Sunday, May 26, 2019

The Farmer's Bride by Kathleen Fuller


Martha has a problem.  She knows she should be thinking about finding a husband and she's ready for that, but she feels pressured from the young men in her community.  She wants to find her match on her own terms, but things seem to keep getting in her way.  

Seth is also not ready to find a spouse.  He is more interested in his wood carving that he's trying to perfect to maybe go into business.  He is also dealing with some family issues that I won't go into.  I don't want to give too much away.  He's just in a place in his life where he doesn't have time nor or the desire to settle down. 

A new family arrives in town to start an inn.  Loren, Delilah (Loren's mom), Nina (Loren's daughter) and Levi (Loren's son) all live together and start working on the business and building a new life in Birch Creek.  Delilah immediately wants to set up Nina and Levi with possible spouses.  Delilah thinks Nina should start a relationship with Seth and that Martha might be good match for Martha.  But, Martha isn't ready to be attached to Levi and Nina isn't ready to be hooked up with Seth.  So, Martha and Seth hatch a plan.  If they can just put the idea out there that they are interested in each other, even though they aren't, it may just keep everyone off their backs.  What could go wrong?

 So great when you get a book and find out it's part of a series.  Am I right? The Farmer's Bride is the second book after The Teacher's Bride.  Now, you don't have to read the first one, but, personally, I recommend it.  I enjoyed seeing appearances by characters in this book that I knew from the first.  

I enjoyed this book so much.  I loved the story, the dialogue, the characters and the writing style. And look at that gorgeous cover!  Honestly, I think it would be a great movie.  Comes out June 4th. Get your copy then! Thank you so much to the author! 

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

The Perfect Son by Lauren North



Tess wakes up in a hospital with a stab wound and has no idea how she got there.  She remembers that it happened on her son, Jamie's birthday and now she doesn't know where he is.  Even worse, she remembers that her husband is dead, killed in a tragic plane crash several weeks prior.  

The story takes the reader back to a little more than a month before Jamie's birthday and alternates between that time and the current time in the hospital, leading up to the actual birthday.  

While I thought the premise was good and the way the story was told was original, I was a little let down by the ending. Well, let me re-phrase that.  The whole idea was good and creative but without giving too much away, I think the ending would have packed a little more punch IF the author hadn't portrayed the main character the way she did with such severity. She ended up getting on my nerves a little.

Overall, I think this book will do well.  It was previously released in the U.K. as The Perfect Betrayal. Releases here August 2019. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the copy.  No review was required. All opinions are my own.

Saturday, May 4, 2019

The Artful Match by Jennifer Delamere




Hello! 
The Artful Match is now out by the very talented Jennifer Delamere.  This is book three in the series, but you can easily read it as it a stand alone.  The series is about three sisters: Rosalyn, Julia and Cara.  One book for one sister.  I haven't read the first one yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed the second one so I was excited to read this one.  

Cara is down on her luck after she leaves her current employment (I won't spill why) and travels to London to stay with her sister.  She is shocked to find that Julia is out of town (again not telling why -haha) and just as she decides to go to Rosalyn, she meets up with Langham.  Langham is an aspiring artist with a very different background than Cara.  Langham learns that Cara's dream is to become and artist and he takes her under his wing.  

Cara is drawn into an artist's world as well as into Langham's along with his brother a very rich earl, Henry and his ward, Amelia.  I don't want to give too much away so let's just say that the story is about Cara making her way in the world with new friends and new opportunities.  There is also a side plot about Cara's family that just adds to this wonderful story. 

I know I am a little late as this story came out last month, but let me tell you I just loved the second one and I loved this one, too.  Miss Delamere writes so well and I always think the characters are brilliantly developed.  When I read, I personally don't like a lot of description because I am imagining the scene in my head anyway.  However, this author gives the perfect amount of description and really transports the reader into the story and the time.  I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed this book.  If you love Christian fiction, get this book.  It's fantastic. 

I received a copy of this book from Bethany House.  No review was required and all opinions were my own.  Thank you to Bethany House for this opportunity!