My Bookshelf: Starving Hearts by Janine Mendenhall

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 a 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 both 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?

Top Ten Tuesday: First Lines

So, today’s Top Ten Tuesday is actually supposed to be all about anything back to school related, but since school is the LAST thing I want to spend my spare time thinking about, I decided to forgo that topic for one a little bit more interesting. A while back, I got the idea for doing a topic about lines from my favorite books, and was inspired by Carrie from Reading is My Superpower, who does a First Line Friday post every week. While my post today is just a little bit different, I definitely give her credit for helping me come up with this idea. I’ve decided to share the first line from the first page of the first chapter—or prologue—of ten of my favorite books off my very own bookshelf! Okay, okay, so maybe I’ve listed twelve books instead of ten, but I just couldn’t help it! You’ll see why below!

Must-Have September Releases + A Linkup

I can’t believe it’s already almost September! I have to say though, I’m really kind of glad, because there are so many fantastic books coming out in the next month! I have a handful of these on my absolutely-have-to-preorder list, because I just have to read them as soon as possible! So, what are these fantastic books, you ask? Just read on to find out! Oh, and as always, just click on the coral colored titles to see my full reviews of any of the previous books in the series!

My Bookshelf: The Loyal Heart by Shelley Shepard Gray

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.

Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything.

After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda’s home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip’s name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.

Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He’s mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.

He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again but it doesn’t prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well.

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I've Been Meaning to Read

Today’s Top Ten Tuesday is all about my top ten books that have been on my To-Be-Read list since before I started blogging that I somehow still haven’t read yet. My TBR list is really, really long, and there are so many books on there that have been there for years, so this was a fairly easy post for me. I tried to slim it down by picking books that I’ve wanted to read more than some of the others, ones that have been really high on my list for a while. So, here’s my top ten!

The Forgotten Recipe + A Linkup

After losing her fiancé in a tragic accident, Veronica Fisher finds solace in the old recipes stored in her mother’s hope chest—and in a special visitor who comes to her bake stand to purchase her old-fashioned raspberry pies.

Veronica Fisher knows how lucky she is to be marrying her best friend. Seth Lapp is kind, hardworking, and handsome—but most importantly, he loves Veronica.

When an accident on the job steals Seth away from her, a heartbroken Veronica is certain she will never love—or be loved—again. Yet when she discovers a batch of forgotten recipes and opens a bake stand to sell her Mammi’s raspberry pies, Veronica picks up a regular customer who gives her heart pause.

Jason Huyard was with Seth when he lost his life—a memory that haunts him still. So when he seeks out the grieving fiancée to convey his condolences, the last thing he expects—or wants—is to fall in love. Nonetheless, Jason soon finds himself visiting Veronica’s bake stand every week…and it’s for more than the raspberry pies.

Now, as Veronica’s heart thaws, Jason can’t bring himself to tell her he was there when Seth died. Can he ever reveal where he was on the day her life derailed? Or will his secret rob them of the second chance at love they both want?

Like Never Before by Melissa Tagg

Maple Valley became Amelia Bentley’s haven after her heart and her dreams of a family were shattered. But when the newspaper she runs is in danger of closing, she pins all her hopes on a story that just might convince the new owner to keep the paper running.

After his biggest campaign success yet, widowed speechwriter Logan Walker has the chance of a lifetime: a spot on a presidential campaign. But first he has to return to his hometown to sell the newspaper he’s suddenly inherited.

But instead of a quick sale, Logan finds himself helping Amelia chase her story. She’s scrappy, but wounded. He’s dependable, but lost. And working together to breath the story on Maple Valley’s unsolved mystery is just the start of the sparks that fly in the office and in their hearts.