Tuesday, July 31, 2018

This Freedom Journey

I absolutely love these books by Misty M. Beller.  I can't get enough of the locations and the depth of the characters in her books.  This was no exception.


Adrien had such a peaceful demeanor. Mary felt it.  She saw it. But she didn't understand it.  Adrien knew that when the time was right he would share the gift he received from God.

A warm and loving story of how God healed Mary and gave her what her heart desired.  I enjoyed this story and hated to see it end.  

I received this free to review.

About the Book

Title: This Freedom Journey
Author: Misty M. Beller
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: July 11, 2018
This Freedom JourneyAdrien Lockman is through with the political unrest and bloodshed in his home country of France, so he sets off to the Canadian territory’s mountain frontier, in search of a place where a man can live his own life in peace. The last thing he expects to find is a woman, half-starved and half-frozen in a shack nestled among the towering peaks of the great Rocky Mountains.
Mary Standish thought she’d finally found a place where she was accepted, trapping with her husband for the Hudson Bay Company. But when he dies after a gruesome grizzly fight, she determines to carry on their work. After all, life in these remote mountains is better than enduring the scorn and snubs of “civilized” folk. When she’s forced to face a winter harder than any she’s endured yet, her stubbornness may just be the death of her. Until a stranger appears at her ramshackle door.
Adrien had planned to explore the mountain country all winter before he settles down to build a farm in the spring, but he can’t leave this woman to die in the elements. Even though she seems desperate for him to go. As Mary regains strength, she’s torn between wanting to save her dignity, and craving the respect of this man who’s slipped past her defenses. As the winter worsens, the truth becomes all too real—the only way they’ll survive is together.
Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

MistyMisty M. Beller writes romantic mountain stories, set on the 1800s frontier and woven with the truth of God’s love.
She was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so her Southern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and they continue to keep that priority today. Her husband and daughters now add another dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.
God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love for Christian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novels that display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the lives of her characters.

Guest Post from Misty Beller

A Inside Look at the Cover for This Freedom Journey
My book covers are one of my favorite parts of the creative process! With most of my books, I have the cover done early, usually as I’m first brainstorming the story. I love to have the heroine on my cover, and I work hard to make sure the woman on the front matches the heroine I’m envisioning for the story. That way I can describe her in the novel the way she looks on the cover. Sometimes I even work in the outfit she’s wearing on the cover!
This Freedom Journey is a novella in my Heart of the Mountains series, so I wanted the cover to be similar in layout and style to the other books in that series. The setting is winter in the Canadian Rockies, so I knew Mary (the heroine) had to be bundled warmly! Funny story: Mary is mentioned in the other two books, although they’re set later in her life. When I first described her in the other books, I imagined her with amber brown eyes. When I chose the final cover for This Freedom Journey, I had to go back and change the amber brown eyes in those other manuscripts to the riveting blue on the cover. 😊

Blog Stops

cherylbbookblog, July 20
Among the Reads, July 21
Carpe Diem, July 26
Mary Hake, July 29
Bigreadersite , August 1

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Misty is giving away a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/d13f/this-freedom-journey-celebration-tour-giveaway

Saturday, July 28, 2018

The Hope of Azure Springs - Rachel Fordham

The main character is Em.  She might not be considered a beauty but her heart and soul was beyond beautiful.  She was loved by everyone she met.  She gave so much of herself to others.

Em was grieving.  With Caleb's help she was able to heal.

This was a touching story.  It made me smile.  I cried.  And I was cheering for Em and Caleb!!  But most of all, it introduced me to a new author- Rachel Fordham.  I'll be closely watching for new books by her.  I enjoyed every moment in Azure Springs.

I received this free to review.

Revealed by Elaine Manders

Wild West Shows.  Horses.  Cowboys.  Adventure.  Mystery.  Romance.  All this and more are included in this story by Elaine Manders.  I was excited to read this as I love a good western and a few years back I visited the Buffalo Bill Cody Museum in Cody, Wyoming.


The title REVEALED meant to me that GOD will reveal his true love for you when you open the door to him.  He is always there waiting patiently for the invitation.  

Katherine Levinson had much more revealed to her than she expected.  Was she ready to accept the past?  Could she ever be accepted?

I loved this book.  It was book 3 of the Intrique Under The Western Skies Series.  I had no problem following along.  It stood on its own.  But it does make me want to read Book One and Two.  Great story.  Wonderful characters.  You will find yourself cheering for Katherine and Colt.  I did!!!!

I received this free to review.


About the Book
Revealed
Title: Revealed
Author:Elaine Manders
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: December 27, 2018
Nothing can be hidden that won’t be revealed.
When her father dies, Katherine Levinson discovers her parents have kept secrets that render her happy childhood a farce. She and her gravely ill mother face eviction, and she has no choice but to appeal to the brother she’s never seen, the famous cattle baron, Rhyan Cason. Over her gravely ill mother’s objections, they move to Nebraska and the sprawling cattle ranch, Sollano.
Instead of the warm welcome Katherine expects, she and her mother are met with whispers and scorn in the little prairie town near Sollano. Gradually, the sins of her parents’ past surface, and Katherine begins to doubt her very identify. With her brother busy with cattle rustlers and her mother too ill to be bothered, Katherine turns to Colt Holliman, a soft-spoken neighboring rancher, for comfort.
Tired of waiting for the right woman to come along, Colt has promised to wait for Charley Ryder, an acclaimed female sharp shooter and equestrian acrobat with the Wild West Show, but it’s becoming clear Charley loves the show more than him. As his attraction to Katherine grows, he finds himself spiritually conflicted. How can he break from past commitments and follow his heart?
Then unexpected danger strikes, testing Katherine’s and Colt’s faith in God—and each other.

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Elaine MandersElaine Manders writes wholesome Christian romance and suspense about the bold, capable women of history and the strong, dependable men who love them. Her stories twist, turn, and surprise, told by characters who aren’t afraid to show their love for God and each other. She grew up a small town country girl and now lives in Central Georgia with her fur baby. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, sewing, crafts, and spending time with her family.




Guest Post from Elaine Manders

My Backstory
Intrigue under Western Skies Series, Book 3
Revealed

Back when I watched television, drama series were my favorite—Little House of the Prairie, the Waltons, the Virginian. I was caught up in the lives of these characters and looked forward to seeing what they were up to each week. For much the same reason, I enjoy writing episodic series.
Intrigue under Western Skies, a blended genre, historical romantic suspense series falls in this category. Some of the characters show up in every book, with new ones added along the way. But the books can be read out of sequence since each one has a different premise and plot.
In Revealed, Book 3 of Intrigue under Western Skies, I wanted to give Colt Holliman, previously introduced as a secondary character, his own HEA. Also, it seemed the time to reveal what happened to Rhyan Cason’s mother, the woman who’d caused so much angst in the first two books. More importantly, it gave me the opportunity to introduce Katherine, the sister he never knew existed.
Unexpectedly, my research led me to the history of show business, and how it developed through the Wild West shows of the nineteenth century. From that, a mystery evolved.
The spiritual thread running through Revealed explores the emotions of a young woman who discovers blood relatives have been hidden from her. Can she accept and love her new family and forgive the sins of her parents?
Maybe the greatest insight I gained from writing Revealed is that one can never trust his own heart without first trusting God.

Blog Stops

Carpe Diem, July 17
The Avid Reader, July 18
Remembrancy, July 19
Mary Hake, July 20
cherylbbookblog, July 27
Pause for Tales, July 27
Henry Happens, July 29
Bigreadersite, July 29

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Elaine is giving away a grand prize of a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cee6/revealed-celebration-tour-giveaway

Monday, July 23, 2018

Cottage by the Sea by Debbie Macomber

Debbie Macomber is one of my favorite go to authors.  I can't even begin to tell you how many of her books I have read.  Cottage by the Sea just came out this week so naturally I was first in line at the library to read this.

I actually read this in one night.  Last night I stayed up past 3 am to finish the last few pages.  I loved it.  It was a touching story of how Annie worked through her grief.

This wonderful story shares some valuable lessons.  It is important to take one day at a time while going through a difficult patch in your life.  Take a breath.  It's ok to grieve.  And the definition of family is a group of people who may not share the same bloodline but who love and are there for each other.

I recommend this to friends and family.


Tuesday, July 17, 2018

Firestorm by Laura V. Hilton

A firestorm was brewing between Bridget and Gabriel.  No matter how hard they fought their attraction to each other- it was GOD's plan for them to be together.  Or was it?


Everytime Gabriel and Bridget ventured out, a catastrophe occurred.  Shouldn't this be a warning?

Has anything ever happened to you where you realized how truly blessed you are?  We need to start each day thanking GOD for all his blessings.  GOD has blessed us with his presence.  He is with us every step of the way.  

Romantic, suspense, and intense describes this book.

I received this free to review.

About the Book

Title: FirestormFires Storm
Author: Laura Hilton
Genre: Christian Amish
Release Date: July, 2018
Bridget Behr and her family migrate from the bustling Amish community where she grew up in Ohio to the mostly unpopulated Upper Peninsula of Michigan after a stalker breaks into their home. While her father and brother try to find work in the area, the family is forced to reside in a borrowed RV until the house and barn are rebuilt. While Bridget is hoping for a fresh start, she’s afraid to trust anyone—even Gabriel, the overly-friendly Amish man who lives nearby. Bridget thinks he’s a flirt who serial dates and doesn’t even remember the girls’ names.
Due to not enough construction work in his Florida community to keep him out of trouble, Gabriel Lapp has been sent to Michigan to work. His father is desperate for his son to settle down. When the family walks into Gabe’s home in the middle of a thunderstorm and he discovers their circumstances, he offers to help with construction. For Gabe, the beautiful girl he teasingly calls “the recluse” once he discovers she doesn’t attend youth events, confuses him like none other.
As Gabriel and Bridget grow closer, they realize there is more to a person than meets the eye. Just as Bridget is finally settling into her new life, and perhaps finding love, tragedy strikes. Now Bridget and her family must decide if they should move to another Amish community, or dare to fight for the future they’d hoped for in Mackinac County.

Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Laura pictureLaura V. Hilton is an award-winning, sought-after author with over twenty Amish, contemporary, and historical romances. When she’s not writing, she reviews books for her blogs, and writes devotionals for blog posts for Seriously Write.
Laura and her pastor-husband have five children and a hyper dog named Skye. They currently live in Arkansas. One son is in the U.S. Coast Guard. She is a pastor’s wife, and homeschools her two youngest children.
When she’s not writing, Laura enjoys reading, and visiting lighthouses and waterfalls. Her favorite season is winter, her favorite holiday is Christmas.

Guest Post from Laura Hilton

I read a series of books a year or so ago by another Amish author who had set her books in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. As a Michigan native, I was curious, and I researched, but found nothing about Upper Peninsula Amish except a notation that one had tried and failed. So I contacted the author. She told me that she’d never been there, and her research had all been hearsay, so with that lack of firsthand knowledge and no trip to the Upper Peninsula planned, no trip to see for myself would be possible. At least at that time.
Then God intervened. My son who is in the United States Coast Guard was stationed in the Upper Peninsula this past summer (2017.) He saw the Amish driving around in their buggies. And he felt like a stalker as he followed one to see where he went and drove through the area. He even sent pictures. (Shhhh.)
Yes, there are Amish in the Upper Peninsula – at least at the time this book was written.
Okay, as a Michigan native, I used some terms that may not be familiar to non-Michiganders. A Yooper is someone who lives in the Upper Peninsula. A Troll is someone from the Lower Peninsula. A pastie is kind of like a Hot Pocket, except it’s a meat pie made with root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and rutabagas. They are so good. And the straits are the area of the Great Lakes connecting Lake Michigan and Lake Huron.
As for the wildfire, the earliest wildfire I could find any documentation on in the Upper Peninsula was in April. It is generally a snowy area — trust me. I lived near the Muskegon area and saw snow drifts in May. We sometimes had over six feet of snow on the ground at one time. So, to get the wildfire when I wanted/needed the wildfire I used artistic license. Yes, fires really happened in Michigan’s history. Just not in the month mentioned in the book.
firestorm 1
I am attaching a meme about Michigan seasons. We’ll call the fire set in “fool’s spring.” My son got married during the “third winter” this year. April 21 and there’s snow on the ground. He and his beautiful bride got married at a water fall (Tahquomenon Falls) very near where the story is set.
Firestorm 2

Thanks for reading Firestorm!!

Blog Stops

Carpe Diem, July 10
The Avid Reader, July 12
Among the Reads, July 14
Pause for Tales, July 20
amandainpa, July 21
Bigreadersite, July 21

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Laura is giving away
Grand prize: Firefighter Puppet 9 (Melissa & Doug), Copies of Amish Firefighter and Firestorm by Laura Hilton.
First place prize of “I Love You to the Cross & Back” Mug (Gardenfire) & Firestorm by Laura Hilton!!
Click below to enter. Be sure to comment on this post before you enter to claim 9 extra entries! https://promosimple.com/ps/cf87/firestorm-celebration-tour-giveaway

Monday, July 16, 2018

Sons of Blackburn Mountain by Joanne Bischof

My first impression picking up this book was "I think I am going to like this book".  The cover was beautiful and inviting.  I started to read and loved Aven Norgaard.

This was an enjoyable book.  It took me right to Appalachia....The author clearly described Blackbird Mountain.
I could almost breathe in the country air sitting under a tree that Thor loved.

Thor and Aven's love story was sweet and precious.  It wasn't based just on passion.  It was a friendship and an understanding of each other that developed into a loving relationship.  Thor was strong and could be violent when  he had a drink in him. But he was so gentle around Aven. His love for her gave him the courage to do what he needed to do.

This book was a story of love:  The love between brothers,  love of friends,  love between a woman and man, the love of your home and especially about the love of Jesus.

Great story.  I loved it.  I hated to finish the book.  I hope the story will continue as I want to visit this family again.

I received this free to review.

About the Book

sons of blackbird mountain
Title: Sons of Blackbird Mountain
Author: Joanne Bischof
Genre: Historical Romance
After the tragic death of her husband, Aven Norgaard is beckoned to give up her life in Norway to become a housekeeper in the rugged hills of Nineteenth-Century Appalachia. Upon arrival, she finds herself in the home of her late husband’s cousins—three brothers who make a living by brewing hard cider on their three-hundred acre farm. Yet even as a stranger in a foreign land, Aven has hope to build a new life in this tight-knit family.
But her unassuming beauty disrupts the bond between the brothers. The youngest two both desire her hand, and Aven is caught in the middle, unsure where—and whether—to offer her affection. While Haakon is bold and passionate, it is Thor who casts the greatest spell upon her. Though Deaf, mute, and dependent on hard drink to cope with his silent pain, Thor possesses a sobering strength.
As autumn ushers in the apple harvest, the rift between Thor and Haakon deepens and Aven faces a choice that risks hearts. Will two brothers’ longing for her quiet spirit tear apart a family? Can she find a tender belonging in this remote, rugged, and unfamiliar world?
A haunting tale of struggle and redemption, Sons of Blackbird Mountain is a portrait of grace in a world where the broken may find new life through the healing mercy of love.
Click here to purchase your copy!

About the Author

Bischof JoanneJOANNE BISCHOF is an ACFW Carol Award and ECPA Christy Award-winning author. She writes deeply layered fiction that tugs at the heartstrings. She was honored to receive the San Diego Christian Writers Guild Novel of the Year Award in 2014 and in 2015 was named Author of the Year by the Mount Hermon conference. Joanne’s 2016 novel, The Lady and the Lionheart, received an extraordinary 5 Star TOP PICK! from RT Book Reviews, among other critical acclaim. She lives in the mountains of Southern California with her three children. Visit her online at JoanneBischof.com, Facebook: Author, JoanneBischof, Instagram: @JoanneBischof.



Guest Video from Joanne Bischof

Blog Stops

Genesis 5020, July 5
Carpe Diem, July 5
Simple Harvest Reads, July 10 (Guest Review from Mindy Houng)
Just Commonly, July 11
Book by Book, July 12
Pause for Tales, July 13
Radiant Light, July 13
Remembrancy, July 14
Vicky sluiter, July 15
By The Book, July 16
Bigreadersite, July 17
amandainpa, July 18

Giveaway

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To celebrate her tour, Joanne is giving away
Grand prize of a country crate, a jar of apple butter, a bag of gummy berries, journal, bath salts, honey spoons, copper earrings, and a blackbird sign!!

The Dock Girl's Shame

  Loretta loved working with her father at the docks.  But everything changed when her father made a deal with Oswald Lynch.  Trouble soon f...