What Matters Most by Kellie Coates Gilbert

Deeply Emotional Writing Highlights the Complexities of Human Relationships
Leta Breckenridge is forced to drop out of college to care for her dementia-ridden mother. After learning a severely delinquent account may force her mother into a less desirable facility, Leta steps out of her comfort zone and lands a high-paying job at an Austin public relations firm. But her dream job turns into a nightmare when she learns the firm is a front for a political opposition machine--and that the research she's been collecting will be used against her new love interest, Nathan Emerson.
Nathan is a rising political star being pressured to run a bid to unseat the current governor of Texas. He's already in a relationship with a woman much better suited to be a politician's wife, but he's never met anyone like Leta. Could this feisty, challenging woman hold the key to his heart?

I barely remember a time when I didn’t have a book in my hand. My tiny hometown of Carey, Idaho had no library, no bookstore. The bi-weekly bookmobile provided the only avenue to books . . . that, and my Gram, who spent a lot of her Social Security checks on books for her granddaughter with an insatiable appetite for stories.
I grew up on a sheep ranch in southern Idaho, a business my family had been in for generations, never dreaming I’d ever see my own name on a novel. I left home to attend Boise State University and spent most of my adult years pursuing a sensible legal career, raising two boys, and learning to be happily married.
But God heard the quiet prayers of a woman who dared to dream big and ask her Lord for the outrageous. In early 2011, I signed my first book contract. Today, I am living my fantasy. I live in Dallas with my husband. I work from home, writing novels. Often by the pool.
                                               Can life get any better?


My Take~

In Kellie's final installment of the Texas Gold series we are introduced to the political world. In this book Kellie peels back the layers of the electoral process, and what we see isn't very pretty. Not only do we get a front row seat to the political scene, we also see the heartbreak a child goes through in caring for her mother who has dementia. My heart broke for Leta who is doing everything she can to care for her mother, and Nathan is determined to run a campaign with integrity. Integrity is the main theme of this book and how we as believers live our lives with integrity even when things get tough.
I am sad to see this series come to a close, I have really enjoyed getting to travel to Texas with Kellie's characters.
Great book! Highly recommended!

  Kellie is from Idaho and she came to Boise to launch What Matter's Most and I got to see her and have her sign my copy. She is a great lady, full of fun, and loves meeting her readers.

The Long Journey to Jake Palmer by James L. Rubart

Corporate trainer Jake Palmer coaches people to see deeper into themselves—yet he barely knows himself anymore. Recently divorced and weary of the business life, Jake reluctantly agrees to a lake-house vacation with friends, hoping to escape for ten days.

When he arrives, Jake hears the legend of Willow Lake—about a lost corridor that leads to a place where one’s deepest longings will be fulfilled.

Jake scoffs at the idea, but can’t shake a sliver of hope that the corridor is real. And when he meets a man who mutters cryptic speculations about the corridor, Jake is determined to find the path, find himself, and fix his crumbling life.

But the journey will become more treacherous with each step Jake takes.  

James L. Rubart is a 28 year old trapped in an older man's body, who loves to water ski and dirt bike with his two grown sons. He's the bestselling, award winning author of seven novels, including his latest, The Five Times I Met Myself. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in eastern Washington.

http://jameslrubart.com/

My Thoughts~

Jim Rubart is one of my favorite authors. I love how he spins a story. In his latest release The Long Journey to Jake Palmer he peels away layer by layer of what makes a person a person, he does this with humor and honesty.
Jim has a class he teaches called "Branding" when I heard about it I thought it was a little interesting that a guy from the Northwest who water ski's was teaching a course on branding cattle. I found out that "Branding" is about how you see yourself and how others see you. Do they match up?
Jake needs to be true to himself, accept what did or didn't happen to him and believe in himself.
I really enjoyed this book, and saw how God has peeled away my layers to reveal who I really am and has used different things in my life to help others.
Don't miss this book! It is a great read that will have you thinking about it long after you finish the book.

The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck

Two women separated by decades. Both set out to help others find their dreams when their own have crumbled.


It’s the 1930s, and Cora is taking the reins at her family’s wedding shop in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee. Brides come from far away to be doted on by Cora and her family while they find the perfect wedding dress. Meanwhile, Cora has found her true love, Rufus, a riverboat captain. Cora counts the days until his return from the river, and she continues to wait for him as days turn into months and months turn into years. When he finally returns, she receives the shock of a lifetime: he is married to another. Nursing her heartbreak, she must find a way to continue pouring her heart into the hopes and dreams of the brides who visit her shop, all while wondering if she will ever find true love or if it has passed her by.


In present day, Haley has finished her time as a soldier, and suffering from PTSD, wants nothing to do with the heartbreak of this world. She sets off for Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, and in order to honor the memory of a fallen friend, she takes on the task of reopening an abandoned and long-forgotten wedding shop. Perhaps through helping others, she can forget the pain and disappointment in her own life.


Haley isn’t looking for love, but when her friend’s former fiancé becomes involved in the shop’s renovations, they both find that healing and restoration can perhaps happen in their lives too.

 New York Times, USA Today & Wall Street Journal Bestselling author Rachel Hauck writes from sunny central Florida.

A RITA finalist and winner of Romantic Times Inspirational Novel of the Year, she writes vivid characters dealing with real life issues.

She loves to hear from readers. She also loves to encourage new writers and sits on the Executive Board of American Christian Fiction Writers..

A graduate of Ohio State University with a BA in Journalism, Rachel is an avid OSU football fan. She hopes to one day stand on the sidelines in the Shoe with Urban Meyer.

An avid Diet Coke fan, she is caffeine free. Sometimes you just have to compromise.

She's never skied or jumped out of an airplane. She leaves such hijinks to Jason Bourne.

Visit her web site to find out more and click on the icons to follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

www.rachelhauck.com

My Thoughts~

Rachel's new book ties the Wedding Dress, and the Wedding Chapel together. Having read both of those books I was immediately pulled into the story. I loved how the story alternated between the 1930's and present day. I got caught up in the stories of the different brides and remembered trying on my wedding gown for the first time. You will cheer for both Haley and Cora hoping they find their true love. I loved every minute of this book and stayed up way past my bedtime reading it. Highly recommended!!

 

********GIVEAWAY******** THE RINGMASTER'S WIFE ***********GIVEAWAY***********

What is revealed when you draw back the curtain of the Greatest Show on Earth?

Rosamund Easling is no stranger to opulence. As the daughter of an earl, she’s grown up with every comfort money can buy. But when hard times befall the family’s Yorkshire estate in the aftermath of the Great War, Rosamund’s father sells her beloved horse, setting the stage for a series of events that would extend beyond even her wildest dreams.

Though expected to marry for a title instead of love, Rosamund feels called to a different life – one of adventure outside the confines of a ladies’ parlor. She abandons all she’s known and follows in pursuit as her horse is shipped to the new owner – an American entertainer by the name of John Ringling. Once introduced to the Ringling Brothers’ circus and knowing she has much to learn, Rosamund agrees to a bareback riding apprenticeship in the shadow of the Ringlings’ winter home—Ca’D’Zan. It is at that mansion, in what would become the last days of the enigmatic Mable Ringling’s life, that Rosamund finds a deeper sense of purpose in the life she’s been given, and the awakening of faith in her heart.

With a supporting cast of characters as mysterious and dazzling as the Ringlings’ big-top world, Rosamund’s journey takes her from the tradition of the English countryside to the last days of America’s Roaring ‘20s—a journey that forever changes what one life might have been.

I have an extra copy of this book and I am going to give it away. To enter tell me your favorite act at the circus along with your email address and I will use a randomizer to choose the winner. You must be a follower of my blog to enter. I will choose the winner on August 5th.

Thanks, and Good Luck!

The Things We Knew by Catherine West

When their tragic past begins to resurface, can he help her remember the things she can't?

After her mother's death twelve years ago, Lynette Carlisle watched her close-knit family unravel. One by one, her four older siblings left their Nantucket home and never returned. All seem to blame their father for their mother's death, but nobody will talk about that tragic day. And Lynette's memory only speaks through nightmares.

Then Nicholas Cooper returns to Nantucket, bringing the past with him. Once Lynette's adolescent crush, Nick knows more about her mother's death than he lets on. The truth could tear apart his own family---and destroy his fragile friendship with Lynette, the woman he no longer thinks of as a kid sister.

As their father's failing health and financial concerns bring the Carlisle siblings home, secrets surface that will either restore their shattered relationships or separate the siblings forever. But pulling up anchor on the past propels them into the perfect storm, powerful enough to make them question their faith, their willingness to forgive, and the very truth of all the things they thought they knew.

Catherine West is an award-winning author writing inspirational stories of hope and healing from her island home in Bermuda. Educated in Bermuda, England and Canada, Catherine holds a degree in English from the University of Toronto. When she's not at the computer working on her next story, you can find her taking her Border Collie for long walks or tending to her roses and orchids. She and her husband have two college-aged children. Catherine is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America, and is represented by Rachelle Gardner of Books & Such Literary Management. Having previously published three popular romance and women's fiction titles, Catherine will publish her first novel through Harper Collins Christian Publishing in July, 2016.


My Thoughts~

Have you ever seen something that you wanted to forget? Lynnie can't remember how her mom died or so she thinks. This book is an emotional roller coaster, that had me on the edge of my seat. I loved how Cathy introduced us to the two families going through difficult life struggles. This is a book about life, and how life is messy; it's also about faith and forgiveness. I absolutely loved this book and highly recommend it!

Kelli Stuart’s ‘Like a River from Its Course’ Blog Tour and Kindle Prize Pack

{More about Like a River from Its Course}

Like a River from Its Course (Kregel, June 2016)
An epic novel exposing the ugliness of war and the beauty of hope
The city of Kiev was bombed in Hitler’s blitzkrieg across the Soviet Union, but the constant siege was only the beginning for her citizens. In this sweeping historical saga, Kelli Stuart takes the reader on a captivating journey into the little—known history of Ukraine’s tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who experience the same story from different perspectives.
Maria Ivanovna is only fourteen when the bombing begins and not much older when she is forced into work at a German labor camp. She must fight to survive and to make her way back to her beloved Ukraine.
Ivan Kyrilovich is falsely mistaken for a Jew and lined up with 34,000 other men, women, and children who are to be shot at the edge of Babi Yar, the “killing ditch.” He survives, but not without devastating consequences.
Luda is sixteen when German soldiers rape her. Now pregnant with the child of the enemy, she is abandoned by her father, alone, and in pain. She must learn to trust family and friends again and find her own strength in order to discover the redemption that awaits.
Frederick Hermann is sure in his knowledge that the Führer’s plans for domination are right and just. He is driven to succeed by a desire to please a demanding father and by his own blind faith in the ideals of Nazism. Based on true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River from Its Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and redemption.
Learn more and purchase a copy.

{More About Kelli Stuart}

Kelli Stuart is the coauthor of Dare 2B Wise and has written for several brands including Disney, American Girl, and Short Fiction Break. She has served as editor-in-chief for the St. Louis Bloggers Guild and as a board member for the St. Louis Women in Media. In addition to her writing, Kelli has spent twenty years studying Ukranian culture. Kelli lives in Florida.
Find out more about Kelli at http://kellistuart.com.




 Travel back in time in Kelli Stuart's new novel, Like a River from Its Course, as the city of Kiev is bombed in Hitler's blitzkrieg across the Soviet Union. This sweeping historical saga takes the reader on a captivating journey into the little-known history of Ukraine's tragedies through the eyes of four compelling characters who experience the same story from different perspectives. Based on true stories gathered from fifteen years of research and interviews with Ukrainian World War II survivors, Like a River From Its Course is a story of love, war, heartache, forgiveness, and redemption.




Celebrate the release of Like a River from Its Course with Kelli by entering to win a Kindle Fire Prize Pack.

 

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Like a River from Its Course


• A Kindle Fire


• A Kindle Fire case (winner's choice)


• A $30 Amazon gift card

 

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on July 18th. The winner will be announced July 19th on Kelli's blog.

 My Take~
This book is told in alternating voices. I found it to be very dark, with no sense of hope, and hard to read. It was not enjoyable. I've read a good number of books set in WWII and none of them were as disparaging as this book. I was 12 when I read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom and I remember the feeling of hope and faith I felt at the end of that book.
I sadly do not recommend this book.

The Ringmaster's Wife by Kristy Cambron

{More about The Ringmaster’s Wife}

The Ringmaster’s Wife (Thomas Nelson, June 2016)
An ounce of courage. A split-second leap of faith. Together, they propel two young women to chase a new life—one that’s reimagined from what they might have become.
In turn-of-the-century America, a young girl dreams of a world that stretches beyond the confines of a quiet life on the family farm. With little more than her wit and a cigar box of treasures to call her own, Mable steps away from all she knows, seeking the limitless marvels of the Chicago World’s Fair. There, a chance encounter triggers her destiny—a life with a famed showman by the name of John Ringling.
A quarter of a century later, Lady Rosamund Easling of Yorkshire, England, boards a ship to America as a last adventure before her life is planned out for her. There, the twenties are roaring, and the rich and famous gather at opulent, Gatsby-esque parties in the grandest ballrooms the country has to offer. The Jazz Age has arrived, and with it, the golden era of the American circus, whose queen is none other than the enigmatic Mable Ringling.
When Rosamund’s path crosses with Mable’s and the Ringlings’ glittering world, she makes the life-altering decision to leave behind a comfortable future of estates and propriety, instead choosing the nomadic life of a trick rider in the Ringling Brothers’ circus.
A novel that is at once captivating, deeply poignant, and swirling with exquisite historical details of a bygone world, The Ringmaster’s Wife will escort readers into the center ring, with its bright lights, exotic animals, and a dazzling performance that can only be described as the greatest show on earth!
Learn more and purchase a copy.

{More About Kristy Cambron}

Kristy Cambron fancies life as a vintage-inspired storyteller. Her second novel, A Sparrow in Terezin, was named Library Journal Reviews’ “Pick of the Month (Christian Fiction)” for February 2015.
Cambron is an art/design manager at TheGROVEstory.com storytelling ministry. She holds a degree in art history from Indiana University and has nearly 15 years of experience in instructional design and communications for a Fortune-100 company. She lives in Indiana with her husband and three football-loving sons, where she can probably be bribed with a coconut mocha latte and a good Christian fiction read.
Find out more about Kristy at http://kristycambron.com.




My Take~


I remember going to the circus as a kid and all the excitement that went with it, I even remember a bareback rider, like Rosamund. Kristy takes us right back to those days in her new novel, The Ringmaster's Wife. The story is colorful, and full of all of the wonderment that goes with the circus. She takes real events and real people and weaves a beautiful story around it. I absolutely loved going back to the circus and I didn't want to leave.
I highly recommend this book!