Lake Season
By: Denise Hunter
Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 4 Stars
Faith: 3 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars
Lake Season is the first book in the Bluebell Inn trilogy and it starts the series off with a bang! When siblings Molly, Grace and Levi face the tragic loss of their parents, they come together to fulfill their parents' dream: turning their historic family home into a Bed and Breakfast.
During construction Molly finds a lost love letter from the 1960's which never reached its intended recipient. Determined to solve this mystery, Molly sets out to finally deliver the letter - but she can't do it alone! Willing to help is the very first guest at the Inn - Adam Bradford, who is actually a best selling author keeping his real identity private by using a pseudonym. Adam is on a deadline to get his new book written but gladly offers to help Molly. Denise takes us on a beautiful journey of love both past and present as we sit back and watch the mystery unfold. What a refreshing story, lovable and real characters, twists and turns and a plot that keeps us hooked. We are already eager for the next book in the series!
Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.
A Reluctant Bride
By: Jody Hedlund
Story Line: 5 Stars
Depth: 5 Stars
Faith: 5 Stars
Love Story: 5 Stars
Overall: 5 Stars
Author Jody Hedlund is one of our favorite authors for this main reason: she expertly weaves together realistic, intriguing storylines with a God who is intimately involved with his people. Throw in some romance and tender friendships, and we have yet another book to add to our golden list! A Reluctant Bride is the first book in Jody's new Bride Ships series, and this one kept us up late at night reading until every last page was turned.
The story revolves around Mercy Wilkins, a young lady from the poorest of the poor slums in 19th century London. When she receives an opportunity to sail to British Columbia, she is eager to begin a new life for herself, not realizing her passage is aboard a Bride Ship - a vessel full of young women destined to marry men in the new world. Mercy is appalled at the thought of marriage, so instead focuses her efforts on assisting the ship's surgeon, Joseph. As they work together and get to know each other, both try to ignore the deep connection between them, but cannot deny the way God is moving them in their lives.
Jody hits a homerun in just about every way in this book. The storyline is igniting and flows smoothly at an excellent pace, deep issues are explored and dealt with, God is a main character with the way He leads and loves His people, and the love story is touching and swoon-worthy. We cannot wait for the rest of this series!
Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.
Sweet on You
By: Becky Wade
Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 3 Stars
Faith: 2 Stars
Love Story: 3 Stars
Overall: 3 Stars
Sweet on You is the final book in the Bradford Sisters Series and we were highly anticipating it being a great finale, but these two chicks were disappointed.
Sweet on You is the story of Britt, the youngest Bradford sister, and her best friend Zander, who has been in love with Britt for years and desperately wishes she felt the same for him. Britt dates different guys casually but always ends things before they get too serious. Zander is her rock and steady place, but as he is her best friend, she never even considers falling in love with him as it may ruin everything they have. However, as the two of them embark on a journey to uncover a mystery, her feelings suddenly begin to change. Will they give love a chance, and will Britt actually open heart to the thought of forever?
The story line was well done and we wanted to enjoy it, but it fell short in a few different areas for us. Zander's character was our favorite - loyal, strong, quiet and a hopeless romantic in all things dealing with Britt. Britt, however, was a disappointment to us as the growth she experienced was too little too late. We are all for flawed characters in need of learning some hard lessons and love to see redemption, but the characters struggled showing this which made the faith aspect come up short for us. Although the faith tried to wrap everything up nicely as the end, it was too little throughout the book. Again, this isn't the usual trend we see in Becky's writing and we hope to write a glowing review on her next book.
Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.
Wait for Me
By: Susan May Warren
Story Line: 5 Stars
Depth: 5 Stars
Faith: 3 Stars
Love Story: 5 Stars
Overall: 4.5 Stars
This final book in the Montana Rescue Series has been an agonizingly long time in coming, so these two chicks are thrilled that it’s finally here!
All the way back in book 1, we were introduced to Pete and Jess. Their story has had many twists and turns throughout this series of six books and it finally has its conclusion.
Right from page one of Wait For Me the reader hits the ground running and never, ever stops. The storyline is filled with action, gripping suspense and heart aching flashbacks to what really has been happening between Pete and Jess for the last few years.
As we have said before, author Susan is the master of story writing and she didn’t disappoint in this one!
The storyline, the depth and the sweet love story all deserved the highest ratings we give as they wound together to bring us a fantastic conclusion to this series! The only thing holding us back from a golden 5 star rating was the faith element. The story lacked the depth of faith we are used to in Susan’s stories, and really didn’t come into play much until the end of the book. Still we were glad to see it near the end.
Overall, this Montana Rescue Series will be one of our highly recommended reads and we have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it!
Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.
Daughters of Northern Shores
By: Joanne Bischoff
Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 5 Stars
Faith: 5 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4.5 Stars
Daughters of Northern Shores is the sequel to Sons of Blackbird Mountain. We highly recommend reading them in order! (Note: Book 1 spoilers included in this review! If you haven't read Book 1 - Stop, go read it, you'll be glad you did!)
Joanne writes beautifully with a depth that few can compete with. In this second book we fast forward four years from where we left off in Sons of Blackbird Mountain. Haakon has traveled far from home, yet he can’t seem to escape the daily shame and guilt he lives with. He knows he must travel home to make amends and seek forgiveness, but will he be received with open arms?
Aven, now happily married to Thor and carrying his child, is content with life, yet is still haunted by the past. When Haakon shows up, her heart longs for restoration. But she quickly begins to learn that restoration is much easier said than done; it can only be accomplished with help from the Lord.
The Norgaard brothers must come together again to fight off their enemies, the Sorrels. This time the fight must come to an end. Joanne keeps us on our toes as we join in on the feud that has been brewing for far too long.
The story ebbs and flows nicely as it pulls on so many different emotional heartstrings. We were in awe at how well Joanne tackles these tough situations with love and grace, writing in a way where you feel you are in the pages of this beautiful book.
Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.
The Memory House
By: Rachel Hauck
Story Line: 5 Stars
Depth: 5 Stars
Faith: 3 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars
This newest book by Rachel Hauck was a journey you will not want to miss! One of our favorite authors, she is extremely talented weaving together characters and storylines in the past and present.
We start off with young Everleigh Applegate in the 1950's. She has it all: a wonderful husband, a baby growing in her womb and a bright future, until a dreadful tornado sweeps through and shatters her hopes and dreams. Now stuck in a monotonous and hopeless pattern of life, it is hard for her to see the sun peeking through the clouds - until an old acquaintance shows up. Can Don breathe new life and hope back into Everleigh? Will Everleigh open both her heart and life to a new beginning?
Beck Holiday, a present day New York City cop, is on a leave of absence due to anger issues. Frustrated and confused on what is next for her, she receives a letter in the mail saying she has inherited a house in Florida from someone named Everleigh Applegate. Beck lost her father in the attacks on 9/11 and along with losing him, she lost many of her memories tied to him as well; including her childhood trips to Florida where Eveleigh lived. Confused as to why she would inherit this house, she takes advantage of her time off to travel to Florida to find out. Upon arriving she runs into Bruno; apparently her first crush,. She may not remember him, but he definitely remembers her and their summers spent together! Can Bruno help Beck get her memories back? And is it too late for him to earn a spot in her heart?
This book is filled with emotion, struggles, forgiveness and love. We had a hard time putting it down and spent too many nights staying up past our bedtimes to keep reading! We fell in love with the characters and appreciate the depth Rachel brought into this story. Only the rushed and crammed ending held this back from a higher star rating for us! We highly recommend taking this journey!
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Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.
Lake Season is the first book in the Bluebell Inn trilogy and it starts the series off with a bang! When siblings Molly, Grace and Levi face the tragic loss of their parents, they come together to fulfill their parents' dream: turning their historic family home into a Bed and Breakfast.
During construction Molly finds a lost love letter from the 1960's which never reached its intended recipient. Determined to solve this mystery, Molly sets out to finally deliver the letter - but she can't do it alone! Willing to help is the very first guest at the Inn - Adam Bradford, who is actually a best selling author keeping his real identity private by using a pseudonym. Adam is on a deadline to get his new book written but gladly offers to help Molly. Denise takes us on a beautiful journey of love both past and present as we sit back and watch the mystery unfold. What a refreshing story, lovable and real characters, twists and turns and a plot that keeps us hooked. We are already eager for the next book in the series!
