Book Review: Secretly Smitten

Secretly Smitten by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck,Denise Hunter, and Diann Hunt was provided to me free in e-book format as part of the BookSneeze program of the Thomas Nelson Publishing Company in exchange for my honest review here.

Secretly Smitten is a set of four short stories all centered around a family in Smitten, Vermont. The stories work together to tell a bigger story, but each one is a tale of its own. A set of dog tags are found in Grandma’s attic, which sets her three granddaughters on the trail to solve the mystery of how they got there. During the search, each girl (and their mother) in turn meets a man and falls in love. The stories are sweet and mostly believable. It annoyed me slightly that the “happy ending” of each book is wrapped up quickly, without the expected “one year later…” I thought perhaps at the end of the book itself, one epilogue to wrap up all the stories… nope. So the marriage of each lady is left to the reader’s imagination. It’s only a little confusing when the new short story begins and mentions the main character of the previous book, and the reader can’t tell (at least this reader couldn’t) if the marriage had already taken place.

Perhaps that won’t bother any other reader… and really in the grand scheme of things, it’s only a little “weird” and doesn’t make for a bad read. All in all, the stories were entertaining and fun!

 

*Ü* Blessings,

Every Perfect Gift - Book Review

I am loving my Nook Tablet! The best part is being able to get a book I want to read instantly! Love it!

In exchange for my honest review, published here, I was provided with an e-book copy Every Perfect Gift

by Dorothy Love through the BookSneeze program of Thomas Nelson Publishing.

This book is part of the Hickory Ridge series. I am not familiar with the series, so my review is based solely on this book alone. Hickory Ridge is a small town with a growing population due to a resort being built there. It takes place shortly after the Civil War. The two main characters are hiding something from their past. The author alludes to this “secret” several times during the story, and eventually does reveal them. Honestly, though I was able to connect with the female lead character (Sophie) I could not understand why her secret was such a stumbling block for her, then again, I wasn’t born in that time period. On the other hand, the male lead (Ethan) was running from his past as well… however, he just refused to go home or even to talk about his home – this was in sharp contrast to Sophie who ran back to her past – to prove something maybe?

Those were my only hang-ups with the book. It was a gentle love story that developed at a reasonable pace. Sophie is a fun girl not afraid to speak her mind and get into the middle of things. Ethan seemed a bit stubborn and unreasonable at times. The various towns folk seemed to be fond of Sophie. I found this a bit at odds given her past – which wasn’t a secret to them.

All in all I did enjoy the book!

*Ü* Blessings,

Wonderful Story! A Must Read! - Books Review: Isle of Shadows

I'm back with another book review!

In exchange for my honest review published here, I was provided with an ebook copy of Isle of Shadow by Tracy L. Higley through the BookSneeze program of Thomas Nelson Publishing.

I was very excited to get to read this book! I had previously read a similar series called Acts of Faith by T. Davis Bunn and Janette Oke, and had really enjoyed those books. This one is set in Rhodes rather than Rome and the time period is a few hundred years earlier, but the stories are similar in that a slave learns the true meaning of freedom and redemption.

I have never read anything by Tracy Higley, but I am already a fan! The story was very well written, captured my attention right away and kept me coming back for more! The book is action packed with a few twists and turns, and keeps you wondering right to the end how Tessa will find her freedom! I mistakenly thought this was a romance, but there is very little romance in the story – however, I found I didn’t miss it. The compassion the characters have for Tessa’s plight is very touching, and moved me to tears at one point. Overall I give this one five stars! I loved it!

 


*Ü* Blessings,

Book Review: Silent Night (A Rock Harbor Christmas Novella) by Colleen Coble

I was provided with an ebook copy of Silent Night by ColleenCoble by Thomas Nelson Publishing as part of their BookSneeze program for my honest review published here. 

I did not realize the book was #6 in the Rock Harbor Series… I think this is a book that definitely needs to be read as part of that series. Not having read the previous five books, I felt as if I was jumping into the middle of a story. My copy was less than 100 pages, and as such is a very fast read! The book moves quickly and introduces a number of characters quite rapidly! I had a hard time keeping up with all their names! I would have appreciated another 100 pages so the story could develop more slowly. The story line was a bit jumbled and seemed to introduce unnecessary subplots and characters (did I really need a detailed description of the waitress that isn’t mentioned anywhere else in the book?) Perhaps if I had read the previous books, it would all make sense. The author ties everything up nicely at the end, so it is possible to read and understand just this book – however, I felt the story was rushed and would likely have enjoyed it more if I was already familiar with the characters.

 


*Ü* Blessings,