Novella - Christmas at Canton (By: Tamera Alexander)

Christmas at Carnton
By: Tamera Alexander

We love getting our appetite ready for a new series with a novella to kick things off! Tamera has a new series coming out based around the Carnton Plantation in Franklin, Tennessee. We have loved her previous series based around other historical plantations and this one has hopes of being just as wonderful!.

This story is set in the time period of the Civil War. Aletta - a widow, a mother to a six year old boy and eight months pregnant, is desperate for hope. She has lost her job and is being evicted out of her home. This war has taken everything from her. Can she find the strength to keep fighting while also encouraging those around her? When she lands a job at the Carnton Plantation for the Christmas season, she falls in love with the people and surroundings but has only been promised the position for a short amount of time. One person in particular has caught her eye - and a part of her heart.

Captain Jake Winston, a Confederate sharpshooter, is now on the injured list. Sent to Carnton on a special task to assist the Women's Relief Society Auction is not what he desires for his foreseeable future. However, soon he realizes these women are fighting their own battles and he starts to have a change of heart. But can his heart handle the emotions a young widow and her son provoke?

We eagerly await this new series and were thankful to have this sweet introduction!

Find it on Amazon: Christmas at Carnton

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

2015 In Review - Our Favorite Reads

Celebrating 2015 Top Ten Favorites

Wow, what an unbelievable year of reading we have enjoyed. Some absolutely tremendous books were published this year! 

Just like last year, we have decided on our top ten favorite novels of the year and we are ready to do a countdown!

Top 10 Favorite Books:

#10 - Married Til Monday by Denise Hunter 
#9 - Through Waters Deep by Sarah Sundin 
#8 - Bridge of Faith by Catherine West 
#7 - The Wedding Chapel by Rachel Hauck

#6 - The Lost Heiress by Roseanne M. White
#5 - A Love Like Ours by Becky Wade 
#4 - Falling Like Snowflakes by Denise Hunter 
#3 - How to Catch a Prince by Rachel Hauck
#2 - The Wonder of You by Susan May Warren
#1 - To Win Her Favor by Tamera Alexander
 
But, wait! Lest we forget about our beloved novellas, we also read a few fantastic quick reads and these deserve their own "top five" themselves. So here goes, the top five novellas from 2015


Top 5 Favorite Novellas:

#5 - Three Little Words by Melissa Tagg 
#4 - Love in the Details by Becky Wade 
#3 - Grace Like Rain by Julie Lessman
#2 - Enchanted Christmas by Melissa Tagg
#1 -  Brush With Love by Rachel Hauck
 

Let us know, were these your favorites as well? Do you have a different #1?

Here's to more happy reading in 2016!!!!

Novella - Love in the Details (By: Becky Wade)

Love in the Details
By:Becky Wade




We already know Becky Wade can write a fabulous novel; now it was time to see what she could do with her first novella. Well, Becky, you officially are a talented author no matter how short your story is! Love in the Details was a delightful novella from the beginning to the end.

Holly and Josh were high school sweethearts with a rare kind of bond and love. Because of decisions to attend separate universities and believing she is doing what is best for Josh's future, Holly abruptly breaks up with him in their first year of college. Both heartbroken and alone, they must face the world without each other and move on with life. But will they ever get over the love they shared?

Fast forward eight years: Holly still lives in her hometown and is the wedding coordinator at her local church. Josh, now a successful tech guru living in Paris, is back in town to be best man in a friend's wedding. But little did he know he would be working with the wedding coordinator/ex-girlfriend. As these two face each other, old feelings that never really died begin to surface again. Will either be brave enough to tell the other how they feel? Will Josh learn the truth about their breakup?

You'll love these two characters and will enjoy getting swept away into a story filled with faith, forgiveness, second chances and sweet romance. Becky, thank you for writing such a great novella. It's always a pleasure to read your stories!

Find it on Amazon: Love in the Details

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

Novella - The Perfect Arrangement (By: Katie Ganshert)

The Perfect Arrangement

By: Katie Ganshert

This novella is one of the Year of Weddings Novella Collection. We enjoy reading these little stories from Zondervan, as a new author writes a wedding tale each month of the year.

 In The Perfect Arrangement, Amelia is shy and likes her quiet life as owner of the Forget-Me-Not flower shop, but her love life has been non-existent since her long standing college relationship that ended years ago. When she finds out her ex-boyfriend is getting married, she can't help but be curious and decides to just "drive by" the chapel on his wedding day. Not paying attention, she rear ends someone - well, a very cute someone - in front of the church while she is spying. Frantic and needing a fast getaway before she gets caught, she leaves this man with her business card and quickly moves on.

Nick is intrigued by this girl who rear ended him. After contacting her, he and Amelia begin a lengthy back and forth email discussion. Soon, both of them eagerly are writing back and forth, and hoping just maybe the other is feeling the same excitement! However, lingering on Amelia's conscience is the fear that Nick will find out the real reason she was driving by the church that day - and what would he think of her then?

This novella is cute and fun to read! Unfortunately, however, we could not give it a higher rating because some parts were just too repetitive for a short novella. Several times we read what happened, only to re-read it again in the emails exchanged between Nick and Amelia. A novella is short enough but this made us feel our time was cut too short.

Find it on Amazon: The Perfect Arrangement

Novella - Among the Fair Magnolias

Among the Fair Magnolias
Four Southern Love Stories
By: Tamera Alexander, Shelley Gray, Dorothy Love, Elizabeth Musser

This historical romance novella collection has equal parts warmth, sweetness, shocking history and creative writing. Each novella is very different but adds a new perspective on what life might have been like in the post-civil war South. Freedmen, although no longer slaves, still don't enjoy as much privilege as whites and face radical discrimination. Some families are still wealthy while others lost everything in the war, and now their economical differences divide them. 

It is important to note that these stories follow characters from the authors' earlier works, although read just fine as standalone novellas as well. They are thorough, detailed and satisfying novellas that will please readers!

Find it on Amazon: Among the Fair Magnolias

Novella - Three Little Words (By: Melissa Tagg)

Three Little Words
By: Melissa Tagg

If you plan to start the new Walker Family series by Melissa Tagg, you won't want to miss this little novella that gets things going! 

Ava Jane Kingsley (sister to Autumn Kingsley, heroine from Melissa's last series) is at a college class reunion when she runs into her old nemesis, Seth Walker. Ten years ago, the two of them sparred continually through debates in the school newspaper and certainly weren't called friends. But surprisingly, their reunion leads to a connection, built mostly over email as pen pals - she in Minnesota, he in Maple Valley, Iowa. One year and hundreds of emails later, Ava reaches a crossroads in her career and, on a whim, decides to take Seth up on his offer to visit.

But when she arrives, Ava is confronted with unexpected circumstances, unexpected feelings for Seth that go beyond friendship, and a serious girlfriend he plans to marry. As they each seek the Lord's plan for their lives, will they both have the courage to say the three little words that would matter most?

This novella is a fantastic introduction to the Walker Family series - we can't wait to read the stories of the rest of the family!

Find it on Amazon: Three Little Words

Novella - A Brush with Love (By: Rachel Hauck)

 

A Brush with Love
By: Rachel Hauck

Ginger Winters is a gifted hairstylist who loves to make others feel beautiful. However, because of her outward scars from a fire when she was young, she has given up on ever feeling loved and beautiful herself. Ginger is chosen as hairstylist for a big Alabama society wedding, but doesn't expect Tom, her high school crush and the man who disappeared on her, to be back in town for the wedding - and to stay! When he visits the salon for a haircut and asking for forgiveness, it's almost too much for Ginger to take. Will she be able to open her heart to Tom and forgive the past? 

You won't want to put this novella down. It is beautifully written and almost feels more like a full length novel. 

We loved getting swept away in this story!
 
Find it on Amazon: A Brush with Love

Novella - An October Bride (By: Katie Ganshert)

An October Bride
By: Katie Ganshert

What a fabulous novella!! It was well written and full of moments that got our hearts racing, yet emotional and tender too. Well done Katie Ganshert! 

Emma Tate is having a hard time dealing with possibly losing her father, who has cancer and is told he has two months to live. She stumbles across a "bucket list" of her father's, and sees "walking my daughter down the aisle" as one item not crossed off yet. Emma longs to give him this - but how?
 
Jake Sawyer is Emma's brother's lifelong crush.  After a run in with Emma and finding out about her dilemma, he offers to marry her. Can Emma go along with this fake wedding/marriage and not lose her heart in the process? Why is Jake offering to do this?
 
Read An October Bride to hear how all of this turns out. You won't be disappointed!

Find it on Amazon: An October Bride

Introducing Novellas!

Introducing a new page to our blog - Novellas! 

As life goes by, we find that busy seasons sometimes call for novellas rather than full length novels. Don't get us wrong, the richness of a full buffet like a novel is so satisfying, but sometimes all we have time for is an appetizer! Maybe it's because all we need is a quick getaway in a book and know it will be much easier to get through 100 pages rather than 300. 

Or maybe our brains can't handle much and a charming novella brings just the right amount of depth, love and sweetness needed. Whatever the reason, there are just times when we love to pick up a novella. Our novella reviews will be short and sweet, and will have only an overall rating. We hope you can browse through ones we have reviewed if you are ever in need of a quick satisfying story!
And with that, our next post will be our first review of one of our favorites! Here is the full list of our our recommended novellas: http://2chicksonlit.blogspot.com/p/novellas.html or simply use the Novellas tab at the top of our blog.

Happy Reading!

2014 in Review - Our Favorite Reads

As 2014 comes to an end, we all look back on what the year held for us. This year, we can't help but reflect on all the amazing books we read - and 2014 was a banner year for Christian Romance Fiction! We were thrilled to keep having great new reads. Is it bad we worry 2015 can't possibly top it? We would be ecstatic to be proven wrong! 

Of all the books we read this year, we wanted to share our top 10 just in case you happened to miss one of these gems. These were all published in 2014. Some were stand alone titles, some a part of a series; and some left us hanging, wanting to read more, with a new read to come in 2015. All of them were great, and a few can even be found on our Golden List. 

Well here it is: counting down to the #1 book of 2014!

#10 Deep in the Heart by Staci Stallings

#9 Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg

#8 In the Field of Grace by Tessa Afshar

#7 Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

#6 Silenced by Dani Pettrey

#5 When I Fall in Love by Susan May Warren

#4 Surprised by Love by Julie Lessman

#3 Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade

#2 It Had to be You by Susan May Warren

#1 Dancing With Fireflies by Denise Hunter

Top Five Novellas

We know many people enjoy novellas as well, and we love having a little escape with them too! These were our top five of 2014. Some are stand alone and some are a collection of four.

#5 Cliché Christmas by Nicole Deese

#4 March Bride by Rachel Hauck

#3 Smitten Book Club (Four Novellas) Denise Hunter, Colleen Coble, Kristen Billerbeck, Diann Hunt

#2 A Match Made in Texas (Four Novellas) Mary Connealy, Karen Witemeyer, Carol Cox, Regina Jennings

#1 December Bride by Denise Hunter...(ok, confession: it came out November 2013, but we read it twice in 2014 because it was that good!)

Here's to more happy reading in 2015!!!!