Read and enjoyed April 26, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

It’s clear-out time once again. I’m looking at the titles trying to remember enough to offer an opinion and it’s not working for me. I do know that I didn’t keep anything not enjoyed. There were three or four that were barely finished and instantly removed from my device. Hopefully for the rest of them things will be a little clearer as we work our way through them.

Collections were prolific for some reason this season and I was happy about it. The first three containing 9 books each were well worth the read in my estimation. Probably even #1 on my favorites list this time.

Next up, three Romantic Suspense novels enjoyed.

A mixture to finish off. 10 more books

My current read has been passed over, and over, and over, in my search for a new read. Probably the title/cover/genre didn’t inspire me in the moment. It may turn out to be a surprise, an overlooked treasure. Hopefully. Haven’t read enough to give me any clues about that yet.

Plans overheard, a bargain to devise…but is it playing with fire?

In 1849 Mercer County, Kentucky, beautiful Clara Stanton loses her sight, freedom, and fiance after a horse-riding accident. In the throes of her desperation, her family leaves her to recover in the capable hands of an elderly widow while they travel to England without her.

New minister, Daniel Merrick, weary from scandal, is unwittingly led by blind Clara into the most important mission of his life. But will she dare to soar beyond the limits those around her deem safe?

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

A Free collection April 2, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

It’s a good day. We have a FREE six book collection of full length stories from some of our favorite authors. It will be available for a limited time only, they tell me.

A Hopeful Heart

This collection from six of your favorite Christian and women’s fiction authors includes 1200+ pages of stories that will tug at your heartstrings and keep you turning pages. This anthology is perfect for a weekend of binge reading.

MEMORIES AT FRIENDSHIP INN by Jessie Newton

AJ, Robin, Alice, Eloise, and Kelli are leaving for college after seven years of close friendship, sharing secrets, and surviving high school. Each has their own reason for wanting to leave or stay in Five Island Cove, and each has a future that’s wide open…

LACY by Sharon Srock

Lacy Fields had everything: a loving husband, a daughter she adored, and a granddaughter on the way. When a tragic accident wipes it all away, will she drown in her grief or can God heal her heart?

TOUCH OF INNOCENCE by Robin Patchen

Grace avoids emotional ties and lives like a hermit, but when her young neighbor needs help, Grace has no choice but to get involved, even if it means risking her own safety…

BEYOND THE SHADOWS by Robin Lee Hatcher

Loneliness and grief stalk Deborah Haskin after her husband’s death, but hope eases her pain when she marries Gideon. After their marriage, Deborah discovers a devastating secret…

SHATTERING SECRETS by Chautona Havig

Emily wants to give one little boy his Christmas wish: find his father. But going on this search might just rip apart a family forever…

SECRETS AND SACRIFICE by Juliette Duncan

Grace O’Connor arrives in the Scottish Highlands hiding a secret. She finds a community of caring Christians and a handsome ex-military Paratrooper with baggage of his own. When the walls she built to protect her heart come tumbling down, she must discover who the real Grace is…

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

There is a free Book 1 of another series, it looks interesting and I’m going to check out.

Welcome Aboard (Sail Away Series Book 1) 

Set sail to new adventures and escapes with eight best-selling authors in the exciting new Sail Away series!

Pack your bags and get ready to set sail on a variety of cruise ships…all without leaving home! Experience the waves, the wind, and the call of the birds in the Sail Away series with a sneak peek of the Sail Away Series in this prologue novella. Each bestselling author will take you on a sea adventure filled with friendship, healing, some romance, and all the heartfelt storytelling you crave.

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

That’s it for the moment.

Change your brain April 24, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

This was an interview on a podcast I watched recently. I think it needs to be re-watched to get the most out of it, maybe even more than once or twice, and I’m planning on it.

I’ve also downloaded the doctor’s book.It looks like it will be a helpful tool in learning how to have a healthy brain.

First the book.

Change Your Brain Every Day: Simple Daily Practices to Strengthen Your Mind, Memory, Moods, Focus, Energy, Habits, and Relationships 

366 Days to a Better Brain, Mind, and Life!

In Change Your Brain Every Day psychiatrist and clinical neuroscientist Daniel Amen, MD, draws on over 40 years’ clinical practice with tens of thousands of patients to give you the most effective daily habits he has seen that can help you improve your brain, master your mind, boost your memory, and make you feel happier, healthier, and more connected to those you love.

Incorporating Dr. Amen’s tiny habits and practices over the course of a year will help you:

  • Manage your mind to support your happiness, inner peace, and success
  • Develop lifelong strategies for dealing with whatever stresses come your way
  • Create an ongoing sense of purpose in a way that informs your daily actions
  • Learn major life lessons Dr. Amen has gleaned from studying hundreds of thousands of brain scans

Imagine what you could learn by spending every day for a year on a psychiatrist’s couch. In the pages of Change Your Brain Every Day, you’ll get a year’s worth of life-changing daily wisdom from Dr. Amen, one of the world’s most prominent psychiatrists.

Today is the day to start changing the trajectory of your life, one tiny step at a time.

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

I’m going to start a journal, taking notes and keeping track of my thoughts as I work my way through the steps listed for us.

And now the video

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

Who knew:

An unexpected side effect of reading this book and doing the steps is the emergence of a progress report on how far I/ we’ve already come in relation to our brain and thought life. It’s encouraging actually, to think we aren’t just spinning our wheels here.

Maybe our focus wasn’t on the brain but somewhere else and yet it was still affected by whatever we were doing. I find that encouraging too. Good or bad, our body and mind is a package deal. In this day and age of compartmentalization we tend to forget that important point.

Bargain books. April 23, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

First up is one from one of my top ten favorite authors. I loved this book, the way this man thinks and writes, and have to mention his books whenever I see them.

Water from My Heart: A Novel

New York Times bestselling author Charles Martin’s breathtaking novel of love and redemption.

Charlie Finn had to grow up fast, living alone by age sixteen. Highly intelligent, he earned a life-changing scholarship to Harvard, where he learned how to survive and thrive on the outskirts of privileged society. That skill served him well in the cutthroat business world, as it does in more lucrative but dangerous ventures he now operates off the coast of Miami.

Charlie tries to separate relationships from work. But when his choices produce devastating consequences, he sets out to right wrongs, traveling to Central America where he will meet those who have paid for his actions, including a woman and her young daughter. Will their fated encounter present Charlie with a way to seek the redemption he thought was impossible — and free his heart to love one woman as he never knew he could?

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

On to new books. There is only one so far.

Web of Deceit (Agents Under Fire)

When FBI Agent Kaitlyn Knight discovers her brother-in-law is Vyper—the notorious cyber-criminal and murderer wanted by the FBI—Kait doesn’t question her duty to arrest him. But when he murders her sister in front of her, leaving her infant niece motherless, Kait vows to hunt him down and bring him to justice while raising the baby.

Three years later, and not even a whisper of a lead in her search, Kait is about to give up hope of ever finding Vyper. All of that changes when he goes on a murderous spree taunting Kait with clues that she and homicide detective Sam Murdock must solve before her devious brother-in-law takes another life.

As the body count rises, Sam discovers the killing spree is really about striking back at Kait. He must put everything on the line—including the relationship he’s developed with Kait—to ensure her safety. The killer is waiting, watching her every move—and he won’t stop until he’s exacted his revenge and reclaims his rights to raise his daughter.

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

I’ll be back later if anything else interesting shows up.

“A Struggle with Loneliness” April 22, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment
Photo by Toa Heftiba u015einca on Pexels.com

Simon Sinek: Opens Up About His Struggle With Loneliness, Love & Dating!

You Tube Podcast on: The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett

This has been an amazing, timely, and moving experience. One that will impact me for years to come, I think. The conversation was deeply emotional, and insightful. I know it seems like I’ve gone overboard with the adjectives but even these feel inadequate to describe the experience. Maybe the reverberating impact is because I was so ready to hear it.

On Sunday, with family, there was what looked to me like a spontaneous time of deep consideration of where I am at in my healing journey and what kind of help I should be looking for to go deeper. (It may have been planned but I can’t be sure about that.) Anyway, I know they love me and have my best interests at heart. I love them for it, and I will admit the time with them has been helpful in pushing me in a new direction. They set me up to be ready to hear.

Therapy is not something that has ever worked out for me, for a multitude of reasons. I think part of the reason may be that my mind’s processing method is more like that of a slow cooker rather than that of a micro wave, or even a regular stove. Books and conversations like this interview seem to speak into my life in way nothing else can. Probably because they are a good fit with meditation.

With the discovery of this podcaster, the week has been intensely packed with new insights. It’s amazing how it has come hard on the heels of the most unusual family conversation.

Here is the podcast interview. Maybe it will be life changing for you too.

They speak at length on how to be a better partner, in all our relationships not just the romantic ones. Lots of meat on the bones, lots to chew on. I like that.

Sadly, no specific books were featured this time. A few were mentioned along the way but I forgot to take note of them.

An awesome 2 hours.

Now on o another one.

The Myth of Normal April 21, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

I’m always on the lookout for useful help on my journey toward emotional wellness, no small thing given my traumatic childhood.

Awareness is one of the best tools in this quest and my ears are always open and tuned in to anything that will answer the many questions rising to the surface of my mind.

Today I watched an in-depth interview with a successful doctor with his own lived experience. What he has to say speaks to where I am at this moment. I will be watching again, this time taking notes to help this become part of who I am. Dr Gabor Maté has also written a new book, the reason for the interview, and I’m planning to read it too. For years I’ve been walking the awareness path he lays out and at this point in the road I expect this book will take me even further in the right direction.

I’m sharing both the book and the podcast. I want to be able to find this material again but I also hope that sharing it will be helpful to my readers on their own journey. Our physical struggles are rooted in the emotional. By experience I know this to be true. The question forever before me is: what is behind this new set of ailments? Usually it is some new piece of old brokenness that has shaken loose and risen to the surface.

The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness and Healing in a Toxic Culture

Gabor Maté’s internationally bestselling books have changed the way we look at addiction and have been integral in shifting the conversations around ADHD, stress, disease, embodied trauma, and parenting. Now, in this revolutionary book, he eloquently dissects how in Western countries that pride themselves on their health care systems, chronic illness and general ill health are on the rise. So what is really “normal” when it comes to health?
    For all our expertise and technological sophistication, Western medicine often fails to treat the whole person, ignoring how today’s culture stresses the body, burdens the immune system, and undermines emotional balance. In The Myth of Normal, co-written with his son Daniel, Maté brings his perspective to the great untangling of common myths about what makes us sick, connects the dots between the maladies of individuals and the declining soundness of society, and offers a compassionate guide for health and healing. The result is Maté’s most ambitious and urgent book yet.

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

Here is the podcast.

Bargain books April 21, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

Another good book day.

Expert Witness Rachel Dylan

Sketch artist Sydney Berry has testified in many trials as an expert witness, but nothing could have prepared her for what was next. As a key witness in a high-profile murder case, Sydney is targeted in a drive by shooting on the courthouse steps, putting her life in danger.

United States Marshal Max Preston thinks he knows the real reason why Sydney is in danger, and he fights to get her to safety. Sydney refuses to be a victim and is determined to testify in the murder trial to help secure a conviction. But as the threats keep coming, she has no choice but to accept Max’s offer of protection even if it means learning to trust again because of the dark secrets of her past. As the threats against her life continue to mount, Sydney won’t back down from returning to the courtroom to give her testimony, but is taking the stand worth risking her life?

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

There is another one.

Calculated Risk: Christian Romantic Suspense (Triumph Over Adversity Book 1)

He carries the burden of his mistakes.

The wounds on Jason Gonzalez’s body are nothing compared to the ones on his heart. The former Marine avoids getting close to anyone new, especially his gorgeous next-door neighbor. Until he hears a scream coming from her house in the middle of the night.

Her enemies are too numerous to count.

Addison Foster escaped an abusive marriage and has become an advocate for others. When an intruder breaks into her home and nearly kills her, Addison is rescued by an unlikely protector. But the threats against her aren’t over and she needs help.

Danger around every corner.

Jason makes it his mission to keep Addison safe, but keeping her out of his heart proves impossible. As the threats increase, there’s no room for mistakes. Will his calculated risk pay off or will it end in tragedy?

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

That’s it for now.

Free book April 20, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

I’m excited. BookBub has a free suggestion, one that has gotten off to a dramatic start. Lots and lots of drama in the first few pages. This one will be next up for sure.

Promise Forever (Harland Creek Series Book 3) 

Growing up in Harland Creek, Gabriela Jackson was the girl all the guys wanted and all the girls wanted to be. Until one tragic night that rocks the entire town and leaves her the object of scorn.
Unable to stay in a place where the entire town hates her, she signs a modeling contract with an elite New York agency just to get away.
She soon discovered the darker side of beauty. After refusing to compromise her morals, she’s labeled as difficult and black balled in the industry. With nowhere else to turn, she returns to Harland Creek. But her homecoming is far from warm.

Judgmental stares. Incessant gossip behind her back. Hurtful preconceived notions. Now, more than ever, Gabriela is determined to prove only she can define who she is as a person.

Colin Bennet left his scandal-riddled family in England to forge his own respectable path in life. The small town charm of Harland Creek seemed the perfect place to open a book store, and focus on penning his first novel. Turns out that second part would be far easier if American women weren’t falling all over him simply because of his accent.

But there is one who seems uninterested in his worldly charms. An intoxicating beauty with razor sharp wit, striking intelligence and a damaged reputation.

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

I did check around a little to see if there was something else. Maybe later there might be something, we’ll see.

Free and bargain books April 17, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

Happy Monday! My day is getting off to a good start with a few more book suggestions. BookBub, BookRunes and LPC Free Books have all come through today although two of them suggest the same book. No matter, two works for me.

One book I’ve settled on by virtue of past enjoyment of the author. The other author is new to me but the premise sounds interesting and the price is right, so I’ll take a chance, eyes wide open.

I’ll start with the familiar author. Dan has written many books in my collection but this Joe Boyd series is a first for me. Nice.

An Inconvenient Death (Joe Boyd Suspense Series Book 2)

Lieutenant Joe Boyd takes his family on a much-needed camping trip in the beautiful lakefront woods outside of town. But a leisurely trail walk with Chance, their new dog, goes haywire when he breaks loose. When they finally reach him, he’s digging furiously. What the dog finds, turns their vacation upside down and launches Joe and his partner into a puzzling cold case homicide from the late 1980s.

As they begin to unravel the evidence—aided by two women from a local writer’s group—things point to an unlikely set of culprits. Their identities—if known—would shock the entire town. Some people will do anything to keep a thirty-year-old secret from seeing the light of day.

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

So, happily, An Inconvenient Death led me to this next book by another author frequently found on this site. Another welcomed surprise.

Terminal Velocity (Last Chance Downrange Book 4)

Joseph is the name they’ve given him. Before that, he was Casper—a trained killer. Now he’s been sidelined to a summer camp retreat center, and if he doesn’t make this work he’ll get kicked out of the Accountant’s Office program for good. The only problem is this retreat center is a hotbed of decades old mystery and murder—and missing treasure.

Medical Examiner Sarah Carlton wants to make chief. When the boss orders her to take a “vacation” volunteering at the retreat center she’s not exactly jazzed. But she’ll use the down time to work on the drug overdose deaths she’s been puzzled by lately. Until the nightmare from her past shows up in her cabin, and everything crashes in on her.

With Sarah the target of a deadly group, Joseph is the only one with the skills to keep her safe. But how can it possibly all be connected? Is this about a new drug about to hit the market…or decades old missing treasure?

Together they’re going to find out. No matter if it costs them everything.

This stand-alone story is part of the accountant’s office series, Last Chance Downrange.
An all-new setting. An all-new set of characters.

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

Following Terminal Velocity, another new book has surfaced from an author also frequently seen here. This is a very good day. I’m thinking, based on recent experience, the memory of it may have to last me for a while.

Relative Justice 

For the attorneys at Cobb and Cobb, the pursuit of justice is about more than legal expertise; it’s a family matter.

David Cobb is not a typical lawyer—he’s more interested in dispensing God’s wisdom than pertinent legal advice. High-stakes litigation is way outside his comfort zone.

For many years Zeke Caldwell has been concocting home remedies made from natural ingredients found in the coastal marshes near Wilmington, North Carolina. One of his remedies proved so effective that he patented it with the help of David’s father. Now he suspects a big drug company has stolen his formula. What he doesn’t know is that the theft has deeper, more evil roots.

When Zeke asks David to help fight the drug company, David knows the suit is beyond his expertise and experience. But his sister-in-law, Katelyn Cobb, is a rising star attorney in a prestigious Washington, DC, law firm. The courtroom is her second home. Could she help? Would she even consider it?

Life’s circumstances compel the lawyers to face, not only patent piracy, but personal obstacles and struggles that threaten to rip apart the fabric of the family. The fight for Zeke requires all the relatives to unite for justice.

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

Finally, this is the second free suggestion from the original list. Not sure how this one will pan out but I’m looking forward to trying it out.

Going to the Water 

A Place and a Story That Will Take Your Breath Away

Mama always said our lives were ghost stories—metaphors—to hide the truth behind.

And so begins the struggle Isla Weehunt—wife of wealthy chicken farmer, Scott Weehunt—encounters to keep her family buried in the past and her secrets well hidden. But plans, no matter how well thought out, have a way of taking their own paths.

Isla receives a call late one Friday night that rocks her perfectly crafted life. Velvet, her estranged sister of seventeen years, has died in what appears to be an arson, leaving behind a teenage son, Randal, and a tangled mess of murder and chaos. Isla never thought she would return to Nantahala, to the sweet, rugged gorge of her childhood. And taking her nephew into her life was certainly never on her agenda. The thought of conversing with her mother, devastated by Alzheimer’s, seems out of reach. But there are questions that need answering about Velvet’s death and hidden stories that go back generations.

Isla’s life will change whether she embraces it or not.

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

It’s been a good day!

Bargain books today April 12, 2023

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

It has been awhile, or at least it seems like it, since we’ve had any new books to download.

BookBub brought this one to us this morning. I’m late noticing it’s a Christmas novel. I don’t think it matters much though, it’s probably not a strong element of the story. Melanie Snitker is on my list of appreciated authors, a definite plus.

Finding Grace: A Single Dad Christmas Romance (Love’s Compass Book 6)

Beth was determined to remain single…until Tyler and his daughter remind her of the family she used to dream of.

Single dad Tyler Martin can’t be more grateful to the woman who finds his missing daughter. Even though he feels a spark between them, falling in love is a risk he shouldn’t take. Too bad chance encounters and his stubborn heart keep trying to convince him otherwise.

After escaping a nightmarish relationship, Beth Davenport is content with her safe and blessedly normal life. Yet something about Tyler and his adorable daughter makes her wish for more. With the walls around her heart finally starting to crumble, she’s afraid of a future she can’t predict.

Can they let go of their fear and trust God to lead them to the love they desperately need?

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

Browsing, yielded another interesting find. I’ve read and enjoyed this author once before.

Finding Love in a Stagecoach: An Inspirational Romance Novel 

Sarah Nesmith is the nineteen-year-old daughter of a well-to-do family, beautiful and outspoken, nonetheless respectful of her parents’ wishes. Ever the dutiful daughter, when her father expresses his intentions to marry her into an advantageous marriage, she reluctantly agrees. During her trip to meet her betrothed, she unexpectedly finds herself growing fond of her chivalrous driver, wondering if her fiancé in Texas is anything like him.

Will she let her overflowing emotions shape her destiny?

Tyler Hatfield has given up on marriage, persuaded that no woman is capable of loving him for who he is, but rather for the glowing gold in his pocket. When his father agrees to an arranged marriage, Tyler comes up with a plan to see for himself what kind of woman his wife-to-be really is. He pretends to be nothing more than her stagecoach driver, escorting her to her destination and thus getting to know her true colors. What he discovers turns his world upside down…

Can she be the exception to his rule that will give new life to his withered heart?

Their otherwise uneventful journey is derailed by an attack by outlaws and a kidnapping that threatens Sarah’s safety and Tyler’s only chance to love. In this complicated situation, the two of them must find a way to unfold their hidden feelings and save both their lives and their hearts. Will they survive the dangers and get their happy ending or will they be doomed to a bitter one?

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

Another interesting collection showed up for me. All different authors and it’s FREE. 1173 pages, can’t beat that.

Small Town Love Story: 9 Small Town Stories by USA Today Bestselling Authors

Get books in nine different series, from nine amazing, USA Today bestselling authors! In this bundle, you’ll (of course) get small towns and fun side characters, but also diverse, younger, older, military, and SWOON-WORTHY heroes!

Do you love that small-town feel where you know everyone, and everyone knows you? Fit right in with this escape away from city life, where heroes better have manners, the town busybody knows all your business, and every guy has known every girl his whole life. Grab this boxed set and don’t miss SMALL TOWN LOVE STORY!

Whole Latte Love by USA Today Bestselling Author Kari Trumbo:

The Marine’s Marriage by USA Today Bestselling Author Liz Isaacson: 

Not Until Christmas by USA Today Bestselling Author Valerie M. Bodden:

One Thursday Morning by USA Today Bestselling Author T.K. Chapin: 

Her Best Friend by USA Today Bestselling Author Hannah Jo Abbott:

A Thousand Words by USA Today Bestselling Author Mandi Blake:

Rescued By Love by USA Today Bestselling Author Cami Checketts: 

Second Chance Sweethearts by USA Today Bestselling Author Liwen Y. Ho:

Ask You Later by USA Today Bestselling Author Jan Thompson:

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

It has turned out to be a good day for new books.

Collections have been a good thing for me lately too. I’ve read and enjoyed most of the first three of four recent downloads and I’m still loving them. I’m a quarter of the way through the third 9 book collection. They are still bargain priced if you are interested.

The current book is called Stolen Secrets: Legacy of Lies.

Fat Tuesday 1972, a floater surfaces in Sheriff Colin McDonald’s parish, south of New Orleans. The body–a Russian diplomat throws local and Federal law enforcement into chaos. Sheriff McDonald isn’t excited to have the FBI stepping into his investigation, but knows his parish doesn’t have the funds to sort out this mess and deal with all the prickly silliness of international negotiations. Jessica Franklin, one of the first female FBI agents, heads the task force looking into the Russian’s death. Jessica is a talented, no nonsense woman, who isn’t sure about this laid-back Cajun sheriff, who calls her Chere, but the man knows his parish and gives her views a fair hearing. Lt. Gabriel Fontenot of the Louisiana State police is also assigned to the task force and runs into an old girlfriend, Amy Prejean, who is working with the Russian Mission on grain shipments. As Gabe, Jessica, and Colin work the case, odd and seemingly unrelated things surface which pull local residents into the tangled web the KGB has created in the Big Easy. With time winding down, the tangled threads of the truth lead to the Prejean warehouse where old sins are revealed… Who will survive the confrontation? And what will the fallout be?

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

Happy Reading!