Month: January 2021

Free and bargain books January 29, 2021

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1531 Entertainment has suggestions for us. One I’ve read and one not. One bargain, one FREE

Unexpected Janice Cole Hopkins

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Amazon quote:

Oliver Hartsell had no idea when he went to repair Mr. Austin’s windows that he’d end up proposing to the man’s daughter, but that’s exactly what happened.

He didn’t regret it because he’d been secretly in love with Marie for a long time. However, he doubts she feels the same way about him, but he’s determined that she will.

Yet, life has a way of throwing unexpected surprises.

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Warrior: Contemporary Christian Romantic Suspense (Spiritual Warfare Series Book 1) 

Amazon quote:

Kati Walsh battles in her kickboxing class, but she’ll have to learn spiritual warfare when a new pastor & a gang leader take an interest in her.

Kickboxer Kati Walsh’s one outreach is to her kickboxing friends at the gym, but she’s praying God will stir her heart again. She’s not sure, though, that the new assistant pastor and his friend Reece Jernigan are what she prayed for—because Assistant Pastor Josh Corbin intends to win the hearts of the gangs in the northside neighborhood.

When Josh plans a prayer walk in the area, both the congregation and the police are wary, but Josh insists that prayer works. He believes in spiritual warfare—prayer, praise, and the Word of God. Reece, on the other hand, has been on the streets before, and his weapon of choice is a 9mm Glock. Two close friends with differing perspectives and both with an eye on Kati.

And they’re not the only ones. The gang leader has taken an unexpected interest in Kati, too.

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BookRunes has a FREE suggestion, one I think I’ve read & enjoyed somewhere before. Probably in one of many collections. The price is right so I’ll take it anyway.

Love of a Lifetime: An Abundance Series Prequel (The Abundance Series)

Amazon quote:

Cara Smith can’t wait to put the first half of 1980 behind her and build a new life in the little town of Abundance, Missouri. If she can just avoid questions from that cute guy at the newspaper, no one ever needs to find out about her past.

Will Hamlin, editor of the local paper, has some serious questions about the mayor’s new secretary. She’s clearly hiding something—something that could be the big story the newspaper desperately needs to stay afloat. But after Will’s initial queries find nothing, he grows less interested in Cara’s past and more interested in winning her heart with slices of pie and stolen kisses.

When a crime is uncovered at city hall just as Will unearths Cara’s secret, the repercussions shatter their romance. Can Cara ever escape her past? Can Will finally find a way to save the paper? And can they learn to place their trust in God and open their hearts to the love of a lifetime?

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One more found browsing. Christy Barritt shows up on our reading list regularly but I’ve not read this one yet.

Key Witness (The Security Experts)

Amazon quote:

After witnessing an armed robbery, a woman in danger needs a bodyguard’s protection in this suspenseful romance from USA TODAY bestselling author Christy Barritt, part of The Security Experts series.

When Elle Philips witnesses an armed robbery while standing in line at the bank, she sets into motion a deadly game of cat and mouse. Mark Denton, a security contractor and former Navy SEAL, also witnesses the robbery, and is hired by Elle’s father to keep his daughter safe following the incident. And while Denton’s desire to protect Elle goes beyond professional bounds, he cannot let personal feelings cloud his judgment—judgment he’ll have to rely on when the robbers’ true motives are revealed…and Elle becomes a target in the ultimate plot of revenge.

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Currently, I looking for a book I like better than one I’m reading. Maybe it will be one of today’s new reads.

Happy Reading folks!

Thoughts running through my mind.

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There is one thought running through my mind at this moment. It’s not new, I’ve been visiting variations of this thought off and on for awhile now. This morning it took a different turn and I feel like I need to explore it.

I’ve been judiciously watching many news type podcasts lately. Judiciously, because my mental and emotional health is in trouble if I don’t.

With limited exposure I can’t be quoted on who thinks what or what they plan to do about it if they think it. I am no expert on any of it.

I hear snippets. That’s kind of what started my thinking this morning. Putting two and two together, forming an idea. My idea.

The world is a complicated place, always has been. We think a certain action will gain a certain result but it never holds true with humans. For every expected reaction it is possible there will be an unexpected reaction. Maybe not in equal number as, hopefully, good reactions will outweigh the not-so-good ones. Besides, in the course of your lifetime have you ever seen unanimous agreement happen more than once or twice? Never is more likely.

I’m saying all this to acknowledge the exceptions. What makes one person strong destroys another and it hurts when things go badly.

So, getting back to my original train of thought.

The last few days I’ve heard news people using the term Reset. A Global Reset. I didn’t stick around long enough to hear much but I can imagine what they were thinking and planning. My whole life, I have been hearing about one world government and it is a scary thought. It always sounded like the forces wanting to form this government did not have our best interests at heart. It was all about need for power.

At the beginning of the covid pandemic, watching the way life was changing for all of us, I was thinking reset too. I wasn’t alone with this observation, I’ve heard many others express the same idea.

As a society, life has been easy for us in so many ways and we have become used to taking it for granted, that’s one part.

The other part is disconnectedness. Electronic devices, and all facets of them, have consumed us and our time. We have become isolated from one another in real time. We share physical spaces, yet we are like ships passing in the night. Each living a life in solitary.

Covid has changed all of this. Isolation of a different sort has forced us together for prolonged periods of time. We are discovering in-person relationships, some for the first time. Most, but not all, are thriving and life is enriched with good experiences, making new memories and connections to last a lifetime.

Then there is the hardship of restrictions and the downturn on the economic side. We’ve lost many of the things we took for granted. It’s been a year and life does not look like it will be going back to normal anytime soon. In fact whatever it goes back to is guaranteed to look quite different after all this time. Necessity with all it’s changes will have made going back impossible.

Considering all of this, I view reset as involving our priorities, values, and connections. And it would be a good thing. I think we will be a stronger people for having survived this storm. We will develop a protective awareness we didn’t have before. We were caught by surprise with covid but we won’t be as unaware as we would have been, if it happened again.

If it turns out the World Reset attempt is a reality we will be better equipped to survive, having lived through the personal reset. And if the World Reset never comes, we will still be in a better position to thrive and survive life in general.

In the end, I think the most important reset will be personal. There is no denying … we are already a much stronger people because of it. It’s not over yet, just think of where we will be, strength-wise, a year from now.

This is what I’m thinking today.

As I reach this point in the discussion I find this thought pattern gives me hope.

I’m also pretty sure this won’t be the last time I think about all this.

Free and bargain books January 27, 2021

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BookRunes has a FREE suggestion for us. I’ve not met this author and it will be a new experience for me. After that, browsing has revealed a nice selection of new books. A variety of romance and mystery.

Dangerous Ground 

Amazon quote:

Can the trauma of her past save someone’s future?

Sierra Jane Hart is a nature guide in Southwest Florida. When she witnesses a random murder in the woods, she flees the scene and evades the perpetrators. She tries to put the incident behind her, but within a couple of days, a man attacks her, and two young girls go missing. Is there a connection? Detective Dan Bentley seems to think so.

Dan Bentley doesn’t trust women. Not after his wife deserted him, leaving him to care for their four-year-old daughter alone. But Sierra’s sincerity and solid faith in the midst of escalating circumstances challenges him to reconsider his thoughts about God and his vow to remain a single father.

In their search to uncover the truth, Dan and Sierra are forced to deal with their pasts. When they discover the secret of Sierra’s childhood, the hunt for the elusive criminals and their captives becomes personal.

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Browsing has unearthed a few nice bargains with more new-to-me authors.

Restoring Christmas: A Novella

Amazon quote:

Two broken hearts. One amazing God.

Holly Christmas left Geneseo Valley and her family’s holiday tourist attraction, The Christmas Mansion, as soon as she graduated. Now both her parents have passed, and Holly returns when her uncle needs her help running the mansion. On Holly’s first day back, a blunt middle-schooler proclaims Holly hates Christmas. His comment forces her to reconcile the past while planning for the mansion’s future.

Kevin Holt is invested in offering hope to students with challenges. His best friend’s son is in Kevin’s class, and Nathan needs guidance. Their community project placement at The Christmas Mansion is an opportunity to make a positive difference. When Nathan blurts out his thoughts to the beautiful co-owner, Kevin wonders if he has what it takes to help restore the mansion to its former glory, mentor Noah, and convince Holly Christmas she’s exactly where she needs to be.

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A Star Will Rise: A Mosaic Christmas Anthology II 

Amazon quote:

Christmas should be a time of wonder and expectation, but what if tragedy, illness, family secrets, or betrayal strip away every belief in what the future holds? And in a good and loving God?

When circumstances beyond their control dramatically alter their lives, can broken, betrayed, and disillusioned people rediscover their faith and come to see that God’s plans are far better for them than the ones they had imagined for themselves?

Brenda S. Anderson | A Christmas Homecoming
Eleanor Bertin | Love and Unexpected Stress Responses
Sara Davison | Sixty Feet to Home
Regina Rudd Merrick | The Twelve Days of Mandy Reno
Angela D. Meyer | Returning to Christmas
Marion Ueckermann | One Christmas Wish
Candace West | A Garland of Grace

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Amber Alert: Christian Contemporary Romance with Suspense (Dangerous Series Book 1) 

Amazon quote:

Sharee Jones is not looking to get involved with anyone, let alone the man who found her crying her eyes out over her last disastrous relationship. But she’ll need John Jergenson’s help for her Christmas program.

Although John can’t deny his attraction to Sharee, with tragedy in his own life, he’s put any relationship on hold—especially with someone so committed to God.

But then a baby is kidnapped. Sharee blames herself and begins her own investigation. When she disappears, John will do to any length to find her—even go down on his knees.

“Captivating and thought-provoking.”
“The pace is fast and descriptions short and sweet, makes a perfect suspenseful romance.”

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The Glass Bottom Boat

Amazon quote:

Her worst nightmare lies in the depths below.

Surrounded by the romantic paradise of her sister’s destination wedding in Jamaica, Madison Grey realizes she must overcome her paralyzing fear of the ocean—and her broken heart—to start living again. Luke Alexander, the groom’s brother, is a missionary who has come to terms with a life of singleness—until he meets Madison.

During the wedding, their personal connection intensifies when a stalker stirs up haunting memories of her gold-digging ex-fiancé. After Madison mysteriously disappears and the newlyweds receive a ransom note, Luke dives into action to find her. Will he save Madison in time or will she be forced to suffer her worst nightmare… in the depths of a glass bottom boat?

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Finding books always seems to be hit-or-miss, feast-or-famine. Today is a feast day.

Counting the seven-book collection, we have eleven new books. Awesome! This is a good day, making up for all the discouraging famine days of the week. Not that I personally need this many with my ever growing TBR pile, I just like having something to offer you, my readers, everyday.

OK, so I don’t need this many but I want this many, it’s not just for you.

Now I’m trying to decide if honesty makes me feel better.

Happy Reading y’all

Lots of mystery and intrigue this time.

Bargain books January 26, 2021

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BookBub has several bargain suggestions for us. This first one is book 3 and it seems I’ve read books 1 and 2 in this series. It’s been awhile and I don’t remember much, this will be a refresher.

Trial by Fire (Second Chances Book 3) 

Amazon quote:

Faith is often tested by fire…

After his criminal trial is set to convene, Ace Anderson manages a daring escape from Federal custody. Keeping one step ahead of FBI Agent Samson Sinclair, he plots vengeance on the two women who put him behind bars.

Two very different women connected by the plans of one very evil man…

Ivy Sinclair, finally comfortable in her new marriage and confident her children are healing from the psychological wounds of the past, finds herself once again running and hiding from a man who wants her dead. She longs to be as strong and fearless as her friend. Will this new trial serve to toughen her up, or bring her to her knees where God can show her His strength alone is sufficient?

Brenna Blackman, recently engaged and juggling a ready-made family while running an open-door art studio for homeless teenagers, is suddenly bombarded by circumstances out of her control. A private investigator is caught snooping around her life and an enemy from her past is suddenly threatening to destroy everything and everyone she now loves. Will the old Raven rear her head in retribution, or will God use this trial to strengthen her trust in Him?

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This next one looks like it deals with heavy topics. That’s not a bad thing even if it is tough reading.

All in Good Time 

Amazon quote:

With three rambunctious, young children, Melanie Lombardi can’t see beyond the day-to-day struggle to maintain her home and her sanity since her husband’s sudden death. A second chance at romance isn’t on her radar.

Brian Perella is done with dating, resigned to being the fun uncle and never the dad. Until he meets Melanie and her brood of lively kids on the sidelines of a Little League game.

But when Brian uncovers a co-worker’s secret, it re-ignites a temptation that Melanie can’t know about. It’s his secret to keep until an unexpected diagnosis brings everything to the surface, jeopardizing his future with Melanie and her children, who, when threatened by an unknown stalker, may need him now more than ever.

Catholic Christian contemporary romance.

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Currently it’s a lighter but still serious read. A change of pace after some of the recent books and I’m enjoying it.

Rugged Cowboy: A Mulbury Boys Novel (Hope Eternal Ranch Romance Book 3) 

He’s a cowboy mechanic with two kids and an ex-wife on the run. She connects better to horses than humans. Can Dallas and Jess find their way to each other at Hope Eternal Ranch?

Dallas Dreyer was once a decorated surgeon. After getting involved in insurance fraud and then spending thirty months in a low-security facility, he gets released only to learn his wife of fifteen years has left their two children at her sister’s and fled the state. He’s determined to figure out how to be a single dad and do right by his kids, and he goes to Hope Eternal Ranch to attend the wedding of one of his best friends.

He meets Jessica Morales, the stable master at the ranch, and he’s instantly attracted to her. She has a big heart, a wide smile, and she’s great with his kids. Jess likes him too, but she’s wary of the rugged cowboy mechanic who doesn’t seem to know when it’s okay to take calls from his ex-wife and how to juggle all of his new responsibilities. Her horses, though, she gets, and since she’s never had a relationship that’s lasted longer than two months, she’s not sure she wants to take a chance with her heart.

When Dallas finds himself dealing with thugs who want him to pay off his ex-wife’s debt, he has to make difficult decisions to keep himself, his children, and Jess safe. That means dealing with his ex-wife and paying whatever price necessary to get dangerous men away from Hope Eternal Ranch.

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Happy Reading…

…on this bright sunny chilly day.

-26c, feels like -35c with the windchill.

It’s lovely sitting in the puddle of sunshine streaming in the window. It’s beautiful to look at. Cold, crisp and sparkly.

So happy to look and feel warmth, not the burn on every little patch of exposed skin.

I do know how to kill a mood. lol

It is beautiful, I love days like this.

Free and bargain books January 25, 2021

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LPCBooks has a couple of FREE suggestions for us. Both of them are new to me and I’m excited about that.

Intertwined: A Contemporary Novel

Amazon quote:

Abandoned by her husband for another woman, Tammy Kuhn, an organ procurement coordinator finds herself in an altercation with a doctor. Now she is fighting to keep her job and her sanity when one late night she encounters an old flame facing an unthinkable tragedy. Because they both find eternal purposes in every event and encounter, they soon discover their lives are intertwined but the ICU is no place for romance . . . or is it? This could this be where life begins again.

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Deadly Commitment: A Novel

Amazon quote:

Will the truth about her fiance be more unsettling than the stranger stalking her?

Danni Kemp fears she’s being stalked—but the truth is much more deadly. Her new fiance, Robert Evans, has a dangerous secret. The homeless man who is stalking her, Caleb, may prove to be her only escape from a hidden world of crime. Will she discover in time that neither Robert no Caleb are who they appear to be and the one person she fears may be the one person she needs to trust? 

The Deadly Secrets series drops the reader into the frightening world of illicit drugs, where ordinary lives are lost, and families are changed forever—and in a setting so commonplace you will wonder if you or someone you love could become the next victim.

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Browsing, books 2, 3 and 4 of the Hope Eternal Ranch Romance series showed up at bargain prices.

Overprotective Cowboy: A Mulbury Boys Novel (Hope Eternal Ranch Romance Book 2)

Amazon quote:

Ted Burrows is ready to start his life over again, even if he has to go to a work-parole ranch to get out from behind the walls that have caged him for the past thirty months. He’s got a contact at Hope Eternal Ranch, and the day he gets word that he’ll be released into the Residential Reentry Program and serve out the rest of his sentence under the open sky of the ranch is the best day of his life so far.

But when he meets Emma Clemson, he’s completely thrown off his game. He knows her…from somewhere. She doesn’t seem to recognize him, though, and as they work together on the organization of the programs and tourism of the ranch, their newfound flame flickers and brightens. 

Emma has managed to isolate herself on the ranch and keep her ex out of her life, and she’s finally achieved some level of peace and happiness. Ted’s name does tickle a memory, but she pushes against it as she wants to leave the past where it belongs—in the past.

When Emma’s ex-boyfriend comes back into her life and reminds her of who Ted is, her carefully constructed existence unravels. She and Ted have met before, and not under pleasant circumstances. She’s not that woman anymore, and she doesn’t want Ted to even think of her as the woman she’d once been. She knows he’s not the same man he was a decade ago either.

When he sees Emma’s unrest, Ted’s overprotective side kicks in—a side that has gotten him in trouble before… 

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Rugged Cowboy: A Mulbury Boys Novel (Hope Eternal Ranch Romance Book 3)

Amazon quote:

Dallas Dreyer was once a decorated surgeon. After getting involved in insurance fraud and then spending thirty months in a low-security facility, he gets released only to learn his wife of fifteen years has left their two children at her sister’s and fled the state. He’s determined to figure out how to be a single dad and do right by his kids, and he goes to Hope Eternal Ranch to attend the wedding of one of his best friends.

He meets Jessica Morales, the stable master at the ranch, and he’s instantly attracted to her. She has a big heart, a wide smile, and she’s great with his kids. Jess likes him too, but she’s wary of the rugged cowboy mechanic who doesn’t seem to know when it’s okay to take calls from his ex-wife and how to juggle all of his new responsibilities. Her horses, though, she gets, and since she’s never had a relationship that’s lasted longer than two months, she’s not sure she wants to take a chance with her heart.

When Dallas finds himself dealing with thugs who want him to pay off his ex-wife’s debt, he has to make difficult decisions to keep himself, his children, and Jess safe. That means dealing with his ex-wife and paying whatever price necessary to get dangerous men away from Hope Eternal Ranch.

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Christmas Cowboy: A Mulbury Boys Novel (Hope Eternal Ranch Romance Book 4)

Amazon quote:

Slate Sanders has been out of prison for a couple of months now. He keeps his head down and his mouth shut around the ranch, and not just because he’s only a temporary cowboy. He’s not sure what to participate in, because he’s still trying to figure out who he is post-prison.

When he encounters Jill Kyle on the beach one morning, he can’t help but go see what she’s raging about. He’s worried for her safety, and it’s not until he gets closer that he realizes she works on the same ranch as him. Jill has just learned about her mother’s devastating illness, and she’s ready to take all of her frustrations out on the beach, the ocean, and the Lord.

As Jill and Slate connect over things lost, things gained, and an uncertain future, they both heal in unexpected ways. Jill didn’t think she’d ever find someone to settle down with, and Slate has never had a serious relationship in his life. But together, they seem to make sense in a world where nothing does. 

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Currently I’m reading Romantic Suspense, still at the beginning.

Two Reasons to Run (The Pelican Harbor Series Book 2) 

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Happy Reading!

Story prompt – Compliment

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I must compliment you both. It’s inspiring the way you complement one another.

Compliments are amazing things, often underestimated, I think.

It seems, if some of the stories I’ve read are to be believed, there are segments of society reluctant to give compliments because they are thought to encourage pride. Then there are other segments who are just plain mean and abusive. Not only do they not give compliments, they pile on the insults.

I love stories where a kind heart recognizes worth and goes to great lengths to promote healthy self-esteem in the down trodden.

There is a popular old story I’ve never forgotten. A young farmer was looking for a wife. He picked a young woman, shy and insecure, with literally no marriage prospects. The village people could not understand his choice, in their estimation she had nothing to offer as a farmer’s wife.

The going bride price was two cows. He chose to pay double that. Four cows was unheard of, never mind for a wife with so few talents to recommend her.

He took her home, treated her like a precious treasure and over time she blossomed to became all he knew she could be.

Compliments are powerful and for us to blossom we need them as much as we need food and water. At least that’s what I think.

Then there is complement. (to make complete)

How many stories have I read lately where the author pairs characters because they complement each other. The restaurant owner who is an awesome chef and a hopeless bookkeeper. The female ranch owner struggling with endless heavy chores requiring a man’s strength. Or even the one tasked with jobs requiring two or more people to meet deadlines. How many of us would kill ourselves trying before we would ever reach out.

It’s not easy admitting we need help. I know I struggle with that. Last summer I chose to fight to prune small trees myself rather than ask. My neighbor who is taller, heavier, stronger, (never mind younger) would have gladly helped.

In stories there is often a stubborn character who will not ask or even allow someone to help. Of course, one of the requirements of a good novel is tension and stubborn provides that in spades. By the end, though, they are working together and life is rosy.

It happens that way in real life too if we let it. We’re better together. Especially when our talents complement one another.

I like these two words.

The same only different.

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Story Prompt is hosted by Sunday Scribblings

Read and enjoyed January 24, 2021

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My very favorite read this week had depth and layers. Many layers. New discoveries appeared throughout the course of the book with the biggest one at the very end.

Reading this story was an emotional but enriching journey, with many tears along the way. Tears for both of us, the reader and the character. The thing I love most about these stories? There will be a line, a scene, an emotional event, that resonates with me and my life and sheds light on needs I may or may not realize I have. I’m grateful. I’ve not lived though cancer but I can relate to broken families and the effect it can have throughout a lifetime.

Aside from the value of whatever portion speaks to me, I loved this book for itself alone.

The Faded Photo

“Some things should be kept private.” Frances Snyder can never quite get her mother’s voice out of her head—how to be the perfect wife, the perfect mother. Frances’s home life is demanding, and while she’s busy seeing to everyone else’s needs, Frances doesn’t have the luxury of spare time.

So when she is diagnosed with breast cancer, she thinks that she can handle it on her own. Dealing with endless tests, brutal chemotherapy, and the looming specter of surgery, Frances chooses to face cancer on her own terms: alone. That is, until she finally understands that unexpected friendship—and unconditional love—can offer hope in the darkest hours.

With tenderness, grace, and flashes of humor, bestselling author Sarah Price draws upon her own experience as a breast cancer survivor to create a story about one woman’s determined and solitary journey into the unknown—in hopes that she’ll find her way back home.

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The next books were all awesome reads as well and I can highly recommend any of them,

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It has been the best. This reading week.

My current read is a major favorite too. It’s deep, with many layers. A struggle, a romance, a mystery, all rolled into one.

Stay with Me (Misty River Romance, A Book #1)

A mysterious letter alluding to a secret in her parents’ past brings Genevieve Woodward back to her Blue Ridge Mountains hometown, but she’s also in need of a break from a high-profile career that has left her dangerously burned out and concealing a powerful secret of her own. When she wakes inside an unfamiliar cottage to find the confused owner staring down at her, she can no longer ignore the fact that she needs help.  

Sam Turner has embraced his sorrow and his identity as an outsider. The solitary, disciplined life he lives on his historic farm is the life he’s chosen for himself. The last thing he wants is to rent his cottage to a woman as troubled as she is talkative. Yet, he can’t force himself to turn her away right when she needs him most. 

As Genevieve researches her family’s history and her and Sam’s emotions deepen, they will have to let go of the facades and loneliness they’ve clung to and allow light to illuminate every hidden truth.  

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This is story prompt day, I will have to shift gears to come up with something for Compliment.

Happy Reading!

Another awesome bargain book Jan 22/21

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Another bargain book I can’t resist. I would save this for tomorrow but what if the promo price expires before then. That would be a tragedy of epic proportions. The audio sample will have you clicking the purchase button just like me.

Stay with Me (Misty River Romance, A Book #1)

Amazon quote:

A mysterious letter alluding to a secret in her parents’ past brings Genevieve Woodward back to her Blue Ridge Mountains hometown, but she’s also in need of a break from a high-profile career that has left her dangerously burned out and concealing a powerful secret of her own. When she wakes inside an unfamiliar cottage to find the confused owner staring down at her, she can no longer ignore the fact that she needs help.  

Sam Turner has embraced his sorrow and his identity as an outsider. The solitary, disciplined life he lives on his historic farm is the life he’s chosen for himself. The last thing he wants is to rent his cottage to a woman as troubled as she is talkative. Yet, he can’t force himself to turn her away right when she needs him most. 

As Genevieve researches her family’s history and her and Sam’s emotions deepen, they will have to let go of the facades and loneliness they’ve clung to and allow light to illuminate every hidden truth.  

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The temptation is strong to start the book this minute. It kills me not to but my just-started current read is every bit as enticing. What a nice problem to have. Two books loudly calling my name. It’s going to be a great weekend.

My current read found here Secrets at Cedar Cabin

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Happy Reading!

Free and bargain repeats, January 22, 2021

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The books popping up today showed up several years ago and it’s a good time to mention them again.

Summer of Dreams: A From This Moment Novella (bargain)

Amazon quote:

The daughter of a powerful army general, Evelyn White dreams of attending college and vows she will never marry a man in uniform. . . . which is why West Point cadet Clyde Brixton presents a problem. Clyde’s brilliance in the new field of electrical power has him poised for a promising career in the Army’s Corps of Engineers, but his penchant for racking up demerits threatens his chances for graduation.

Evelyn and Clyde feel instant attraction toward one another as they spend one magical summer together. As their lives become more entwined, their friend Romulus’s begins to come undone. When faced with helping Romulus at the expense of his own future, which one will Clyde choose? And when nothing turns out the way Evelyn planned, where will that leave her own future?

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Toward the Sunrise: An Until the Dawn Novella (bargain)

Amazon quote:

Julia Broeder is only six months shy of graduating from the Women’s Medical College of Pennsylvania when one small decision spirals out of control and results in her expulsion. Hoping to travel the world as a missionary doctor, her only choice is to return back home . . . or throw herself upon the mercy of Ashton Carlyle.

Formal and straight-laced, Ashton is not pleased to see an expelled Julia arrive at his Manhattan office. His position as an attorney for the Vandermark family’s world-famous shipping empire entails taking care of the Broeders, longtime employees of the Vandermarks. But Ashton has no intention of using his employer’s resources in defense of Julia’s impulsive and reckless actions.

What Ashton does not expect are a scathing reprimand from none other than the Vandermark family patriarch and the bewildering resistance from Julia herself when he’s forced to change his tune. At an impasse, Ashton and Julia are unprepared for the revelations that arise or the adventure that awaits them.

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None So Blind (Sight Unseen Book 1) (FREE)

Amazon quote:

Dani and Ella Weeks–two women who share one thing in common–the same life, the same family, and the same body.

When Dani wakes with no knowledge of who or where she is–no memories of her life at all–David and Dani Weeks discover that “til death do us part” takes on an entirely unexpected meaning. Practically speaking, Dani died. But she didn’t.

In a desperate attempt to separate the old life from the new, Dani insists on a new name–Ella.

Ella’s doctors can’t explain what happened. Her children can’t understand why she doesn’t know them, and her husband finds himself torn between admiration for the “new” version of his wife and missing the woman he’s known for over fifteen years.

Will Ella ever regain her memory? Why does their pastor suspect it’s one great hoax?

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I’m currently reading one of yesterday’s suggestions. I think it is going to be a nail-biter. This is a limited-time special offer so it pays to be quick if you are interested.

Secrets at Cedar Cabin (A Lavender Tides Novel Book 3) 

Her mother lied about her identity and her husband wasn’t who she thought he was. Can Bailey even trust herself anymore?  

Running for her life in the wake of her mother’s murder, Bailey Fleming escapes to the only place she can think of—a remote, dilapidated cabin in Lavender Tides. Intending to finally get to the truth behind the lies of her past, Bailey only finds more questions when bodies are discovered near her cabin hideout along with traces of a dangerous human trafficking ring. In an unlikely partnership with FBI agent Lance Phoenix, Bailey races to understand the mystery surrounding her life and circumstances before the murderer tracks her down. 

Meanwhile, Lance is determined to rescue his sister, Ava, who was abducted after running away from home as a teenager. An unexpected lead brings him to the remote cabin, and he wonders if Bailey—with her suspicious past and strange connections to his sister’s case—is really who she claims to be and if she can somehow lead him to Ava. 

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I’ve read and enjoyed the first three so I’m confident you are seeing worthwhile reads. I’m confident about the fourth one too because of the author. It’s been another good day for treasures.

Happy Reading

I hope you are as excited about your current read as I am about mine.

Free and bargain books January 21, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / 3 Comments

Bargain books from several popular authors is what we have this time. Collections are nice but sometimes an assortment of single books from varying series is nice too. Colleen Coble is up first.

Two Reasons to Run (The Pelican Harbor Series Book 2) 

Amazon quote:

A lie changed her world.

Police Chief Jane Hardy is still reeling from the scandal that rocked her small-town department just as she took over for her retired father—the man who wrecked her life with one little lie. Now she’s finally been reunited with her presumed-dead fifteen-year-old son, Will, and his father, documentarian Reid Bechtol. 

A crisis looms.

When a murder aboard the oil platform Zeus exposes an environmental terrorist’s plot to flood Mobile Bay with crude oil, Jane and Reid must put their feelings for each other behind them and work together to prevent the rig from being sabotaged.

A killer targets her son.

Then the terrorist puts her son Will’s life on the line. Protecting him could be the common ground they need . . . but then ghosts from the past threaten to ruin Jane and Reid for good.

She’s got plenty of reasons to run. But what if she stays? 

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Secrets at Cedar Cabin (A Lavender Tides Novel Book 3)

Amazon quote:

Her mother lied about her identity and her husband wasn’t who she thought he was. Can Bailey even trust herself anymore?  

Running for her life in the wake of her mother’s murder, Bailey Fleming escapes to the only place she can think of—a remote, dilapidated cabin in Lavender Tides. Intending to finally get to the truth behind the lies of her past, Bailey only finds more questions when bodies are discovered near her cabin hideout along with traces of a dangerous human trafficking ring. In an unlikely partnership with FBI agent Lance Phoenix, Bailey races to understand the mystery surrounding her life and circumstances before the murderer tracks her down. 

Meanwhile, Lance is determined to rescue his sister, Ava, who was abducted after running away from home as a teenager. An unexpected lead brings him to the remote cabin, and he wonders if Bailey—with her suspicious past and strange connections to his sister’s case—is really who she claims to be and if she can somehow lead him to Ava. 

Secrets at Cedar Cabin takes us back to the evocative landscape of Washington’s coast where nothing is quite as it seems.  

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This next one is from popular author Terri Blackstock

Smoke Screen 

Amazon quote:

One father was murdered. Another was convicted of his death. All because their children fell in love.

Nate Beckett has spent his life fighting wildfires instead of the lies and rumors that drove him from his Colorado hometown. His mother begs him to come back now that his father has been released from prison, but it isn’t until he’s sidelined by an injury that he’s forced to return and face his past. But that means facing Brenna too.

Fourteen years ago, Nate was in love with the preacher’s daughter. When Pastor Strickland discovered Brenna defied him to sneak out with Nate, the fight between Strickland and Nate’s drunken dad was loud—and very public. Strickland was found murdered later that night, and everyone accused Roy Beckett. When the church burned down not long after, people assumed Nate set the fire to get even for his father’s conviction. He let the rumors fly and left town without looking back.

Brenna is stunned to learn that the man convicted of murdering her father has been pardoned. The events of that night set her life on a bad course, and now she’s fighting a brutal custody battle with her ex and his new wife where he’s using lies and his family’s money to sway the judge. Brenna is barely hanging on, and she’s turned to alcohol to cope. Shame and fear consume her.

As Nate and Brenna deal with the present—including new information about that fateful night and a wildfire that’s threatening their town—the past keeps igniting. Nate is the steady force Brenna has so desperately needed. But she’ll have to learn to trust him again first.

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My current read is a nice change of pace. I’ve only just started, it seems like it will be a worthwhile read though. It’s still FREE too.

Publishable By Death (St. Marin’s Cozy Mystery Series Book 1)

Amazon quote:

Change is hard in a small Southern town, especially when it brings a side of murder.

All Harvey Beckett wants to do is help the residents of St. Marin’s find the perfect book for that moment, snuggle with her hound dog Mayhem, and be ignored by her cat Aslan. But when the small, waterside town’s newest resident discovers the body of the community’s persnickety reporter in her bookshop storeroom just before her grand opening, Harvey can’t help trying to solve the crime, even when it might cost her business and her life. The more questions Harvey asks, the more secrets she uncovers.

Will Harvey and her friends be able to solve the murder of the town reporter without her becoming a victim herself?

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It was a pleasure to find awesome books. Exciting even.

Happy Reading

I will be happy reading too.