Quilted by Christmas by Jodie Bailey

Second chances - can they happen for this group?
One Irish Chain quilt, one Grandmother's wish to show God's love.

Taryn's beloved Grandmother, Jemma has a heart condition. She is the only person that Taryn's ever felt has really loved her. Jemma can't let that be that way when she passes, so she starts Taryn out on a quilt. A quilt that can connect her to her own value and to how much God loves her!

Justin has come home from the military too. It's been 12 long years since he was Taryn's boyfriend, but that was before. Will working on this quilt together finish off whatever strands of friendship they had left, or will this change their lives in ways that they can't even start to imagine?

This was a wonderful story which is quite nicely written. I'm thrilled to read this newest book in this series.

Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Quilted by Christmas

Abingdon Press (October 21, 2014)

by

Jodie Bailey

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


A note from the Author: Well, I’m a regular ol’ person. Who just happens to write. A lot. Probably more than I should. I firmly believe that God created me to be a writer. From the time I learned how to string letters together into words I’ve been making up stories. Believe me… I have a very rich imagination. I used to think I was weird; now I know God just put me together that way. I can’t even watch commercials without expanding them into stories in my head. I am humbled and honored all at the same time that God looked down from heaven on me and said, “Jodie, do what you love.” Wow… how awesome is that?

I have always loved to write. I have stories that I wrote when I was in first grade. I used to sit at my grandmother’s yellow electric typewriter for hours, banging out my own little stories. When I was eleven, she bought me a typewriter of my own (It was 1984, okay?) and I would write and write on it. I wrote stories out by hand, and they ran to hundreds of pages. I got my first computer when I was eighteen, and the first thing I did was write a story on it. I wrote for school. I wrote for fun. I wrote for my friends. I’d get them on the phone and make up stories for them. (I earned the nickname “Dreamweaver” for that one. Nobody calls me that anymore, but it still stands as the coolest nickname I ever had.)


ABOUT THE BOOK


Taryn McKenna believes she’s easy to forget. Abandoned by her parents and left behind when her high school sweetheart joined the army, she vows to never love again and throws herself into her love for the outdoors and the pursuit of a college degree—something no one else in her family has ever accomplished. Her goal, as a young teacher in the hills of North Carolina, is to leave a legacy in the lives of the middle-schoolers she teaches. When Taryn’s grandmother Jemma, the only other person who ever held her close, has a heart attack that reveals a fatal medical condition, Taryn is corralled into helping Grandma work on a final project—an Irish chain quilt that tells the story of her history and the love Jemma knows is out there for Taryn. As the pieces of the quilt come together, Taryn begins to see her value.

Can she learn to believe that God will never leave her behind even though others have?


If you would like to read the first chapter of Quilted by Christmas, go
HERE.

Jodie can be reached through the Contact link on her Website.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1426773617 

A Promise to Protect by Patricia Bradley

Ben Logan, now Sheriff, was just meeting with Tony because he was asked to do so. Tony, his ex-girlfriend's brother, just died in his arms. In the process, he left clues, and a mystery, and extracted a promise from Ben. A promise to protect his sister Leigh, Ben's ex-girlfriend. One large glitch. Protect her from who, and what, and why? Most of all, how to convince Leigh that she needs protection and so does her son TJ.

This is just the very start of mysteries and secrets that are unraveling faster than you can turn pages. One secret leads to another and another and the truth has to start coming out before it's too late for what could have been, what should have been, and what ought to be.

A pretty good paced story that reaches out with a deeper message of forgiveness and healing. Some mystery solving and a good bit of action included with some romance.

Carol :)

In a steamy small town riddled with broken promises, one woman's secret could change everything.
Acting Sheriff Ben Logan hasn't heard from Leigh Somerall in a very long time, but it doesn't mean he can get her--or their whirlwind romance of ten years ago--out of his head. When she calls out of the blue, it is with a strange request to protect her brother, Tony. But all too soon, Ben is charged with a different task--protecting Leigh from the people after her brother. With Leigh doing everything in her power to avoid Ben, it's no easy task. And the secret she is keeping just may change their lives forever.

"A taut story of mistakes and betrayal, a mother's fierce love, revenge and danger--and the redeeming wonders of faith and love."--Lorena McCourtney, author of the Cate Kinkaid Files and the Ivy Malone Mysteries

"Old secrets, second chances at love, and a skillfully crafted small-town suspense. You will fall in love with Ben and Leigh and cheer them on as they fight for their happy ending. I'm making room on my shelf for all of Patricia Bradley's novels!"--Susan May Warren, bestselling and award-winning author of When I Fall in Love

Patricia Bradley is the winner of a 2012 Daphne du Maurier Award and a 2012 Touched by Love Award and was also a finalist for the 2012 Genesis Award. The author of Shadows of the Past, she is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. Bradley makes her home in Mississippi. Learn more at www.ptbradley.com.

Want to read some of this book? 

http://assets.bakerpublishinggroup.com/processed/book-resources/files/Excerpt_9780800722814.pdf?1405087366

Patricia Bradley's manuscript for Shadows of the Past was a finalist for the 2012 Genesis Award, winner of a 2012 Daphne du Maurier award (1st place, Inspirational), and winner of a 2012 Touched by Love award (1st place, Contemporary). She is a...

1. Continue reading about Patricia Bradley
2. Comments/Reviews......

1. "Readers will love the thrill of trying to solve the crimes surrounding Taylor as they root for her and Nick's relationship to blossom. Bradley infuses the plot with questions of faith too, as her characters learn that at the end of the day, only God knows all, and that faith is what makes life's traumas bearable."--Booklist

"Heavy on action, Bradley's debut inspirational novel . . . is a page-turner in every chapter . . . culminating in a climax readers won't want to miss It will be gratifying to watch Bradley's characters evolve in future installments of this new Logan Point series."--Publishers Weekly

"This is a fantastic first novel of thrilling suspense. The nonstop action and the sympathetically drawn characters' narrow escapes will keep readers mesmerized. The gripping tension also makes Bradley's title a winner with fans of Iris Johansen and Mary Higgins Clark."--Library Journal

"This crime mystery held my attention with plenty of suspense and just the right amount of romance to spice things up."--Suspense Magazine

"This second book by an exciting new author will delight fans of romantic suspense."

CBA Retailers+Resources

Story Cartel - and fun!

I know I almost never post a blog that doesn't have a book review. This is an exception.
I addition to my regular places that I work with, I have been getting a few books from a place called
Story Cartel. You can find them here: www.storycartel.com

This will be important later for other reason that I'm not sharing just yet! (VERY BIG GRIN!)

Over at Story Cartel there is a wide range of books, some are even amazing Christian Fiction. You download books for free, and review them. Leaving a review in one or more places, enters you in that month's give-away. The monthly prizes vairy greatly. I was not even thinking about that when I wound up winning! WOW! I won the Readers's Retreat In A Box. Super cool.

That means I have to share what I won with you, because it is neat, fun, and well --- thrilling to win.
I wanted to share this with everyone reading my blog so they can see how cool this is, as a big THANK YOU to Joe and Story Cartel!

One box that I can recover and use for storing things. Inside - all kinds of good stuff! That is a Thank You card they sent me too! Small items were wrapped in black paper, matching my box, and to keep things safe. I'm impressed!

The coffee, well, we used that up already! LOL! It is was an organic that comes from a grocery store that we have in our are. Nice to know about that! The little tea pot, is now my spoon holder next to the coffee pot for coffee and tea in the kitchen. The cookie is large, I've saved it up for now, but that will get eaten! My candles are waiting a slightly cooler night, probably when I'm in a book writing mood! The book is Twelve Years a Slave, something that is popular right now I'm told, and it is a hard back. (Awww, that was kind!) 

One of the two chocolate's is already eaten! The Moleskin books are really nifty. I'm pondering what I am going to write or drawn inside of them! The Kindle Card - you know that is going to get used too! And you see that box that  says "Italia" - it is shaped like a book but is a storage box. I have it on my book shelves right now. I haven't used the ear buds... but I will! 

This is the inside of my super neat little box. The moleskin books will fit in it, but they aren't  just what I want in there. I'm thinking over that too. Something super cool needs to be in this box. 

So there you have it! This Reader's Retreat in a Box gave me all kinds of gift ideas, thoughts, inspiration, and just flat out fun! I hope you enjoy seeing it, and knowing about Story Cartel. I think you'll find it is going be important soon! 

Carol :) 

Thunder and Tremors by Bonnie S. Calhoun (Prequel and Book 1 of the Stone Braide Chronicles)

Wait, what? Didn't you just review this in another post? Yes! So why are you here with this again??
Because this book and this author deserves to be seen and read! :D That is why. So here is my disclaimer. I got my copy of this book from Baker Publishing --- and I'm not trying to get duplicate books. ;) I sort of jumped the "gun" with that so guess what? You can read that review at this link HERE.

In this review I will talk more about Tremors - the prequel to Thunder. You can see the cover and get it FREE, so after you read this, I hope your off reading Tremors! (Check the bottom of this post.. but read the rest of this too please!)

Three boys are out surfing when something happens. They have vanished. Gone. The ocean has taken them somewhere. Meanwhile, Selah Rishon Chavez is having dreams. Dreams of something called The Sorrows, which were horrible indeed, but happened 150 years prior. 

More complicated than just those puzzles, Selah is about to be married. An arranged marriage, to Jericho Kingston from Waterside Borough, who she hasn't seen since they were 7 years old! Selah would like to sort out more of how she feels about this, but in doing so, she starts to reveal secrets and plans. Things that are far past what she thought her 18th Birth Remembrance would bring. These things she has just learned could have considerable impact on her brothers and the rest of her family, and yet they don't all add up. Is this why her Father wants her under guard until she is married? Why will her family not answer questions? What is going on with the Landers and how fast can I start reading Thunder?

This was a thoroughly fantastic prequel to a new series and I am so glad I didn't miss it! Please keep in mind, as a prequel it is short, and leaves you with lots of questions and wanting to read more, just as it should.

Are you reading yet? You should be!
Carol :)

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Thunder (Stone Braide Chronicles)

Revell (October 7, 2014)

by

Bonnie S. Calhoun

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:


Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year.”

She love to write, but it doesn't make her happy unless there are the three B's...body count, blood, and blowing things up. She also have mad skills at coding HTML, and website design. And she live in a log cabin in the woods with fifteen acres and a pond full of bass, though she'd rather buy fish at the grocery store. Bonnie shares her domain with a husband, a dog, and two cats, all of whom think she’s waitstaff!

Her sites are:
http://bonniescalhoun.com
https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun
https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhoun
https://www.goodreads.com/BonnieSCalhoun
http://www.pinterest.com/bonniecalhoun/
https://www.youtube.com/user/BonnieCalhoun

ABOUT THE BOOK

In post-apocalyptic America, Selah Chavez is crouched in long grass on a shore littered with the rusted metal remnants of a once-great city. It is the day before her eighteenth Born Remembrance, and she is hunting, though many people refuse to eat animal flesh, tainted by radiation during the Time of Sorrows. What Selah's really after are Landers, mysterious people from a land across the big water who survive the delirium-inducing passage in small boats that occasionally crash against the shoreline. She knows she should leave the capture to the men, but Landers bring a good price from the Company and are especially prized if they keep the markings they arrive with.

Everything falls to pieces when the Lander Selah catches is stolen by her brothers--and Selah wakes up the next morning to find the Lander's distinctive mark has suddenly appeared on her own flesh. Once the hunter, Selah is now one of the hunted, and she knows only one person who can help her--Bohdi Locke, the Lander her brothers hope to sell.

With evocative descriptions of a strange new world that combines elements of scientific advances, political intrigue, and wilderness survival, Bonnie S. Calhoun weaves a captivating tale of a world more like our own than we may want to admit.

You can read Tremors, the prequel to the series for FREE on Amazon HERE.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of Thunder (Stone Braide Chronicles), go HERE


The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0800723767

Thunder by Bonnie S. Calhoun (The Stone Braide Chronicles Book 1)

Oh my goodness! This dystopian book will keep you turning page after page as you read about all the mysteries it holds inside! I'm going to start with Selah's name, I really like that. I know this word, from the Bible. I was taught the meaning of that name was like saying Amen or So Be It. I had to look it up though, and I found that it has been said that selah is a pause to praise, to praise and lift up, and or to be valued. The greatest feed back on it seems to be to seriously consider the important of what was said. That has bearing because in this book Selah is uplifting and she is definitely of great, great value. Also, the Celtic trinity knot image that is the emblem, it is fantastic how it is worked into the covers! The Trinity Knot speaks of Christianity right from the cover forward.

Now - more about this book!

On Selah's 18th Birth Remembrance day, her entire life changed. Nothing will ever be the same again for her. Something she can't get rid of, something she had to hide has changed her, and her life. She is now marked. Marked as one of the hunted - the Landers. In short, Selah isn't at all who she thought she was. Now she is on the run, headed to the Mountain, focused on catching the Lander who triggered the rest of this huge change in her. The things that are happening in there are page turning. Experiments with laminin and trimeric protein changes are just the start of questions we have with slowly unfolding answers, including what exactly is the Stone Braide?

As Selah finds out that she has abilities she never knew about, she is still struggling to figure out who she is, and what she can do, and why. Each new mystery leads to some answers, and each new answers, more questions. I am looking forward to the day I get to read the second book in this series. I came away from the first half of this book thinking... "His strength is make perfect when I am weak.:" I'm waiting for the next installment of this series thinking..... what if, and what comes next for these characters that are so brave and have so much to learn, to forgive and to grow through.

Please don't keep us waiting tooooo long for the second book. I have so much more I want to learn. So many questions waiting to be answered as the many mysteries of this series unfold like a flower blooming.

My copy of this book came from Revell books in exchange for my honest review, and nothing more.
Your going to see me post another review for this book, but it will focus on Tremors, the prequel to Thunder.

Carol :)

Book Trailer!!! YEAH! 


ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 


Bonnie S. Calhoun is Owner/Director of Christian Fiction Blog Alliance, owner/publisher of Christian Fiction Online Magazine, Northeast Zone Director for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), and the ACFW ‘2011 Mentor of the Year.”

She love to write, but it doesn't make her happy unless there are the three B's...body count, blood, and blowing things up. She also have mad skills at coding HTML, and website design. And she live in a log cabin in the woods with fifteen acres and a pond full of bass, though she'd rather buy fish at the grocery store. Bonnie shares her domain with a husband, a dog, and two cats, all of whom think she’s waitstaff!

Her sites are:
http://bonniescalhoun.com
https://www.facebook.com/bscalhoun
https://www.facebook.com/bonniescalhoun
https://www.goodreads.com/BonnieSCalhoun
http://www.pinterest.com/bonniecalhoun/
https://www.youtube.com/user/BonnieCalhoun

ABOUT THE BOOK

In post-apocalyptic America, Selah Chavez is crouched in long grass on a shore littered with the rusted metal remnants of a once-great city. It is the day before her eighteenth Born Remembrance, and she is hunting, though many people refuse to eat animal flesh, tainted by radiation during the Time of Sorrows. What Selah's really after are Landers, mysterious people from a land across the big water who survive the delirium-inducing passage in small boats that occasionally crash against the shoreline. She knows she should leave the capture to the men, but Landers bring a good price from the Company and are especially prized if they keep the markings they arrive with.

Everything falls to pieces when the Lander Selah catches is stolen by her brothers--and Selah wakes up the next morning to find the Lander's distinctive mark has suddenly appeared on her own flesh. Once the hunter, Selah is now one of the hunted, and she knows only one person who can help her--Bohdi Locke, the Lander her brothers hope to sell.

With evocative descriptions of a strange new world that combines elements of scientific advances, political intrigue, and wilderness survival, Bonnie S. Calhoun weaves a captivating tale of a world more like our own than we may want to admit.

You can read Tremors, the prequel to the series for FREE on Amazon HERE.

If you'd like to read the first chapter of  Thunder (Stone Braide Chronicles), go HERE


The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0800723767

Child of Mine by Beverly & David Lewis

I have read several of Beverly Lewis's books. I choose this one because it was also written with her husband. I like that. I was not prepared for the depth of what this would stir up in me. This book connects more to me than Beverly's other books. It is less Amish, and has deep ties into things we deal with in the non-Amish world. 

Eight, long hard years ago, Kelly and her husband had a little girl. Her daughter was stolen, and vanished. Her precious child, sold on the black market, her girl could be anywhere including dead. Kelly's husband - he is dead. Managing to finagle DNA from a possible little girl is another dead end. That one is not her child. 

Even with all this, Kelly hasn't given up on finding her Emily, but she is about reached the end of what she is able to do. Just as all hope is about to be gone, a lead turns up. Will Kelly find Emily at long last?

Why does Jack Livingston's niece match Emily's profile? Her adoptive parents dead, Jack loves and adores the girl he has been raising. He runs a flight school called Higher Ground. Laura Mast was Amish. She has been shunned so we find her as the nanny raising Jack's niece, Nattie.

Now a slew of questions come into play. Is Nattie Emily? If so how, and why? Jack and Kelly are attracted to each other, but is that even going to work with all Kelly has been through? Or even more so, if Jack's Nattie is Emily, then what? 

Now the plot. A bit complicated in some ways with a how could someone really miss that moments. However, given a few people I have know recently I will say, ok... it is not outside of the realm of possibility! Even the things that break with Amish tradition even in some startling ways, we all know things do change a bit no matter what, and some times you need to focus on the story instead of a preconceived idea. I found this book to have a good ending and a strong message about love where it concerns children, and God's plans for lives not always being what we might have though it was prior. 

My copy of this book came from Bethany House in exchange for my honest review, and nothing more. 

Carol :) 

Read a bit of this book: http://assets.bakerpublishinggroup.com/processed/book-resources/files/Excerpt_9780764212543.pdf?1398272391

From Bestselling Authors David & Beverly Lewis Flight instructor Jack Livingston has been raising his eight-year-old adopted niece, Natalie, since the accident that took her parents' lives. When he travels, Natalie is tenderly cared for by her Amish nanny, Laura Mast, who loves the little girl as her own.

Eight excruciating years ago, Kelly Maines's baby was kidnapped. Determined to find her child, Kelly has tirelessly pursued every lead to its bitter end. And now, with the clock ticking, one last clue from a private investigator ignites a tiny flame of hope: Just a few miles away lives a young girl who matches the profile. 

Can this be, at long last, Kelly's beloved daughter?

Author Interview:

http://assets.bakerpublishinggroup.com/processed/book-resources/files/ChildOfMine_QUES.pdf?1403729308

THE AUTHORS

1. 

   David Lewis

   David Lewis is the bestselling author of Coming Home, his first solo novel, as well as a keyboard artist and pilot. He is the first editor for his wife, Beverly Lewis, as well as research partner and manager. David was born in Minnesota, grew up in the...

   Continue reading about David Lewis

2. 

   Photo courtesy of Gene Photography

   Beverly Lewis

   Beverly Lewis, born in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, is the New York Times bestselling author of more than ninety books. Her stories have been published in eleven languages worldwide. A keen interest in her mother's Plain heritage has...

   Continue reading about Beverly Lewis

Deceived by Irene Hannon (Book 3 of the Private Justice Series)

Kate was about to celebrate her husband's birthday. Instead of a celebration, her husband and son are dead in a boating accident. Kate's life is torn apart by this. The loss of a husband is hard enough, but loosing her 4 year old little boy on top of that.... life is just going through the motions. Instead of New York.... it's St. Louis Missouri. God's plan already in motion.

Thus, while eating at the mall, a child triggers everything inside of her. He is just too much like her son, Kevin. This child's voice, his looks, it's just too haunting. That kind of "what if" was just too nagging. Kate hires help. Conner's PI firm, which you will recall if you have read the other books in this series, takes her case to easy the doubts. Are Greg and Todd Sanders alive? If so, why, how and so many more questions need answers. When things are not what they seem, who do you trust, and who is really being deceived?

This book tops the other two in this series, which are Trapped and Vanished. Deceived can stand alone, but it is even better in the series. I think it also tops the other 2 books, wonderful page turner! Watch how Irene weaves changes that only God can make into the lives of the people we have come to love reading about in this book!

My copy of this book came from Revell in exchange for my honest review, and nothing more.

Carol :)

A grieving mother. A mysterious child. And a dedicated PI who's determined to solve the puzzle.

For three years, Kate Marshall has been mourning the loss of her husband and four-year-old son in a boating accident. But when she spots a familiar-looking child on a mall escalator, she's convinced it's her son. With police skeptical of her story, she turns to private investigator Connor Sullivan for help. As the former Secret Service agent digs into the case, the boating "accident" begins to look increasingly suspicious. But if Kate's son is alive, someone is intent on keeping him hidden--and may go to lethal lengths to protect a sinister secret.
As Irene Hannon's many fans have come to expect, Deceived is filled with complex characters, unexpected twists, and a riveting plotline that accelerates to an explosive finish.


Praise for Irene Hannon's Private Justice Series

"A home run."--Library Journal on Trapped

"Spine-tingling."--Booklist on Trapped

"Just the right amount of suspense, danger, and deception."--New York Journal of Books on Trapped

"An engaging, satisfying tale."--Publishers Weekly on Vanished

"A wonderful mix of suspense and romance."--RT Book Reviews on Vanished

Irene Hannon is the author of more than forty-five novels, including Vanished, Trapped, and the bestselling Heroes of Quantico and Guardians of Justice series. Her books have been honored with two coveted RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America, a Carol Award, two HOLT Medallions, a Daphne du Maurier Award, two Reviewers' Choice Awards from RT Book Reviews magazine, a Retailers' Choice Award, and a National Readers' Choice Award. In addition, she is a Christy Award finalist, andBooklist included one of her novels in its "Top 10 Inspirational Fiction" list for 2011.

Irene Hannon’s website, twitter and facebook:

http://www.irenehannon.com/

https://twitter.com/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Irene-Hannon/426433004084567