Yesterday's Tides, book #28

 

I seem to be jumping around here at the end of the alphabet, but I am SO CLOSE to finishing!  It's exciting, but then I have to decide what order I want to read the next ones.

This book was a 10/10!!!  I wasn't sure I would like it or not, but the more I got into it, the more I couldn't put it down!  Highly recommend!

In two world wars, intelligence and counterintelligence, prejudice, and self-sacrifice collide across two generations.  In 1942, Evie Farrow is used to life on Ocracoke Island, where every day is the same--until the German U-boats haunting their waters begin to wreak havoc. And when special agent Sterling Bertrand is washed ashore at Evie's inn, her life is turned upside down. While Sterling's injuries keep him inn-bound for weeks, making him even more anxious about the SS officer he's tracking, he becomes increasingly intrigued by Evie, who seems to be hiding secrets of her own.  Decades earlier, in 1914, Englishman Remington Culbreth arrives at the Ocracoke Inn for the summer, never expecting to fall in love with Louisa Adair, the innkeeper's daughter. But when war breaks out in Europe, their relationship is put in jeopardy and may not survive what lies ahead for them.  As the ripples from the Great War rock Evie and Sterling's lives in World War II, it seems yesterday's tides may sweep them all into danger again today.  (Picture and description from Amazon)

Next up I'm going back to Hope Harbor!

O:)

Melissa

Pelican Point (Hope Harbor #4), book #27

 

Another fun book from Hope Harbor!  I highly recommend this series if you haven't started yet!

A crumbling lighthouse is not part of the inheritance Army doctor Ben Garrison expects to claim when he journeys to Hope Harbor. Fresh out of the service, he wants only to unload the tower of bricks, decompress from years of treating battlefield trauma, and prepare to launch his civilian career.  Hope Harbor Herald editor Marci Weber has other ideas. She may not be a Hope Harbor native, but the small Oregon seaside town has become home--and she's determined to save the Pelican Point landmark.  Sparks fly as the two go head-to-head over the fate of the lighthouse. But when they start to cooperate, a different kind of fire ignites. And as they work together, might Hope Harbor heal the hearts of these two romance-wary souls?  (picture and description at Amazon)

Keep up that Summer Reading!  

O:)

Melissa

The Vigilante's Bride, book #26

 

I have loved reading the Hope Harbor books, but man it feels good to get back to the 1800s wild west with cowboys, indians, and fair maidens forced into a world she knows nothing about but pulls herself together for a life she never knew she needed!  

Robbing a stagecoach on Christmas Eve and kidnapping a woman passenger is the last thing Luke Sullivan expects to do. He just wanted to reclaim the money stolen from him, but ends up with a feisty copper-haired orphan thrown over his shoulder who was on her way to marry Sullivan's bitter enemy.  Emily McCarthy is an orphan out of options. Forced to marry because she was too old for her orphanage, she doesn't take kindly to her "rescue." Still she trusts God can turn any situation to good especially when it seems Sullivan may just be the man of her dreams. But Sullivan's crossed a dangerous man unused to losing and Emily may just be the prize he's unwilling to sacrifice. (picture and description at Amazon)

This author was new to me but I was pleasantly surprised. My friend Marsha wouldn't like it because there is a lot of description in it, but you know me ~ I love having that to make me FEEL like I'm really there!  I'll have to check out what else she has written.  (You know, to add to my 500 books already on my Paperwhite! 😄)

Happy Reading!

Melissa

Sea Glass Cottage (Hope Harbor #8), book #25

 

Ahh, back to Hope Harbor! If you haven't read any of these, you need to!  Although you can read them in any order, it probably helps to read them that way.  However, I am apparently hopping around.  

Christi Reece is desperate. The one-time golden girl's life has tarnished, and a cascade of setbacks has left her reeling. She needs help, and she's certain Jack Colby is in a position to provide it.  When she shows up in Hope Harbor, however, Jack wants nothing to do with the woman who betrayed him. He's built a new life on the Oregon coast--and there's no room in it for Christi, even after she takes refuge in a charming but mysterious cottage nearby. Yet it soon becomes apparent his opinion of her may need revising . . . especially when he ends up needing her help.  Can these two hurting souls make peace with their past and open their hearts to a new beginning?  (Picture and description at Amazon)

Some good quotes from this book:

p86 ~ Charley quoting Thomas Jefferson " 'I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past.' "

p222 ~ Charley  "A mighty hand governs the eternal clock."

p223 ~  Charley "As my abuela used to say when I was a boy in Mexico, coincidence is nothing more than a small miracle in which God chooses to remain anonymous."

p225 ~ Charley again ( of course ;) ) "... when it comes to people, listening with the heart can improve our odds of arriving at a soun conclusion."

Next I'm back to "V" since my alphabet got all mixed up.  I've already started and I love being back with my pioneers and indians! :)

Keep up that summer reading!

Melissa

Untangle Your Emotions, book #24

 

So, this book was NOT on my list of books to read this summer.  Even though it is a "U" book, and I was almost "U" I had another book in mind I was excited about reading.  But some of my very favorite podcasters and friends Fran & Angela from Rambling Through Everyday Life encouraged us read it and attempted a summer Book Club with it.  Click here for the first video from that.

The book was good, and did give me several things to think about.  

How often have you heard, “Don’t let your emotions get the best of you”? But what if instead of ignoring our feelings, we noticed them, named them, and let God use them to draw us closer to Himself and others?

Many of us need to unlearn damaging messages about our emotions. We’ve been taught, for example, that emotions are untrustworthy, when, in fact, God can use them to help us see where we need His healing. 

In Untangle Your Emotions, Jennie Allen uses scientific research, biblical insight, and her own story to help you 

● exchange stuffing, dismissing, or minimizing your emotions for a five-step process to know what you feel and what to do about it

● debunk the myth that feelings are sinful by learning how emotional maturity leads to deeper connection with God and others

● live emotionally healthy by applying biblical wisdom and therapeutic research that works whether you self-identify as “emotional” or not

● sit with feelings that are confusing and painful by discovering the depth of God’s love and compassion for you

Feelings aren’t something to fix; they are something to feel. As we discover how to name and navigate our emotions, we’ll learn how they can draw us closer to the God who built us—soul, mind, and heart.  (picture and description at Amazon)

Now back to Hope Harbor for our next Book Club book!

Keep reading!

Melissa

Terri, book #23

 

This book was a slow start, but once I finally got into it I found it quite enjoyable.  Good enough to go back and read the other ones in the series?  Not anytime soon, but maybe later.  

She’s always longed for more…  Running a thriving daycare keeps Terri Hayes busy. Add a new foster daughter to the mix and Terri shouldn’t have time to want more—but she does. At twenty-nine, her biological clock is ticking away. When a busted pipe floods her home, she finds temporary sanctuary in a basement apartment—one that just happens to be owned by her long-time crush, single dad Steve Evans.

Is he ready to date again?  Steve is widower, a father of two teenaged girls, and a successful writer. His life is full, but he wouldn’t mind exploring a romance with Terri. But when lines of communication get crossed, the budding relationship grounds to a halt.

Two matchmakers to the rescue…  Iris and Samantha Evans want a stepmother and have set their sights on Terri. Their matchmaking includes equal parts prayer and deception. Will their scheming result in the wedding of their dreams, or will the harsh confrontation between Steve and the parents of Terri’s foster child be an obstacle they can’t overcome?  (book and description from Amazon)

Since the non-fiction book I referenced before actually starts with "U" and I am half way through and book club isn't until next week, I decided to focus on it and finish it before jumping into whatever our picker chooses next week!

Keep Reading!

Melissa

Sandcastle Inn (A Hope Harbor Novel Book #10), book #22

 

Oh my goodness!  This book that we picked for Book Club was SUCH A TREAT!!!  I had forgotten that I had already read other books in the series here and here.  Luckily this series is one that you can pick up any where in it and read about another person's story.  I can't wait to dive into the ones I have missed!!

Vienna Price never intended to return for more than a passing visit to Oregon and all the bad memories she'd left behind. But when your career tanks, home is where you go to nurse your wounds and chart a new course. Only temporarily, of course--because as much as she loves her quirky mom, anything more than a short stay would drive them both crazy.  A trip to Oregon isn't in Matt Quinn's plans, either, until a perfectly timed appeal for help arrives from his sister. What better place to decompress after a shattering loss than a quiet, seaside town named Hope Harbor? But R&R isn't on the agenda when he arrives to find his sister's new enterprise on life support.  Vienna, however, may have just the skills needed to resuscitate the foundering B&B--if Matt can convince her to hang around long enough to mend an inn . . . and his heart.  (picture and description at Amazon)

In the meantime, besides the whole Bible we are reading again at church, I've also picked up a nonfiction book I'm slowly working through.  I'm a little bit scared about reading it, as it's probably going to turn off stuff I'm not sure I want turned over, but probably need to.  Update coming later. 

Happy Summer Reading!!

Melissa