Monthly Reflections #8 January 2014

My goal for January was to read 8 books! I got really close to my goal, I read 7 books which I'm still really pleased with! :-)

The books I read were:

1. A January Bride by Deborah Raney

2. A Time to Love by Barbara Cameron

3. Made to Last by Melissa Tagg

4. The Bishop by Steven James

5. The Queen by Steven James

6. Picture Perfect by Janice Thompson

7. A February Bride by Betsy St Amant

My favorite read(s) of January were: I loved so many of the books I read this month, so it is impossible to pick one favorite! The Bishop, The Queen, Made To Last, Picture Perfect, and A January Bride are all tied for my favorite! :)

My goal for February:

I'm not going to set a specific number for how many books I want to read in February, so instead my goal is simply to read as many of the books in my paperback to-be-read-soon pile as I can! There are currently eleven books in that pile (All of which I am so excited for!) so we'll see how it goes! The books in my pile are:

The Preacher's Bride by Jody Hedlund

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund

Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Rodeo Queen by Shannon Taylor Vannatter

Whispers from the Shadows by Roseanna M. White

A Most Pecuilar Circumstance by Jen Turano

Catch A Falling Star by Beth Vogt

The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd

Once Upon A Prince by Rachel Hauck

Bout Of Books 9.0 Wrap Up!

Despite being quite busy and in a bit of a reading slump, I actually managed to reach my goal of finishing two books that I had started prior to the read-a-thon! I finished A Time To Love by Barbara Cameron which I really enjoyed and Made To Last by Melissa Tagg which I absolutely loved, it made my favorites shelf! I also read 12% of Forsaken Dreams by MaryLu Tyndall

Bout of Books Day 6 Update and Day 7 Challenge!

What I read today: Nothing!


Bookish Wedding Challenge
Hosted by Harley Bear Book Blog


Have you ever read a book and thought, "Man I wish these people were real? I would be best friends with them in real life".

This challenge is all questions about which of your favorite characters you'd invite to your wedding if you were to marry your top book boyfriend/girlfriend.


Here are the questions
(remember to have fun and tell us why you picked these characters)

1. Which fictional character would you marry? I don't really have a book boyfriend but there are several heroes that I really like- but for the sake of this challenge I picked Bo Porter from Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade, simply because he shares my passion for horses and country living!

2. Who would be your Maid of Honor or Best Man? Piper McKenna from the Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey, would be my Maid of Honor because if she was real we would totally be best friends!

3. Which fictional world would you want to get married in? Narnia!

4. Who would you pick to play the music at your wedding? D.J. Neely from the Weddings by Bella series by Janice Thompson- because he has great taste in music.

5. Who would be your photographer? Matthew Knox from Made to Last by Melissa Tagg- because in his book he really had an eye for taking great photos!

6. Who would you sit at the singles table (and hope they'd fall in love)? I couldn't come up with an answer for this one!

7. Who would be your flower girl or ring bearer? Flower girl: Piper Beckett Ring bearer: Ben Beckett both from A Change Of Fortune by Jen Turano- because they are both absolutely adorable children!

8. Who would you want to plan the bachelorette/bachelor party? Alison Taylor from Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon- again because of she was real we would be good friends, she would know what I wanted and I could trust her to keep things from being crazy and outrageous

9. At the wedding, who would be the first on the dance floor? Bethany and Evan Price from Wildflowers from Winter by Katie Ganshert- because this couple loves to dance and it would be a joy to watch them whirling around the dance floor!

10. Who would give a speech or toast? Jake Taylor from Fatal Judgement by Irene Hannon- because if he was real he would be like a big brother to me!

11. Who would catch the bouquet or garter? I can't think of an answer for this one either!

Bout Of Books 9.0 Day 6 Challenge

Book Staging
Hosted by: Midnight Book Girl

"Description: You know how real estate agents will stage an apartment to attract potential buyers? Well, that’s what you’re going to do to a book!
Rules: Take a picture of a book you’re reading today, or any book you have lying around. In the picture you should have the book in a setting, or surrounded by items, that represent the book. It can mimic the cover, or represent characters/events/etc from the story. Basically, make us want to read the book based on picture alone."

It took me quite a while to decide what book I wanted to use; but once I did staging the book was quite easy!
I picked the last book I read and the newest addition to my favorites list...Made To Last by Melissa Tagg
The props I used: Since a huge part of this book is carpentry and homebuilding I used a hammer and a mini tape measure (I don't know if you can read it or not but the tape measure actually says Made To Last on it, this is because I received it from the author as a small gift along with a book plate as a thank you for buying the book!) Because this book is loosely based on one of my favorite movies, I picked the DVD of Christmas in Connecticut as one of the props! The heroine, Miranda was very close to her grandparents and even now that they have both passed away she still drives her grandfather's old pickup truck, so I borrowed one of my brother's toy trucks that resembled what I envision Miranda's truck looking like! And last but not least, Miranda loves, I mean LOVES flannel so I used a flannel shirt of mine as my final prop! :-)

Bout Of Books 9.0 Day Five Update!

Today was a lot busier than I thought it would be so I only managed to read 2 chapters of Forsaken Dreams by MaryLu Tyndall. I am enjoying this book so far, and I am still hoping to get at least halfway through it before the end of the read-a-thon! :)

Bout Of Books Update!

What I read Yesterday: This was my worst day of reading during the read-a-thon!
Besides my daily Bible reading, I only managed to read the first chapter of Forsaken Dreams by MaryLu Tyndall. I'm hoping to get to about 50% done with this one by the end of the read-a-thon, but we'll see! :-)

Bout Of Books Day 3 Update and Day 4 Challenge

I read more yesterday! I read about 150 pages of Made To Last by Melissa Tagg. Finished it and absolutely loved it! :D

Double Date Book Challenge
Hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

"You must pick two books that you would recommend someone read together (like a double date!) and explain your reasons for the recommendation. "

So the best I could come up with is: A Change Of Fortune by Jen Turano and Made To Last by Melissa Tagg. These books are both hilarious laugh-a-minute reads. And they also both contain deception on the part of the heroine, done in an effort to keep (Or Get) their life on track! Hope that makes sense! Yes, one of these is historical and the other is contemporary but I loved both these books and I think they would make a great double-date read! :)

Bout Of Books Day 2 Update and Day 3 Challenge!

Yesterday I only managed to read about 100 pages of Made To Last by Melissa Tagg. It's weird because I'm really loving this book but I'm unintentionally ending up taking my time reading it! I don't know, maybe I just don't want it to end so I'm trying to savor it :D


-Introduce Someone To Your Favorite Genre Challenge- Hosted by Doing Dewey

Description of Challenge "Bout of Books is a great way to interact with new bloggers so I thought it would be a fun chance for us each to introduce other bloggers to a genre we love. For this challenge, pick a book or a few books that you think would make a great introduction to your genre of choice."

My favorite genre is Christian suspense/romantic suspense!
I love everything about this genre, nail biting suspense, true love, faith, adventure, family! If this sounds like a genre you would like to try then I highly recommend that you check out: The Alaskan Courage series (Submerged, Shattered, and Stranded) by Dani Pettrey, The Heroes of Quantico (Against All Odds, An Eye for an Eye, and In Harm's Way), Guardians of Justice (Fatal Judgement, Deadly Pursuit, and Lethal Legacy), and Private Justice (Vanished, and Trapped) series all by Irene Hannon. And The Women of Justice (Too Close to Home, Don't Look Back, and A Killer Among Us) and Deadly Reunions (When The Smoke Clears, When A Heart Stops, and When A Secret Kills) series by Lynette Eason. Please note that the above mentioned books are all romantic suspense books, meaning the love stories play almost as big a role in the story as the suspense! If you are looking for books that are a little more on the suspense/thriller side, in which the suspense is a bit darker and there is just a hint of romance, if any. I highly recommend The Patrick Bowers series (The Pawn, The Rook and The Knight are the first three books and the only ones I've read so far) and The Jevin Banks series (Placebo, and Singularity) by Steven James

Thanks so much for taking the time to read about my favorite genre!!! :D

Bout Of Books Day 1 Update and Day 2 Challenges

I didn't get as much reading done as I wanted to yesterday, but I did manage to read about 30% or so of A Time To Love by Barbara Cameron, which I managed to finish yesterday!


ReadingTactics List
Hosted by Sarah Says Read

"How do you fit in as much reading as possible during Bout of Books? How do you squeeze in those extra pages?"

My answer: I just try to read as much as I can. I also plan to read books during the read-a-thon that I've been really looking forward to because it seems to help me keep my momentum!


Audiobook Cast
Hosted by Geeky Bloggers Book Blog

"Pick your favorite book: If you were listening to the book being acted out over the radio waves who would you want being the voices of your favorite characters!"


Usually when I read books the characters voices in my head just sound like variations of my own voice. So I don't really know what their voices would sound like but I decided to give this challenge a try! Here goes! The book I chose is Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon

And the cast I would want reading the audiobook (Or as close as I can come up with!) is:

-Allison Taylor, Julia Roberts
-Mitch Morgan, Kirk Cameron

Review: No One To Trust by Lynette Eason (Revell Blog Tour)

Wow! Lynette Eason has blown me away once again!

I believe this is the eleventh book of Lynette Eason's I've read. So I know that if a book has this author's name on the cover, I'm in for an emotional, romantic, heart tugging, adrenaline pumping thrill ride! No One To Trust definitely did not disappoint! I loved the characters in this book, I especially loved the fact that the main characters were already married before the book started, and that their struggles were based on overcoming lies, that was a very unique storyline! I can't gush enough, this book is soooo amazing! I started this book one night, thinking that I would just read a few chapters and ended up reading 140 pages! I usually end up finishing this author's books in under 24 hours and this one I finished in just over a day! I know it is only the very beginning of the year but I can already say that No One To Trust has a permanent spot on my list of favorite books of 2014 (Even though I technically read it in the last couple days of 2013!)

Overall, I absolutely loved this book and I think Revell should start printing warnings like "Unputdownable" and "Insomnia Inducing" on the covers of Lynette Eason's books! :)
In case you couldn't guess I highly recommend No One To Trust and can't wait to read the second book Nowhere To Turn.


I received this book for free from Revell in exchange for an honest review. I have done so.
All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Bout Of Books Day 1 Challenge!

Book Buying Spree Hosted by Bookish Comforts

Bout Of Books 9.0 Goals!

My goals for this read-a-thon are to participate in as many of the challenges as I can, hopefully all of them! And I would like to read/finish at least three books!
I will be reading the following books, and after I finish those I'm not sure what I'll be reading!

1. Finish A Time To Love by Barbara Cameron (I'm reading it for the category of Quilt in book cover bingo)

2. Finish Made To Last by Melissa Tagg

3. Read Forsaken Dreams by MaryLu Tyndall (For the category of Fog in book cover bingo)

Bout Of Books 9.0 Sign Up Post!

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01am Monday, January 6th and runs through Sunday, January 12th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure, and the only reading competition is between you and your usual number of books read in a week. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 9.0 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team


-I have participated in this read-a-thon twice and really enjoyed it! I had been debating whether or not I wanted to sign up this time but in the end I couldn't resist joining in! :D

Monthly Reflections #7 December 2013

My goal for December was to read 15 books! And thanks to the Reading Cram and Last Minute Read-A-Thons, I came really close to reaching my goal! I read 14 books in December. I'm really pleased with that, yes some of them were short ones but I'm still including them! :)

The books I read were:

1. No Safe Haven by Kimberly and Kayla Woodhouse

2. The Five Kisses by Karla Darcy

3. Bleeding Heart by Amber Stokes

4. 21 Prayers for Teen Girls by Shelley Hitz and Heather Hart

5. Sex and the Single Christian Girl by Marian Jordan Ellis

6. Swinging on a Star by Janice Thompson

7. Aquifer by Jonathan Friesen

8. Placebo by Steven James

9. Waiting for Dawn by Susan May Warren

10. Free Four by Veronica Roth

11. The Knight by Steven James

12. Unspoken by Dee Henderson

13. No One To Trust by Lynette Eason

14. A December Bride by Denise Hunter

My favorite read of December... I enjoyed all of these books but the two that are tied for my favorite read are No One To Trust and Swinging on a Star, and The Knight is a very close second! :)

In January I hope to read 8 books!