Free books May 02, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

LPC Free books has two suggestions for us, both read and enjoyed several years ago. Stories with substance.

All The Way Home – Ann Tatlock

“Tatlock’s rich descriptions and characterizations are unusually fresh and inventive.”~Publishers Weekly

From a rough section of Los Angeles during the late Depression years, to the civil rights struggles of the 1960s in the South, this novel is a searing portrayal of one family trapped by alcoholism and another living the typical middle class life. A true American story told through the eyes of two girls, best friends, separated by the internment camps of World War II.

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

Somewhere a Rainbow (Finding Love in the Low Country Book 4)

Brooke Haddon’s future looks gray… After her unfaithful husband is killed in an auto accident, she faces the challenge of rebuilding her life. With most of her money gone, she takes her five-year-old son to the honeymoon cottage on Hilton Head Island where her marriage began. As a single parent, she wonders how she will manage, and once she arrives on the island, she can’t imagine how she’ll be able to repair a cottage as broken down as her life.

When local carpenter Jake Randolph offers to help, Brooke immediately distrusts him. But as the months pass, she begins to think he may be different from the other men she has known. He begins to melt the emotional ice around her heart. Then Jake admits he’s concealing a secret past. Are Brooke’s hopes of a brighter future about to be destroyed. Or is there a rainbow beyond the storms of heartbreak?

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

Two worthwhile reads. Awesome.

Happy Reading!

Love, love, love the harmony May 02, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

Have to share.

The Sound musical group has come out with a new album and Mark Lowry is giving us nearly an hour long taste of their awesome sound. Amazing voices and memorable melodies. Connect with them at thesound.org

Fun fact:

Mark’s show is called Just Whenever and that’s because he goes live just whenever he feels like it. Which is pretty much everyday when he is home. He’s been on the road doing concerts the last couple of weeks and we all missed him. Tonight’s live made up for it, in spades.

Enjoy this toe tapping, can’t bear to sit still music.

Free and bargain books May 01, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

BookRunes has an gripping tale for us.

Shining Grace: A Christian Romance (The Whitecliffe Bay Series Book 1) 

A young woman’s tragic mistake. Another woman’s chance to forgive.

Learning to adjust to life as a widow and single parent was never part of Sarah Harvey’s plan. But when her husband was killed in a tragic accident, it’s exactly what she had to do.

Twelve months on from her husband’s death, Sarah finds herself adjusting to her ‘new normal’ as the permeating fog of grief starts to lift. With a promotion at work, and meeting the handsome Dr Caleb Willis, she finds herself rediscovering the meaning of joy, until another accident strikes her family.

When a letter arrives from the woman responsible for her husband’s death, Sarah is caught between choosing forgiveness, or allowing anger and bitterness to dictate her future.

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

Browsing showed another interesting book.

From the Ruins (Winds of Change Book 1)

Since becoming a widow, these questions have plagued Sandra Tolbrook to the point where she feels completely lost without her soul mate. After an ankle injury forces her to sell the family home, her three children convince her to move into Summerset Resort, a retirement village for over-50’s. With a tennis court, swimming pool and cinema, the resort had sounded so perfect when she signed on the dotted line. But now, she’s not so sure …

Damien Kensington is Summerset Resort’s most eligible bachelor, according to some of the other retirees nearby. It doesn’t sit well with him, given the past he’s not proud of, the past he tries to keep hidden – but good-naturedly, he takes the title in his stride. It’s not until he meets the new widow two streets away that he realises something has been missing from his life.

When Sandra’s children suggest she step out of her comfort zone and start living again, a road trip to North Queensland seems to be the perfect solution. But surely she can’t do that … at her age! Or with Summerset Resort’s most eligible bachelor! What would people say?! A pastor’s widow travelling with another man – imagine the scandal!

But the road trip may be just what Sandra and Damien need. Along with exploring beautiful parts of Australia, they discover a wonderful friendship, a deeper faith, and an abandoned house which might just be the answer to Sandra’s prayers.

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

A new pre-order bargain book showed up from an author regularly seen here.

Stand by Me: A clean and faith-filled opposites attract small town Christmas romance. 

He’s big city, she’s small town. He’s a fast-paced businessman, she’s a slowed-down artist. He loves the night life, she loves the quiet life. He’s wealthy, she… well, isn’t. Can such opposites make love work?

Successful Austin CEO Isaiah Williams rarely gives himself the luxury of time off. He thrives on the buzz of making deals and signing multi-million dollar contracts. But spending the holidays in a small Oregon town with his former business partner will let him arrange to buy his friend’s share of their business. And maybe also give him a chance to spend more time with the pretty artist he met and fell for at his friend’s wedding.

Watercolor artist and cafe manager Cas Salter loves to paint the ever-changing ocean. She also loves her friends, her church, and the way her mental health problems have improved since she came back to live in Chapel Cove. And okay, maybe she does love Isaiah, just a little bit. His confident charm is hard to resist, but she can’t give up the life she’s worked hard to create or the faith that means everything to her to join him in the fast lane. Life in the slow lane suits her fine.

When Isaiah is thrown into relying on God as his world crumbles, will Cas choose to stand by him? And when she reveals the reason she can’t risk moving back to the city, can he choose to stand by her?

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

This has been a good book day.

Happy Reading!

Enjoyable current read April 30, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

I’m wishing there was more time left in the night. I can’t bear to leave this book before it’s finished. This is such a good story.

Coming Home: A Sweet Small Town Romance (Montana Promises Book 1)

Fans of Robyn Carr’s Virgin River series will love this small-town, feel-good romance!

Mia Costas is a successful artist, not an event planner. Agreeing to help stage a charity gala is the last thing she needs, but it’s for a good cause and she doesn’t want to let her friends down. When she realizes how important the event is, she knows she’s not the best person for the job—and so will the director of the hospital if he discovers who she is.

With less than three months until the opening of a new neonatal unit, Stan Lewis, the Director of Bozeman Deaconess Hospital, needs to organize the biggest fundraising event Montana has ever seen. An event staging company could be the answer to all his problems or create more than he ever imagined.

With the hopes of more than one child resting on their shoulders, Stan and Mia work together to create a night no one will forget. And maybe, if they let themselves believe in the power of love, they can create a little magic of their own.

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

This has been a slow day for book suggestions and there hasn’t been anything interesting in the few we did have.

Happy Reading y’all.

Bargain book April 29, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

We have one new book tonight.

1531 Entertainment has a suggestion from an author we’ve not seen. A interesting mystery.

Lights Out (The SNAP Agency Book #1) 

CIA analyst Brynn Taylor developed a new program to combat terrorism, and she invited members of foreign intelligence agencies to America to foster cooperation between countries. Now one of them, Egyptian spy Remon Riad, is missing.

Jack Hudson has been working for the Strategic Neutralization and Protection Agency (SNAP) for almost nine years and takes the lead in hunting down the missing spy. But he isn’t at all pleased to find out Brynn is involved. It’s hard to trust a woman who’s already betrayed you.

Every lead they follow draws them dangerously deeper into an international plot. Kidnapping, murder, explosions, poisoning–the terrorists will do anything to accomplish their goal of causing a digital blackout that will blind a strategic US military communications center and throw the world into chaos.

Can Brynn surrender control to a man who doesn’t trust her? And can Jack ever get over what she did to him? The fate of the world–and their hearts–hangs in the balance.


“Walters pulls out all the stops in her start to her new SNAP Agency series, presenting a pulse-pounding tale of romantic suspense mixed with a sweet second-chance romance. Fans of Lynette Eason and Rachel Dylan will appreciate an introduction to Walters.”–Booklist

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

My current read has been interesting and enjoyable. The end is nearing and I’m looking forward to discovering the person behind all this attempted murder and mayhem.

Deadly Connection

Private Investigator, Reid Lucas, and his mentor, Joe Lockhart, haven’t spoken in years, but when Joe wants to meet in a small-town diner, Reid’s interest is piqued. Without explanation, Joe calls and tells Reid he has five minutes to get waitress, Quinn Matthews, and her son out of the diner before they’re kidnapped by the group of men about to walk through the diner’s front door.

Quinn Matthews’ life is simple and safe, exactly how she likes it—until Reid Lucas walks into the diner. Now, she and her son are running for their lives, and she has no idea why. But when the father of her son shows up and dies saving them, she realizes they all have one deadly connection: Joe Lockhart. Now, she’ll have to trust the mysterious private investigator to not only save their lives but connect her past to her present so they can figure out who is after them. And why.

As the danger escalates, unexpected feelings arise. Reid doesn’t believe he’s worthy of Quinn’s love–or God’s. And Quinn is too worried about having her heart broken again and the effect of having a new man in her son’s life. Can they let go of their preconceived notions of love and relationships, or are they doomed to just let go of each other?

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

Have a good day tomorrow.

Happy Reading.

Read and enjoyed April 28, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

This was a good read, even hitting close to home in some places.

One of my favorite reads from this author.

Bookers on the Rocks: Elnora Island (Independence Islands Book 7)

If it ain’t broke, why’s she so intent on fixing it?

Tessa Booker hates romance.

For twenty-five years, Tessa Booker has insisted that romance is something Hollywood cooked up to sell books and movies. Yes, she knows the word existed before movies.  She doesn’t care. That’s her story, and she’s sticking to it.

So when Ross gets a gentle nudge from Mallory Barrows to look into what Tessa’s doing every day while he’s at work, he discovers a romance in the works–one that sounds a little too “ripped from the pages” of his life!

Who is this woman, and what has she done with his wife? 

Armed with advice from 101 Ways to Romance Your Wife and a copy of the manuscript he printed while she was napping, he’s determined to figure out what’s up with his wife… and if maybe a little romance wouldn’t be a good thing after all.

In a twist of the “on the rocks trope,” this book introduces the next island in the Independence Islands Series featuring five islands, six authors, and a boatload of happily-ever-afters.

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

I’m Not Gonna Worry – April 27, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

A fellow blogger shared some tried and true rules for a good life. There were ten and one of them was Never worry.

I have been doing some of that this last while. Fussing over some possible changes coming in my life. Worrying because I don’t know if it will work out, how it will work out, should it work out. If it doesn’t what will I do.

I want to take on a challenge that will require more from me than I have ever put into anything I’ve ever done before. There is always a hurry up and wait time with these things. Maybe that isn’t a bad thing. My vision is being refined as the days go by. Maybe things won’t move until I have worked through all of the details just right.

I try not to indulge in worry because it doesn’t accomplish anything except to make me feel dejected and discouraged. Discouraged is a good word for the way I’ve felt the last week or two. Today’s beautiful sunny day following on the heels of a week or two of a winter storm helped significantly. There is nothing as cheerful as blue skies.

The thought of not worrying reminded me of a song that always lifts my sagging spirits.

I need to listen to it another time or two yet before lights out tonight.

Maybe this will help with end of winter sagging spirits for you too.

I hope it will.

Enjoy

Read and Enjoyed April 26, 2022

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

There are a bunch to be shared this time.

I know I liked them all. I liked some a little better than others, but they were all worth the read.

This was a good one.

The Seat Beside Me (The Steadfast Series Book 1)

Welcome aboard Flight 1382

You are seated next to a stranger. An insignificant coincidence, small talk and pretzels. Yet this time, there’s a connection. A bond forms and your life is changed for having met them.

Five passengers and the people in the seats beside them. Five plus five. Ten lives forever linked—by chance or divine design? And someone is a hero and doesn’t even know it.

In the aftermath of a crisis, the passengers reevaluate their priorities and question the meaning of their lives. Compelling truths surface about what is really important. No one will be able to ignore the special significance of chance encounters ever again.

Is there a hero in you?

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

Another good one.

The Brides of Purple Heart Ranch Boxset Volume 1: Three Sweet Marriage of Convenience Western Romances 

ON HIS BENDED KNEE
Sgt. Dylan Banks lost more than just his leg in the war. His fiancée and family turned their backs on him as well. Now, he’s determined to create a safe place where wounded warriors like himself can heal. But a hidden zoning law requires all residents of the Purple Heart Ranch to be married. To save his dream, Dylan and his men will have to tie the knot—but can a man with such deep scars inside and out believe in love again?

HAND OVER HIS HEART
Francisco DeMonti has always been a man with a plan. Though his last plan led to his entire squad being wounded on a mission in Afghanistan. Now he’s seeking redemption by getting all the men in his unit hitched so they can stay together and heal. But his own heart is under lock and key due to the shrapnel around it that could kill him at any moment.

OFFERING HIS ARM
Reed Cannon may be a numbers guy but being minus one arm due to enemy fire hasn’t slowed him down. Now he’s faced with a new challenge—find a bride so he can stay on the rehabilitation ranch that has given him and his squad back their lives. Reed turns to a dating app to narrow down the selection of potential brides. The woman who matches him nearly 100% is accessible online, but out of reach in reality.

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

A few more…

They were all good, I have to say.

Check them out.

Happy Reading

How the Literary Journal Landscape Is and Isn’t Changing — Jane Friedman

/ For the Love of Books / Leave a comment

An excellent, insightful, helpful article. A Must share. — For the Love of Books

Today’s guest post is a Q&A by Andrea A. Firth (@AndreaAFirth), a writer, editor, and teacher and cofounder of Diablo Writers’ Workshop. Getting published in literary journals is hard—still. Editors routinely say that they often have to turn down good writing. The submission cycle takes months, and months. But some things have changed. No more…

How the Literary Journal Landscape Is and Isn’t Changing — Jane Friedman