Fun Friday

 Something fun to do and be well too.

Fun Friday

 

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

Deadly Intentions by Lisa Harris

 

Book Description:  Research scientist Caitlyn Lindsey is convinced that someone is taking out her team one by one. First, a friend and research partner was killed in a home invasion. Three months ago, her boss died in a suspicious car accident. Four days ago, another partner supposedly committed suicide. And now Caitlyn herself has miraculously survived a hit-and-run. Afraid for her life with nowhere to turn, she reaches out to one of the victim's husbands, Detective Josh Solomon.

Though initially skeptical about Caitlyn's theory, Josh soon realizes that the attack that took his wife's life was anything but random. Now the two of them must discover the truth about who is after Caitlyn's team--and what their end game is--before it's too late.

My Thoughts:  Lisa Harris never disappoints when she writes a mystery/suspense/thriller.  This story is o.so.wonderful!

Caitlyn Lindsey's character comes alive in the first chapter when "things" begin happening that aren't suppose to happen.  She feels like someone is also watching her and maybe they are.

At first I wasn't sure about Josh Solomon...well, his character seems a bit weak but that soon changes and one can't help but fall in love with Josh.  He doesn't take on a super personality he just becomes more thoughtful.

As one reads on in the story there a lot of action takes place it seems that there is an under current of "something" happening but the reader can't quite figure out what.

Just when I felt I knew what was going on, well the game changed.

I loved, loved this story!  Great suspense and great mystery combined in one fantastic story of intentions gone haywire.

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Revell 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800729161
• ISBN-13: 978-0800729165

Unscripted by Davis Bunn

 

Book Description:  Young line producer Danny Byrd is well-known in Hollywood for being someone who gets things done on time and under budget. But when his reputation takes a beating after his partner--and former best friend--makes off with their investors' money, Danny has but one chance to redeem himself and restore his ruined career.

LA lawyer Megan Pierce has sacrificed years of her life proving herself to her impossible bosses only to find herself disgusted at their snobbery and their specious business practices. When an opportunity to actually make a difference comes her way, she knows she has to grab it--even though she's not entirely clear what "it" is.

Danny and Megan are each other's best hope for redemption. What they never could have imagined was that they might also be each other's best hope for love.

My Thoughts:  Davis Bunn has always been one of my favorite authors and he has knocked it out of the ballpark with this newest novel. 

A WOW! read for sure!

When I first saw the title to this book I saw a man with the word Holy in the background.  Then I read the book description and thought Holy and Hollywood do not go together.  

But then as I read the story of Danny and Megan I thought, you know, the word Holy does fit in the story.

Danny is my kind of guy.  He's honest, upright and, maybe, a little too trusting. Then there's Megan she's a lot like Danny but, yet, so different.  

When you live in a cut throat business and a tinsel curtain is not the covering you need, well, welcome to Hollywood.

Such a wonderful story filled with deceit, snobbery but most of all filled with love, hope and redemption.

A Gotta Read!  

• Publisher: Revell 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800727878
• ISBN-13: 978-0800727871

The Amish Twins Next Door by Vannetta Chapman...Coming April 26th

This wonderful story releases on April 26th

                                                              by Vannetta Chapman 

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

The Catch (US Marshals, Book 3) by Lisa Harris

Book Description:  After a harrowing attempt on a judge's life at the courthouse, Deputy US Marshals Madison James and Jonas Quinn are tasked with finding a missing woman and an endangered child in connection to the murder of the judge's wife. What seems like a fairly straightforward case becomes hopelessly tangled when the marshals discover that the woman they are searching for is not who they think she is.

Madison and Jonas are forced into a race to find the woman and the child before the men who want her dead discover her location. And in a final showdown that could cost her everything, Madison will come face-to-face with the person who murdered her husband.

My Thoughts:  I enjoy/love stories penned by Lisa Harris.  

This is the third book in the US Marshals trilogy.  I loved them all but this story really brings it all together and answers all this questions the reader has from books 1 & 2.

It would be best to read the first two books.  So much information and all the history of what is going on will make the story in book three so much easier to understand.

This is probably my favorite read of all the three.  The story line is intriguing and quite mysterious. I had a difficult time deciding and guessing the whodunit part.  Actually the story is so well written that I didn't guess.

Oh!  And the action and adventure was incredible but, yet, so believable.  I felt like I was on the run with Madison and Jonas.  Who by the way, are the most absolute best couple.  

The romance is well played and not over done.  Just good to the core people who like each other without all the gooey junk.

What a read for suspense lovers!

*This book was provided for review by Revell*

Castle on the Rise (A Lost Castle Novel) by Kristy Cambron

 

Book Description:  When Laine Forrester travels overseas to attend her best friend’s vineyard wedding, she expects to find the bride on the brink of a fairy-tale life. But after a series of unforeseen setbacks, it seems the storybook lives they’d imagined are suddenly ripping apart.

With hopes of resurrecting a happy ending, Laine agrees to accompany the newlyweds to the groom’s home in Ireland—never expecting she’d be the one drawn in by its wide-open moors, backroads bordering the Irish Sea, and a mysterious castle that dares to keep its secrets hidden.

From the storied streets of Dublin to the shores of the Emerald Isle, Laine is drawn in to the land and its rich history. The castle ruins whisper stories of Issy—a photojournalist battling through the 1916 Easter Rising, and Maeve—the castle’s lady of legend, fighting for survival through the 1798 rebellion that started it all.

My Thoughts:  This book cover reminds me of The Secret Garden but it's a lost castle.  In Ireland!  

Three women.  Three timelines.  Three romances .  The three different story lines are slightly hard to keep straight.   But necessary for this story.

I truly liked Laine Forrester's story.  I was hoping it would all about her and lost castles.  😋 Laine is drawn to the land and finds that the land has a story to tell.

It's quite an interesting story.  

All about Ireland and romance.  Of course, having three different time lines isn't easy to write about.  Kristy Cambron does an excellent job with keeping it all straight and then describing the scenery and castle plus the romance makes for a great read.

This is quite a thought provoking read but one needs to read this story in one setting, in my opinion.  Reading it all at once helps the reader to keep the story line together.

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718095499
• ISBN-13: 978-0718095499

Love Where You Live by Shauna Pilgreen

 

Book Description:  Despite being part of one of the most mobile societies in history, it's easy for us to feel stuck where we are. Whether because of a recent move or because we're still in the exact same place we've been for years, many of us just aren't where we thought we'd be or doing what we thought we'd be doing. Sometimes we may wonder if God knows what he's doing. How can this be part of his plan?

With enthusiasm and contagious joy, Shauna Pilgreen assures readers that, yes, God does have a plan and a purpose for them--right where they are. In fact, he sent them there. She invites readers to "live sent," showing them how to see their surroundings with fresh eyes and renewed energy. Weaving her own remarkable story with biblical habits readers can incorporate into their daily routines, Pilgreen equips us to reach out into our communities with God's love, knowing that our efforts are never in vain.

My Thoughts:  I am not a nonfiction reader but every once in awhile a book grabs my attention and I need to read it.  Such is the case with this most excellent read.

I've always been happy with the place where I live but because of some unexpected bumps in our lives I recently experienced a, maybe we need to do more/we should move.

Then I began reading love where you live and now I feel that the Lord would use us to be a blessing where he has us.

In the section, It's a lifestyle, Shauna tells the story of how Pizza Works.  How Plan A may not come to fruition so we go to Plan B and Plan B is the "answer."  But most importantly we must incorporate not only biblical habits into our living but we must live close to our Savior and Lord and then everything falls into place.  Because He will lead us in green pastures and we will love where we live.

A wonderful encouraging read!

                                                                                                                                                                         

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Revell 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800735110
• ISBN-13: 978-0800735111

Fun Friday

 

When the movie doesn't follow the book.

Fun Friday

 

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

Secrets at Cedar Cabin (A Lavender Tides Novel, Book 3) by Colleen Coble

 

Book Description:  Running for her life in the wake of her mother’s murder, Bailey Fleming escapes to the only place she can think of—a remote, dilapidated cabin in Lavender Tides. Intending to finally get to the truth behind the lies of her past, Bailey only finds more questions when bodies are discovered near her cabin hideout along with traces of a dangerous human trafficking ring. In an unlikely partnership with FBI agent Lance Phoenix, Bailey races to understand the mystery surrounding her life and circumstances before the murderer tracks her down. 

Meanwhile, Lance is determined to rescue his sister, Ava, who was abducted after running away from home as a teenager. An unexpected lead brings him to the remote cabin, and he wonders if Bailey—with her suspicious past and strange connections to his sister’s case—is really who she claims to be and if she can somehow lead him to Ava. 

My Thoughts:  Another Lavender Tides Novel by Colleen Coble.  Be still my heart!

I've been able to read all three of the books in The Lavender Tides "series."  

They are so good!  and all three are so different.  

Of course, all the books are centered around Lavender Tides.

But I must say that Secrets at Cedar Cabin is my favorite so far.

The tension, the action, the suspense and the romance make this a difficult story to put down.

Bailey Fleming caught my heart strings and I ran with her as she fed for her life.

Imagine  trying to run from those who murdered your mom?!?!

So Bailey runs to the dilated cabin, the only place she can think of that is safe and far away from trouble, in Lavender Tides.

But wait!  this story isn't just the heart pounding story of Bailey it's also the story of FBI agent Lance Phoenix who is trying to find his runaway sister and when he comes to the remote cabin where Bailey is hiding out he can't help but wonder if Bailey is involved in his sister's case.

Oh, what a read!  Oh, what a story!

Loved it!

*This book was provided for review by BookLook*

• Series: A Lavender Tides Novel (Book 3)
• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718085841
• ISBN-13: 978-0718085841

With this Pledge (The Carnton Series) by Tamera Alexander

 

Book Description:  Elizabeth "Lizzie" Clouston's quietly held principles oppose those of the Southern Cause--but when forty thousand soldiers converge on the fields of Franklin, Tennessee, the war demands an answer. The Carnton home, where she is governess, is converted into a Confederate hospital, and Lizzie is called upon to assist the military doctor with surgeries that determine life or death. Faced with the unimaginable, she must summon fortitude, even as she fears for the life of Towny, her fiancé and lifelong friend.

As a young soldier lies dying in Lizzie's arms, she vows to relay his final words to his mother, but knows little more than the boy's first name. That same night, decorated Mississippi sharpshooter Captain Roland Ward Jones extracts a different promise from Lizzie: that she intervene should the surgeon decide to amputate his leg.

Lizzie is nothing if not a woman of her word, earning the soldiers' respect as she tends to the wounded within Carnton's walls. None is more admiring than Captain Jones, who doesn't realize she is pledged to another. But as Lizzie's heart softens toward the Confederate captain, she discovers his moral ground is at odds with her own. Now torn between love, principles, and pledges made, she struggles to be true to her own heart while standing for what she knows is right--no matter the cost. 

My Thoughts:  Quite a read about a part of the civil war few may have read or heard about.

Lizzie Clouston is a nanny on a plantation in Franklin, Tennessee in Carnton.

As the war rages the planation is taken over by the military and used as a hospital. Lizzie is soon assisting the medical doctor and helping to take care of  soldiers.

She is a woman of her word and when a dying young soldier begs her to tell his mother his final words.  And then there's Captain Ward who also asks Lizzie to step in and tell the doctor not to amputate his leg.

The captain doesn't realize that Lizzie is pledged to another man.  And since Lizzie is a woman of her word she will not go against her principles.

A lot to be learned in they fiction read...a battle that is not well known and a battle in the heart of a woman of principle.

*From the pages of history and the personal accounts of those who endured the Battle of Franklin, Tamera Alexander weaves the real-life love letters between Captain Roland Ward Jones and Miss Elizabeth Clouston into a story of unlikely romance first kindled amid the shadows of war.

• Series: The Carnton Series (Book 1)
• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson 
• ISBN-10: 0718081838
• ISBN-13: 978-0718081836

Fun Friday

 

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

Code of Valor (Blue Justice, Book 3) by Lynette Eason

 

Book Description:  What Detective Brady St. John really needs is a relaxing vacation. Unfortunately, just as the sun is setting on his second day at a friend's cabin on Lake Henley, he hears a scream and races to rescue a woman from her would-be killer. When the killer escapes only to return to finish the job, Brady vows to utilize all of his many resources to keep her safe--and catch those who would see her dead.

Financial crimes investigator Emily Chastain doesn't trust many people. And even though she let the detective who saved her life in on a few pertinent facts about why she was being attacked, there are some things you just don't share with a stranger. Little does she suspect that the secret she is keeping just might get them both killed.

My Thoughts:  Secrets, sun, suspense and a little romance . . . yep!  It's another great story by Lynette Eason.

I love that word VALOR!  There are just some words that flow of one's tongue and valor is one of this words for me.  Also, valor means great courage, especially in the face of danger.  

Detective Brady St. John is really tired and just needs a some down time to relax so he heads to  a friend's cabin on Lake Henley.  All seems to be well until he hears a woman's scream and he races to rescue the woman from a killer.  

Well, the killer gets away but decides to return to finish the job but Brady has already vowed to keep her safe.

Emily Chastain has a secret and even though Detective Brady saved her life she told him very little.  Some secrets are best not told.

Detective Brady is a wonderful, caring person wanting to keep the world from ugliness and killings. 

Emily Chastain is a wee bit selfish and non-trusting, but Brady helps her learn trust and caring---in my humble opinion.

A fantabulous story with all the elements that a romantic suspense story needs to keep the reader turning the page.

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Revell
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800727045
• ISBN-13: 978-0800727048

Seasons of an Amish Garden: Four Stories by Amy Clipston

 

My Thoughts:  I love one book with multiple stories.  And this book has four great stories all written by Amy Clipston.

   The first story, Spring Is In the Air, is all about friends and love.

Katie Ann and her friends at Bird In Hand are planting a garden in memory of a close friend, but Katie Ann is a worrier.  She worries that her brother may be dating her best friend and Katie Ann doesn't want tools them both.  However, when they are all cleaning and planting a garden a new boy, Christian, comes to help.

Ohhh....Katie Ann sure likes him but what to do?

   In the second story, Home By Summer, Clara is surprised to see her old friend.  Why did Jerry abandoned his Amish beliefs?  Clara's story.

   The third story, The Fruits of Fall, is a bit of a heartbreaker.  Tena doesn't trust Englishers and when a homeless veteran comes to the fruit stand asking for fruit, well, she doesn't know what to do.  But Wayne does...he finds a place for the veteran to stay in the barn and, well, Tena begins to see things/people in a better light.

   The last story, Winter Blessings, Ephraim and Mandy think that maybe, just maybe they shouldn't marry.  But their friends at the garden know differently and conspired to get them together again.  A sweet story.

    Four great stories!  

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310354307
• ISBN-13: 978-0310354307

Fun Friday