Month: November 2018

Lost Christmas Memories

About the Book

Book: Lost Christmas Memories
Author: Dana Mentink
Genre: Inspirational Romantic Suspense/Christmas
Release Date: November 1, 2018
A witness with amnesia
Can she trust this Gold Country Cowboy with her life?
Tracy Wilson witnessed a murder—but after a head injury, she can’t remember what she saw. Now someone plans to silence her for good, and only cowboy Keegan Thorn believes her. With a killer after her at Christmas, Tracy is running out of time to remember…and falling dangerously hard for the cowboy who could break her heart.

My Review

We meet Keegan Thorn in the first book in the Gold Country Cowboy series, and honestly, I wasn’t too sure about him then. Keegan is your classic reformed bad boy, but it’s up in the air at the beginning of the story just how reformed he is. Personally, having worked with a lot of kids with hard back stories, I’m not surprised by Keegan’s behavior, and while I get frustrated with him and his hatred towards his father and half-brother, I also get it.

I can’t imagine being in Tracy’s shoes; what a horrific occurrence to stumble into. As the reader who knows more than the character (why I love 3rd person!) I keep wondering if Tracy is trusting Keegan too much or too little. At the beginning you see this conflict clearly, and much like I do to the movie screen, I start yelling “Trust the Thorns! They’ll protect you!” But, of course Tracy can’t hear me and appropriately stays hesitant as to why Keegan and his family are helping her. 

In the end it all works out, by Christmas, of course, and is a pleasant read with some twists and turns. It’s a typical Love Inspired story while offering enough characteristics to make it its own beyond the normal boy meets girl developments. If you’re looking for Christmas Reads, I’d recommend it.

I was provided a copy of this story for the purposes of this tour. All opinions are honestly my own.

About the Author

Dana Mentink is a two time American Christian Fiction Writers Carol Award winner, a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award and a Holt Medallion winner. She is a national bestselling author of over thirty five titles in the suspense and lighthearted romance genres. She is pleased to write for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense, Harlequin Heartwarming and Harvest House. Dana was thrilled to be a semi-finalist in the Jeanne Robertson Comedy With Class Competition. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with Papa Bear, teen bear cubs affectionately nicknamed Yogi and Boo Boo, Junie, the nutty terrier, a chubby box turtle and a feisty parakeet. You can connect with Dana via her website at danamentink.com.

Guest Post from Dana

Writing this book was bittersweet for me. It was lovely to finally be able to tell youngest Thorn brother Keegan’s story, but I sure am sorry to say goodbye to this series! It was such fun to write about these four kinsmen and the family bonds that held them together through all manner of murder and mayhem! Here at Mentink Manor, we have recently sent a bear cub away to college for the first time. It feels like I have lost a limb now that my Boo Boo is gone! Fortunately, we will enjoy having her home for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Though it won’t be a cozy country Christmas like it is for Keegan (we live in a city of 80,000 here in Northern, CA) we will be thrilled to have all our family home to celebrate together (Mama Bear, Papa Bear, two cubs, a naughty terrier, and a senior citizen box turtle!) I hope you enjoy this last installment in the Gold Country Cowboy series. I am sending along our best wishes for a blessed holiday season, from our Mentink household to yours!

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, November 22

Christian Bookaholic, November 22

Among the Reads, November 22

Inklings and Notions, November 23

Just Your Average reviews, November 23

Blogging With Carol, November 23

Because I said so -adventures in parenting, November 24

D’S QUILTS & BOOKS, November 24

Jennifer Sienes: Where Crisis and Christ Collide, November 24

Moments, November 25

Simple Harvest Reads, November 25

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, November 25

Genesis 5020, November 26

SusanLovesBooks, November 26

Remembrancy, November 26

Kat’s Corner Books, November 27

Pause for Tales, November 27

Ashley’s Bookshelf, November 27

Quiet quilter, November 28

Reading Is My SuperPower, November 28

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, November 28

Book by Book, November 29

A Rup Life, November 29

To Everything A Season, November 29

Older & Smarter?, November 30

Have A Wonderful Day, November 30

Cafinated Reads, November 30

KarenSueHadley, December 1

Lighthouse Academy, December 1

Daysong Reflections, December 1

Bibliophile Reviews, December 2

A Baker’s Perspective, December 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, December 2

Janices book reviews, December 3

Bigreadersite, December 3

Texas Book-aholic, December 4

Carpe Diem, December 4

Godly Book Reviews, December 5

Book Bites, Bee Stings, & Butterfly Kisses, December 5

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Dana is giving away a grand prize of a copy of Lost Christmas Memories, a $50 Amazon gift card and this cute reading charms necklace!!Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/d626/lost-christmas-memories-celebration-tour-giveaway

Why Did You Choose Me? – Giveaway – JustRead

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November is National Adoption Month, and we’re celebrating with the Why Did You Choose Me? Saturday Hop and giveaway, hosted by JustRead Tours and Ambassador International! Every Saturday in November, hop along to the different host blogs and enter the great giveaway!

ABOUT THE BOOK

WDYCM_FullCover Title: Why Did You Choose Me?

Author: Katie Cruice Smith

Illustrator: Sarah Strickling Jones

Publisher: Ambassador International

Release Date: November 12, 2017

Genre: Children’s Picture Book, Adoption

Most adoptive and foster children struggle at some point in their life with knowing who they are and where they belong. They want to ask questions, and parents need to be prepared with an answer that helps their child feel loved and secure. After searching for adoption storybooks to read to her own adopted children, Katie Cruice Smith decided that there was a need for more books that parents could read at bedtime to connect with their adopted and fostered children. In Why Did You Choose Me?, Katie Cruice Smith answers that question in a way that young children can understand. Drawing from her own experience as an adoptive mom to three children, Katie uses the questions her own children have asked to help them see there never really was a choice she knew right away that they were hers. With beautiful illustrations by artist Sarah Strickling Jones, Why Did You Choose Me? lovingly demonstrates the uniqueness that each child brings to a family.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Ambassador International

Three of my Loves

(Not counting the hubs, though I do love him!) These three. The frustration, the tears, the temper tantrums, and the joy; ALL THE JOY. We’ve been praying, waiting, not for our immediate family, but for one of my besties. We’re Uncle Jeremy and Aunt Kat, big believers in family of choice, not just of blood. But, it has been a long road. This bestie we met when we first started down the foster care route as we started at similar times. Our roads were different, but we have walked with her through 20 children. She’s the definition of super mom.

Here’s the thing though, we pray for every child to go home. Why do we do that when we also want to be parents? Because that means that one more family has been healed. We pray that God uses us as a tool to help that family heal and the privilege of trusting us with their children while they heal. But sometimes the breach is too great, or the fit not right, or the bureaucracy overwhelming and the children have to leave for some other reason. So you pray for them, for their protection, for God’s hand to rest on them and that healing to come, and then you let them go.

It’s inevitable that these children whose worlds have been upended to wonder why me? And to wonder, why is this family taking me in? Adoptive and foster children frequently struggle with feelings of abandonment and rejection, and even once they’re in a forever home they wonder, why me and not some other kid? Sometimes they try to be perfect, worried if they mess up, they’ll be sent away.

That’s why I really like this book. It’s very honest and deals with a deep emotional issue that these kids struggle with, but it does it in language they understand, phrased so it could have come out of their own heads.

…and my three loves…

Bestie and her three loves

I received a copy of the book from the author for this tour. I wan’t required to give a positive review.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

View More: http://christarenephotography.pass.us/kate-headshots

Katie Cruice Smith is a freelance writer, journalist, and editor, and she resides in the Upstate of South Carolina with her husband and three adopted children. Katie is an adoption and foster care advocate, and she and husband are licensed foster parents and the founders of their church’s orphan ministry. She is currently working on a devotional book to accompany Why Did You Choose Me?

CONNECT WITH KATIE: website | Facebook | Twitter

ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR

Sarah Strickling Jones enjoys working with oils, acrylics, ceramics, and printmaking. She creates her artwork and teaches students of all ages from her country home. She lives in Greer, South Carolina, with her husband Darren and four children: Trevor, Peyton, Blake, and Renea. Why Did You Choose Me? is Sarah Strickling Jones’ first illustrated children’s book in watercolor.

CONNECT WITH SARAH: Facebook

saturday hop giveaway

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive

  • a print copy of Why Did You Choose Me?
  • “For This Child I Prayed” ornament (more info HERE)
Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight November 3, 2018 and last through 11:59pm December 1, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway https://widget-prime.rafflecopter.com/launch.js

Follow along at JustRead for a full list of stops/dates!

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Firethorn

About The Book

FirethornDon your tactical gear and enter the world of black ops and espionage within the pages of Ronie Kendig’s thriller Firethorn. Former Marine Griffin “Legend” Riddell, a fugitive from injustice, finds it difficult to trust anyone. Covert operative Kazi Faron, the woman sent to free him, has a dangerous secret that may jeopardize her life, mission, and the only man she respects. As Griffin and Kazi race around the globe to save Nightshade, the danger mounts. Will they find the culprit sabotaging their black ops team? Can their newfound feelings and trust survive when Griffin and Kazi face truth and terror?

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My Review

This book is most definitely on Hubs’ Hot List. As our current Read Out Loud book, we finished the story up last night. You know those books that when you’re finished you just sit there for a bit going “wow.” Yeah, this book. You also know those books where you should be going to sleep because you have to get up early and go to work but you’re so close to finishing and you JUST CAN’T PUT IT DOWN? Also this book.

But, I also think part of that feeling was the culmination of the series. While I’m not usually a big series reader if you can’t read them standalone, I think that with this one Ronie wraps up just enough threads in each story to keep me from going crazy and coming back for more. I love that her stories have a balance of romance and action and that hubs and I can find in her stories what we both like. I’ll admit that there are times the action gets a bit intense and icky sounding for me, but the hearts she puts in these men I just can’t resist.

Toward the end there is a plot twist. We didn’t see it coming. Hubs sat with his mouth agape for a few minutes. By the end his eyes were red. Guys, I doubly melted – for Griffin and for hubs and his huge loving compassionate heart. If Legend was real, I think they would be good friends. Funny story? I’m convinced we sit next to Legend at church – and of course I told him about this book. Now I just have to convince him to read it. Maybe it’ll help him find his own Kazi.

About The Author

Ronie photoRonie Kendig is an award-winning, bestselling author of over twenty titles. She grew up an Army brat, and now she and her Army-veteran husband live a short train ride from New York City with their children and retired military working dog. Ronie’s degree in psychology has helped her pen novels of intense, raw characters. Visit Ronie online at:
ronie@roniekendig.com
http://www.roniekendig.com
FB: RapidFireFiction
Twitter: @RonieKendig
Instagram: @kendigronie

When You Look At Me

I think this is my most highlighted “book” for a long time. While I am ok with highlighting my print books, I bought this one in an ebook, which makes it great to go back and review those highlights as well. So many good quotables. I have 9 and even read them to hubs and he hummed his agreement and asked if they were all from the same book. But, he wasn’t impressed enough to pick up a romance novel, hehe.

“‘What is courage, if not, in part, continuing to dream even when there are nightmares?'”

 

About the Book

41394085When Julia Jenkins’ great aunt dies and leaves her a Victorian mansion with decades of secrets, Julia never expects to unearth a World War 2 espionage mystery. Struggling with her own past since an assault left her pregnant, her future as a solo parent leaves her dreams uncertain. The inheritance from her great aunt gives Julia the ability to take a step back into her future, but also sends her into the discovery of a love story she’d never anticipated. As she goes through her aunt’s treasured possessions, Julia uncovers some oddly written piano music with a musical code she can’t decipher on her own. Not to worry, introverted Englishman and composer, Henry Wright, is thrust on the scene by a pair of homespun matchmakers who know the ‘right’ man for Julia’s wounded heart.

Henry arrives in Pleasant Gap with the task of composing the soundtrack for his best mate’s newest film. The Jenkins’ family’s southern welcome and gregarious personalities set his reticent nature on edge, but he’s inexplicably drawn to his gentle and music-loving hostess, Julia. Uncertain how to build a friendship with the wounded woman, and rather hopeless in communicating well through words, the bond of music becomes a bridge between her uncertainty and his awkwardness.

But her broken past and his families’ expectations build a wall much greater than the cultures that separate them. As they work together to solve a musical mystery from the grave, will an unlikely romance from the past inspire their hearts to trust in a God who’s written the perfect melody for their lives?

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“But the God who’s written the story of your life is brave enough for you, so you don’t have to carry the courage all by yourself. His love casts out the fear, so you can walk in the adventure He’s called you to walk.”

My Review

Some call them beta heroes, I call them my favorite. Henry is one of the sweetest men on the planet, I am convinced and reminds me of all my favorite parts of hubs. His gentleness and patience make him the perfect match for Julie and her tough back story, and I couldn’t read fast enough watching Henry slowly woo Julia while she draws him out of his shell. I appreciate the way Pepper is honest about the continuing struggles of a rape survivor even once in a relationship-Julia didn’t magically get past it all. Instead, she worked hard with her therapist, drew closer to God, and basked in the love and support of her family.

Henry has his own set of hurts as well, giving him enough wounds to make the reader want to care for him while also providing an avenue for God to grow him through this story as well.

Pepper has given us another great story filled with Biblical truths, soul deep healing, and toe-curling kisses.

I saved my favorite quote for last:

“Our nevers are just one of God’s ways of making miracles.”

 

First Line Friday – The Cowboy’s Christmas Reunion

45736442_441622926242320_3980111309478821888_nI just love this quote from The Cowboy’s Christmas  Reunion, don’t you? But, it’s not the first line. Thanks to Valerie (via Paula) for the image!

Welcome to another installment of First Line Fridays, hosted by Hoarding Books. Today’s first line is from:

The Cowboy’s Christmas Reunion

by Valerie Comer

“So how many households does that make?” Kade Delgado shifted his sleeping toddler in his arms, but Jericho snored on.”

This is also available as part of a boxed set in A Christmas to Remember: Eight Christian Romances Celebrating the Gift of Christmas.

So, grab the book nearest you and comment what your first line is (with title and author, of course!) and then head over to Hoarding Books to see all of the other books/blogs featured today.

First Line Fridays hosted by Hoarding Books

ABOUT THE BOOK

Reunion-3D-556x800Cowboy Santa: helping his ex-fiancée have a merry little Christmas…When Kade Delgado joins his buddies in a Cowboy Santa program to shower Christmas blessings on old folks and single moms, he doesn’t expect his former fiancée to return to Saddle Springs, in need and with a child in tow. Does God really expect him to treat Cheri the same as the others on his new Christmas list?Cheri Mackenzie has never forgiven herself for the pain she caused Kade by fleeing a week before their wedding, but undoing the past is impossible. Circumstances force her back to her aging grandparents’ Montana ranch, where Kade, now a widower with a toddler, is making himself cheerfully indispensable. When she receives kindness instead of the hostility she surely deserves, she can’t help but pray for a Christmas reunion with the cowboy she’s never stopped loving.Is there any hope for a second chance at love?

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Valerie-Comer-150x150Valerie Comer is a USA Today bestselling author and a two-time Word Award winner who writes where food meets faith and fiction. She has been called “a stellar storyteller” as she injects experience laced with humor into her green clean romances.

Valerie’s life on a small farm in western Canada provides the seed for her stories of contemporary Christian romance. Like many of her characters, Valerie grows much of her own food and is active in the local foods movement as well as her church. She only hopes her imaginary friends enjoy their happily-ever-afters as much as she does hers, shared with her husband, adult kids, and adorable granddaughters.

Connect with Valerie in her Facebook Reader’s Group!