First Line Friday 111

 

    

 

                                                           

About the book:

Title: The Highland Heist

Author: Pepper Basham

Series: A Freddie and Grace Mystery #4

Publisher: Barbour Fiction

Format: Kindle

Source: Purchased

Grace Storms a Scottish Castle to Save her Sister
 
Lord Astley surprises his wife with a trip to America to see her family before they end their honeymoon adventures. But just as they arrive, they find Grace’s sister, Lillias, is the prime suspect in her husband’s murder. To add to the confusion a solicitor arrives to tell the sister’s they are needed in Scotland immediately to claim their mother’s inheritance.
 
The clock is ticking to clear Lillias of suspicion, but someone is determined to keep the sisters from reaching the Scottish Highlands. When Lillias disappears, Freddie and Grace race to Scotland, sure the answers will be found in a long-forgotten castle.
 
With a ghost from Frederick’s past leaving threatening clues along the way, the mysterious Mr. Kane waiting in the wings to grab the inheritance for himself, and an apparition haunting the infamous castle, Lord and Lady Astley must capture the castle, save Lillias, and not die in the process.
 
The Highland Heist is a Freddie and Grace Mystery, sequel to The Mistletoe Countess, The Cairo Curse, and The Juliet Code.

Goodreads || Amazon || Baker Book House || Barnes & Noble

This book released this week and when I read the first line I knew it was perfect for a First Line Friday.

FIRST LINE

June 23, 1914

Perfect husbands were rare, except perhaps in fiction, but Grace Percy, Countess of Astley, had married the real-life equivalent, she was certain.

Is that not the perfect first line?! I just love it because I feel that way about my husband. Besides that it's so Pepper Basham and I just love it, and I know this book is going to be amazing!

About Pepper Basham

I love a good romance, whether it’s set in an Edwardian-era manor house or a small town in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Readers enjoy my fun, dramatic, heart-warming, and inspirational novels with the certainty of a happily-ever-after.

Though some of my contemporaries have a Britallachian twist, others are Mayberry-esque, while others bring about the elegance and struggles of the Downton Abbey era. If any of these story ideas sound good to you, take some time to peruse my cyber corner of the world. “Sit a spell” as we’d say in my neck of the woods and let me ‘spin you a yarn’ filled with a few of my favorite things.

You can find Pepper on the following social media sites. Website || Facebook || Instagram || Twitter 

Please leave your first line in the comments and then go to Readingismysuperpower and read other first lines, and join the link-up if you'd like.

Top Ten Tuesday - Books Published in July 2025

 

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today's theme is a freebie, so I chose to do books that will be published this July. And by the way, how did we get to July? It just doesn't seem possible.

The Sands of Sea Blue Beach has been on other lists of mine, but it will be published in July. Plus, the book is so pretty. 

In this top ten list, I chose to add some different genres. I've been mixing up my genres, and I've been reading more. More about that in another post. 

Are there any on my list that you are planning to read? Let's talk about that in the comments.

June Reading Wrap Up

 

Hi! It's been a long time since I've done a monthly wrap-up. The last year and a half, if my memory serves me correctly, since April 2024, has been filled with everything required to be a guardian of your incapacitated parents. I won't bore you with all the horrible details; suffice it to say that when you become a guardian and conservator, you have just been hired for a job you didn't apply for, you don't receive a salary or benefits, and it's exhausting.

June ushered in some great reading for me, actually, it started with May. I read Jen Turano's new release, A Lesson in Propriety, and Shannon Sue Dunlap's Hearts Aweigh. In June, I started reading You and Me For Real by Hayley Elliott, and while Jill Eileen Smith's book Dawn of Grace was published in February, switching genres has really helped me get back into reading. I'm not a huge fan of non-fiction books, but I've read The Primal Wound, which is about adoption, and The Birth Order Book. So, if you find yourself struggling to read, which I don't think of my readers, switch up your genres and see if that helps. I read more than one book at a time, and that keeps my brain continually interested.

How was your reading in June? Better? Worse? About the same?

Let me know in the comments

Top Ten Tuesday My Most Anticipated Releases From July-December

 

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday link-up sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl. Today's theme is the books I am most anticipating for the last six months of the year, and let me tell you, trying to find the books was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. I checked NetGalley, the Publisher's websites, and even Amazon, but no dice. At least I found them!

Publication is expected on August 19, 2025

Publication is expected on July 15, 2025

Publication is expected on July 1, 2025.

Publication August 2025.... no date is currently set for publication.

Publication October 2025.... No official date has been set for publication. 

Publication expected November 18, 2025.

Publication expected on July 15, 2025.

Publication is expected on August 5, 2025.

Publication is expected in September 2025.

Publication is expected on October 14, 2025.

I'm curious, do we have any books in common? Please let me know in the comments. I'll be checking my comments throughout the day.

Top Ten Tuesday ... My Summer TBR

 Happy Tuesday!! Today's theme for Top Ten Tuesday, sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl is our Summer To-Be-Read list. I have read some or a few of my list, but the beauty of having epilepsy is that it destroys my short-term memory, so if I don't review it immediately or write my thoughts in my journal, I'll forget. A benefit is that it's like I've read it for the first time.

I'm on Hayley's street team, and this is super cute!

Freddie and Grace are two of my favorite characters, so I can't wait to dive in!

I'm almost positive I've read this, but my brain says nope! LOL

I've started this, and I get interrupted and forget to go back to it, another fun side effect of Epilepsy. 

Do we share any books in common for the summer? Have you read any of these? Let me know in the comments!

Dawn of Grace (Mary Magdalene's Story) by Jill Eileen Smith Reviewed

 About the book

Title: Dawn of Grace

Author: Jill Eileen Smith

Published by: Revell

Genres: Biblical Historical Fiction

Format: Kindle

Pages: 368

Source: Purchased

From her earliest days, Mary Magdalene has known fear and loss at a level so deep she has no hope of surfacing. Bound to the demons within her and incapable of freeing herself, Mary walks in shadow--until one day she encounters a healer, a rabbi who is radically different from the religious leaders and family members who could do nothing to help her. One touch from Jesus and Mary is never the same.

Now, Mary's one mission in life is to serve the one who freed her. She is determined never to leave his side, fearing that if she loses him, she'll return to her former bondage. Even when the unthinkable happens and her savior is arrested and sentenced to execution, she cannot abandon him as so many others did. Let her be buried in his tomb, for she cannot live without him.

On the brink of despair, Mary is about to discover that while the life of faith is never perfect, perfect love casts out fear--and Jesus makes all things new.

Goodreads || Amazon || B&N || Baker Bookhouse 

My Thoughts:

Jill Eileen Smith was one of the first biblical fiction authors I read when I first started blogging back in 2007. I fell in love with her ability to take the stories from the Bible, by giving our heroes/heroines legs, walking straight out of the Bible into our everyday lives. 

Can we just talk for a second about how beautiful the cover is? When I saw it last year, I knew I would need it for my shelf. Mary looking up at Christ is how I've always pictured her as I grew up.

We've all been Mary Magdalene at one time ... we all needed His healing touch, and some of us are still longing for that touch. 

Jill Eileen Smith takes Mary Magdalene and creates a story of how she may have become possessed by the demons. Her creation is very plausible given the time. She also shows how Mary becomes literally dependent on Christ. She doesn't think she can survive without Him.

This is an absolutely beautiful story of Jesus accepting the worst in society, comforting them, showing that no matter who they are or what they've done, they are loved by God who created them, and so loved that Christ would die on a cross for them. 

Bottom Line: 

This book is a beautiful depiction of Mary Magdalene and her demon possession. Mary is desperate, and once Christ comes on the scene, she wonders if He could do for her what He's done for so many others. Ms. Smith shows the true Comforter, Christ, is within these pages. If you've never read a book by Jill Eileen Smith, this is a good one to start with. There is so much more I could say, but I seriously do not want to ruin the reading experience.

About Jill Eileen Smith

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling and award-winning author of the biblical fiction series The Wives of King David, Wives of the Patriarchs, and Daughters of the Promised Land, as well as The Heart of a King and Star of Persia: Esther's Story. She is also the author of the nonfiction books When Life Doesn't Match Your Dreams and She Walked Before Us. Her research into the lives of biblical women has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan.

You can learn more about Jill at her website and follow her on the following social media platforms. Facebook || Instagram || Twitter 

The Alphabet Challenge THE A's HAVE IT!

 

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to a new Tuesday post. Today's Top Ten Tuesday, theme sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl, is fulfilling wish lists. I've done that one a couple of times, so I thought I'd try this Alphabet Challenge I've seen on a few blogs. The books will be in alphabetical order and will be perfect for fulfilling reading challenges. If the title starts with The, I will use the second letter.

If you sign up for Mesu Andrews newsletter, you will receive this book for free.

I was actually surprised at how many A-titled books there were. Have you read any of these? Are they on your ever-growing TBR? 

After She Falls, Across Ages (the entire series), and Abigail, I definitely need to read.