about reading for a while now!

Happy Reading!

Melissa

Dying to Read, book #6

 

After the "heavy" reading of my last book, this was a light read with a much more humourous tone.  I doubt I will read the others in the series, but it was a cute break.

Cate Kinkaid is just dipping her toe into the world of private investigating until one of the many résumés she has floating around lands her a real job. All she has to do is determine that a particular woman lives at a particular address. Simple, right? When the big and brooding house happens to contain a dead body, this routine PI job turns out to be anything but simple. Is Cate in over her head? (picture and descriptio at Amazon)

As a side note, I just saw that I purchased this in 2014.  Guess it was time I read it!  ;)

Keep Reading!

Melissa

Courting Cate, book #5

 

In my walk through the alphabet, next was C.  I made Roger pick for me again and he again chose a good one!  The first part was fun, the middle took a very odd twist, the end was not quite what I hoped because there were too many questions left undone.  I could probably be talked into reading the other books in the series though, sometime later.

When this couple gets to courting, sparks will fly!  In Paradise, Pennsylvania, Cate Miller is known more for her sharp tongue and fiery temper than her striking appearance. Her sweet and flirty sister, Betsy, on the other hand, seems to have attracted most of the bachelors in Lancaster County!  But the sisters' wealthy father has made one hard-and-fast rule: older Cate must marry first, before younger Betsy can even start courting. Unfortunately, untamable Cate has driven away every suitor--until Pete Treger comes to town, that is.  Prodded by the men of the area, Pete turns his attention to winning Cate's hand. But is his interest true or is there a scheme at play? (picture and description at Amazon)

Stay tuned for what is up next!!

O:)

Melissa

Bright Arrows, book #4

 

Ok, so my B book threw me a little at first.  If you have ever read any of Grace LIvingston Hill's books, you know they are written in and set in the 1940s, so the language was just more proper and dignified.  It begins ...

Eden was sitting in the library of the old house where she had lived all her life.  She was going over some papers in the big library desk.  Her father had asked her to give special attention to them as soon as she would get home from his funeral service and be alone.

She had eaten quietly and conscientiously of the delicious supper that the devoted sorrowing servants had lovingly prepared for her.  She had tried to keep a cheerful face during their ministrations and then had told them that she wouldn't need them anymore tonight and they must go their beds and rest, for they had had a hard day.  They had blessed her for her thoughtfulness and gone off to finish the few remaining household duties.  Then they went silently to their rooms.

But once you get used to the style and try to put yourself in the scene, you can enjoy the story even more.  There were parts that got a little slow, and parts that were a little "spicy" by 1940s standards, but all in all in was a rather enjoyable book. 

Eden Thurston is orphaned and struggling to remain positive as scheming relatives swoop in for a portion of her father’s estate. Then letters she finds written by her mother when Eden was a child give her new hope to face the future, while a handsome young lawyer steps in to help her settle the estate issues.

I will tell you, though, this short summary does not even scratch the surface of all the characters involved in the book, including Ellery Fane, the son of her uncle's wife, but from a different father and his mother Lavira Fane, which are no good thieves who are trying to scam a way to getting into Eden's money.  Then there are Janet and Tabor, the faithful main servants who keep Eden safe from all the troublemakers; Casper Carvel, her childhood friend who changed so much during the war and thought he could just pick up where he left off with Eden; Mr. Lorrimer, that "handsome young lawyer" and the rat Niles Nevin, the brother of Eden's college roommate who just knew for sure she was the one for him.

Happy Reading!

O:)

Melissa

At Bluebonnet Lake, book #3

 

Just finished my first book in my Alphabet Reading Plan.  I made a list of all the ones that start with A, printed them out and cut them in strips, then had Roger pick one out.  He did good, I really enjoyed this one A LOT!!

Marketing maven Kate Sherwood's world is fast-paced, challenging, and always changing. The last thing she wants to do is slow down to a crawl at Rainbow's End, a dilapidated resort in the Texas Hill Country. But she cannot deny her ailing grandmother's request to visit the place where she and her deceased husband spent one glorious week (albeit fifty years ago). There Kate meets Greg Vange, the resort's handyman. But there's more to Greg than meets the eye--billions more, in fact, as he recently sold his successful software company and is at the resort in search of what's next for his life. Kate isn't looking for romance, but she can't deny the sparks of attraction that fly every time she and Greg are together. She even starts to see potential in the rundown resort. Could there be a future there? Or will Kate's long-sought promotion take her back to the big city? Amanda Cabot invites readers to step away from the pressures of the daily grind. They might be surprised by what they find at Rainbow's End.  (photo and description at Amazon)

As tempted as I am to jump into book 2 of this series, I'm sticking to my plan for reading a B book next.  I've got my strips ready for him to pick another good one!

Keep Reading!

Melissa

And so we begin again .....

And so we begin a new year with lots of new books to read!  I *may* to try get some nonfiction in, since Leah & Katie beg me to, but there are so many fiction books already on my Paperwhite .....

The first one I read this year was The Christmas Clue to Finding You, which was actually my one last Christmas leftover book.  It is by Pepper Basham, who I had never heard of until our good author/friend Krista Phillips mentioned her on her Facebook page.  I decided to give her a try and I was not disappointed!  I will probably be adding more of her books to my pile.  

After five years away, Piper Dawson returns home to Kedgewick Creek and is pulled into a Christmas Scavenger Hunt that resurrects a heartbreak from Christmas past she’s not quite ready to mend. Will a matchmaking granny, a little Christmas magic, and a cute guy in a kilt make all the difference to her Christmas yet-to-come? (picture and description at Amazon)

And then we have the new Tamara Alexander book.  It came out in November and I have been not very patiently waiting to read it.  It has been longer than normal for one of her books to release and once I got all caught up with all her other books, I wasn't sure I could wait another minute!  

But, my friends, it was worth the wait!  This is her first book written in modern times and she just went above and beyond.  

Claire Powell’s life is turned upside down when her beloved husband admits to a “near affair.” But when Stephen accepts a partnership with an Atlanta law firm without consulting her and buys a historic Southern home sight-unseen—it pushes their already-fractured marriage to the breaking point. Claire’s world spirals, and she soon finds herself in a marriage she no longer wants, in a house she never asked for.  In 1863, Charlotte Thursmann, pregnant and trapped in a marriage to an abusive husband, struggles to protect her unborn child and the enslaved members of her household. Desperate, she’s determined to right the evils her husband and others like him commit. But how can one woman put an end to such injustice? Especially if her husband makes good on his threat to kill her?  Both Claire and Charlotte discover truths about themselves they never realized, along with secrets long hidden that hold the power to bring God’s restoration—if only they choose to let it. (Picture and description at Amazon)

 

So many good quotes from the book:

I have been at a loss how to always pick a book or how to even try to work through all nearly books on my Paperwhite, but I came up with a small plan for this year.  I'm going to "Read the Alphabet".  So obviously not all the books in alphabetical order, but I am quite sure I will read more than 26, especially since we are reading the Bible through again this year!  But this way I have some direction of which way to go!

I can't wait to see what I read -- and what YOU read too!

Melissa