Picture Perfect by Janice Thompson (Weddings by Design Series)

I have read some of The Backstage Passes books, so I thought this one might be good. I was thrilled with it frankly, simply because it involves at least two things that I am passionate about. That would be Photography and Weddings. Any of us who have worked in photography, or are still working in the photography field will enjoy this book. Those of us (like myself) who have also photographed weddings are likely to find ourselves very immersed in this book. I too miss my developing chemicals, and I enjoyed getting a mental revisit to my greatly missed darkrooms!!!

In Picture Perfect, Hannah has her business up, and mostly running. However, she is unsure of herself and she really wants to secure her photography business's future by successfully pulling of the wedding of a rather famous singer. Bless her, Hannah is a nervous Irish wreck! Her "nemesis" is very handsome, and her competition  Drew is also a very good photographer, one that Hannah feels that she can't quite equal up to when even her own Mother accidentally picks his work over hers. Hannah and Drew are pushed together for a family photo shoot that is quite an event! During this long day Hannah finds herself attracted to Drew, and while she is wondering if he is as bad as he seemed, he seems drawn to her as well. There could be more going on than just being rival photographers, but what if that means Hannah has to give up her business? What about her dreams?

So, what makes this book good? I am so glad you asked! How about the tiles of most, if not all the chapters are also Bing Croby songs, and that they fit the chapter too. Very creative and fun. Then there are Irish quotes, poems or sayings at the front of each chapter too, because Hannah is very Irish. In fact, Drew is from a clan that lost to Hannah's kin way back when. How is that for "family" historical tension for a couple to deal with? How about how Hannah's darli'n "Orish" Mum is sick and tired of cooking potatoes and pot roast for Pop and is enthralled with cooking and eating Italian food and needs to keep it a secrete from her husband who would never understand that it isn't corn beef and cabbage - again. The photography. I can't help it! I warned you, a romance that has photographers in it with humor and is still a Christian book with love, forgiveness and growth - Yeah!

Carol

  About the Book:

She's trying to focus on her future. How can one man make everything feel so . . . fuzzy?

Hannah McDermott has a successful photography studio. She'll soon be featured in Texas Bride magazine. And she has a celebrity client whose Galveston ceremony will be her ticket to the top spot on wedding coordinator Bella Neeley's list of recommended photographers. But it could all come crashing down around her because of one man: archrival and photographer extraordinaire Drew Kincaid.

As the competition between Hannah and Drew heats up, Hannah is surprised to find that it's not the only thing getting more intense. She can't get the handsome man out of her thoughts--or even out of her line of sight--and the job of her dreams is turning into a nightmare. Will everything she's worked for slip out of her hands? And can she see past her pride to find a picture-perfect love?

With contagious humor and a cast of quirky characters, Janice Thompson gives you crazy bridal-business drama, sweet romance, and a satisfying dose of laughter.

   About the Author:

Janice Thompson is a seasoned romance author and screenwriter. An expert at pulling the humor from the situations we get ourselves into, Thompson offers an inside look at the wedding business, drawing on her own experiences as a wedding planner. She is the author of the Weddings by Bella series and the Backstage Pass series. She lives in Texas.

Her web site is: http://janiceathompson.com/blog/
The book link: http://www.amazon.com/Picture-Perfect-Novel-Weddings-Design/dp/0800721527

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

Daybreak by Shelley Shepard Gray (Book One The Days Of Redemption)

When I first started reading Daybreak I kept thinking, I have read this before! How is that possible? I kept reading and was thinking, this is too weird, I know what is going to happen next, but how? Once I got through a few more chapters it dawned on me! I read this much in the "sneak peak" at the end of one of Ms. Gray's other books.

Viola is working a nursing home, listening to Edward's Dad read all his letters to him out loud to her. Sometimes her mind wonders off, but she does try to pay attention. It means so much to this sweet older man. Suddenly, Ed is back! His mission trips have ended and he is home from Nicaragua! He isn't only home, he is suddenly there and often around his Dad and Viola.

While Ed is dealing with being in the home where his family is now absent, and adopting a darling stray dog, Viola is dealing with major family crisis's as well. Her Grandmother has hidden from them all that she use to be English! How horrifying is that to a whole family who always felt they didn't measure up enough in their Grandmother's eyes! But why was she English, and why hide it, and why not come "clean" and share with the family about when and why??? And if Viola falls in love with Ed, can she leave her sister who is going blind, get away from her family and have a new life, or is it all too painful to deal with?

Daybreak is a good read about growing, and forgiving, and loving.
I am glad I got to read it, and I did NOT read the "sneak peak" this time yet.
Carol

This week, the

Christian Fiction Blog Alliance

is introducing

Daybreak

Avon Inspire; Original edition (February 12, 2013)

by

Shelley Shepard Gray

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Since 2000, Shelley Sabga has sold over thirty novels to numerous publishers, including HarperCollins, Harlequin, Abingdon Press, and Avon Inspire. She has been interviewed by NPR, and her books have been highlighted in numerous publications, including USA Today and The Wall Street Journal.

Under the name Shelley Shepard Gray, Shelley writes Amish romances for HarperCollins’ inspirational line, Avon Inspire. Her recent novel, The Protector, the final book in her “Families of Honor” series, hit the New York Times List, and her previous novel in the same series, The Survivor, appeared on the USA Today bestseller list. Shelley has won the prestigious Holt Medallion for her books, Forgiven and Grace, and her novels have been chosen as Alternate Selections for the Doubleday/Literary Guild Book Club. Her first novel with Avon Inspire, Hidden, was an Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.

Before writing romances, Shelley lived in Texas and Colorado, where she taught school and earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education. She now lives in southern Ohio and writes full time. Shelley is married, the mother of two children in college, and is an active member of her church. She serves on committees, volunteers in the church office, and currently leads a Bible study group, and she looks forward to the opportunity to continue to write novels that showcase her Christian ideals.

When she’s not writing, Shelley often attends conferences and reader retreats in order to give workshops and publicize her work. She’s attended RWA’s national conference six times, the ACFW conference and Romantic Times Magazine’s annual conference as well as traveled to New Jersey, Birmingham, and Tennessee to attend local conferences.

Check out Shelley's Facebook Fan page

ABOUT THE BOOK

When Viola Keim starts working at a nearby Mennonite retirement home, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with resident Atle, whose only living relative, son Edward, is living as a missionary in Nicaragua. Viola understands the importance of mission work, but she can’t imagine leaving her father in the hands of strangers. Even though her family is New Order Amish, it’s not the Amish way, and though she doesn’t know Ed, she judges him for abandoning his father.

But when Ed surprises his father with a visit, Viola and Ed both discover an attraction they never expected. Despite her feelings, choosing Ed would mean moving to a far-off country and leaving her family behind. She can’t do that. Her twin sister, Elsie, is going blind and will need someone to care for her all her life. Her family is reeling with the recent discovery that her grandmother hid her past as an Englischer. Her father seems forgetful and distracted—and to be harboring some secrets of his own.

Does Viola dare leave them all behind and forge her own life?
Or will family ties mean her one chance at love slips away?

If you would like to read a first Chapter excerpt from Daybreak,go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062204408 

Rebecca by Jill Eileen Smith (Wives of The Patriarchs Book Two)

First the news of how you can get to talk to Jill Smith LIVE - and very soon even!

Jill Smith will be the featured guest on a Live interactive Video Chat Session sponsored by “Shindig” on Tuesday February 19^th at 7:00 pm EST!!  It’s free to attend, and you can meet Jill and ask any questions you have for her!  Go here to RSVP and find out more details about this event. http://shindig.com/event/jilleileensmith

Join best-selling author Jill Eileen Smith as she presents ten facts and/or possibilities you might not know about the Patriarch Isaac's wife Rebekah. Do you have a question about the people in the Bible you've always wanted to ask? Jill will take questions about biblical characters, biblical fiction, and about any of her books in the Wives of the Patriarchs or Wives of King David series. So please, plan to join us!

Rebecca is another one of these wonderful books by Jill Eileen Smith that I have found to be quite captivating. It is a neat gift to expound upon the lives of our most well know, and well loved women in the Bible. This Author incorporates the Scripture with events as they would have been in the time frame of the Biblical story. Areas that the real life people lived in are interwoven with what feels like very accurate thoughts and feelings that just happen to folks no matter what time frame God placed them in. 

Rebecca has marred Isaac. She is nervous, but grateful that God has sent her a suitable husband, and even one kin to her! So off she moves to live with her new husband, and she finds he carries some pain from his Mother, and his upbringing. Rebecca has huge shoes it seems she has to fill, following in the heritage of Sarah. Then, like Sarah, Rebecca is faced with something many women today have dealt with. She isn't having a baby when she planned to, in fact, she is really upset that God hasn't sent her a baby at all! How is she suppose to do what God said Issac would do because of Abraham if she can't bear a child? Then it gets even more difficult! Once she is with child, they are fighting with in her and God send an Angel to tell her about the babies that she is carrying. Only one more bit of a problem, Issac prefers one son, while Rebecca prefers the other son.

This is a wonderfully well written book, and I already have someone in mind to share it with!
Even thought I know the Scriptures very well that these books are woven from, I find them refreshing and revealing when I read them.

Carol :) 

 About the Book:

Can love heal the rift between two souls?

When her beloved father dies and she is left in the care of her conniving brother Laban, Rebekah knows her life has changed forever. Though she should be married by now, it’s clear that Laban is dragging his feet, waiting for a higher bride-price to line his pockets. When she is given a chance to leave her home to marry Isaac, a cousin she has never even seen, Rebekah’s hope for the future is restored. Little does she know what a wondrous and heart-wrenching journey she is beginning.

As Rebekah experiences the joy of young love and the bitterness of misunderstanding and betrayal, her resolve will be tested. When the rift between her and Isaac grows so wide it is surely too great to be mended, can she trust the God of Isaac’s father Abraham to bridge the gap?

About the Author:

Jill Eileen Smith is the author of Sarai and Rebekah, books one and two in the Wives of the Patriarchs series and best-selling author of Michal, Abigail, and Bathsheba, all part of the Wives of King David series. Her research has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.  

Her web site is: http://www.jilleileensmith.com/blog/category/books/rebekah/

The Book link is: 

http://www.amazon.com/Rebekah-Wives-Patriarchs-Book-ebook/dp/B00AFWM2CM/ref=sr_1_fkmr1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1360913642&sr=8-2-fkmr1&keywords=Rebecca+by+Jill+Smith

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

A New Home For Lilly by Mary Ann Kinsinger and Suzanne Woods Fisher (Book 2 of The Adventures of Lily Lapp)

First of all - guess what? You can win copies of both the books in this series! Just follow this link after you check out my reviews. *wink*
http://suzannewoodsfisher.com/blog/2013/02/introducing-a-new-home-for-lily-plus-enter-to-win-a-copy-of-both-lily-books/

Here is my review for the first book: Life With Lilly

In A New Home For Lily, Lily Lapp has had to move to Pennsylvania with her family. She left behind her friends, and her beloved pony. Life where she is now is changing, and that rather rapidly. Lily has a new teacher, a new nemesis, Effie, who is often verbally mean and plays tricks on her. Then there is the most upsetting boy the world to deal with as well, Aaron Yoder. Her clothes are different because the Order here has slightly different rules. They have farming issues, working issues, and house issues to sort out. At least her Grandmother is close by!

Lily's working so hard to wait for her new doll to get Plain clothes, and then not being able to have her really tore at my heart. When Effie did what she did with the beautiful paper dolls, I almost cried also. I loved the sweet cows, and the event-filled night in the barn. Oh, and that dangerous sawdust! Aggg! The sticker fun was great, and something I made as a child. The baby goats were just as darling as my own baby goats I have raised. Lily's pondering at how adults do things, well, I thought a few things like that as a child too.
And at last came along Lily's next little brother. Oh my! God didn't send her a baby sister, and that wasn't the easiest thing in the world to deal with, and he got a name she didn't like to top that off! (I know that feeling too as I had some very *strong* ideas about what gender my sibling was suppose to be when I was half of Lily's age!) Starting all over isn't as easy as Lily wishes it were, but day by day she is learning there is a Plan for her life, and a big God watching over them all.

I very much enjoyed this second book in this series. It reminds me of my upbringing, and it also reminds me of an Amish "Little House On The Prairie . I simply loved reading those books growing up, and I would love to one day have my own children to read this series to as well. So far the deeper this series goes, the more fun it is!

Carol :)

   About the Book:

Book 2 in The Adventures of Lily Lapp series. Change is all Lily faces when her family moves to an Amish community in Pennsylvania. She has to make new friends, settle into her new home—which she thinks is ugly—and adjust to another new baby brother. (Still no sisters!) Even worse, a boy at school, Aaron Yoder, enjoys tormenting poor Lily. There are some bright spots about Lily’s new home—she has a wonderful teacher, and her relatives have moved close by. But there are a few lessons Lily needs to learn about starting over. Read an excerpt.

About the Authors: 
Mary Ann Kinsinger was raised Old Order Amish in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. She met and married her husband, whom she knew from school days and started a family. After they chose to leave the Amish church, Mary Ann began a blog, A Joyful Chaos, as a way to capture her warm memories of her childhood for her own children. From the start, this blog found a ready audience and even captured the attention of key media players, such as the influential blog AmishAmerica and the New York Times. She lives in Pennsylvania.

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of The Choice, The Waiting, The Search, The Keeper, and The Haven, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. Her interest in the Anabaptist cultures can be directly traced to her grandfather, W. D. Benedict, who was raised in the Old Order German Baptist Brethren Church in Franklin County, Pennsylvania. Suzanne is a Christy Award nominee and is the host of an internet radio show called Amish Wisdom. She lives in California.

The Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/New-Home-Lily-Adventures-Lapp/dp/0800721330

Available Febuary 2013  at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.

Redeeming Grace by Ward Tanneberg

When I saw Ward Tanneberg's name, I had to read this book! Quite a while back, I read a trilogy of his:

September Strike, Pursuit, and October's Child. I actually just let my family borrow them to read a few months ago. From his past books, I knew I would like Redeeming Grace, I just didn't know how much! 

Grace Nicole Grafton and her two best friends, Ilene and BJ, were graduating with their Master's degrees in about three more days. They went out on the town to have a nice time together and celebrate out in the hot Savannah, Georgia climate. When they very least expected it, they would up with the most "amazing" offer! While I was reading my mind was screaming at them to back out, turn this down, but instead, like real like the events just kept moving forward. Grace's friends talk her into it, it was just too good to refuse and Grace needed to live a little.... right? 

Now Grace, aka Taylor, has been in hiding for seven long years. Seven years running and hiding all because of that one night that drastically changed her life, and forever altered the lives of several people who were dear to her. It wasn't even her fault, but now her life has been totaled. She has run, been one of the most scared, and yet one of the most brave women to fight for her life! She has felt like God has left her, and yet, she knows He is with her and has a plan for her life. Grace has been through a whole lot more than just high water. She carries so much pain, and guilt, and while we wish she wouldn't, we can see why she has been! 

Grace is a fighter, and stronger than most. Faced with the most awful trauma she has manged, though barely, to keep her wits. She has found herself in the snare of the fowler, a snare run by some of his more evil henchmen. Fleeing from those with unspeakable power, Grace is just one insignificant feeling person who is now faced with monumental challenges that make her past almost seem easy. Her past has caught up to her, because until our pasts are healed or dealt with, they are still with us and sometimes, just sometimes, they can be dangerous to ourselves and to others. She has followed where God has led, even while unsure if it is God that is leading her. She has made connections, while trying to avoid being connected. Now, in her darkest hours, Grace is about to find out what it really means to have been granted redeeming grace. A grace and a path that can save those she loves the most now, her fiance' and his two children, and her best friend.

Filled with strong characters  and a tiny tie back to October's Child (unless I got that wrong), Redeeming Grace is well worth reading. It isn't just a story about survival, pain, death, corruption, greed, lust, forgiveness, love, healing, growing and seeing God move, but it is also a wake up call and a warning to some of the events that are around us that can so easily pass us by if we aren't watchful.

I am so glad I got to read this new book by Ward Tanneberg!
Carol :) 

This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Redeeming Grace Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas;
1st edition (February 28, 2013) by Ward Tanneberg

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ward Tanneberg is a pastor/writer/novelist who has given more than 50 years to evangelism, youth, college and pastoral ministry, including two Pacific Northwest churches and 23 years as the senior pastor at Valley Christian Center in Dublin, CA. In 2008, he was named President/Executive Director of The CASA Network. Ward speaks extensively at 50+ retreats and ministry leadership events in the USA and elsewhere. When at home he meets weekly with a group of business and professional leaders. He and Dixie have 2 children, 3 grandchildren, 4 step-grandchildren and a great grandson.



ABOUT THE BOOK

Seven years ago, Grace Grafton died in a boating accident while partying on the Georgia, South Carolina coast. Was her death the result of alcohol and drugs or something more sinister? Nobody knows: her body was never recovered. Now years later, a woman reads in disbelief the note addressed to her: Hello Grace, did you think we wouldn't find you?

Those nine chilling words end Grafton's self-imposed sanctuary of witness protection. Now she and everyone she loves are in grave danger. Long believed dead, she has a secret that can change the world. She knows the man running for president is guilty of a double murder! But who will believe her?

If you would like to read the first chapter of Redeeming Grace, go HERE.

The book link is: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1938499476 

A Change of Fortune by Jen Turano (Ladies of Distinction Series)

First of all.....
A FREE novella by Jen Turano for Kindle can be gotten here! Hurry while you can get it free! ;)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0091T62FS/ref=as_li_tf_til?tag=bookreviews0b4-20&camp=0&creative=0&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B0091T62FS&adid=0X75PGNFK91QMPM1CFE5

Now, A Change Of Fortune, that is something a few of us could use. In this case, our Lady in hiding, Eliza aka Miss Sumner aka titled daughter of Lord Southmoor, is in a mess! While working as a "plain" governess, she winds up pressed back out into the social circles of New York. It was here that she thought she could be in hiding since loosing her fiance' and her fortune back in England. That plan was working, until she was pressed into a dinner where she meets Mr. Hamilton Beckett, and his brother. The elder Mr. Beckett is the catch that none of the ladies can seem to catch, and he is already smitten with Eliza.

Soon they find they are both trailing the same family, the same man, the man who has taken Eliza's fortune and changed her life so drastically. Events just keep cascading and soon Eliza is working rather closely with Hamilton  and she isn't totally sure how she feels about it, until his children tug at her heart and she finds herself wondering if her new lot in life will be being their governess if her fortune can't be reclaimed.

This book was just lovely to read. It was funny, and cute, and moved at a good pace. The characters grew and developed with each other and with God. There was adventure, mystery, pain, and healing and forgiveness and closure and yet... new things opening and starting. I enjoyed this book quite well!

Carol :)

About the Book: 

Lady Eliza Sumner is on a mission. Her fortune was the last thing she had left after losing her father, her fiance, and her faith. Now, masquerading as Miss Eliza Sumner, governess-at-large, she`s determined to find the man who ran off with her fortune, reclaim the money, and head straight back to London.

Mr. Hamilton Beckett, much to his chagrin, is the catch of the season, and all the eyes of New York society–all the female ones, at least–are on him. He has no plans to marry again, especially since his hands are full keeping his business afloat while raising his two children alone.

Eliza`s hapless attempts to regain her fortune unexpectedly put her right in Hamilton`s path. The discovery of a common nemesis causes them to join forces and, before she knows it, Eliza has a whole retinue of people helping her. Eliza`s determination not to trust anyone weakens when everyone`s antics and bumbling efforts to assist her make her wonder if there might be more important things than her fortune and independence.

When all of Hamilton`s and Eliza`s best-laid plans fall by the wayside, it will take a riot of complications for them to realize that God just might have had a better plan in mind all along.

About the Author:

Jen grew up in the small town of St. Clairsville, Ohio, where she spent an idyllic childhood riding her purple spider bike, ice-skating on a little pond and reading Nancy Drew and Trixie Beldon books in her tree house. High School was, surprisingly enough, fabulous as Jen spent time with her girlfriends. She headed off to college with no idea of what she wanted to be when she grew up, but settled on pursuing a career in fashion because she thought it sounded glamorous. Her parents thought she’d lost her mind, but they resigned themselves to her choice and after earning a BA degree in Clothing and Textiles, Jen set off to take the fashion world by storm, only to discover retail was certainly not the glamorous career she’d imagined it would be. She moved to Buffalo, New York to take a job in the buying office of a large department store, learning all there was to know about cookware, which again, was hardly glamorous, especially to a girl who did not have a knack for cooking. She met her future husband, Al, a few months after taking this job and eight months later, they were married. After moving into management at another department store and working that for a few years, the company went out of business and Jen decided she’d had enough. One year later her son was born and Jen hung up her heels for good and concentrated on being a mom.

She began dabbling in writing when her son, then in elementary school, said he liked her made up stories as much as those in his books. It was then that she  fired up the computer and never looked back.

Jen loves to write humorous stories with quirky characters and a dash of intrigue and finds historical romances especially appealing, seeing as how she’s been reading them since she was a teenager. Her mother gave her a copy of Kathleen Woodiwiss, The Flame and the Flower, and Jen was hooked on the genre. When not reading romance, she loves to read mysteries, young adult and her favorite series of all time, Harry Potter.

Besides writing, Jen enjoys spending time with her family and friends.

Author's Web Site: http://jenturano.com/

The Book Link: http://www.amazon.com/Change-Fortune-A-Jen-Turano/dp/0764210181

I received my copy of this book for reviewing purposes from Bethany House Publishing.

Angel Eyes by Shannon Dittemore

Angel Eyes is a really good read! I really enjoyed it. From the unique halo to the real way I feel Angels and Demons see the world, this book was one I didn't want to put down. I also really want to read the rest of the series!

Brielle had something horrible happen in the city, off at college. Because of that she came back home to the small town she thought she would be safe in, and where she could hide. Jake is the new boy next door, and at school, and watching her too! He has a strange "relative" that he says watches over him. Before long Brielle finds out that Jake has a gift, and that what we think we see and know, is just a shadow compared to the real world that most of do not see. However, you could see it, if you have Angel's eyes, and the seeing would leave you changed, but in what ways? There is such a major battle going on, can Jake and Brielle stay out of it, or are their very lives entwined into this fight?

Carol

Once you’ve seen, you can’t unsee. Everything changes when you’ve looked at the world through . . .

ANGEL EYES

Brielle went to the city to chase her dreams and found tragedy instead. She’s come home to shabby little Stratus, Oregon, to live with her grief and her guilt . . . and the incredible, numbing cold she can’t seem to shake.

Jake’s the new guy at school. The boy next door with burning hands and an unbelievable gift that targets him for corruption.

Something more than fate has brought them together. An evil bigger than both of them lurks in the shadows nearby, hiding in plain sight. Two angels stand guard, unsure what’s going to happen. And a beauty brighter than Jake or Brielle has ever seen is calling them to join the battle in a realm where all human choices start.

A realm that only angels and demons—and Brielle—can perceive.

Angel Eyes is the first in a supernatural trilogy and will be hitting bookstores on May 29, 2012

Book link - http://www.amazon.com/Angel-Eyes-Shannon-Dittemore/dp/1401686354/ 
Author Website - http://www.shannondittemore.com/
Author Facebook page - http://www.facebook.com/ShannonDittemore

Images of the covers of the next two books are below! :D

In conjunction with the CSFF Blog Tour, I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Gillian Adams
Julie Bihn
Beckie Burnham
Theresa Dunlap
Nikole Hahn
Jeremy Harder
Jason Joyner
Carol Keen
Emileigh Latham
Shannon McDermott
Meagan @ Blooming with Books
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Anna Mittower
Faye Oygard
Nathan Reimer
Chawna Schroeder
Jessica Thomas
Rachel Starr Thomson
Steve Trower
Dona Watson
Shane Werlinger Phyllis Wheeler