The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah - This book is absolutely a five star read!

The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah (Goodreads Author)

I loved this book. It was so engrossing and the characters were so real.  The story was all wound around two sisters and their Father during WWII.  The sisters have a relationship that is tested constantly and as they split, they find themselves doing things they never would have thought possible, things they never knew about each other.  Their Father has no idea what they are doing to help the resistance in France against the Nazi's.  Each sister is involved in the resistance in ways they must keep secret from everyone including their families.  I was absolutely sure I had read a true story about the thing one of the sisters did that it was either true or written about in another book but I can't find it, so perhaps i t may not be true.  Anyway, the book is awesome, the characters strong and real, and you won't be able to put it down.

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review. I can’t seem to remember from where it came, but I am posting my reviews in at least two places in hopes that eventually the person who sent me the book will find that I have done as they requested.

Here is the description as found on Good Reads: The Nightingale

by Kristin Hannah

Despite their differences, sisters Vianne and Isabelle have always been close. Younger, bolder Isabelle lives in Paris while Vianne is content with life in the French countryside with her husband Antoine and their daughter. But when the Second World War strikes, Antoine is sent off to fight and Vianne finds herself isolated so Isabelle is sent by their father to help her.

As the war progresses, the sisters' relationship and strength are tested. With life changing in unbelievably horrific ways, Vianne and Isabelle will find themselves facing frightening situations and responding in ways they never thought possible as bravery and resistance take different forms in each of their actions.

Nourishing Meals: 365 Whole Foods, Allergy-Free Recipes for Healing Your Family One Meal at a Time - I gave this one 3 Stars!

Nourishing Meals: 365 Whole Foods, Allergy-Free Recipes for Healing Your Family One Meal at a Time

by Alissa Segersten, Tom Malterre

I was really looking forward to the recipes in this book.  I have a very long list of allergies that keep me from enjoying eating much lately.  I thought perhaps this book would be the one that would help me with that.  As always, the authors, they did their homework, they wrote a lot of information in the front of the book to be helpful to understand and getting around allergies, as well as Celiac disease.  I did find that with the current trend they tended to use coconut oil or milk quite a bit in the recipes and I’m allergic to that.  I have found some substitutes so some of the recipe’s will be helpful.  As with every well written book on allergies, I find information that was either never told to me, or I had forgotten!  So the book was great for me that way.  The recipes, she still uses quite a bit of the known and usually avoided allergens.  There were recipes with tree nuts in them, and the desserts were a lot of them with chocolate so I didn’t find any new recipes for desserts.  I have more allergies than you need to know about it believe me I looked hard.  The book though for the person wanting to eat, or feed their family better and they may have someone who is allergic to a few things or has celiac, this book is for them!  The information in the front part of the book is very well researched and written.  It’s just me, and all of my allergies that keep me from using this book often which is why I give it three stars.

Here is the description as found on Good Reads:

From two popular bloggers and leaders in the functional medicine movement, here is the "ultimate" guide to eating healthfully as a family a simple, practical cookbook that shows how easy it is to ditch processed foods one meal at a time with 365 delicious, whole food-based, allergen-free recipes that the entire family will love. 
It can be daunting to live a whole foods lifestyle in today s busy world even more so to prepare plant-rich, allergen-free meals that ll get the whole family around the table. Popular blogger Ali Segersten and functional medicine expert Tom Malttere are a team devoted to teaching their children and readers the importance of living a whole foods lifestyle. "Nourishing Meals" makes it easy and fun with dishes that burst with flavor, such as their Cherry Pecan Salad, Butternut Squash and Pinto Bean Enchiladas, Chipotle-Lime Roasted Chicken, and Banana Coconut Cream Pie. 
Every recipe in the book is free of the most common allergens: gluten, soy, eggs, and dairy, as well as refined sugar. And these dishes are designed to appeal to everyone, including vegan, vegetarian, seafood, and meat-eaters. In addition to wonderful food, Ali and Tom offer easy, doable steps to help you change your family's health, tips for making the transition easier, and ways to get the kids excited about wholesome foods. They map out the best foods and recipes for every stage of having a family, from pre-conception and pregnancy through each year of a child's life." "And they explain in accessible terms what makes their recipes so effective for achieving optimal health. Originally self-published with an avid following, this edition will feature more than 30 new recipes, and many of the original recipes have been updated. This new edition will also include 100 beautiful all-new food photos featured in two inserts. 
With an easy, tasty recipe for every day of the year, it’s never been simpler to adopt a healthy, whole foods lifestyle!"

"I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review."
Unfortunately I was unable to find information on this author so I couldn’t put her information here for you.

Her Fateful Debut - Written by G. G. Vandagiff - I gave this one 4 stars!

I did like this book. It didn't take long to finish it there was enough going to keep me interested. This wasn't the usual Regency romance, there was enough suspense, real romance, to keep me interested. I really enjoyed the book and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys Regency romances
Found on Good Reads: Her Fateful Debut
by G.G. Vandagriff (Goodreads Author)
really liked it 4.0  ·  
Classic Regency romance with a dash of suspense . . . 
Beautiful Miss Penelope Swinton wants to live out her life as a spinster in her beloved Northamptonshire, but with an ailing father and an entailed estate, she must come to London and enter the Marriage Mart. And if she must marry, she is determined to marry for love. 
In a brief respite from the social whirl of the season, she retreats from the restrictions of the ton to sketch in the park and stumbles over a French spy. When Penelope finds her life in danger, Viscount Beau Wellingham steps up to protect her, however he has secrets of his own. Wellingham leads a clandestine life as an agent for the Foreign Office trapping spies. In defending her life, he unwittingly puts her reputation at risk. 
In order to save Penelope from society’s scorn, Beau presses for a betrothal. Though she resists, he insists. Soon Beau is unable to deny the attraction he feels towards her. Before he can act on his feelings, danger rises again. This time, his life is on the line. 
With a desperate spy closing in, Penelope must choose the safety of what she has always known or a chance for love. But will she be too late?

Waves of Mercy by Lynn Austin 5 Stars!

I loved this book.  It took a little reading before I was hooked, and that is what happened.  This is a Historical Christion Fiction Book.  Geesie de Jonge was leaving Netherland and traveling with her close family and one man who had worked for her father.  She was leaving friends and relatives behind knowing she wouldn’t see many of them ever again, in order to be free to follow her religious beliefs freely and not be forced into another.  Fifty years later, part of the group that developed Holland, She is writing her life story, she was requested to do by this by the people putting together a celebration of how they came to be there in Holland.  She didn’t want to write that story as it brings up so many emotions and memories of the past.

 I remember my husband finding information on his family that came from Germany and helped to develop Frankenmuth!  The docent in Frankenmuth gave us newspaper articles in German, that had a picture of his people who came here to what is now known as Frankenmuth.  There is a small street by the name of Rupp, a room in the hotel named Rupp just small things to pay tribute to his family for settling in Frankenmuth and getting it started and developed. 

Much of the story which is fiction, is taken from true stories of shipwrecks and history of the people who settled in Holland and made that land the place that it became. 

This book has many references to the Bible, surprising to me, many of the things that were referenced from the Bible were things that I needed to hear, they left me thinking long after the book was put away. 

While Geesie was writing her long ago memories of traveling by ship, at a nearby Hotel on the shore of Lake Michigan, a 23 year old Anna Nicholson is trying to get over a broken engagement to a well to do Chicago Banker.  She meets a young seminary student who is working at the hotel for the summer and she finds herself drawn to him to get answers of her past.  I can’t say much more without telling the entire story but I can say the book really resonated with me, the characters are well developed and very interesting, you want to know their story and how things are going to turn out.  It was a great read!

I received this book for free as a part of Bethany House's blogging program. I was not required to like the book, only to give my honest opinion of it.

Description as found on Good Reads:

Austin Returns with a Multi-Generational Historical Novel

Geesje de Jonge crossed the ocean at age seventeen with her parents and a small group of immigrants from the Netherlands to settle in the Michigan wilderness. Fifty years later, in 1897, she's asked to write a memoir of her early experiences as the town celebrates its anniversary. Reluctant at first, she soon uncovers memories and emotions hidden all these years, including the story of her one true love. 

At the nearby Hotel Ottawa Resort on the shore of Lake Michigan, twenty-three-year-old Anna Nicholson is trying to ease the pain of a broken engagement to a wealthy Chicago banker. But her time of introspection is disturbed after a violent storm aboard a steamship stirs up memories of a childhood nightmare. As more memories and dreams surface, Anna begins to question who she is and whether she wants to return to her wealthy life in Chicago. When she befriends a young seminary student who is working at the hotel for the summer, she finds herself asking him all the questions that have been troubling her.

Neither Geesje nor Anna, who are different in every possible way, can foresee the life-altering surprises awaiting them before the summer ends. (less)

Guide Me Home – Author Kim Vogel Sawyer – A Novel – 5 Stars!

To help bring some joy back to her Mother, Rebekeh decides to get a job as a guide working in the Mammoth cave in Kentucky.  There are many jobs available for men to work in the caves as guides, Rebekeh won’t let that keep her from getting a job there.  The worry for women working there is that the women wear long dresses and that would make for an easily set up for an accident.  Rebekeh borrows some clothing from her dead brother’s chest and goes back to apply for that job.  The head guide Tolly Sandford recognizes her but he makes sure she gets a job working with him, gets her a cabin by herself, and he keeps an eye out for her as he wants to make sure nothing happens to ruin her reputation.  Since Rebekeh’s brother died when he got lost in the cave and it was Tolly who found him and carried him out, he feels he should hire Rebekeh who he calls Reb, to make sure nothing happens to her.  Tolly is always quoting the bible, I quite enjoyed hearing the authors interpretation of some of the things that were quoted in the book.  The book is based on a real Mammoth Cave in Kentucky, and there are other ways into the cave with smaller caves that have entrances in from other people’s properties.

A young man an aspiring cartographer, comes to the caves and Tolly and Reb are asked to show him the caves so that he may map out all of the caves.  He goes off on his own to find the entrances that are there from other people’s properties.  If the state would wish to include those into one large place to visit the caves, they would buy their property out, not too many of the people really want to sell their property.  The young man, Devlin Bale, starts to fall in love with Reb.  Tolly makes sure that they do not spend any time alone in any way that would put Reb’s reputation at risk.

I received this book from BloggingForBooks.org in exchange for an honest review.

About Guide Me Home :

Working as a guide in Mammoth Cave might allow
Rebekah the chance to bring joy back to her family.
But will the cave claim more than it gives?

After tragedy leaves its mark on Rebekah Hardin’s family, she plans to help her parents and six siblings honor her beloved brother’s memory and alleviate their poverty by working as a guide in the dangerous cave system. Kentucky’s renowned Mammoth Cave presents profitable opportunities for hardworking, capable men. But Rebekah is determined and if it means presenting herself as a himself, then she’s up to the job.
  
Under the wing of experienced guide Tolly Sanford, “Reb” begins to learn the complexities of the cave. The two are joined by an aspiring young cartographer, Devlin Bale. The university student has traveled to the hill country to map tunnels—not to fall for a girl in disguise.
Can the God who designed miles of underground astonishment shape Devlin’s ambitious plans and free Reb from the weight of her past?   

About Kim Vogel Sawyer:

KIM VOGEL SAWYER's titles have garnered awards including the ACFW Carol Award, the Inspirational Readers Choice Award, and the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence. Kim lives in central Kansas with her retired military husband Don. She enjoys spending time with her three daughters and grandchildren.

Cold Nights Warm Stranger by Jill Gregory - I gave this western romance 4 Stars. I really enjoyed the booik!

I do love Jill Gregory's books.  This book was no disappointment.  Of course there are story lines that are a bit predictable, but romances follow along those lines.  I love a good western romance with a few side plots to keep things interesting.  Jill Gregory always delivers.  Her books are entertaining for the most part pretty light and easy to read in one day.  You finish the last page feeling happy.  I liked the book and will read Jill Greagory's books in the future.  Her book kept me reading until I turned the last page.
I received this book in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the description as shown on Good Reads: She vowed not to love the gunfighter who made her burn with desire....

A shivering cold angel...

Maura Reed was all alone in her Montana hotel, curled up in her robe and slippers, when the blizzard hit. It was cold, quiet, and lonely--until a rugged gunslinger blew in from the storm demanding shelter. Just for this night--this wild, stormy night--Maura wanted someone, something. Recklessly, she abandoned herself in his arms, knowing he would be gone by morning. The last thing she ever expected was the need that drove her into the wilderness . . . to find the stranger who haunted her dreams. . . .

A hot, dangerous devil...

He was the fastest gun in the West, a man who feared nothing until he met the woman who touched his heart. Quinn Lassiter didn't even recognize Maura when she cornered him in a distant saloon months later. Never in his wildest dreams did he see himself married--until he said the words that made her his wife. He was determined to do the right thing by the woman he'd wronged, but he'd never reckoned on falling in love with her. . .

Timeless by Jan Scarbrough - Five Stars - A great read from beginning to end!

Loved this book!  From the beginning the story grabs you and keeps you entertained through to the last page.  It is not a time travel romance as I thought it might have been.  Do you ever meet someone or find yourself in  a circumstance and you feel as if it was daja'vue.  That is what is happening in this book.  Beth Abbott has known she was adopted for as long as she can remember but she has always wished to meet her birth parents.  She finds out it is too late, her Mother has a lawyer come to see her to tell her she has inherited a large Bed and Breakfast, along with a large amount of money but that will be given out as an allowance until she is 35.  If she wants to inherit the Bed and Breakfast she must drop everything and go and live there for a year, to learn about her family and to learn the business.  She decides to do this for her Mom so she can send money to her Mom.  The man who is the head cook and runs the place answers the door when she arrives and she feels as if she has known him from somewhere else.  It takes a bit before she finds out he is clairvoyant, he can talk to spirits.  He has never developed it though.  Sparks fly between the two of them.  The story tells of one tale in present time and one during the 1800's.  They find out out the spirits, have been waiting for the two of them to find each other. I received this book in exchange for writing an honest review of it.  I haven't read a book by Jan Scarbrough that I didn't like.

A description as found on Good Reads: “Timeless is a terrific choice for someone looking for a softer romance and who enjoys a Gothic novel in the Barbara Michaels vein.”
Amazon | iBooks | B&N for Nook | Kobo | Amazon UK

All At Sea by Tracy Pedersen - 5 Stars - A great one day read! A romance with a plot with twists and turns!

I loved this read. I've been ill couldn't sleep so have been reading a lot!  I did receive this book in kindle format in exchange for an honest review.  No problem!
This is the story of Jenna (a romance writer with two best sellers) who has hit writer's block.  She tries everything, even had a one night stand with a fellow who won't leave her alone later, just to see if that would give her ideas.  Then she signs up to go on a whale watching sea cruise, even though she gets sea sick......she runs into Ryan a man who appears to be with his Mom, his sister and his fiance....she finds by listening they are fighting almost the entire time and he isn't engaged to her he isn't dating her any more.  He and Jenna have an immediate sizzle between them!  Some how, you'll have to read it, they get tossed overboard and end up the only survivors on a very small island and once he wakes from a head injury they have an idyllic (except for no food) several days on the island before they are rescued.  They think they will go home and be together, others have a different scenario in mind!  Her crazy one night stand and his crazy ex girlfriend plot to keep them apart.  The characters in this book are so real, you feel as if you know them. The plot has many twists and turns without any obvious holes and keeps you drawn into the story until the last page.
Great read, pick this one up!
Here is the description as found on Good Reads: Romance. Sizzle. Intrigue. A whale watching cruise, gone wrong, throws two strangers together for an exciting adventure!

Jenna Michaels has spent the last two years wrapped up in writing her three best-selling novels. She's quit her job and is now a full-time writer. Then the unthinkable happens. The words just dry up. Hell-bent on finding inspiration for her fourth novel, Jenna throws herself out into the world to rediscover her writing talent.

She needs the words to fly from her fingers again.

Ryan Price is attempting to extricate himself from his ex-girlfriend who refuses to let go. He's not happy to discover she's been in contact with his mother behind his back. To an outsider on this beautiful day, he seems grumpy and aloof.

When Jenna and Ryan meet aboard the Ulysses III there is instant sizzle. Being surrounded by a boatload of strangers can't cool their attraction and it's hands-on all the way.

Their fascination with one another quickly becomes a desperate struggle for survival when disaster and tragedy strike in the blink of an eye.

Between some sticky family influences and a tragic turn of events, can they survive their need to be together? Does romance on the beach equal love in the real world? Will the tragedy that follows their first meeting drive them together or pull them apart?

The Finding Sweet Love Series -
Book 1 - All At Sea (available now)
Book 2 - All Adrift - (due September 2016)
Book 3 - All Ashore (due December 2016)
Book 4 - All Together Now (due November 2016 - Part of a special Christmas Romance Box Set)
Each book in the Finding Sweet Love Series can be read as a standalone novel.  Of course, reading them in order is always the most fun!

All At Sea is the first published fiction novel for non-fiction writer Tracey Pedersen. She promises you a fun read with enough twists to keep you interested. Best of all, you'll never suffer through a cliffhanger ending in one of her stories!

Make sure you follow her on Amazon to get notifications of every new release.

Call Me Irresistable by Susan Elizabeth Philips - a rollicking good ride of a book! 5 Stars for this one!

I loved this book!  Talk about a laugh out loud rollicking ride of a book!  I tell anyone to pick this book up and give it a read.  It was fun from the first page all the way to the last.  So much fun.  I won't bore you with the details as I have the description of the characters story line here as found on Good Reads, just pick this one up if you like well rounded characters with great story lines and laugh out loud scenes unfolding as you read this book. I love reading anything by this author and hope to pick up another of her books real soon.  Read this one, you'll love it.  If you don't laugh out loud then you are immune!  Go back to your mysteries.  LOL

Description as found here on Good Reads: R.S.V.P. to the most riotous wedding of the year . . .

Lucy Jorik is the daughter of a former president of the United States.

Meg Koranda is the offspring of legends.

One of them is about to marry Mr. Irresistible—Ted Beaudine—the favorite son of Wynette, Texas. The other is not happy about it and is determined to save her friend from a mess of heartache.

But even though Meg knows that breaking up her best friend's wedding is the right thing to do, no one else seems to agree. Faster than Lucy can say "I don't," Meg becomes the most hated woman in town—a town she's stuck in with a dead car, an empty wallet, and a very angry bridegroom. Broke, stranded, and without her famous parents at her back, Meg is sure she can survive on her own wits. What's the worst that can happen? Lose her heart to the one and only Mr. Irresistible? Not likely. Not likely at all.

Great Giveaway! Enter today!

https://www.facebook.com/SkyeJordanAuthor/app/228910107186452/

The St. Lucia Island Club - A John LeBrun Detective Mystery - Written by Brent Monahan - 3 Stars

I believe I received this book from Turner publishing in exchange for an honest review.  It may have come from a Good Reads contest also.  Never the less I did indeed read the book cover to cover even though when first scanning the back description I thought this is definitely not my kind of book.  Even though it was number 5, I believe of the detective John LeBrun novels it is great as a stand alone you don't have to be familiar with his previous books  read this one.  He came to the island with his wife, as a belated honeymoon trip.  He belongs to a gentleman's club some of who come from this island and wanted he and his new wife to go home singing the praises of the island as a great place to go for rest an relaxation in among it's plantations and many banana trees, and beautiful beaches.  They get to the island only for Mr. LeBrun to be pressed into working with his detective skills as someone has broken into a plantation home and killed all of the people there in their beds while they slept and tried to cover their tracks with a fire.  I believe  this is the first time Mr. LeBrun has used his wife in solving a crime.  They run around the island willy nilly talking to everyone staying just ahead of the person who did the crime.....and Mrs. LeBrun is very helpful in solving the crime.
The crime is pretty easy to solve it's wrapped up in extensive history of the St. Lucia Island if you enjoy that type of thing than this book is for you.  There is also a lot of the authors ideas of how things on the island are not the way they should be in regard to the black people brought to work on the island, or those who became lighter shades of black as they were sleeping with the land owners and their children grew not to belong to any real group.  I guess the book could have been written without all if that but the author had their own ideas.  I did enjoy reading the book for the most part, and would recommend to anyone who lives detective novels with a lot of history thrown in!  Not my usual read, but easily finished.  I gave it three stars, I liked it.

Descriptions as found on Good Reads: When retired Southern sheriff-turned-New York City detective John Le Brun and his wife, Lordis, set sail in 1910 for a long-awaited honeymoon on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, they expect to find relaxation in paradise. However, they soon discover they ve been lured to the island in part to tout its attributes as a burgeoning vacation retreat to wealthy investors back home. Instead of finding tranquility among the tropical isle s quaint villages and sandy beaches, they encounter a land teeming with racial, social, and economic tension. The brutal murders of a local plantation owner s family find John putting his renowned detective skills to use, with Lordis readily playing assistant.

Once again, the shrewd detective must capitalize on his outsider status to stay several steps ahead of the locals, many of whom seem to harbor dark motives. Is the culprit one of the white landowners the exclusive St. Lucia Island Club counts among its membership; the descendants of former African slaves said to inhabit the island s inland jungles; or someone else entirely? As the body count rises, John and Lordis race to uncover St. Lucia s deepest mysteries, including secret identities, long-held rivalries, and who stands to profit most from the island s future. The St. Lucia Island Club paints a vivid portrait of the Caribbean island s scenic beauty and complicated history at the turn of the twentieth century."

The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck - 5 Stars!

I really loved this book!  I knew the writer, I was sure I had read a book about a Wedding Gown that was magical, and I kept waiting for something other wordly would happen with the Wedding Shop.  It did the story was magical and I enjoyed it so much.  Two women worlds apart but both ran the shop and their history intersects.  I loved the story I'm not going into great detail as I have the description for you here on Good Reads.  I didn't want to put the book down and I'm waiting until Rachel Hauck comes out with her next book!  Hopefully it won't be long!

Here is the description as found on Good Reads: Two women separated by decades. Both set out to help others find their dreams when their own have crumbled.


It’s the early 1930s, but Cora Scott is walking in stride as a career woman after having inherited her great aunt’s wedding shop in Heart’s Bend, Tennessee, where brides come from as far away as Birmingham to experience her famed bridal treatment. Meanwhile, Cora is counting down the days until her own true love returns from the river to make her his bride. But days turn into months and months to years. All the while, Birch Good continues to woo Cora and try to show her that while he is solid and dependable, he can sweep her off her feet.

More than eighty years later, former Air Force Captain Haley Morgan has returned home to Heart’s Bend after finishing her commitment to military service. After the devastating death of her best friend, Tammy, and discovering the truth about the man she loved, Haley is searching for her place in life.

When Haley decides to reopen the romantic but abandoned wedding shop where she and Tammy played and dreamed as children, she begins a journey of courage, mystery, and love.

As Cora’s and Haley’s stories intertwine through time in the shadow of the beloved wedding shop, they both discover the power of their own dreams and the magic of everyday love.

Almost Like Being In Love by Beth K. Vogt - 4.5 Stars!

I really liked this book. It was engaging a good story line, well developed characters, well developed story.  The book pulls you in from page one and you are lost in the story, it makes you want to keep turning the pages and not go to sleep...I read it in a day and a half.  It is about a gal who wins a destination wedding but she hasn't been asked to marry her boyfriend of two years.  How does she go home from Colorado where she has been visiting her friend in preparation for her upcoming wedding, and tell her boyfriend, honey I won a destination wedding, want to get married?  She has been dating him for two years, their families have always said they were perfect for each other and they have been...she us perfect at keeping his secret....his Mother is an alcoholic a somewhat functioning one.
She has been working at her fathers realty for years, trying to prove to him that eventually she is good enough to be his partner or can take over the business.  She is struck deaf and dumb when he comes in one morning and announces he's taken a party and she quits her job!  She has done everything she could over the years trying to get his attention and have him say at least once that he is proud of her.  It doesn't happen.  She does get a call from an old boyfriend who she knew she cared about very much, but she kept her relationship with him at work a secret due to her Father.  When her Father becomes aware of him and their relationship, she chooses her Father and Kade leaves town to start a realty of his own.  He never hears from her again, no explanation as to why she doesn't take his calls.  He has a home that he has built for someone who is handicapped, it is to be featured in a tour of homes, and he has lost his home stager.  He reaches out to Caron as he had run into her with his friend while showing her a home and he has heard that Caron is out of a job.  He knows she can stage a home even though she hasn't done this as a full time job.  She used to do a bit of that for the homes she was trying to sell and her own home has always been set up so great.   She can do the job, so he calls her an offers her the job and she decides to grab the job and come for a month to do this and get a break from the job she left behind at her Father's realty. What she doesn't realize is that she'll fall in love with the job and fall in love with the guy she let go.  I'm spoiling this I guess.  I'll mark it, I really liked the book!

Here is the description as found here on Good Reads: From the author of Somebody Like You, a RITA finalist, and one of Publishers Weekly’s top ten books of 2014, comes the story of a woman who has everything for a perfect wedding—except the groom!

Winning an all-expenses paid Colorado destination wedding might seem like a dream come true for some people—but Caron Hollister and her boyfriend Alex Madison aren’t even engaged. How is she supposed to tell him she’s won their wedding and honeymoon when he hasn’t asked her to marry him? Being “perfect for one another” seems like the absolute best reason to get married. But what if their supposedly faultless relationship is merely a safe place to protect his secrets and a way to keep their families happy? After quitting her job, Caron accepts her best friend’s offer to visit Colorado. She needs to catch her breath. Who knows, maybe visiting the destination wedding site will make a future with Alex seem like a reality.

Kade Webster just landed the biggest deal of his life with his company, Webster Select Realty, participating in the Colorado Springs Tour of Homes. He never imagined he would run into the woman who broke his heart—Caron Hollister—right when his career is taking off. Seeing her again, Kade can’t help but wonder why Caron walked away from him years ago, leaving him with no explanation. When Kade learns his home stager won’t be able to help with the Tour of Homes, he vaults past all the reasons he should stay away from Caron, and offers her a temporary job helping him on the project. This time, their relationship is purely business.

Spending time with Kade has Caron questioning everything. The man intrigues her—at times infuriates her—and reminds her of what she lost. Has she been settling for what everyone expects of her? Just because others believe she and Alex are an ideal couple, does that mean they should get married? And how can Caron say “I do” to one man when she’s wondering “what if?” about another?

Having The Rancher's Baby by Cathy McDavid

I had forgotten what fun it is to pick up a small Harlequin book and read it cover to cover in a couple of hours. Light reading fun story, and you close the last page of the book feeling satisfied and happy at the end of the story.  What more could a person ask for?  Cathy McDavid sent to the book to me, I won it, and she asked if I would write it up. Of course I will. I enjoyed reading about Mustang Valley and the Rancher and his brothers who are running a ranch and the girl who had been running it with his Father for years before he returned home to take part in the running because his Father left it to the three brothers who hadn't really been involved in the running of the ranch in a very long while.  The ranch has been allowed to run down and isn't really running at a profit any more.....It's a struggle.

The book description as found here on Good Reads: In July 2016 HARLEQUIN AMERICAN ROMANCE will become HARLEQUIN WESTERN ROMANCE. Same great stories, new name!

SETTLE DOWN, COWBOY!

His family's Arizona cattle ranch is just the place for Cole Dempsey to hang his hat before he heads back to the rodeo circuit. That is, until Violet Hathaway makes Cole think twice about his future when the livestock manager delivers her game-changing news: she's pregnant!

One passionate mistake could cost Vi her job at Dos Estrellas. And whatever growing feelings Cole and Violet have for each other, she knows the professional cowboy hadn't planned on settling down in Mustang Valley. When he hits the road again, he'll take her dream of them making a life together. Or is a rancher's legacy about to come full circle?

Pure Delicious - More than 150 Delectable Allergan Free Recipes by Heather Christo - 5 Stars!

Wow this author really did her work when it comes to allergies!  I found out a few things about myself that I hadn't realized were causing me problems.  She rose to the occasion in helping herself and her daughter and then laid out great recipes that almost melt in your mouth right off the pages!  The pictures are beautiful and they are very flavorful with some substitutions provided in case you need to change the recipe.  I found a  couple of recipes that will be made in my kitchen for years to come!  I do wish she hadn't included so much coconut oil, milk or flour in her recipes, she has kind of jumped on that band wagon and I'm allergic to that. I will have to experiment with some substitutions for those ingredients, but I'm sure I can work that out.  Everyone seems to be using coconut everything these days.  It is a common thing these days everyone seems to be turning to coconut these days.  It isn't a nut it's a fruit but I'm allergic to  it.  Wish I wasn't. The very smell of the stuff makes my head hurt. : )

The description as found on Good Reads: As a chef, former caterer, and much-loved food blogger, Heather Christo’s life revolves around food, so when she and her daughters were diagnosed with severe food allergies, she thought her life—and career—were over. With ingredients like gluten, dairy, nuts, and even cane sugar and black pepper permanently off the menu, Heather had to teach herself to cook all over again. Much to her surprise, however, she discovered that taking control of her family’s diet and wellness led to a new sense of empowerment, bringing her family closer together than ever before while permanently banishing the ill health that had been their “normal” for years.

I received this book through "Blogging for Books" in exchange for an honest review.

Into Dust (Montana Hamiltons) by B. J. Daniels - A suspenseful tale with romance thrown in! I gave it three stars I liked it.

A suspenseful tale that turns into romance... I liked the book the action started right at the beginning. The plot was kind of full of intrigue and it seemed to bog me down a bit in the middle just as I was wondering how long all of this was going to go on, the book picked up and finished with you wondering if you would need to buy the second book to find out what really happens. Authors do that don't they? They lead into their next book and that is what I felt B. J. Daniels did with this book. Would have liked a little more romance and a little less intrigue I think I just learned something about my reading habits. I think I will stay with my usual genre's. I believe if you love suspense with a little romance thrown in than this book would be perfect for you. If you like books that don't end but start another book in the series than this book is for you also as the intrigue (not telling) will definitely be going on in the following book on the Montana Hamiltons.

As Found On Good Reads: The Montana Hamiltons, by New York Times bestselling author B.J. Daniels:

A Texas cowboy comes to her rescue but who is he really?

As the daughter of a presidential candidate, and an identical twin, Cassidy Hamilton left the Montana family ranch to escape the notoriety and live her own life. But when someone tries to abduct her off a Houston sidewalk, Cassidy longs for the cavalry. Which suddenly comes in the tall, dark and sexy form of cowboy Jack Durand. The gorgeous Texan doesn't recognize her, wants nothing from her and is determined to keep her safe. Cassidy's kind of man

As Jack takes Cassidy into hiding, he hates keeping secrets from the beautiful blonde. But Jack knows more about the kidnapping attempt than he's admitting. Forced on the run in the Lone Star State and Montana, Jack and Cassidy begin piecing together a jagged family puzzle, exposing a plot years in the making one that will either tear them apart or bring them closer together than ever.

This book was provided by netgalley.com in exchange for a fair review.

The Last Woman Standing by Thelma Adams - Four Stars for this very engrossing novel!

Josephine Marcus the daughter of Jewish Immigrants, left her home where she lived with her parents to run off to Arizona, to be the wife of Johnny Behan!  Johnny did string her along terribly, until she found him in bed with another woman, he never would marry her.  She can't go back home her parents won't have her.  Well just when she thought she had met her end, hand sunk lower than she ever could, there was Wyatt Earp!  He had been keeping his eye on her, he had a woman he lived with more of a common law wife.....but he had really no relationship with her any more.  Josephine and Wyatt weren't able to marry right away because of her.......he often wasn't able to see her.  She was there and saw the shoot out at the OK Corrall in Tombstone Arizona, she was in a photography studio ducking under the gun blasts that seemed to come through the walls now and then when one missed someone.  Doc Holliday, all of the Earp brothers, all of the things this spunky woman lived through, she tells in this novel of her life. 

I gave this one four stars! I really enjoyed it and found out much that I never knew about that fight and about the Earp brothers!
I received this book from netgalley.com in exchange for an honest review.

Here is the description as found on Good Reads:
Two decades after the Civil War, Josephine Marcus, the teenage daughter of Jewish immigrants, is lured west with the promise of marriage to Johnny Behan, one of Arizona’s famous lawmen. She leaves her San Francisco home to join Behan in Tombstone, Arizona, a magnet for miners (and outlaws) attracted by the silver boom. Though united by the glint of metal, Tombstone is plagued by divided loyalties: between Confederates and Unionists, Lincoln Republicans and Democrats.

But when the silver-tongued Behan proves unreliable, it is legendary frontiersman Wyatt Earp who emerges as Josephine’s match. As the couple’s romance sparks, Behan’s jealousy ignites a rivalry destined for the history books…

At once an epic account of an improbable romance and a retelling of an iconic American tale, The Last Woman Standing recalls the famed gunfight at the O.K. Corral through the eyes of a spunky heroine who sought her happy ending in a lawless outpost—with a fierce will and an unflagging spirit

The Bartender's Mail Order Bride by Cindy Caldwell / Four Stars!!

I found this book to be a fun read!  Sam is a bartender, he is the best friend of Nutmeg's brother so she finds out that Sam is putting an advertisement out for a mail order bride and what he thinks would be good qualities in a wife.  She has six sisters.  She has been quietly crushing on Sam for a few years and she decides to quietly answer Sam's advertisement.  She doesn't give her real name.  Sam has a real need to get a wife and quickly, he's been letting his Mom know for a few years that he had a great business and a wife.  She is coming to visit.  The entire thing is really set up to fail, but the entire town gets behind helping him out.  Nutmeg's Father says she can't marry Sam, but he is told she is of an age she can do as she pleases and she pleases to marry Sam.  I can't tell you anything more or how this works out, that would ruin the story for you!!  You really should read this book it is fun!
The description as found on Good Reads is: Nutmeg Archer has had enough of being invisible in a family of six girls—especially since the man she’s pining for doesn’t notice her, either. When she finds out he needs a mail-order bride in a hurry, she hatches a plan to get him to notice her, one way or another. 

Sam Allen gave up his career ambitions and left New York for Tombstone, Arizona, and a new start. He enjoys his job as a bartender—and is very good at it. But because he knew his mother would not approve, he told a white lie that he never thought would be found out. When his high-society mother unexpectedly decides to make a trip to visit, he needs to make that fib a reality—and fast. 

Sam is dismayed to discover that he has only one positive response to his ad—and to say that he is surprised by who it is is an understatement. It also presents him with a dilemma—what to do when the only person who will marry him is someone he shouldn’t be marrying? 

The Little Paris Book Shop - A Novel - by Nina George - I gave it two stars - what a disappointment!

The Little Paris Bookshop – A Novel - by Nina George / Simon Pare – Translater

I really had high hopes for this book, it was so disappointing I didn’t want to finish the book.  That is rare with me!  I wonder if something was lost in translation, althuogh there are many four and five star reviews, I wondr if they were reading a different book.  I guess I’m so spoiled by reading books that grab you from the first page and never let you go until you are closing the back cover of the book.  The author really let me down.  The book was written as a bookstore that had an owner who only sold books to people who needed something and that book was going to fill the void.  I’ve had so many books that did just that in my life.  This book though did not it only kept reminding me that I needed to finish it so that I could post the nteeded review.  I never post bad reviews I usually tell the author that the book wasn’t for me, and they prefer that I not post the review, just thank me for being honest and reading the book for them.  This book was all about a man who HAD A book store that could be pulled from it’s morings and could be floated down the river as the owner looks for a long ago closure to a romance he had with a married woman who gave him a letter and left him.  He never read the letter until something happened that made him find the letter again twenty years later.  He decides he needs to go to where she was last living…..He and an author who is having problems travel with the bookshop…….I can’t recommend this book.  I give it two stars. 

I received this book from “Bloggingforbooks.com”  in exchange for an honest review.

The Description as found in Good Reads:

“There are books that are suitable for a million people, others for only a hundred. There are even remedies—I mean books—that were written for one person only…A book is both medic and medicine at once. It makes a diagnosis as well as offering therapy. Putting the right novels to the appropriate ailments: that’s how I sell books.”

Monsieur Perdu calls himself a literary apothecary. From his floating bookstore in a barge on the Seine, he prescribes novels for the hardships of life. Using his intuitive feel for the exact book a reader needs, Perdu mends broken hearts and souls. The only person he can't seem to heal through literature is himself; he's still haunted by heartbreak after his great love disappeared. She left him with only a letter, which he has never opened.

After Perdu is finally tempted to read the letter, he hauls anchor and departs on a mission to the south of France, hoping to make peace with his loss and discover the end of the story. Joined by a bestselling but blocked author and a lovelorn Italian chef, Perdu travels along the country’s rivers, dispensing his wisdom and his books, showing that the literary world can take the human soul on a journey to heal itself.

Internationally bestselling and filled with warmth and adventure, The Little Paris Bookshop is a love letter to books, meant for anyone who believes in the power of stories to shape people's lives.

Nina George

Goodreads Author

Born 1973 in Bielefeld, Germany, Nina George is a prize-winning and bestselling author (“Das Lavendelzimmer” – “The Little Paris Bookshop”) and freelance journalist since 1992, who has published 26 books (novels, mysteries and non-fiction) as well as over hundred short stories and more than 600 columns. George has worked as a cop reporter, columnist and managing editor for a wide range of publications, including Hamburger Abendblatt, Die Welt, Der Hamburger, “politik und kultur” as well as TV Movie and Federwelt. Georges writes also under three pen-names, for ex “Jean Bagnol”, a double-andronym for provence-based mystery novels. 

Born

Germany 

Website: http://www.ninageorge.de

Member Since

May 2012

QUOTES FROM THE LITTLE PARIS ...

“Books are more than doctors, of course. Some novels are loving, lifelong companions;some give you a clip around the ear; others are friends who wrap you in warm towels when you've got those autumn blues. And some...well, some are pink candy floss that tingles in your brain for three seconds and leaves a blissful voice. Like a short, torrid love affair.” — 68 likes

“We cannot decide to love. We cannot compel anyone to love us. There's no secret recipe, only love itself. And we are at its mercy--there's nothing we can do.” — 34 likes

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton - A Thriller I gave fi...

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: Baby Doll by Hollie Overton - A Thriller I gave fi...: Wow this was a great read!  It started out with the main character Lily who was taken as a child and held by a trusted man, for years she ev...

Baby Doll by Hollie Overton - A Thriller I gave five stars to! Great read!

Wow this was a great read!  It started out with the main character Lily who was taken as a child and held by a trusted man, for years she even delivered a child, Sky, fathered by him while she was locked away.  The book starts with her finding out the forgot and left the house unlocked.

She runs out of the house, goes back for her daughter and  as she leaves the house, she finds how close she has been to her home all those years.  This book wasn't just about what happened to Lily while she was taken and held but is also about what happened to her Mother, family, twin sister the impact of this for years has taken a toll on many.  The book starts by telling how she gets away but more not only what happened to her while she was held against her will, but also what happened to each of the people in her life.  A fantastic read, a fast read you won't want to put it down.  I really loved the story!



Description as found on Good Reads:
Baby Doll
by Hollie Overton (Goodreads Author)

For fans of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, Baby Doll is the most tense thriller you will read this year.

Held captive for eight years, Lily has grown from a teenager to an adult in a small basement prison. Her daughter Sky has been a captive her whole life. But one day their captor leaves the deadbolt unlocked.

This is what happens next...

...to her twin sister, to her mother, to her daughter...and to her captor

Love is Come (Power of the Matchmaker) written by Heather B. Moore - Five Stars on this one!

I didn't know when I started reading this book that it was a part of a series.  It wasn't the first book in the series.  I never felt that I was missing any parts told in previous books which was great it says a lot about the book.  This book is set in the Victorian period.  Nelle Thompson has an idyllic life until her parents are both killed in an accident.  She has to find some where to go until she receives her inheritance.  She decides to go to the country and move in with her cousin and her daughter.  Her cousin tells her that she has to keep a ledger of every single expense she costs her, so that she can claim her money back when Nelle comes into her money.  That was a shock!  She finds later that her cousin is living barely within the means of those around her.  She really needs the money.  Nelle makes assumptions that change.  She sets off one day to go to town and she meets Matthew.  They hit it off right away.  He helps her find her way to town and she ends up meeting a woman by the name of Pearl.  (I see from other notes on this book that Pearl was also in the first book).  Pearl is a matchmaker.  Nelle has no idea what Pearls roll is in things beyond having an unusual shop where she gives Nelle some powdered tea.......The book just goes to show that they were living in much simpler times back then.  Life wasn't ever easy though if a young woman was on her own without a husband or parents.  Nelle ends up falling for Matthew only to find that he is the man her cousin has been planning to marry for years.  I won't spoil it for you!  The book is a fast read and I liked the authors writing.  

I received the book in exchange for an honest review.  I really loved this book! 

Description found on Good Reads: **Amazon Top 50 in Victorian Romance** 
“I have to remind myself to breathe—almost to remind my heart to beat.” —Wuthering Heights 

From the Power of the Matchmaker series: LOVE IS COME 

Nelle Thompson lives a life of privilege during the turn of the century New York City. When her parents are killed in a terrible accident, she’s forced to live with her aunt’s family in a small town in Connecticut, and treated as a poor relation with no financial independence. Broken hearted and riddled with insomnia, Nelle’s health begins a downward spiral. When a locked part of her heart blossoms around her cousin’s fiancé Mathew Janson, Nelle doesn’t know if she can endure one more heartbreak. Miss Pearl, owner of the local apothecary shop, becomes a mother figure to Nelle, but a fateful summer day has Nelle questioning everything she's ever believed and wondering if she’ll ever love again.

Unbreak My Heart by Nicole Jacquelyn - A fast read!

This book was a fast read.  The characters were very real and the story was believable.  I enjoyed reading it.  It kept me involved in the story line.  I wanted to find out what happened to the characters.  A soldier who marries a girl whose best friend thinks he is her soul mate but it wasn't she he chose to marry.  Then when he is off fighting, serving his country, his wife finds that she can't take care of the children on her own.  She asks her friend for help which she willingly gives her at peril her own home and work.  She gives up much to help her friend and each year brings another child and the man goes off to fight or work for the military. He has no idea why this girl is always at his home when he comes home.   He doesn't treat her very well so she leaves the house and the kids that have become very like her own, they have her heart as does he which he doesn't know.  The wife dies in an accident and the man has no one to watch his children.....the story goes on! 

I was given this book in exchange for an honest review!


Here is the information as found on Good Reads: What do you do when your soul mate marries your best friend?

If you're Kate Evans, you keep your friend Rachel, bond with her kids, and bury your feelings for her husband. The fact that Shane's in the military and away for long periods helps-but when tragedy strikes, everything changes.

After Rachel, pregnant with her fourth child, dies in a car accident and the baby miraculously survives, Kate upends her entire life to share parenting duties. Then on the first anniversary of Rachel's death, Kate and Shane take comfort in each other in a night that they both soon regret.

Shane's been angry for a year, and now he feels guilty too - for sleeping with his wife's best friend and liking it . . . liking her. Kate's ability to read him like a book may have once sent Shane running, but their lives are forever entwined and they are growing closer.

Now with Shane deployed for seven months, Kate is on her own and struggling with being a single parent. Shane is loving and supportive from thousands of miles away, but his homecoming brings a betrayal Kate never saw coming. So Kate's only choice is to fight for the future she deserves - with or without Shane. .

Remember The Ladies by Gina L. Mulligan -- A Fascinating Read

Wow!  The book starts out with Amelia Cooke growing up in an orphanage, and how she follows a man she met who works as a lobbyist and followed him around until he finally gave in and listened to her she wanted to do what he did.  She had learned as much as she could and she had a knack for never forgetting people's names or the names of their wives or children.  That helped him a lot so he took her in and started training her, later in the book, he has died, and she was hired by the National Women's Suffrage to lobby for them to convince all of the voting Senators to vote for women to get the right to vote.  How she went about doing what she did for them, and descriptions of how the men did things in this book,  I can see how it is probably true that men and women in the Senate now probably do things the same way.  I found the book engrossing, following Amelia from a small child until she was one of the only female lobbyist's who wasn't always welcome among the men.  I think most anyone would find the story very interesting and it is definitely a fast read!  Loved the book.

Description of book as found on Good Reads: Growing up in an orphanage prepared Amelia Cooke for the high-stakes role of a female lobbyist surrounded by the egos of the 1887 Congress, a time before women had the right to vote. Her success in the isolating male arena comes from using the tactics she’s learned from those who oppressed her. So when she’s hired by the National Women’s Suffrage Association to help pass a proposed constitutional amendment granting women’s voting rights, Amelia feels empowered to at last win a place for herself and give all women a voice in the world. What she doesn’t foresee is the charismatic and calculating Senator Edward Stillman who threatens to ruin her hard-earned reputation and end her career.

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: Dead Running by Cami Checketts - A Thrilling Novel...

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: Dead Running by Cami Checketts - A Thrilling Novel...: Wow!  I couldn't put this one down.  It had me from the first page....all the way to the end.  I really love Cami Checketts writing, t...

Dead Running by Cami Checketts - A Thrilling Novel! Five Stars!

Wow!  I couldn't put this one down.  It had me from the first page....all the way to the end.  I really love Cami Checketts writing, this is the second book of hers that I have read and I can't get enough!
I read a lot of romance books, all types, this was a change from those although there was some romance in it. There was also suspense, danger, surprises, lots of characters, the gal Cassidy Christensen doesn't get the names of everyone she calls them descriptive names and they stick, like "Hot Redhead" she didn't like that gal, she was annoying and always in the way.  In addition to two hot men pursuing this gal, and some bad men she couldn't seem to shake at times.  There were many characters and they were really all a part of a well woven mystery that came down to Cassidy Christensen's family her Mom and Dad who had been killed.  They were a part of why they had been killed and what they had been doing in Mexico, it wasn't what Cassidy thought they went there to do.
Seems everything that she knew about her family members was all messed up.  Secrets to be revealed when you buy this great book and read it!

 

I received this book through a drawing I believe the author sent it to me in exchange for an honest review and she knew it would be going to the little library where my Mom volunteers her time when I was done with it.  Two benefits in one!

 

Here is the description of the book as found on Good Reads: Cassidy Christensen is running. Running from the mercenaries who killed her parents. Running from a scheming redhead intent on making her life miserable. Running from painful memories that sabotage her dreams of happiness. With two very tempting men competing for her attention, she hopes she'll finally have someone to run to, but can she trust either of them? When secrets from her past threaten her family, Cassidy decides to stop running and fight for her future. A light-hearted suspense with a side of PG-rated romance, Dead Running will have you lacing up your running shoes and impatiently waiting for the sequel. "Dead Running was everything I was hoping it would be, captivating, invigorating, and a page turner that I could not, would not, put down! Cami Checketts writes books that will make you think, and make you feel. She captivated me with The Sister Pact, and doesn't lose speed with her newest "must read," Dead Running." Sheila DeChantal Book Reviewer - Book Journey "Brilliant characterization, edge-of-your-seat suspense and a touch of humor make Dead Running a rare treat..." Wendy Davy Award winning author of Deadly Chase

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: The Memory Of Us - A Novel by Camille Di Maio - Gr...

Ways to Win Books To Read / Reviews of Books I've Won!: The Memory Of Us - A Novel by Camille Di Maio - Gr...: I received this book through NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review which I am happy to do.  I loved this book!  The story w...

The Memory Of Us - A Novel by Camille Di Maio - Great book!

I received this book through NetGalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review which I am happy to do.  I loved this book!  The story went places I thought ah I know what is coming next, didn't happen, not the predictable.  It was happy and it was sad.  At some points it just made me feel so sad for the characters.  I wanted more when it ended.  Great read.  You won't want to put it down. I don't want to say anything more about the story than you find below as I don't want to give you hints as to where the story goes.  The characters are so real, they are fully presented, you feel you know them. 

Description as found on Good Reads: Julianne Westcott was living the kind of life that other Protestant girls in prewar Liverpool could only dream about: old money, silk ball gowns, and prominent young men lining up to escort her. But when she learns of a blind-and-deaf brother, institutionalized since birth, the illusion of her perfect life and family shatters around her.

While visiting her brother in secret, Julianne meets and befriends Kyle McCarthy, an Irish Catholic groundskeeper studying to become a priest. Caught between her family’s expectations, Kyle’s devotion to the church, and the intense new feelings that the forbidden courtship has awakened in her, Julianne must make a choice: uphold the life she’s always known or follow the difficult path toward love.

The Wedding Sisters by Jamie Brenner - Couldn't put this book down!

I didn't have the exact dates that I read this book was due to losing a computer and having to wait before I could put up a review.  I received the book in exchange for an honest and fair review!

I loved this book!  It was written about three sisters, who are named after Louisa May Alcotts, "Little Women".  Their Father had studied a lifetime the books of this author and wrote one on his own, he a professor at the local Collage.  Meryl Becker is the Mom and she finds that within a very short time in one year all three of her daughters are engaged to very wonderful men.  I loved reading about the three sisters they were each so different!  I couldn't imagine putting together one wedding for all three at once. That would be a nightmare!  Well that is what the Mom was faced with, her husband loses his job, and they are going to not only lose their income but also their apartment.  They can't afford three weddings. So Mom convinces each girl that the best thing they can all do is have a triple wedding.  Now getting the parents of each of the families of the fiance's to agree is next to impossible.  She Mother of the Brides makes them bend to her daughters wishes before it is over!  I can tell you I started reading this book and I carried it where ever I went so that I could finish it.  I loved the book and wanted more when it was over, I think you will too!  Great woman's book!!

Description as found here on Good Reads: Meryl Becker is living a mother's dream. The oldest of her three beautiful daughters, Meg, is engaged to a wonderful man from one of the country's most prominent families. Of course, Meryl wants to give Meg the perfect wedding. Who wouldn't? But when her two younger daughters, Amy and Jo, also become engaged to celebrated bachelors, Meryl has to admit that three weddings is more than she and her husband, Hugh, can realistically afford.

The solution? A triple wedding! At first, it's a tough sell to the girls, and juggling three sets of future in-laws is a logistical nightmare. But when Hugh loses his teaching job, and Meryl's aging mother suddenly moves in with them, a triple wedding is the only way to get all three sisters down the aisle. When the grand plan becomes public, the onslaught of media attention adds to Meryl's mounting pressure. Suddenly, appearances are everything - and she will do whatever it takes to keep the wedding on track as money gets tight, her mother starts acting nutty, and her own thirty year marriage starts to unravel.

In the weeks leading up to the nuptials, secrets are revealed, passions ignite, and surprising revelations show Meryl and her daughters the true meaning of love, marriage and family. Jamie Brenner's The Wedding Sisters invites readers to the most unpredictable wedding of the year.

Mercer Girls - Five Stars - Author Libbie Hawkner

I received this book through netgalley.com in exchange for a fair and honest review.  I loved this book.  I have always loved reading about mail order brides, of which Mercer Girls were similar.  A man by the name of Mercer wanted to improve the city so he decided he was going to find brides for these men who were drinking and fighting and gambling, because there were no women to marry and have family's with, so he was going to bring back 200 brides.  He found the women through paper ads and they had to have money, quite a lot for that time in history, to pay for their fare by boat to get to where they were going.  The ladies who for each had a reason they wanted to leave Lowell, Mass., found that the problems they left, did find they where they were going.  Having a famous suffragette come to town was pretty much the salvation of them!  I loved reading this and finding that quite a bit was based on real history.  A fun read you can't put it down!

It’s 1864 in downtrodden Lowell, Massachusetts. The Civil War has taken its toll on the town—leaving the economy in ruin and its women in dire straits. That is, until Asa Mercer arrives on a peculiar, but providential, errand: he seeks high-minded women who can exert an elevating influence in Seattle, where there are ten men for every woman. Mail-order brides, yes, but of a certain caliber.

Schoolmarmish Josephine, tough-as-nails Dovey, and pious perfectionist Sophronia see their chance to exchange their bleak prospects for new lives. But the very troubles that sent them running from Lowell follow them to the muddy streets of Seattle, and the friendships forged on the cross-country trek are tested at every turn.

Just when the journey seems to lead only to ruin, an encounter with a famous suffragist could be their salvation. But to survive both an untamed new landscape and their pasts, they’ll need all their strength—and one another.

First Comes Love - A Novel by Emily Griffin - Four Stars

This book came to me from Random House in exchange for an honest review which follows:  This story was of two sisters and their relationships and lack there of, the family was divided and not really talking fifteen years ago when their brother Daniel died in an auto accident.  Fifteen years into the future and there is talk of a an anniversary, to go and see Daniel's girl friend from that time, and to recognize the brother that was gone.  The two sisters in the story have a very disjointed problematic relationship ever since the accident. They never compared stories between themselves or anyone else since the accident. Secrets finally come out of the dark as the book heads to the future where the sisters are fifteen years later.  Josie so wants a family and a child, that she finally gives up on finding a family, she feels she lost the one man she could have been happy with.  Will was that man and he surfaces in the story as his daughter appears in Josies first grade class.  Josie decides she wants a child and her clock is ticking so she starts looking for sperm doners, in the end she makes a decision that is kind of surprising!  Her sister married her brothers best friend and they have a little girl.  Meredith feels she may have just taken the path of expectation rather than the path that she may have been happier on.  She feels the only thing from her marriage that has gone right is her daughter.  She really can't see why her sister Meredith is doing what she is doing.  The sisters are so very different and the problems are very real, the sisters are characters that are fully developed.  The story is one you pick up and even though it may not be one of those cheerful romance novels, you keep turning the page as you want to find out what happened so many years ago, what has happened since and where are these sisters going to end up by the end of the novel.  A really good read, I think you would enjoy it.

Description as found here on Good Reads: In this dazzling new novel, Emily Giffin, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed, Where We Belong, and The One & Only introduces a pair of sisters who find themselves at a crossroads.

Growing up, Josie and Meredith Garland shared a loving, if sometimes contentious relationship. Josie was impulsive, spirited, and outgoing; Meredith hardworking, thoughtful, and reserved. When tragedy strikes their family, their different responses to the event splinter their delicate bond.

Fifteen years later, Josie and Meredith are in their late thirties, following very different paths. Josie, a first grade teacher, is single—and this close to swearing off dating for good. What she wants more than the right guy, however, is to become a mother—a feeling that is heightened when her ex-boyfriend’s daughter ends up in her class. Determined to have the future she’s always wanted, Josie decides to take matters into her own hands.

On the outside, Meredith is the model daughter with the perfect life. A successful attorney, she’s married to a wonderful man, and together they’re raising a beautiful four-year-old daughter. Yet lately, Meredith feels dissatisfied and restless, secretly wondering if she chose the life that was expected of her rather than the one she truly desired. 

As the anniversary of their tragedy looms and painful secrets from the past begin to surface, Josie and Meredith must not only confront the issues that divide them, but also come to terms with their own choices. In their journey toward understanding and forgiveness, both sisters discover they need each other more than they knew . . . and that in the recipe for true happiness, love always comes first.

Emotionally honest and utterly enthralling, First Comes Love is a story about family, friendship, and the courage to follow your own heart—wherever that may lead.