Sunday, August 25, 2019

Book Review: You Belong with Me by Tari Faris

Title: You Belong with Me

Author: Tari Faris

Publisher: Revell

Publication Date: September 3, 2019

About the Book

Realtor Hannah Thornton has many talents. Unfortunately, selling houses in the town where her family name is practically poison isn't one of them. When a business tycoon determines to raze historic homes in the small town of Heritage, Michigan, and replace them with a strip mall, Hannah resolves to stop him. She sets about helping Heritage win a restoration grant that will put the town back on the map--and hopefully finally repay the financial debt Hannah's mother caused the town. But at first no one supports her efforts--not even her best friend, Luke.

Luke Johnson may have grown up in Heritage, but as a foster kid he never truly felt as if he belonged. Now he has a chance to score a job as assistant fire chief and earn his place in the town. But when the interview process and Hannah's restoration project start unearthing things from his past, Luke must decide if belonging is worth the pain of being honest about who he is--and who he was.

My Thoughts

You Belong with Me by Tari Faris is the author's amazing debut novel. This book has it all-- romance, past hurts, broken relationships, and a search for faith. Linking it all is an overarching sense of hope and the need for a place to belong. The characters are interesting and have great depth. My favorite character might just be a quirky hippopotamus statue named Otis that appears at the most opportune times! I can't say enough about this novel. It is a strong debut novel by a clearly talented author who expertly weaves together a plot that ties everything together beautifully. I can't wait for book 2 in this series because I have grown to care about these characters and can't wait to hear what happens next in their lives. I highly recommend this novel. You won't be able to put it down. I received an advanced copy of this book from the author with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

About the Author

Tari Faris has been writing fiction for more than twelve years. In her free time, she loves coffee, camping with her husband and kids, and distracting herself from housework. She loves to connect with readers. You can find her on Facebook, Instagram, and on her website TariFaris.com.

Friday, August 16, 2019

Book Review: Shades of Light by Sharon Garlough Brown

Shades of Light by Sharon Garlough Brown is a deeply emotional book. If you or someone you love deals with mental illness, you might be interested in this book. I think it is an important read and I applaud the publisher for taking it on. I have heard nothing but great things about this author’s other books so I was excited to pick this one up. I was not disappointed! The Scriptures and quotes used in this book really resonated with me. I have long held the belief of God’s nature that the author weaves into this book (no spoilers— you have to read it!). I highly recommend it. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own. This book comes out August 20th— order now!!

Tuesday, August 6, 2019

Book Review: Identity Theft by Alana Terry

About the Book

Book: Identity Theft

Author: Alana Terry

Genre: Christian fiction, mystery/suspense

Release date: March 15, 2019

She imagined Alaska would be the perfect place to hide. She found out it’s the most dangerous place to be found …
Lacy has a secret. A secret nobody knows — not even her fiancé.
A secret that would cost her life … and so much more.
So it’s a good thing she’s tucked away in the very heart of rural Alaska, where for once in her life she is finally safe.
But can she stay that way for long?
Suspenseful, thrilling, and impossible to put down, Identity Theft is an unforgettable novel by bestselling Christian author Alana Terry.

Buy your copy today … but be prepared to stay up late!

My Thoughts

Identity Theft by Alana Terry is a fun, quick read. Lacy is in witness protection deep in Alaska and her past suddenly catches up to her. She has to discover who she can trust and what she really wants. This is a short novel which makes it a perfect weekend read. I loved the complicated backstories of the characters. There was some good suspense in the novel as well. At times, I found some of the main characters a little confusing, in that their words and actions did not always seem to match. My favorite part of this novel was the details about life in Alaska. The description of the bugs was crazy! This is the author's first novel in this series and it is a good debut. I look forward to more in this series. I received a digital copy of this book from the author with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

About the Author

Alana is a pastor’s wife, homeschooling mom, self-diagnosed chicken lady, and Christian suspense author. Her novels have won awards from Women of Faith, Book Club Network, Grace Awards, Readers’ Favorite, and more. Alana’s passion for social justice, human rights, and religious freedom shines through her writing, and her books are known for raising tough questions without preaching. She and her family live in rural Alaska where the northern lights in the winter and midnight sun in the summer make hauling water, surviving the annual mosquito apocalypse, and cleaning goat stalls in negative forty degrees worth every second.

More from Alana

What’s the first thing that pops into your mind when you think about Alaska? Are you a city soul or do you prefer the country? I’m pretty happy in small-town Alaska, but I’m afraid that wasn’t always the case.

Have you ever lived in a town with 400 residents? Even with all the wide-open spaces, it’s enough to make some personalities feel claustrophobic.

I thought of our move to rural living as our big adventure. (Because what’s more adventurous than feeding chickens and milking goats at negative 40 degrees?) Then I read my first draft of Identity Theft and realized the adjustment wasn’t going as smoothly as I hoped. It was more autobiographical than I had realized!

However, I learned to love rural Alaska, and that’s the main reason I wanted to write my Alaskan Refuge Christian Suspense Novel series – so I could share some of my favorite parts with you.

Identity Theft is the first of three stand-alone novels, all filled with adventure, suspense and thrills, and all set against the backdrop of Alaska. I hope as you settle in to read, you will begin to experience a little of what I’ve grown to love living in this spectacular state.

Blog Stops

Genesis 5020, July 25

EmpowerMoms, July 25

Inklings and notions, July 26

Blogging With Carol, July 26

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 27

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, July 27

Just the Write Escape, July 27

Just Your Average reviews, July 28

Splashes of Joy, July 28

Carla Loves To Read, July 29

Retrospective Spines, July 29

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, July 29

All-of-a-kind Mom, July 30

The Becca Files, July 30

Quiet Quilter, July 31

Maureen’s Musings, July 31

Godly Book Reviews, August 1

For Him and My Family, August 1

Texas Book-aholic, August 1

Literary Reflections Book Blog, August 2

Mary Hake, August 2

Library Lady’s Kid Lit, August 3

CarpeDiem, August 3

Through the Fire Blogs, August 4

Stephanie’s Life of Determination, August 4

Tell Tale Book Reviews, August 5

Moments, August 5

Henry Happens, August 6

Livin’ Lit, August 6

janicesbookreviews, August 6

As He Leads is Joy, August 7

A Readers Brian, August 7

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Alana is giving away a $30 Amazon gift card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e546/identity-theft-celebration-tour-giveaway

Sunday, August 4, 2019

Book Review: Love and Other Mistakes by Jessica Kate

About the Book

Book: Love and Other Mistakes

Author: Jessica Kate

Genre: Romantic Comedy

Release date: July 31, 2019

There’s a fine line between love and hate . . . And for the last seven years, Natalie Groves has hated Jeremy Walters.

Natalie Groves was meant for great things. But soon after her fiancé left, Natalie’s father was diagnosed with cancer. Suddenly her grand plans evaporated . . . and God felt very far away.

Fast-forward seven years, and an internship presents Natalie a chance at her destiny—but she needs a job to work around it. And the only offer available is worse than a life sentence. Her ex Jeremy, now back in town, is desperate for help with his infant son and troubled teenage niece, Lili. And Natalie may be just the one to help Jeremy . . . provided they don’t kill each other in the process.

When Jeremy and Natalie join forces, sparks fly. But will either of them get burned along the way?

Get your copy here!





My Thoughts

Love and Other Mistakes by Jessica Kate is a dynamic debut novel. This Australian author brings a fun and interesting twist to Christian fiction with Australian characters living in the United States. Sometimes I found myself reading this book and I would forget about the Australian influences, only to be jarred out of the story by unfamiliar words. While this did take me out of the story for a bit, overall, I found the Australian elements really interesting. Ms. Kate excels at dialogue between characters in difficult situations. This novel is real and deals with really difficult topics. While it is hopeful, I would not characterize it as rom-com or sassy. Rather, I think it is a well-crafted contemporary novel. This novel could easily be classified as a young adult novel, especially with the ages of the main characters and the themes of the novel. It is inspirational, but I think it would have benefited from more Christian elements to counteract the heavy themes. The novel's ending felt a bit too easy of a resolution, again because of the heavy topics.  I hope these are further dealt with in a subsequent novel, because there is definitely enough unresolved issues for another great novel. While this novel is not exactly what I expected, I would recommend it to readers of young adult fiction and contemporary fiction. I received a digital copy of this novel from the publisher with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.

About the Author

Australian author Jessica Kate writes inspirational romances with wit, sass, and grit. Jessica is a screenwriting groupie, cohost of the StoryNerds vlog and podcasts, and her favorite place to be—apart from Mum and Dad’s back deck—is a theme park. She has traveled North America and Australia, and samples her favorite pasta wherever she goes—but the best (so far) is still the place around the corner from her corporate day job as a training developer. She loves watching sitcoms with her housemates and being a leader in a new church plant.

Jessica Kate brings rom-com fans a reminder that love has its own timing in her breakout novel, Love and Other Mistakes. Kate is best known in the book world as the cohost of StoryNerds, a vlog and podcast about all things books and pop culture, recorded from her home city of Toowoomba, Australia. Now, she’s carving her own place in the Christian fiction arena and helping to fill the rom-com genre gap with a novel full wit, sass, and grit.

More from Jessica

A romance that makes me laugh and snort my strawberry milkshake across the keyboard when I sneak in chapter at work – that’s just the best. My loftiest career aspiration is to create that experience for someone else. There can never be enough of those books in the universe, especially novels that include deep faith and emotion, as well. I adore love-hate romantic comedies like The Hating Game by Sally Thorne, and I spend my days dreaming up plotlines that force characters who hate each other to work together as a team. But, Natalie’s journey came from a real place for me—that feeling you’re missing out on your purpose and you don’t know how to fix it.

Read an excerpt at https://jessicakatewriting.com/books/love-and-other-mistakes/