To Fall in Love at Christmas

Truman took his profession very seriously.  He loved his congregation. He served GOD with all his heart.  But he felt something was missing.  A wife.  But who would marry a simple man like him?

Young Alice arrived in town to be Dr. Grant's nurse.  She had experience as she worked at a hospital in Calgary, Canada.  She had no contact with her father and brothers. Her father was cold and distant. She always felt lacking in his presence. He drained every bit of happiness from her.

Truman and his family demonstrated to Alice the true meaning of family and Christmas.

I enjoyed the book. Truman was a catch.  All the mothers with eligible daughters knew that.  But did Alice?

I received this book from the author to review.  

Best-selling novelist Robin Lee Hatcher is known for her heartwarming and emotionally charged stories of faith, courage, and love. She discovered her vocation after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles.

After fifteen years writing for the general fiction market and a change in her own heart, Robin began to write stories that included her Christian faith and values.

Winner of the Christy, the RITA, the Carol, the Inspirational Reader’s Choice, and many other awards, she is also a recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award from both Romance Writers of American (2001) and American Christian Fiction Writers (2014). Robin is the author of over 95 novels and novellas.

A lifelong Idahoan, Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. Hobbies include Bible art journaling, decorative planning and knitting. She makes her home on the outskirts of Boise, sharing it with a demanding Papillon dog named Boo

Mercy

Samantha Price's characters almost have become friends of mine.  I start reading and I am right there in Wilma's living room enjoying the company. 

There is always confusion and mishaps when Tabitha is around.  This happens again in this story. Tabitha is determined to get married.  It sounds a lot better than milking cows.

She thinks that if she does a little research she would find the answers to her questions.  She started with her Aunt Mercy. Boy, did Tabitha open a can of worms.

I loved the story.

I received this book to review from the author. 

#blogtour

#SamanthaPrice

The Schoolmarm and the Miner

I have a list of must read authors. Denise Weimer now Farnsworth is on it.  Her books stand out with historical detail.  I love learning about events and places I never knew about.

This lovely story is about Dahlonega, Georgia during the Gold Rush.  Adelaide arrives in town to become the new schoolteacher.  She had quite a difficult job ahead of her due to a few boys causing trouble.

She meets widowed miner, Wade Coulter.  His daughter caught Adelaide's heart.  

Adelaide and Wade are guarded and afraid to take their relationship beyond friendship. But can they?

A real enjoyable story. I loved it.  

#blogtour

#CelebrateLit

I received this book to review from Celebrate Lit.

About the Book

Book: The Schoolmarm and the Miner

Author: Denise Farnsworth writing as Denise Weimer

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: May 5, 2026

A teacher seeking independence. A widower guarding his heart. In Georgia’s gold country, the richest prize may be the love they’re afraid to claim.

Adelaide Duncan’s dream of teaching is within reach until her father’s drinking and gambling force her to start over. Taking a position in the rough-and-tumble gold rush town of Dahlonega[DF1] , she’s determined to prove herself. But unruly students, strict rules against [DF2] teachers courting, and her growing feelings for a certain widowed father threaten the independence she’s fought so hard to claim.

Wade Coulter walked away from the law after he lost his wife and unborn son. Raising his daughter alone is safer than letting anyone else in. But Lotty’s beautiful new teacher makes him question everything. Just as he begins to trust again, a dangerous man from Wade’s past threatens both the women he loves.

A gold strike on Wade’s property promises security…but also revives old dangers. Scarred by her father’s choices, Addie fears any man who might put [DF3] selfish desires before love. As deadly threats close in and the past refuses to stay buried, Wade must prove he’s changed or risk losing his chance at happiness forever.

About the Author

North Georgia native Denise Farnsworth, formerly Denise Weimer, has authored over twenty traditionally published novels and novellas—historical and contemporary romance, romantic suspense, and time slip. As a freelance editor and Acquisitions & Editorial Liaison for Wild Heart Books, she’s helped other authors reach their publishing dreams. A wife and mother of two adult daughters, Denise always pauses for coffee, chocolate, and old houses.

More from Denise

At the end of book one of my Twenty-Niners of the Georgia Gold Rush series, The Songbird and the Surveyor, the bad guy walked free! Saloon and mine owner Charles Martin’s manipulative plotting and family money spared him from facing justice. Well, we can’t have that…

Wade Coulter, the sheriff whose sister died in a confrontation with Charles, turned in his badge after the man avoided standing trial for kidnapping the wife of Jesse Holden (the hero of book one) and his theft of a local mine owner’s gold. Jesse and Genny left North Georgia for a fresh start, but Wade gets stuck with the burden of failure and—following the deaths of his wife and unborn son—heartache. He’s retreated to his mountain farm with his plucky overall-wearing daughter, Charlotte, determined to keep her safe from the criminals who frequent gold rush boomtowns like the county seat of Dahlonega.

But then a new teacher arrives…one who is also fleeing heartache in hopes of a fresh start. Forced by the mistakes of her drunken father to seek employment in the gold fields rather than at the prestigious girls’ academy from which she just graduated, Adelaide Duncan has no other choice than to make her way in Dahlonega. If that means doing battle with thieves on the square, a pompous school board president, and bullies as big as she is, fine.

The one battle she doesn’t count on is keeping her heart safe from a moody widower who needs convincing by Addie and his aunt, the owner of the boardinghouse where Addie lodges, that his mannerless daughter desperately needs to attend school. It soon enough becomes clear that, despite her guardedness, Lottie longs for a mother’s love. Just when the discovery of gold on Wade’s land allows him to picture a family in his future, an old nemesis shows up with a new scheme…one that once again endangers the women Wade loves.

The Schoolmarm and the Miner packs humor, romance, action, and all your favorite tropes into a real-life town setting so charming, it’s a Hallmark movie-filming destination. After you read the story, you’ll want to plan a road trip to tour the gold museum in the historic courthouse and the drippy tunnels of the Consolidated Gold Mine, one of many that operated in Lumpkin County from the 1830s through the early 1900s. As you wander the North Georgia mountains, you’ll see why I’ve long felt there’s still plenty of treasure there. And fodder for great stories!

Blog Stops

Fiction Book Lover, May 12 (Author Interview)

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 12

Texas Book-aholic, May 13

For Him and My Family, May 14

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 15

Lakesidelivingsite , May 15

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 16

Devoted To Hope, May 17

Jeanette’s Thoughts, May 18

Books You Can Feel Good About, May 19

Connie’s History Classroom, May 20

Simple Harvest Reads, May 21 (Guest Review from Donna)

Holly’s Book Corner, May 22

Cover Lover Book Review, May 23

Pause for Tales, May 24

Lyssa Loves Books, May 25

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Denise is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/DSQoC/the-schoolmarm-and-the-miner-celebration-tour-giveaway

Part of Your World

I love classic Disney movies.  I've seen a lot but.....I never saw The Little Mermaid. I feel ashamed.  My grandson is now 17 but when he was 3 or 4, he loved Ariel.  We went to Disneyworld and stood in line for him to meet her.  He got a kiss in the cheek. He announced to everyone in his high pitched little boy voice "Hey Everybody, Ariel kissed me!

I realized this book was loosely based on that movie.  

I always loved Karen Witemeyer's books.  This is a wonderful addition to her catalog.  There is no way that you can't enjoy and love Muriel and Zane's story.  

Zane was not only handsome but he was also rich.  He wasn't a rich snob. He was kind and loved unconditionally.  Muriel was beautiful in her own way. She came from a working class family.  She dreamed of finding a kind husband. But he had to understand her love for swimming.  Her father didn't. 

Muriel deserved the happiness that Zane can provide. Zane deserved the love Muriel had for him.

Great story.

I received this book to review from the author.

Official Bio:

For those who love to smile as they read, bestselling author Karen Witemeyer offers warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy Texas heroes. Voted #1 Readers' Favorite Christian Historical Author in 2023 by Family Fiction Magazine, Karen is a multiple award-winning author and a firm believer in the power of happy endings. She is an avid cross-stitcher, tea drinker, and gospel hymn singer who makes her home in Abilene, TX with her heroic husband who vanquishes laundry dragons and dirty dish villains whenever she's on deadline.

Her Reluctant Amish Heart

Everyone deserves a second chance. Not everyone gets one.  I did when I met my husband.  GOD  thought I deserved one.  And I have been blessed ever since.

Anika Glick thought her life was over. Tragedy struck her family again.  She knew she would never be happy again.  She gave up hope. 

Elam Muller left his Amish family to strike out on his own.  And strike out he did. What a mess he made of his life. One terrible night changed their futures.   

Can forgiveness and faith bring the two of them together?

I received this book to review from the author.

#blog

About the author

New York Times & Publishers Weekly bestselling author Pamela Desmond Wright grew up in a small, dusty Texas town. From the time she learned to read, books have been her passion.

A veteran of the e-book revolution of the late '90's, Pamela moved into traditional publishing, writing for Kensington and NAL/Penguin. Nominated 2 times, she won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award in 2010. Pamela was also a founder of the scam publishers and agents website, The Write Connection, which was transferred to the SFWA through (then) vice-president A.C. Crispin to become Writer Beware. Her experiences with scam agents and publishers was documented in Professor Jim Fisher's book, Ten Percent of Nothing: The Case of the Literary Agent From Hell.

In 2013, Pam took a break from publishing. Unable to shake the story bug, she came back in 2019 with a new focus, fulfilling a promise to write wholesome books readers of all ages could enjoy.

Find her online at pameladesmondwright dot com. She's also on social media: Facebook, X, Threads, Bluesky and Instagram as @pamdwrites.

Calico Canyon

Grace finally escaped.  But did she?  How in the world did she find herself in a cave with such an ornery man ( but handsome) and five lively boys?

Grace endured pain and suffering in her past life. She was determined to not let that happen to her again.  Her stepfather was determined to make her suffer.  Sick guy.

Entertaining and suspenseful.  I loved Grace and Daniel's relationship. 

 You will, too.

I was given this book to review from Celebrate Lit.

About the Book

Book: Calico Canyon (Petticoats and Cowboys Book 2)

Author: Mary Connealy

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release Date: April 28, 2026

From beloved author Mary Connealy comes a delightful Western adventure brimming with danger, laughter, and unexpected romance—a tale of a runaway teacher, a bewildered widower, and five rambunctious boys who need a mother whether they want one or not. Perfect for fans of Tracie Peterson and Karen Witemeyer.

Grace Calhoun never imagined teaching school in Texas would lead to marriage—especially not to the infuriating Daniel Reeves.

When Grace flees her adoptive father’s cruelty by hiding in a stranger’s wagon, the town parson insists on an immediate wedding, leaving Grace trapped in marriage to a stubborn widower with five unruly sons—the very boys who made her teaching job impossible.

Daniel Reeves has no intention of risking his heart—or another wife—to childbirth.

Still grieving the loss of his first wife, Daniel wants nothing to do with the prim schoolmarm forced into his family. He’ll build her a house and provide for her needs, but he’ll keep his distance. His sons need a mother, but he refuses to fall in love again.

Snowed in together for a long Texas winter, walls begin to crumble.

As Grace discovers the courage she thought she’d lost, she transforms from a frightened woman on the run to a fierce protector of her new family. The boys who once tormented her become the children of her heart. And the husband who swore to keep his distance? He’s finding it harder each day to resist his spirited wife.

But when Grace’s dangerous past catches up to her, she must choose between running again or standing firm in the faith that brought her to Calico Canyon—even if it costs her everything.

A tender tale of found family, healing love, and the faithfulness of God in the midst of life’s unexpected turns.

I hope you enjoy Calico Canyon. The fumbling, clueless cowboy. The innocent, befuddled school marm. The unruly boys who don’t see why she can’t cook and why she won’t go home.

The danger, circling the outside of their canyon, waiting for the gap to open so he can avenge himself on the daughter that send him to prison.

About the Author

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedies with cowboys and is celebrated for her fun, zany, action-packed style. She is a two time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist.

Mary Connealy writes romantic comedy with cowboys always with a strong suspense thread. She is a two-time Carol Award winner, and a Rita, Christy and Inspirational Reader’s Choice finalist. She is the bestselling author of 75 books and novellas. She has over a million and a half books in print.

Mary lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her very own romantic cowboy hero. Visit her website or find her at Petticoats & Pistols!

More from Mary

I think of Calico Canyon as my husband’s life growing up. He is sixth of seven sons. A family of all boys.

His mom, my mother-in-law, was the coolest lady I’ve ever known. That woman could handle everything and never be other than sweet and generous and so funny. She’s gone now but for all the years she was in my life, I’d say she was my best friend.

All those boys! She was the living embodiment of rolling with the punches and not sweating the small stuff.

Those brothers…they are the inspiration for this book but my mother-in-law read it and said, her boys were so much better behaved than those boys in Calico Canyon, and she’s right about that…no boys could be worse than the Reeves boys.

This book is the embodiment of the forced marriage. Two people caught in a completely innocent compromising situation. Nothing will do but immediate marriage after Grace spends the night with Daniel.

But there were five boys in that cave with us!

Not gonna save you, Grace.

Grace is a school marm and those boys have been a torment to her ever since they’d shown up at school. Now, due to Grace needing to hide from her abusive, adoptive father, who has tracked her down to this tiny town in Texas, she’d ended up under a tarp over Daniel’s wagon. He takes her home and she has no choice but to stay quiet under that tarp until it’s too late to take her back.

The wedding scene from Calico Canyon was, for many years, what I considered the funniest thing I’d ever written. Very hard work to get that scene right. Grace is confused when she’s found with Daniel by the parson. Oh, good. Someone who will give me a ride back to town.

The parson is saying the vows. Grace is happy to take a ride. The parson’s wife is urging the parson to hurry. Daniel is trying to put a stop to it. The boys are all horrified to see their hated teacher.

Mayhem ensues.

It was a lot of fun to get right. Lots of moving parts in that scene.

And then a blizzard snows the gap that leads into their canyon shut and they have to spend the winter trying not to kill each other. And of course, falling in love.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, May 5

For Him and My Family, May 6

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 7

Simple Harvest Reads, May 8 (Guest Review from Donna)

Jeanette’s Thoughts , May 9

Fruitfully Planted, May 10

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 10

Books You Can Feel Good About, May 11

Vicky Sluiter, May 12

Sydney Schmied, May 13

Book Looks by Lisa, May 14

Wishful Endings, May 15

Labor Not in Vain , May 16

Mary Hake, May 16

Cover Lover Book Review, May 17

Holly’s Book Corner, May 18

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Mary is giving away the grand prize of a $50 Amazon Gift Card!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://gleam.io/5MQgR/calico-canyon-celebration-tour-giveaway

The Tide Turns for Tilly

Tilly has the biggest heart.  No one is like her. She opens her door to others in need. You don't need to guess how Tilly feels.  It is written all over her face.  She worries about her children and now a grandchild.

Matilda, Tilly's daughter, is ready to marry the love of her life. But then disaster strikes. Life will never be the same.

I have enjoyed getting to know Tilly's family and neighbors.  Most are pleasant enough. A few need more than a good shaking.

Will everything turn out ok for this family?  Just when you think everything will be ok, another problem appears.

I really enjoyed this book.

I received this from Boldwood Books to review

#blog

#rararesources

The Tide Turns for Tilly

A gripping saga of courage, resilience and shattered dreams set in Victorian London. 

When Tilly’s brother, Tom, who she hasn’t seen for twenty years, turns up on her doorstep she knows trouble will not be far behind.

Tom’s search for the truth brings heartache and changes their lives forever. Old wounds reopen, relationships fracture, loyalties fray and no one escapes the consequences. 

Tensions rise when disaster strikes and Tilly finds herself torn between fighting for Tom and supporting her headstrong daughter, Martha, whose world is falling apart.

Can Tilly uncover the secret of her brother’s past, and find the truth? Can Martha find peace and the strength to build a future with the man she loves?

What lies ahead for the family when so much is at stake?

A moving, atmospheric novel that grips the heart from the first page to the last.

If you enjoy stories of family, hardship and love in tough times you’ll love The Tide Turns for Tilly. 

Perfect for fans of Josephine Cox, Anna Jacobs and Dilly Court

Purchase Link - https://mybook.to/thetideturns 

Author Bio – 

Kay Seeley is a talented storyteller and bestselling author. Her short stories have been published in women’s magazines and short-listed in competitions. Her novels had been finalists in The Wishing Shelf Book Awards. She lives in London and loves its history. Her stories are well researched and beautifully written with compelling characters where love triumphs over adversity.  Kay writes stories that will capture your heart and leave you wanting more. Often heart-wrenching but always satisfyingly uplifting, her books are perfect for fans of Anna Jacobs, Lesley Pearse and Josephine Cox. 

Kay is a Member of The Alliance of Indie Authors and The Society of Women Writers and Journalists. 

All her novels are available for Kindle, in paperback, audio and in Large Print.

Social Media Links –

Webpage: https://kayseeleyauthor.com/

Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/kayseeley.writer/

Twitter/X:  https://x.com/KaySeeley1

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kayseeley6