My Bookshelf: Reclaiming Nick by Susan May Warren

        Nick Noble hadn’t planned on being the prodigal son. But when his father dies and leaves half the Silver Buckle—the Noble family ranch—to Nick’s former best friend, he returns home to face his mistakes… and to guarantee that the ranch stays in the Noble family.

        Award-winning journalist Piper Sullivan believes Nick framed her brother for murder, and she’s determined to find justice. But following Nick to the Silver Buckle and posing as a ranch cook proves more challenging than she thinks. So does resisting his charming smile.

        As Nick seeks to overturn his father’s will-and Piper digs for answers- family secrets surface that send Nick’s life into a tailspin. But there’s someone else who wants to take the Silver Buckle from the Noble family, and he’ll stop at nothing—even murder—to make it happen.

        I just finished Reclaiming Nick for the first time a couple of days ago, and I cannot explain in words just how much I enjoyed it. Susan May Warren did a wonderful job weaving the mystery into her story; there were so many incidents that I never saw coming. Reclaiming Nick definitely kept me guessing!

        Nick Noble’s past is full of regrets. Clearly the last thing he wants to do is face all of them, but when his father dies and leaves half of the Noble family land to Nick’s ex-best friend Cole, he feels he must do something to keep the Silver Buckle in the family. Arriving home, Nick realizes how much has changed since he left, and how he should have been there. While he is sure his father would be disappointed in him, Nick knows he can’t turn back time. Can he find a way to make it up to his family, or will he just make a big mess of things?

        Piper Sullivan didn’t have the ideal childhood. With a firm belief that Nick Noble framed her brother for murder, she seeks to exact justice on the person she can do something about. While she cannot change her childhood memories that still give her nightmares, she can do something about Nick. Traveling to Montana, she finds work as a chef on the Silver Buckle so that she can have Nick right under her nose. There’s just one problem. She doesn’t cook.

        Packed with both hilarious and spine chilling moments, Reclaiming Nick is a heartwarming mystery that I give five out of five bookshelves just for being awesome. You should check this one out if you get a chance!

        Just a tip, my LifeWay store has it as a bargain book, so I’d check there first.

        Happy reading!

All credit for the above italicized synopsis goes to Susan May Warren and her publishers.

Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury

                Somewhere in heaven, a decision has been made. An Angels Walking team has been assigned to a desperate mission: a broken baseball player, the love he left behind, and the miracle that might save a whole city. When angels walk, most people never know, never see. But they are there. And sometimes the stakes are so high, all of heaven stands ready.

                One-time national baseball hero Tyler Ames has lost everyone he loves on a quest to make it to the big leagues. Then, just when things seem to be turning around, Tyler hits rock bottom. Across the country, Tyler’s only love, Sami Dawson, has moved on.

                A series of small miracles leads Tyler to a maintenance job at a retirement home and a friendship with Virginia Hutcheson, an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s, who strangely might have the answers he so desperately seeks.

                A team of Angels Walking takes on the mission to see hope restored for Tyler, Sami, and Virginia. Can the small and seemingly insignificant actions of the unseen bring healing and redemption? Can the words of a stranger restore lost love? Every journey begins with a step.

                It is time for the mission to begin.

            I just finished Angels Walking by Karen Kingsbury yesterday, and I enjoyed it immensely. Since I borrowed it from a friend and it wasn’t something from my actual bookshelf, I decided I wouldn’t post it on Tuesday as I usually do. Clearly I just had to review it, however. Angels Walking was such a wonderful story that brought me to tears—in a good way—and left me reminded of how amazing God really is.

        Tyler Ames just wanted to make them proud. With intense determination, he wanted to show them all—his parents, Sami, everyone who doubted him—that he could do it, that he would make it in the big leagues. But along the way, he got a little lost. Without those who loved him most, Tyler failed remain focused, forgot to be real. So when he hit rock bottom, with nothing left and nowhere else to turn, he felt it. He had failed. Although he did not have a clue how he was going to get out of the mess he made, God did. He was working everything out in ways Tyler never could have imagined. After a series of miraculous events that led Tyler to a job he so desperately needed, there was one question that stood out above the rest. Was this the end, or just the beginning?

        Samantha Dawson had moved on. She had a nice apartment, a successful job, and a perfect boyfriend whom she had everything in common with. Although her life was different now, deep down inside, she still knew of herself as Sami. With her days almost as stuffy and boring as her grandparents’, it didn’t look like it, but she knew she was. Somewhere deep inside of her was the girl who was fearless, not afraid to live life, not always striving to be perfect. The girl who Tyler knew. But she had been shoved into a closet after Tyler left, along with all the memories of the year they had shared. Working towards her dreams, Sami still thinks of him, still wonders where he is, still knows that things would have been different if he hadn’t gone. She can’t help being curious if he misses her, if their happily ever after never was meant to be.

        Angels Walking is a heartwarming tale of loss, love, and forgiveness, full of God’s amazing grace and the small but significant acts of the unseen. It is a story that will strengthen your faith and your hope for the future, and for that I give it five out of five bookshelves. Karen Kingsbury has knocked it out of the park once more with this captivating story.

        If you pick up this book, you’ll definitely have happy reading!

All credit for the above italicized synopsis go to Karen Kingsbury and her publishers.

Must-Have New Releases

                Happy Friday!! I have come to the decision that on the last day of every month I will post about the books I am most looking forward to that will release the next month. Today, however, I am going to post about all the books that I cannot wait to read that have released from January until now. That is quite a few books but, even though I haven’t yet read any of them, I am positive I would recommend all of them because I am that confident about the authors that wrote them. So, if you’re looking for something new to read, you just might find something here.

                Miss Harriet Peabody dreams of the day she can open up a shop selling refashioned gowns to independent working women like herself. Unfortunately, when an errand for her millinery shop job goes sadly awry due to a difficult customer, she finds herself out of an income.

Mr. Oliver Addleshaw is on the verge of his biggest business deal yet when he learns his potential partner prefers to deal with men who are settled down and wed. When Oliver witnesses his ex not-quite-fiance cause the hapless Harriet to lose her job, he tries to make it up to her by enlisting her help in making a good impression on his business partner.

Harriet quickly finds her love of fashion can't make her fashionable. She'll never truly fit into Oliver's world, but just as she's ready to call off the fake relationship, fancy dinners, and elegant balls, a threat from her past forces both Oliver and Harriet to discover that love can come in the most surprising packages.

                After a Fashion by author Jen Turano is the first book in her new series A Class of Her Own, and it released on February 24^th. I have read almost all of her Ladies of Distinction series, and I cannot wait to read this new release! Jen Turano does an amazing job of weaving bits of mystery into her novels, leaving you guessing until the very last page. It is nearly impossible to put her books down, and I know After a Fashion will be no exception!

Pick up a copy of it here!

            Behind him, beside him, before him, the synchronized cathedral bells began to ring out.

One, two, three . . .

Then she said it first. The words his heart burst to share. “I love you, Stephen. You are my true prince.”

An American heiress and a crown prince seem destined to be together. Will the devastation of war keep them apart forever?

American heiress Corina Del Rey caught her prince once. But the tragedy of war kept her too long in a fog of grief. Now she’s shifting her life forward, reigniting her career as a journalist. Still, nothing can relieve her of the secret and the love she carries in her soul.

Prince Stephen of Brighton is one of the world’s most eligible bachelors and a star rugby player, trying to make sense of his life. His days in Afghanistan with the Royal Air Command will mark him forever. And he can’t shake their dark shadow.

But when his brother, King Nathaniel, confronts him with a document the prince thought long buried and forgotten, Stephen is forced to face the pain of his past and the love he left behind.

With a little heavenly help, Prince Stephen and Corina embark on a journey of truth. But when the secrets are revealed, can they overcome, move forward, and find love again? 

                How to Catch a Prince by Rachel Hauck is book three in her Royal Weddings series, coming after Once Upon a Prince and Princess Ever After. I read both of her previous books in this series, and absolutely loved each of them. She did a fabulous job of bringing her stories to life, weaving wonderful tales of princes and princesses as dreamy as a Disney princess story but so realistic you’d wish you were the heroine. I just know I’ll love How to Catch a Prince, and I’m sure you will too!

Pick up a copy of any of the Royal Weddings novels here.

                On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna Konig reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home—assuming she survives. She’s heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.

                Ship’s carpenter Bairn resents the somber people—dubbed peculiars by the deckhands—who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him.

                Delays, storm, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?

               

                Anna’s Crossing by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the first book in her Amish Beginnings series, all about how the American Amish settlements got started. Suzanne Woods Fisher does an amazing job of weaving wonderful tales of the Amish, and I just know her new novel will be chock full of interesting Amish facts that will teach you more than you ever knew before. I cannot wait to read this story!

Grab a copy of this book here.

            In the celebratory mood of the recently-ended Civil War, Sarah discovers her betrothed has been keeping a devastating secret.

While the tiny town of Wabash, Indiana, celebrates the end of the fighting, Sara Montgomery attends the parties, but inside she’s fighting a deep sadness. The love of Sara’s life, Rand Campbell, didn’t come back from the front.

So her brother and ailing father persuade her to pledge herself to another man—despite her misgivings. When Sarah finds out that Rand is in fact alive—and that her fiancé Ben Croftner knew it—she indignantly breaks off their engagement.

Croftner doesn’t take rejection lightly—and a single woman with a sick father makes an easy target. He abducts Sarah, his intentions anything but honorable. Then Rand comes to her aid . . . only to reveal that he has been posted at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, and asks her to go with him as his wife.

Will Sarah leave her dying father’s side for the only man she’s ever loved? And what plans are forming in the jealous heart of Ben Croftner?

                A Heart’s Disguise by Colleen Coble is the first novel in her new A Journey of the Heart series, based just after the civil war. She always does an amazing job of adding mysterious themes to her novels, and they are always sure to be something you won’t be able to put down. Check it out, it released March 3^rd, so it shouldn’t be hard to find!

                 Twelve years of marriage, 4,000 square feet of dream house, and a handsome husband. Jessie Stanton has it all… until one fateful afternoon when she notices her BMW bouncing by the window behind a tow truck. Her husband has gone, and he’s taken it all. The whirling tornado that cuts down the life she’s built drops Jessie onto the sandy beach of Malibu with a thud, penniless and alone. When all she’s left with are the designer labels in her closet and the dreamy Neil Lane rock on her finger, Jessie tries to make ends meet by pawning her prized ring to fund a new business venture: a small shop where her designer duds and shimmering accessories are temporarily leased out to Southern California women with champagne tastes but root beer realities. As Jessie tries to rebuild, she realizes she can’t move on, not without answers. Reluctantly, Jessie turns to beach bum/private investigator Danny Callahan for help. But is she staking her future success and happiness…on a ring and a prayer?

                On a Ring and a Prayer by Sandra D. Bricker is the first book in her new Jessie Stanton series, and is sure to keep you laughing until the end. Sandra D. Bricker is amazing at writing hilarious stories chock full of fun, laughter, and love that will never disappoint. I am positive On a Ring and a Prayer will be no exception.

Want to laugh? Pick up a copy here!

                When trouble roars into quiet Arborville, Alexa and Anna-Grace find themselves the target for discord and exposed secrets. Can they continue to seek the God of all grace amidst the fog of confusion?  

Alexa Zimmerman wonders if the Old Order Mennonite community in Arborville, Kansas will ever fully accept her. Her family roots here aren’t what anyone thought when she first arrived, but she is hopeful that her culinary and hospitality skills will win the skeptics over. The bed-and-breakfast she’s operating needs to succeed so Alexa agrees to allow Briley Forrester, the hotshot reporter from Chicago, to stay as a long-term boarder not knowing his real motives for being amongst the Plain folk.
 
But when Alexa agrees to host her cousin Anna-Grace Braun, the presence of extended family brings out Alexa’s insecurities and sets Briley on the trail to uncovering a web of hidden truths. 
 
Plans for a secure future and the sweetness of young romance hang in the balance when Alexa and Anna-Grace have to face that their secrets are interconnected, binding the two in ways they could not have imagined. They must trust in a loving, heavenly Father and His plan for their futures.

                When Grace Sings by Kim Vogel Sawyer is the second book in her Zimmerman Restoration Trilogy, coming after When Mercy Rains. It is a wonderful story full of hidden secrets and sweet romances that I cannot wait to read.

Pick up a copy here!

                Marlena needed time to let things sink in. It was beyond her how all this could possibly work out--adding the care of an infant to her daily routine. Fortunately, it would just be until Luella returned home from the hospital and was stronger.
No more than a couple weeks, surely.

Marlena Wenger's life takes an unexpected turn on the day she learns she must care for her estranged sister's baby. Spending the summer in Brownstown, Pennsylvania, to assist her Mennonite grandmother, and miles from Marlena's Old Order Amish beau, she feels out of her element in nearly every respect. Yet Marlena determines to do her best and stay focused on her future, even as those hopes become drastically altered.

                I have been anticipating the release of Beverly Lewis’s The Love Letters for quite a while now, and the fact that I have to say I haven’t read it yet pains me a little. I absolutely love Beverly Lewis’s work; I have read almost every single book she has published and have enjoyed every one. Obviously I need to pick up this one!

You can pick it up here.

My Bookshelf: If the Shoe Fits by Sandra D. Bricker

            Meet Julianne Bartlett, a brilliant young attorney set out to start her own law firm with her best friend—and virtually constant companion—Will Hanes. Julianne has been waiting her whole life for Prince Charming to gallop in on his white steed. Will rode up on his 10-speed bike while they were still in grade school, but who meets the perfect guy right in the middle of a cul-de-sac?

            On the way to her new office, Julianne screeches to a halt after a mysterious Prince Charming loses his toolbox and work boot in a busy intersection. He’s gorgeous…and he’s a caring dog-rescuer too! How far will she go to grab the attention of the prince who begins to look less and less charming all the time?

            On this rainy Tuesday afternoon, I present you with a book that kept me hooked until the last page—I wasn’t able to put it down—and kept me laughing to the end: If the Shoe Fits. Sandra Bricker did a fabulous job of creating a captivating, hilarious tale full of characters you can’t help but identify with.

            Julianne Bartlett is an intelligent, quirky lawyer with plans for a new law office and dreams of her very own Prince Charming. When she meets a handsome dog-rescuer on her way to work one day, she thinks she’s met her man. There’s just one question. Is he really all that he seems to be? Or will she realize that she’s been looking for love in all the wrong places and finally recognize what she already has before it’s too late?

            I give If the Shoe Fits four bookshelves out of five for its charming story, inspirational themes, and witty humor that kept me giggling until my side hurt. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a hysterical novel full of embarrassing antics with a side of romance. You should definitely check it out! It’s in my Amazon store (hint hint).

            Happy reading!

All credit for the above italicized synopsis go to Sandra D. Bricker and her publishers.

My Bookshelf: The Chance by Karen Kingsbury

            The day before a teenage Ellie moved from Georgia to California, she and her best friend Nolan sat beneath the Spanish moss of an ancient oak tree where they wrote letters to each other and buried them in a rusty old metal box. The plan was to return eleven years later, dig the box up, and read the letters. But now, as that date approaches, much has changed. Ellie has abandoned the faith she grew up with, her days consumed with loving her little girl and trying to make ends meet. Sometimes she watches TV to catch a glimpse of her old friend Nolan, now an NBA star, whose faith is known by the entire nation. But few know that Nolan’s own personal tragedies have fueled both his faith and athletic drive. Despite his success, Nolan is isolated and lonely, plagued by a void in his heart that has remained since that night beneath the old oak tree with Ellie. For both Ellie and Nolan, the coming date is more than just a childhood promise. It’s the chance to make sense of it all—the chance to find out if it’s ever too late to find love again.

            Today on our journey through my bookshelf, I’m sharing a book that I finished over a year ago, but is still one of my favorites. And, the best part about it is, my copy is signed! I found a really great deal for The Chance and Fifteen Minutes, both signed copies, not long after Fifteen Minutes came out, and I had to snap them up. Now I’m so glad I did!

            Ellie Tucker is a hardworking mom, one who devotes all her time to creating a life for herself and her daughter Kinzie. She tries her hardest to give Kinzie the life she deserves and to show her that everything is alright, but after Kinzie goes to sleep, Ellie cries as she remembers all that she once had and all that she wishes life could be. As the eleven years come to an end, Ellie wonders what would happen if she went back, if she saw Nolan, if they dug up their letters.

            Nolan Cook has achieved his dreams of being a basketball player in the NBA, but there’s something missing. Ever since his father died, Nolan has suffered from a loneliness he cannot describe, nor get rid of. As each day passes he wonders where Ellie is, what her life is like, if she misses him. The answer he wants most, however, is how to get her back.

            The Chance is a book of lost love, regrets, redemption, and happy endings. I give it five bookshelves out of five for being absolutely amazing, one of Karen Kingsbury’s best novels (though I have thoroughly enjoyed EVERYTHING she has written), and a story I would recommend to anyone and everyone.

            Happy reading!

You can pick up this book here.

All credit for the above italicized synopsis and wonderful story go to Karen Kingsbury and her publishers.

Review Day: The Secret of Pembrooke Park

            Welcome to the very first ever Review Tuesday, although I will not actually be calling it that. I just wanted to let all of my lovely readers know that I will be (hopefully) posting a book review every Tuesday. And, for the time being, the reviews will be a wonderful trip through my personal library as I share with you many of the novels I have bought over the years. All of the pictures will be photos that I will take of my actual books, and, once I finish, for the time being of course (my library is constantly growing) I will possibly take a picture of my shelves in their entirety. We shall see.

            Another thing before I get to the review: every book, movie, or song that I even so much as mention on this blog will be added to my Amazon store, which you can find on my pages bar at the top of the page. So, if you find after reading one of my reviews that you must purchase the book, you can easily find it through my store. There’s also quite a few of my favorites on there, so if you’re ever looking for something good to read, you can always head on over to see what I would suggest. Now, for the review!

            Abigail Foster is the practical daughter. She fears she will end up a spinster, especially as she has little dowry, and the one man she thought might marry her seems to have fallen for her younger, prettier sister.

            Facing financial ruin, Abigail and her father search for more affordable lodgings, until a strange solicitor arrives with an astounding offer: the use of a distant manor house abandoned for eighteen years. The Fosters journey to imposing Pembrooke Park and are startled to find it entombed as it was abruptly left: tea cups encrusted with dry tea, moth-eaten clothes in wardrobes, a doll’s house left mid-play…

            The handsome local curate welcomes them, but though he and his family seem acquainted with the manor’s past, the only information they offer is a stern warning: Beware trespassers drawn by rumors that Pembrooke Park contains a secret room filled with treasure.

            This catches Abigail’s attention. Hoping to restore her family’s finances—and her dowry—Abigail looks for this supposed treasure. But eerie sounds at night and footprints in the dust reveal she isn’t the only one secretly searching the house.

            Then Abigail begins receiving anonymous letters, containing clues about the hidden room and startling discoveries about the past.

            As old friends and new foes come calling at Pembrooke Park, secrets come to light. Will Abigail find the treasure and love she seeks, or very real danger?

            I had been anticipating reading this novel even before its release date (Dec. 2014) and, although I had to wait this long to finally read it, it exceeded every one of my expectations. So much so that I finished all 456 pages in one day, less than six hours to be exact. And it was WONDERFUL. I give Julie Klassen a hearty round of applause.

            Abigail Foster is a sensible, thoughtful woman who dreams of matrimony, only her visions have recently been dashed. Finding her family facing financial ruin, she carries a large measure of guilt as she knows it is mostly her fault. With much determination, she attempts to repair what has been lost. Along the way, she finds herself torn between rumors of treasure, mystery, and multiple men vying for her attention. Will all be well in the end? You have to read to find out!

            I found Abigail often struggled with her worth, as she constantly compared herself to her younger sister, and found herself lacking. I love how she finally comes to realize how valuable she is, to God and to those who love her. I have always said that a book isn’t really worth reading if the characters haven’t changed for the better by the end of the story, and I am extremely glad to report that in this novel, they do.

            So, without further ado, I give The Secret of Pembrooke Park all five possible bookshelves (my ranking instead of stars) because it kept me hooked through every page, is a novel I will absolutely be reading again, and was well worth purchasing.

            Happy reading!

Purchase your own copy here.

All credit to the above italicized synopsis goes to Julie Klassen and her publishers.

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

                I finished Mansfield Park for the first time a couple of days ago, and I have to say, once again Jane Austen didn’t disappoint. Although I knew that, as always, she wouldn’t, having seen the movie previously, I wasn’t sure how much I would enjoy the story. By the way, I would not necessarily recommend the movie (a 1999 British adaptation) unless you do not have any little eyes watching with you but do have the remote handy so you can do a bit of skipping. There are a few questionable parts (hence the PG-13 rating) but it is overall a pleasant film, if you don’t mind the fact that it speeds through the book fairly quickly and might leave you wondering what’s going on.

                Anyway, I thoroughly enjoyed Mansfield Park, and would absolutely read it again. It was a refreshing tale, which for once left you wondering if there would in fact be a ‘happily ever after’. Not very many books are like that, so I was extremely pleased to find one that was, especially since it was set in 19th century England.

               

                Fanny Price, the second oldest of nine children, gets sent to live with her wealthy aunts and uncle at the age of ten because of her family’s dire economic straits. Though she is a kind, gentle, obedient girl, she is constantly reminded by her extended family of the fact that she is not of the same social standing.

               

                This book, in keeping with Jane Austen’s usual work, examines an aspect of morality. You just have to read it to find out which one!

                Speaking of reading, I just opened my first Amazon Store! It’s so exciting! You should definitely check it out! I will constantly adding some of my favorite books, and will always have any book I review listed there. If you’re ever looking for a good read, you should hop on over and pick one out!

                Happy reading!  

Credits to the photo of the book go to Amazon; I'm not sure where the photo with the quote is from because I found it on Pinterest.