Secondhand Cowboy, book #23

Iris Tatum hasn't seen her high school sweetheart, Callum Stewart, since he left years ago without a single word. Then she witnesses a horrific hit-and-run accident and comes face to face with her past - and Cal's triplets. A volunteer paramedic, Iris can't walk away...no matter how much she wants to.
Bull rider Callum Stewart was run out of town at age 20 and vowed never to return. Only one thing could bring him back: building a future for his sons. Now, thanks to the accident that left him with a broken leg, he needs help to care for his boys. He has no choice but to accept Iris's grudging help.
As they rediscover a friendship - and the sparks that never faded between them - Callum's secrets are brought back with a vengeance. How can they keep the past from destroying their future? (picture and description from amazon)

Another quick read that was really cute!

O:)
Melissa

Home is Where the Heart Is, book #22

Ten years ago, Violet Collingsworth left the town founded by her family, eager to escape a domineering grandmother and a past filled with hurt. Finally able to pursue her own dreams, Violet has spent the last decade traveling and enjoying adventures in the outdoors she loves so much. But now her grandmother's death has brought her back to Collingsworth and to the conflicted familial relationships of her past. Settling down anywhere, let alone Collingsworth, was not part of her agenda, but a run-in with the town sheriff has her reconsidering. Sheriff Dean Marconett has heard plenty about the Collingsworth sister who loved to travel, but he never imagined he'd be so drawn to her when they finally met. Hoping to win her heart, he keeps secret the one thing that might scare her away. Will he be able to convince Violet to consider settling down in the town she fled from so long ago before his secret is revealed? Or will her adventuresome spirit and the hurts and fears of her past, along with his secret, drive her away from a chance at love?  (picture and description from amazon)

Read on!

O:)
Melissa

Sixteen Brides, book #21

Sigh.  My pioneers.  It was good to be home.  :) Absolutely LOVED this book, definitely of my new favorites!


Sixteen Civil War widows living in St. Louis respond to a series of meetings conducted by a land speculator who lures them west by promising "prime homesteads" in a "booming community." Unbeknownst to them, the speculator's true motive is to find an excuse to bring women to the fledgling community of Plum Grove, Nebraska, in hopes they will accept marriage proposals shortly after their arrival! Sparks fly when these unsuspecting widows meet the men who are waiting for them. These women are going to need all the courage and faith they can muster to survive these unwanted circumstances especially when they begin to discover that none of them is exactly who she appears to be. (picture and description from amazon)

Wonder what I'll read next?

O:)
Melissa

The Doctor's Bond, book #20

For the less than two people who follow this blog, and are fans of Lee Tobin McClain's series The Sacred Bond you may realize I made a grievous error back in January.  When I read His Baby Bond I am beginning to think that somehow I was reading the wrong book. I am not sure what happened, but the book I have now on my Paperwhite IS the right one, and now I need to go back and read it because I am pretty sure I'm hooked on these guys now.  

In the words of the author, "The Sacred Bond series spotlights four former delinquents who grow up to become heroes due to a bond they made as teenagers." This particular book is #4 in the series and had I of read the right book with His Baby Bond (#1) this might have made more sense.  But that is water under the bridge.  

This Christian romance novel features Bad Boone McDermitt, who's back in Pleasant Haven, Florida to help his troubled nephews ... not to romance the preacher’s daughter! But the handsome doctor sees a kindred spirit in restless, talented Abby Smith, and he’s drawn to her spirituality as much as to her beauty. The problem is, Boone doesn’t think he’s good enough for Abby, and a few small-minded church people agree. As for Abby, she must choose between a dutiful life with the clean-cut minister dear old dad’s chosen for her and the dangerous, passionate freedom Boone represents. It’ll take a lot of prayer and an assist from the Sacred Bond brothers to teach Boone and Abby that sometimes, the biggest risk is in not following your heart. (description, quotes and picture from amazon.)

Of course, now the end makes sense because "The Doctor's Bond brings to a close the Sacred Bond series of Christian romance books." 

Sigh ... I need Amazon gift cards for Christmas.   

Happy Reading!

O:)
Melissa 

A Soldier's Promise, book #19

Quick read before I started on our Book Club book, but I just realized it is next week so I better get started soon!

Reeling from a broken engagement that resulted in a small town scandal, ER nurse Julie Crain just wants to be left alone over the Fourth of July Holiday weekend. But when single dad, Derek Ryerson and his young daughter need a place to stay to recuperate from a car accident, Julie can't ignore their plight. She knows she needs to protect her heart, but little Lexi needs love and support. But soon she realizes the former soldier has a secret that could tear them apart.  (description from amazon)

Shadowed by Grace, book #18

Roger got me this book for Christmas and since it had been sitting in the pile by the bed for awhile I decided to take a break from the Paperwhite and read a "real book".  

Here's the thing I will always love about reading ~ it takes you away!  Just today I was finishing this book up and I was sitting outside while some girls I gave birth to flitting around and making all sorts of loud noise.  But I was so entranced in my book, all that felt 1000 miles away and in reality I was in Florence, Italy in 1944 and there were Germans shooting at me .... 

I love this book about the Monuments Men.  I had never heard about them until we watched the movie with Matt Damon and George Clooney, but then I was very intrigued.  I'm so glad he got me this book!  Hang on tight til the end!

Shadowed by Grace is a dramatic story inspired by the Monuments Men of World War II by acclaimed author Cara C. Putman. Desperate to save her dying mother, Rachel accepts her newspaper's assignment to travel to Italy to capture images dangerously close to the front lines of WWII. Her real motive - to find the father she never knew -- an artist she hopes can offer the comfort and support both she and her mother need to survive. It's an unlikely situation for love and faith to flourish, but soon Rachel not only finds herself, but also her long-lost earthly father, and ultimately, the man her Heavenly father created to cherish and provide for her.

In other reading news, I finally got my Paperwhite books in an order that is easily searchable.  If you will remember, not long after I started piling books on it I immediately ran into a HUGE problem!  While you can "flip through" the titles and covers of the books on your e-reader, you cannot see the summary on the back to know what the book is about!  And you can't see how thick it is!  So I have now undertaken the monstrous project of organizing all that information together with my good friend Excel.  I made a whole bunch of sheets in one document that breaks out all the books I have by Alpha, Fiction/Nonfiction Alpha, Fiction/Nonfiction number of pages, Series, and Fiction/Nonfiction summaries.  So now I can get on my one file and see what I want to read next.  I'm debating adding a sheet with Genres also, but I got tired of looking at all those titles!  

Happy Reading!!

O:)
Melissa

The Seventh Hour, book #17

Well, this month for Book Club we went with an oldie, a dear Grace Livingston Hill book.  I do love her writing, but I honestly wasn't in the mood.  I have been reading some fun, light, catchy books and didn't start out enjoying the expressive writing and heavy details, but alas ... as time wore on I again fell in love this book.  If you will remember, it was here that I fell in love with her.

Interestingly enough, this book has two different synopses, depending on which site you visit.  I chose this book from Amazon, since that is where I get all my Paperwhite books.  It says:

Dana Barron was raised by a godly father and had no contact with his mother who took his sister and abandoned the family over twenty years ago. But on his deathbed, Dana’s father asks him to be reunited with his mother and sister. Reluctantly, Dana enters New York society, dragging his friend Bruce along for moral support. Faced with a world foreign to his own and full of greed and danger, Dana pledges to show his sister a better way and take her to a place of safety. 

I specifically wanted to read this book based on this summary.  (This is also the summary at Lifeway) However, when I went to see if there were summaries on other sites, I found a completely different description, this one from Good Reads:

Beautiful, willful Caralie is in love at last with a wonderful man of faith, but will her turbulent past keep them apart? Grace Livingston Hill is the beloved author of more than 100 books. Read and enjoyed by millions, her wholesome stories contain adventure, romance, and the heartwarming triumphs of people faced with the problems of life and love.

I think I would have been pretty disappointed had I started reading this book had I only read the second synopsis because it takes it in a completely different way than the first review does.

Whether you are a fan of "old books" or heavy description or not, I highly recommend reading at least one Grace Livingston Hill books!

O:)
Melissa