Read & Enjoyed Middle of September edition

A few books will always rise to the top and become a special favorite. This is one of them for me. The experience will not be soon forgotten.

Once Upon a Christmas: Inspirational Romance (The Christmas Card Series Book 3)

Amazon quote:

If I only see you once…

When her flight home is canceled a few days before Christmas, Moe Scott spontaneously agrees to spend a few hours sight-seeing with a fellow passenger. At the time, she doesn’t know the moments with James will change her life, nor does she know that before her plane takes off the next morning, she will turn around to find James gone.

With no way to contact him, Moe returns home only to lose everything before the new year dawns. Completely alone, jobless, and faced with the news that she is going blind, Moe remembers her time with James and clings to the idea of embracing the moments of vision she has left.

When opportunities for love and friendship come in the most unexpected places, Moe faces the choice of whether to continue to wait for the man who changed her life.

Will Moe and James ever find each other again? Can she learn to appreciate the beauty in each moment God provides and inspire those beyond her own darkness, even if she never sees again?

A once upon a Christmas inspires her story. Her ever after changes the world.

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This next one was memorable as a fun read.

The Silent Governess

Amazon quote:

Believing herself guilty of a crime, Olivia Keene flees her home, eventually stumbling upon a grand estate where an elaborate celebration is in progress. But all is not as joyous as it seems.

Lord Bradley has just learned a terrible secret, which, if exposed, will change his life forever. When he glimpses a figure on the grounds, he fears a spy or thief has overheard his devastating news. He is stunned to discover the intruder is a scrap of a woman with her throat badly injured. Fearing she will spread his secret, he gives the girl a post and confines her to his estate. As Olivia and Lord Bradley’s secrets catch up with them, will their hidden pasts ruin their hope of finding love?

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My current read is still FREE

Seaside Surprises (The Hunters Book 1)

When Tiffany Saunders winds up stranded in a seaside town, she wants nothing more than to forget her past and keep moving. But a chance meeting with a handsome local changes everything.

Jake Hunter has some deep emotional scars and is trying to cope with running the family business on his own. The last thing he wants is a relationship—until a mysterious brunette walks into his store and complicates it all.

Tiffany prefers to keep the painful memories of the past where they belong—in her rearview mirror. But dark secrets cannot stay hidden forever.

Just as the walls around Tiffany’s heart start to come down, the past catches up with her. She needs to rely on Jake, but sharing the truth could put him in danger too.

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Happy Reading!

Free and bargain books September 03, 2020

BookBub has a FREE suggestion for us this morning. I’m excited because Robin Lee Hatcher is one of my longtime favorite authors and she’s become like a friend. I find it’s impossible to experience multiple exposures to the creator of enjoyable stories without developing an emotional attachment. The essence of the person behind the words leaks through and the reader is drawn to a new friend. The attachment is rarely reciprocal as for that to happen the participants would have to meet somehow. Reading and writing are not shared occupations, no crossing of paths involved. Still, the reader’s life is richer for the experience.

Things are changing in the communication department though. More and more, authors are looking for ways to connect with their readers. Modern technology and social media provide options that make it easy. Interaction is a very good thing for the world of books and reading. My own list of followed and enjoyed authors is constantly growing.

I’ve never met Robin in person but she is one of my many favorite book friends and I can see already that this new read will be another good experience.

Firstborn: A Novel 

Amazon quote:

Erika Welby had a secret she thought no one would ever discover. But someone knew ...

“Dear Mrs. Welby, I know you were only seventeen when I was born. I’ve got many questions. I wonder if you have questions to ask me, too.”

Erika’s worst fear is realized when her well-kept secret shows up on her doorstep. As she reaches out to the daughter she gave up for adoption 21 years ago, her husband pulls away, leaving Erika with an impossible choice.

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I’m currently reading one of my new favorite authors. As always her story is drawing me in and it’s not easy put down. Newly released on September 1st, it’s still a bargain if you’d like to give it a try. When I stop to think about it, I think the message of this positive story can be a life changer. Spread the love around.

Once Upon a Christmas: Inspirational Romance (The Christmas Card Series Book 3)

When her flight home is canceled a few days before Christmas, Moe Scott spontaneously agrees to spend a few hours sight-seeing with a fellow passenger. At the time, she doesn’t know the moments with James will change her life, nor does she know that before her plane takes off the next morning, she will turn around to find James gone.

With no way to contact him, Moe returns home only to lose everything before the new year dawns. Completely alone, jobless, and faced with the news that she is going blind, Moe remembers her time with James and clings to the idea of embracing the moments of vision she has left.

******************

When opportunities for love and friendship come in the most unexpected places, Moe faces the choice of whether to continue to wait for the man who changed her life.

Will Moe and James ever find each other again? Can she learn to appreciate the beauty in each moment God provides and inspire those beyond her own darkness, even if she never sees again?

A once upon a Christmas inspires her story. Her ever after changes the world.

****************

Happy Reading

Free and bargain books July 06, 2020

LPC Books has FREE suggestions for us. I have read the first two but not the third.

Kill Order

Kill Order

Amazon quote:

Grammy-winning pianist Landon Jeffers’s brain cancer has given him only a few years to live. But when he sleeps, the forgotten terrors of his past torment him. When he wakes, shameful memories come rushing back. Desperate for answers, Jeffers discovers that a brain implant intended to treat his cancer is really a device to control him, forcing him to commit terrible crimes. Now he’s being manipulated by an evil crime syndicate and a crooked cop.

When he sleeps, the forgotten terrors of the past come alive … and his future is a dead ending.

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With This Peace (Ella Dessa’s Story Book 3)

With This Peace

Amazon quote:

Florida’s alligator-infested swamps and flat landscapes fail to impress Ella Dessa McKnapp. She longs to abandon their journey and return to the beautiful Georgia Mountains, and when her husband’s two younger brothers ride away—heading for a village called Tampa—the fear of a Seminole Indian attack is ever present.

Ella Dessa and her husband must continue the journey alone, not realizing a tragedy will place her and their two children at the mercy of Indians and a runaway slave. Only the shelter of a deserted cabin and the return of her husband’s youngest brother bring the hope of peace. But will the hurricane of 1848 rip away that hope?

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Laurel (Women of the American Revolution Series Book 2)

Laurel

Amazon quote:

In the port of Charleston, South Carolina, post-Revolutionary War passions reach fever pitch. There, Lilyan’s past catches up with her. As a former patriot spy, she is charged with the murder of a British officer. Thrown into the “Exchange Building” and chained alongside prostitutes, thieves, and murderers, she seeks the courage to survive and the faith to believe she will find her missing child, Laurel. Determined to free his wife at any cost, Nicholas finds himself forced back into a life of violence.

Will their love sustain them as they seek word of their missing child? Or is Laurel lost to them forever?

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There is a pre-order bargain book looking interesting. $1.35

The Practice of Prying (The Sidekick’s Survival Guide Mysteries Book 4) 

The Practice of Prying

Amazon quote:

Apprentice P.I. Elliot Ransom has almost lost her life, her family is being targeted by bad guys, and her love life is a confusing mess. Can anything else go wrong?

Her newest case has her posing as an assistant coach for a local charity softball game in order to figure out if the previous coach was murdered. The problem is that Elliot, who grew up in the jungle, knows nada about softball.

More than one mystery haunts her, and it’s hard to know which clue leads to potential answers. But one thing she does know: danger is close—too close. Whoever thought a little prying could lead to so much distress?

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A new collection priced to sell. $0.99

Dangerous Deceptions: A Christian Romantic Suspense Boxed Set Collection

Dangerous Deceptions

Amazon quote:

Lethal Outbreak: Lisa Harris & Lynne Gentry

Virus hunter Aiden Ballinger believes the source of the lethal outbreak that decimated a remote Tibetan village came from disturbing the permafrost. Desperate to rebury it before it buries the world, Aiden enlists Rachel Scott, a beautiful epidemiologist. But while Aiden and Rachel pursue the cure—and their feelings for each other—someone is hunting them. Whoever wants them dead will not stop until they are silenced.

Collision Course: Elizabeth Goddard

His cover blown, FBI Special Agent Reg Jacobson finds refuge on the other side of the country, but trouble follows him when he faces off with a woman from his past. Private Investigator Nicole Weatherly, hired to catch a thief, suspects Reg. When the bullets fly, Reg and Nicole must escape secrets from their pasts before their futures collide.

Glimmer in the Darkness: Robin Patchen

When Cassidy learns another child has been kidnapped from her hometown, she’s convinced the man who took the girl she’d been babysitting seven years earlier is behind the recent abductions. She alone holds the key to finding him. Though James blames Cassidy for his sister’s death, he’ll help if there’s a chance to save a child’s life. Can Cassidy and James identify the serial killer in time to rescue his latest victim?

Expired Plot: Lisa Phillips

A man after justice. A local crime boss. The woman caught between. Undercover FBI agent Will Briar is working his way to the top of an illegal operation. But when he discovers the identity of the boss, everything changes. Hollis knows nothing is as it seems. Now she must either save her father and doom herself, or take a chance on the man who could be the answer…to everything.

Ice: Lynnette Bonner

Camryn Hunt witnessed a murder. Now she’s in the protective custody of handsome sheriff Holden Parker. The small-town life might be pleasant if the sheriff wasn’t so demanding. Determined that no harm come to Camryn, Holden secludes her at his fishing cabin. He wishes she wasn’t so intriguing. He must not divide his focus. Especially when a local busybody discovers Camryn!

Never A Traitor: Jan Thompson

The last thing Private Investigator Earl Young expects is to pose as a fake boyfriend to a whistleblower. His driving need to solve problems forces him to work with paranoid Sienna Halstead as she draws him deeper into her corporate world of secrets and subterfuge. The more time they spend together, the more attraction grows. When another whistleblower is murdered, Sienna knows she’s next. How far will Earl go to protect her?

Ben in Love: Luana Ehrlich

Is CIA operative Ben Mitchell really in love with the daughter of a Turkish dissident? Titus Ray, his mentor, isn’t buying it; he thinks Ben needs intel on a Muslim cleric. But when Titus follows Ben to northern Virginia, he discovers Ben’s deception is more dangerous than he thought. With their lives on the line, can Titus convince Ben to abandon his plans before it’s too late?

Liar Like Her: D.L. Wood

When disbarred attorney Quinn Bello discovers a body that inexplicably vanishes, no one in her seaside town believes her—no one, that is, except newcomer Ian Wolfe, who for his own mysterious reasons doesn’t hold Quinn’s past against her. Together they search for the truth, but doubts about Quinn’s sanity and innocence increase as the danger escalates. Will they expose the heart of the deception before Quinn becomes the next victim?

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One more interesting bargain $1.34

Christmas at the Lake: Two heartwarming sweet and clean Christian small-town romances set in Huckleberry Lake, Idaho (Huckleberry Lake Duets Book 1) 

Christmas at the lake

Amazon quote:

Calm & Bright
Will Brad and Maddie let God use a Christmas together for the sake of their son to help them rediscover the love that led to their whirlwind romance, and overcome the issues that caused their divorce? Or will the same issues divide them once again?
Even Maddie’s matchmaking grandmother and their adorable four year old might not be enough to help them get back together!
A sweet and clean faith-based reunion romance.

Midnight Clear
No one guesses teacher Claire’s secret heartbreak. Including town handyman and all-round good guy Ryan, who seems to think she’s “the One”. Only she knows why she’s not the woman for him. Easily fixed, her snark should make him forget her.
Problem is, it seems both God and Ryan have other plans this Christmas!
A sweet and clean faith-based enemies-to-love romance.

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Happy Reading to you.

Free and bargain books June 22, 2020

1531 Entertainment has a FREE suggestion for us. An author new to me.

The Ransom (Legacy of the King’s Pirates Book 4)

The Ransome

Amazon quote:

Can a woman run a business and provide for a family in Jamaica in 1692? Juliana Dutton intends to find out. With an ailing father and a wastrel for a brother, she has no choice. But she must keep her activities a secret or face destitution. When a nosey suitor threatens everything, she spurns him and instead becomes engaged to the town idiot, Lord Munthrope. But is he an idiot? The more her problems push her closer to the man, the more she realizes he is not who he seems.

Alexander Hyde, the Pirate Earl, is the most feared pirate in the Caribbean—feared, successful, wealthy, handsome, and bored, so terribly bored. When an unexpected event allows him to get close to Juliana, a woman he has loved from afar for years, he takes it. But leading a double life causes more problems than it’s worth. A restless crew and a long-time enemy out to capture and hang Alex, put Juliana in grave danger.

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LPC Books has a number of FREE suggestions for us. I’ve read some of them.

Double Jeopardy

Double Jeopardy

Amazon quote:

New York City socialite Becky Campbell inherited more than a speck of her father’s wanderlust. Now his murder bequeaths her a mystery, a ramshackle homestead, and a silver mine.

Zeke Graumann signs on as Becky’s foreman to keep his portion of his family’s ranch. He shares the workers’ reservations about a woman boss, especially one who burns water and prances around in dungarees. Even though she did look awful good in the dungarees.

Then a series of accidents add threat to tension. Can Becky trust Zeke, find her father’s killer, and turn her mine into a profitable venture? Will Zeke be forced to give up his ranching dream to win Becky’s heart?

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The Children of Main Street

the Children of Main Street

Amazon quote:

The children come—scores of them. Broken. Suffering. Learning to survive. These are not the clients Katie Collier expected to help when she went to work at the mental-health clinic.

But Katie and her husband can’t have children of their own, so her natural compassion flows. Still, Katie wonders why God gives babies to some women who seem unwilling to care, feed, love, shelter—even hold, and leaves other women barren.

Then one day it happens. A little girl named Bailey walks into Main Street Clinic … walks straight into Katie’s broken heart.

Forced to choose between her husband and her career, Katie fights to hold onto both in order to save Bailey. When her husband gives her the ultimate ultimatum, Katie finds the children of Main Street are not the only ones feeling cast out and lost.

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Murder for Emily’s Sake 

Murder for Emily's Sake

Amazon quote:

On a moonlit night in Wichita, Kansas, a tormented father stands by the grave of his teenage daughter, Emily, and makes a chilling vow to avenge her death. Once he gets his hands on the three women responsible for his daughter’s death, they will regret the day they met Emily outside the abortion clinic. He will expose their dark secrets. He will bury them, as he buried Emily. Bury them alive. And after their caskets are in the ground, they will die for Emily’s sake.

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Lake Surrender – Her journey ends where the lake begins.

Lake Surrender

Amazon quote:

Quicker than you can say “downsized, unemployed, and divorced,” Ally Cervantes finds herself with the Pacific Ocean in her rearview mirror as she and her two children head to Lake Surrender in rural Northern Michigan to live with her aunt. The dry hills of California are a metaphor for her empty soul, but she can’t afford to wallow in self-pity with an autistic son who can’t make eye contact and a precocious twelve-year-old daughter counting on her to get it together.

With no other available jobs, Ally steps through the only open door for employment, working as head cook at a dilapidated Christian camp. Problem is, she doesn’t cook and doesn’t like religious fanatics.

But despite everything, she finds herself strangely hopeful as she learns her journey ends where the lake begins.

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I’ve just finished an old (been around for a while) four book collection and I’m about to start another (recent)  collection that is still a bargain $1.40. I like Christmas anytime of year.

Three Christmas Novellas: Longhorn Christmas * The Sweetest Gift * The Christmas Candle 

Three Christmas Novellas

Amazon quote:

Longhorn Christmas
Netty Lewis, a lonely young widow is saved from a raging mama longhorn by a passing cowboy who’s been wandering since the end of the Civil War.
She needs help surviving her rugged life and caring for Jeremiah, her young son. And that means rounding up a nice-sized herd of wild-as-wolves longhorns.
Netty and Roy, along with Jeremiah begin a journey toward Christmas, family, home and love.
And a herd of longhorns are making the way hard.

A sweet re-telling of The Gift of the Magi–with a happy ending
The Sweetest Gift
She longs for music. He needs a valuable horse to improve his herd.
When Christmas comes the gift they truly give is the gift of love.

The Christmas Candle
A lonely widower with a pair of out-of-control sons he never got to know while their mother was alive.
A woman with a love of nature and beauty and scent…and the little boys seem determined to destroy her way of life.
A feisty Ozark mountain granny who doesn’t put up with much nonsense.
The gift of a candle for Christmas and a Christ child who is a perfect match for this scent of heaven.

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Happy Reading!

Free and bargain books June 21, 2020

BookRunes has a FREE suggestion for us today.

Aiming for Love (Brides of Hope Mountain Book #1)

Aiming for Love

Amazon quote:

Josephine Nordegren is one of three sisters who grew up nearly wild in southwestern Colorado. She has the archery skills of Robin Hood and the curiosity of the Little Mermaid, fascinated by but locked away from the forbidden outside world–a world she’s been raised to believe killed her parents. When David Warden, a rancher, brings in a herd much too close to the girls’ secret home, her older sister especially is frightened, but Jo is too interested to stay away.

David’s parents follow soon on his heels, escaping bandits at their ranch. David’s father is wounded and needs shelter. Josephine and her sisters have the only cabin on the mountain. Do they risk stepping into the world to help those in need? Or do they remain separated but safe in the peaks of Hope Mountain?

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While checking out this free book (above) I found bargain books for most of another series by this same author. A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense. It’s cool to have easy access to this much of a series, although a box set would have been even better. They are all in the $1.40 range.

Loving the Texas Lawman: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 1) 

Loving the Texa Lawman

Amazon quote:

Trudy Jennings is a college professor with a string of bestselling pop psychology books about answering all of life’s troubles with love.
Ben Garrison is her student. He’s a hardened cop who needs this class to get his degree, but he can’t keep a straight face. He tells her she’s right, as long as she lives in her cushioned, safe life. But for him, using her philosophy, he’ll be dead by the weekend.
A stalker is coming after kindhearted Trudy, and Ben is there to protect her. Trudy faces her first true challenge to turning the other cheek. Her stalker keeps coming despite her kindness and she feels like a failure that she can’t help the confused and frightening man.

Loving Her Texas Protector: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 2)

Loving Her Texas Protector

Amazon quote:

Jacie Moreau is a tough-as-nails security specialist who works with the Long Pine Texas police. She takes care of herself and doesn’t ask for help from anyone.

Brett Garrison is an odd-man-out in the Garrison family. He’s a soft-hearted veterinarian from a family of daring Texas lawmen.

Jacie runs afoul of a hired killer and no one is there to step between her and danger but Brett.

Brett’s good-hearted plan to care for the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen draw an assassin’s attention.

Jacie never needs help, but Brett’s kindness when she is so vulnerable sneaks past all the emotional walls she’s built around her heart.

The killer keeps coming and their only hope is to run. And as they run they try and figure out who’s hired a killer, and why, and how to stop him.

Loving the Texas Negotiator: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 3)

Loving the Texas Negotiator

Amazon quote:

Not all the Garrisons are guys.

Beth Garrison is the top hostage negotiator in Rocky Ridge, Texas. She’s called to serve on a task force to investigate a killing that is a copycat of her first bust as a rookie.

Tate McCade has a reputation for steamrolling anyone who gets in his way and he’s had a run-in with Beth and her oversized ego before. He’s got a bruise on his face to prove it.

They have to work together and sparks are flying that aren’t all about the job.

 

Loving the Texas Stranger: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense (Garrison’s Law Book 4) 

Loving the Texas Stranger

Amazon quote:

An assassin takes a shot and hits two people with one bullet.
Natalie Brewster, a deep undercover agent for a group that doesn’t officially exist, saw the gunman aiming. He definitely waited, lined up the shot, and tried to kill both of them. Nat and Case Garrison hit the ground bleeding. They both come up shooting and kill the assassin—but that just makes him mad.
Now Case and Nat, who have never before met, have to figure out what they have in common to make them prey for a killer.
And they have to do it while running for their lives because, despite the two of them being highly skilled at keeping a low profile, the killer keeps finding them. They are running at break-neck speed, hiding with all the skill of long-time undercover agents, and falling in love with a passion that might be part of what brought a killer down on them.

Loving the Mysterious Texan: A Texas Lawman Romantic Suspense: Garrison’s Law Book 5

Loving the Mysterious Texan

Amazon quote:

Garrison’s Law enters the Gothic Romance Genre.
Amnesia, murder, treasure and ghosts.
A woman wakes up next to a dead man with no idea how she got there, who he is…..who SHE is.
Grey Devereau drags a terrified woman out of his cousin’s bed…his very dead cousin. It looks for all the world like she killed him. But then everyone who knows Victor wants to kill him eventually. Grey included.
Lanny Cole, the young woman hired to research the history of the Devereau family, can’t remember a thing.
Grey steps in with an alibi and Lanny realizes that if Grey is her alibi, then she’s his. She decides to trust him, but then she’s suffered a head injury. So she’s probably making one stupid decision after another.
And then someone else dies. And a hurricane cuts them all off from help. And then someone else dies….
And the rumors of ghosts and treasure can’t be true. Sure Grey saw the ghost, in fact, he’s pretty sure the ghost saved his life as a child. But he was upset at the time and he doesn’t believe in ghosts.
Chills and thrills abound in an old island home built by a loathsome pirate. He’s not a Garrison, but when he gets in trouble, he turns to his old friend Case Garrison for help.
Garrison’s Law just got spooky.

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A change of pace, by the same author. $1.32

Three Christmas Novellas: Longhorn Christmas * The Sweetest Gift * The Christmas Candle 

Three Christmas Novellas

Amazon quote:

Longhorn Christmas
Netty Lewis, a lonely young widow is saved from a raging mama longhorn by a passing cowboy who’s been wandering since the end of the Civil War.
She needs help surviving her rugged life and caring for Jeremiah, her young son. And that means rounding up a nice-sized herd of wild-as-wolves longhorns.
Netty and Roy, along with Jeremiah begin a journey toward Christmas, family, home and love.
And a herd of longhorns are making the way hard.

A sweet re-telling of The Gift of the Magi–with a happy ending
The Sweetest Gift
She longs for music. He needs a valuable horse to improve his herd.
When Christmas comes the gift they truly give is the gift of love.

The Christmas Candle
A lonely widower with a pair of out-of-control sons he never got to know while their mother was alive.
A woman with a love of nature and beauty and scent…and the little boys seem determined to destroy her way of life.
A feisty Ozark mountain granny who doesn’t put up with much nonsense.
The gift of a candle for Christmas and a Christ child who is a perfect match for this scent of heaven.

****************

I’m currently reading and enjoying a collection from December 2019 that is no longer a bargain.

A Summer Christian Romance Collection: Wildflower B&B

A summer Romance Collection

I see I have read book 1, a few years back, but I’m reading it again as a refresher before moving on to book 2.

Island Refuge

A heartbroken chef and a burned-out doctor seek solace and a new beginning on a tiny Puget Sound island at the Wildflower B & B, and discover the bed and breakfast is a place of healing, adventure, and romance. Book one in the series.

Island Dreams

A land developer with something to prove comes to Wildflower Island to develop her family’s land. She soon finds herself at odds with adjoining property owner. If only she wasn’t attracted to him. Book two in the series.

Island Christmas

A sous Chef returns to Wildflower Island looking for a fresh start for herself and her young son but discovers that life has a lot of bumps in the road even on idyllic Wildflower Island.
A self-proclaimed workaholic comes to Wildflower Island hoping to take life at a slower pace. When a new guest at the Wildflower B&B catches his eye, he is drawn to her. But how will a woman and her young son fit into his future—a future that’s uncertain at best? And most of all, how can he reconcile her lack of faith in God with his strong religious beliefs. Book three in the series.

Island Hope

A metal sculptor gave up on art when her creativity was zapped by another person’s actions, she takes a job on Wildflower Island. She never imagines that a job at the Wildflower Resort will turn everything in her life upside down.

A lonely widower throws all his energy into raising his teenage daughter, but when he is promoted to manager of the Wildflower Resort, things at home don’t go as smoothly as planned. Worried about his relationship with his daughter, he seeks advice from a feisty-but-sweet newcomer. Will she help smooth his path or will things only get more complicated? Book four in the series.

A Love To Treasure (a new series)

School teacher Nicole Davis is on summer break, but this vacation is unlike any other. Her beloved Grandmother’s final wish has landed Nicole smack in the middle of her favorite destination—Sunriver, Oregon, following Grams’ clues on a mysterious scavenger hunt. Unexpectedly, Nicole finds more than just a fellow sleuth in a handsome police officer, Mark Stone. But Mark must return to his job in Portland at summer’s end, and Nicole must guard her heart. 

Mark is hoping for a quiet summer in Sunriver as he contemplates his future in law enforcement, but a string of burglaries draws him from his self-imposed break from detective work and thrusts him into the middle of the investigation. To complicate matters, Nicole is in jeopardy, and he knows his growing feelings for her could cloud his judgment. Will their differing career goals be the end of their summer romance—or just the beginning of forever after? Book one in the series—book two and three available on Amazon or via Kindle Unlimited today!

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Happy reading

on this cloudy and coolish day. It’s crazy how we go from Air Conditioning to Furnace in just days. Today is a furnace day for sure. A good day for the comfort of reading.

Free and Bargain books April 24, 2020

Today is a day for Romance.

This first book is a bargain at $1.32 , from an author new to me.

Snow Belle: A Sweet Small-town Romance (Madison Creek Bed & Breakfast Book 1)

Snow Belle

Amazon quote:

Haley Madison packed her big dreams and drove to the Arctic. Well, all right, so it’s Madison Creek, Michigan. But for a Texas gal, this frozen land ought to come with a sled and huskies. If it wasn’t for her family’s rundown property, she’d have stayed where the sun shone bright and warm. However, she has grand ideas for her inheritance even if the town has thrown up their objections to her plans.

Ethan Winters hated going home and admitting failure. Sure, he has a special talent with the violin, but he has bigger ambitions than playing at the local bowling alley. And then there was the idea of facing his father. No, he wasn’t ready to go home just yet. He veered off the interstate and drove to a little town named Madison Creek. Maybe his luck would change.

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Another bargain at $1.32. I’ve read books 1 and 3 in this series and now I’m looking forward to this one.

Consider the Thorns (The Trampled Rose Series Book 2)

Consider the thorns

Amazon quote:

Barbara Houlton is a best-selling romance author, known for her achingly sweet love stories. However, her own love-life is nothing to write home about. Raped on the eve of her high-school graduation, she was left pregnant and scarred, both emotionally and physically. She has learned to hide the physical scars, but the emotional scars that taint her soul become harder to hide each day. Sarcasm, avoidance and denial have become weapons to keep her monstrous past at bay. Barbara avoids her home town at all costs. She denies to all those who are concerned for her that there is anything wrong. And those who try to pass her protective boundaries are met with her cutting sarcasm. Her emotional scars make intimacy a frightening thing, and those who try to grasp this beautiful rose are quickly met with her thorns. Instead, she loves through her characters, embracing her romantic dreams with every book she writes, and convinces herself it is enough.

When her father falls ill, she is forced to return home to Hamilton, New Mexico, a small town that comes with big problems, the biggest of which is Steve Meston. Steve has had a crush on Barbara since high school. But he is no longer the awkward, shy boy from her youth. He is now confident, handsome and relentless in his pursuit of her, despite her best efforts to put him off. His patient and steadfast love back her into a corner, and she finds that all her weapons are useless against his sweet love. Now she must stop avoiding and confront her past, or lose the one man who was able to get past her thorns.

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This next one is a bargain at $0.99, with another author new to me. I’m always happy to make the acquaintance of a new author.

Not Until This Day: A Christian Romance (Hope Springs Book 6)

Not Until This day

Amazon quote:

Three kids. Two broken hearts. One chance to become a family.

Isabel has three simple rules: Keep moving. No friends. No men. It’s the only way to keep herself and her daughter safe. But when she arrives in the small town of Hope Springs, she finds that she suddenly wants to break all the rules. Especially when it comes to a certain sweet single dad.

Tyler has one goal: Keep his boys from ever getting hurt again. That’s why he avoids dating, women, or anything having to do with love. So why does the mysterious single mother who works at his family’s orchard have him rethinking everything?

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And a FREE book. It’s never to early to talk about Christmas.

The Matchmakers of Holly Circle 

the Matchmakers of Holly Circle

Amazon quote:

Flirtation can be an art, or so they say. Well, if so, Ruth and Richard are “the old masters” of the flirting game. Despite their strictly platonic relationship, there’s “something there,” as so many of their friends and families say. Neighbors and friends for ten years, neither seems willing to change the course of their relationship.
Three doors down, at the end of the cul-de-sac, Mason Dickenson has watched his favorite neighbors with an interested eye, but he’s finally had it with the dance. So, with a pack of cards and a few tricks up his sleeve, he’s determined to get them out of the “friend rut” and into romance.

Thanks to Mason’s unique matchmaking scheme, Ruth and Richard concoct one of their own—a deeper, stronger, eternal love and relationship that nothing on earth can match.

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This list could have been much longer if all of the books featured in the brochure were at bargain prices. I’m kind of glad they weren’t, actually. I was worried thinking what if . The thought of thirty seven new books in one day was pretty scary. I am excited to have four new books.

I’m currently reading  Justified Means. This is one author I’ve read extensively, enough to be accustomed to her voice and style. You know, like answering the phone and knowing immediately who is calling. (you have no call display, work with me here) This is the second time I’ve been thrown by the tone of one of her books. Which is cool, actually.

The voice reminds me of another favorite author, I get caught up in the story and forget who I’m listening to. The first time it happened it was shocking, mainly because Chautona has a very distinct and recognizable voice and the shock was finding I wasn’t reading who I thought I was. I can’t remember who I thought it was but it wasn’t Ms Havig.  I guess it would be like watching a movie with a favorite British actor showing up in a movie sporting a very good New York accent.

I have to say, she nailed the new voice and I quite enjoyed both stories. And, when I think about it, this new voice works well in the new genre. Fitting in better than the voice we are used to hearing from her.

Justified Means (Book One) (The Agency Files 1) is still a bargain at $0.99

Justified Means

Erika Polowski, in grave danger–danger she has no idea exists–finds herself captive, shackled, bound, gagged. Her captors have the most unbelievable story, yet as the enemy manages, time after time, to get too close, she has to decide who or what to trust. Can she believe the man who daily holds her at gunpoint? Does she trust her gut? She is certain that she knows nothing that could possibly matter to anyone–has done nothing that should put her in danger.

For Keith Auger, it’s just another assignment. Extract the client, protect the client, return the client to her life with minimal interruption. Except that this “client” isn’t so keen on being protected. His usual cheerful demeanor disappeared the night he helped her escape from her home–escape with the aid of duct tape, rope, and the dark of night.

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Happy Reading.

 

 

 

 

Free and bargain books April 2, 2020

BookBub has a FREE suggestion for us. I downloaded this in 2018 but while it sounds familiar, I can’t remember if I’ve read it. I will need to check this out.

The Face of the Earth

The Face of the Earth

Amazon quote:

When Mitchell Brannon’s beloved wife sets off for home after a conference, he has no idea that his life is about to change forever. Mitch returns from work early that evening, surprised that Jill’s car isn’t in the garage. But her voice on the answering machine makes him smile. “Hey, babe, I’m just now checking out of the hotel, but I’ll stop and pick up something for dinner. Love you.” Hours later, Jill still hasn’t returned, and Mitch’s irritation turns to dread.

When the police come up empty, Mitch enlists the help of their next-door neighbor, Jill’s best friend, Shelley, to help search. As hours turn into days and days into weeks, Mitch and Shelley’s friendship grows ever closer—and decidedly more complicated. Every lead seems to be a dead end, and Mitch wonders how he can honor the vows he made to a woman who has seemingly disappeared from the face of the earth.

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Browsing, I came across a bargain from one of my favorite authors. It’s $1.32 CDN and I can still remember reading this one four years ago.

The Demise (A Braxton Mystery Book 1)

The Demise

Amazon quote:

Tiny Braxton, Tennessee, is a quiet, tight-knit community wrapped around an old town square just a stone’s throw from Nashville. But when the town’s most prominent citizen is found dead at the base of its water tower, news of Peter Lanham’s apparent suicide roars through town like a massive tsunami.

Julie Parker is convinced he didn’t. As receptionist at Lanham’s executive office suite, she’s determined to find out what really happened to her boss. An aspiring actor who also stars as “The Lanham Girl” in the company’s TV commercials, Julie prides herself on her perceptive observations and people-skills. Who better to find out what happened to Peter up on that water tower?

Matt Bryson, on assignment as a rookie Special Agent for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, isn’t about to let the attractive receptionist intrude on his first case. She may be a hometown insider, but he’s perfectly capable of solving the case without “Miss Marple” screwing up his investigation.

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Then came a FREE read that I’ve seen before somewhere. I think it must have been in a Christmas collection put together by a group of contributing authors. …. Reading the synopsis did it for me. I have read this before and it was well worth my time.

Christmas at the Unity Plenkiss: The Great Lakes Christmas Collection

Christmas at the Unity Plenkiss

Amazon quote:

Snow Angels

When Lisa Marsh is roped into serving Thanksgiving dinner at the local community center, she encounters hundreds of children, lively teenagers, stubbornly independent veterans, eccentric elderly people, and a particularly rude and scruffy homeless man named Pete. The evening ends in disaster, but when her best friend challenges her to reach out and help other people, Lisa decides to take on the project of reforming Pete – whether he likes it or not.

Hope for the Holidays

Newly arrived from her home in the Congo and armed with a brand-new degree in nonprofit management, Carrie Strough is eager to organize and improve the Unity Plenkiss Community Center. Unfortunately, no one wants to be organized, and only Micah Neresen, the charming and handsome pastor of the local church, is interested in her plans. Or is he just interested in her?

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and one more, a bargain @ $0.99 CDN. I have not read this but I have read book 1, Of Windmills and War.

Beyond the Shadow of War (The War Trilogy – Book 2) 

Beyond the Shadow of War

Amazon quote:

When the war finally ended in May of 1945, Lieutenant Danny McClain made good on his promise to come back for Anya in Holland. He expected her to put up a fight, but instead found her exhausted and utterly broken. Maybe it was unfair, asking her to marry him when she was so vulnerable. But this much he knew: he would spend a lifetime helping to make her whole again.

The war had taken everything from Anya–her family, her friends, her home, her faith. She clung to the walls she’d fortressed around her heart, but what future did she have apart from Danny? At least she wouldn’t be alone anymore.

Or so she thought. When the American troops demobilize, Danny is sent home, forced to leave Anya behind in England. There she must wait with the other 70,000 war brides for passage to America. As England picks up the pieces of war’s debris in the months that follow, Anya shares a flat with three other war brides in London and rediscovers the healing bond of friendships.

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Well, we have enough to keep us going for another day or two, I think.

Happy Reading!

The weather has been warm with the snow mostly gone so we could see grass and guess what. We are in the middle of another winter storm, it has dumped inches of snow all over us again. Fickle… that’s all I can say.

Enjoy your books. I will!

 

Read and Enjoyed February 24, 2020

My favorite book today is Egypt’s Sister by Angela Hunt, one of my long time favorite authors. This story is based on historical fact with a fictional character tying it all together.

Young Chava and her princess friend grow up together becoming fast friends. Accompanying her scholarly father to the palace everyday, Chava receives an extraordinary education right alongside her friend. Learning skills that will save her life in the future yet to come.

Over the years their friendship deepens and, as young teens do, they pledge themselves as blood-sisters. They will always be there for one another.

Invariably, the way life does, things change and move on. The princess becomes queen, Cleopatra, with new friends, and enemies. Eventually even friends become enemies and Chava is left wondering why.

This story was captivating and very well written. Finishing it was not a problem, I was sad to see it end.

This is still a bargain at $0.99

Egypt's Sister

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The Defiant Bride Tish Davis. I had trouble getting into this one, I don’t remember why. Picking it up again after a couple of months, it went much better and was a good read after all.

The Defiant Bride

Amazon quote: Still a bargain too

Victoria Beatty is a poised, obedient heiress who was raised to always honor God’s law and remain in control of her emotions, unlike her mother who abandoned her family when Victoria was young. Even though Victoria dreams of having a husband and family of her own, she strives to please her father in every way – until she falls for a fortune hunter and her father sends her away to avoid the embarrassment she’s brought to the family.

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Now comes a whole batch, all at once. I think a few of these are still bargains and maybe even FREE.

Shadows in the CurtainOn His Bended Knee

The Boden BirthrightHis Stubborn Sweet Bride

Small Town ChristmasAt First Sight

Remember MeLine of Duty

The After books 1-3The Gifted Groom

Forever YoursGranted

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I’ve just started Sentence of Marriage. I keep seeing this in the FREE section and just now realize it’s been downloaded since 2012 and I’ve not read it. Not sure why. I’ll try again and see how it goes. This may be one I find a little too dark to handle.

Sentence of Marriage 2012

Amazon quote:

“I won’t have her forced,” Jack said. “Let her decide for herself.”

Amy knew her father meant it. She could say no if she wanted. But this marriage would make everything all right. They could put all the trouble she had caused behind them. Everyone would be happy again.

Everyone except her.

“Sentence of Marriage” is the first book in the three-volume “Promises to Keep”.

In nineteenth century New Zealand, there are few choices for a farm girl like Amy. Her life seems mapped out for her by the time she is twelve. Amy dreams of an exciting life in the world beyond her narrow boundaries. But it is the two people who come to the farm from outside the valley who change her life forever, and Amy learns the high cost of making the wrong choice.

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Wishing you Happy Reading!

 

 

Book collections at bargain prices, good reads – all of them

Some of my read and enjoyed collections are still at bargain prices. An all seasons assortment with a little Christmas thrown in for good measure. I figured we could use a few more book choices, what with the sparse few days we’ve had lately. Well done, high quality reads definitely worth spending the time.

Betwixt Two Hearts ($1.31 CDN)

Please Note: The Crossroads Collections are sets of stories that are interconnected in some way, but the collections are independent, complete, and can be read in any order.

Betwixt two hearts

Yesterday’s Mail ($1.29)

Yesterday's Mail

The Wedding Dress Yes (Crossroads Collection) (1.32 CDN)

The Wedding Dress Yes

When Snowflakes Never Cease (Crossroads Collection) ($1.30 CDN)

When Snowflakes Never Cease

 

All is Bright (The Christmas Lights Collection) ($1.31 CDN)

All is Bright Collection

This should keep us busy until the next great haul of book happens.

Happy Reading!

 

 

 

Bargain books for January 8, 2020

The new site 1531 Entertainment has a book for us today, Secret Angel a bargain at $1.31. I noticed there are lots of other Christmas books on sale right now too, if you are interested. They show up in the feed when searching for this book.

Secret Angel

Amazon quote:

Doctoral student Hannah Wagganer has big dreams of leaving her hometown of Glen Arbor behind to teach at a large university. That is, until Jasper Morgan, the new mail carrier, arrives in town. Not only does he send Hannah’s heart racing, but he creates an instant bond with her cat, Jingles…..

…..  a series of unexpected blessings occurs that changes the town’s focus: first, an anonymous donor pays to have the church furnace repaired, and then other locals suddenly find solutions to their problems. Is it coincidental, or the work of a secret angel?

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While browsing for something other than Christmas stories, I found a few Christy Barritt bargain books. Rains of Remorse is book 5 in the Lantern Beach Romantic Suspense series. $1.30

Rains of Remorse

Amazon quote:

A stranger invades her home, leaving Rebecca Jarvis terrified. Above all, she must protect the baby growing inside her. Since her estranged husband died suspiciously six months earlier, Rebecca has been determined to depend on no one but herself.

Her chivalrous new neighbor appears to be an answer to prayer. But who is Levi Stoneman really? Rebecca wants to believe he can help her, but she can’t ignore her instincts.

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Dark Water

Dark Water is $1.31 Book 1 of Lantern Beach Blackout Series

Amazon quote:

Colton Locke can’t forget the black op that went terribly wrong. Desperate for a new start, he moves to Lantern Beach, North Carolina, and forms Blackout, a private security firm. Despite his hero status, he can’t erase the mistakes he’s made.

For the past year, Elise Oliver hasn’t been able to shake the feeling that there’s more to her husband’s death than she was told. When she finds a hidden box of his personal possessions, more questions—and suspicions—arise. The only person she trusts to help her is her husband’s best friend, Colton Locke.

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This bargain book ($1.31) was in the queue for me in 2017. It was a very good book. Leaving Oxford by Janet Ferguson

Leaving Oxford

Amazon quote:

Escaping home to Oxford, Mississippi, seemed like a good idea. Until it wasn’t.

A year after a tragic accident in Los Angeles flipped her world upside down, advertising guru Sarah Beth LeClair is still hiding away in her charming hometown of Oxford, Mississippi. And she may well be stuck there forever. Suffering from panic attacks, she prays for healing. Instead, her answer comes in the form of an arrogant football coach and an ugly puppy.

Former celebrity college quarterback Jess McCoy dreamed of playing pro football. One freak hit destroyed his chances. Although he enjoys his work as the university’s offensive coordinator, his aspirations have shifted to coaching at the highest level. His plans of moving up are finally coming together—until he falls for a woman who won’t leave town.

As the deadline for Jess’s decision on his dream career looms, the bars around Sarah Beth’s heart only grow stronger. But it’s time to make a decision about leaving Oxford.

Happy Reading