Month: April 2020

A Beautiful Arrangement (Amish Journeys #3) by Beth Wiseman

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beautiful

Pages: 336

Publisher: Zondervan

Published: April 7, 2020

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

My Review: A moving story that leaves tears in your eyes as you close the book.

Lydia and Samuel’s story teaches us how even the littlest lies can turn into a bigger problem that can tear lives apart. At times I would get frustrated at Lydia then I had to remind myself that she is only seventeen. No matter her upbringing, being a mom and wife at seventeen has to be extremely hard. She is just learning herself as an adult instead of a kid. Her maturity by the end of the book was absolutely amazing. A lot of love and understanding can go a long way.

A Beautiful Arrangement talks about unwed pregnancy, young marriage, dementia/mental illness and community. A book that I would share with an older teen on up. A clean read with no sex scenes, no foul language, and no violence.

I am sad to see this series end. It has been a beautiful series to read.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Zondervan, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

 

NetGalley: Lydia still can’t believe that she is Mrs. Samuel Bontrager. Or that she is seventeen with a six-month-old daughter. As Baby Mattie grows fussier by the day, Lydia wonders how she will survive a lifetime of marriage to a man she doesn’t love—at least not in the way she wants.

Samuel knows that he and Lydia did the right thing by marrying when Lydia became pregnant. He has even grown to love Lydia, though he never seems able to say the words out loud. What if she doesn’t love him back? After all, she pushes him away whenever he tries to draw closer.

When Lydia and Samuel introduce their mutual friends Beverly and Joseph to each other, they are as envious as they are delighted to watch their friends fall in love. But just as Samuel thinks Lydia might be softening to him, she gets involved in investigating the mysterious past of a local homeless woman—a curiosity that threatens to drive the couple further apart.

The third and final novel in the Amish Journeys series by bestselling author Beth Wiseman explores how wounds from the past must come to light before they can hope to heal.

Daybreak (Cyber Division #3) by Vannetta Chapman

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daybreak

Pages: 92

Published: April 6, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: Vannetta Chapman writes dystopian fiction in such a way that even those who are not fans are falling in love with the genre. The Cyber Division series is quickly becoming a fan favorite. Chapman is the reason I felt like I was prepared for the pandemic we are experiencing. Her Remnant series really made me think about certain aspects of our lives and if I could survive. Her Cyber series has made me realize how much the internet really controls everything.

Nora is a force to be reckoned with and her partner, Randall, makes the duo unstoppable. You just know they will fix everything but cannot stop yourself from telling them to hurry.

This is the perfect story for those who don’t have a lot of time to devote to reading but want to escape for a bit. Start the series from the beginning and you won’t be disappointed.

Goodreads: Nora Brooks and Randall Goodwin are hot on the trail of a new cyber-terrorist. This time the target is Seattle as well as the lucrative cruise ships docked there. They’ve been warned–daybreak will bring unprecedented destruction.

Who was nursing a vendetta against the largest city in the Pacific Northwest as well as the tourist industry?

Nora Brooks has dealt with many different kinds of cybercriminals, but she’s never come across one whose motive and method she couldn’t grasp at all. They’ll have to rely on her instinct as well as her partner’s coding skills. Randall Goodwin might be the only one who can save the day. For the people of Seattle, their very lives could depend on it.

Daybreak is book three in Vannetta Chapman’s Cyber Terror series. The journey begins with Fading Into the Night and continues with Midnight Strike.

Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened by Emily Blejwas

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amazing

Pages: 224

Publisher: Random House Children’s (Delacorte Books for Young Readers)

Published: April 14, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: A moving story involving PTSD, war, poverty, death, and love. A book for middle-grade readers and adults. It will open the eyes of adults to the questions and emotions children experience when facing death. Everything may look fine on the outside but inside there are questioning everything from could they have done something different to prevent it from why did it happen.

I can see many of the kids I work with connecting with this book on many levels. Unfortunately so many have lost a parent to death. Hopefully, this book will show them questioning the whys and hows is ok but that it is also ok to cry and talk with others about what they are experiencing. Everyone experiences death differently.

I am interested in other works by this author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Random House Children’s, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: A poignant story of a boy picking up the pieces of his life after the unexpected death of his father, and the loyalty, concern, and friendship he finds in his small-town community.

Justin doesn’t know anything these days. Like how to walk down the halls without getting stared at. Or what to say to Jenni. Or how Phuc is already a physics genius in seventh grade. Or why Benny H. wanders around Wicapi talking to old ghosts. He doesn’t know why his mom suddenly loves church or if his older brother, Murphy, will ever play baseball again. Or if the North Stars have a shot at the playoffs. Justin doesn’t know how people can act like everything’s fine when it’s so obviously not. And most of all, he doesn’t know what really happened the night his dad died on the train tracks. And that sucks.

But life goes on. And as it does, Justin discovers that some things are just unknowable. He learns that time and space and memory are grander and weirder than he ever thought, and that small moments can hold big things, if you’re paying attention. Just like his math teacher said, even when you think you have all the information, there will be more. There is always more.

Set during the Gulf War era, Like Nothing Amazing Ever Happened is a story about learning to go on after loss, told with a warmth that could thaw the coldest Minnesota lake.

The Book Charmer (Dove Pond #1) by Karen Hawkins

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charmer

Pages: 369

Publisher: Gallery Books

Published: July 30, 2019

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: I am ashamed to admit I have had this on my NetGalley account for almost a year. The excerpt was intriguing but it seemed every time I started to read the book I lost interest. It is personal. I have a parent who is showing signs of dementia and I had a hard time reading about Mama G. Finally during this time of social distancing I opened up the book and was entranced. It was still hard to read regarding dementia but it actually helped me process what I am going through.

The book is filled with a little magic, a little romance and a lot of agapae love. You find yourself believing things will be alright in the grand scheme of things. Faith in yourself and others will get you through most anything.

I agree with a few other reviews I’ve read that the ending felt rushed but that was ok. It is kind of like real life in that we have months that are filled to capacity with things and other months that are not.

I am ready to read the next book in the series which I believe may be coming out this summer.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher, Gallery Books, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: New York Times bestselling author Karen Hawkins crafts an unforgettable story about a sleepy Southern town, two fiercely independent women, and a truly magical friendship.

Sarah Dove is no ordinary bookworm. To her, books have always been more than just objects: they live, they breathe, and sometimes they even speak. When Sarah grows up to become the librarian in her quaint Southern town of Dove Pond, her gift helps place every book in the hands of the perfect reader. Recently, however, the books have been whispering about something out of the ordinary: the arrival of a displaced city girl named Grace Wheeler.

If the books are right, Grace could be the savior that Dove Pond desperately needs. The problem is, Grace wants little to do with the town or its quirky residents—Sarah chief among them. It takes a bit of urging, and the help of an especially wise book, but Grace ultimately embraces the challenge to rescue her charmed new community. In her quest, she discovers the tantalizing promise of new love, the deep strength that comes from having a true friend, and the power of finding just the right book.

“A mesmerizing fusion of the mystical and the everyday” (Susan Andersen, New York Times bestselling author), The Book Charmer is a heartwarming story about the magic of books that feels more than a little magical itself. Prepare to fall under its spell.

On the Horizon by Lois Lowry

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horizon

Pages: 80

Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group

Published: April 7, 2020

Rating 5 out of 5 stars

My Review: A very interesting read regarding Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima told from a child’s perspective. I liked how Lowry focused on some of the soldiers’ lives before Pearl Harbor. It gives children something to connect to on an event that they might find hard to relate to as it occurred so long in the past.

It was also very moving to read how American and Japanese children felt in Japan after the bombing of Hiroshima. Kids just want to play with each other and be friends. Unfortunately, as adults, we prevent that from happening by teaching them discrimination from an early age.

The eeriest part of the book is reading about the hospital ships, Mercy and Comfort being used after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. These are two ships the United States is currently using during the pandemic of the Coronavirus. They are ships of pain and heartache once again helping our nation in our time of need.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children’s Book Group, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: From two-time Newbery medalist and living legend, Lois Lowry comes a moving account of the lives lost in two of WWII’s most infamous events: Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. With evocative black-and-white illustrations by SCBWI Golden Kite Award winner Kenard Pak.

Lois Lowry looks back at history through a personal lens as she draws from her own memories as a child in Hawaii and Japan, as well as from historical research, in this stunning work in verse for young readers.

On the Horizon tells the story of people whose lives were lost or forever altered by the twin tragedies of Pearl Harbor and Hiroshima. Based on the lives of soldiers at Pearl Harbor and civilians in Hiroshima, On the Horizon contemplates humanity and war through verse that sings with pain, truth, and the importance of bridging cultural divides. This masterful work emphasizes empathy and understanding in search of commonality and friendship, vital lessons for students as well as citizens of today’s world. Kenard Pak’s stunning illustrations depict real-life people, places, and events, making for an incredibly vivid return to our collective past.

In turns haunting, heartbreaking, and uplifting, On the Horizon will remind readers of the horrors and heroism in our past, as well as offer hope for our future.

The Body in the Apartment (A Jazzi Sanders #4) by Judi Lynn

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apartment

Pages: 204

Publisher: Kensington

Published: March 17, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: This is a series that has only improved with each book. I was not exactly thrilled with the first book as I felt it had too much romance and I am a cozy reader who doesn’t like a lot of romance in her cozy mysteries. Now that Ansel and Jazzy are married the romance is where it should be.

Not much has changed between Jazzi and Ansel except they have some discussions on having a baby. I really hope that does not happen as I think it would change the entire tone of the series. Jazzi is such a neat character in that she does a lot of what some consider “man” work in her house flipping business. I like being able to read about a strong female in a profession that used to be heavily male-dominated.

We learn more about Ansel’s family. Two of his brothers are in this book. They aren’t as bad as previously thought. Their upbringing was just terrible and unfortunately, that is all they knew. Seeing Ansel escape and live his own life has encouraged them.

The mystery kept me guessing until the end. I like that. When I start being able to figure out the killer in a series then I usually lose interest.

This is a clean read but there is some violence with the murders.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: The charming homes of River Bluffs, Indiana, make perfect projects for house-flipper Jazzi Zanders. Less charming is her hothead brother-in-law, who’s a bit of a fixer-upper himself. But could he also be a murderer?

Jazzi married her gorgeous contractor Ansel—not his family. But somehow she keeps living with them. So she’s delighted to help Ansel’s brother Radley move out of their home and into his own place, in the same building as his work supervisor, Donovan. But when Donovan is shot and his apartment ransacked following an argument with Ansel and Radley’s older brother Bain, their sibling becomes a suspect—especially after his missing gun turns up as the murder weapon.

Told not to leave town by Detective Gaff, big brother moves in with . . . Jazzi and Ansel. Now Jazzi needs to prove Bain’s no killer, not only to keep him out of jail—but to get him out of their house. What was the killer looking for in Donovan’s apartment? And what will happen to the next person who gets in the way?

The Grace Kelly Dress by Brenda Janowitz

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grace

Pages: 384

Publisher: Harlequin – Graydon House Books

Published: March 3, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: A beautiful 3 generational story that will leave you filled with hope and love. I loved how it showed the importance of honoring our past. Our past helps make up who we are today whether we realize it or not.

My favorite storyline was the bride’s mother. There were many surprises that when revealed tied so much together and made the story.

The title is what drew me to this book as I remember reading a paperback over and over again throughout middle and high school about Grace Kelly. The cover had a picture of her in her wedding dress. I wish I still had the book.

This book is for all romance, fiction, and fans of weddings.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Harlequin – Graydon House Books through NetGalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above reviews are entirely my own.

NetGalley: Two years after Grace Kelly’s royal wedding, her iconic dress is still all the rage in Paris—and one replica, and the secrets it carries, will inspire three generations of women to forge their own paths in life and in love.

Paris, 1958: Rose, a seamstress at a fashionable atelier, has been entrusted with sewing a Grace Kelly—look-alike gown for a wealthy bride-to-be. But when, against better judgment, she finds herself falling in love with the bride’s handsome brother, Rose must make an impossible choice, one that could put all she’s worked for at risk: love, security and of course, the dress.

Sixty years later, tech CEO Rachel, who goes by the childhood nickname “Rocky,” has inherited the dress for her upcoming wedding in New York City. But there’s just one problem: Rocky doesn’t want to wear it. A family heirloom dating back to the 1950s, the dress just isn’t her. Rocky knows this admission will break her mother Joan’s heart. But what she doesn’t know is why Joan insists on the dress—or the heartbreaking secret that changed her mother’s life decades before, as she herself prepared to wear it.

As the lives of these three women come together in surprising ways, the revelation of the dress’s history collides with long-buried family heartaches. And in the lead-up to Rocky’s wedding, they’ll have to confront the past before they can embrace the beautiful possibilities of the future.

His Unexpected Amish Twins (Unexpected Amish Blessings #1) by Rachel J. Good

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twins

Pages: 368

Publisher: Kensington

Published: February 25, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: I’m excited about this series based on the first book. I found this book provided a fresh approach to Amish fiction. It is a complex story of grief from three different points of view, addiction in an Amish world, fear from a man’s point of view, and a strong Amish business owner in a business other than the typical culinary business.

My interest was riveted from the first page to the last. It is a clean romance with parts that are tissue worthy.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: When Micah Miller’s brother and sister-in-law are killed in a buggy accident, he’s devastated. But he fulfills the promise he made when their twins were born seven years earlier: to raise Jabin and Chloe should tragedy strike. Still, coping with the children’s grief as well as his own requires extra support. He’s surprised to find an Amish farm that offers just that . . .

Hope Graber had to find a way to save the family farm after her daed’s health forced him to stop breeding horses. Providing animal therapy proved to be the answer—thanks to the help of expert trainer Logan Russell. Together, they not only pay the bills, they make positive changes in children’s lives. Hope loves working with each child, but she takes a special interest in the Miller twins. She even makes Micah smile again—and he does the same for her. In fact, as Micah emerges from his depression, he longs to make them one happy family. But will Hope’s debt to her Englisch trainer, and their close partnership, stand in the way?

Murder Makes Scents (A Nantucket Candle Maker Mystery #2) by Christin Brecher

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scents

Pages: 272

Publisher: Kensington

Published: February 25, 2020

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

My Review: This series has quickly become one of my new favorites. I love the location of Nantucket. Especially during this unexpected, questionable time. I feel like I can truly escape.

I enjoyed that this book focused on a positive relationship with her mom. So many books focus on the negativity between adult children and their parents that I found it refreshing that Stella and her mom enjoyed a trip together. Although I am not sure the mystery and solving of the mystery were entirely believable and that was ok. Sometimes we need the unbelievable to pass the time. Stella sure found an exciting way to bring in her 30th birthday. I believe I would prefer something a little more boring to bring in my birthday.

I am excited to learn that a 3rd book is already in production. This series provides candle information at the end of each novel. Very interesting.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher, Kensington, through Netgalley. Any and all opinions expressed in the above review are entirely my own.

NetGalley: Stella Wright loves creating candles at her Nantucket store—and she also has a burning passion for justice. Now, after visiting a perfume conference, she must solve a vial crime . . .

Stella and her globe-trotting mom, Millie, have come home from a perfume industry conference in Paris, where their trip was marred by witnessing the stabbing death of a young man. It’s a relief for Stella to be back on her picturesque island, with the comforting company of her cat, Tinker. But lingering danger may have followed them back across the ocean.

After someone breaks into her candle store, the Wick & Flame, Stella starts feeling spooked. And just as things threaten to ignite, Millie suffers a blow to the head. Stella receives an anonymous note claiming that her mother smuggled a secret formula out of France—and threatening her life if it isn’t returned. Now Stella’s picked up the scent of a cold-hearted criminal and an intriguing puzzle, and things are about to get wicked . . .