Beauty for Ashes

Oh man. This is a tough review to write...

Book Rating: Here a little, there a little

I really thought this book would be a winner. Unfortunately, I couldn't like it.

Carrie Daly is a young widow--her husband died at the Battle of Shiloh. She's trying to move on with her life although there's an emptiness that surrounds her. As far as leading ladies go, I really hate to say it, but she is one of my least favorites.  First of all, I had a hard time remembering she was a widow--because she hardly talked or thought about her deceased husband at all, whether she liked or didn't like him, missed or didn't miss him. Either way, I didn't get much of a sense of her feelings about it, so in that respect she wasn't established well. And she seemed to move aimlessly through the book without a real established conflict/goal, etc.

Also, there was A LOT of contention between characters many of the characters. Carrie's brother Henry marries at the beginning of the book, and the woman he marries is also a widow who has two boys. *huff* If there is anything that really gets my goat, it's very naughty children who's parents do not discipline them! That's exactly what happens with those boys (arg!), and they do so many bad things, I literally could not stand it!  Sorry, I may be getting carried away, but really--their behavior caused a lot of anxiety for many of the characters and that was a bit of a problem for me. (understatement!)

Griff Rutledge, the leading man, was an honest fellow and a good guy, but I didn't feel like he was in the book a whole lot. I would have liked to see more interaction between the two main characters. This lack of interaction, for me, made the romance pretty "blah".

The spiritual nature of the book was the one very good thing. I enjoyed the references to Christ, scriptures, etc. It was indeed inspiring in that respect, so if you read it for no other reason than that, you won't be sorry.

I really don't like writing reviews that are not glowing, but I find that the more of these that I read, the more particular I get. Do you find that happens to you?

Anyway, if you read this book--let me know what you think. I may be off-base here, so tell me what your opinion about the story is.


Happy Reading!
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Wooing the Schoolmarm

Here is another lovely LIH, m’ladies. Dorothy Clark is a great author. I think I will read all her books from here on out.

Book Rating: Up All Night’er

Willa Wright has sworn off men. But, when the new Reverend shows up in town, he sets her heart a’flutter. Will she be able to trust again, and can Reverend Matthew Calvert deal with his new life’s challenges, while trying to make the charming (but cold) schoolmarm fall in love with him?

Well, you’ll just have to read to find out!  *teehee *

This story was a quick, very enjoyable read. All LIH books get to the meat of things right-off, so you never have to wonder when the leading man and leading lady will finally meet or when they will start feeling attracted to each other. It happens in the first chapter. Yay!

Willa is a sweet girl, who hasn’t had many great “men” examples in her life. She works hard and keeps her life in strict order—promising herself never to open her heart again. I found Willa to be a lovable very enjoyable character. But, sheesh, her friend Ellen was a piece of work! Let me know what you thought about Ellen if you’ve read the book…

Matthew Calvert is a leading man anyone can love. Aside from his good looks and spiritual nature, he is caring for his niece and nephew after the death of their parents and the way he loves them is enough to melt anyone’s heart!

The romantic tension was strong, but I wouldn’t say this story was necessarily dripping with romance. However, I do recommend it.

Through the book Willa gains a stronger testimony of God, and I enjoyed seeing her faith in Him grow.

Let me know what you think about this one, y’all!

Happy Reading!
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Me + video review = epic fail (LOL)

So...I totally deleted the video review because it was terrible. Thanks for the suggestions, but it was painfully obvious that I am not good on camera. You can all be relieved, knowing I will never do another one. *LOL*

Sorry to all of you who had to watch it and thank you for not giving up on my blog due to a momentary lapse in judgement.

Look for more mind-blowing reviews coming soon!

Happy Reading!

Deeply Devoted

Yay! A Maggie Brendan book I can recommend!! (Not that I didn't really recommend JEWEL OF HIS HEART, but I just didn't care for it as much as I enjoyed this one.

Book Rating: Up All Night'er

This is the first book in a great new series--The Blue Willow Brides. Catharine and her two sisters are coming from Amsterdam because Catharine has answered a "mail-order-bride thing-a-ma-jig". Peter, the leading man, is a bit surprised that Catharine didn't mention in her letters that she was bringing her sisters and it makes him wonder if he's done the right thing marrying someone he's never met--if maybe she is hiding anything else...hmmmmmm....

Needless to say, there are some struggles between the two main characters, but it all works out very nicely in the end, of course. *teehee* I thought the romantic elements were first-rate, so I can't imagine you'll be disappointed in that way.

The sub plot...I couldn't like it. The mother/son relationship was just weird to me...I actually had to skim it all. But the rest of the book is really worth it and my faith in Brendan's books has been renewed thanks to DEEPLY DEVOTED, so you can look for a review of her next book TWICE PROMISED, sometime in Oct.

Let me know what you think of this book if you've read it and if you like Maggie's style.

Happy Reading!!
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Who's the happy winner?!

Good Morning everyone!

First, thank you to ALL of you that entered the drawing! Its always wonderful to have you stop by and read about each new featured author--and as a bonus of course, enter to win!

Well, I just did the drawing and DEBBIE is the happy winner!!

Please come by next month, all of you--I will be featuring TWO new authors and I believe each of them will be doing a giveaway!!!! YAY!

God Bless you this wonderful weekend.

Happy Reading!!

Love's Reckoning

The Amber Perry before LOVE’S RECKONING, and the Amber Perry after, are two different people. Still lovable and charming, mind you *wink *—but different. 

Book Rating: Best of the Best

I’m a big fan of Laura Frantz--her writing is exquisite! The world she creates with her words is purely enchanting. Julie Lessman has a quote on the back of the book, stating that LOVE’S RECKONING is truly epic and I could not agree more! 

This novel reads like a Dickens (amazing prose!) with the heart-wrenching power of JANE EYRE. It reminded me a bit of WUTHERING HEIGHTS as well, only with a much happier ending...and a way better leading man and lady. *teehee*

If you are not familiar with “old” language you might find this book a bit difficult at first. Personally, I like it, so it didn’t bother me. However, there’s a lot of “tis” and “twas” and such throughout the story, so if you are unfamiliar with that kind of thing it may take you a while to get used to it. But, I plead with you, do not let that sway you away from enjoying this book--because there really is so much to enjoy.

I want to start off with talking about Silas Ballantyne. Wow. Wow, wow, wow. He is 100% towel-worthy. (Meaning you’ll be drooling severely over him. Just like you did with Red Shirt in COURTING MORROW LITTLE.) This is my opinion, but Silas is Frantz's best leading man so far!  Who can’t like a Scot! Hello—romantic!

A blacksmith by trade, Silas comes to York County to work for Leige Lee. Lee happens to have two lovely daughters, Elspeth and Eden. I don’t want to give too much away, but Elspeth is pure evil, and as my little brother use to say, she's in "big trouble spanking". Excuse my language, but likely you'll want to wring her pretty little neck by the end of the book. Eden on the other hand is sweet, kind and innocent.

Eden Rose Lee (beautiful name!) is a great leading woman. She’s unique in that she’s not the fiery, strong-willed, out-spoken leading lady that we see so often in these stories. (Those ladies are great, don’t get me wrong.) Eden’s quiet nature was endearing--I truly loved her. Did I mention she’s also amazingly gorgeous? She and Silas make a great pair!!

The love affair between Silas and Eden is heart-wrenching and heart-warming all at the same time. I am sure I will be reading this book again. Probably starting tonight...

I don’t want to forget the spiritual message! It’s wonderful, and Frantz's use of scripture is beautiful!

Be prepared for the twists and turns. You’ll lose sleep, because you’ll read it all night, so just be ready. *teehee *

Congratulations, Laura on another winner!!!

Happy Reading!

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*Thank you to Revell for the free review copy*

I forgot!

Just FYI:

The DRAWING for the BOOK GIVEAWAY will be one week from today! That way people can have a good chance to enter!

Sorry I didn't put that in the previous post!

Happy Reading!