Free and bargain books June 06, 2022

Playing catch up again on great book suggestions.

1531 Entertainment has several suggestions for us.

The River Beautiful by Andrea Carmen

A difficult past. A strange letter. An unsolved mystery.

Someone is following Lena, mapping her every move.

Where strength can be weakness and vulnerability-an asset, the greatest danger that threatens Lena may just be herself.

After the death of her father years ago, Lena ran from the quiet community of Kennerdell, but she’s back, forced to face a past she’d rather forget.

To make things more difficult, awkward, and terrifying, her old friend, Will, is back in her life. Even worse, she needs him there if she hopes to figure out what the letter she found in her father’s study means. They’re on a mission to find answers before her stalker does.

The River Beautiful mingles history and legend in a fast-paced ride through the deceptively peaceful Allegheny Mountains on a quest for answers amid loss, strength in the face of love, a whirlwind of self-discovery, and learning to use faith to illuminate even the darkest places.

I will admit to downloading this book several years ago and not reading it. Probably the darkness of the story was the stumbling block. Maybe I should try again, just in case now is a better time.

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This next one is another downloaded book I’ve not read. I have read and enjoyed other Ted Dekker books though. His books chart as Science Fiction and Metaphysical Fantasy.

Black (Circle Book 1)

Thomas Hunter narrowly survives a shooting attempt only to awaken in an alternate universe of green forests, a world to which he subsequently travels every time he goes to sleep.

This is the short version of a synopsis. The longer one is… long… and wild.

Check it out. He is on a quest to save the world. Both of them.

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Changing the subject totally…

BookRunes has a suggestion I have read and enjoyed.

Red Rose Bouquet: (Grace Revealed Book 2)

Cheryl Thompson learned over a decade ago to guard her shattered heart with a veil of cold indifference. Life since that day has been an endless cycle of detachment and loneliness, followed by superficial relationships. Break up, rinse, and repeat. Until something in her snaps. This life…she can’t do it anymore. She returns to her childhood home in the Colorado Rockies to help her nana.

Brock Kelly lived high as King of the Slopes in the world of snowboard cross racing. Medals. Money. Fame. But after a visit to an orphanage in Mexico, he gave up his adrenaline-packed lifestyle to follow a calling from God he didn’t know he had—helping kids who’d been damaged emotionally.

When Cheryl finally tells Brock what she’s never told anyone else…no wonder she is the way she is. It would take a miracle to heal that wound, and a love bigger than Brock had ever imagined to walk with her through the process.

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I think there could be more but that will have to be a new post.

Happy Reading y’all…

Although, with this lot it may be more tense than happy.

Tense can be good though… right?

New bargain from Christy Barritt June 03, 2022

It has been a busy week around my house with visiting family and I’ve loved every minute of it. This is the first time in years that I’ve had this much time with them and I learned some things.

My son loves to cook, fancy things, not just your regular meat and potatoes. It’s been a surprise because no one else in the family loves to cook. Not even me. I am impressed. And he cleans up after himself too. What a treasure. His wife knows when she has a very good thing going for her and lets him know how much she appreciates him.

They will be back and I can’t wait.

There wasn’t much reading and next-to-no blogging happening while they were here but that has changed already. I think I’m on my fourth book since they left and they were good ones. The kind that keep you up all night reading just-one-more chapter.

The other thing I’m excited about is the speed of spring. The trees have gone from sprouts to full leaves in a little more than a week. The newness of it all is inspiring.

So, getting back to blogging and books…
I’m excited to see a new series from suspense writer Christy Barritt. This is another of her pre-order bargains and with a vanishing ranch I’m trying to imagine what it will be like. It sounds intriguing.

Forgotten Secrets (Vanishing Ranch Book 1)

FBI Special Agent Jesse Marx doesn’t know which is worse—waking up in a horse stable with no memories of the past several days or waking up to discover he’s wearing a wedding band. Not only has he been injured, but he’s also gotten hitched—something he vowed never to do.

Sienna Fleming refuses to feel a connection to any man, much less be tied down to one. But when she needs help solving a string of murders, Jesse is the only man she can turn to for help. Unfortunately, Jesse is ready to bolt. Considering the circumstances, she can’t blame him . . . but she also can’t let him go.

The two are roped into this together. . . for better or worse . . . because it will take a united effort to stop this killer before someone else dies.

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I hope you will enjoy reading as much as I plan to this weekend.

Catch up on Bargain books June 03, 2022

We are way behind on checking out free and bargain books and I’m trying a bit of a catch-up.

BookBub has an interesting suggestion from earlier in the week with an author new to this site. I’m looking forward to this read.

Shadow Game: A Christian Romantic Suspense (Shadow Alliance Book 1)

She must put her faith in a God she doesn’t trust in order to save a man she can never have.
Morgan Caine spent three years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit before being acquitted, but that doesn’t mean she’s innocent. While trying to rebuild her life, she takes a gamble and hacks into a computer network, stumbling across an assassination plot in the process. But despite the possible risks, she refuses to sit back and let a man die, even if he represents everything she’s never had.
But Oliver Wright is not the man she thinks he is, and her good deed traps her in a conspiracy that forces her to question everything she’s known to be true and reveals to both of them that they have more in common than they first realized. Now, with time running out, both Morgan and Oliver must decide how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to save each other
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1531 Entertainment has an interesting suggestion.

In Search of a Prince

It seems like a dream come true . . . until it forces her to question everything.

Brielle Adebayo is fully content teaching at a New York City public school and taking annual summer vacations with her mother to Martha’s Vineyard. But everything changes when her mom drops a bombshell–Brielle is really a princess in the island kingdom of Ọlọrọ Ilé, off the coast of Africa, and she must immediately assume her royal position, since the health of her grandfather, the king, is failing.

Distraught by all the secrets her mother kept, Brielle is further left spinning when the Ọlọrọ Ilé Royal Council brings up an old edict that states she must marry before her coronation, or the crown will pass to another. Brielle is uncertain if she even wants the throne, and with her world totally shaken, where will she find the courage to take a chance on love and brave the perils a wrong decision may bring?

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Not a lot to show for the week but two new books are still appreciated, always.

It’s Friday, maybe something else will pop up and I’ll be back. I’m thinking Christy Barritt will have something new coming out soon. Hopefully. I will be checking it out.

I have some appreciated reads to share with you too. Coming soon.

Happy Reading y’all

Free books May 24, 2022

BookRunes has an interesting FREE book suggestion.

Enchanting Everton (Everton Diaries Book 1)

Elinor Grant has spent most of her life on a quiet farm with just her family and the forest to keep her company. When her orphaned cousins come to live with them, she moves to the city to earn some money to send home. However, adjusting to city life isn’t always easy.

Jack Price was abandoned by his parents at a young age, and lived on the streets of Everton with barely enough to survive. Adopted by the Price family at the age of eleven, Jack is still searching to understand who he is, and overcome the memories of the past that threaten to hold on to him forever.

Can Jack find it in himself to forgive the boy from his past who tells him he’ll never be good enough?

And can Elinor believe in herself enough to do something she never thought she could do?

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Another interesting FREE book

Lessons in Love (Secrets in Savannah Book 2)

Can the handsome man who holds the secret to the disappearance of Megan’s boyfriend hope to hold the key to her heart?

Megan Conley can’t believe her eyes. That handsome man who keeps popping up all over town looks a lot like her boyfriend, Michael. But Megan hasn’t seen him since he vanished unexpectedly, leaving her searching for answers. Turns out the stranger is Michael’s cousin, Noah, and he seems to have her best interests at heart. Could Noah help explain Michael’s absence?

Noah can’t deny his attraction to Megan. But he made a promise to his cousin, and he’s a man of his word. He’ll help her move on with her life—but he can go no further. Unless the key he holds to Michael’s disappearance is also the key to Megan’s heart…

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I have read and enjoyed the second story but the first is all new to me. It will be a surprise.

Happy Reading!!

This and that May 13, 2022

Photo by Max Vakhtbovych on Pexels.com

Not quite this far yet, but soon.

This is a just-start-talking kind of day. I have nothing earth shattering in mind to talk about so this will be a whole lot of not much.

It has been crazy windy here all day. It sounds like a wind tunnel running between the houses and it’s loud. I was wishing I had the data capacity on my phone to record a couple of hours of it, sound and all. The sky looked like it should be stormy but hadn’t rained. Yet. I’d put off running errands until the last minute, glad it was still dry out there.

A good tail wind helps a person get to the store faster. That was the first observation. But the funniest thing about it all, the rain waited all day to pour down just as I reached the car with my purchases. A shopping trip cut short. It waited all day to soak me at the last possible moment. Even funnier was that in the five minute drive home it stopped raining altogether. Oh well, I had my new furnace filters.

I change them regularly and usually they are lightly dirty. I forgot that this time of year between heavy wind and the blowing sand left from winter streets, things change. This time it was colored like charcoal. No wonder I’m having coughing fits.

This has been a week for family birthdays, can’t forget that, and the post office has been delivering heavy boxes belonging to some family members moving back home from a foreign country. It has taken months for them to arrive by ground and it’s awesome to see most of them finally here and in good shape.

Several days earlier in the week the weather was beautiful and it was good to get out in the yard for post winter cleanup. One never knows how out of shape they are until they try vigorously raking leaves for a couple of hours. It took several days for the muscle stiffness to disappear but after that first time it was much easier.

I always dread the brownness of the world once the snow disappears but then with good weather green starts popping up everywhere and the yard looks fresh and beautiful.

There are lots of things on my mind these days but the owners of the recently arrived boxes will be here soon, for a number of weeks, and I need to be ready for a full house. I can hardly wait.

Read and enjoyed May 12, 2022

These first two books were a fun read. The first impression at the thought of Obituaries would not be fun but when you consider people want the chance to tell the real truth, anything can happen. It has to be said that these people led quite the lives. It’s amazing they were never found out.

These next two were not as light-hearted and fun as the first books but they were definitely good reads.

One last one showed up at the discovery time for the Sisters by Design. It was a nice extension of my time with author Sharon Srock.

My current read is a complete change of pace but it deserves a place here anyway. This author is always enjoyable.

The weekend is coming soon, more reading time.Yes!

Happy Reading y’all

Free books May 09, 2022

We have books this morning! FREE ones. What could be better than that? Heroes, that’s what.

Do you ever look at a word and and feel all distressed and unsettled because it just looks wrong? I checked and it’s right but for some weird reason the spelling of heroes just looks wrong this morning. If I stare at it for awhile maybe it will look right again.

LPC Free Books has several free suggestions for us. With heroes.

The Bonfires of Beltane

It’s what the clan has always done. Since before anyone can remember, Taran’s celtic island people have sacrificed children to Crom Cruach, the dread sun god. Yet in his heart he knows it’s wrong. An escaped slave told him that in distant Britain they worship the One True God, a God who loves. A God so unlike the capricious, evil spirits that darken the souls of his people.

Now Taran’s about to be inducted into his clan’s inner circle of leaders. He promised Laurna, his betrothed, that he’d keep quiet about his doubts. But on the night of his ceremony, beside Crom Cruach, the bent idol of gold, he cannot give allegiance to a lie. Before everyone he questions the druids’ rule. Then he blames the clan’s miserable fortunes, not on the lack of sacrifices, but on the idol itself. What’s worse, he calls it a demon.

The druids are aghast. They meet in council, strip him of all honor, and order his banishment. Instead of a wedding with Laurna, there will be a tearful parting.

As the clan gathers on shore and a storm darkens the horizon, Taran paddles through the waves. But his wee craft was made for the shoreline, not the vast, raging sea. He looks back on his beloved, his people, everything he’s ever known. What has he done?

Thus begins Taran’s adventure in A.D. 432.

Beyond the sea lies ancient Celtic Ireland. There wait the Roman evangelist, Patrick, and two kingdoms ruled by powerful kings and their pagan, druid advisors. It’s a proud land where tradition is everything, where safe passage through the forests and over the bog roads is reserved for nobility, druids, warriors, or bards. Slavery or death await the rest. And the druids will do anything to remain in power and prevent Patrick and his followers from changing their ancient ways.

Will Taran find the spiritual truth he so desperately seeks? Will he escape wrathful kings and druid plots? Will he ever be able to return home, rescue his people, and rejoin his beloved Laurna?

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This next one I’ve read and enjoyed.

The Gathering Storm: The truth can set you free. It can also kill you. (When Darkness Falls Book 1)

Stephanie Walker lives a peaceful life until her undependable and dishonest father, Marty Walker, suddenly arrives at her home pleading with Stephanie to come with him to his Harrington Lodge in the beautiful Ozarks. Stephanie, suspicious of her father’s motives, declines her father’s invitation.

After his departure, Stephanie discovers the diamond necklace she borrowed from her aunt is missing. Racing through a raging thunderstorm, Stephanie drives to the lodge to reclaim the stolen item.

But when she arrives, Stephanie finds her father dead, her aunt’s diamond necklace gone, and a pair of handcuffs fitted just for her. Stephanie’s claims of innocence fail to sway the local sheriff, who produces several pieces of evidence linking her to the murder. With a shaky alibi and a vindictive stepmother, Stephanie turns to a lodge employee for help. But will Brad Wilson’s assistance lead Stephanie to the real killer or prove to be her undoing? Like a gathering storm on a warm summer evening, Stephanie’s world darkens until she’s forced to turn to the one true source of knowledge. But what she learns about her father, family, and her own inner demons are more horrifying than the lies she’s come to believe.

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I have read this author before, and I’ve read Revolutionary War stories over the years too. This one, with today’s writing styles may put a new spin on an old tale. The first chapter has me willing to take a chance.

A Heart for Freedom Janet Grunst

While in Scotland Heather Stewart witnessed the devastation and consequences of opposing the Crown.

Matthew Stewart wants only manage his rural Virginia inn and protect his family from the tyranny of the Crown.

She’s seen the cost of fighting England and wants no part of it. He has a heart for freedom and is ready to die for liberty and those he loves.

Both will find that the consequences of fighting for freedom and religious liberty will cost them more than their love for each other.

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BookBub also has a FREE book you may enjoy.

Fear Has a Name: A Pulse-Pounding Contemporary Christian Thriller (The Crittendon Files Book 1) 

Granger Meade was mentally scarred as a boy by his religious zealot parents. He was bullied at school for his quiet, oafish appearance, which naturally made him a loner and outcast.

But one girl treated him differently—Pamela Wagner. Pam talked to Granger, took an interest, listened, made him feel like a human being. She cared when no one else did, and Granger loved her for it; and still does 20 years later.

So Granger goes back to their Ohio town. Back to Pamela. But she is happily married to reporter Jack Crittendon, who’s embroiled in a time-sensitive story about a pastor who’s disappeared and left a suicide note; a case swirling with suspicion and talk of scandal.

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Happy reading y’all

It’s Mother’s Day May 08, 2022

Photo by George Dolgikh @ Giftpundits.com on Pexels.com

I’m thinking gratefully about all the women in my life who have been mothers to me over the years. Some by blood, some by marriage, and some evolving out of friendships. All of them hold a special place in my heart and I’m grateful for having had them in my life.

I’m also thinking about the girls/women in my life who are mothers to my grandchildren. I couldn’t be prouder of all three of them, they have done such an awesome job of being moms. We all know, one way or another, that raising kids is a daunting task at times. Kudos to them for allowing their kids to survive. lol I raised a strong willed child and he survived, now it’s his turn. Pay back is so much fun.

God created mothers with a strong love and protective instinct for their children. Think mama bear. Thank goodness he did.

Thank you to women everywhere who have loved their children well.

If your children are young and you are exhausted you are probably having serious doubts about the well part right about now. One day before you know it they will be grown and you will see things in a different light.

Some of you may be brokenhearted over your adult children. We can do everything right and things still turn out wrong. Our grown children can make terrible choices even when we have loved them well.

Think of the moms you love and along with me, take a moment to be grateful for each and every one them.

Read and enjoyed. May 07, 2022

The wind is crazy out there tonight. It sounds like the kind of wind they had down south today. It was so strong semi trucks were flipping over on their sides all along the highways. Scary stuff.

At least the wind wasn’t quite as bad earlier this afternoon while I was out doing spring cleanup in my flower beds. Even so, it was still challenging to corral dried leaves to dispose of them.

It something how quickly everything starts to sprout once the weather warms up a bit. It’s wonderful to find sprouts hiding under dead leaves and plant material.

So, books to share. There are a few. Not as many as I thought but still not a bad showing. There could be more but it’s not as easy to find them on the latest model of Kindle. I liked the last version better, it was easy to see what’s what.

Happy Reading y’all

More this and that May 06, 2022

Photo by Nathan Cowley on Pexels.com

It’s hard to know which is worse.

Watching the news, any and every news, sounds like a good idea so as not to be caught unaware. After awhile, though, this activity seems toxic and downright depressing.

Unbelievable too. Did he really just say that? Is he aware how his attitude is not helping his public image? Maybe he’s not worried about future re-elections.

It’s often said don’t believe what they say, watch what they do. When I first heard this piece of wisdom it was in relation to abusive men who would say all manner of things to get what they wanted, all the while not meaning any of it. Paying attention to what they do, to steer clear of manipulators, is sound advice.

It takes a lot of practice to go by actions rather than words, though. These people are highly gifted at sounding believable, especially if they put a lot of emotion in it. It’s very easy to believe they are for real. That’s why video footage, especially the unedited kind, exposes the truth. There are lots of undeniable eye opening caught on tape moments that leave us with our jaws dropping on the floor. Some of them are scenes that we can never unsee.

On one hand the state of our countries, Canada and the US, is highly depressing but on the other hand, some bleak looking situations are beginning to change. For awhile it appeared that the corporate and political world was jumping on the new ideas band wagon which did not bode well for many of us.

I think most of us have forgotten how loudly the bottom line speaks into their world. Many of their recent changes and positions were not in the best interest of average shoppers and when we began to change our spending habits they sat up and took notice.

Making changes in who we work for, where we shop, and a multitude of other areas, will surprise us with unexpected positive side effects. We may even find we are happier than we’ve ever been.

It’s hard to believe any of this will change bullies’ behavior but hey, you just never know. Maybe one day they will wake up and discover people’s opinion of them matters a great deal. Especially if they are running for office or working to become richer.

Oh, right, the question which is worse?

The political situation in Canada or the US.

So far, from what I can see listening to facts and opinions, Canada is winning. Not something to feel the least bit happy about.