Counting on a Cowboy by Debra Clopton

A new tale of romance, family, and taking risks—don't miss Debra Clopton's Counting on a Cowboy! After losing everything she held dear, Abby never wants to love again. But a certain cowboy may just spur her to wonder if love might be worth the risk. As Abby throws herself into helping Bo navigate fatherhood, hope sparks between them, revealing that maybe, just maybe, they can navigate their dark pasts and emerge together into a future as bright as the Texas sun itself.

Saddle up with Debra and her new book and enter to win her Love at the Reins prize pack!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Counting on a Cowboy
• A $25 gift card to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Starbucks
• A western-inspired bracelet
• A horseshoe heart

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on September 8th. The winner will be announced September 9th on Debra's blog.

About the Book

★★★★★

After losing everything dear to her, Abby never wants to love again. But a certain cowboy spurs her to wonder if maybe love is worth the risk.

Running from a past that haunts her, Abby Knightly is drawn to the homey town of Wishing Springs, Texas, after her favorite advice columnist found love and a home there. Maybe this small town could offer hope and healing and a future for Abby too… if she's brave enough to reach out and take it.

Bo Monahan isn't interested in the new romantic destination his little town has become – or the women who might be looking at him like he's their next Mr. Right. Between taking care of his Pops and his growing stirrup business, he isn't looking for serious romantic commitments. But unexpectedly the young child he never knew about appears on his doorstep and Bo's world is turned upside down.

This confirmed bachelor might not need a wife, but he sure needs a woman… and newcomer Abby Knightly is definitely a woman. When she comes to his rescue to help him navigate fatherhood, he slowly uncovers her own history. And suddenly Bo's thinking maybe, just maybe, together they can help each other work through the problems of the past to create a future of their own.

Returning to Wishing Springs and the Four of Hearts Ranch, Debra Clopton gives Bo Monahan, a cowboy with no plans to settle down with a wife or children soon, a chance at romance in Counting on a Cowboy - with a woman who swore never to love again. Abby Knightley, a newcomer to Wishing Springs hoping for a fresh start, alters all Bo’s plans with an undeniable spark of attraction he’s never felt before, especially as she helps him adjust after the unexpected arrival of a baby he never knew he had. With the drama of such circumstances, interspersed with moments of humor, this novel offers a wonderful follow-up romance to Betting on Hope with equally great characters determined to confront their pasts and the heartwarming development of a relationship. Fans of the Four of Hearts Ranch series will not be disappointed with Counting on a Cowboy. I would certainly recommend it.

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of Counting on a Cowboy and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. To read other opinions, be sure to check out what other reviewers think here, and purchase a copy of the book here.

About the Author

Debra Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels. Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra's goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.

Find Debra online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.

Until My Name Is Known by Sonya Contreras

About the Book

★★★★✩

Can you trust a God who destroyed a nation before your eyes? Would you want Him as your friend?

Experience God through Israel's Exodus from Egypt's power through those who were there.

The time: 2450 B.C.

The place: Old Kingdom of Egypt.

Pharaoh is god. His people worship him.

Israel's God arrives. He challenges Pharaoh. His power touches all people. They must change. Some don't concede. They suffer. Others yield. They find freedom.

Until My Name Is Known brings all to see the one true God. Read it to see Him.

Today's historians and archaeologists puzzle over the fall of the Old Kingdom of Egypt, but the world at that time heard of God.

The world knew that He was the Lord. His Name was proclaimed in all the earth.

Sonya Contreras crafts an interesting retelling of the biblical account of the Israelites’ exodus from captivity in Egypt in her novel, Until My Name Is Known. Though the overall story will surely be familiar to readers of the Bible, Contreras brings it to life with perspectives from a variety of characters, as well as interesting attention to historical detail and an emphasis on God’s love and pursuit of His people. An novel of biblical fiction, Until My Name Is Known will certainly provide many fans of the genre with a compelling and fascinating read.

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of Until My Name Is Known and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. To read other opinions, be sure to check out what other reviewers think here, and purchase a copy of the book here.

About the Author

God led Sonya Contreras to Cedarville University and Institute for Creation Research Graduate Program, establishing her roots deeply in the Bible. 

His guidance continues as she and her husband direct their eight boys' wanderings in truth, love, and God's Word. God holds her hand as she write of His faithfulness, not just in her family's life, but in writing of delivering His People from slavery, calling them by name, and bringing them into a land He promised.

Find Sonya online at her website and Twitter.

Ties That Bind by Cindy Woodsmall

★★★★★
Start reading here.

Ariana’s comfortable Old Order Amish world is about to unravel. Will holding tightly to the cords of family keep them together – or simply tear them apart?

Twenty-year-old Ariana Brenneman loves her family and the Old Ways. She has two aspirations: open a café in historic Summer Grove to help support her family’s ever-expanding brood and to keep any other Amish from being lured into the Englisch life by Quill Schlabach. 

Five years ago Quill, along with her dear friend Frieda, ran off together, and Ariana still carries the wounds of that betrayal. When she unexpectedly encounters him, she soon realizes he has plans to help someone else she loves leave the Amish.  

Despite how things look, Quill’s goal has always been to protect Ariana from anything that may hurt her, including the reasons he left. After returning to Summer Grove on another matter, he unearths secrets about Ariana and her family that she is unaware of. His love and loyalty to her beckons him to try to win her trust and help her find a way to buy the café – because when she learns the truth that connects her and a stranger named Skylar Nash, Quill knows it may upend her life forever.

Every book I have read by Cindy Woodsmall has been absolutely wonderful, and this statement certainly includes Ties That Bind, her newest novel and the first in her Amish of Summer Grove series. In this novel, she introduces a cast of interesting Amish and Englisch characters, who cross paths with surprising circumstances and dramatic secrets. The drama is well-paced and kept me interested and intrigued from start to finish. I can’t wait to see what is next in store for these characters, but in the meantime, I would certainly recommend this novel to fans of Amish fiction. It’s quite an enjoyable read.

Thanks to Blogging for Books, I received a copy of Ties That Bind and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Waiting on Wednesday: A Refuge at Highland Hall & Chivalrous

Hosted weekly by Breaking the Spine 
to spotlight eagerly-anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: A Refuge at Highland Hall

Author: Carrie Turansky

Publisher: WaterBrook Press

Expected Publication Date: 20 October 2015

In this third and final book in the Edwardian Brides series, you’ll be swept away to England and France in 1915 as the Ramsey family and their staff and friends face the dramatic challenges and losses of World War One, yet they also experience the hope and triumph that comes as they put their trust in God to carry them through. Penny Ramsey helps the family welcome a group of orphaned children to Highland Hall, but she soon discovers caring for them is more difficult than she’d expected. She writes to Alex Goodwin, a daring British pilot, who chases German zeppelins across the sky over the Front Line in France, and longs for the day she will see him again. You’ll be delighted by two pure and heartwarming romances: Penny and Alex, and Lydia Chambers and Marius Ritter, a lady’s maid and a prisoner of war. But most of all I hope you’ll be inspired by the characters’ examples of trusting God through the trials they face.

Fans of Downton Abbey will find many of the same elements in this series: A wealthy, aristocratic family living on a large English country estate with romance, conflicts, and family drama; and loyal servants with troubles and heartaches of their own.

Title: Chivalrous

Author: Dina L. Sleiman

Publisher: Bethany House

Expected Publication Date: 8 September 2015

Strong and adventurous Gwendolyn Barnes longs to be a knight like her chivalrous brothers. However, that is not an option for her, not even in the Arthurian-inspired Eden where she dwells. Her parents view her only as a marriage pawn, and her domineering father is determined to see her wed to a brutish man who will break her spirit.

When handsome, good-hearted Allen of Ellsworth arrives in Edendale searching for his place in the world, Gwendolyn spies in him the sort of fellow she could imagine marrying. Yet fate seems determined to keep them apart. Tournaments, intrigue, and battles – along with twists and turns aplenty – await these two as they struggle to find love, identity, and their true destinies. 

Hiding Places by Erin Healy

★★★★★

Family means safety. Family means protection. Until it doesn't.

Eleven-year-old Kate Whitby leads an invisible life, the youngest member of her odd family. They live in their historic small-town hotel, where she is an expert at keeping everyone's secrets: her sister's a thief, her great-grandmother isn't as crazy as people think, her mother lives in the past, and her beloved grandfather might have killed his best friend. Devoted to the people she loves – more than they have ever been to her – Kate vows to protect each one.

Charlie Fuse has lived on the streets since his alcoholic father threw him out. When Charlie's powerful street family tests his loyalty by demanding that he kill the son of a rival gang leader, he refuses. They frame him for the murder, forcing Charlie to run.

When Kate finds Charlie injured and penniless, she hides him from his enemies and her uncharitable relatives, unaware that he has a connection to her family as old as the hotel itself.

The murderous gang tracks Charlie down. To flush him out, they take the clueless family hostage and threaten young Kate. Even then, Kate keeps Charlie hidden, putting all her childlike faith in one terrible hope: that the family who has never been able to protect her before might learn how to do it now.

Erin Healy’s Hiding Places will keep its readers on the edge of their seats. With a lot of suspense, action and drama packed into a short, but well-paced timeline, I couldn’t stop reading this book until I found how it ended for Charlie, Kate and the rest of her family. The characters exist within dysfunction, providing interesting interactions, and in the midst of it all, eleven-year-old Kate is easy to like with her caring spirit and knack for spying. An overall addictive and intriguing book involving family and hiding places - both literal and figurative - Hiding Places offers fans of suspense a highly enjoyable read. I recommend it.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of Hiding Places and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

About the Author

Erin Healy is the bestselling coauthor of Burn and Kiss (with Ted Dekker) and an award-winning editor for many bestselling authors. She is a member of ACFW and Academy of Christian Editors. Her novels include such thrilling stories as Never Let You Go, The Baker's Wife, Stranger Things, and Motherless. She and her family live in Colorado. Visit her online at Facebook and Twitter. 

Not by Sight by Kate Breslin

★★★★★

With Britain caught up in WWI, Jack Benningham, heir to the Earl of Stonebrooke, has declared himself a conscientious objector. Instead, he secretly works for the Crown by tracking down German spies on British soil, his wild reputation and society status serving as a foolproof cover.

Blinded by patriotism and concern for her brother on the front lines, wealthy suffragette Grace Mabry will do whatever it takes to assist her country's cause. When she sneaks into a posh London masquerade ball to hand out white feathers of cowardice, she never imagines the chain of events she'll set off when she hands a feather to Jack. 

And neither of them could anticipate the extent of the danger and betrayal that follows them – or the faith they'll need to maintain hope.

Not by Sight by Kate Breslin is a fantastic historical romance. I absolutely loved every bit of it. Set amidst the political and social turmoil of World War I and the scenic landscapes of the English countryside, Breslin’s novel follows Grace Mabry and Jack Benningham as they both determined to do their patriotic duty in their own way. Grace is passionately full of patriotic and feminist ideals and unafraid of speaking about them, while Jack has a wild reputation and plays his patriotic part undercover and behind the scenes. When they cross paths and begin to form a hesitant relationship, suspicion, secrets and a bit of mystery soon join them and certainly keep things dramatic. Overall, a well-written and addicting story with great characters, Not by Sight offers readers the perfect choice for history, romance and an encouraging spiritual message of learning to live by faith instead of sight. I would highly recommend it and now, cannot wait to read more from Kate Breslin.

Thanks to Bethany House, I received a copy of Not by Sight and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Secrets She Kept by Cathy Gohlke

★★★★★

The secret a mother was forbidden to share… the consequences a daughter could not redeem – but will risk everything in her attempt.

All her life, Hannah Sterling longed for a close relationship with her estranged mother. Following Lieselotte’s death, Hannah unlocks secrets of her mother’s mysterious past, including the discovery of a grandfather living in Germany.

Thirty years earlier, Lieselotte’s father, ascending the ranks of the Nazi party, demands a marriage for his daughter to help advance his career. But Lieselotte is in love – and her beloved Lukas secretly works against the Reich. How far will her father go to achieve his goal?

Both Hannah’s and Lieselotte’s stories unfold as Hannah travels to Germany to meet her grandfather, who hides wartime secrets of his own. Longing for connection, yet shaken by all she uncovers, Hannah must decide if she can atone for her family’s tragic past, and how their legacy will shape her future.

Wow. Without a doubt, Cathy Gohlke’s Secrets She Kept is a remarkable and powerful book. Even days after finishing it, aspects of her story lingered in my mind and kept me thinking, wondering. With two distinct yet connected storylines, Gohlke’s novel shares a poignant World-War-II story about the challenge of uncovering secrets and the importance offering forgiveness. One storyline follows teenaged Lieselotte Sommer as she grows up under Nazi rule in Germany and decides to hold to her convictions with dangerous bravery. And decades after the end of World War II, the second storyline follows Lieselotte’s daughter, Hannah Sterling, as she travels to Germany to better understand her now-deceased mother. Together and alternating, these two storylines tell a heartbreaking yet captivating and redemptive story. I absolutely loved it and would highly recommend it. Readers of historical fiction must read Secrets She Kept.

Thanks to Tyndale BlogNetwork, I received a copy of Secrets She Kept and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome: A Memoir of Humor and Healing by Reba Riley

★★★★✩

Reba Riley's twenty-ninth birthday was not a good time to undertake a spiritual quest, but when chronic illness prompted her to focus on one thing she could fix – her whopping case of Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome – she undertook a challenge: visit thirty religions before her thirtieth birthday. This was transformation by spiritual shock therapy. Reba would find peace and healing… if the search didn't kill her first.

During her spiritual sojourn without leaving home, Reba: danced the disco in a Buddhist temple; went to church in virtual reality, a movie theater, a drive-in bar, and a basement; was interrogated about her sex life by Amish grandmothers; got audited by Scientologists, mobbed by NPR junkies, and killed (almost); fasted for thirty days without food – or wine, dammit!; washed her lady parts in a mosque bathroom; learned to meditate with an Urban Monk, sucked mud in a sweat lodge with a Suburban Shaman, and snuck into Yom Kippur with a fake grandpa; discovered she didn't have to choose religion to choose God… or good. For everyone who has ever needed healing of body or soul, this poignant, funny memoir reminds us all that transformation is possible, brokenness can be beautiful, and sometimes we have to get lost to get found.

Humorous memoir Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome recounts the year in Reba Riley’s life when she challenges herself with thirty different spiritual experiences. Her childhood beliefs of Christianity left her disillusioned with what she termed “Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome,” so she embarks on this challenge hesitantly hoping for peace and healing. While I didn’t necessarily agree with all the conclusions she draws from her various experiences, I did enjoying reading Riley’s memoir and seeing her willingness to intentionally wrestle with her past beliefs and doubts. Fans of spiritual memoirs will not want to miss Reba Riley’s Post Traumatic Church Syndrome.

Thanks to Howard Books and NetGalley, I received a copy of Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Glory Days: Living Your Promised Land Life Now by Max Lucado

Are you stuck in the wilderness known as midlife misery? Can you name the day you became a Christian but can’t remember the last time you defeated a temptation or experienced an answered prayer? Find encouragement in Max Lucado's new book, Glory Days. With God’s help you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. Like Joshua and the Israelites, you can move from a wilderness existence into a promised inheritance.

Now through August 31, 2015, pre-order Glory Days and receive free gifts!

 

There are two pre-order options:

Option 1:

Pre-order one copy of Glory Days (any format), and receive a free digital download of the abridged audio version of In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado.

After you've pre-ordered, please claim your free gift by submitting your email and proof of purchase at GloryDaysBook.com.

Option 2:

Pre-order one copy of Glory Days (any format) AND one copy of God is With You Every Day (Max's brand-new, 365-day devotional—any format), and receive both the abridged audio version of In the Grip of Grace and a paperback copy of Traveling Light by Max Lucado (U.S. addresses only). 

After you’ve preordered, please claim your free gift by submitting your email and proof of purchase at GloryDaysBook.com.

Pre-order today and get your free gift by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the offer ends on August 31, 2015.

About the Book

★★★★★

The wilderness. Maybe you know it well.

The Israelites sure did. After all, they spent forty years wandering the desert. Victories were scarce. Progress was slow. They were free from Pharaoh but not free from fear. Saved but stuck.

Sounds a lot like midlife misery. Caught in a rut. Stalled out. Running on empty. Are you mired in the same?

You can name the day you became a Christian and escaped Egypt. But you can't remember the last time you defeated a temptation or experienced an answered prayer. You're fighting the same battles you fought the day you came to Christ. You're out of Egypt, but Egypt's not out of you.

Isn't the Christian life supposed to be better than this?

Jesus offers abundant joy. Yet you live with oppressive grief. The epistles speak of grace. You shoulder guilt. You are more than a conqueror yet are commonly conquered by temptation or weaknesses.

But there's good news. With God's help you can close the gap between the person you are and the person you want to be. Like Joshua and the Israelites, you can move from a wilderness existence into a promised inheritance.

This is God's vision for your life. You, at full throttle. You, as you were intended. You, as victor over the Jerichos and giants. You, minus the stumbles, hurts, and hate.

You and your Promised Land life.

With the same ease and accessibility I have seen the few other Max Lucado books I’ve read, Glory Days: Living Your Promised Land Life Now addresses the topic of living the life God intends for all believers. Lucado walks through the book of Joshua, highlighting significant events and moments that hold relevant lessons for living in the truth of God’s promises. While reading Glory Days, I found many of his points valuable and worth noting and appreciated the overall message of the book. I think any Christian could find Lucado’s new book beneficial and encouraging and would recommend it.

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of Glory Days and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. To read other opinions, be sure to check out what other reviewers think here, and purchase a copy of the book here.

About the Author

More than 120 million readers have found comfort in the writings of Max Lucado. He ministers at the Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Denalyn, and a sweet but misbehaving mutt, Andy.

Find Max online at his website, Facebook and Twitter.

Irish Meadows by Susan Anne Mason

Will Brianna and Colleen have the courage to stand up to their father's schemes to save their horse farm and instead pursue true love? Don't miss Irish Meadows, the newest book by Susan Anne Mason! As the farm slips ever closer to ruin, their father grows more desperate. It will take every ounce of courage for both sisters to avoid being pawns in their father’s machinations and instead follow their hearts. And even if they do, will they inevitably find their dreams too distant to reach?

Join Susan in celebrating the release of Irish Meadows by entering to win her Kindle Fire giveaway and RSVPing to her September 1st author chat party!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Kindle Fire HD 6
• One copy of Irish Meadows

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 9/1. The winner will be announced at the Irish Meadows Facebook party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Susan and other readers, as well as for a chance to win some great prizes!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 1st!

About the Book

★★★★★

Faced with an uncertain future, sometimes all you have left is the courage to dream.

Brianna and Colleen O'Leary know their Irish immigrant father expects them to marry well. Recently he's put even more pressure on them, insinuating that the very future of their Long Island horse farm, Irish Meadows, rests in their ability to land prosperous husbands. Both girls, however, have different visions for their futures.

Brianna, a quiet girl with a quick mind, dreams of attending college. Vivacious Colleen, meanwhile, is happy to marry – as long as her father's choice meets her exacting standards of the ideal groom. When former stable hand Gilbert Whelan returns from business school and distant relative Rylan Montgomery visits Long Island during his seminary training, the two men quickly complicate everyone's plans.

As the farm slips ever closer to ruin, James O'Leary grows more desperate. It will take every ounce of courage for both sisters to avoid being pawns in their father's machinations and instead follow their hearts. And even if they do, will they inevitably find their dreams too distant to reach?

Susan Anne Mason’s novel, Irish Meadows, tells a captivating and charming tale of family and romance and dreams, set early in the twentieth century on scenic Long Island, and I just could not put it down, greedily finishing it in a day. Sisters Brianna and Colleen O’Leary take two of the novel’s leading roles as they find themselves at odds with each other and their father’s desire to dictate and control their futures. The arrival of two hard-working, honorable and far too handsome men, Gilbert Whelan and Rylan Montgomery, to the family home complicates matters and sets the entire O’Leary family on a course for conflict, faith and reconciliation. All-around heartwarming and inspirational, Irish Meadows will certainly offer readers of historical romance a delightful end-of-summer read. I thoroughly enjoyed it and cannot wait to pick up the next book in Mason’s Courage to Dream series, A Worthy Heart.

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of Irish Meadows and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. To read other opinions, be sure to check out what other reviewers think here, and purchase a copy of the book here.

About the Author

Susan Anne Mason's debut historical novel, Irish Meadows, won the Fiction from the Heartland contest from the Mid-American Romance Authors Chapter of RWA. A member of ACFW, as well, she lives outside of Toronto, Ontario, with her husband and two children. 

Find Susan online at her website and Facebook.

Wild in the Hollow: On Chasing Desire & Finding the Broken Way Home by Amber C. Haines

About the Book

★★★★★

Amber Haines is a woman haunted by God. Like Eve in the Garden, she craved the fruit that she thought would lead her to freedom. But the whispers of temptation led her instead down a devastating path toward isolation, dissatisfaction, and life-altering choices. In her most broken moment, Amber met God waiting for her in the fallout, freely offering her grace and life.

This is a story of the God who makes himself known in broken places. In prose that is at once lyrical and utterly honest, a brave new voice takes readers on a windswept journey down the path of brokenness to healing, satisfaction, and true intimacy with God. Amber calls readers to dispense with the pretty bows we use to dress up our stories and instead trust God to take our untidy, unfinished lives and make them free, authentic, and whole. Anyone who struggles with doubt or holds secrets, anyone who feels marginalized or like she is missing something, will find in Amber a sister and an inviting voice back home, into the heart of God.

Wild in the Hollow: On Chasing Desire & Finding the Broken Way Home is a book that will not be forgotten easily. Within its pages, Amber C. Haines crafts lyrical sentences that beautifully capture both the utter brokenness of her past and the unending grace that brings her home to healing and freedom. Raw honesty and vulnerability cover every aspect of the personal story she tells, making it seem entirely approachable and genuine with a thematic and emotional universality in the midst of the specifics of her experience. An outstanding and captivating read, Wild in the Hollow is one book I would not hesitate to recommend again and again. It is well-worth the read.

Thanks to Revell Reads, I received a copy of Wild in the Hollow and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

About the Author

Amber C. Haines is a soulful writer and a blogger at TheRunaMuck.com. She is curator, with her husband, Seth, of Mother Letters and is a contributor with many acclaimed writers and bloggers at DaySpring's (in)courage. She has been involved as a coordinator with both BlissDom and !dea Camp Orphan Care and continues to build meaningful relationships with church leaders, lifestyle bloggers, authors, advocates, and poets. She lives in Arkansas.

Waiting on Wednesday: A Noble Masquerade & The Girl from the Train

Hosted weekly by Breaking the Spine 
to spotlight eagerly-anticipated upcoming releases.

Title: A Noble Masquerade

Author: Kristi Ann Hunter

Publisher: Bethany House

Expected Publication Date: 8 September 2015

Lady Miranda Hawthorne acts every inch the lady, but inside she longs to be bold and carefree. Entering her fourth Season and approaching spinsterhood in the eyes of society, she pours her innermost feelings out not in a diary but in letters to her brother's old school friend, a duke – with no intention of ever sending these private thoughts to a man she's heard stories about but never met. Meanwhile, she also finds herself intrigued by Marcus, her brother's new valet, and although she may wish to break free of the strictures that bind her, falling in love with a servant is more of a rebellion than she planned.

When Marcus accidentally discovers and mails one of the letters to her unwitting confidant, Miranda is beyond mortified. And even more shocked when the duke returns her note with one of his own that initiates a courtship-by-mail. Insecurity about her lack of suitors shifts into confusion at her growing feelings for two men – one she's never met but whose words deeply resonate with her heart, and one she has come to depend on but whose behavior is more and more suspicious. When it becomes apparent state secrets are at risk and Marcus is right in the thick of the conflict, one thing is certain: Miranda's heart is far from all that's at risk for the Hawthornes and those they love.

Title: The Girl from the Train

Author: Irma Joubert

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Expected Publication Date: 8 September 2015

A sweeping international love story that celebrates the triumph of the human spirit over the inhumanities of war and prejudice.

Six-year-old Gretl and her sister jump from a train bound for Auschwitz, her mother and grandmother unable to squeeze between the bars covering the windows. The daughter of a German soldier, Gretl understands very little about how her grandmother’s Jewishness brought her first to the ghetto, then to the train, and now, to the Polish countryside where she wanders, searching for food and water for her dying sister.

Soon, Gretl finds refuge with Jakob, a Polish freedom fighter, and his family, where she is sheltered until the end of the war. Gretl is then sent away to a new life, a new name, and a new faith in Apartheid-era South Africa. As she comes of age in this strange place, she confronts its prejudices as she hides the truth of her past from her new family.

When Jakob makes his way to South Africa many years later, Gretl and Jakob are reunited in a love story that transcends time and distance and survives the ravages of hatred and war. 

Falling Like Snowflakes by Denise Hunter

★★★★★

When the Christmas season finds Eden in Summer Harbor, Maine, she's on the run from trouble. Romance is the last thing on her mind.

Riding in a bus in the thickly falling snow, Eden Martelli wonders how it ever came to this – fleeing under cover of night with young Micah sleeping fitfully in the seat beside her. When a winter storm strands them in Summer Harbor, Maine, Eden wonders if what might have been the end could be a new beginning.

Beau Callahan is a habitual problem-solver. He's recently left his job with the sheriff's department to take over the family Christmas tree farm to save it from insolvency. But he's flummoxed. During the busiest season of the year, he's shorthanded. Then Eden shows up looking for work, and Beau believes he's been rescued. Competent, smart, and beautiful, Eden's also guarded and quiet. He soon figures out she comes with a boatload of secrets. But Beau can't seem to help himself from falling for her.

As Christmas Eve approaches, Beau discovers he'll do anything to keep Eden safe. But who's going to protect his heart from a woman who can't seem to trust again?

Denise Hunter’s newest series, set in Summer Harbor, Maine, stars the Callahan brothers, who made appearances in both Hunter’s Married ‘til Monday and Colleen Coble’s The Inn at Ocean’s Edge, and begins with the delightfully and festively romantic Falling Like Snowflakes. 

Beau Callahan, the eldest of the brothers, gets his shot at romance in this first novel, as Eden Martelli and her son unexpectedly arrive in town, desperate and in danger. Eden has a lot of secrets and Beau a strong desire to protect. As they get to know one another, their stubborn wills clash on more than one occasion, circumstances bring out issues of faith and trust and letting go, and romance develops unwantedly but sweetly. 

From start to finish, I wholeheartedly enjoyed the reading process of getting to know Eden, Beau and the characters surrounding them, as well as discovering how the romance would play out. A great start to the series, Falling Like Snowflakes will certainly please fans of contemporary romance - and leave them eager for more of Summer Harbor and the Callahan brothers. I know I, for one, cannot wait to read the next book, The Goodbye Bride.

Thanks to BookLook Bloggers, I received a copy of Falling Like Snowflakes and the opportunity to honestly review it. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. (I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”)

About the Author

Denise Hunter is the internationally published bestselling author of more than 20 books, including Dancing with Fireflies and The Convenient Groom. She has won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and is a RITA finalist. When Denise isn't orchestrating love lives on the written page, she enjoys traveling with her family, drinking green tea, and playing drums. Denise makes her home in Indiana where she and her husband are raising three boys. You can learn more about Denise through her website or by visiting her FaceBook page.

Trial Run by Thomas Locke

About the Book

★★★★★

Cutting-edge research requiring controversial experiments. Startling dreams delivering cryptic communication from the dreamer's future self. Ruthless rivals determined to control mind-bending new technology. When you're balancing on the edge of what's possible, trouble awaits, ready to push you into the abyss.

This daring psychological journey into the very nature of causation and consciousness will leave you turning the pages and grasping for solid ground – especially when it becomes clear just how much fact lies within the fiction.

Dr. Gabriella Speciale has assembled an international team of elite scientists with one goal in mind – to create and control out-of-body experiences that transcend the limits of time and space. Reese Clawson's mind-bending experiments aim to explode the boundaries of human consciousness – and annihilate the opposition in the process.

When a terrifying discovery and a string of failed tests threaten to dismantle both programs, the key to survival may reside in the mind of a gifted grad student whose unsettling dreams have thrust him into the center of a dangerous battle for control.

As the threads of perception and reality become tangled and time itself twists in unexpected directions, one warning remains clear: what you don't know can kill you.

Thomas Locke’s latest novel, the first of his Fault Lines series, Trial Run, is an exciting read from start to finish. This techno-thriller winds its way through twists and turns at a fast pace, introducing and then connecting characters in unexpected ways. At the beginning, it did take me a few chapters to truly begin keeping track of the various characters as the narrative switched perspectives, but overall, that did not deter my reading experience as I quickly could not put the book down. Trial Run is a highly enjoyable and intriguing read, full of suspense and action, and I would certainly recommend it to fans of the genre. Now, I can’t wait to read the second book to find out what will happen next.

Thanks to Revell Reads, I received a copy of Trial Run and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

About the Author

Thomas Locke is a pseudonym for Davis Bunn, the award-winning novelist with total worldwide sales of seven million copies. His work has been published in twenty languages, and critical acclaim includes four Christy Awards for excellence in fiction. Davis divides his time between Oxford and Florida and holds a lifelong passion for speculative stories. As Thomas Locke, Davis is also the author of Emissary. Learn more at his website.

The Sea Keeper's Daughters by Lisa Wingate

★★★★★

From modern-day Roanoke Island to the sweeping backdrop of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains and Roosevelt’s WPA folklore writers, past and present intertwine to create an unexpected destiny…

Restaurant owner Whitney Monroe is desperate to save her business from a hostile takeover. The inheritance of a decaying Gilded Age hotel on North Carolina’s Outer Banks may provide just the ray of hope she needs. But things at The Excelsior are more complicated than they seem. Whitney’s estranged stepfather is entrenched on the third floor, and the downstairs tenants are determined to save the historic building. Searching through years of stored family heirlooms may be Whitney’s only hope of quick cash, but will the discovery of an old necklace and a depression-era love story change everything?

Lisa Wingate’s The Sea Keeper’s Daughters is a beautifully written novel that captures the way the past can influence and interact with the present. Whitney Monroe returns to a scene from her childhood with the hopes of saving her business, but what she finds has the ability to save so much more - herself. This novel is a fascinating and engaging read with quirky, stubborn and broken characters set against scenic North Carolina landscapes. I couldn’t put it down as I rooted for Whitney to make beneficial choices and at the end, closed the book completely satisfied. Fans of Lisa Wingate or simply, contemporary fiction will not be disappointed by The Sea Keeper’s Daughters - I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Tyndale BlogNetwork, I received a copy of The Sea Keeper’s Daughters and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own.

Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin

Dive into Sarah Sundin's explosive new series, Waves of Freedom, with book one, Through Waters Deep. When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is found, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges–and dangers–await them in the midst of their budding romance.

Join Sarah in celebrating the release of Through Waters Deep by entering to win an Anchors Aweigh prize pack!

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Through Waters Deep
• A nautical tote bag
• A set of compass rose notecards
• A "Hope Anchors the Soul" journal
• A Boston Tea Party earl grey tea set
• A Through Waters Deep apron
• A set of nautical tea towels

 

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on August 24th. The winner will be announced August 25th on Sarah's blog.

About the Book

★★★★★

War is coming. Can love carry them through the rough waters that lie ahead?

It is 1941 and America teeters on the brink of war. Handsome and outgoing naval officer Ensign Jim Avery escorts British convoys across the North Atlantic in a brand-new destroyer, the USS Atwood. On shore, Jim encounters Mary Stirling, a childhood friend who is now an astute and beautiful Boston Navy Yard secretary.

When evidence of sabotage on the Atwood is discovered, Jim and Mary must work together to uncover the culprit. A bewildering maze of suspects emerges, and Mary is dismayed to find that even someone close to her is under suspicion. With the increasing pressure, Jim and Mary find that many new challenges – and dangers – await them.

Once again, Sarah Sundin delivers a captivatingly historical romance with purposeful yet conflicted characters in the midst of World War II drama. Through Waters Deep begins her newest series, Waves of Freedom, focusing on characters connected with the U.S. Navy. Friends from high school, Jim Avery, a naval officer, and Mary Stirling, a secretary in the Boston Navy Yard, reconnect after many years apart, as the U.S. determines whether or not to enter the Second World War. Each of these characters is highly likable and burdened by the lasting effects of memorable childhood events, and I really enjoyed seeing how their rediscovered friendship and budding romance challenged them to overcome their fears in the face of political turmoil, sabotage and war. A fantastic read that won’t leave Sundin’s fans disappointed, Through Waters Deep is a wonderful choice for interested readers. I would highly recommend it.

Thanks to LitFuse Publicity Group, I received a copy of Through Waters Deep and the opportunity to provide an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review, and all the opinions I have expressed are my own. To read other opinions, be sure to check out what other reviewers think here, and purchase a copy of the book here.

About the Author

Sarah Sundin is the author of With Every Letter and the Wings of Glory series. In 2011, A Memory Between Us was a finalist in the Inspirational Reader's Choice Awards, and Sarah received the Writer of the Year Award at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. A graduate of UC San Francisco School of Pharmacy, she works on call as a hospital pharmacist. During WWII, her grandfather served as a pharmacist's mate (medic) in the Navy and her great-uncle flew with the US Eighth Air Force in England. Sarah lives in California with her husband and three children.

Find Sarah online at her website, Facebook and Twitter.