LOVE UNDER THE BUBBLE WRAP – A NOVELETTE

by Donna J. Shepherd

Publisher: Lilliput Press

Published: February 1, 2012

Format: ebook (Novelette – 41 pages)

Origin: Author

***Though the author provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

With a pressure filled life, a recently disabled husband, and the shine dulled on her fifteen-year marriage, a mysterious package arrives to provide a pleasing distraction from Debi’s problems.

However, the item laying under the bubble wrap is something she couldn’t imagine and she doesn’t know who would send it. Debi believes it a fake stone, but she brings it to someone she trusts for evaluation.  Her friend, Jenny, works at a local jeweler and she determines the diamond is real!  

Jenny’s taking the ring for an appraisal and Debi is dying to know its worth.

These two start hatching a plan to uncover the sender.  Could it be Debi’s husband?  No. Jeff knew about the ring and even doubted it was real. Nope. Besides, he’s a tightwad with money, but she knew they can not even afford a gem like this.  Their list is short even minus Jeff.  Joe is a neighbor who is always staring at her, an old boyfriend who was more a friend than beau, and a coworker who always seems to be around.  

Jenny takes the lead and starts contacting their suspects, while Debi starts wondering if she should be doing this at all.  Soon, Debi finds she needs to do this and cannot even explain to herself why.   

My Take:

LOVE UNDER THE BUBBLE WRAP-A NOVELETTE by Donna J. Shepherd isn’t a chick lit read. However, this hen lit title shines a spotlight on the middle of a marriage through a woman in the middle of a life where things haven’t gone as planned.

Anyone in a relationship who has ever hit upon one of life’s snags will relate to Debi and will laugh at the lengths she goes to solve her personal mystery.  Debi’s a woman on the hunt— who doesn’t always see the forest through the trees—but she learns in the process, when she meets a Christian counselor.  This man has given her a few things to think about and explains why the need to find the giver even exists inside her.   

Donna J. Shepherd gives us a “real life” love story! Though short, this novelette provides a fleshed out story with curious characters and a satisfying ending.   Her other works include devotionals, children’s stories, and poems.  You can find more about Donna and her books at donnajshepherd.com. 

PREVIEW: FEARLESS The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown

by: Eric Blehm

Publisher: WaterBrook Multnomah                 

Published: May 22, 2012         

Format: Hardcover (272 pages)    

ISBN: 9780307730695  

***Courtesy of WaterBrook Multinomah’s website . . . 

My Look:

Fearless takes you deep into SEAL Team SIX, straight to the heart of one of its most legendary operators.

When Navy SEAL Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush Mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready: In a letter to his children, not meant to be seen unless the worst happened, he wrote, “I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this earth, because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.”

Long before Adam Brown became a member of the elite SEAL Team SIX—the counterterrorism unit that took down Osama bin Laden—he was a fun-loving country boy from Hot Springs, Arkansas, whose greatest goal had been to wear his high school’s football jersey. An undersized daredevil, prone to jumping off roofs into trees and off bridges into lakes, Adam was a kid who broke his own bones but would never break a promise to his parents.

But after high school, Adam fell in with the wrong crowd and his family watched as his appetite for risk dragged him into a downward spiral that eventually landed him in jail. Battling his inner demons on a last-chance road to redemption, Adam had one goal: to become the best of the best—a US Navy SEAL.

An absorbing chronicle of heroism and humanity, Fearless presents an indelible portrait of a highly trained warrior who would enter a village with weapons in hand to hunt terrorists, only to come back the next day with an armload of shoes and meals for local children. It is a deeply personal, revealing glimpse inside the SEAL Team SIX brotherhood that also shows how these elite operators live out the rest of their lives, away from danger, as husbands, fathers and friends.

Fearless is the story of a man of extremes, whose courage and determination was fueled by faith, family, and the love of a woman. It’s about a man who waged a war against his own worst impulses and persevered to reach the top tier of the US military. Always the first to volunteer for the most dangerous assignments, Adam’s final act of bravery led to the ultimate sacrifice.

Adam Brown was a devoted man who was an unlikely hero but a true warrior, described by all who knew him as fearless.

      

My Take:

I’m looking forward to the release date of FEARLESS , The Undaunted Courage and Ultimate Sacrifice of Navy SEAL Team SIX Operator Adam Brown by Eric Blehm!

Click this link below to visit the Publisher’s website and download the first chapter of FEARLESS! http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/blog/2012/04/03/sneak-peek-fearless-by-eric-blehm/

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INTERVIEW: BETH WISEMAN, author of NEED YOU NOW

Biography of Beth Wiseman, Author

When a personal crisis tested and strengthened her faith, award-winning journalist Beth Wiseman was advised by her agent to consider writing a Christian novel, particularly an Amish one. Encouraged by her agent’s urging, she began exploring the Amish lifestyle and soon developed a great appreciation for the more peaceful way of life. In 2008 Wiseman wrote her debut novel, Plain Perfect, featuring the Amish lifestyle within the context of a fictional love story. It was a bestseller, as have been all of the full-length novels and novellas she has written since.

While Need You Now is Wiseman’s first non-Amish novel, she is confident it will not be the last. She is already making plans to write a second contemporary novel in the near future. Like Need You Now, it will also be set in small-town Texas, a familiar background she thoroughly loves exploring and writing about.

Wiseman’s previous releases have held spots on the CBA (Christian Booksellers Association) and the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) bestseller lists. In 2010, she received the INSPY Award for Amish Fiction (chosen by blog reviewers). In 2011, she received the Carol Award and was the Inspirational Readers Choice winner for her book Plain Paradise. Her novel Seek Me with All Your Heart was the 2011 Women of Faith Book of the Year.In addition, Wiseman has been a Retailers Choice Finalist, a Booksellers Best Finalist and a National Readers Choice Finalist. Prior to becoming a novelist she received many honors for her work as a journalist, including a prestigious First Place News Writing Award from the Texas Press Association.

Today, she and her husband are empty nest parents of two grown sons, enjoying the country lifestyle and living happily with two dogs, two cats, two pot-bellied pigs, two chickens and a single pygmy goat in a small community in South Central Texas. Along with writing, she enjoys cooking, reading, traveling and watching good movies. Her favorite pastime, however, is spending time with friends and family.

INTERVIEW: Beth Wiseman, Author of NEED YOU NOW

Q: As a former award-winning journalist, having received eleven honors including a prestigious First Place News Writing Award from the Texas Press Association, what inspired you to begin writing fiction?

Becoming a Christian novelist was a calling for me, and it came on the heels of a particularly rough time in my life. My son (then 15) had spent several weeks in the hospital, and when he finally came home to recover, my agent suggested Christian fiction to me, particularly Amish. She said she felt like I was in the right place spiritually. I’d always been a Christian, but when I thought my child might die, I was guided into a renewed, more “real” relationship with God. From the time I started writing my first book in the Daughters of the Promise series—Plain Perfect—I could feel God’s hand on it. And He has continued to bless me with stories to tell.

 

Q: What would you consider your biggest challenge as a writer of Christian adult fiction?

To make the messages loud and clear for those who need to hear them, but not be preachy. And to stay on the course God is leading me despite my own insecurities, fears and worries.

 

Q: One of the teenage characters in Need You Now practices an often misunderstood form of selfinjury. Why did you feel it important to showcase such a deeply personal issue?

I chose this form of self-injury because it IS so misunderstood. I’ve known of several teens who have coped in this destructive way, and I couldn’t understand it. So I set out to educate myself and others, hoping and praying that it would help a teen or family dealing with this issue.

 

Q: You also addressed high-functioning autism in your latest novel. What would you most like your readers to understand about children who have been diagnosed with this disorder?

I have a close friend who taught autistic children, and her experiences first sparked my interest in these very special children. I think it’s important to note that autism is diverse, and no child or diagnosis is the same. It’s very individual, from high-functioning autism to children who don’t speak at all. I believe that God places these children in the lives and on the hearts of people who can often reach them.

 

Q: What inspired you to write about such complex issues?

I usually don’t have a full-blown plot lined out before I start a book, but, in this case, I did know that I would write about self-injury. I also wanted to write about a married couple, as opposed to a “boy meets girl” romance. However, I didn’t set out to write about autism. I had already covered the subject in another book, Plain Promise, several years ago, but I felt God calling me to go a step further with an older child who was autistic. I also wanted to tell a very “real” story about the bond of marriage and the strength of family. And I think that anyone who has raised a teenager can attest to the fact that it is one of the hardest jobs on the planet.The rewards outweigh the hardships, but sometimes it’s hard to breathe when we are facing challenges with our kids.

 

Q: How much, if any, of the rural setting for Need You Now was drawn from your own experience?

Round Top, Texas, is one of the smallest towns in South Central Texas, and it’s right down the road from me, so there are lots of real places mentioned. I’m also a city girl who moved to the country later in life, and I’ve experienced a lot of the things I mention in the book. Not to give anything away, but when Darlene has an intruder in the first chapter—I’ve been there. It was a lot of fun writing about my area and incorporating familiar topics and descriptions, like coyote hunting and cow tipping.

 

Q: Several of your characters in Need You Now find themselves having to deal with forgiving past mistakes, their own and those of others. Do you believe that forgiving both ourselves and others is essential to individual and marital happiness and, if so, why?

I write a lot about forgiveness—another thing that I never set out to do, but it always finds its way into my books. I think that’s because I tend to carry my burdens from the past and have a hard time forgiving myself. I know in my heart that the inability to forgive—whether ourselves or others—hinders progress and can block the voice of God, but it’s still hard not to cart our baggage around with us. And if we can’t forgive ourselves, it’s even harder to accept that others are willing to forgive us.

 

Q: As a reader, it was very easy to fall in love with your main character and her family. Will you be bringing any of these characters back in future books?

Oh, I hope so. I guess it will be up to the readers…and my publisher. My characters are real to me, so I always hate to say goodbye to them.

 

Q: Will you be returning to the Amish background for your next book, or will it be non-Amish, as well?

The plan is to alternate between Amish and contemporary fiction. The next book to come out will be His Love Endures Forever, which is book #3 in the Land of Canaan series, scheduled for release in October 2012. Then from there I am going to write another contemporary, and it will be set in another small town near me.

 

Q: What would you most like your readers to take away from Need You Now?

Life can be a mess sometimes, and when that happens, our faith either gets stronger, or it takes a dive. I hope readers will close the book with a feeling of renewal and the certainty that there is no hardship that we can’t conquer with God on our side. I hope that this book will bring folks one step closer to Him.

by: Beth Wiseman

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: April 10, 2012

Format: Paperback (320 pages)

ISBN: 9781595548870

My Take:

My deepest thanks to Beth Wiseman for visiting my blog, graciously answering my questions, and introducing fans to her first contemporary work of fiction.  Like many readers, I am already looking forward to Beth Wiseman’s new titles from inside and outside Amish country!  

 

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SUMMER OF SECRETS BOOK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY!

by: Charlotte Hubbard             

Publisher: Zebra (Kensington)  

Published: February 1, 2012        

Format: Paperback (320 pages)      

ISBN: 9781420121698            

Series: Seasons of the Heart

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Widow Miriam Lantz, her twin daughters, and family friend Naomi Brenneman operate Sweet Seasons Bakery Cafe but their world is about to falter, faith will get a test, and sweethearts come undone.  

When Rachel Lantz meets a ghoulish girl, she introduces Sweet Seasons and prepares to take down the food order, until this Englisher’s eyes call to mind her twin sister, Rhoda.  Shocked, Rachel runs into the kitchen and her mother runs out.  Though her eyes see and heart knows, it’s not until the girl with tattoos produces a dress that Miriam knows what’s so.  

Her daughter is alive!   This child’s tragic death left Miriam the mother of twins instead of triplets.  

Rachel Lantz doesn’t believe the story, until her mother confirms it, but another problem develops for Rachel with this new sibling.  

Her fiancée, Micah Brenneman, can’t stop talking about Tiffany, who is understood to be Rebecca, after he couldn’t stop staring at the Englisher woman, first.   However, when Rachel’s betrothed calls upon Tiffany, he puts obstacles into their path of a fragile, yet to be created union and adds layers of doubt in her heart.  

Meanwhile, Bishop Hiram Knepp arrives at the eatery claiming a need to diffuse Willow Ridge’s community buzz over Miriam’s lost child with fancy, provocative ways.  A measure of scandal rocked her community, when a preacher’s wife ran off with an English man, and surely, he felt concern about Micah’s soul.  These were powerful reasons for his visit.  The Bishop’s entrapment of Miriam inside her kitchen, pinning her to the counter with his body with talk about how she was not fulfilling God’s plan for her life, showed less than pure motivations.  

Meeting her resistance, Bishop Knepp threatens to close down Sweet Seasons, and his status would allow his unfair punishment to go forth, leaving Miriam without income.

   

My Take:

Charlotte Hubbard seamlessly blends romance and family drama in a faith filled read encompassing building and rebuilding trusts, reconciling past mistakes, and forgiveness of oneself and others in SUMMER OF SECRETS!

Independent women living an Amish life, where oftentimes submission is a requirement, provides engaging characters who readers will rally behind while they fall in love with the men who enjoy their strong spirit.

I recommend Charlotte Hubbard’s SUMMER OF SECRETS!  With many recipes to busy yourself and a sneak peek into the next Season of the Heart title, AUTUMN WINDS, the summer will fly by.   September 2012, you can revisit Willow Ridge, Missouri and meet other characters living in faith inside Amish country. 

NOW, HERE’S THE GIVEAWAY NEWS!

For readers of this blog, throughout the United States and Canada, you can enter a random drawing for a free physical book of SUMMER OF SECRETS just by leaving a comment!  

The comment form will require an email address.  However, your email address will not be published.

I will announce the winner on a future blog post.

So, you stay tuned and check back often!  I just may have more giveaways coming to you in the future.

The voting hours have ended. I thank you for all of your votes! 

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GONE TO GROUND BOOK REVIEW WITH BOOK TRAILER

by Brandilynn Collins

Publisher: B&H Publishing

Published: March 12, 2012

Format: Paperback (352 pages)

ISBN: 9781433671630

ORIGIN: netGalley – E-GALLEY

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

If you believe a spouse, relative, employer, or friend committed a crime, would you report them? Could you? Even if the crime was murder?  Could your silence be leaving someone else to die? Would faith help in your choice?

These questions faced a few of the residents in the town of Amaryllis, Mississippi.  Some of the women suspect the men in their lives capable of murder, and a few of them seem to have proof of something foul with good reasons to keep quiet about it all.

Six months usually go by before the next murder.

Leaving the victim’s body in a closet, this serial killer plagues the small town, and the latest victim just may pinpoint the killer’s identity.  

However, one of these suspicious women has a special needs brother, and she is almost sure he was somehow involved.  The police zero in on him. Moreover, when the other ladies make a decision to go to the police with their suspicions, their trouble increases double-time.  

In the end, you have few residents giving the police more than they can handle and a small-time reporter trying to get the story straight for a big-time career.

My Take:

I recommend GONE TO GROUND by Brandilynn Collins.  She has developed a new twist into amateur sleuthing, while giving easily understood snippets of forensics and delving the reader deeper into the lives of each character and their faith. Her suspense will keep you reading late into the night as you’re wondering could these woman have it right and fearing they may have it all wrong.

You can find more of Brandilynn Collins “Seatbelt Suspense®” novels through most book outlets.  She writes both standalone novels and series titles.

 

***Blog readers, do I get your vote for blogging book reviews? If I do, just go to my sidebar and click the vote button! Voting ends April 23, 2012 @11:59p.m.***

SAVING HOPE

by Margaret Daley

Publisher: Abingdon Press

Published: March 1, 2012

Format: Paperback (336 pages)

ISBN: 9781426714283

Origin: Publisher through netGalley (egalley)

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Kate Winslow is the director of Beacon of Hope School, but her charges are not just her students, much to her wealthy family’s dismay.  These children have endured more in their short lives tan any child should, but Kate takes them in, gives them hope, counseling, safety, and schooling. 

One of her current students, Rose, is the ideal success story.  She’s turning her life around and wants to help others do the same.  In Rose, Kate sees a wonderful transformation, and she prays her other students can realize this same change.  Unfortunately, this director knows she could lose some of the girls back to the streets; it’s happened before.   

However, when Rose goes missing, the school’s only van disappears.  Could this girl whose made so much progress have gone back to her pimp?

Texas Ranger Wyatt Sheridan is part of the Child Rescue Task Force.  This group of law enforcement professionals, consisting of Texas Rangers, FBI, and other agencies, must tackle child prostitution and human trafficking; Wyatt and his team try to make a difference in the lives of these endangered children.  

A body is uncovered, and he gets the call.  Soon, he arrives on scene, and Wyatt discovers the girl had been reported missing.  She’s found.  Dead.

This kid was the same age as his daughter, and he always fears this could happen to his own. As a widowed father of a fourteen-year-old girl, Wyatt knows how easy it would be for her to trust the wrong person or become prey for them.  Already loosing his wife to a criminal’s hand, this ranger couldn’t lose her too.  And while he gives thanks for the safety of his daughter, he never loses the chill of knowing he could be the parent on the other end of any notification.

Nevertheless, he won’t let these thoughts tie him in knots; instead, the worries push him to work harder at getting these predators behind bars and unable to hurt any other children.

In this case, an abandoned vehicle is still at the scene, but when this vehicle is registered to a local school and hasn’t been reported as stolen, he needs to find out why.  Could other resident students been in danger there?

My Take:

SAVING HOPE by Margaret Daley is a book I recommend. 

The author makes the reader’s heart pound as they know each character’s circumstance, but their suspense builds along with the danger.

Margaret Daley’s SAVING HOPE encompasses a fast-moving plot that not only deals with one of today’s very real issues, it showcases how these kids can overcome it and how adults can help them through it. Despite the seriousness of the topics, the author weaves a satisfying romance that keeps you in love with these characters. 

After reading this title, you’ll run to order THE MEN OF TEXAS RANGERS (Book 2) as soon as it releases. 

MORE BEAUTY LESS BEAST: TRANSFORMING YOUR INNER OGRE

by Debora M. Coty

Publisher: Barbour Books

Published: March 1, 2012

Format: Paperback (224 pages)

ISBN: 9781616263478

Origin: netGalley E-Galley

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

From hormonal changes to life’s middle age weight challenges, this devotional inspires with laughter, scripture, and teachings.

Debora Coty will guide you through the demons of menopause, change your attitude about age, help you to shed your invisibility cloak, and strengthen your relationships all the while helping you work through God’s plan of discarding your secret labels. Through simple techniques, she will give you a foundation to build a better Christian life. With scripture, quotes and targeted questions, she will expose your inner ogre and transform you by trimming a double life down into a single good one. The situations she describes will make you laugh hard enough for tears to form, but she’ll have you gripping on tight to the lessons learned.

This book is invaluable.  It encompasses not only the years of menopause but will guide women for all the years after.

My Take:

I recommend Debora Coty’s MORE BEAUTY LESS BEAST: TRANSFORMING YOUR INNER OGRE. She’ll hook you with the real deal about the middle years, and her style of teaching will not let you go. Using her special brand of humor, she provides an amazing view of life and shows you how much better it can be.

You will want to keep reading to the end and will return to this book often.

In addition, you’ll want to check out Debora Coty’s other devotionals, EVERYDAY HOPE (Barbour Books 2009) and TOO BLESSED TO BE STRESSED: INSPIRATION FOR CLIMBING OUT OF LIFE STRESS-POOL from Barbour Books August 2011).

ACCUSED

by: Janice Cantore

Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers

Published: January 20, 2012

Format: Paperback (416 pages)

ISBN: 9781414358475

SERIES: Pacific Coast Justice Series

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

An officer-involved-shooting puts Officer Carly Edwards of the Las Playas, California police department on a desk assignment, but she is still there long after the investigation is complete.

The press sensationalism and a comment taken out of context have long reaching and forever lasting effects on her career. From the death of her father to a career in a perpetual standstill and a divorce final from a cheating husband, Carly rejects faith.

However, her career situation changes due to a telephone call, when the mayor is found dead in the trunk of a car, and in an instant, Carly sees her chance to get back into action at the job she loves.  The juvenile suspect requests to speak to Carly because he knows her mother, personally. However, when Carly hears his name, she has nothing on her mind but getting his confession.

Hadn’t she told her mother that faith wouldn’t change that kid—or any other—for even a minute? This murder proves how right she was about faith and about him.

Carly wants to tell the juvenile that he’s playing the faith card with the wrong cop, but she is listening to get him to talk.  As the police tactic goes, get him to feel you will understand, and you might walk out with a confession.

Nevertheless, a confession doesn’t come.

However, something else happens that Carly doesn’t expect.  She believes him. Positive he or his “accomplice” did not kill the mayor, Carly’s left with many niggling questions.

Now, she needs the one person that she can trust, in police matters. But going to Nick will cause many other problems in her personal life; her former husband actually expects that one day Carly will believe that’s he’s a changed man.  He’s not.  She knows it.  However, she does need help.

Suspecting a cover-up with this kid as fall guy leads Carly to set out on her own, and soon she’s the one running from the law.

My Take:

Janice Cantori writes from a fascinating perspective.  As a former law enforcement professional, she uses her knowledge and skills to add police procedure then blend it with fiction and faith to provide a compelling read in ACCUSED.

She portrays real-to-life characters carrying heavy burdens with nothing to guide their way, but just like people, her characters change, grow, and find faith in the most tension filled circumstances.

The next title in the Pacific Justice Series Book 2, ABDUCTED, will release August 2012.

From the Tyndale Blog Network, I received this book free in exchange for my honest review.

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THE HARVEST OF GRACE: BOOK 3

by: Cindy Woodsmall

Publisher: WaterBrook Press

Published: August 9, 2011

Format: Paperback (352 pages)

ISBN: 9781400073986

SERIES: Ada’s House Series

Origin: Publisher

***Though the publisher provides the free book, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

The betrayal of a sister who marries the man Sylvia Fisher loved gets even more complicated. Years later, Sylvia indulges her sister’s husband in an adulterer’s kiss, and she must give up her family. She takes a job on a farm, the Blank’s farm.

Cara Moore is discovered living with her daughter in Ephraim’s barn. Alone with her daughter, Cara’s background is heartbreaking; her mother died and her father left her alone at a bus station. She’s an abandoned child whom Social Services takes into foster care. After knowing her plight, Ephraim Mast takes care of them and endures a shunning for refusing to make her seek help elsewhere. Now, she’s in love with Ephraim and dedicated to become an accepted member of the Amish community. However, her father comes back.

Meanwhile, Aaron Blank’s parents will not answer his letters from rehab, but that’s not going to stop him from going home. He’s going to take care of his parents, and Aaron has a plan. Putting money down on business, he goes home intending to do the right thing for them. Can he make amends? Aaron wants to take care of his parents, but it was only months earlier that he had left them alone on a dairy farm.

Lena Kauffman is in love with Grey Graber, but she’s prepared to wait for his official mourning period to end. Grey is a widower and wants to do right by his first wife’s family. How would they feel having their daughter replaced too soon? Will time do more than keep them these two apart?

THE HARVEST OF GRACE delves into the lives of these and others characters. However, the most central theme is the family struggles and rejection is a large part of these stories.

Cindy Woodsmall demonstrates that hurt begets hurt and forgiveness needs to follow. She does not concentrate on the Amish themes; she zeros into the characters, their flaws, and the many human emotions that we all share.

My Take:

I recommend THE HARVEST OF GRACE!

Cindy Woodsmall writes from a background with a strong Amish connection, but she writes about non-traditional Amish issues in this book and will keep you turning pages.

She provides more than just a love story and does more than teach you about the Amish traditions, Cindy Woodsmall writes about issues that face all of us and shows us all forgiveness is possible.

This is a stand-alone novel, but is part of a series. You will want to catch up with the other titles in the Ada’s House series. They are THE HOPE OF REFUGE: ADA’S HOUSE BOOK 1 (August 2009), THE BRIDGE OF PEACE: ADA’S HOUSE BOOK 2 (August 2010), and THE CHRISTMAS SINGING (October 2011).

Through WaterBrook Multnomah’s Blogging for Books Program, I received this book for free in exchange my honest review.

SMITTEN

by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Published: December 20, 2011

Format: Paperback (432 pages)

ISBN: 9781401684945

Origin: Publisher though netGalley (eGalley)

***Though the publisher provides the free ebook, I offer the opinion.***

My Look:

Any company going out of business should not bring a town’s whole economy to a halt, but the mill is the main employer in the town of  SMITTEN, Vermont.    

Four women, all friends, endeavor to remake the town’s image and revitalize it through tourism, of sorts.  They envision their town as a  ”Smitten is for lovers” destination to play off the town’s cute attribute, its name.  However, to convince an entire milling town to change their course is a tall order, but these four friends each have a story to make of their own life too.

In addition, for one reason or another, each of these women will have their tales begin and end in Smitten.  

Throughout the seasons, Natalie, Julia, Shelby, and Reese tackle this new challenge, revamp a town, change the minds of the townsfolk, and face their own life’s challenges along the way. Nevertheless, it is two children demonstrating what true faith is all about.    

My Take:

Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter cross-stitch a cohesive story together but apart from each other because each one writes the story of a main character. In reality, SMITTEN is different novellas sewn into an entire book without the reader ever seeing the individual treads.  

You’ll find friends, faith, laughs, tears, and trouble in SMITTEN with  some quirky and cute characters too.  

This read is an escape to where romance is always in season, just like growth, opportunity, and God’s favor. The next book in this series, SECRETLY SMITTEN, will release in December 2012, but in the meantime, you’ll want to visit http://www.smittenvermont.com/ and meet the authors, enter sweepstakes, or find more recipes!