Month: July 2021

Morning chat July 11, 2021

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I took a little break from reading to pour a new cup of tea and while I was at it I felt like saying good morning to someone, since I am in such a good mood. Saying good morning to you seemed like the best choice and so, here I am.

So, why am I in a good mood? Well, I think it’s me picking up on the mood in my current read. Everything is going well for the characters and I’m happy about the way things are playing out. I’m happy about the writing too. Ultimately it is the authors treatment and handling of the story that elicits this type of response from me, the reader.

Hmmmm. It hasn’t ever occurred to me to express it quite like that before. When I stop and think about it, though, it’s true. On the surface I love the story but what I’m truly loving is the writing and the heart of the author.

There is a Bible verse that says out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. It is so true. We write from who we are.

Our books and stories are flavored by our hearts. Our hearts are flavored by our thoughts, our outlook on life.

I’d try to explain what’s going on with the story but it’s complicated and convoluted. It would probably take me at least 5000 words and I know we aren’t ready for that. I’ll give you the brief synopsis from Amazon, it says it better than I could at the moment.

It’s talking about book three in the four book collection.

As a side note, I have to say I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read in this collection so far.

Warfare of Love 

HOMETOWN HERO
Fighting through two years without leave and secret feelings, Davis and Muller must go undercover as newlyweds to stop the disaster.

When a shocking mix up with the chaplain makes their undercover roles a reality; Wolf and Angel must unmask a mole, stop a terrorist, protect the President-elect and untangle the events that just made them partners for life.

Can undercover love survive in the midst of trial?

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It’s been nice chatting with you. Gaining a little insight into the way books affect me has been an unexpected added bonus. I love it when that happens.

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I’m not sure if this qualifies as the official post for today. I don’t really think so but time will tell. Maybe I’ll see you again later.

Hopefully after I’ve conquered book 4 in this collection. It’s still a bargain if you are interested.

Later, maybe.

Happy Reading.

Bargain books July 10, 2021 Part two

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Time travel is the theme of the next attractive collection to cross my path today. I enjoy reading time travel, it has all sorts of interesting possibilities. There can be wide differences in treatments, though, and I find myself approaching new experiences with caution, not feeling confidence about liking the experience. When I like it I like it, though.

I haven’t read very far on this to check it out but what I did read has me hooked. I want to know what comes next.

I love the cover too.

Nevermind Time: A Time Travel romance set

Enjoy these sweet, clean, time travel romances where time has no hold on love.

A TIME TO DIE
Herbert Groat has fixed all sorts of watches, but this? A watch that doesn’t just tell time, it goes back in time. In the nick of time. Evelin Barclay is an associate at Wanamaker’s in Philadelphia. She doesn’t know she’s about to be brutally murdered. Can Herbert set aside fear and disbelief to save her? Or will it be her time to die?

TIME WILL TELL
When one of Clay’s irate customers runs April’s car off the road on the Fourth of July, she’s mysteriously transported back in time to 1970 and given the chance to right a past wrong. Can she thwart a dangerous plot involving Clay’s grandfather that doomed Hackle County’s future and her relationship with Clay?

THE PORTAL
A plain wooden box. A travel through time. Will Tarin choose comfort or true love? Can these two from different times find the love they’re searching for?

A FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES

Was her aunt married? If so, who was that man at the cemetery? After reading the stack of love letters between Claudia and William, Kelly sees that a simple wrong assumption changed everything. If only she could go back and make things right…

CECILIA’S Y2 KEY
When Cecilia finds a key hanging on her Christmas tree, she’s afraid someone has broken in. The truth is much more frightening. When she opens the old oak chest in the attic on New Year’s Eve 1999, she is whisked back to 1900 because of an ancient family curse.

THE VORTEX
What do you do when your world is turned upside down and everything you knew is gone including years of your life and the only realities are an apple orchard and the man who lives there?

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It’s a good thing the book is only 513 pages long, with six stories they haven’t been given too much time.

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I see we have one more now too. BookRunes has a FREE suggestion I’m excited about. I have read this author before but it’s been awhile. The first few pages of this new book have me intrigued.

Honey Creek Homecoming (Honey Creek Romance Book 1)

Amazon quote:

Honey Creek is the one place on earth Olivia Swanson never wants to see again. When her step-grandmother sends for her, Olivia returns with a plan. To marry the town’s wealthiest bachelor, Payton Vance. But things go quickly awry for the self-absorbed, arrogant, and angry woman.

Secrets in her past, the devotion of a woman longing to be her grandmother, a destitute family, and Rusty Baker, the guy she humiliated in high school all push Olivia into an emotional battle only a Savior could help her win.

Over a short amount of time, Olivia learns she can’t make it alone no matter how independent, ambitious, and stubborn she is. Something spiritual is at play here. Her return to Honey Creek was no random happening. God has chosen this particular time and place to give Olivia a choice. Either trust Him or lose everything.

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I’m going to have to have a reading marathon this weekend, with all these new books I’m excited to get to.

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This book situation is actually a very good thing right now as I wrestle with sadness. It would be nice if the people we love could live forever, or at least as long as we do, but they can’t. And they wouldn’t want to, when it comes right down to it.

I’m grateful for a basket full of enticing books, they will keep me from digging an impossible sadness pit I’d have trouble climbing out of.

While I don’t want to dig a bottomless hole, I do admit that the presence of sadness is a good thing. It means I love. And in this case deeply. I’m grateful we still have a little time, it’s not over yet.

To answer your question, it’s a beloved family member who has been in my life for decades. She holds a special place in my heart. She’s managed more than 90 years and we’ve been blessed to have her.

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It’s ok to be happy and sad all at the same time.

I’m hanging on to happy to keep me afloat.

Happy Reading!

Bargain books July 10, 2021

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I’m having fun this morning checking out the latest offering of books, hoping to find something new and interesting. I came across a collection filled completely with new-to-me authors, it appears to be well written with fresh and new story lines. I couldn’t resist.

Warfare of Love 

Amazon quote:

A delightful mix of contemporary and historical romances.

THE HEART KNOWS
When Lydia remembers her identity and discovers the secret Drew has kept from her, she struggles to make the right choice. Can she respect and trust a man she loves who allowed her to live a lie, or must she leave him and the two children who are as dear to her as life itself?

HIS FRENCH WAR BRIDE
June 1944. Despite her determination to be in Paris to welcome her father home when he escapes from a prison camp, interpreter Christine Arnette must obey when the French Resistance sends her on a secret D-Day mission to Normandy. When her cover story falls apart, the Allies start asking questions. Can she trust them with the truth?

When Lieutenant Harry Dean discovers their beautiful French interpreter lied about her reasons for coming to Carentan, it’s up to him to discover her identity. His gut tells him to trust her, but orders are orders. Is she really a spy? Will his heart allow him to stand by and watch if she’s arrested?

HOMETOWN HERO
Fighting through two years without leave and secret feelings, Davis and Muller must go undercover as newlyweds to stop the disaster. When a shocking mix up with the chaplain makes their uncover roles a reality; Wolf and Angel must unmask a mole, stop a terrorist, protect the President-elect and untangle the events that just made them partners for life.

Can undercover love survive in the midst of trial?

NEW MESSAGES, OLD MEMORIES
As the list of suspects mounts, the intensity of the situation increases, and Blake and Kelly find themselves in a race against time. With the help of Kerrytown’s chief of police and a kid named Leon, they work to identify the perpetrator and bring him or her to justice before things get out of hand and someone doesn’t survive Christmas.

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Nothing else is jumping out for me at the moment but I can always add another post later if things change.

Currently I am reading and enjoying a mystery collection (that I’ll share in a moment) but I think my next read will be today’s new collection. I’m anxious and curious to meet these new authors.

The current read is fraught with suspense, I may switch between the two collections just to survive.

Deadly Chances: Five romantic suspenses where couples outrace danger and take a chance on love 

I’m up to book three and it’s tense.

CALL ME JANE
Since she’s walking on water, why is she still wearing shoes? That was her first question when the fugue cleared. But she has more pressing questions, such as —who is she, where does she live, and how did she end up on Peachtree Street on a cold November night wearing nothing but a nightgown?


With Officer Kyle Rossi’s help, Jane, as she prefers to be called, begins the journey to discover her identity. But the more she learns about the real Aubrey Sutherland, the more she realizes she can’t trust anyone, especially those closest to her.

Jane also learns that a concussion might be the best thing that ever happened to her.

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OK, so I hurried through the last of book three and set up for book four

SUNSHINE IN SPRING
Camden Daye used to love Christmas. Six years ago, tragedy struck his family. Every year since then, he hangs on to the past and his role in the devastation that shook up the world of his loved ones. Can he be free of the self-imposed chains, or will they hold him in bondage?
Sunshine Rogers is being stalked. By whom, she has no idea and can’t understand why anyone would do it. Fear begins to take over her life as she constantly looking over her shoulder.

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I’ll let you know how I feel about Warfare of Love

Happy Reading

Oops, I think I just tripped over another great collection. That means another post. Stay tuned.

Free and bargain books July 09, 2021

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BookRunes Has a FREE suggestion for us.

How Sweet It Is: Opposites Attract Christian Romance 

Amazon quote:

Embrasser means to kiss in French. Delphine D’Arleux, traveling in Belgium for a candy-making class, doesn’t expect to have the word demonstrated to her, especially by a stranger.

Brad Larsen, an avowed chocoholic, knows he behaved badly by kissing the pretty French girl, but he can’t quite regret his actions. Can he show Delphine that a longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul? 

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The title of this book reminds me of a popular TV show from the 1950s, The Honeymooners with Jackie Gleason. It was pretty funny and Jackie’s face pops in everyone’s mind when they hear how sweet it is. It was on reruns for many years.

This author (Bonnie Blythe) has two bargain books for us. One of them was on my reading list in 2013, the other is new to me. Bonus.

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Rock and A Hard Place: Love in Eastern Oregon (Cascade Brides Series Book 1)

Amazon quote:

The Three Sisters Mountains are part of the Cascade Mountain Range near the town of Sisters, Oregon. The peaks were named Faith, Hope, and Charity by early settlers.

In the Cascade Brides series, three estranged siblings named for the mountains, each in the far-flung reaches of the state, are drawn back to their childhood home in Sisters by men who ultimately help the siblings realize the blessings of family bonds.

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Dearly Loved: Second Chance Christian Romance 

Amazon quote:

The lovesick daydreams of Meredith Ambrose’s teenage years for neighborhood heartthrob David Steller have faded into uncomfortable memories-until he lands in a hospital bed in her unit where she works as an R.N.

David came to the Northwest to look her up-he just didn’t plan on their reunion occurring with him on a gurney.

Can he prove he’s really changed after all these years? 

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That’s it, so far, for today.

I’m enjoying comfortable temperatures in my house at the moment. They say the weather is about to heat back up again.

It’s funny how the weather goes from boiling to freezing (at least needing the furnace and more clothes) in just 24 hours.

I’m not complaining, the cool is a nice respite from too-hot.

It’s Friday, even better, I can sit and read to my heart’s content while sweltering this weekend.

Enjoy your books too.

Happy Reading

A little of this and that July 08, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / 3 Comments

I felt like celebrating! It’s been a long year of work related complex challenges and steep learning curves. That’s what happens when government agencies implement major updates in their departments leaving their users scrambling to deal with it. Today I cleared the last hurdle and I felt like partying. Too bad I was alone and it’s a work day.

I’m still feeling just as pleased and relieved, hours later.

On the other hand though, there was a thread of sadness running through my day. A beloved family member is experiencing declining health and all of us in the family are sad to see it. A very special lady. In her better days she was vibrant and full of energy. Always on the go, a force to be reckoned with. The stories we could tell are endless..

Speaking of stories. I have nothing to offer in the way of new books. No good suggestions from any direction today.

I did finish a book that I liked a lot, though. It’s still a bargain.

Hard Landing (Hope Landing Romantic Suspense Book 1)

Two wary souls get a second chance at love…if a killer doesn’t find them first.
When a stalker turns to murder, pilot Kelli Spencer needs protection. What she doesn’t need is her old love Jack Reese returning to stir things up, but the former Navy SEAL and his team of protection specialists are the best of the best.

Trust him with her life? If she has to. Trust him with her heart? No way.

The last time Jack left, he made it clear married life held no appeal. Ten years later, he wastes no time letting her know he hasn’t changed. Not that she’d be fool enough to hope.

As the commander of Knight Tactical, Jack jumps at the chance to protect Kelli and take down a killer, but as soon as she’s safe, he plans to shake the dust of the small mountain town off his feet again…until he realizes he never should have left the first time.

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I’ve barely started a new book. It starts off with a life threatening situation before it’s hardly even gone two pages. Reminds me of the opening scenes of Criminal Minds TV series. It seemed like a perfect time to work on a blog post.

I guess I need to remind myself they won’t be killing off the main character this close to the beginning.

Deadly Chances: Five romantic suspenses where couples outrace danger and take a chance on love

The one I’m reading:

DANGEROUS VICTORY
Car mechanic Valerie watched her father die in a fiery wreck and she can’t admit to herself that she’s in love with a Nascar race car driver Jackson, especially after he’s also injured in a crash. But when a stranger shows up, terrorizing her about a mysterious delivery from her uncle, Jackson is the only one who can navigate the danger with Valerie. It’s a race for survival, and a high speed adventure in love.

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I guess I’d better go back and see if she survived to see chapter two. This is still a bargain as well. Good deal.

Happy Reading.

Bargain books – Mystery – July 07, 2021

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So this is part two, with mystery collections featuring new-to-me authors. I’m sure I’ve met some of them before, just not all of them.

I’m short on time tonight so haven’t investigated as much as normal, it will be a surprise.

The other thing in favor of this many new reads – they are all short. It shouldn’t take long at all to work our way through them.

Deadly Chances: Five romantic suspenses where couples outrace danger and take a chance on love

DANGEROUS VICTORY
Car mechanic Valerie watched her father die in a fiery wreck and she can’t admit to herself that she’s in love with a Nascar race car driver Jackson, especially after he’s also injured in a crash. But when a stranger shows up, terrorizing her about a mysterious delivery from her uncle, Jackson is the only one who can navigate the danger with Valerie. It’s a race for survival, and a high speed adventure in love.

LOCAL BETRAYAL
A MURDERER IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK

Kennedy Bradford returns home to come to grips with the violent death of her parents and witnesses a murder.
Dylan Lockhart, best-selling mystery writer, is roped into being Kennedy’s bodyguard until the killer is found.

Neither one had time for romance. Both secretly yearn for love. Danger thrusts them into a fight of survival that may be the end of a future together.

CALL ME JANE
Since she’s walking on water, why is she still wearing shoes? That was her first question when the fugue cleared. But she has more pressing questions, such as —who is she, where does she live, and how did she end up on Peachtree Street on a cold November night wearing nothing but a nightgown?
With Officer Kyle Rossi’s help, Jane, as she prefers to be called, begins the journey to discover her identity. But the more she learns about the real Aubrey Sutherland, the more she realizes she can’t trust anyone, especially those closest to her, but Jane also learns that a concussion might be the best thing that ever happened to her.

SUNSHINE IN SPRING
Camden Daye used to love Christmas. Six years ago, tragedy struck his family. Every year since then, he hangs on to the past and his role in the devastation that shook up the world of his loved ones. Can he be free of the self-imposed chains, or will they hold him in bondage?
Sunshine Rogers is being stalked. By whom, she has no idea and can’t understand why anyone would do it. Fear begins to take over her life as she constantly looking over her shoulder.

THE FACE OF INSANITY
Kelsey Reed, white collar crime’s favorite forensic accountant, finds the fraud behind the false front of numbers. When she takes a job in the Pacific Northwest, she’s stalked at the Portland airport; her hotel room is ransacked; and her life is threatened by a gunman.

During the snowstorm of the century, Kelsey disappears. Between Jack Hopper – the attorney that hired her and falls in love with her, and Tee Boone – PI extraordinaire, she is found.

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Tightrope 

EYE OF THE STORM
Running into Deputy Sheriff Brady Connors, Kate finds herself attracted to the handsome frontier lawman right away, but having a future is not possible while the enemy is still stalking her.

With Brady’s help, Kate is about to face the showdown she’s been expecting for a long time, when the enemy coming after her proves to be closer than Kate could ever imagine.

HARD COUNTRY
Is blood thicker than West Texas dust? Johnny’s broken his sister’s heart too many times to count, but with one tug of her heartstrings, CJ braves Texas heat in a last-ditch effort to save big brother. When Yankee stubbornness butts heads with cowboy arrogance, CJ has a better chance getting answers from her horse than the men on the ranch. She knows she’s rubbing elbows with a murderer. She’s in over her head, and the bodies are adding up. Will she be next?

THE LONG WAY HOME
A kidnapping and vicious murder leave David Maguire and Jada Atwood with few options—remain in the clutches of their abductors or attempt an escape. But the attraction they discover for each other could change their lives. Will they find their way home or die in a Pennsylvania forest?

SMALL TOWN INJUSTICE
Brody has known love, and the loss of that love through death. He can’t risk another such loss. He doesn’t count on the lovely cop who sends his heart into a tailspin.

Can these two find justice for their murdered friend, conquer their fear of loving again and have a happily ever after together?

SHARP AS STEELE
A too handsome for his own good private investigator.
A stalker who claims she is his.
A new job turns deadly.
A final confrontation could end it all.
Can Lana and Lance out run a man filled with an insane desire to claim Lana as his own?

THE WRONG SUITCASE
Regina Larson cannot believe she’s finally in Israel after years of saving for this trip. She can’t wait to walk in the footsteps of the biblical heroes she’s read about all her life. Now places like the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea won’t just be words on a page. And what better place to receive God’s calling than Israel? Reggie feels sure God will meet her here. But when she discovers that she’s grabbed the wrong suitcase at the airport, and the owner of the bag accuses her of stealing something of value from it, this trip of a lifetime—this pilgrimage—becomes a race for her life.

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I think I’ve read some of these books before, in other collections. Like for instance, the last book here. The Wrong Suitcase. I can distinctly remember this story.

It must have been good if I can still remember.

Normally, I prefer longer reads but with the way life is right now, my mind on other tasks, shorter is better. Kind of like reading a magazine when there isn’t much time to really get into a story.

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Happy Reading!

Bargain books – Romance – July 07, 2021

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Random browsing worked tonight, a very good thing because I needed something to talk about. The search had a beginning point, it didn’t produce for me but thankfully the suggestion strips attached to the search bore fruit.

It was fortuitous. The book I’m currently reading gave me ideas. The protagonist was spending time with a book and in describing the scene the author’s name was mentioned. Of course, I had to check it out to see if this person was real. She is and it turns out we read two of her books last year.

I’ve noticed name dropping of real authors and their books, happens often these days. And why not? It’s a perfect opportunity.

Anyway, my search yielded four collections, two romance and two mystery. That’s too many books for one post. so two it is.

This is a chance to meet more new authors. That’s probably the biggest reason for selecting these books.

Happily Ever After: Retellings of classic Fairy Tales 

Contemporary and historical romances where men were princes and women were the princesses who loved them.

RED AND THE WOLF
Fellow reporter Wolf Skinner has designs on Lilly and would like to take Hunter’s place as Lilly’s boyfriend. But his reasons are less than honorable. When Lilly gets lost in the forest and must climb a tree to escape a ferocious bear, which of these gentlemen will be her hero?

HILLBILLY CINDERELLA
When Lance throws a barn dance, Cindy is determined to have one night with him that will carry her through the rest of her life. Can she set aside prejudices from a bygone time and embrace her happily ever after?

RAPUNZEL’S LIGHTHOUSE
Georgie and Colby have both had their share of disappointments and heartache. Just as Georgie is beginning to open up to him, a letter she finds threatens to shut her down again. Can their shared desperate need for a home bring them together?

BETTER TO SEE YOU
Visiting her ailing grandmother in the fairytale-like German town, Lucy Blair plans to be a caregiver during her grandma’s illness and attend the world-renowned theater production of the Passion of Christ. What Lucy did not plan was to run into her old college boyfriend, Ron Woodson, who is in Germany to learn woodcarving for his furniture making business. Will their meeting rekindle the old flame or will the past smother the new spark?

JUST RIGHT ROMANCE
When Goldie Portman finds out her high school friend Cecelia wants to stage her high profile wedding to a senator’s son at Goldie’s Little Woods Inn, she is sure her prayers have been answered. She doesn’t count on the presence of Cecelia’s brother Justin, Goldie’s high school nemesis, and the proud owner of three rascally dogs nicknamed “the bears.” As the wedding details spiral out of control, the local media does their best to crash the event and another ghost from Goldie’s past arrives to add to the chaos. Sparks fly and there just may be a “happily ever after” if Goldie can manage the mayhem and deliver a wedding that’s just right for everyone.

CHARITY AND THE SEVEN SISTERS
Tragedy can bring them together or tear them apart…..
Rhett Lincoln loved Montana and everything his father left him on the biggest ranch in Hope, Montana. Upon returning home, he finds the one person he loves the most on the brink of death. His life turns upside down until he realizes his need for a wife. Will he find love in Hope, Montana?

BIRDS AND BREADCRUMBS
If you’ve ever wondered what happened to that little boy and girl after the gingerbread house encounter, here’s what you’ve been missing. Birds and Bread Crumbs is the “rest of the story”—a grown-up Midwestern American fairy tale with just enough magic to make you believe in once-upon-a-time and happily-ever-after again.

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A Family to Love 

Skinny Ranch Romance – Cindy M. Amos
When a hometown parade explodes with violence targeted at obese onlookers, District Judge Ilie Walton is forced to team with former classmate Traynor Henning for a trial reduction program for the victims. None too pleased over the partnership with Tray, Ilie claims to remain blind to his Zach Efron good looks in the name of justice. As the fence lengthens and the pounds melt off volunteer participants, Tray’s devotion softens her resolve, launching a romantic partnership. When new evidence emerges on a cold case involving a death at their senior class party, Ilie insists that justice prevail, though it threatens to sever their tenuous relationship.

An Unexpected Family – June Foster
Grant Elliot leaves his father’s veterinarian dynasty and overambitious twin brother to practice in the small town of Homedale, California. When local baker Kate Klein brings her ailing dog into the office, Grants’s intrigued by the lab’s gorgeous owner. He wants to get to know her but can’t reveal his origins. What would she think if she knew his father’s clinics cater only to the wealthy who spoil and pamper their pets instead of practicing genuine medicine?

Pine Grove Homecoming – Martha Rogers
After her husband’s death, Shelley Iverson finally returns to her old home in Pine Grove, Texas where her friends and family give her support and encouragement. One friend, Reid Sellers, was her husband’s best friend. Now that she’s home, Reid’s old feelings for her return as he keeps a promise to his friend to take care of Shelley and the twins. As events unfold, his love grows, but will Shelley be able to open her heart to a new love and a future with Reid?

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These books are less than full length and should be relatively fast reads.

Enjoy while meeting a few more authors.

Perfect timing

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It’s amazing how it happens. Perfect timing.

Yesterday’s post shared the idea of counselling in a book. Check it out here if you missed it… Love is a Choice

This morning, waiting in my inbox, was the regular email notification for the weekly podcast I follow faithfully. The content is always interesting and helpful, on a variety of topics. Today’s topic was especially meaningful on the heels of yesterday’s book. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect, the two books fit so well together.

The subject line of the email was an attention grabber.

A specific type of writing that will combat anxiety, depression, and symptoms from past trauma.

There was no way I could walk away from this podcast and leave it for another day. It had to be today. I watched it twice, it was packed that full. .

Today’s interviewee has written a book called The Power of Writing it Down.

Part of author/writing coach Allison Fallon’s target audience is the same crowd flocking to read Love is a Choice... Count me in.

The Power of Writing It Down: A Simple Habit to Unlock Your Brain and Reimagine Your Life

Partial Amazon synopsis:

For anyone who’s trying to make sense of their life, who wants to get unstuck from the patterns that hold them back, hear this incredible news: everything you need for the freedom you want is entirely within reach. This practice and pathway is free, it’s readily available every day of your life, it takes just minutes of your time, and anyone can do it. 

Author, writing coach, and speaker Allison Fallon’s life transformed when she discovered the power of a daily writing practice. As it turns out, using your words is one of the most powerful means you have for unlocking your life. The Power of Writing It Down is your guide to this transformative tool available to us all. In as little as five to twenty minutes a day, scientific research shows this daily practice can help you: 

  • Identify your ruts and create new neurological grooves toward better habits
  • Find fresh motivation and take ownership of your life
  • Heal from past pain and trauma
  • Relieve anxiety and depression
  • Contextualize life’s setbacks and minor frustrations
  • Live a more confident, balanced, and healthy life
  • …and so much more

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In the podcast interview she explains Expressive Writing well and mentioned that the writing talked about in her book is not regular writing and it’s not journaling. It makes a lot of sense.

The idea is to write down your deepest thought and feelings. I have experienced what she means when she says this type of writing accesses the subconscious part of the brain where the conscious is often not allowed.

This is basically what I do when I write my this and that posts. What comes out is often a surprise. With some of the posts, like I mentioned at the time of writing them, I was in the midst of angst and felt so much better when I was talked out. To really get into it, though, I expect most of it would not be something we’d want to share publicly.

I recommend listening to the interview before reading the book. I’m glad I did because hearing and seeing her will make the words on the page that much more real.

Practicing this form of writing will be helpful to everyone, not just the most broken among us.

Here is the link. Enjoy, and buy the book if it makes sense to you. I think you will be glad you did.

I haven’t been as intentional with this type of writing as is encouraged in her book. From ignorance, really. I want to try it her way, to see what the difference will be in my life.

I’m hoping you will discover this along with me.

Happy listening, reading, and writing.

A helpful resource – professional counselling in book form

/ For the Love of Books / 4 Comments

The level of professional counselling we need is sometimes not easily found. That was the case for me a decade or two ago and this book was a life saver. It was written as a joint effort by the Minirth/Meir group, both of them psychiatrists, joined by a third person, a psychologist.

The book starts off talking about codependency. That’s not the way I remember it from my first reading. It’s funny how that goes. The parts I remember are the ones explaining what happened to me, how it has affected me, and the broken way I do life as a result. Understanding opened many life changing doors in my thinking.

Of all of the many books I’ve read this one was the most comprehensive and impacting. It was written to be a counselor to those without access to one. It covers the subject well enough to be a textbook written in layman’s terms.

I’ve shared this book here before but feel inspired to share it again.

I was speaking with a long time friend today, catching up on our lives and families. Stuff happens in our families and sometimes there is brokenness left undiscovered for decades.

I’ve been thinking about our conversation for most of the day and tonight remembered about this book that could be helpful in their situation. So, this is for my friend, to share as she sees fit.

It’s for you too (as reader) if this would be helpful in your life.

One more comment. I remember interpreting the title and certain phrases in the synopsis in a negative way.

Reality was nothing like my expectations. Supportive, kind, understanding, helpful; these are all words I would use to describe the experience. And, validation.

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Love Is a Choice: The Definitive Book on Letting Go of Unhealthy Relationships

Amazon quote:

Let go of unhealthy relationships with the book that more than 850K people have trusted.

Best-selling doctors, Hemfelt, Minirth, and Meier, walk you through their ten proven stages to recovery from codependency that results from external circumstances.

Humans are susceptible to codependency because of our sinful tendency to use defense mechanisms to fool ourselves. In codependent relationships, deceitful games are played, and important Christian principles are often taken out of context and abused.

God wants us to have healthy relationships with a balance between being dependent and independent. The doctors describe how the most effective means of overcoming codependent relationships is to establish or deepen a relationship with Christ Himself.

They describe the causes of codependency, pointing out the factors that perpetuate it, and lead readers through their ten stages of recovery.

Continue a deeper study with the Love Is a Choice workbook, available separately.

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Read this prayerfully with a surrendered heart and mind. I say this because our defense mechanisms can have us locked up so tight that helpful thoughts cannot penetrate the armor we have going on. Work on wanting to know. Work on believing there is hope, and that you are worth so much more than what you’ve been told.

♥

Free and bargain books July 05, 2021

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

1531 Entertainment has a bargain suggestion for us with an author I have yet to read.

Protective Custody: Hometown Heroes: Book 1

Amazon quote:

She’s a key witness to a crime……Now he must keep her alive. Can they avoid the danger that’s closer than they think?

Play-it-safe magazine editor Heather McAlistair is in the wrong place at the wrong time. But doing the right thing may cost her everything. Including her life.

Detective Kyle Taylor is investigating a case that threatens to break his career. He can’t even go on a date without crime haunting him and the woman who’s captured his heart.

With more than their future at risk, they must discern betrayal from trust, image from truth. And stay alive while they’re at it.

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The suggestion strip has an interesting mystery from another author I’ve not seen before.

Hard Landing (Hope Landing Romantic Suspense Book 1)

Amazon quote:

Two wary souls get a second chance at love…if a killer doesn’t find them first.

When a stalker turns to murder, pilot Kelli Spencer needs protection. What she doesn’t need is her old love Jack Reese returning to stir things up, but the former Navy SEAL and his team of protection specialists are the best of the best.

Trust him with her life? If she has to. Trust him with her heart? No way.

The last time Jack left, he made it clear married life held no appeal. Ten years later, he wastes no time letting her know he hasn’t changed. Not that she’d be fool enough to hope.

As the commander of Knight Tactical, Jack jumps at the chance to protect Kelli and take down a killer, but as soon as she’s safe, he plans to shake the dust of the small mountain town off his feet again…until he realizes he never should have left the first time.

Can he convince Kelli to give him another chance, or will a devious killer destroy his plans for a happily ever after?

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I’m currently reading a fun mail order bride romance. Check out the synopsis and you will see why. It’s impossible not to feel a little bit sorry for this poor unsuspecting guy just minding his own business. It’s still FREE

Love in Independence (Holiday Mail Order Brides Book 6)

They say love covers a multitude of sins, and for matchmakers Mercy, Martha, and Maude, it’s a good thing! Fearing the town’s new pastor is lonely, they decide to take matters into their own hands, and order him a mail order bride! Imagine his surprise when he finds out? Only he doesn’t! Mercy, Martha, and Maude see to that!

Winnie Longfellow has spent years caring for her sick mother, and now that she’s passed, has nowhere to go but her Aunt Eugina’s. But her aunt has other things on her mind, other problems to deal with, and so Winnie accepts a proposal from a pastor out west looking for a mail order bride. Little did she know, he was looking for so much more, anything more!

He had no idea he’d sent for one! Now Winnie finds herself at the mercy of three madcap matrons, determined that love will find a way. Despite multiple misunderstandings, a horrid bully/gossip, and a woman she’s sure her intended will marry instead of her, Winnie discovers some things about herself, and finds that love really does find its way.

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I love a book that makes me laugh and this one is doing it. 

Happy Reading.