Be on the lookout for these Upcoming Reviews!

Just wanted to give a quick update on which book reviews you should be on the lookout for! I have some really great looking books in my to be read pile and I am excited to read them and let you guys know what I thought! There will be other upcoming reviews as well as these but these should be next. They will not necessarily be in this order. Also look for an upcoming fun giveaway!!!

A River To Cross

This book review is for the novel "A River to Cross" by Yvonne Harris.

I loved the cover of this book as there is a horse on it and I LOVE horses, so that was a good start right off the back. I guess you could say I am biased at least in that respect :)

Elizabeth Evans is with her brother at an important council meeting when he is murdered and she is kidnapped by a rouge Mexican General.

Enter Texas Ranger Jake Nelson who is charged with finding and returning Elizabeth, who is a Senators daughter.
Even with a Texas Ranger on the scene this violent band of trouble makers aren't about to give up easily.
They want Elizabeth and they want her now, Jake or no Jake!

I did like this novel but I wasn't a huge fan of how quickly the romance comes about with our main characters. It seemed to me like they literally just met and all the sudden they have all these very strong feelings for each other. It just seemed a little bit to rushed to me. The writing is good, however, and I like that there are several different stories going on instead of just the one. So I do recommend the book and will read other books by her.

What are you guys reading this week? Anything really good?

~Jenny~



*Note* I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review about it. I am not required to post a positive review. Any opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.

Glamour~On The Runway

This review is for the fifth book in the 'On The Runway' series, "Glamour" by Melody Carlson.

Melody is a bestselling author as advertised on the front of the book and I can easily see why she is by reading her novels.  I love the way this series takes you somewhat inside the fashion world but also has several other stories going on in the same book. You have so many diverse personalities and things happening that you never get bored.  I find that I read these books within a day of picking them up. I love that because I'm eager to find out what happens but hate it cause they are ending so quickly!

I like the way that Melody continues to address what could be delicate subject matter with a practical point of view. For instance, Paige has her fiance stay for the week in their apartment and Erin is less than thrilled and lets her sister know it. While her sister views it as okay since they are engaged, Erin has a different set of standards by which she lives her life.

We saw Paige get engaged to Dylan Marceau, the clothing designer in the last book and this one continues with that story. Their engagement has shocked the fashion world and Ben, Paige's previous boyfriend, didn't take it so great either. One has to wonder, however, if Paige and Dylan are in it for the right reasons.

Meanwhile Erin is struggling on where she stands with Blake. Could you have broken up when you aren't really together in the first place? And why is he so standoffish?


I am a fan of the fact that Erin has so much going on for her. She isn't just stuck in boy mode. She has work, helping a friend through something awful, a pregnant best friend etc...

There is a good balance when you put Erin with Paige. Paige is more flighty and irrational and Erin just has a good head on her shoulders. Don't get me wrong I can see where she stumbles and loses herself sometimes but she always picks herself back up and keeps right on going.

I am really looking forward to reading the final book in this series and sharing my opinions with you guys!

Hope your weekend is amazing!
Jenny




*Note* I received this book for free from Zondervan Publishers in exchange for a review about it. I am not required to post a positive review. Any opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.

Beautiful Book! ~The girl in the gatehouse~

This review is for "The Girl In The Gatehouse" by Julie Klassen.

This novel is phenomenal! I read the blurb on it and loved the cover..it just looked so mysterious and interesting. I couldn't wait to get the book in the mail and started reading it right away.

The back of the book says that the author loves all things Jane, from Jane Eyre to Jane Austin. And reading the book you can definitely tell. I am a huge fan of Jane Austin and this book greatly reminded me of her books which is another reason I loved it so much!

It was really interesting the details that go into the book from the way quill pens were made to the huge scandals things back then could become. Julie has woven a classic Regency-set novel with just the right touch of mystery and intrigue. It is one of those books you can't wait to get to the end just to find out what happens but at the same time you don't want it to end because it is so good! I also love the way that Mariah, our main character, is a writer and she weaves the scenes of what happened with Mariah through her book that she is writing. So instead of a weird flashback scene, we get to read scenes from her novel, which is actually written from what happened to herself. I thought it was a great way to let you know what happened and why she ends up in the gatehouse without having to do flashbacks.


Our main lady, Mariah Aubrey has been banished from the only home she has ever known. She has but one loyal servant who goes with her and lives on the good graces of her Aunt in a somewhat rundown gatehouse on the extensive property her Aunt resides on. Although shamed and mostly alone in the world, Mariah's days soon become filled with many interested people including children from across the road that live the local poorhouse. Add to that a 'crazy' man who walks along the poorhouse roof, a servant with a missing hand, an old maid companion and a handsome Captain who leases the estate and Mariah has her hands full.


I have nothing but lovely things to say about this novel and eagerly anticipate reading more by this author. It has a fully engaging, colorful, interesting cast of characters and enough mysteries to it to keep you guessing. I also love the quotes at the beginning of every chapter.
Love, love, love it!!!! Huge thumbs up to Julie Klassen!



I hope you are all enjoying this week!
Jenny




*Note* I received this book for free from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for a review about it. I am not required to post a positive review. Any opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.

Sweet Sanctuary

This review is for the novel, "Sweet Sanctuary" by Sheila Walsh and Cindy Martinusen Coloma.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like this book when I picked it up. I did like it somewhat but the ending kind of felt rushed and like it wasn't really resolved. The whole book focuses on past hurts from something that happened at a family reunion many years before. At the end of the book, however, when the family is finally addressing the issues that have torn them apart, for so many years something urgent crops up and stops the discussion in its tracks. It is never picked up again from there in the way that I think it would have, so I felt like it was just left hanging. Like everything was just automatically fixed without the discussion being finished. There were also unfinished questions regarding Wren and Charlie as well as various other characters. I'm not sure if there is a sequel or not but it just seemed unfinished with the entire book really stemming from this one event in time.

It was an interesting read, however, and it is well written.

Wren and her son Charlie live in a tiny Maine village on the families old summer property. Charlie's father is not in the picture and hasn't been since he was a few months old. Wren has never recovered from a horrible summer the family spent at the very property she now lives and goes about life like she is in a safe little bubble with just she and Charlie. Enter her Grandmother, out of the blue, who suddenly wants the whole family back together when they hardly even speak anymore. But Charlie has been praying for his mother and thinks all of this could be the answer to his prayers.

You will just have to read for yourself to see what the mystery is and how it all turns out.


Hope you all have a great weekend!
Jenny




*Note* I received this book for free through the Booksneeze book review bloggers program in exchange for writing a review about it. I am not required to write a positive review. Any opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.

Spotlight~This series shines brightly!

This review is for the book "Spotlight" by Melody Carlson.

I am in total love with this series. I seriously read this book in less than a day. I always eagerly wait for the next installment to make it's way to me! My mail person is probably tired of having to come to the door with my book packages and my mail eagerness. Who looks forward to the time of day your mail runs? Surely it can't just be me??? Anyway back to the fabulous book I just finished.

In the fourth book, the sisters show, On the Runway, has become a global phenomenon. Paige, as well as Erin are starting to become recognized when they go out and about.

Paige eats it up of course but Erin is less than thrilled about the attention they are receiving, especially when Paige starts hanging out with her controversial old boyfriend just to get more press.

I feel like Paige really slid backward in her personality for awhile in this book. She had started improving and she and Erin were getting a closer relationship but the minute her solo "spotlight" is challenged she is willing to throw Erin to the side. Not so much sisterly love going on there for a minute.

I have to say again that I like that Melody touches on tough subjects without glamorizing or dramatizing them. You really feel like you are watching the sisters grow as they go through the good and the bad. Fame isn't all it's cracked up to be and Paige soon realizes that when nasty rumors start being spread about her in the tabloids.

I am eager to read the next installment as there are only two more books in the series and a rather interesting and big development happens in the end of this book. Pick up a copy and see for yourself!

Excellent series which I highly recommend for teenagers and women alike :)

Hope your weekends are going fantastic and that you have time to read at least a little!


Jenny



*Note* I received this book for free from Zondervan Publishers in exchange for a review about it. I am not required to post a positive review. Any opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.

Fairer Than Morning~Rosslyn Elliott~Blog Tour

This book review is for the novel "Fairer Than Morning". Which is the debut novel by Rosslyn Elliott.

What a novel to debut with! I read it for a blog tour and although the book is somewhat long at 387 pages she writes with an almost poetic feel to the novel. The imagery that her novel produces is beautiful. She paints pictures with her words in this moving novel.

The book is actually a work of fiction that is inspired by a real family that lived in American history, the Hanby Family.

Ann Miller is a young lady with a large mind who loves to read the classics and discuss books with her suitor Eli. Her mother died in childbirth many years ago and she has been left to be a surrogate mother to her two young sisters. Their father, who is a saddle maker by trade, tends to the business and occasional rides off the farm as a traveling preacher. He can't make a decent living at the preaching, therefore he continues with the saddle making. He is considered a master saddler and has a prominent family from Pittsburgh who have him come from Ohio to build their saddles.
On one such trip, Ann and her sisters accompany him to Pittsburgh and she meets Will Hanby, who is the apprentice of another saddle maker. His master is unbelievably cruel and beats him nearly to death.
Will has almost given up hope in life after the awful death of his parents and the torture of working under his master. Meeting Ann even for a fleeting few moments and seeing her kindness and light shine through give him hope for a brighter future.

Everything in this novel culminates toward a suspenseful end. The issue of slavery and murder are touched on several times in this novel. Deep seated emotions are richly portrayed throughout the entire book.

Here are my two favorite lines from the novel by far.

"The intense feeling of presence subsided, as if someone standing next to him had just moved away but remained in the room." This takes place when Will is praying.

"Tell me what you wish me to do. I want to be certain, like the others. In an instant, the night sky became more vast, the vault of heaven opened to limitlessness. Will felt himself minuscule in the sight of something that was everywhere and moving through him, as if he broke apart and mingled with it.His breath came in short, staggered puffs. Who was he, to have asked for an audience with Eternity? At the same time, he felt acceptance such as he had never known, as if these fragments that made him were revealed in all their brokenness and inadequacy...and he was fully loved. He would never be alone."

I have to say again just a beautiful, moving book! Big thumbs up to Rosslyn!


Rossyln has a fun giveaway coming up that you should definitly check out!

Win a custom made period dress ... and a KINDLE from Rosslyn Elliott!
Enter 9/1-9/20!

After entering the contest be sure and check out Rosslyn's website http://rosslynelliott.com/where you can find out more about this new author!

You can read an excerpt of this wonderful book here: http://www.rosslynelliott.com/books.php just scroll down to read the excerpt.

You can purchase the book for yourself, here: Own Fairer Than Morning For Yourself

I highly recommend you picking up this novel and diving into it! I love discovering great new authors for my collection!

Happy week and reading all!
Jenny


*Note* I received a free copy of this book in exchange for a review. I am not required to post a positive review. All opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.

Surrender the Heart

This book review is for the stunning novel by MaryLu Tyndall, "Surrender the Heart".
It is the first book in the 'Surrender to Destiny' series.

You can check out MaryLu's website and more of her titles here: MaryLu Tyndall

The link for Barbour Books is Barbour Books

I have to say that MaryLu's writing just jumps off the page. You can feel the emotions rolling toward you almost as if you are standing in the same room with her vibrant cast. I am really looking forward to reading more books by her. This one kept me engrossed and really interested up until the last page.

Surrender the Heart is set in Baltimore during the War of 1812. Against everything inside of herself, Marianne has agreed to marry Noah Brenin, who she grew up with. Both of them detest the other and their parents set up the match between them. Noah has agreed to please his parents and Marianne agreed only so that she can unlock her inheritance and perhaps save her mothers life. Quite against both parties wishes they end up finding themselves entangled in the war when Noah's ship is taken and they are impressed in the Royal Navy.

I appreciated all the emotions that go into MaryLu's writing. You can easily imagine the period clothing and feel the emotional struggles as they carry out their stories. Noah, bearing unbelievable scars and pain, trusting in what he believes is a trustworthy nation that really cannot be trusted at all. All of this including his engagement to someone he doesn't love in his attempt at pleasing a father who has never forgiven him for the past. And Marianne desperately seeking the help that she needs for her mother, dealing with the loss of a loved one and her own gaping feelings of inadequacy and loss. I think at some point we have all been in one of the two places. Trusting something that can't be trusted or feeling inadequate in whatever area that bothers each person. This story is not only a story of redemption and belonging, it is one of healing, hope and attaining the faith and forgiveness needed to move forward. Another running thread throughout this book is trust, learning to trust each other and more importantly learning to trust our Creator.

Pick up a copy of this book! I do not think that you will be disappointed.



I hope you are all doing amazing this week!
Jenny




*Note* I received this book from Barbour in exchange for a review. I am not required to write a positive review and all opinions expressed are my own and they are sincere.