First Line Friday #106

 

Happy Friday!!! Welcome to another edition of First Line Friday. Yay, it's Friday and the Olympics begin tonight!!! I'm excited to see how they will do the Opening Ceremonies on the Seine River.

Today, I am featuring Laura Frantz's new release. Usually, we have to wait until the beginning of the year to get a new Laura Frantz read. Well, not this year! I'm super behind in my reading however, I've already started this! 

About the book:

Title: A Matter of Honor

Author: Laura Frantz

Orin Hume from The Rose and the Thistle comes of age in A Matter of Honor and ventures beyond Scotland's borders, achieving renown all his own, only to return home again to reclaim the life and lady he once loved.

Having grown up at Wedderburn Castle in the serene Scottish Lowlands, Orin Hume is thrust into the dazzling realm of London society and Court circles as Poet Laureate of Britain. But at the height of his fame a former tragedy and his ties to a lass he once loved lead him home to Berwickshire again. When his return is further marred by lost love letters and scheming kin who conspire to keep the pair apart, can Lady Maryn Lockhart, now Duchess of Fordyce, forgive him? Or will the shadows of the past and the complexities of the present rewrite their love story?

Goodreads || Amazon || 

First Line:

Prologue

London, England

1739

In the glittering, beeswax-scented drawing room of Kensington Palace, Orin Hume stood beside a Palladian window. 

Chapter 1

Edinburgh, Scotland

May 1740

A wee smirr of rain struck the tenement's windowpanes at twilight, blurring Orin Hume's view of lamplit Edinburgh.

Makes you want to keep reading, huh? It's available on Kindle Unlimited.

About Laura Frantz

I was born and raised in Kentucky, living first in Ashland, Mammoth Cave, Bowling Green, and then Lexington. But my heart has always been in Berea, Madison County, the place my family has resided since the 18th-century. I came to know Christ there at the age of 12, was baptized, and spent my childhood roaming through the woods and swimming in the rivers of my books.

My earliest memories are of the public library, standing in front of shelves filled with those little biographies of famous historical figures like Daniel Boone and George Washington and Sacajawea. I began scribbling stories at age 7 and thankfully never stopped. My passion then and now is history and all the wonders of past centuries.

I attended college at Denison University in Ohio and also in England, living in a manor/castle and studying the American Revolution from the British perspective. Shakespeare and 18th-century literature form the backbone of my English degree. Strangely enough, I only took one creative writing class.

It was never a desire of mine to be published. I simply love to write for the sheer joy of writing – and that was enough. But as Proverbs 16:9 says, “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

I hope my books bless you.

You can find Laura on these platforms; Website || Facebook || Instagram || Pinterest || Twitter

Please leave me your first lines in the comment section and then make your way to my friend Carrie at Reading is my SuperPower for more first lines. Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Top Ten Tuesday --- Debut Novels I Enjoyed

 

Happy Tuesday and welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday, sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl. If you've hung around here very long you know that debut novels are one of my favorites. Here's just a small selection of my favorites. Most I read as I was just beginning to blog.

Diva NashVegas is Nashville Sweetheart

Do we share any favorite debuts? Let me know in the comments!

Top Ten Tuesday My Favorite Books of the Last Ten Years

 

Happy Tuesday, and welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday. Today's topic is ten things you like about one book. I couldn't think of a book I could do that with, so I came up with my own. I have a hard time choosing a favorite book each year, but there is something about looking back that makes it easier.

2014 

2015 

2016              

2017          

2018    

2019                  

2020           

2021      

  2022              

2023            

2024  

Are any of my favorites from the last ten years yours? Have you read any of these?

Let me know in the comments!

I hope you have a great Tuesday!!

      

Meeting Her Match (The Matchmakers Book 3) by Jen Turano Reviewed

About the book:

Title: Meeting Her Match

Author: Jen Turano

Series: The Matchmakers

Genre: Christian Historical Romantic Clean Fiction

Publisher: Bethany House; pp 368

Miss Camilla Pierpont, a renowned matchmaker and influential member of the New York Four Hundred, has vowed never to marry after suffering a devastating heartbreak during her debut years ago. However, when she is nearly abducted along the Hudson River, she finds herself rescued by an annoyingly outspoken, albeit fascinating, gentleman who challenges her in a manner she wasn't expecting.After learning that Camilla Pierpont has enjoyed success with taking wayward young ladies in hand, Mr. Owen Chesterfield travels to the Hudson River Valley determined to convince Camilla to sponsor his sister, who is in desperate need of social rehabilitation. Knowing her life is in danger, Camilla agrees to Owen's proposition and travels with him to West Virginia, finding herself charmed by the less-than-formal attitude of his small hometown, as well as by Owen himself. But danger waits in the shadows, disrupting what she knows would be the most spectacular match she's ever made--her own.

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

My Thoughts

This has to be Jen Turano's funniest book to date, and I've read all of her books. I've decided that some of the crazy things she adds in her books are based on something that has happened to her. 

The meet-cute with enemies to more, add in a fake engagement with Jen Turano at the helm, you are guaranteed witty banter, a group of eccentric characters, one pig and a story that will keep you laughing from beginning to end. I loved Owen's family but that poor guy couldn't help from putting his foot in his mouth. 

If you enjoy laughter in your books, kisses that are almost but become kisses, and matchmaking mayhem then you will want to snag this book, and you can today! 

Because it is, RELEASE DAY!!! 

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book via the publisher. I was not required to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

About Jen Turano

A USA Today Best-Selling Author, Jen Turano has written the critically acclaimed Ladies of Distinction series, and A Class of Their Own series, published through Bethany House Publishers. Her novel, After a Fashion, was chosen as a top pick from Romantic Times, as JenTuranowell as being named a top ten romance of 2015 from Booklist.  It is also a nominee for Romantic Times 2015 Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her book, A Most Peculiar Circumstance, was chosen as a top ten romance by Booklist in 2013. Her seventh book, Playing the Part, released in the spring of 2016, and will be followed by a new four-book series, Apart from the Crowd. When she’s not writing, Jen spends her time outside of Denver with her husband and neurotic Cattle Dog, enjoying herself as an empty-nester since her son recently abandoned her for college life. 

Website || Facebook || Twitter || Instagram

Top Ten Tuesday My Favorite Color(s) On Book Covers

 

Happy Tuesday! Welcome to another edition of Top Ten Tuesday! Today the prompt from That Artsy Reader Girl is my favorite color, or colors in my case on a book cover.

My favorite color is pink; but I love pinks, summer blues, and purples on book covers.

The best thing is most of my favorite authors use those colors on their covers!

What is your favorite color(s) to see on book covers? Do we like some of the same colors? Let me know in the comments.

The Summer of Yes, and Meet Me at the Starlight release today.

First Line Friday #105

Happy Friday! Welcome to another edition of First Line Friday. I'm doing my best to get myself out of the caretaker slump of taking care of and repairing the finances of my aging parents and back into what I love READING and posting about books!!! Today I am featuring Queen of Hearts by Heather Day Gilbert, her recent release. I started reading it last night and was so tired I fell asleep. My current problem!

 

About the book:

Title: Queen of Hearts

Author: Heather Day Gilbert

Her readers love her...
but one has gotten a little too attached.

Alexandra Dubois, a NYT bestselling author, has made a name for herself by crafting twisted serial killers in her romantic suspense series. When threatening notes from an "invested reader" escalate into violence, Alex has to admit she's not safe in her own home. Although her autism makes any changes to her routine difficult, she reluctantly accepts her editor's advice to fly to his sprawling vacation home in West Virginia so she can focus on her looming deadline.

Fighting paranoia that the stalker has discovered her mountain hideaway, Alex still forces herself to write several chapters in her novel. But when a thunderstorm leaves her stranded and she hears a knock at her door, she's about to discover that life truly is stranger than fiction.

Fans of Alfred Hitchcock, Mary Higgins Clark, and Misery are sure to be hooked by this clean, fast-paced domestic thriller by RWA Daphne Award-winning author Heather Day Gilbert.

Goodreads || Amazon || 

FIRST LINE:

Wednesday, One Week Earlier

Natasha shifted uncomfortably on the rock floor of the icy cave, shoving her gloved hands under her armpits to keep warm. Her thoughts were getting fuzzy, so she forced herself to walk through the events that had brought her to this remote part of Alaska in the dead of winter.

If that isn't an intro! The book releases in July, so keep your eyes out for it.

About Heather:

While I wish I could sit down and have a cup of coffee with you (or tea or hot chocolate if you prefer!), I’ll have to settle for sharing a bit more about myself here…

I’ve been writing for over fifteen years now, and if you pick up any of my novels, you’ll see that I’m drawn to writing strong female lead characters. I’ve been married for twenty-six years to my red-headed husband, and I’m thankful every day for how he constantly supports my writing career. I have three adult children and one nine-year-old, so I do keep busy even when I’m not writing.

I was born and brought up in the southeastern area of wild and wonderful West Virginia, and that’s where I live now. I’m thankful for my mountain state, and I love writing about it in A Murder in the Mountains mystery series, the Hemlock Creek Suspense series, and the Barks & Beans Cafe cozy mystery series–you can find all of those on my books page.

I’ve also written Viking historical fiction because my maiden name would have been Thorvaldssen if my great-grandpa hadn’t changed it when he came to the U.S.A., and my family is allegedly related to Eirik the Red, which is what got me interested in the Icelandic Sagas I used to base God’s Daughter and Forest Child on.

I also have a 3-book cozy mystery series set in Greenwich, CT, NYC, and Upstate NY–three places I’ve lived myself (the Exotic Pet-Sitter series)! The series features amateur sleuth Belinda Blake, who is an exotic pet-sitter and video game reviewer. Click here to read more about this series reviewer Carrie Booth Schmidt (Reading is my SuperPower blog) says is “well-written with wit and heart, as well as more layers and depth than we usually see in cozies.”

I’ve been honored to win a 2023 RWA Daphne Award for Mystery/Suspense for COLD DRIP, Book 6 in the Barks & Beans Cafe series, and I’m also a 2-time ECPA Christy Award finalist (GUILT BY ASSOCIATION, 2018, and FALSE PRETENSE, 2022).

To unwind, I play video games, do some gardening in my perennial flowerbeds, and I enjoy watching classic suspense movies, like Hitchcock. My favorite Agatha Christie mystery is Ordeal by Innocence and my favorite classic is Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy.

I hope you can sign up for my newsletter here to keep up with the latest–I frequently share book deals, giveaways, and cover art sneak peeks with my newsletter friends first.

You can connect with Heather on these social media platforms...

Facebook || Instagram || X (Formerly Twitter) || Website

Leave me the first line of the book you're reading in the comments and then head over to my friend, Carrie's blog, Reading Is My SuperPower and read other first lines.

I hope you have a wonderful and warm weekend. It's been beautiful here so, I'm looking to hangout outside and read.

I Dream A Dream For You by Bob Hostetler Illustrated by Benedetta Capriotti Reviewed

Welcome to the Blog Tour for I Dream a Dream for You by Bob Hostetler (illustrated by Benedetta Capriotti) hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About the Book

Title: I Dream a Dream for You
Author: Bob Hostetler
Illustrator: Benedetta Capriotti
Publisher: Kregel Children's Books
Release Date: June 18, 2024
Genre: Picture Book

A charming read-aloud bedtime book for toddlers 

With its sweet bedtime rhymes, I Dream a Dream for You resembles the classic title The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton. A family of red pandas make their home in the forest. When it's time for bed, Mom and Dad tuck in their three kiddos, and as they all drift to sleep, dreams come to life through the vibrant pictures and story. Parents or grandparents will enjoy reading this sweet bedtime rhyme, filled with dreams and aspirations for their little ones. With amazing, colorful illustrations, this read-to-me story richly shows the love of a faith-filled family with creative, interesting scenes that kids will love to see over and over--and those who read it to them will experience the blessing of God's love, which is meant to be shown and shared with families  

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | ChristianBook | Bookshop

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About the Author

Bob Hostetler is an award-winning author, literary agent, and international speaker. His first children's book, Don't Close Your Eyes, and its subsequent success, was a dream come true for him. His fifty other books include the award-winning Don't Check Your Brains at the Door (co-authored with Josh McDowell) and The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional. He has won two Gold Medallion Awards, four Ohio Associated Press awards, and a Selah "Book of the Year" honor. He and his wife make their home in Nevada.

Connect with Bob at bobhostetler.com to follow him on social media and sign up for email updates.

About the Illustrator

Benedetta Capriotti was born in Italy, in a seaside town of the central region Marche. Since she was a child, she has had a great passion for drawing and art. In high school she would draw on Greek and Latin books, so she chose to attend a professional School of Fashion and Technical Drawing. Afterward she joined the Illustration class at the International School of Comics in Rome. In addition to drawing, she likes reading, traveling, and animals, and would like to live in the English countryside.

Connect with Benedetta on Instagram.

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My Thoughts:

This is an absolutely adorable book! The illustrations are big and colorful which grab little one's attention. The story inside is touching and is every parent and grandparent's heart for a little one. Wanting them to have a relationship with God, knowing that we love them. Mr. Hostetler writes a sweet tender book that any little one would love. It's made of sturdy cardboard able to handle a little one's attempt at destruction.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book via the publisher. I wasn't required to write a review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will win a print copy of I Dream a Dream for You and book-related goodies!

Full tour schedule linked below. The giveaway begins at midnight June 25, 2024 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on July 2, 2024. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US/CAN only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to JustRead Publicity Tours Giveaway Policies.

Enter Giveaway

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!