Review: "The Element of Love" by Mary Connealy

Another lifetime ago, I really enjoyed reading Mary Connealy novels. (Seriously, according to this blog, it's been eight years since I've read one of her books.) When The Element of Love came up as a featured book for Bethany House bloggers, I decided it was time to read another Connealy book.

Review: "The Single Dad's Holiday Match" by Tanya Agler

Oh, Harlequin ... you really know how to create titles 🤣. Believe it or not, The Single Dad's Holiday Match is not about online dating, takes place over the span of three holidays, and is just as much about the "match" as it is about the "single dad." It's also a better book than the title would imply.

Review: "Isabelle and Alexander" by Rebecca Anderson

There's a very North and South (Elizabeth Gaskell novel/BBC miniseries) vibe to Isabelle and Alexander, and fans of that story will find much to like here.

Review: "Something Borrowed" by Weaver, Dawn, Boyd, Tysinger, & Shiloh

Who doesn't love a good Christmas romance? Something Borrowed features five romances, all set in the Christmas season.

Review: "The Santa Box" (2020 Film)

It's Christmas movie season!!! I've been watching Hallmark movies for the last few weeks, and really, to me it's the more the merrier! The Santa Box is a new Christmas movie that released in theaters last Friday and will be available on DVD tomorrow. I had the opportunity to watch a screener of the film, and it's a good one!

Review: "The Christmas Swap" by Melody Carlson

It's maybe a little early for Christmas, but I feel like in 2020, we should get a pass. Want to drink cocoa, listen to Christmas music, and read a Christmas book in September? Go for it!

Review: "A Life Once Dreamed" by Rachel Fordham

Second chance romances are some of my favorites, plus I've been eager to read a book by Rachel Fordham, so I jumped at the chance to review A Life Once Dreamed.

Review: "Throw Like a Girl" by Sarah Henning

I read this book a while ago and just never got the review posted ... but there's no time like the present, as Throw Like a Girl made Modern Mrs. Darcy's Summer Reading Guide!

Review: "Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire" by Jen Hatmaker

Five years ago, I was on the launch team for Jen Hatmaker's For the Love. I'm not exaggerating when I say that the book changed my life. (See my review here.) In the time since she wrote For the Love, Hatmaker went through a very public (and very painful) shift in some of her beliefs, which moved her out of the conservative Evangelical sphere where I still reside. I think it's very healthy to hear from voices different from our own, so I was eager to read Fierce, Free, and Full of Fire—knowing that I wouldn't agree with 100% of Hatmaker's words but hoping to understand a different perspective and find myself challenged.

Review: "Traces" by Denise Weimer

Welcome to my stop on the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Traces by Denise Weimer, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours! I've been reading a ton of historical fiction lately—mainly Regency and Victorian romance—so it was nice to have a change of pace with this suspense novel.

Review: "End Game" by Rachel Dylan

Do you enjoy reading books set in cities you've visited? I do, especially when the author mentions places/landmarks I've been to myself. I spent a week in Washington, D.C., the setting of End Game, last spring, and I loved finding places I recognized in the book!

Review: "Seconds to Live" by Susan Sleeman

If you're a little "sapped out" after the Christmas movie season, Seconds to Live might just be the palate cleanser you need!

Review: "Hope's Highest Mountain" by Misty M. Beller

Doesn't this cover look wonderful? It's really what drew me to this book.

Review: "Emma" by Alexander McCall Smith

Given the option, I'd choose Mr. Knightley over Mr. Darcy every time. While I like the plot of Pride & Prejudice better than Emma (and I vastly prefer Elizabeth Bennet to Emma Woodhouse), I've always preferred Knightley to Darcy. I don't know why I felt like sharing that tidbit ... I guess I just had to get it off my chest!

Anyway, I picked up Alexander McCall Smith's retelling of Emma on a whim at the library the other day. This novel is part of the (now defunct) Austen Project featuring retellings of Austen's work by contemporary authors. I loathed Sense & Sensibility, I liked Northanger Abbey, and I'm afraid of reading Eligible (a Pride & Prejudice retelling). What would Emma bring?

Review: "The 49th Mystic" by Ted Dekker

I first "met" Ted Dekker in 2004 when my college roommate gave me a copy of Black, the first book in the Circle Trilogy (which later became a four-book series, but I prefer to think of it as just the three books).

For a while, I read everything Dekker wrote, and the twist endings he's a master of still awe me (hello, Skin and Three!), but after a while his books became a little too much for me. Boneman's Daughters was the final straw, and I drifted away from his writing. But a couple years ago, I heard about A.D. 30 and A.D. 33, biblical fiction set during Jesus' ministry. I really enjoyed both of those books, which made me more inclined to check out the Beyond the Circle series, of which The 49th Mystic is the first.

Review: "Her Oklahoma Rancher" by Brenda Minton

A couple weeks ago, I reviewed Rescuing His Secret Child as part of TLC Book Tours' Love Inspired tour. Today, I'm back with another Love Inspired title, Her Oklahoma Rancher.