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This and that August 26, 2021

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A little this, a little that, and a whole lot of not-much.

Have you ever noticed how sometimes recharging a device seems to take forever? I have and I was inclined to blame it on the device?
It was frustrating, especially since it was a new purchase and my expectations were high. It turns out I was experiencing misplaced blame. This afternoon my Kindle was taking forever and I couldn’t wait long enough for it to finish. Tonight, having to plug it in already, it charged in record time. I guess the fault lies with the power grid not the device or the power cords.

It could even be the fault of neighboring power hogs. I wonder who that could be? Hmmmm. I know it’s not me, a couple of lights and a laptop is all I’ve got going on.

I’m sad, as I sit here blogging and looking out the window at the darkness of night. A couple of months ago it would be getting dark just about now, not this full on night thing. Summer is on it’s way out. That’s why I’m sad. To think it has gone by so quickly.

It’s a good thing, I didn’t put my Christmas tree away. In another two or three months it will be time to put it up again, this way I don’t have to bother. Besides I like using it as a shield to hide behind. Privacy screen.

I’m excited, in a couple of weeks two of my young relatives will be moving back to Canada, specifically to the area where I live. I can hardly wait to see them. I’m sad that I didn’t meet the criteria for them to spend their two week self-isolation at my house.

This will be a great adventure for them. And an even bigger adjustment as they have never lived here, they left as babies. I think they have been dreaming of it for a long while though. Coupled with early onset adulthood I think they are ready for what comes next in their lives. Living with their same-age cousins won’t hurt either.

Overall, I’m happy with life.

Now I just have to figure out what book I wish to read next.

Maybe I will give this one a try. It looks to be filled with spies and intrigue.

The Captain’s Quest (The Leeward Islands Series Book 4) 

Innocent mistakes can have dire consequences. 

Pricilla Middleton only attended the Lemoore house party to keep her friend out of trouble. Now, her only chance to keep from becoming a gossip column headline is to sneak aboard her brother’s ship and pretend she’d been visiting him instead of taking part in the debacle. Before she can speak to her brother, the ship sets sail, and the man in charge is not at all who she expects.

Captain Tobias Prescott, son of an infamous war hero, has been assigned on a critical mission to deploy warships in St. Kitts for battle in New Orleans. Unfortunately, his orders require him to assume command of a friend’s ship, and he must weigh anchor the instant the former captain is escorted down the gangplank. When they reach open waters, the last thing he expects is to find a woman hiding in the captain’s cabin, yet his mission is too urgent to return her to England.

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I’ll let you now how it goes.

Read and enjoyed August 26, 2021

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This will be short and sweet. No long explanations or opinions. They say short is popular in some crowds. Works for me tonight.

So, I have four books to share and I liked all of them. I can tell because it didn’t take me very long to get through them all.

Currently I’m reading and enjoying book 2 in the First Responders series by Susan Sleeman. Book 1, Silent Night Standoff is pictured above.

It took me a while to realize what that building was on the cover of Silent Night Standoff. It’s actually an old fire-hall, which seems much more appropriate than the old estate house that I thought it was. It was gifted to the county as a residence for the special first responders team and by the description it sounds like an awesome place.

Book 2 is Explosive Alliance

I’m having a good time. I hope you are too.

Happy Reading.

This and that August 24, 2021

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This is another one of those days when I’ve got nothing. Nothing to write that is. Most of the stuff on my mind isn’t appropriate for this post.

I’ve been closely following the debacle that has stunned the world. It seems we have been content to close our eyes to things and just coast along hoping someone else would take care of us. It will take some major courage to get the world out of the tough spot we find ourselves in. Our guys had the courage in WWII, I’m not sure how it could happen exactly but I’m sure our guys and gals could successfully rise to the challenge this time too.

The other news type thing on my mind is the whole covid situation. A fourth wave seems to be showing up in the last few days. Just when restrictions loosen up the infection rate starts rising again.

Along with that concern, we have a family situation where we need to find a isolation spot for teenage boys coming home after a lifetime overseas. I want to have them with me but there is one difficult hurdle to overcome. Other options may work out but if they don’t I’m willing to do whatever it takes to make it work out well for them. We will have to wait and see how it all turns out.

In regard to books, I can’t find it again but I was reading a book collection that was a retelling of fairy tales. Red Riding Hood and Cinderella were the first two. From my point of view they were really bad. I couldn’t bring myself to even read them. I removed the book from my device without taking note of the title. I wanted to share it with you and thought I could easily find it again but … no such luck. Maybe it’s better that I couldn’t find it. Kinder.

The sky is a heavy grey all of a sudden, I think another storm is supposed to roll through tonight, dropping some more rain. It’s funny, we had been having drought conditions and they were predicting a long hot summer. The prediction has changed, we are supposed to have more rain with cooler temps for the rest of the season. Winter shows up here the end of October/early November usually.

It will be interesting for our newly home teenagers, they have not experienced real winter before. It will be all new. They are excited and looking forward to it, I do know that. I don’t think they have seen snow and if they have it would have been a brief thing. Both of their parents have experienced full on Canadian winters and the kids have grown up with the stories wishing they could visit us in the winter. Their time has come!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

How could they not love it?

As promised: This Present Darkness

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In my story prompt post this morning I promised to say more about a book mentioned in that piece.

The prompt was angels and I shared a book read many years ago – and never forgotten – where angels, both good and evil, were doing battle in the heavenlies.

Just to make things a little clearer as we go along, I do believe in angels.

This Present Darkness

Amazon quote:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:12

After the film in her camera is mysteriously destroyed at a small-town festival, reporter Bernice Kreuger knows she’s found something worth covering up. She brings the investigation to her boss, Marshall Hogan. Along with the local pastor of a struggling church, Hank Busch, they find something much bigger than they expected—a demonic plot to enslave their town and, eventually, the world.

The tiny college town of Ashton becomes the unlikely battleground in a cosmic clash between good and evil. Unseen by the human protagonists, armies of angels and demons wage war against one another in the spiritual realm for the souls of the people of Ashton. Up against supernatural forces, the future of the town seems bleak – but the power of prayer might be able to influence the outcome of the fight.

This fast-paced thriller birthed an entirely new genre, setting the standard for spiritual suspense. It has since sold over 2 million copies worldwide, sparking a renewed interest in the concept of spiritual warfare.

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I do believe in God, and his angels- both good and evil. I think a book like this helps us, in a small way, to understand we are not alone in this world. And someone bigger than us is in charge.

I find it comforting that God is a living, relational being, and if we put time and effort into getting to know him he will become as close to us as our very best friend.

One more comforting thing: he has the heart of a father. He never forgets; not even one of his children. That means every single person on the face of the earth, whether we acknowledge him or not.

This whole thought of the fatherhood of God is a discussion for another day but think about it – no matter how good or bad the behavior of a child, does a parent ever forget and stop loving them?

I’ve noticed the answer to that question is no. In an interview, I’ve heard a broken-hearted mother say of her bomber son… but he’s my son, I still love him.

God loving us has nothing whatever to do with our belief.

I’m a mom, I know about these things. … my kids are my kids no matter what.

I’m grateful that God loves us, and he commands his angels to watch out for us whether we love him back or not.

If we resist his love, that can make protecting us a challenge for him. (think of a rebellious toddler and you will know exactly what I mean here.) Any way, another discussion for another day.

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I wasn’t planning on any of this but maybe someone’s heart needed to hear it.

Happy book Reading.

Story prompt – Angel

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This story prompt is courtesy of Sunday Scribblings

Be an angel and bring me a coffee, will ya.

Thanks, you’re an angel.

It looks like angel is a word we use flippantly, much like the word love. In most cases the way we use it doesn’t really mean anything of any significance.

Wouldn’t we be shocked if there actually was such a thing as an angel?

Some of us must think they are real. There are movies, TV shows, sermons preached, and even books written about angels. With a little research into the ways they are portrayed I can tell I’m behind the times. I didn’t know there was a spin off of Buffy The Vampire Slayer called Angel. I wasn’t into a lot of TV back then and it looks like I was missing out.

There were other angel shows and movies I did notice, though, (Touched by an Angel, Twice in a Lifetime, Angels in the Outfield to name a few) and I have to say I enjoyed them immensely.

Then there are books, maybe movies too, where there are angels of both stripes, both good and evil, doing battle in heavenly places. This Present Darkness: A Novel by Frank Peretti is one of them.

Speaking of evil and angels, there is one story I’ve never been able to forget.

It happened in a primitive foreign country many years ago. A team of nurses and their helpers were accosted one night. They heard the war cry of a band of men who wanted to rob, torture, and kill them. They were terrified. Inexplicably, the band of men stopped, looked, and fled. They were faced with a circle of giants standing guard around the nurse’s compound.

It sounds hard to believe but I’ve heard stories similar to this more than once through the decades. Different time, different place, same story. I love to think that someone bigger than me could send his angel armies to protect me in drastic circumstances.

Again, we bandy about the idea of a guardian angel as liberally as we do the terms angel and love.

What if we really do have a guardian angel watching out for us?

If it is true, just think what life could have been like without them, without someone catching us all those times we should have crashed and burned.

I can think of a few times I should have crashed and burned but didn’t and I’m grateful beyond words.

There is a verse in the Bible …

Psalm 91 verse 11, it says “He shall give His angels charge over you. To keep you in all your ways“

I believe and I’m grateful for my guardian angel.

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I couldn’t have planned it better. One of my daily emails had a book suggestion with a reference to angels. This saved me from having to find a picture for this post. I was having trouble finding one to do justice to my guardian angel. I will use this book cover to dress up the post instead.

I’m not sure how the angel angle works out in the Dead Man’s Journey story, not having read beyond the first few pages, but as the character in the opening paragraphs prepares to go for a run he senses an angel presence. Guardian angel.

On further thought: there is another book where I know for sure angels, both good and evil, are part of the story. Frank Peretti has written many books involving heavenly beings and this is one of them. This Present Darkness.

I’ll use a separate post to share more about this book.

They say the veil is thin between this world and the next. I believe that is true. We are not alone on our journey. God and his angels are looking out for us, more than we realize.

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I hope you like the books.

It’s raining, it’s pouring, the old lady is not snoring.

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She can’t snore, the rain is making way too much noise.

Crazy weather.

Yesterday was tank top, shorts, and sandals.

Today is t-shirt, heavy fleece jacket, jeans, and socks with slippers.

I took a video, the rain was so impressive. Only a half hour and the yard is flooding and I needed proof. It turns out, the video plays sideways and I have no idea what I did to cause that. It also turns out I have the shakes worse than I realized. No idea idea about the why for that either. I have not yet started drinking! lol

This isn’t NBC, as one of my favorite podcasters always says, so I will go ahead and post it here anyway.

Well, I guess maybe not. WordPress isn’t recognizing it for a reason I have not yet discovered but must explore.

I’ll share a picture instead. No I won’t, it looks like I figured something out. The video is uploading.

My flooding backyard/hear the rain

Not too bad for a first ever attempt at uploading a video on here.

You can’t tell from this angle but the flowerbed below the railing is flooded. The drainage trough at the back under the trees is flooded too. After an hour or so of pounding rain it has changed to a gentle rain. By the looks of it I won’t be watering the flower beds for a few days.

My lawn is a lovely green even after all the hot weather we’ve had. All because of mulching. This is the first year the summer lawn clippings have not been picked up and it looks better than it ever has in the eight years I’ve been here.

The weather guys promised the threat of a thunder storm for today. If a really good one comes through later today I’ll try another video. After the heavy rain that already passed through, though, I’m not holding my breath for an awesome storm.

Today has been a nothing new-books day so I’m grateful for the wild storm showing up to give me a little post material!

Some of the recently ordered new releases arrived in today’s Kindle mailbox so it’s been a good day afterall.

A good day to you too. I hope you ordered some of those new books.

Happy Reading

Free and bargain books August 16, 2021

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Read til the end for an amazing scene. But first…

1531 Entertainment has suggestions for us. This first one is FREE. I remember reading this a year ago and it is definitely worth looking at again.

Looking for Justice: Christian Contemporary Romance with Suspense

Amazon quote:

Can a former attorney and a war veteran keep an assaulted student safe and heal their own troubled pasts?“Edgy, gutsy, real” says Varina Denman, Author of the Mended Hearts Series “

Attorney Alexis Jergenson leaves her law firm and the pain of her clients’ abuse cases and decides to start over in a small Tennessee town. The Christian college there is desperate for a law professor, and she is desperate for a new career. The problem is she’s not a Christian, and to add to this, a student has been assaulted and comes to her for help.

Luke Stephens is recovering from the effects of the Afghanistan war. He’s settled down to teach and work his ranch. His only problem is with the new law professor—she looks too much like his unfaithful ex-wife, and Luke will do anything to avoid her. But Luke and Alexis are forced to team up to find the student’s attacker, and they put not only their lives but also their hearts in danger.… a book that will linger in your mind long after you read the last page…” Debby Mayne, author of the Belles in the City series Book 4 of the Dangerous series, but also a stand alone. A Christian book that contains sensitive subject matter.

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Another free book showed up, one more that I’ve read, enjoyed, and still remember.

An Awakened Heart (Orphan Train): An Orphan Train Novella

Amazon quote:

Trying to heal the ache she feels in her empty life, wealthy Christine Pendleton decides to volunteer at Centre Street Chapel. Ministering to one of the most deprived parts of New York City, the chapel aims at making a difference in the lives of the impoverished immigrants flooding the city. After seeing firsthand the hopelessness of the poor women and orphans, Christine is convinced more can be done to help them.

Guy Bedell has been serving at the chapel and pouring his heart out for the people he’s grown to care about. When Christine begins to challenge his methods and offers a new vision for reaching out to the community, can he trust that perhaps God has bigger plans in store for him–plans that may include this feisty socialite?

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Currently, I’ve started a book that has captured my attention. I’m only on chapter two but still, it should be good all the way through. It’s at a low bargain price too.

This is about a race car driver who crashed and burned, literally. Only he wasn’t on the track, and it may not be an accident.

He’s also inherited a baby but we don’t know yet how that all came about. He’s hired a high school friend, turned private investigator, to figure out what happened. He also wants her to find the baby’s mother.

Show Me Best Friends: Small-Town Single-Father Cowboy Romance (Cowboy Crossing Romances Book 4) 

Amazon quote:

A “steel cowboy” with a wounded spirit, an ex-cop who’s never forgotten him, and a baby in need of love… Can these childhood best friends become more? A sweet, clean, wholesome romance with a happily-ever-after!

Damaged and scarred after an accident that ended his racing career, Maverick Clark returns to his family ranch to find a new purpose. When he starts caring for his buddy’s baby, Maverick turns for help to his childhood friend whom he’d had a crush on, Vera. Soon he wants more than friendship. But what does he have to offer her now?

At thirty-seven, jobless, husbandless, and childless, Vera Tsareva feels like she took a wrong turn somewhere. But once the road takes her back to her hometown to help her grandmother, she begins working with Maverick, the guy she’s tried to forget for many years. They even go on a trip to the other side of the world together, but he’s closed off his heart to her.

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It has been a warm one today and judging by the orange moon we are still bothered by smoke from nearby forest fires. When I say nearby, they are in the same province but miles away.

My son and his family live in the province of British Columbia, Canada. Yesterday they were driving home from holidays and the mountain highway (Coquihalla) had fire burning on both sides of the road. We were shocked it was still open when they went through.

(we affectionately call it The Coke)

When it is not burning this is an amazingly beautiful drive.

I’m sharing this for the pictures. I love this trip and I’ve driven it many times with some great memories. It’s about 2 hours long. Someone should film the whole highway then we could travel it vicariously. A friend in Norway send me a video like that once, it was a train trip. Norway has high mountains too. Watching something in real time seems like it would be boring but they did a good job with their camera work and it was enjoyable.

Anyway, enjoy the scenery.

And the books

This and that August 14, 2021

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So, first off this morning, I’m catching up on sites I follow on YouTube. This particular guy is prolific and it’s very easy to fall behind on his channels.

I love the video I’m about to share and I think you will love it too.

The creator of this series is a Hollywood producer, he has worked on shows like Entertainment Tonight and other shows you may recognize. I can’t think of them all at the moment but I can tell you this… he knows how to do a good job.

He is not just a producer, he also a writer working on the script for an outer space type movie that doesn’t yet have a name.

While researching to make sure his script is production ready he formed a connection with an astrophysicist who, it turns out, is excited about his project. They clicked as like-minded people even though they work in vastly different disciplines. Out of this unlikely friendship they’ve created another video project, totally unrelated to the original film idea.

This explanation may be clear as mud but if you watch their first introductory video explaining how they met and what they are trying to do, it will make more sense.

They have many videos in the new series, already edited and ready to go. This lets us know it’s not a bright idea that will fizzle out after a couple of episodes.

These guys are interesting and funny. They have good chemistry and are relaxed with each other, which makes the watching experience enjoyable. The content is excellent and that makes it even better.

I enjoy listening to these guys and I’m very much looking forward to more. They have a new release scheduled for Saturday mornings, 6 am California time.

Check this out. Jeff and Mike

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Mike is currently on a road trip that started just this morning, well technically he left home last night but couldn’t have gone far. The idea of the trip is to share grassroots America with his fellow countrymen as well as the rest of the world. He’s hardly left home and is already posting short clips on some of his other channels.

This guy is a Type A personality with ADD. He has new ideas popping out everywhere… but he produces and he’s interesting to watch.

At least many of us think so.

He has his detractors like most everyone else on line these days. I’ve heard it said of leaders… if everyone loves you – you’re not doing it right. He must be doing something right.

I’m sure I will share more from this guy. He has a bunch of other channels, with different focus and goals in mind. He also has several episodes he does with his mom. She is an interesting lady and has an exceptional story to tell.

But that will be a post for another day.

Oops, I see he just posted another video on this channel about his mom, must go watch it.

There’s a good chance you will see more from me later on.

Happy Watching and Reading

Reading and enjoying August 11, 2021

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The person who really wants to do something finds a way; the other person finds an excuse. — Author Unknown

This was the opening quote in chapter three of the book I am currently enjoying (I’ll share it in a bit) and it resonates with me. So much so that I need to camp on this thought for a moment and while I’m doing that I need to record some thoughts.

It resonates because I’m wrestling with this very thing. Ideas are causing a ruckus in my head and I’m asking myself if I will step outside my comfort zone and find a way to do them or will I listen to the excuses and walk away. I’ve spent years mulling over these ideas in different forms.

In a way, this quote showing up now is validation for the steps I’m taking.

Chapter three is talking about excuses but the true subject of the book is prayer. The kind of prayer Diane Moody, the author, has in mind is conversation with your best friend.

I’ve been in conversation with my best friend about these wild ideas, and many other things too, and He seems to be encouraging me to get on with it and make it happen.

Why would I do this thing I’m alluding to?

There are two sides to it. One is to help me grow personally, I definitely need it if I want to have useful years. The other is be an encouragement to others. There are enough negative voices in our world, we need more positive ones.

This quote about finding a way is especially relevant for me right now. Mainly because, earlier today I uploaded a picture to my site created yesterday on locals.com. Putting a picture out there for the world to see is a big deal for this camera shy blogger… admitting to being out there is an even bigger deal. Up until now, I have been trying my best to fly under the radar. My Face Book profile picture is a lilac bush and has been for years. Things are slowly changing.

I haven’t posted to the new site yet, I’m still in the initial set up stages. Maybe this could be part of the first post. Maybe. We’ll see.

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As promised, here is the book I am reading. Diane Moody is down to earth, easy to read, and what she has to say is worth hearing.

Confessions of a Prayer Slacker (Second Edition) 

With over 600 “Five Star” reviews.

Let’s face it. Most of us are clueless when it comes to praying. Why is that? And how come we’ve never done anything about it?

In Confessions of a Prayer Slacker, author Diane Moody traces her own personal prayer journey with a touch of humor and a healthy dose of transparency.

‘‘I want my readers to stop the merry-go-round of prayerlessness, quit acting like a bunch of spiritual babies, and get serious about this thing called prayer. Without it, we’ll never experience the warm, one-on-one relationship God desires to have with each one of us.”

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It looks like this post has turned out to be a bit of a teaser since I have neglected to give the name of the new site over on locals.com

That’s OK because I still have some work to do to make sure it performs like it’s supposed to.

There are more things to be said about the subject anyway so another time works well.

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We have no new books today but maybe tomorrow. I did look.

In the meantime,

Happy Reading

Free and bargain books August 07, 2021

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Today is a good day!

It has been a bookless week, mostly, and today things have changed. Four new books from three authors I’ve read and enjoyed, what could be better than that?

First up is a modern day handsome prince.

To Save a King (True Blue Royal Book 2) 

Amazon quote:

A modern-day fairy tale of hope and rescue from NYT bestselling author Rachel Hauck

After growing up in small-town Hearts Bend, Tennessee, Gemma Stone set off to Hollywood to make her mark in the world. But her ambition turned into a journey of a “thousand” bad decisions and after twelve years of seeking fame and fortune, Gemma returns home with a limp and a dark secret.

Now she runs a rescue ranch and is raising her friends’ orphaned daughter. She’s keenly aware these defenseless ones are also rescuing her. She just wants to stay hidden in the safe world she’s created.

HRH Crown Prince John has learned a royal title cannot shield him from heartbreak. As heir to the revered House of Blue and married to the love of his life, he believed his future reign would strengthen the royal dynasty of Lauchtenland. Then tragedy changed everything. Can anything save him from his grief?

When he travels to Hearts Bend on a mission for his mother, Queen Catherine, he’s drawn into the local life and cajoled into a three-legged race with the beautiful Gemma Stone during the 4th of July festivities.

While the event has a disastrous result, Prince John and Gemma form a quick friendship—one of two wounded souls finding comfort in one other. However, love is absolutely not an option. John desperately wants to hold onto the memories of his wife, and Gemma refuses to trust her heart to any man. Even a prince.

Then Prince John is called home for an emergency. How can he leave the woman who lifted him from his sorrows? But can Gemma join him on a royal stage and risk her secret coming to light?

To Save a King is book two in the True Blue Royal series.

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The next two are first books in their series. I’m looking forward to this as I enjoyed two other first books by this author and would love to read more.

A Dangerous Pursuit (Regency Spies & Secrets Book 1)

Amazon quote:

An heiress. A spy. And a love worth fighting for.

Miss Madalene Dowding was devastated when her mother died, leaving her all alone. To honor her mother’s legacy, she decides to use part of her fortune to open an orphanage. When a teacher at the orphanage goes missing, Madalene takes it upon herself to start looking for her, even if it means taking her deep into the unsavory parts of London.

Baldwin Radcliff, the Marquess of Hawthorne, is working on his last case as an agent of the Crown since he is about to retire and take up his seat in the House of Lords. He is tasked with finding a French spy that is in league with a growing group of radicals. As he searches for the enemy, he discovers a meddling heiress that keeps stumbling in at the most inopportune times, making him wonder if she is perhaps the spy he has been sent to find.

Despite mutual dislike, Baldwin agrees to help Madalene, but only if she stays far away from the investigation. A promise that Madalene has no intention of keeping. Will headstrong Madalene and duty-driven Baldwin be able to work together, especially since so much is at stake?

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Saving Shadow: A Regency Spy Romance (The Beckett Files Book 1)

Amazon quote:

For England’s top spy, love is not an option

Born with a perfect memory, Lady Elizabeth Beckett has become one of the world’s most notorious spies, despite being the daughter of a duke. She is shielded only by her code name: Shadow. When young ladies of High Society begin disappearing from London, Eliza has no doubt who is orchestrating these crimes; a heinous man she has been investigating for years. Vowing to save them before they are sold to the highest bidder, she must risk everything to stop him.

Lord Sinclair was perfectly content being the second son of a marquess, but when his brother is murdered, he is thrust into a position he has not been prepared for and does not desire. As an agent for the Crown, he is expected to retire now that he is the heir, but he’s been granted special permission for one more mission… to obtain justice for his murdered brother.

Used to keeping secrets, Lady Eliza and Lord Sinclair must learn to open up to each other when they are assigned as partners to bring down the same ruthless man and his brutal empire of abduction and slavery. As Eliza’s tainted past becomes too much for her to bear alone, can she learn to trust her new partner with her secrets, her life, and possibly her heart?

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This next one is a complete change of pace. It is historical but it’s also time travel. I’ve read and enjoyed the first three books in this series.

Vestige of Courage: A Christian Time Travel Romance (Vestige in Time Book 4) 

Amazon quote:

She dreams of a future far out of reach. He’s stuck in limbo, looking for answers. Will a trip through time be a dream come true or their worst nightmare?

Finding herself in the future is Beatrice’s wildest dream come true, until it shatters her long-held illusions.

Beatrice Thomas lives a simple life on an isolated mountain homestead in 1879, Colorado, but she longs to experience the world past the rugged peaks and lonely months that her life has become. Unfortunately for her, that requires a miracle.

Chase’s life of adventure in the spotlight has taken an abrupt detour. Now he’s stuck, trapped in the unknown.

Chase Bennett’s life is on hold while he searches for his missing brother. When he stumbles upon a woman who’s looking for answers of her own, she provides a distraction he doesn’t need.

As their friendship grows, Beatrice is bewildered by the fast pace of the modern world. The adventure she longed for may be more than she can handle.

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I’m pretty sure the first three books will jump to the head of the reading queue. I’m looking forward to this.

Contemplating this list reminds me of a discussion earlier in the week about skipping through a book without reading every word. The consensus seemed to be offence at the thought of this practice. Sometimes when a to-be-read pile gets out of hand, like mine has been – forever it seems, there is no other choice.

At a time like this it’s easy to be happy when a book turns out to be less than wonderful. The read can be rushed through, guilt free.

I used to hold the belief that every word had to be read and every book started had to be finished. Somewhere along the line I gave up on that guilt trip. Not every book is worth the time and attention. There is no shame in abandoning a book, or quickly skimming through to see how it ended before tossing it.

I think skimming is better, in a time crunch, than not reading the book at all.

I love it when a book is worth savoring every moment. I take the time and then count my blessings that not all books are created equal. If they were…

I’d have to put a moratorium on looking for free and bargain books.

Happy Reading y’all