REVIEW: Just a Kiss by Denise Hunter

About the Book

Riley Callahan’s plans to reveal his secret feelings for his best friend are derailed when his life is drastically altered in Afghanistan.

Watching the love of his life fall for his brother was enough to send Riley straight to boot camp. But over a year later, he’s officially a marine, and Beau and Paige are no longer an item. When Riley’s tour in Afghanistan is up, he intends to confess his feelings to Paige and win his best friend’s heart once and for all.

But all that changes when an IED takes the life of a comrade and leaves Riley an amputee. Now he’s heading home, injured and troubled. His plans to win Paige are a distant dream. She deserves so much more than the man that’s left. All he can do now is put some healthy distance between them. But upon his return he discovers his family has arranged for him to stay with Paige.

Paige is a nurturer at heart and happy to take care of her best buddy. By all appearances Riley is adjusting miraculously well to his disability. But as the days pass, Paige begins to see that the smiles and laughter are just a mask for the pain he’s hiding. To make matters worse, her job is in serious jeopardy. The animal shelter that she’s poured her heart into has lost its funding, and she has three months to come up with the money needed to save it.

As the weeks wear on, Paige’s feelings for Riley begin to shift into uncharted territory. Why is she suddenly noticing his arm muscles and the way his lips curl at the corners? Will she be able to deny her feelings for another Callahan brother? And will Riley let his heart heal so he can let Paige in? 

My Review

Just a Kiss is the third installment of bestselling author Denise Hunter's Summer Harbour series. In this story we meet Riley Callahan who is in love with his best friend, but she falls for his brother and Riley heads off to boot camp. Paige and his brother are no longer together a year later and Riley is a marine. Riley plans to tell Paige how he feels about her when he returns home from Afghanistan. However, things change when Riley is in an IED blast that kills his friend and comrade. Riley goes home with issues and troubles believing winning over Paige can no longer happen because he feels she deserves more than who he is now. To his suprise, Riley's family has decided he should stay with Paige so she can care for him. Spending so much time with Riley, Paige learns that Riley is just saving face when in reality he is hurting. 

Just a Kiss is a story of love and healing. A love between two people and a love between those people and their creator. Healing of physical and emotional wounds. Denise Hunter has yet again crafted and beautiful, poignant, and relatable novel that Denise Hunter fans will revel in. A story filled with characters you will want to root for.

Note::: I recieved this book for free in exchange for my review.

REVIEW: Starving Hearts by Janine Mendenhall

“Are you being obedient, or just martyring yourself for another good cause?”

About the Book

Since her assault, Miss Annette Chetwynd has been plagued by nightmares and worries about an arranged marriage. But she yearns to find her anonymous rescuer. Unfortunately, her health and intellect prevent it. Both repel suitors and cause Annette to doubt God's existence, at least until He answers her prayers in an unusual way ...

Mr. Peter Adsley is joining the clergy, and he desires a godly wife by his side. After his failed attempt to obtain one, he engages in a clandestine meeting with the bewitching young woman who keeps crossing his path. But she is so unsettling.

Destined for disappointments, Peter and Annette endure disgraceful situations. Will Peter's faith sustain him through overwhelming setbacks? Can Annette overcome her doubts? Or will their starving hearts yield to the machinations of a mad man? 

My Review

Starving Hearts is the story of faith, doubts, romance, and mystery. Annette longs to find her unknown rescuer while her health and intellect turn away suitors. Thus begins Annette's doubt of God's existance. Peter is joining the church as a clergyman and wants a godly woman to stand at his side. After one failed engagement he meets a beautiful young woman who intrigues hims yet makes him feel unsettled. Annette and Peter go through awkward situations. Will their faith and love for each other sustain them? Will Annette overcome her fears and doubts? And will they sucumb to a mad man?

Starving Hearts is definitely for fans of Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters. It is really that good. Full of twists and turns, romance, and learning to overcome your not-so-good current situations. They are is also a very well written villain that I loved reading about. Being that Starving Hearts is not only the first book in a new series, but the debut of Janine Mendenhall I must say that I am very impressed. With a debut they either fall completely flat for me or they are extrordinary. Starving Hearts absolutely falls under the latter.

REVIEW: Forever Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon

About the Book

With the witch of Doon on the throne, Jamie believed dead, and Duncan and Mackenna trapped in Alloway, Veronica has no choice but to put her grief aside and prepare her remaining followers for the impending battle against the false queen and her forces. But while on a covert mission to steal a powerful elixir from the castle, Veronica discovers her true love may actually be alive, and fighting a battle of his own.


With the Brig o’ Doon destroyed and the portal fragmented, Doon’s forces are not only divided, but also isolated in different dimensions. With the help of a storyteller as ancient as the witch herself, Kenna and Duncan learn they must rebuild the bridge to have any chance of crossing back into Doon with their ragtag army. But when Mackenna insists on fighting as well, Duncan soon realizes the only way he can ensure her safety is to turn her into a cold-hearted killer.


For Vee, Jamie, Kenna, and Duncan, saving their kingdom while keeping their lives intact will take a miracle.

My Review

Forever Doon is the fourth and final book in the Doon series which made it hard to read because I don't want this adventure to be over. Our journey to Doon with Veronica, MacKenna, Jamie, and Duncan has been a wild ride and will read the series again and again for years to come. The writing is romantic and witty. There was much growth in all of the characters in this book alone. While Forever Doon was a little more depressing than the previous three installments, it was still enjoyable. In fact, I contribute a lot of it to it being the last of the series. This was a story I very much enjoyed and a must read for all fans of this series!

REVIEW: Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer

About the Book

I reminded myself that once you start to defend someone, it's difficult to find a place to stop. But I went ahead and took that first step anyway. . .

For President Teddy Roosevelt, controlling the east-west passage between two oceans mattered so much that he orchestrated a revolution to control it. His command was to "let the dirt fly," and for years, the American Zone of the Panama Canal mesmerized the world, working in uneasy co-existence with the Panamanian aristocrats.

It's in this buffered Zone where, in 1909, James Holt takes that first step to protect a defenseless girl named Saffire, expecting a short and simple search for her mother. Instead it draws him away from safety, into a land haunted by a history of pirates, gold runners, and plantation owners, all leaving behind ghosts of their interwoven desires, sins, and ambitions, ghosts that create the web of deceit and intrigue of a new generation of revolutionary politics. It will also bring him together with a woman who will change his course or bring an end to it.

A love story set within a historical mystery, Saffire brings to vibrant life the most impressive--and embattled--engineering achievement of the twentieth-century.

My Review

Saffire by Sigmund Brouwer is one of the best books I have read in 2016. Saffire is set in 1909 during Teddy Roosevelt and tells the story of James Holt who sets out to protect a young girl named Saffire as she goes out in search for her mother. In her search, James and Saffire are pulled into a world of pirates, gold runners, plantations, deceit, intrigue, romance and revolutionary politics. Saffire has everything you could want in a novel. 

Saffire is fast paced, interesting, and filled with so much history. Saffire is a book you will pick up and not want to put down until you finish the very last page. Perfect for fans of Historical fiction. Saffire is also the perfect read for Autumn. I don't know why but it had an Autumn feel to it. I do plan on re-reading it once we're in October.

REVIEW: A Beauty Refined by Tracie Peterson

About the Book

What does it take to reveal the true beauty of a hidden gem?

Phoebe Von Bergen, the daughter of a German count, is excited to visit America for the first time while her father purchases sapphires in Helena, Montana. Little does she know, however, that her father’s intentions—both for her and the gemstones—are not what she thinks.

Ian Harper, a lapidary working in Helena, finds the dignified young woman staying at the Broadwater Hotel more than a little intriguing. Yet the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that her family story is based on a lie–a lie she has no knowledge of. And Ian believes he knows the only path that will lead her to freedom.

Meeting Ian has changed everything for Phoebe, and she begins to consider staying in America, regardless of her father’s plans. But she may not be prepared for the unexpected danger that results when her family’s deception begins to unravel.

My Review

A Beauty Refined is a story about a young woman who discovers that her past isn't what she thought it was. Pheobe a German immigrant and the daughter of a German count is visiting America for the first time when her father buys sapphires in Montana. But her father's intentions in coming to America are different than what she thinks. Soon she meets Ian, a jeweler, who after getting to know Pheobe realizes her entire family history is a complete lie- a lie she doesn't know about. Soon enough the family "secret" and all the deception begins to unravel.

A Beauty Refined is an impressive novel as well as easy to read and easy to follow. This story will surely be devoured by fans of Historical fiction and hints of romance and mystery.

COVER REVEAL: Forest Child by Heather Day Gilbert

About the Book

~Releasing NOVEMBER 2016~

Viking warrior. Dauntless leader. Protective mother.

Determined to rise above her rank as the illegitimate "forest child" of Eirik the Red, Freydis launches a second voyage to Vinland to solidify her power and to demand the respect she deserves. She will return home with enough plunder to force her brother, Leif, to sell her the family farm in Greenland.

But nothing can prepare her for the horrors she must confront in Vinland...and nothing can stand in her way when her family is threatened.

In her race to outrun the truths that might destroy her, Freydis ultimately collides with the only enemy she cannot silence—her own heart.

Historically based on the Icelandic Sagas, Forest Child brings the memorable, conflicted persona of Freydis Eiriksdottir to life. This immersive tale is Book Two in the bestselling Vikings of the New World Saga. 

About the Author

HEATHER DAY GILBERT, a Grace Award winner and bestselling author, writes novels that capture life in all its messy, bittersweet, hope-filled glory. Born and raised in the West Virginia mountains, generational story-telling runs in her blood. Heather is a graduate of Bob Jones University and is married to her college sweetheart. Having recently returned to her roots, she and her husband are raising their three children in the same home in which Heather grew up. Heather is represented by Rebeca Seitz and Jonathan Clements of SON Studios in FL.

Heather's Viking historical novel, God's Daughter, is an Amazon Norse Bestseller. She is also the author of the bestselling A Murder in the Mountains mystery series. Her mystery, Trial by Twelve, won the 2015 Grace Award for Mystery/Romantic Suspense/Thriller/Historical Suspense. Heather also authored the Indie Publishing Handbook: Four Key Elements for the Self-Publisher.

COVER

#ThrowbackThursday

So life has been pretty crazy lately, therefore I've only been posting when I have a review due. But things are winding down a bit so I'm slowly returning to my regular schedule. Starting this week I'll be starting a new series called, #ThrowbackThursday which I'm sure you all are familiar with. I'll be using this theme to harken back to things such as music, books, tv, and films I enjoyed way back when and even may still enjoy today. Let's get started...

1. MUSIC

Come with me back to 1949 for this classic tune. I absolutely adore this song and the film it is from. Judy Garland absolutely kills any song she sings. And this song is basically my theme song.







2. TV

Now we're off to the Wild West. I loved this show and still do to this day. In fact I'm rewatching the series from beginning to end.






3. FILM

I don't know about you but I've been obsessed with anything Ancient Egypt since I was a little girl. So it's no surprise that I am a huge fan of The Mummy & The Mummy Returns. I've actually been watching these a lot lately. If you like Egypt, history, adventure, and romance then these films are for you. And who doesn't love Brendan Fraser?





4. BOOKS

While not the first Austen novel I read, it however is my favourite. Read this one. It's worth it just for Wentworth's letter.