The Amish Christmas Matchmaker (Indiana Amish Brides) by Vannetta Chapman

 

Book Description:  With her wedding business thriving, Annie Kauffmann could never leave her beloved Amish community. So when handsome Amish cowboy Levi Lapp tries to convince her father to move the family to Texas, she must put a stop to it. If Annie finds Levi a wife, he might forget his dream of moving…but can she keep from falling for him herself?

My Thoughts:  In my book there is nothing better than a Love Inspired romance especially when it's about Christmas and is authored by Vannetta Chapman.  A win-win!

This fantastic story is almost an oxymoron...An Amish matchmaker?!?  But then again no matter what, we all need love in our lives.  

Annie Kaufman actually has a wedding business so it's not all love and games.  However, she doesn't seem to have any romance in her own life.  And it seems that Annie is quite happy with her life so when Levi Lapp begins to talk her father into moving-to Texas of all places!  Annie decides she'll have none of that nonsense.  But love can get in the way of most well laid plans.

In a fun loving sort of way, Vannetta Chapman captures the romance between two young Amish people and somehow gets their families involved too.

This is a great story to begin your holiday season!

• Series: Indiana Amish Brides
• Mass Market Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Love Inspired; Original edition 
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1335479430
• ISBN-13: 978-1335479433

The Memory House by Mary Alford

 

A tarnished silver music box.

A melody Elise Warren recognizes but cannot place.

A fleeting memory of two little girls sitting on the floor.

And a name hovering just beyond her reach.

Ivy.

Each new clue inside Coldwater Hollow brings Elise closer to the truth about her childhood—but someone will do anything to stop her from uncovering what really happened there.

The Memory House by Mary Alford is an atmospheric psychological suspense novel where the smallest objects can unlock the most dangerous memories.

https://amzn.to/3NhHYKY

#TheMemoryHouse #MaryAlford #PsychologicalThriller #SuspenseReads #BookRecommendation

Attempted Mountain Murder by Jaime Jo Wright

 Book Description:  When a sniper shoots at Lainey Jo Beckett through her apartment window, she knows her cover in WITSEC has been blown. Injured and desperate to escape, she jumps into the first car she sees, which just happens to have former navy SEAL Bowen Mays behind the wheel. He may no longer be on active duty, but when they discover her WITSEC handler dead, Bowen takes Lainey Jo’s protection into his own hands. As they escape deep into the Bighorn Mountains, with not one but two shooters on their tail, can Bowen overcome his past failure and keep Lainey Jo alive?

My Thoughts:  This is the first book I've read by author Jamie Jo Wright. And it's fantabulous!

I loved the action, the suspense and The Who Dunnit. 

The action keeps the reader the turning the page because one's fingers can barely keep up and the suspense....well it's fast paced and the mystery of it all was full of surprises.  

There is no spice but there is light romance.  This story centers around suspense and mystery of Lainey Jo and how in WITSEC is she being detected??

Bowen helps her and she needs his help.  Such a grand hero!

It's a fabulous read!

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups (400 g) sugar
• 1 cup (215 g) grapeseed oil, neutral oil, avocado oil or olive oil
• 4 eggs
• 15 to 16 ounces (454 g) canned pumpkin (not pie filling), see notes above
• 3/4 cup (177 g) water
• 3 cups (384 g) flour
• 2 teaspoons (11 to 12 grams) baking soda
• 1 to 1.5 teaspoons (5 to 7 grams) fine sea salt or kosher salt (I use 7 grams salt)
• 2 teaspoons (7 grams) cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg (or less) or a few dashes of freshly grated
  
  

• INSTRUCTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease 2 standard (8.5 x 4.5-inch) loaf pans (or 4 to 5 mini loaf pans depending on what size you are using — don’t fill pans higher than 2/3 full) with butter or non-stick spray.
  2. Using a stand mixer or hand mixer or simply a whisk (my preference!) beat sugar and oil together until blended. Add eggs one at a time mixing after each addition. Add pumpkin purée and water and mix until blended.
  3. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves (if using), and allspice (if using). Whisk only until just incorporated. Pour batter into prepared pans.
  4. Bake for about an hour (if using standard loaf pans) but start checking for doneness after 45 minutes — the loaves are done when the center springs back when touched. Note: When using the small pans, the loaves should be done in under 45 minutes. Start checking after 30 minutes.
  5. Let cool 15-20 minutes in pan; then transfer to a cooling rack to continue cooling before cutting and serving. 

Fun Friday!

 

Saving Amelia by Cathy Gohke

 Book Description:  Increasingly wary of her father’s genetic research, Rachel Kramer has determined that this trip with him to Germany—in the summer of 1939—will be her last. But a cryptic letter from her estranged friend, begging Rachel for help, changes everything. Married to SS officer Gerhardt Schlick, Kristine sees the dark tides turning and fears her husband views their daughter, Amelie, deaf since birth, as a blight on his Aryan bloodline.

Once courted by Schlick, Rachel knows he’s as dangerous as the swastikas that hang like ebony spiders from every government building in Berlin. She fears her father’s files may hold answers about Hitler’s plans for others, like Amelie, whom the regime deems “unworthy of life.” She risks searching his classified documents only to uncover shocking secrets about her own history and a family she’s never known.

Now hunted by the SS, Rachel turns to Jason Young—a driven, disarming American journalist and unlikely ally—who connects her to the resistance and to controversial theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Forced into hiding, Rachel’s every ideal is challenged as she and Jason walk a knife’s edge, risking their lives—and asking others to do the same—for those they barely know but come to love.

My Thoughts:  I love summer and, again, this summer I entered the Tyndale Summer Reading Program.  So glad I did!  As one of my "prizes" I picked this book Saving Amelie by Cathy Gohke.

When I first saw the cover of this book I actually passed it up. Then I went back and read the description and thought it sounded interesting.

When the book arrived it sat on my TBR for a couple of months and then the other day, since I was finished with my last book, I decided to read it.

Well, this is one great read!  As I began reading I first thought the book was going to be about a rich young woman and how she saves a young deaf girl from the Third Reich.  Oh!not!so!  Well, this does come into play but there  is SO much more to this story.

I had to put the book down several time because it IS so intense!  

This book is about life . . .what is our duty to others AND Dietrich Bonhoeffer!  Wow!  

The suspense, the story line, the challenge of one's duty to Christ!  Cathy Gohke pens an incredible, not.to.be put.down story!

This is my favorite read this summer!  

You just gotta read this book . . . it will make you think!  

• Paperback: 464 pages

The Memory House by Mary Alford

 

The Memory House by Mary Alford

 Book Description:  When grief counselor Elise Warren inherits Coldwater Hollow, the crumbling Victorian estate of her estranged father, she expects to settle his affairs and finally leave the past behind.

Instead, she finds hidden journals, secret recordings, and evidence that her father’s controversial psychological treatments may have harmed more than they healed.
As Elise digs deeper, fragments of her childhood begin surfacing—memories of a frightened girl named Ivy, whispered warnings from her long-missing mother, and a darkness lurking beneath the house itself.
But the more Elise uncovers, the less she trusts her own mind.
Someone has been inside Coldwater Hollow.
Someone is watching her search for answers.
And someone desperately wants one missing piece of evidence to stay buried.
Because if Elise remembers what really happened twenty years ago, she may discover that the greatest mystery was never what happened to Ivy.
It's who Ivy was.

My Thoughts:  Mary Alford is a stunning writer.  I've never read anyone else's books who have SO much in them.  

This is like no other book that I've read from her.  

This story is a psychological thriller that is full of surprises.

It's a quick read, coming in at 206 pages.  Of course, as a reader you'll want to keep reading because it's a captivating story.

I honestly could not put all the events together.  I didn't see some of the evidence pointing to the culprit.

Elise is a great character as is Reid. 

There is no spice in this thriller.  And it's not a scary read.  It's also not an action read but my.oh.my this story keeps you on your toes.

The question throughout the whole story is "Who is Ivy?"  

If you love thrillers and a great mystery you'll love this new story! 

It's not an expensive book get it on HERE for $6.99

I received a complimentary copy from the author. 

The opinions in this review are my own.

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

Light from Distant Stars: A Novel by Shawn Smucker

  

Book Description:  When Cohen Marah steps over his father's body in the basement embalming room of the family's funeral home, he has no idea that he is stepping into a labyrinth of memory. As the last one to see his father, Cohen is the primary suspect.

Over the next week, Cohen's childhood memories come back in living color. The dramatic events that led to his father being asked to leave his pastoral position. The game of baseball that somehow kept them together. And the two children in the forest who became his friends--and enlisted him in a dark and dangerous undertaking. As the lines blur between what was real and what was imaginary, Cohen is faced with the question he's been avoiding: Did he kill his father?

My Thoughts:  There are times when I begin reading a book and wonder, "What am I missing?"  This is such book.
I just could not understand what the author was saying in this story.  I was lost from page one.
Now if you're the type of reader who enjoys dystopia or "christian" science fiction, well, you may enjoy this read.
The story centers around the father of Cohen Marah.  Actually the story seems to be about the father...but, then again, I'm clueless about the story.  Just didn't get what was going on.
The author knows how to write, it is the story itself that I had trouble with.  Yes, I get that there was child abuse and the man wanted to let go of the ugly things.  However, the story part just never got to me.

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Revell
• ISBN-10: 0800728513

Snowbound Escape (Pacific Northwest K-9 Unit, 8) by Dana Mentink

 

Book Description:  To rescue a witness…

this K-9 team must face a killer and a storm.

After months tracking a colleague falsely accused of a double homicide, officer Tanner Ford and his K-9 partner finally locate crime tech Mara Gilmore—but the real murderer is closing in. Now they must run into a frozen wilderness to survive. Evading the killer is the only way for Mara to clear her name. But will the harsh winter conditions cover their tracks…or bury them forever?

My Thoughts:  I was so excited to get this book.  Dana Mentink is one of my favorite authors.  I read the whole book the same day I received it.  I was just going to read one chapter but the story grabbed me and pulled me in and I just couldn't let go.  

This is a true large print Love inspired Suspense read.  I love this size.  I like the way it holds well in my hands.

I love rescue missions.  So when Officer Tanner Ford and his sweet K-9 partner need to track and locate Mara Gilmore the witness to the crime, it becomes a clock ticking rescue. 

As the real murderer closes in on Mara Tanner and Britta rescue Mara but now they're all on the run trying to outwit a fearless bad person.

All of this running and keeping ahead of a criminal mind takes place in the Pacific Northwest.  It was interesting to read about snow and survival.

Excitement at its best!  Such a wonderful read.  Don't miss it! 

Buy it HERE  Two sizes to pick from plus Kindle

Fun Friday!

 

Fun Friday!

 

Suspense at its best....coming this month

 

Some memories fade.

Some are buried.

And some may never have belonged to you at all.

When Elise Warren inherits Coldwater Hollow after her estranged father’s death, she returns to the mansion where her childhood memories begin—and abruptly end. But someone inside the house knows what happened there.

Someone who calls her by another name.

If you enjoy chilling family secrets, unreliable memories, old houses, and psychological suspense without supernatural elements, you’ll want to read The Memory House by Mary Alford.

https://amzn.to/3NhHYKY

#TheMemoryHouse #MaryAlford #PsychologicalThriller #BookRecommendation #MustReadSuspense

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday}

 

We did this wonderful fish Charcuterie board with fish, tortillas, 

onions, fresh veggies...it was wonderful!

It's HERE! the fantabulous book by Dana Metink

 

Someone appears to fall from a penthouse window, but there is no body to be found.

Murders in the Marquee by Dana Mentink is available now in print, ebook, and audiobook formats. Check into the Grand Mallard Marquee and join an unlikely trio of amateur sleuths as they search for a killer roaming the hotel’s lavish corridors.

Harlequin:
https://harlequin.com/products/murders-in-the-marquee/

Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FYXQT2R3/

Order from Bookshop.org

#DanaMentink #MurdersintheMarquee

A Royal Christmas {A Christmas Novella} by Melody Carlson

 

Book Description:  Adelaide Smith is too busy for fairy tales. She's been working hard to put herself through law school and now that the end is in sight, she's determined to stay focused on her goals. Then she receives a letter notifying her that she has been found through a DNA registry to be a direct descendant of King Maximillian V, the ruler of a small Eastern European principality called Montovia. She's understandably skeptical. This is the stuff of cheesy made-for-TV movies, not real life.

Although the pieces of this surprising family puzzle seem too good to be true, curiosity gets the best of her. At the king's invitation, Adelaide embarks on a Christmas break trip that is chock-full of surprises, including a charming village, an opulent palace, family mysteries, royal jealousies, a handsome young member of Parliament--and the chance at a real fairy tale romance with a happily-ever-after ending.

My Thoughts:  The Christmas reads are beginning to make their way on the shelves and it's so nice! And this book is a beautiful hard back book.  It's a keeper!

Melody Carlson always pens an interesting story. She's one of my favorite authors.  

A Royal Christmas has all the feels and the love that comes with a Christmas story.

As much as I enjoy a good mystery or suspense read I like a great story that has love and imagination in it too.  This story makes for a nice break from all the suspense.

I like Adelaide. She's not only smart but beautiful as well.  She's down to earth but would like meeting her Prince Charming.  

When Adelaide receives the letter telling her she's a direct descendant from a King of a small area in Europe not only is she skeptical but she just doesn't believe it.

Then she receives an invitation from the king and lo and behold, she's on her way to royalty.

I loved this story!  Such a great start to the holiday reading!