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About the Book
Book: All That It Takes
Author: Nicole Deese
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Publisher: Bethany House
Release Date: April 5, 2022
When the ever-cautious Val Locklier finally agrees to a cross-country move with her nine-year-old son to take a job with her best friend, Molly, everything she had planned for the future unravels within the first week. After pushing aside her anxieties about renting an apartment from Molly's twin brother, whom she barely knows, she accepts an invitation for an elite filmmaker's mentorship. Caught between her insecurities and new possibilities, she feels completely unprepared for the challenges ahead.
Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from abroad to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he's been banished to a ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he pursues a relationship with Val without stopping to consider the timing or asking God to direct his steps.
As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they'll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.
Pastor Miles McKenzie returns home from abroad to discover that not only does he have an intriguing new tenant living upstairs, he's been banished to a ministry on life support. Disillusioned and restless, he pursues a relationship with Val without stopping to consider the timing or asking God to direct his steps.
As Val struggles to stop hiding behind the camera and Miles wrestles with shattered expectations, they'll find that authentic love and sacrifice must go hand in hand.
My Thoughts
I absolutely loved this story. This was my first story by this author and I am so glad I was sent this book for review because now I am hooked and I must read her other books especially the one previous to this one so that I can know the storyline of the other characters in the story. No worries though this one can be read as a stand alone as I did not feel like I was missing out on anything.
The author does an excellent job at making the characters human and extremely relatable. Like these people could be people you are friends with or encounter in everyday life. Valerie is definitely an insecure woman. She is a single mom and trying to make it on her own without the help of her parents despite how much she loves them. She takes a big step in her life by moving and meets the ever charming Miles. Miles has his own struggles. He is running away from the true calling God has put upon his life but has put blinders on what that calling is. He is trying to make it his way and that is just not going to work. Haven't we all been there before? When you are trying to tell God what is going to happen. He must truly chuckle at us when we try to do that.
I loved the characters Rev and Trisha. They both had a gentle way of bringing forth the truth to Miles and letting him see what direction God wanted him going. Again very relatable as I know personally God sends people into your life to make sure you are truly seeing what HE wants you to do.
Of course there is romance in this story and I absolutely loved it. It may seem that it moves a bit fast but you have to understand that these characters have already previously met in the first book (despite this not being a series") and the pacing throughout it was executed perfectly. Miles is definitely swoon-worthy despite his flaws (thank goodness he has his come to Jesus moment! LOL). I also loved the way that the author handled Valerie's faith journey. She really grew and saw personally how God was moving through her.
Overall I thought this story was fantastic! I think you would enjoy it as well. I will say that the topic of abortion is a key point in the storyline and the author handled perfectly.
My Rating: 5 Stars/Loved it!
I received a copy of this book from the publisher Bethany House. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Author
To learn more, visit www.nicoledeese.com
About the Book
Author: Ann H. Gabhart
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction
Release Date: May 3, 2022
Publisher: Revell
Widow Rose Meadows eagerly accepts her brother-in-law's offer for her and her two daughters to live on his farm after her treatments in a sanatorium finds them needing a home. But is this scarred and reclusive man ready for all the changes these women will bring to his life?
My Thoughts
Another wonderful story from Ms. Gabhart! This one takes you to Meadowland where these characters definitely find healing in a very special and unique way. The author does a great job with the characters and making them each unique and have their own storyline. The story does flow seamlessly and you can follow it along quite well. I was glad to see how it all unfolded and the mystery part of the story was surprising to me and did not quite expect it while I read the story.
Dirk's character was my favorite. He was a recluse who struggles not only in his faith but is battling a broken heart. He has a disfigurement due to a fire and feels like he can't be seen as normal to people. When Rose and her girls contact him everything changes and you see him unfolding into something different. You truly see his character grow throughout the story.
I wish there would've been more interaction with Dirk and Rose. I mean there was some, don't get me wrong but the few times that they were together though very important int he story I felt was not enough to develop the relationship that they eventually ended up with.
Overall I thought it was a good story. Ann Gabhart is a wonderful story teller and she truly captivates you with not only her characters but the settings that she writes her stories in. If you enjoy Christian Historical I definitely recommend you grab this one!
My Rating: 4 Stars/Really Liked it
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Author
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About the Book
Book: Coloring God's Love for Me
Author: Janae Dueck
Genre: Children's Devotional Book
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Release Date: June 14, 2022
Hold on to the Bible's promises of God's love, care, and protection with this coloring book devotional for kids. Each devotion includes Scripture, a reflection on the verse using kid-friendly examples, and a coloring page that illustrates the promise.
This activity book for kids ages 6 to 9 features 100 promises based on God's Word that encourage children to trust the Lord no matter what--through exciting adventures, new experiences, anxieties, challenges, and sad times devotions that guide children toward a better understanding of who God is and His loving plans for them illustrations to color on every page that represent the biblical truths in fun, creative ways. Enjoy hours of coloring God's promises with sturdy paper perfect for markers, gel pens, crayons, or colored pencils short readings great for family and homeschool devotions, kids' quiet times, or Sunday School lessons notebook-sized pages that fit just right in a backpack or car seat pocket. Kids will love personalizing this keepsake devotional as they color their way through each promise and reflect on God's goodness. Coloring God's Love for Me is a hands-on devotional for kids that makes an encouraging gift for summer vacation, birthdays, Christmas, and Easter.
This activity book for kids ages 6 to 9 features 100 promises based on God's Word that encourage children to trust the Lord no matter what--through exciting adventures, new experiences, anxieties, challenges, and sad times devotions that guide children toward a better understanding of who God is and His loving plans for them illustrations to color on every page that represent the biblical truths in fun, creative ways. Enjoy hours of coloring God's promises with sturdy paper perfect for markers, gel pens, crayons, or colored pencils short readings great for family and homeschool devotions, kids' quiet times, or Sunday School lessons notebook-sized pages that fit just right in a backpack or car seat pocket. Kids will love personalizing this keepsake devotional as they color their way through each promise and reflect on God's goodness. Coloring God's Love for Me is a hands-on devotional for kids that makes an encouraging gift for summer vacation, birthdays, Christmas, and Easter.
My Thoughts
I love reviewing Children's books because I know I’ll be able to incorporate it into our daily routine and our homeschool life! Check out Coloring God’s Love for Me: 100 Devotions to Inspire Young Hearts by Janae Dueck and published by Tommy Nelson. I need to get another copy but so far I have been reading the devotional to my 6 and 7 year old at night and they color the page together while I’m reading to the older ones during our morning time! It’s been a great addition but my 11 year old would also like to partake! 😂 So I’ll be getting 2 more copies of these books.
My Rating: 5 Stars/ Really enjoy it!
I received a copy of this book through Just Read. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Book
Book: Hope in 60 Seconds
Author: Cristina Baker
Genre: Christian Non-Fiction
Now more than ever, we all face trying situations. The hope we need and hunger for is not a strategy or state of mind, but faith in Jesus. He stands secure for us in the face of every trial, from loss to sickness to injustice. Through 20 short prayers, 10 personal stories of miraculous transformations, and Biblical teachings, Hope in 60 Seconds will help you take the first steps towards a journey of security in the hope of Jesus.
“At twenty-one I was as far from hopeful as anyone could get. Maybe as far as you are now.”
These are the words of Cristina Baker as she considered her traumatic life: from childhood abuse to troubled teen years, to a descent into substance abuse, she resonates with a lost world who understands first-hand how easy it is to lose hope. Then, just as she was about to go to jail for drug possession, the Hero of Hope, Jesus Christ, came into her life and set her on a completely new path.
If you are weary and doubting, Cristina understands. Hope in 60 Seconds will help you to:
Be encouraged and empowered by someone who has been in a similar place of discouragement and discovered Christ’s authority and love,
Learn how Jesus establishes hope and begin to experience it first-hand in the darkest of circumstances,
Grow in your ability to connect with Jesus and find the hope you have longed for all of your life, and
Prove that a connection with Jesus is the ultimate source of hope.
The message of Cristina’s life is Jesus, the hope we need and hunger for—a hope that will stand secure in the face of brokenness, loss, sickness, abuse, a brain tumor diagnosis, injustice, and death. In Hope in 60 Seconds, she shares the steps of her journey to encounter, receive, and walk in the hope of Jesus, and offers readers powerful wisdom for how they can take the same journey for themselves.
“At twenty-one I was as far from hopeful as anyone could get. Maybe as far as you are now.”
These are the words of Cristina Baker as she considered her traumatic life: from childhood abuse to troubled teen years, to a descent into substance abuse, she resonates with a lost world who understands first-hand how easy it is to lose hope. Then, just as she was about to go to jail for drug possession, the Hero of Hope, Jesus Christ, came into her life and set her on a completely new path.
If you are weary and doubting, Cristina understands. Hope in 60 Seconds will help you to:
Be encouraged and empowered by someone who has been in a similar place of discouragement and discovered Christ’s authority and love,
Learn how Jesus establishes hope and begin to experience it first-hand in the darkest of circumstances,
Grow in your ability to connect with Jesus and find the hope you have longed for all of your life, and
Prove that a connection with Jesus is the ultimate source of hope.
The message of Cristina’s life is Jesus, the hope we need and hunger for—a hope that will stand secure in the face of brokenness, loss, sickness, abuse, a brain tumor diagnosis, injustice, and death. In Hope in 60 Seconds, she shares the steps of her journey to encounter, receive, and walk in the hope of Jesus, and offers readers powerful wisdom for how they can take the same journey for themselves.
My Thoughts
I’m not a huge nonfiction reader unless it’s my Bible or a book that completely grabs me. But sometimes it’s a good break to grab something that will uplift you and give you a new perspective. In this book author Christina Baker shares her walk with Jesus and basically her testimony as she comes to realization that God’s hope is something we need to hunger for. The hope we need to withstand loss, brokenness, death and so on.
If you are looking for a testimony and a look into someone’s journey then I recommend this book!
Grab it here 👉🏼https://bit.ly/Hopein6Seconds
If you are looking for a testimony and a look into someone’s journey then I recommend this book!
Grab it here 👉🏼https://bit.ly/Hopein6Seconds
My Rating: 4 Stars
I received a copy of this book for review. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
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About the Book
Book: The Element of Love
Author: Mary Connealy
Series: The Lumber Baron's Daughter, Book 1
Genre: Historical Christian Romance
Publisher: Bethany House Publisher
Release Date: March 1, 2022
With their sharp engineering minds, Laura Stiles and her two sisters have been able to deal with their mother's unfortunate choice in husband, until they discover his plans to marry each of them off to his lecherous friends. Now they must run away--far and fast--to find better matches to legally claim their portion of their father's lumber dynasty and seize control from their stepfather.
When Laura befriends a mission group heading to serve the poor in California during their escape, she quickly volunteers herself and her sisters to join their efforts. Despite the settlement being in miserable condition, the sisters are excited by the opportunity to put their skills to good use. Laura also sees potential in Caleb, the local minister, to help with gaining her inheritance. But when secrets buried in Caleb's past and in the land around them come to light, it'll take all the smarts the sisters have to keep trouble at bay.
When Laura befriends a mission group heading to serve the poor in California during their escape, she quickly volunteers herself and her sisters to join their efforts. Despite the settlement being in miserable condition, the sisters are excited by the opportunity to put their skills to good use. Laura also sees potential in Caleb, the local minister, to help with gaining her inheritance. But when secrets buried in Caleb's past and in the land around them come to light, it'll take all the smarts the sisters have to keep trouble at bay.
My Thoughts
It has been a while since I had read a Mary Connealy book and I am glad I picked this one up. This is the start of her new series and I thought it started out well. The story centers around three sisters running away at the insistence of their mother to escape their abusive step father. The story is told in multiple point of views as you are getting to know these sisters but I think Ms. Connealy did a great job at keeping things straight and easy to understand. The setting of the story was good as well. I enjoyed the Western setting and the historical parts on the gold rush.
At times it felt like the story was rushed and it was hard to connect to the characters because there was just so many of them with their own storylines. I also thought more could've been done with the storyline between the mother and stepfather and perhaps it will be in the following books. While this one lacked a bit for me I think it was because it is the first book and she introduced quite a bit in this first book.
Overall I thought it was a good book and I am looking forward to reading the others on the series and finding out what happens to these sisters. If you enjoy Historical Christian Romance you may just enjoy this new book!
My Rating: 3 Stars/ Liked it
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
About the Author
She is the bestselling author of 65 books and novellas.
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.
Find Mary online at:
My Website
Her most recent three book series are: Braced for Love, A Man with a Past and Love on the Range for Bethany House Publishing. She’s also written four other series for Barbour Publishing and many novellas and several stand-alone books for multiple publishers.
Mary will be a published author for ten years in 2017 with nearly a million books in print. She has a degree in broadcast communications with an emphasis in journalism and has worked at her local newspaper.
Find Mary online at:
My Website
About the Book
Book: Midnight's Budding Morrow
Author: Carolyn Miller
Series: Regency Wallflowers, Book 2
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Publisher: Kregel
Release Date: May 31, 2022
Can real love grow between a wallflower and an unrepentant rogue?
Sarah Drayton is eager to spend time with her best friend at her crumbling Northumberland castle estate. Matrimony is the last thing on her mind and the last thing she expects to be faced with on a holiday. Yet she finds herself being inveigled into a marriage of convenience with her friend's rakish brother.
When James Langley returns to his family's estate, he can't be bothered to pay attention to his responsibilities as the heir. War is raging and he wants only distraction, not serious tethers. But his roguish ways have backed him into a corner, and he has little choice but to obey his father's stunning decree: marry before returning to war, or else. Suddenly he finds himself wedded to a clever and capable woman he does not love.
Sarah craves love and a place to belong, neither of which James offered before returning to the battlefront. Now everyone around her thinks she married above her station, and they have no intention of rewarding her for such impertinence. It isn't until her husband returns from war seemingly changed that she begins to hope they may find real happiness. But can she trust that this rake has truly reformed?
When tragedy strikes, this pair must learn to trust God and his plans. Will they be destroyed . . . or will they discover that even in the darkest depths of night, the morning still holds hope?
My Thoughts
I really enjoyed this story and despite it being the second in the series it read like a stand alone story. This story definitely is filled with a lot of emotions. It is a story that is filled with redemption, forgiveness and finding love in the right place. The theme of belonging and finding ones identity is also very big throughout the storyline.
The setting is spectacular and the perfect place for all that is going on. The descriptions make you feel like you are right at Langley castle and smelling the ocean air. The characters were very well written and their emotions jumped out as you were reading. The storyline is one of marriage of convenience with a mixture of bad boy turned good.
I really enjoyed Sarah at the very beginning. She seems to have it all together and right away you can tell that she wants a place where she belongs. She wants an identity. She wants to be loved and needed. I loved her tenacity and boldness towards the servants of the house. She was not afraid to back down to them and I loved her for that. But once she had to marry James she changed. She still had a bit of that backbone but she felt alone and without the respect from those around her who could blame her. It took me a bit to like James. He was not very nice at all but he did redeem himself and boy did he really make you fall in love with him. It took him a bit but it's amazing what God's grace does for us.
I can't tell you too much because I would give it away and I would hate to ruin the story for you. But I will tell you that this is a beautiful story of redemption and finding your identity in Christ. It shows you what happens when you waver on your faith and when you hold on tight to it. I will warn you that there are some heavier topics in this story such as alcoholism and depression but Carolyn Miller approaches it in a very hope-filled manner but she also doesn't shy away from being realistic on what happens when we are at our lowest when battling depression.
Overall I thought the story was excellent. I couldn't stop reading because I wanted to know what would happen next. If you enjoy Christian Historical Romance stories you would definitely enjoy this one or any books by this author!
My Rating: 5 Stars/Loved it!
I received a copy of this book from Read with Audra. I was not required to post a positive review. All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
Giveaway
About the Author
A longtime lover of romance, especially that of Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer’s Regency era, Carolyn holds a BA in English literature and loves drawing readers into fictional worlds that show the truth of God’s grace in our lives. She enjoys music, films, gardens, art, travel, and food.
Miller’s novels have won a number of RWA and ACFW contests. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Australasian Christian Writers.
Learn more about Carolyn at www.carolynmillerauthor.com, or find her on Facebook (Carolyn Miller Author), Instagram (@CarolynMillerAuthor), and Twitter (@CarolynMAuthor).
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Do you still carry your Bible to church? It seems like nowadays when you look down the pew or chairs you see more and more people reach for their phones and pull up the Bible app instead. I myself have done this so no judging here. But there’s something amazing about turning the pages of a Bible. I know I have multiples in our house and different versions as well.
This one is the Lifeway Womens Bible. Ya’ll the leather cover is SO soft! I have the mint green/aqua one because I just love that color! I love to do my Bible study from my actual Bible and I love having different versions because sometimes looking at it from a different way just makes it all make sense in my head.
If you are looking for a new study Bible this may be fit your needs! Here’s what I love about it: #
📖 Bible Genre introductions
📖 Plenty of space to journal of you enjoy doing so!
📖 Concordance!!
📖 Reflection questions
📖 Timelines at the beginning of each Book.
📖 Plans to read the Bible in 90 days or 3 years
📖 Devotionals by different Christian women!
There is a ton more that I could tell you but check out the pics! You can grab your very own copy here 👉🏼 https://bit.ly/3LHM3lY
The only thing that I will say that this truly is a Study Bible so it’s a bit thick. So, even though you could definitely take this to church, for me personally this would be a bit too cumbersome to carry around.
Thank you @christianstandardbible and @lifewaywomen for the copy of this beautiful Bible.
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