Review: "Fair as a Star" by Mimi Matthews

Mimi Matthews has become an auto-read for me. I don't even have to read the synopsis ... I just automatically know I want to read what she's written!

Review: "The Winter Companion" by Mimi Matthews

Sometimes, you get a taste of an author's writing and fall completely in love. It's happened to me a few times ... most recently with Mimi Matthews!

"A Dash of Love" by Liz Isaacson

Recently, I've enjoyed reading books that Hallmark movies are based on. So when I heard that Hallmark was beginning to publish books based on their movies, I was curious ... and it sounded like the perfect thing for my "Book or Movie?" feature. I requested A Dash of Love through NetGalley, and here we are!

"the wishing season" by denise hunter

If you're looking for heart-tugging romance for Christmas or any other time of the year, The Wishing Season perfectly fits the bill.

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Living side-by-side, a fledgling chef and a big-hearted contractor find a delicious attraction.

Trouble is, their chemistry could spoil their dreams.

Spirited PJ McKinley has the touch when it comes to food. Her dream of opening her own restaurant is just one building short of reality. So when a Chapel Springs resident offers her beloved ancestral home to the applicant with the best plan for the house, PJ believes it’s a contest she was meant to win.

Contractor Cole Evans is confident, professional, and swoon-worthy—but this former foster kid knows his life could have turned out very differently. When Cole discovers the contest, he believes his home for foster kids in transition has found its saving grace. All he has to do is convince the owner that an out-of-towner with a not-for-profit enterprise is good for the community.

But when the eccentric philanthropist sees PJ and Cole’s proposals, she makes an unexpected decision: the pair will share the house for a year to show what their ideas are made of. Now, with Cole and the foster kids upstairs and PJ and the restaurant below, day-to-day life has turned into out-and-out competition—with some seriously flirtatious hallway encounters on the side. Turns out in this competition, it’s not just the house on the line, it’s their hearts.

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For several years now, Denise Hunter has been one of my must-read authors. Her main characters always have sizzling chemistry, and the stories never fail to entertain. I'm especially enjoying the Chapel Springs series, which revolves around the McKinley family.

Though I've read both of the previous novels and the novella in this series, I went into The Wishing Season without a clear picture of PJ--I just knew she was the baby of the family and was often treated as such. So it was fun to see her spread her wings and try to prove her competence as an adult and business owner.

PJ and Cole have great chemistry from the beginning, and I enjoyed watching their relationship grow and develop. I also became so invested that I wanted to smack Cole upside the head a few times!

I do wish that PJ would have seen more resolution in her relationship with her family, but I suppose the novel ending as it did made things more realistic. And I did greatly enjoy the way PJ and Cole's story ended. Again, realistic.

Also, The Wishing Season is a great set-up to the next Chapel Springs novel, which will focus on McKinley brother Ryan. I'm very anxious to read his story! 5 stars.

Note: Though this is the third novel in a series, it functions completely as a stand-alone novel. I would definitely recommend reading the other novels, though, as they're just so great!

Buy the book.
Read my reviews of the other Chapel Springs books: Barefoot Summer (5 stars), "A December Bride"  (4.5 stars), and Dancing with Fireflies (5 stars).

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Denise Hunter is an internationally published best-selling author. Her books have won The Holt Medallion Award, The Reader's Choice Award, The Foreword Book of the Year Award, and was a RITA finalist. In 1996, inspired by the death of her grandfather, Denise began her first book, writing while her children napped. Two years later it was published, and she's been writing ever since. Her husband says he inspires all of her romantic stories, but Denise insists a good imagination helps, too. When Denise isn't writing, she's busy raising three heroes-in-the-making with her husband.

Learn more about Denise at http://www.denisehunterbooks.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

"Hook, Line, and Sinker" by Susan May Warren

Ross and Abby were falling in love ... at least that's what she thought, until Ross's brother Scott died and Ross accused her of really loving Scott instead of him. A year later, Abby and Ross have virtually no contact, despite the fact that they both attend the same college. All that changes when the campus ministries they lead both enter a fishing contest in Deep Haven. As they vie for the top prize, they'll come face to face with the problems that drove them apart, and they may even find their way back to each other.

"forbidden" by ted dekker and tosca lee

By the 26th century, humanity has lived in peace for nearly 500 years, thanks to a virus that erased all human emotion save fear. Rom Sebastian, a young man living in the world’s capital city Byzantium, lives a low-key existence as an artisan—until an old man accosts him on the street, giving him a coded vellum and a vial of blood. When the man is brutally murdered, Rom realizes he possesses something that will put him, as well as those he cares about, in danger. As he seeks answers, Rom discovers that the blood restores life—emotions—and the entire population is living as though dead. While Rom searches for the truth, others are equally desperate to keep that truth under wraps.

Ted Dekker’s Circle series took the Christian fiction world by storm, and The Books of Mortals should do the same. Dekker and co-author Tosca Lee have crafted a fascinating story that is guaranteed to make you think, gasp, and yearn for more. Dekker’s work has long explored the importance of blood, and Forbidden carries on that theme. I'm intrigued to see where Dekker and Lee will go next.

Those familiar with Dekker’s other works know already, but it bears repeating: blood and gore, while not gratuitous, do feature prominently in Dekker’s writing. Forbidden is not for the squeamish, though it’s no more graphic than a PG-13 action movie or an episode of Bones.

If you enjoyed Immanuel’s Veins or the Circle series, Forbidden is the book you've been waiting for. And when you finish reading it (not long after you started, since it's one of those "can't put down" books), you'll most likely join me in counting down the months until book two, Mortal, releases!

Click here to watch the book trailer or preview the book below.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Hachette Book Group through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"indelible" by kristen heitzmann

Sculptor Natalie Reeve meets Trevor MacDaniel when he rescues her nephew Cody from a mountain lion. Because of her eidetic memory, which causes her to "capture" intense or disturbing images until she can work them out through her art, she usually keeps people at arm's length. Trevor, however, is different. At first Natalie sees him simply as a hero; then she sees him for who he is, as he pushes through her self-preserving walls and gets inside her heart. Someone else is impressed by Trevor's heroics, however: someone who sees Trevor as both angel and nemesis. When this person arrives in Redford, Natalie and Trevor must work together to uncover his identity and protect those they love.

Indelible is a sequel to Indivisible (which I reviewed here), but both books function well as stand-alone novels. Readers who enjoyed Indivisible will enjoy the return to Redford, Colorado, and its inhabitants, but those who have not read Indivisible will be able to fully appreciate Indelible without any background knowledge. When I reviewed Indivisible, I said it was a character-driven mystery. The same can be said of Indelible, though I think author Kristen Heitzmann actually kicks it up a notch here in regard to character development. When I finished the book, I felt like I was leaving friends behind, and I hope that Heitzmann continues writing about the residents of Redford. Indelible is one of those novels that will completely suck you in--to the point where you're reading until 1 a.m. without realizing it!

Indelible is fast-paced, exciting, and extremely enjoyable. I highly recommend it!

Visit Heitzmann's website to learn more about her and her books. You can read an excerpt of Indelible here.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from WaterBrook Multnomah. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

"the art of romance" by kaye dacus

A couple weeks ago, Peter at christian-fantasy.com wrote about meeting Christian romance writer Kaye Dacus. I'd never heard of her before, so I clicked on over to her website, where I found this quote:

My heart is, as it has been for more than twenty years, focused on writing light-hearted romances. But not just any romances. I like writing characters who represent a growing segment of the population that seems to be increasingly left out in Christian circles: women in their late-twenties, thirties, and early-forties (and even older) who have never been married and who want to be loved and accepted for who they are, not pigeon-holed into a category, labeled, or, as happens most often, shoved to the side and ignored/forgotten about by their churches, coworkers, or even friends and family. I’m writing to the women who, like me, expected to be married before they turned twenty-five (-six, -seven, -eight . . .), but who may find themselves now in their mid- to late-thirties or forties and have never even had a date or meaningful relationship.

As soon as I read that, I knew I needed to give her books a chance. The older I get, the less inclined I am to read romances that feature girls in their late teens to early twenties. That's just not where I am anymore, and I want to read about women who may be a little like me--because, strange though it may sound given this is fiction, their love stories give me hope that my own will come someday.

Quite by accident, I found Dacus's The Art of Romance available for review on NetGalley. Without hesitation, I sent a review request. Four days later, I've read the entire book ... and this is while I've been moving!

Caylor is an English professor who helps care for her grandmother while writing Christian romance novels on the side. Dylan moves in with his grandparents after a scandal involving the chair of his department causes him to lose his position as an instructor at a prestigious art school. As both are single, their grandmothers scheme to get them together, but each is harboring a secret that could drive the other away. (And that's all you're gonna get from me--if you want to know about their secrets, you'll just have to get the book for yourself!)

I really enjoyed The Art of Romance! While it was in some ways your predictable boy-meets-girl romance, the plot took several twists and turns I wasn't expecting. I also appreciated that both main characters had a past. Dylan especially had a lot of issues to work through, and he really grew as a character throughout the book. No, this book won't change the world, but it certainly was a lot of fun to read--and isn't that what we want during the summer? I will definitely be checking out more books by Kaye Dacus!

This is the second book in The Matchmakers series (though it functions as a stand alone title, as well): The Art of Romance and Love Remains (book one) are available now, and Turnabout's Fair Play will release in November.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a galley of this book free for review from Barbour Publishing through NetGalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."