Everything Romance A Celebration of LOVE for Couples by Tom Winters and David Bordon

Book Description:  Romance is always in season when you’re in love.

 Ready to create romantic memories? If you’re looking for new and unique ways to celebrate love, captivate the heart of your true love, or simply enjoy each other’s company, Everything Romance offers all of this and much more. Inside you’ll find… Ways to engage your loved one with conversation starters for couples; Fun and creative date and gift ideas for any budget; Heartwarming love stories and poems; Love busters and love boosters to add fun, zing, and zest; Trivia about the history of love and romance; Recipes to fan the heartflames.

My Review:  Everything Romance A Celebration of LOVE for Couples is one of those must have books for all couples who celebrate their marriage with God's love.

This smallish book is delightful!  From it's victorian romance cover to the pink/grey/white sometimes trimmed in red pages to the celebration of a love that lasts a lifetime.

On page 101 there is a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson celebrating the family:  We Thank You, Lord:

Lord, we behold our family here assembled.

We thank you for this place in which we dwell,

for the love that unites us,

for the peace accorded us this day . . . 

for the health, the work, the food and the

bright skies that make our lives delightful;

for our friends in all parts of the earth.

Amen.

This poem pretty much sums up the "wonderfulness" of being a married couple!  

Included in this savory little nugget are also Love Boosters, melt.in.your.mouth.recipes, short stories, hymns, prayers (I personally love the Prayer for My Husband) and so much more!

Such a great book for helping you and your love create those meaningful memories as a couple and as a family!

This will make a grand Valentine for your loved one!  This would be a great "card" placed on that beautiful box of chocolates!  

*Romance is always in season when you're in love (from back cover).

*This book was provided by Waterbrook/Multnomah*

Publisher: Waterbrook Press
ISBN: 0307729311
ISBN-13: 9780307729316
SKU: 9780307729316

Go HERE! to read a chapter!

Died In the Wool (Massachusetts Mayhem Mysteries, No. 2) by Elizabeth Ludwig & Janelle Mowery

Book Description:  Monah Trenary is battling to gain some funding for her beloved library. When a rival for the monies ends up dead, all clues lead to Monah’s door. Can the librarian prove her innocence before the cops throw the book at her? Or is this a case of murder in the first degree?

My Review:  I enjoy reading Hometown Mysteries!  These are great mysteries without the guts and gore...just good clean who.done.it mysteries.

Monah is a small town librarian "fighting" for the town to fund more programs and computers at the library. When one of the longtime teachers is found dead in the library restroom the mystery begins and so does the case of Monah looking like the culprit.

Then another top contender for the town't funds ends up dead.  Is it in the water?

Now this mystery isn't a fast paced mystery where Monah is in constant need of a solution...no it's more of an armchair good for the moment mystery! So I label it a good, clean mystery with enough clues and romance to make one feel that she is apart of a small hometown.

                                       Meet the Authors

Elizabeth Ludwig

Janelle Mowery

Beyond Molasses Creek by Nicole Seitz

Book Description:  

Three lives are bound by a single book . . . and the cleansing waters of Molasses Creek.

Having traveled to the ends of the earth as a flight attendant, Ally Green has finally returned to the Lowcountry to bury her father as well as the past. But Vesey Washington is still living across the creek, and theirs is a complicated relationship--he was once her best friend . . . and also part of the reason she's stayed away so long. When Ally discovers a message her father left behind asking her to quit running, it seems her past isn't through with her yet.

As Ally's wandering spirit wrestles with a deep longing to flee again, a young woman on the other side of the world escapes her life of slavery in the rock quarries of Nepal. A mysterious sketchbook leads Sunila Kunari to believe there's more to her story than she's ever been told, and she's determined to follow the truth wherever it leads her.

 A deep current intertwines the lives of these three souls, and a destiny of freedom, faith, and friendship awaits them all on the banks of Molasses Creek.  

My Review: A mystery, a woman of means, and a life filled with running...this is the life Ally Green!

Ally has been on the move as an airline stewardess for years now.  She likes getting up and going to new places.  She doesn't like going home but home is where she is now called to go - to bury her father.

She meets up with Vesey Washington, her neighbor and friend from so long ago. 

Then there's Sunila who finds a sketchbook that seems to have more meaning for Sunila.  What does it all mean? And where will it lead? Sunila sets out to find out!

Racial tensions of the 60's are a deep part of this read - as are the beautiful descriptions of places visited by Ally.  

This is an "okay" read.  At times I wondered how so? How could this happen?!  Could that truly be?  I know this a fiction story but the I like fiction that borders on being "true."  The descriptions of the places Ally visits is probably the best part of this read.  Not a bad read just a little to much "author license."

*This book was provided for review by BookSneeze/Thomas Nelson Publishing*

WOW {Warm Oven Wednesday} Cheesy Vegetable Chowder

We love soups in the winter!  

And here is a favorite soup from Lulu the Baker.

2 Tablespoons butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 cup finely chopped carrot

1 stalk celery, finely chopped (feel free to add more celery if you like celery; I don't, so I don't add much)

1 Tablespoon minced garlic

4 cups chicken broth (I usually use a mixture of low-sodium chicken broth and broth made with chicken soup base because it gives it such nice flavor)

2 large baking potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 Tablespoon flour

1/2 cup water

2/3 cup milk

2 cups chopped broccoli

2 heaping cups shredded cheddar cheese

Melt the butter in a large soup pot.  Add onions, carrots, and celery and saute over medium heat until tender.  Add garlic and cook 1 or 2 additional minutes.  Add chicken broth and potatoes, bring to a boil, and cook until potatoes are tender.  Mix flour with water, add, and simmer until soup is slightly thickened.  Add milk and broccoli and cook until broccoli is just tender and soup is heated through.  Stir in cheese, allow to melt, and serve.

The Light Keeper's Ball by Colleen Coble

Book Description:  This Mercy Falls novel has romance, mystery, secrets and a bad guy. Coble wows the reader with a fresh storyline. Readers will enjoy peeling back the layers and discovering this is more than your average romance book. The characters are strong not only in themselves but also in their faith. 4 stars. --Romantic Times

Coble spins a tangled web in this third book in the Mercy Falls series (after The Lightkeeper's Bride), with red herrings and oodles of duplicity. -- Publishers Weekly

My Review:  The Lightkeeper's Ball by Colleen Coble is the third book in the Mercy Falls series.  Although this is a series each book is stand alone read.  

Olivia has strong suspicions that her sister's death is foul play because her sister was deathly afraid of water!  So, why would she commit suicide using water or why would she be swimming?  Olivia decides she will investigate this case herself!  And find the truth of her sister's death.

Olivia's search brings suspense, mystery and romance!  This read also has some great history included in the story---Haley's Comet in 1920, bloomers, and the suffragette cause.

If truth is to prevail then half-truths or omissions can cause trauma.  Olivia finds that omitting truth can cause a good deal of grief!  Olivia is stressed by the omission of truth and it plagues her throughout the story.  A great lesson for us all.

After an attempt on her life, Olivia, is housed in the lighthouse.  Then a storm strikes.  and Olivia decides to have a Lightkeeper's Ball to replace all that was lost in the storm.

This read is full of how our actions and behavior can make or break us in life.  Also, if one of our close relatives passed away would we know that relative well enough to know the truth or fiction of what others tell us about said relative?  

A most.wonderful.read!  Colleen Coble outdid herself in this third Mercy Falls book!

*This book was provided for review by Thomas Nelson/BookSneeze and Net Galley*

COTT: Clash Of The Titles . . .

IS THERE A BOOK YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE COMPETE ON CLASH OF THE TITLES? PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO ENTER THE TITLE IN OUR QUICK SURVEY, BELOW!

*by COTT Sr. Editor, April W Gardner

January is in full swing, starting 2012 off with a bang. At Clash of the Titles, you can take that quite literally! For the next two weeks, we’re featuring Death. That’s right. Death.

Death has the power to intrigue and terrify, and it’s that power that a good book taps into, often leaving a permanent mark on the reader’s memory. Visit Clash of the Titles today, to read two Death excerpts and vote for the one that impacts you the most. 


Remember that every book you send to the Champions Ring will have a shot at our Laurel Award, handed out at the end of our Tournament of Champions. Coming October 2012!


Between now and our October Tournament, we'll have a slew of exciting clashes—some, old reliables; others, brand new. 

Here’s  what's on the COTT calendar:

Almost Kiss-- 

(Feb, accepting submissions)

Unpublished Hooks-- 

(March, accepting submissions)

Here's a glimpse at clashes you might see in the future:

Good Guy

Bad Guy

Leading Lady

Back Cover Summary

Comparable Covers

Mayhem and Mishaps

Creepy Covers

Author’s Choice

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Tantalizing Titles

Young Adult

Childrens

Is there a specific book that comes to mind that you would like to see compete on Clash of the Titles in one of these clashes? We want to know!! Please enter the book title in the survey box below.


Also new in 2012, once a quarter, a specially selected COTT Champ will be featured in a podcast interview with Christian Authors Guild board member, Cynthia L. Simmons. You can hear our current podcast HERE.


Clash of the Titles thanks each of our readers and voters for making COTT such a fun hang-out during 2011. We look forward to another year of introducing you to amazing new books and giving you the opportunity to win them!

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The Search Committee A Novel by Tim Owens

Book Description:  A mismatched team of seven hit the road in an Econoline church van on a mission to find a new pastor. They don't agree on much other than the stops at Hardee's for coffee and a biscuit. But they stick to the call, trying to slip undetected into worship services across the Southeast—all in hopes of stealing a preacher for their congregation. 

Each member is wrestling to balance their own busy life and personal struggles. And they're trying to keep their issues to themselves. Forced to spend countless hours together, these very different personalities from different generations begin to bond. And their lives are profoundly changed as they love and support each other through the difficulties in each of their lives.

My Review: Having been reared in church all my life and now serving as a pastor's wife I couldn't put The Search Committee novel down because Tim Owens "hit the nail on the head" with this novel.

Imagine a committee from church being sent out on the road to literally "steal" a pastor.  But the committee must all agree on said pastor.  And after visiting church after church the wear and tear of being together on the road begins to break down the defenses of each of the committee members.  We think we know people until we are confined in close quarters with each other hour after hour...then we really get to know one another!  

What a plan!  The search committee finds more than a pastor!  The people portrayed in this read could have stepped right out of our churches.  Many a time I found myself laughing out loud!  I haven't read such an interesting and ingenious book like The Search Committee in years!  The portrayal of raw emotion, family dynamics and the uniqueness of church life makes for a grand read!  I absolutely loved this read!  But don't take my word for it....go grab your own copy and join The Search Committee!

*This book was provided by Tyndale Publishing*

Meet the Author: 

 Tim Owens grew up in eastern North Carolina and now lives in Summerville, South Carolina with his wife, Ruth, and four children. He is an environmental engineer, and, in addition to writing, enjoys working on his old Ford tractor at his farm near Ehrhardt, South Carolina. Once the backsliding son of a Southern Baptist preacher, his wife led him gently into the Presbyterian Church (where he is now an elder). This is his first novel.

• ISBN-13: 9781414364452
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Publication date: 2/1/201   Pages: 400