The Loyal Heart (Lone Star Hero #1) by Shelley Shepard Gray

About the book:

Robert came to Galveston to fulfill his promise to a dying man and look after his widow. He didn’t expect to find love in the unlikeliest of places.

Robert Truax, former Second Lieutenant and Confederate officer in the Civil War, made a promise to his comrade Phillip Markham. If anything happened to Phillip, Robert would look after his beloved wife, Miranda. She was his life, his world, his everything.

After the war, Robert is left to pick up the pieces and fulfill his pact. When he arrives at Miranda's home in Galveston, Texas, things are worse than he imagined. Phillip's name has been dragged through the mud, everyone in town believes him to be a traitor, and his widow is treated as an outcast. Even more disturbing is her emotional well-being. Miranda seems hopeless, lost, and so very alone.
Robert had thought his duty would be simple. He would help Miranda as quickly as possible in order to honor a promise. But the moment Robert laid eyes on her, his plans changed. He's mesmerized by her beauty and yearns to help her in any way he can.
He makes it his duty to protect Miranda, turn her reputation around, and to find some way to help her smile again. But it doesn't prove to be an easy task—Robert knows something about Phillip that could shake Miranda to the core and alter her view of the man she thought she knew so well. 

About Shelley:

I live in southern Ohio with my husband, two teenagers, and two dogs. My days are filled with busy activities like most any other mom and housewife. But I also love to write books.

Each morning, after my kids go off to school, I sit at my desk, look out my window, and dream of other places. The hours fly by as I make up people and places and drink way too much coffee.

Writing for Avon Inspire has truly been a dream come true. Being able to spend my days in my make-believe world of the Brenneman Bed and Breakfast is a true blessing. I have enjoyed getting to know more about the Amish culture and tapping into my faith as I show each character’s progression toward a personal relationship with our Lord.

Before becoming a full time writer, I taught elementary school in Texas, Arizona, and Colorado. A job transfer to Ohio led my husband to encourage me to finally give writing a try. After all, I had notebooks full of made up stories.

I’ll never forget that first book I typed in our unfinished basement. It was exciting to make up a story, but also very scary. I was also so embarrassed, sure someone would come out of the woodwork and point out that I wasn’t a ‘real’ writer. But I persevered, and sold my third manuscript.

Things have changed a bit. Now I have a real office of my own. (think old guest bedroom!) My walls are painted pink, and more than a couple of book covers decorate my walls. But my days are still the same. I wake up, dream about other people, and do my best to type out stories.

My Thoughts~

These are the reviews I hate writing, the ones where I didn't really enjoy the book. The book started out well, but as it went on it felt as if I was on a merry-go-round going no where. I have enjoyed Shelley's books before and I am sad that I didn't enjoy this one more. 

What I have learned a long the way . . .

Ten years ago, boy it doesn't seem like it has been that long ago, I found out that my daughter is gay. It happened through a process of elimination and then her actually saying it out loud. There were tears, angry, hurtful words and distance, oh the distance. At that time I was not mentally, or emotionally healthy so hearing the words I'm gay coming from my beautiful seventeen year old daughter sent me into a tailspin. What I saw was a huge letter G on her, I don't know if I even saw her at that point. I was also worried more than I should've been, what will my parents think and say, what will our friends at church say, what will everyone think?
I didn't take time to find out how she felt, what she was thinking and I hate that I didn't stop to think about her, the loneliness, and fear that she must have felt.

If I could go back in time and tell my 40 year old self what I know now, it would be . . .
Breathe! This isn't a death sentence, her dreams are just starting, it's your dreams for her that have you upset. Take time to talk to her, find out how she is feeling, what she is thinking. Don't assume you know, and don't take her behavior personally. Also, give lots of hugs, even if she pushes you away, do it anyway.

I am very thankful and blessed that now ten years later my daughter and I are closer than ever. I see every part of her, not just the one slice that is gay. She is loving, artistic, fights for injustice, cares about others, and is smart!

I have a burden that there may be other mom's who may be going through what I did ten years ago and if by sharing what I went through helps another mother and daughter then what we went through all those years ago will be worth it.

Stay connected!

Love Everlasting by Julie Lessman

About the book:

He sets hearts on fire.
She’s been burned by love.
Can hope survive the flames of the past?

School teacher by day, ghostwriter by night, sweet and shy Shannon O’Bryen doesn’t mind writing romance on the sly, but to live it? No, thank you, not since the man she loved turned out to be a player who broke both her heart and her spirit. Now focused more on her faith and her fiction, she vows the next time she falls in love, it will be safely—through the pages of a book.

Dr. Sam Cunningham is a charismatic player who breaks hearts as regularly as he washes his pearl-white Corvette. Abandoned as a baby, Sam was an orphan shuffled through the foster-care system, bitterly driven to prove he is worthy of love—the kind that lasts forever. Once he learns Shannon is a romance writer, he enlists her help in winning back his ex-girlfriend. She teaches him about faith and the true definition of love, and he soon discovers he’s been seeking it in the wrong place all along—and with the wrong girl. But can he convince a woman who's been burned by love to open her eyes—and her heart—to a love everlasting? 

About Julie


Julie Lessman, award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, and Heart of San Francisco series, was named American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards. Julie has garnered 17 RWA and other awards and made Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Her latest novel, Surprised by Love, appeared on Family Fiction magazine’s list of Top Ten Novels of 2014. Her indie book A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner.

You can contact Julie and read excerpts from her books at www.julielessman.com, or through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or Pinterest, as well as sign up for her newsletter. Check out Julie’s group blog, The Seekers, Writers Digest 2013 and 2014 “Best 101 Websites for Writers,” and Julie’s own personal blog, Journal Jots, voted blog of the month in the Readers’ Choice poll of Book Fun Magazine.

http://julielessman.com/home/ 

 

 

My Thoughts ~

 

I have been a huge fan of Julie Lessman's since I read her first book Passion Most Pure. Whether she is writing historical fiction or contemporary her fun, swoon worthy kissing scenes, witty banter between characters, and stories with heart that portray faith, hope, and true love are present from beginning to end. This story was addictive, one I didn't want to end. Julie who has been known for her historical romances is taking the contemporary romance world by storm!

This book releases TODAY and you can purchase a copy by clicking the link in my sidebar.

 

 

First Line Friday - Love Everlasting by Julie Lessman

He sets hearts on fire.
She’s been burned by love.
Can hope survive the flames of the past?

School teacher by day, ghostwriter by night, sweet and shy Shannon O’Bryen doesn’t mind writing romance on the sly, but to live it? No, thank you, not since the man she loved turned out to be a player who broke both her heart and her spirit. Now focused more on her faith and her fiction, she vows the next time she falls in love, it will be safely—through the pages of a book.

Dr. Sam Cunningham is a charismatic player who breaks hearts as regularly as he washes his pearl-white Corvette. Abandoned as a baby, Sam was an orphan shuffled through the foster-care system, bitterly driven to prove he is worthy of love—the kind that lasts forever. Once he learns Shannon is a romance writer, he enlists her help in winning back his ex-girlfriend. She teaches him about faith and the true definition of love, and he soon discovers he’s been seeking it in the wrong place all along—and with the wrong girl. But can he convince a woman who's been burned by love to open her eyes—and her heart—to a love everlasting? 

Julie Lessman, award-winning author of The Daughters of Boston, Winds of Change, and Heart of San Francisco series, was named American Christian Fiction Writers 2009 Debut Author of the Year and voted #1 Romance Author of the year in Family Fiction magazine’s 2012 and 2011 Readers Choice Awards. Julie has garnered 17 RWA and other awards and made Booklist’s 2010 Top 10 Inspirational Fiction. Her latest novel, Surprised by Love, appeared on Family Fiction magazine’s list of Top Ten Novels of 2014. Her indie book A Light in the Window is an International Digital Awards winner, a 2013 Readers' Crown Award winner, and a 2013 Book Buyers Best Award winner.

You can contact Julie and read excerpts from her books at www.julielessman.com, or through Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or Pinterest, as well as sign up for her newsletter. Check out Julie’s group blog, The Seekers, Writers Digest 2013 and 2014 “Best 101 Websites for Writers,” and Julie’s own personal blog, Journal Jots, voted blog of the month in the Readers’ Choice poll of Book Fun Magazine.

http://julielessman.com/home/ 

First Line:

“Okay, smile pretty—hot guys at three o’clock.”

A link for this book is in my sidebar. You can buy it today, as it releases TODAY!!!

For more fun click on the blogs below and leave your first line in the comments.

Rachel

Beth Erin

Sydney

Carrie

First Line Friday

This is my first week participating in First Line Friday with a group of bloggers. My book choice this week is A Royal Christmas wedding by Rachel Hauck.

Isn't this cover gorgeous! Perfect for Christmas!

It releases October 18th. Here is the back cover description. . .

It’s been five years since Avery Truitt and Prince Colin of Brighton Kingdom fell in love. But he broke her heart with no explanation.

Fast forward to present day, and Colin is Brighton’s most eligible bachelor now that cousin Stephen has married. When Avery’s father dies of a heart attack, she puts her life on hold and returns home to St. Simons Island, Georgia, to help Mama with the family restaurant. But Mama misses Avery’s sister Susanna, who lives four thousand miles away in Brighton Kingdom—and is expecting her first child. So Mama insists she and Avery spend the Christmas season in Brighton.

Colin and Avery are going to see each other a lot while she’s visiting. But she can’t forget the way he hurt her, and he didn’t expect his feelings to still be so strong.

Avery is torn between considering a future in Brighton and taking a coaching job in Georgia, and Colin is finally pushed to pursue what he really wants. Is it too late to convince Avery that she is his true love? And even if he does, will she make it to the chapel on Christmas Day to give him her heart?

First Line . . .

If she closed her eyes, she could pretend nothing had changed at the Rib Shack since Daddy died.

For more fun, follow the links below to read their first line and add yours in the comment section

http://bookwormmama14.blogspot.com/2016/09/first-line-fridays-92316-newton-polly.html

http://www.faithfullybookish.com/bookish/first-line-friday-13/

http://www.singinglibrarianbooks.com/adults/first-line-fridays-092316

http://wp.me/p7effm-4Ne

God Bless Us Everyone by Eva Marie Everson

God Bless Us Every One (Abingdon Press, September 2016)
Charlene Dixon—called Charlie by family and friends—is devastated at the recent loss of her job.
For the last five years, the twenty-seven-year-old has blossomed as the activities director of an exclusive all-girls school. But when a misunderstanding with the headmistress leads to a pink slip right before the holidays, Charlie packs up her dreams and returns to her grandmother, Sis, who raised Charlie as her own in the mountains of North Carolina.
When Charlie arrives—broken and confused—Sis immediately puts her granddaughter to work behind the scenes of the local school’s Christmas play, A Christmas Carol. Charlie prickles at working with Dustin Kennedy, the drama teacher and her old crush from schooldays, but is even more put out at that the choice of the Dickens’ classic for the holiday performance. When she discovers her estranged father’s involvement her world turns on its head once more. But when Sis and Dustin encourage her to take a deeper look at the story behind A Christmas Carol, Charlie learns about trust, faith, and forgiveness and the needs of people in their own community.
Learn more and purchase a copy.

Eva Marie Everson is an award-winning speaker and author of "The Road to Testament," "Things Left Unspoken," "This Fine Life," "Chasing Sunsets," "Waiting for Sunrise," "Slow Moon Rising," and The Potluck Club series (with Linda Evans Shepherd). She is the president of Word Weavers International, Inc., a member of AWSA, ACFW, RWA, the director of Florida Christian Writer’s Conference, and the contest director for Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. She and her husband make their home in Casselberry, Florida.





My Thoughts:

First let me say I had no idea that Eva lives in Casselberry, Florida. That's where I call home. Small world, huh?!
This is a perfect Christmas book. Loosely based on the book A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens.
It's a light, quick read, I stayed up late last night finishing it. What I loved about the book was the estrangement Charlie and her father have and how Eva worked hope, forgiveness, and restoration into the story. There is nothing more perfect for Christmas than forgiveness, hope, and restoring relationships.
I highly recommend this book!

Long Way Gone by Charles Martin

About the book:

At the age of eighteen, musician and songwriter Cooper O’Connor took everything his father held dear and drove 1,200 miles from home to Nashville, his life riding on a six-string guitar and the bold wager that he had talent. But his wager soon proved foolish.

Five years after losing everything, he falls in love with Daley Cross, an angelic voice in need of a song. But just as he realizes his love for Daley, Cooper faces a tragedy that threatens his life as well as his career. With nowhere else to go, he returns to his remote home in the Colorado Mountains, searching for answers about his father and his faith.

When Daley shows up on his street corner twenty years later, he wonders if it’s too late to tell her the truth about his past—and if he is ready to face it.

A radical retelling of the story of the prodigal son, Long Way Gone takes us from tent revivals to the Ryman Auditorium to the tender relationship between a broken man and the father who never stopped calling him home.

My Thoughts:

I liked the theme of the book, a new take on the parable, the Prodigal Son. It started out strong and I was enjoying every reading moment and then the book took a nose dive. I was really sad that it happened that way. Honestly, I was really looking forward to reading this and I hate that I didn't enjoy it more.