Autumn by the Sea (By: Melissa Tag)

Autumn by the Sea
By: Melissa Tagg

Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 4 Stars
Faith: 3 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars

Autumn by the Sea captured our attention before we even opened the book! The author, the title, and cover drew us in. 

We have become big fans of author Melissa Tagg, and her writing just keeps getting better with each book. We thoroughly enjoyed the setting, pace, and mystery in this new series. Her characters grow on the reader quickly, and give us much to look forward to as the rest of the series is released. Melissa weaves different layers into the plot so engaging the book kept us turning pages long into the night. 

What caught us off guard - different from Melissa's previous books - was the ongoing mystery will seemingly take more than one book to solve! Therefore we eagerly wait for the next in the series. While we may have preferred a stronger faith aspect to be woven in a little more, we would highly recommend this book to others.

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

Jewel of the Nile (By: Tessa Afshar)

Jewel of the Nile
By: Tessa Afshar

Story Line: 5 Stars
Depth: 4 Stars
Faith: 5 Stars
Love Story: 4 Stars
Overall: 4.5 Stars

Tessa Afshar is one of our favorite authors, and we were thrilled to see another publication from her! Jewel of the Nile was an engaging story that swept us away right from the first page. 

Chariline knows almost nothing of her deceased parents' story. Never having quite felt at home being raised by her aunt, she is shocked and excited to discover her father is in fact, still alive. She knows almost nothing of him - not his name or where he may be located. After finding a clue to her father's whereabouts and identity, Chariline determines to travel to Rome at any cost - even putting her life in danger by stowing away on a ship to get there. 

This Rome-bound vessel belongs to none other than Theo, whom we know from one of Tessa's previous books, Thief of Corinth. What follows is a story of suspense and adventure, life-changing faith, memorable characters and a sweet love story. 

As per usual, Tessa's historical writing is so extraordinary, her readers are transported back into the Roman Empire and the Kingdom of Cush. We highly recommend picking up this novel for a good escape where your faith might also grow as a result!

Note: We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.  

A Cowboy for Keeps (By: Jody Hedlund)

A Cowboy for Keeps
By: Jody Hedlund

Series: Colorado Cowboys (Book #1)

Story Line: 4 Stars
Depth: 4 Stars
Faith: 3 Stars
Love Story: 3 Stars
Overall: 3.5 Stars

These two chicks on lit were very excited when we came across A Cowboy for Keeps. Jody Hedlund is one of our favorite authors, we love mail order bride stories, and we were eager to see her write a western! While we found a lot we liked, we found this story lacking compared to many of her other books. 

Greta and her younger sister, Astrid, are heading to Colorado in hopes that the mountain air will help heal Astrid's consumption. Greta will do anything to help her sister, including marrying a man she has never met. Surprisingly after arriving, she learns her intended has died and she is penniless and out of options. 

Wyatt is having a rough go getting his cattle ranch up and going. He's going to prove to himself and his family back east that he won't fail. When the Mayor strikes a deal to invest in cattle if Wyatt will agree to marry Greta, he reluctantly agrees. Little does he know that he might be getting more than he bargained for - will he lose his heart in the process? 

One of the most refreshing parts of this read was Jody didn't hold back in writing of the harsh realities new settlers faced as they moved out west. In order to survive, they were better off sticking together. The love story is sweet and progressed slowly. However, the characters seemed to go around in circles with their emotions and it started to drag towards the end. All that to say, we are eager to see how the rest of the series plays out.


Note:  We were given this book in exchange for our honest review.