Sabotaged - Alaskan Courage 5 - by Dani Pettrey

About the book:

Finally Returned Home, Reef McKeena
Finds His Beloved Alaska Facing Its Greatest Threat
Growing up, goody-two-shoes Kirra Jacobs and troublemaker Reef McKenna were always at odds. Now, working together as search-and-rescue for Alaska's arduous Iditarod race, a growing attraction seems to be forcing aside old arguments. Then Reef catches Kirra sneaking from camp in the middle of the night.

Kirra's uncle, a musher in the race, has disappeared. Kirra and Reef quickly track the man, but what they discover is harrowing: Frank's daughter has been kidnapped. Kirra and Reef, along with the entire McKenna family, are thrown into a race to stop a shadowy villain who is not only threatening a girl's life--but appears willing to unleash one of the largest disasters Alaska has ever seen.

My review:

I really enjoyed this action-packed story with a good dose of romance!  It was fun to catch up with the McKennas again since I've read the last couple books of the series and gotten to know them all.  Kirra and Reef were thrown together in the last book, Silenced, and I would definitely recommend reading that first since a good part of their story takes place then.  The suspense was non-stop and the investigation interesting.  There were some cute romantic moments.  I really liked that the focus of this story was on getting through trials, not only with Kirra's cousin's kidnapping, but also with a horrible event she experienced a couple years ago that shook her faith in God and people.  She's been struggling to heal and understand where God was in it all.  I think that's something we all question at one time or another and we can really relate to.  Why does God let bad things happen?  Does He care?  We're given strong Biblical truth in answer to that.  This looks to be the last book in the series, but I'm excited to see what she has next.  I recommend this book if you like romantic suspense!

I received this book free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review.

 The Author

1. 

   © Michael Pettrey Photography

   Dani Pettrey

   Dani Pettrey is a wife, home-schooling mom, and the acclaimed author of the Alaskan Courage romantic suspense series, which includes her bestselling novels Submerged, Shattered, Stranded, and Silenced, and new release,...
   

   Continue reading about Dani Pettrey 

Pettrey is the Winner of the 2014 Daphne du Maurier Award for Inspirational Romantic Suspense

Mercy's Rain: An Appalachian Novel - by Cindy K. Sproles

I found this to be a hard book to get through due to the tough subject matter.  Mercy Roller's father is a pastor who doesn't know God at all.  He's abusive in every possible way both to Mercy and her mother and to the community as well.  Because of him and her mother Mercy struggles with believing in a good God and doesn't know what love really looks like.  When Mercy does something her grieving mother feels is unforgivable, she's kicked out and she decides to follow the river.  She ends up running into another preacher and goes with him to help a woman about to give birth and protect her if there's a need.  There she meets a loving couple who, along with the preacher, show her what love really looks like and who God really is.

I found it difficult to get through the story because Mercy keeps reliving the horrible memories of her past and what her father did to her and to others.  It's not exactly graphic, but gives enough detail so you know what happened and I found myself getting incredibly angry with him and also with her mother for not stopping it.  Besides the abuse making me so angry, it really gets on my nerves when God's Word, the Bible, is twisted into something evil, like the way her father used Scripture to justify his evil actions.  There didn't seem to be enough goodness to balance out the evil in the story.  It's not all bad, though, as she meets a few people who treat her well and love her.  There is some hope and it gets better nearer the end.  There are also a couple swear words, which weren't needed.  I liked the ultimate message of the importance of forgiveness and letting go of bitterness with God's help.  I thought it was well-written and definitely gave the ambiance of the Appalachian mountain area.  You might like it if you like stories about overcoming abuse and the importance of mercy and forgiveness.

I received this book free from Kregel Publications in exchange for an honest review.

New Book from Rachel Hauck | ‘How to Catch a Prince’ Review and Royal Giveaway

About the book:

How to Catch a Prince (Zondervan, February 2015)

She caught her prince once. Can she catch him again?

American heiress Corina Del Rey's life was devastated by war. Every thing she loved was lost. But after five years of grief, she's shed her grave clothes and started over in the sunshine along the Florida coast.

But some things are not so easily forgotten. When a secret from her past confronts her face to face, she realizes she must follow her heart. Even if it cost her everything.

Prince Stephen of Brighton Kingdom is a former Royal Air Command lieutenant turned star rugby player, trying to make sense of his life after the devastation of war.
When his brother, King Nathaniel, discovers Stephen's pre war secret, he must deal with an aspect of his life he longed to forget. But how can he do so without exposing the truth and breaching national security?

Yet, true love has a destiny all it's own. As the cathedral bells peal through Cathedral City, Corina and Stephen must chose to answer the call of love on their hearts.
Or let it be lost forever?

My review:  

This was a very enjoyable romance that had its light moments, but also dealt with some hard things, such as grief and war.  I really liked Corina and her determination to do what God wanted, even though she wasn't quite sure what that was!  I liked Stephen, too, but was frustrated by his being stuck on what happened during the war.  It felt like that got a little repetitive.  There were a lot of romantic moments, both present and in memories as we got a glimpse into their relationship five years ago when they fell in love.  There was a cool supernatural twist in the story that gave it a unique quality different from most stories.  The faith aspect was very well done, with Corina trying to understand what God wants her to do with a phrase she was given, "Love well, " while Stephen believes God and war can't co-exist.  A scene near the end brought me to tears involving Stephen and his feelings of unworthiness and the important message that his worth isn't determined by who he is or what he does or doesn't do, but by the work of his Savior by His death on the cross.  This was the third book in the series and has characters from the first book and mentions ones in the second, but works well as a stand-alone.  I highly recommend this well-written story to fans of romance!

I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

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About the author:

Rachel Hauck is an award-winning, best selling author of critically acclaimed novels such as The Wedding Dress, Love Starts with Elle, and Once Upon A Prince. She also penned the Songbird Novels with multi-platinum recording artist, Sara Evans. Booklist named their novel, Softly and Tenderly, one of 2011 Top Ten Inspirationals. She serves on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers and is a mentor and book therapist at My Book Therapy, and conference speaker. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pets.

Find Rachel online: website, Facebook, Twitter

An American heiress and a crown prince seem destined to be together. Will the devastation of war keep them apart forever? Find out in Rachel Hauck's new book, How to Catch a Prince. True love has a destiny all its own. With a little heavenly help, Prince Stephen and Corina embark on a journey of truth. But when the secrets are revealed, can they overcome, move forward, and find love again?

Enter to win a "royal" prize pack! 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A royal-themed Brighton charm bracelet
• 2 tickets to see the new Cinderella movie
• The Royal Wedding series (Once Upon a Prince, Princess Ever After, and How to Catch a Prince)

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 23rd. Winner will be announced March 24th on Rachel's blog.


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Anna's Crossing - An Amish Beginnings Novel 1 - by Suzanne Woods Fisher

About the book:

Some endings are really beginnings . . .

On a hot day in 1737 in Rotterdam, Anna König reluctantly sets foot on the Charming Nancy, a merchant ship that will carry her and her fellow Amish believers across the Atlantic to start a new life. As the only one in her community who can speak English, she feels compelled to go. But Anna is determined to complete this journey and return home--assuming she survives. She's heard horrific tales of ocean crossings and worse ones of what lay ahead in the New World. But fearfulness is something Anna has never known.

Ship's carpenter Bairn resents the somber people--dubbed Peculiars by the deckhands--who fill the lower deck of the Charming Nancy. All Bairn wants to do is to put his lonely past behind him, but that irksome and lovely lass Anna and her people keep intruding on him.

Delays, storms, illness, and diminishing provisions test the mettle and patience of everyone on board. When Anna is caught in a life-threatening situation, Bairn makes a discovery that shakes his entire foundation. But has the revelation come too late?

Bestselling author Suzanne Woods Fisher invites you back to the beginning of Amish life in America with this fascinating glimpse into the first ocean crossing--and the lives of two intrepid people who braved it.

My review:

I thought this story was fascinating and I learned a lot not only about life on a ship during this time, but also some of the history of the Amish church.  The author's note had a lot of great information, too.  The main characters were wonderful.  I liked Anna a lot and her determination to do the right thing no matter the cost to herself was very admirable.  Bairn was a very interesting character with his belief that God either doesn't exist or doesn't care, and yet he had this fascination with the Peculiars' faith and why they put others ahead of themselves.  The romance was very much an opposites attract situation at first, but then realizing maybe they're not so different after all.  There were some sweet moments to it.  There's a neat twist to the story, too.  I figured it out before it was revealed and I did think a couple aspects were far-fetched, but I do see how it could have happened that way.  I thought Suzanne did a good job of hinting at the twist and letting it play out slowly.  Felix, a boy in Anna's charge, is pretty amusing and very mischievous.  The story was told from their three viewpoints and I liked the variety.  This story had a different feel than most Amish fiction because of the different setting and time period.  It felt less Amish to me.  Faith is a very strong focus of the story as there are many situations Anna finds herself in which she's forced to decide if she'll follow God or put herself first.  She also has a few conversations with Bairn as he has questions about her faith.  There are some sad events in the book, but it didn't feel depressing.  The discussion questions were very insightful and really made me think.  I would highly recommend this book if you like Amish, romance or historical fiction.

I received this book free from Revell in exchange for an honest review.

Suzanne Woods Fisher is the bestselling author of the Lancaster County Secrets series, the Stoney Ridge Seasons series, and The Inn at Eagle Hill series, as well as nonfiction books about the Amish, including Amish Peace. She is also the coauthor of an Amish children's series, The Adventures of Lily Lapp. Suzanne is a Carol Award winner for The Search, a Carol Award finalist for The Choice, and a Christy Award finalist for The Waiting. She is also a columnist for Christian Post and Cooking & Such magazines. She lives in California. Learn more at www.suzannewoodsfisher.com and follow Suzanne on Twitter @suzannewfisher.

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Free for kindle!  I'm so excited to read this!  I've loved her other 2 books!

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The Beekeeper's Son - The Amish of Bee County 1 - by Kelly Irvin

About the book:

A strange, mystical place allows Deborah and Phineas to see themselves and others with new eyes.
When Deborah Lantz arrives in Bee County, Texas, she expects to find a great oasis of citrus groves and olive trees. Instead, she finds a tiny Amish district struggling to make ends meet on a barren, drought-stricken land.
Deborah longs to go home to the lush, green countryside of Tennessee, but she wants her mother, a widow with six children, to be happy again. Even if that means accepting Stephen as her future stepfather. She can’t believe God created such an ugly place filled with strange animals, twisted, stunted trees, and not a drop of rain for months.
Then she meets the beekeeper’s son. Phineas King’s face is disfigured by scars from an accident that killed his mother and destroyed his trust in God. Through their encounters both begin to realize the beauty in all of God’s creation. Deborah walks through the strange land of figs, Mexican squash, and wild cucumbers to see Phineas, who finds solace in his work keeping the bee hives and harvesting honey for his father. Both are rarely alone, but always lonely. Deborah begins to see Bee County through Phineas’s eyes and Phineas learns to see himself through hers.

My review:

This was a very enjoyable well-written story!  There were actually two romances or triangles in the story, one with Deborah's mother and her indecision about Stephen while she feels drawn to another man and Deborah's hope that she can go back home to the man she's been seeing, but she's also intrigued by Phineas.  There were a lot of cute moments in both.  We get the mother's perspective, along with Deborah's and Phineas's and I love knowing what each is thinking.  My heart broke for Phineas and the guilt and shame he lived with because of the accident that took his mother's life, but also his hurt for how others saw him and sometimes treated him.  He figures he's safer just staying away.  I felt for Deborah, too, having to move to this dry and ugly place when her home was so beautiful.  I admired that she tried to look on the bright side and make the best of things.  I found her relationship with Phineas somewhat amusing because he got on her nerves so easily.  I was frustrated with Stephen and how he treated her mother and her siblings.  I have a hard time understanding being submissive to someone who doesn't have the right to treat people that way and isn't putting their well-being first.

The scenery was described so well I felt like I was there in the humidity and dirt, which was kind of a nice change of pace from the reality of snow!  The poor community in Texas was also very different from the other Amish stories I've read.  The other communities seem wealthy and pampered by comparison.  The people here even go to Mexico for doctors and dentists because it's so much cheaper and they're desperately trying to keep costs down!  Their community is also much smaller than others.  I really liked the focus on inward beauty and also how beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  I also liked the reminder that God has a plan.  I highly recommend this book if you Amish or romance stories.

I received this book free from BookLook Bloggers in exchange for an honest review.

About the Author


Kelly Irvin is the author of the Bliss Creek Amish series and the New Hope Amish series. She has also penned two romantic suspense novels, A Deadly Wilderness and No Child of Mine. The Kansas native is a graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism. She has been writing nonfiction professionally for thirty years, including ten years as a newspaper reporter, mostly in Texas-Mexico border towns. She has worked in public relations for the City of San Antonio for twenty years. Kelly has been married to photographer Tim Irvin for twenty-five years. They have two young adult children, two cats, and a tank full of fish. In her spare time, she likes to write short stories and read books by her favorite authors.

New from Terri Blackstock | ‘Twisted Innocence’ Nook Giveaway & Review!

About the book:

Twisted Innocence (Zondervan, February 2015)

Holly Cramer's past choices have finally caught up to her, but she never expected them to endanger her baby.

Though Holly's stumbled through most of her adult life as a party girl, she longs to live a more stable life for her daughter. Then police show up to question her about the whereabouts of Creed Kershaw, Lily's father. She has kept his identity a secret from friends and family---she never even told him about the pregnancy. Now he's a person of interest in a drug-related murder case.

Determined to keep him out of their lives and turn him over to police, Holly uses her private investigating skills to search for him. But her bravado backfires when he turns the tables and takes her and the baby hostage. As desperate hours tick by, Holly realizes his connection to Leonard Miller-the man who has gunned down several members of her family. Creed claims he's innocent and that Miller is after him too. His gentleness with Lily moves her, but she can't trust a man who has held her at gunpoint . . . even if he reminds her so much of herself.

Dangers old and new threaten Holly and her baby, and lives are demanded as sacrifices for love. Through a complex web of mistakes and regret, redemption is the one hope Holly has left to hold on to.

My review: 

This was an interesting suspenseful story without a moment of boredom!  I found the investigation aspects interesting and there was nonstop action!  I felt for Holly and her struggle to be a good mom and make better choices than she had before.  I admired her toughness and her willingness to give people a second chance like she'd been given.  I had read the previous book in this series and it was nice to catch up with the characters again and get some closure on ongoing plot lines.  There's some explanation in the book as to what happened before so it works to read it without having read the others first, but it won't be as meaningful.  The characters struggle with their faith, from trying to deal with a pastor father's betrayal to hardships that keep piling up with no end in sight and wondering where God is in it all and why He's not fixing everything.  There were a couple great conversations dealing with this and the fact that Jesus' death on the cross covers all your sins and mistakes and that He hasn't given up on you.  There was a bit of romance, though it seemed one relationship moved quite fast.  This was wonderful suspense with real likable characters.  You should check it out!

I received this book free from Litfuse Publicity in exchange for an honest review.

More reviews at Litfuse!

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1hDkeXy   

About the author:

Terri Blackstock has sold over six million books worldwide and is a New York Times bestselling author. She is the award-winning author of "Intervention," "Vicious Cycle," and "Downfall," as well as such series as Cape Refuge, Newpointe 911, the SunCoast Chronicles, Restoration, and Moonlighters.

Find Terri online: website, Facebook, Twitter

In Terri Blackstock’s third and final book in her Moonlighters series, Twisted Innocence, readers are in for a story of suspense and redemption. Dangers old and new threaten Holly and her baby, and lives are demanded as sacrifices for love. Through a complex web of mistakes and regret, redemption is the one hope Holly has left to hold on to.

Celebrate the series' final release by entering Terri's Nook giveaway!

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A Nook GlowLight
• The entire Moonlighters series

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 8th. Winner will be announced March 9th on the Litfuse blog.

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