A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

Centralia Mike Dellosso Tyndale Peter Ryan wakes up on a typical morning only to find his house empty, his wife and daughter nowhere to be found. His world is shattered after a phone call to a friend confirms the impossible: his wife and daughter died in a car accident he does not remember. Haunted by faint memories and flashes of details, Peter becomes convinced that something isn't right and begins to question reality. When he discovers a note in his daughter's handwriting, strange memories begin to surface that cause him to second-guess nearly everything he once believed. Suddenly armed men show up at Peter's home, turning the mysterious puzzle of his past into a dangerous game of cat and mouse. On the run and unsure whom to trust, Peter has to discover what's real and what isn't . . . before he loses everything.    This book was one crazy ride from beginning to end. I had no idea that this book was going to be the first in a series...yeah, I didn...

The Cactus Creek Challenge Erica Vetsch Shiloh Run Anything he can do, I can do better.  At least that was what Cassie Bucknell thought before she pinned on Ben Wilder’s badge and took to patrolling the streets of Cactus Creek, Texas. Cassie has been in love with Ben since primer school, but Ben treats her like a little sister. When they are picked to swap jobs for a month as part of the annual Cactus Creek Challenge in their Texas hometown, the schoolhouse is thrown into an uproar, the jail becomes a temporary bank vault, and Cassie and Ben square off in a battle of wills that becomes a battle for their hearts. This novel is set in a Texas town in the late 1800s where the annual "Cactus Creek Challenge" takes place- when four people switch jobs for a month to raise money for various causes around the town. This year is a little different, though- the council has decided to allow the women to participate, which means that schoolteacher Cassie Bucknell is require...

Hiding in the Light Rifqa Bary Waterbrook “After four years of hiding my faith from my family, I knew that it was time. I wrote with shaky hands, ‘Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior. I refuse to deny him….’ There was no turning back now. I had to get out of that house if I wanted to live. Was this worth risking everything for? Yes.” Rifqa Bary grew up in a devout Muslim home, obediently following her parents’ orders to practice the rituals of Islam. But God was calling her to freedom and love. He was calling her to true faith. He was calling her to give up everything. Leaving Islam for Christianity cost her more than she imagined but gave more than she could have dreamed. Hiding in the Light  is the story of Rifqa’s remarkable spiritual journey from Islam to Christianity. It is also the untold story of how she ran from her father’s threats to find refuge with strangers in Florida, only to face a controversial court case that reached national headlines. ...

Siren's Fury Mary Weber Thomas Nelson After a slight disappointment with the first book in this series, I admit I came into Siren's Fury with mixed feelings. I had hope that it would be better than the first book, but let's face it: most every trilogy suffers from that dreaded middle book slump. So I tried not to let my expectations get too high. However, I was really, pleasantly surprised. I did like Siren's Fury better than Storm Siren ! Part of the fact might have been because I felt that the writing was smoother and things seemed to click in place a little better. The worldbuilding still wasn't the book's strong point, but I felt like I had a better grasp of the setting here. The characterizations were also enjoyable. While Nym isn't always exactly likable, I loved Princess Rasha and believe it or not, I felt like one of the best done characters was Myles. How did that happen??? Also, there was less romance which, for me anyway, was a plu...

Sophia Paul Kremser Cedar Fort Small-town Sophia Spencer can’t believe her luck when an unexpected inheritance allows her to experience London’s social scene. But her happiness disappears when she is caught napping in a grumpy gentleman’s room—and forced into an engagement to protect her reputation! Personalities collide and love blooms in this stunning debut novel.      I'm not sure why this book caught my eye. Was it the short but amusing synopsis? The pretty, feminine cover? Maybe I'll never know, but it interested me enough so that when I saw it on sale on Amazon, I swooped in and bought it up.     The first word that comes to mind about this book is cute . I wasn't overly fond of the writing style, which at times felt a little stilted, but the plot really was enjoyable and I liked the characters. Overall, I felt like this was a book that, though it could have been done a little better, was still fun and adorable.      One mi...

Love's Rescue Christine Johnson Revell When her mother dies, Elizabeth Benjamin heads home to Key West, determined to transform herself into the perfect Southern belle her parents always wished her to be. But nothing goes according to plan. Her crippled brother resents her, the servants do not obey her, and Rourke O'Malley, the dashing man she vowed to forget, refuses to relinquish his hold on her heart. Worst of all, it becomes painfully obvious that her father is not the upright man he appears to be. As family secrets come to light, Elizabeth is faced with a difficult choice: to do her duty and abandon her dreams, or to leave her life of privilege behind to chase the man her father sees as little better than a pirate. From the first emotional page, author Christine Johnson throws readers into a world of impossible choices, hidden desires, and heart-melting romance in the steamy south. Readers will cheer for Elizabeth and Rourke as they battle the odds and the ele...

Taken Dee Henderson Bethany House Publishers Abducted at the age of sixteen and coerced into assisting the Jacoby crime family, Shannon Bliss has finally found a way out. She desperately wants to resume some semblance of normal life, but she also knows she has some unfinished business to attend to. She has enough evidence to put her captors behind bars for a very long time. When Shannon contacts private investigator and former cop Matthew Dane to help her navigate her reentry into society, she quickly discovers that gaining her freedom doesn’t mean her troubles are over. For one thing, her brother is the leading candidate in the race for Illinois governor, and news of her escape will create a media frenzy. For another, the ransom her family reportedly paid years earlier appears to have been a scam; no one knows what happened to the money. And then there’s the fact that Shannon’s escape involved faking her own death. If the Jacoby family learns she is still alive, they’ll s...