BAKER BOOK HOUSE LINK: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/637248
AMAZON LINK:
https://www.amazon.com/Once-Upon-Christmas-Carol-Christian/dp/080074473X/
Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Once Upon A Christmas: (A Sweet Christian Fiction Holiday Story with Themes of A Christmas Carol set in Michigan) by Melody Carlson
Book Description: What will happen when a tropical escape from holiday blues turns into a snowy wonderland filled with joy and cheer?
Carol Langstrom hates Christmas. Growing up in a dysfunctional home, with a birthday on December 25 and too many dashed childhood expectations, she would rather avoid the holiday season. And working in the design industry where she manages seasonal decor for wealthy, entitled clients certainly hasn't helped!
So, this year her goal is to flee to the Bahamas--by herself--bah humbug! But bad weather and God's radically different plan redirect her flight to blustery Michigan, where she gets stuck on her aunt's farm and discovers a different kind of Christmas--one wrapped in love, family, and holiday spirit.My Thoughts: I love this hardback novella. It fits into the reader's hand so well but best of all is the story of Carol and Christmas.
Carol Langstrom was born on Christmas Day (notice her name, Christmas Carol perhaps).
Carol has always felt that her birthday was upset by Christmas. Of course, living in a dysfunctional home probably didn't help either.
This novella is full of fun and quirks. But best of all this story brings out the true meaning of Christmas and how we all can find joy in the season even if our birthday is in Christmas Day.
And sometimes the very thing that we try to run away from is the very place that God wants us. As Carol finds out trying to run to the Bahamas actuallyy sends her to her aunt's home in snowy Michigan.
So many little tidbits of faith and truth are sprinkled throughout the story.
Don't miss this lovely novella! And check out the giveaway from Goodreads:
Go to: Goodreads Giveaway:
Tuesday, August 26, 2025
A Deadly Business {A Mia Quinn Mystery} by Lis Wiehl
An oldie but goodie!
Book Description: A prosecutor of violent criminals. A detective on a dangerous beat. When these two pros take on an off-the-books case, the line between professional and personal becomes perilously blurred.
When a twenty-two-year-old convict walks into the courtroom, his eyes confirm what Mia Quinn already guesses: he blames her for his conviction. In seconds, he knocks her to the ground and holds a razor blade to her throat. While she manages to escape without injury, it's just one more reminder that Mia's job prosecuting Seattle's s most dangerous criminals is far from low risk.
As a single mom, the last thing Mia wants is for her work to follow her home or discover that it already has.
Now Detective Charlie Carlson is suggesting the very thing Mia doesn't want to believe—that her accountant husband’s deadly car accident was no accident at all. When Mia and Charlie encounter resistance to reopening the case, they take the investigation into their own hands. And they find much more than they bargained for.
Was Mia's husband more than an accountant . . . and less than an honest man? As the truth becomes more shocking and the case grows more complex, her husband's killers take note of Mia . . . and her children. How far will this prosecutor go to learn the truth about her husband—and how far will she have to go to protect her family?
My Thoughts: Oh.Be.Still.My.Heart! I have waited (it seems like forever ) for the next Mia Quinn mystery. And here it is!
Mia is a prosecutor. And usually her job is stressful and full but today when that twenty-two-year old walks into the courtroom Mia senses/knows that he blames her for his predicament. Uh!Yeah! She did the crime! Honestly these criminals make one SO angry. As the reader can tell this is a one great suspense read! I was SO angry at the criminal . . . a good sign that an author brings out emotion in the reader.
Mia is a single mom because her husband was killed in a deadly car accident. But now Detective Carlson telling her the one thing she really doesn't want to hear. Her husband's accident was probably not an accident! And to top.it.all.off! Her husband seems to have been into some shady dealings.
Poor Mia! She is a single mom who wants to blend into the woodwork. She doesn't want these criminals to know that she has a family and where she lives.
This is one of Lis Wiehl's best books! The suspense is, well for a lack of another word, suspenseful! {smile} One of those I'm looking over my shoulder as I read in bed at night! Yeah!That good!
- Series: A Mia Quinn Mystery (Book 2)
- Hardcover: 320 pages
- Publisher: Thomas Nelson
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1595549048
Summer in the Spotlight by Liz Johnson
Book Description: A hurricane may have destroyed her livelihood on Prince Edward Island, but she's determined to save her community
Kelsey Ahern has performed at the Victoria Playhouse on Prince Edward Island every summer since she was seven. But when a hurricane destroys the building, it's not just her memories that are in jeopardy. Her future as a teacher and drama coach are too. She teams up with Levi Ross, the facilities director at the high school, to produce a benefit show to raise money to rebuild the theater. He has a reputation for being able to fix anything, and Kelsey is sure there's more to the quiet man than meets the eye.
For his part, Levi has admired Kelsey for years, but he can't seem to find the words to tell her. When a popular weatherman arrives in town to cover the aftermath of the hurricane and takes an interest in Kelsey and her show, Levi realizes that the time has come to speak up--or lose the heart of the woman he longs for.My Thoughts: It's be awhile since I've read a book by Liz Johnson so I was excited to receive her newest novel, Summer in the Spotlight.
Liz does a fantastic job of creating characters that are lifelike and seem to have that jump off the page and into our hearts kind of reader love.
Sometimes it seems that there are life storms that come to disrupt our lives when, in fact, these life storms set everything right in our lives. Such is the case in Kelsey Ahern's and Levi's life.
Kelsey has her heart set on performing at the Victoria Playhouse on Edward Island so when a terrible hurricane destroys the building and so much more including Kellsey's dreams.
Then Levi Ross comes along he and Kelsey decide to produce the show at the local high school and raise money to rebuild the building.
Such a wonderful story full of hope and love.
Monday, August 25, 2025
He Should Have Told The Bees by Amanda Cox
Book Description: Beekeeper Beckett Walsh is living her dream, working alongside her father in their apiary, until his untimely death sends her world into a tailspin. She suddenly finds she must deal with a new part owner of the family business--one who is looking to sell the property. Beck cannot fathom why her father would put her into the position to lose everything they built together.
When Callie Peterson is named in the trust of a man she's never heard of, she's not sure what to do. Her fledgling business has just taken wing and her mother has reentered her life asking for help getting into rehab for her lifelong substance abuse issues, making Callie's financial situation rather . . . precarious. She's sure she has no right to someone else's farm, but the money from the sale could solve her problems and give her the stability she's always craved.
My Thoughts: This is the first book I've read by Amanda Cox; hopefully it won't be the last.
Beck, who has lost her father in death and then has to deal with losing the beekeeper business they built together. At times my heart grieved for Beck (Beckett Walsh) since it seems that she has so much to lose. Why didn't her dad make provision for her to keep the bee keeper business? Poor Beck!
Then Callie Petersen is named in the trust of a man she never knew. Callie has had a business that can't seem to make it then her mother wants to reenter her life because she has financial woes. But Callie has financial woes too.
The story of how Beck and Callie have so much in common and how one man who loved both made provision for them.
This creative and insightful read will make the reader want to know what he should have told the bees.
The Chase (US Marshals Book #2) by Lisa Harris
Book Description: US Marshal Madison James may not be sure who shot her three months ago, but she does know one thing--it's time to get back out into the field. When her partner, Jonas Quinn, receives a message that a federal warrant just came in on a man connected to a string of bank robberies, Madison jumps at the chance to get back to work. What she and Jonas find is a bank robbery in progress that's gone wrong--and things are about to get worse. For these bank robbers, it's never been just about the money. It's about taking risks and adrenaline rushes, and getting caught is not part of the game. When the suspects escape, Madison and Jonas must hunt them down and bring them to justice before someone else--someone close to them--gets hurt . . . or worse. From Seattle to the San Juan Islands, bestselling author Lisa Harris takes you on a nonstop chase where feelings are complicated and failure isn't an option.
My Thoughts: Oh, my, STARS! I waited and waited for this book to come out. And it did not disappoint.
I did read book #1, The Escape and I'd recommend that the reader read book 1 to understand the dynamics.
All the right ingredients, a pinch of romance, a mixture of suspense and a wonderful story that brings the reader to a place of wanting the next chapter.
Lisa Harris is one of my most favorite authors, especially in the suspense arena.
How I loved US Marshal Madison James and, well, there's Jonas Quinn. All man and ready to help nab the bad guys.
But it's the suspense, the action and good vs. evil that really make the book.
And the setting is the San Juan Islands. Yeah, so nice and so dangerous.
It's quite an interesting story how a bank robbery goes haywire but it's not about the money. That's the interesting part...who puts their life on the line to rob a bank but it's not about the money?!?!
What story! What adventure! What suspense! It's a wonderful read!
- Paperback : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 0800737318
- ISBN-13 : 978-0800737313
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