Review: Where Treetops Glisten by Cara Putman, Sarah Sundin and Tricia Goyer

5 Stars!!!

An absolutely delightful Christmas novella collection!  

After finally reading a novel by Sarah Sundin earlier this year, and absolutely falling on love with her writing I knew I would want to read anything she wrote. This was my first  time reading stories by both Cara Putman and Tricia Goyer. 

I love books about siblings, and this collection did not disappoint! I loved all three stories, but Sarah Sundin's "I'll be Home for Christmas" was by far my favorite (For a number of reasons, and I was absolutely charmed by Linnie she was so adorable!) although Tricia Goyer's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was a very close second for me! It was so cool that each novella was named after a Christmas song that was released during WWII and is still a big part of Christmas in America today!  I also loved that the authors were able to include each Christmas from 1941 through 1945.

I also loved all the letters that family members sent to each other, it made me feel like I was totally a part of the Turner family!

This is such an amazing collection, I loved every minute of it! 

I can totally envision myself re-reading this collection every Christmas. 

Highly recommend to anyone and everyone! 

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah through their Blogging For Books review program, in exchange for an honest review. My review was not required to be positive, the above review is my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Review: A Most Inconvenient Marriage by Regina Jennings

5 Stars!!!

After reading a novella by this author several months ago and really enjoying it, I was very much looking forward to reading more of her books! I was not disappointed with this book! It has been a while since I read a book with a main female character that I really liked and could really relate to, but Abigail was absolutely that heroine! I loved how strong (Some might even say stubborn) she was, how determined she was to make sure everyone else was taken care of without a thought for herself, and of course her love for horses touched this horsewoman's heart! Jeremiah was also a great character, and this book was filled with an awesome cast of supporting characters, I adored the neighbor children Josiah and Betsy, and some of the pranks that took place between them and Abigail had me laughing out loud! The setting was really cool, and it was written so realistically that I kept having to remind myself that I was indeed in my living room not the Ozarks of Missouri in 1865! For fear of spoiling something I will stop here, but let me just say that I loved this book from start to finish! However there were a couple of horse related details that were either incorrect and/or not believable, which because I am a life long student of all things equine, really bothered me, but being that it was a fictional story I chose to give it the benefit of the doubt that these details were written this way simply for the sake of the story, and did not let it affect my enjoyment of the story as a whole which was very great indeed!

Again I loved this book and highly recommend it. I can't wait to read the next installment in this great new series. I also have Regina Jennings' first three novels on my Kindle and I am very much looking forward to reading them when I get a chance!

I was honored to receive a review copy of this amazing book from Bethany House publishers, in exchange for my honest review! 

Monthly Reflections #17

My goal for October was to read 10 books. I am thrilled that I was able to exceed that goal, I read 13 books! :)

The books I read were:

1. The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron

2. Out Of The Storm by Jody Hedlund

3. An August Bride by Debra Clopton

4. The Headmistresss Of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd

5. Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

6. A Most Peculiar Circumstance by Jen Turano

7. Finding Mercy by Michael Landon Jr and Cindy Kelley

8. Hit by Lorie Ann Grover

9. Singularity by Steven James

10. Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

11. An October Bride by Katie Ganshert

12. A July Bride by Beth Wiseman

13. A September Bride by Kathryn Springer

Favorite read of the month: My favorite reads this month were, An August Bride A Most Peculiar Circumstance, Finding Mercy, Singularity, and An October Bride.

For November my goal is to read 6 books but I hope to be able to read a lot more than that!

Friday Memes!

Book Blogger Hop hosted by Rambling of a Coffee Addicted Writer

The Question

You can go trick-or-treating with any
fictional character (book or film).
Who would you go with?

My Answer: I would totally pick Piper McKenna from the Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey, mostly just because I think we would definitely be best friends, I'm sure we could come up with some really cool costumes (Maybe, we could both dress up as Nancy Drew! ;) and I know we would have sooo much fun Trick or Treating together!

This is my first time doing a Book Beginning but it looked like fun so I decided to give it a try!

U.S. Marshal Serena Sumners entered three-year-old Brandon McIntyre's room with a packing box in hand. Her heart ached for the turmoil the McIntyre family had recently suffered. Danger had touched their lives in the most horrible of ways. A child had been kidnapped. 

-Undercover Marriage by Terri Reed-

My thoughts: This is definitely an attention grabbing beginning, I can't wait to read more and see what happens! 

Review: A Promise To Protect by Patricia Bradley

5 Stars!!!

After reading and loving the first book in this series (Shadows of the Past) earlier this year, I was eagerly anticipating the second installment! I was not disappointed. This was an excellent follow up, I loved getting to visit the small town of Logan Point, Mississippi again! I really enjoyed both Ben and Leigh as characters, though I do wish that Leigh had been a little bit more receptive to Ben's attempts to protect her from the start but I absolutely understand why she wasn't! 

The suspense in this book was OH SO GOOD, it's one of those stories in which just when you think no other awful things could possibly happen to the characters, something big happens! I loved the multiple layers and twists of the mystery in this book, it could easily have made the story lose it's edge by making it too complicated, but Patricia Bradley wrote it perfectly and it added depth to the story in a wonderful way! I must admit I was stumped as to the identity of the one villain who's true identity was not revealed until late in the story, I had no clue who he/she was until right before it was revealed! I loved the fact that Leigh and Ben had had a relationship in the past so there was no insta-romance factor, and in fact them realizing they still had feelings for each other happened in a very realistic and believable way, which was great! 

I absolutely loved this book and I highly recommend it anyone who enjoys God honoring romantic suspense novels! I can't wait for the next book in the series which I recently learned will be about my favorite character in the series so far, Ben's cousin Livy! 

I was honored to receive a review copy of this amazing book from Revell publishers in exchange for my honest review! 

Finding Mercy by Michael Landon Jr & Cindy Kelley

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingFinding MercyDavid C. Cook (October 1, 2014)byMichael Landon Jr. and Cindy Kelley



ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Michael Landon Jr., son of television legend Michael Landon, is an award-winning storyteller, first in television and film, and now in books. His print works include One More Sunrise co-written with Tracie Peterson. 


****

Cindy Kelley is the co-author of the novel The Silent Gift, and Traces of Mercy. Her career as a screenwriter with long-time writing partner, Michael Landon, Jr., began with the adaptation of Margery Williams’ classic story, The Velveteen Rabbit, which had a theatrical release. Several television movies followed, most notably Love Comes Softly, (based on Janette Oke’s novel) which won a CAMIE Award and the Epiphany Prize for Movie Guide’s most inspirational television movie of 2003. Cindy and her husband, Jim, make their home in the Southwest; have three adorable grandchildren and four big dogs who rule the house.





ABOUT THE BOOK

When Mercy abandons Captain Elijah Hale to search for her true identity, he goes after her. With the threat that bounty hunters might be hot on her trail, Mercy does all she can to stay ahead of the danger, frustrating both the bad men who are after her—and Captain Hale who wants to find her and escort her safely home. But when she stumbles upon clues that help her learn who she is and where she's from, the danger escalates and she has to learn to keep her friends close and her enemies even closer—if she can determine which is which!



If you'd like to read the first chapter of Finding Mercy, go HERE.

My Thoughts:

5 Stars!

I have been impatiently waiting to read this book since last year when I read and absolutely fell in love with the first book, Traces Of Mercy! Needless to say, when I was given the opportunity to review this book I jumped at the chance! I had very high expectations for Finding Mercy and I'm thrilled to say that it surpassed all of them, I loved every minute of this book! Just when I thought it couldn't get anymore awesome, it did! I once again loved Mercy and Elijah and I absolutely adore Isaac! Finding Mercy took me on an emotional roller coaster, mainly on the two extremes of grinning from ear to ear in pure joy, to sitting on the edge of my seat in suspense wondering what would happen next, this book made me feel it all! Both this book and the first one made my favorites shelf, I highly recommend this book but Traces Of Mercy should definitely be read prior to this one! 

I just loved this book so much, I know I will be re-reading it many times in the future! 

My only complaint about this book was that the ending did seem just a tad rushed and abrupt, but granted this could simply be due to the fact that I didn't want the book to end, and it also made me a bit sad because by the ending it seems this is likely to be the last book about these characters and I really didn't want to say goodbye to them! 

In closing, I adored this book and I'm thrilled that I got the chance to read it! 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via CFBA in exchange for an honest review. The above is my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Hit by Lorie Ann Grover

My Thoughts: 

4 Stars!

I have been intrigued by this book since I first heard about it several months ago. So when I got the opportunity to review it I jumped at it! This was a really good book, I liked the characters though I didn't feel like I really fully connected with any of them, and I must admit there were times that the main character Sarah annoyed me just a tad, I mean I felt tremendous compassion for all she had been through but still there were moments when her attitude got on my nerves a bit! I loved how realistic this book was, I felt like I was really there living every step of the story alongside the characters! I also liked how Sarah's family members reacted in realistic and believable ways and that even though there were many times that they struggled to get along, I really did feel that by the end of the book they were a much stronger family unit! I also liked that I was able to feel all of Haddings' deep emotions. I loved the message in the book, about seeing yourself for who you truly are, I think all teenagers should read this book! 

I am a poetry fan and I really enjoyed seeing the works of different poets sprinkled throughout the story.

For a fairly short book, I was surprised by the amount of depth the story and the characters possessed. I do wish this book had been a little bit longer and I would have liked an epilogue so that I could have seen what Sarah's life was like down the road, but still this was a very good book which I really enjoyed reading, I recommend it to all teens and fans of YA fiction.

I received a free copy of this book from Book Look book bloggers group in exchange for my honest review, which I have given. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own. 

Monthly Reflections #16

My goal for September was to read 9 books. The past month ended up being way busier than I was expecting, so I am thrilled that I was actually able to read 10 books! :)

The books I read were:

1. Trinity: Military War Dog by Ronie Kendig

2. A Death-Struck Year by Makiia Lucier

3. Gone To Ground by Brandilyn Collins

4. Riptide by Elizabeth Goddard

5. The King by Steven James

6. Hidden in the Stars by Robin Caroll

7. Deceived by Irene Hannon

8. A Promise To Protect by Patricia Bradley

9. The Selection by Kiera Cass

10. A May Bride by Meg Moseley

I absolutely loved all but two of these books and I still really liked those two so this is a month where it is absolutely impossible for me to pick a favorite read!

My goal for October is to read at least 10 books!

Review: Deceived by Irene Hannon

5 Stars!

I am a huge Irene Hannon fan! I've devoured every romantic suspense book she's written and her newest release was no different! I loved Deceived, I think it is by far my favorite book in the Private Justice series. I've been looking forward to Connor's story for a while now and I've gotta say I was not disappointed! I loved Connor as a hero, just like I knew I would! Kate was a great character as well and I think she is definitely one of my favorite of Hannon's heroines!

I'm not sure how much more to say because I don't want to risk giving anything away, but oh my goodness this book was SO good, I absolutely loved every piece of it, there was not a single thing I didn't like about this book! It's definitely one of these books that you want to keep flipping pages and see what happens next but at the same time you want to take your time and savor it, (Which is what I ended up doing!) first of all because it's just so good but also because once you finish it, it's over and you'll have a long (Impatient!) wait until the next amazing release by this truly superb author! Needless to say I highly recommend Deceived, it made my favorites shelf!

I was honored to receive a review copy of this amazing book from Revell publishers in exchange for my honest review! 

Top Ten Books On My Fall TBR List!

These are in no particular order!

Finding Mercy by Michael Landon Jr and Cindy Kelley

A Most Peculiar Circumstance by Jen Turano

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

The Selection by Kiera Cass

The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd

The Butterfly and The Violin by Kristy Cambron

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and  Margaret Stohl

The Icing on the Cake by Janice Thompson

Airs Above The Ground by Mary Stewart

Undercover Marriage by Terri Reed

Hidden in the Stars by Robin Caroll (CFBA)

This week, theChristian Fiction Blog Allianceis introducingHidden in the StarsAbingdon Press (September 16, 2014)byRobin Caroll

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:




Born and raised in Louisiana, Robin Caroll is a southerner through and through. Her passion has always been to tell stories to entertain others. Robin’s mother, bless her heart, is a genealogist who instilled in Robin the deep love of family and pride of heritage—two aspects Robin weaves into each of her books.




When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of twenty-plus years, her 3 beautiful daughters, 2 precious grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home—in the South, where else?

ABOUT THE BOOK



Following an attack that killed her mother and stole her ability to speak, 21-year-old Sophia Montgomery has no choice but to accept her estranged grandmother’s offer to return to their family home. Although detective Julian Frazier is working hard on the case, Sophia unknowingly frustrates him because her inability to speak thwarts her eyewitness evidence. The fact that Julian is undeniably attracted to Sophia doesn’t help either, so Julian hides his feelings as concern for a trauma victim and focuses instead on finding the killer.



Little do they know, the clues to solving the case may be right in front of them, displayed in Sophia’s mother’s “special” quilt design. Who will realize the secret Sophia’s unwittingly been hiding in plain sight? When the truth comes to light, will Sophia find her voice again? Or will the murderer—still at large—silence her forever?





If you would like to read the first chapter of Hidden in the Stars, go HERE.






My Thoughts:

5 Stars!
I've been wanting to try out Abingdon press's Quilts of Love series for a while now, but none of them really caught my interest at all, that is until I got the opportunity to review this book, something about the description of this book totally captured me and I knew I had to read it! I've heard a lot of amazing things about this author, but since this was my first time reading her work I wasn't quite sure what to expect, I'm delighted to report that I was not disappointed! I loved this book! I was so inspired by the main character Sophia, even through everything that happened to her she still kept trusting that God had a plan for her, even when it was extremely difficult! I know I will definitely be using her character in my own life as a reminder to trust God, especially when I'm tempted to wallow in self pity. A brilliant example of the power of story! I really liked Julian as a hero, I liked how much he cared for Sophia, some of the things he did for her were so sweet, and I loved that the struggles in his life were realistic and resolved in a beautiful yet believable way. I loved the role the quilt played in the story! I found it to be such an interesting and unique angle that for most of the book Sophia was unable to speak, that definitely made it difficult for her to communicate for a while. I loved that this book was set in Arkansas, because not very many novels are set there and I loved that I was able to use it for my fifty states reading challenge. There were a few things that I didn't like about this book, like when things seemed to be repeated unnecessarily, and there were times when I kind of wished the main characters would have figured out pieces or the puzzle a little bit sooner, mainly because I already had them figured out. I also wish there had been an epilogue, mostly just because I wanted more of the story and also because I would have loved to see how the characters were doing a year or two down the road. However since these were mostly small things, I'm overlooking them and giving this book 5 stars because I feel like it deserves it!
I highly recommend Hidden in the Stars and I am looking forward to reading more books by Robin Caroll in the future!



I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher via CFBA in exchange for an honest review. The above is my honest opinion. All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

#TackleTBR Wrap Up!

The last two weeks ended up being way busier than I was expecting so I didn't manage to reach my goal of reading 5 books. I only got two and a half books read, but I loved all of them so I'm still pretty happy with that! And I had a blast participating! I just added up my page totals and discovered that I read 1,028 pages during this read-a-thon, wow didn't realize I'd read that many!

The books I read were:

#TackleTBR Dream Character Challenge!

Instructions:

1. Pick your favorite character from a book.

2. List the name, the book he/she is from, and why that was your choice.

3. Pick a celebrity or picture of who you would dream cast for that character.

4. Post or link that picture (or leave the name of the celebrity) with the character's info.

For this challenge I chose one of my all time favorite characters, a character that I haven't really felt like I could put a face to until recently! The character is... (Drumroll please!) Patrick Bowers from the Patrick Bowers Files by Steven James. I love this series so much and I just love Patrick as a character, I love everything about his personality and he's just such a great hero! I've always kinda realized that I didnt have a clue what Patrick Bowers looked like, but recently my brother and I have discovered the 90's movie "Speed" and it just hit me one day that Keanu Reeves when he was in "Speed" is exactly how I picture Patrick. Besides looks, Patrick and Jack (Keanu Reeves' character in the movie Speed) are both in law enforcement, they both track down killers for a living, and they both end up with a killer who is after them specifically! Their personalities and the way they react to challenges and crises by taking action no matter how high the odds are stacked against them! I don't know, I'm really bad at casting my favorite characters but this was my best attempt, I hope you enjoyed it!

(Photos borrowed from Google Images)

*GIVEAWAY* Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade

 

I absolutely loved this book! And I ended up with an extra copy so I decided to give all my lovely blog readers a chance to win it! This giveaway is for 1 (One) paperback copy, has been read once but is still in perfect condition. The giveway will run for ten days, from September 17 at 12:00 am to September 27 at 12:00

U.S. Only, sorry! 

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

#TackleTBR Mid-Point Check In!

Last week ended up being a lot busier than I was expecting, between work, rescuing a lost horse, getting my entries ready for the fair, and then going to the fair, I didn't end up having much reading time until yesterday, I've only read one and a half books so far during this read-a-thon. But I'm hoping this coming week will be less busy and I'll have more free time to read!

I read the last half of:

And I read this one from start to finish:

#TackleTBR Book Cover Opposites Challenge!

Instructions:

1. Find two books whose covers or titles are opposites.

2. List or make an image of the books and post somewhere (Twitter, Facebook, your blog, Instagram, etc.)

3. Then come back here and leave a link to where you posted in comments (so we can all see) and in the rafflecopter for the giveaway.

I decided to do two ones that were both cover opposites, and to make it a little harder I also chose to limit myself to only using books that are on my TBR list!

  Blue Vs. Pink

---------------------------------------------

Women Vs. Men 

Review: Nowhere To Turn by Lynette Eason

5 Stars!

Yet another excellent romantic suspense from Ms. Eason!

I loved both Dani and Adam but I think my favorite character was Simon, Dani's twelve year old son. He was just so sweet and vulnerable that there were times my heart ached for him so much that I just wanted to hug him! And I loved how protective he was of his Mom! Another thing I loved was that the main characters of the previous book played a fairly large role in this book!

I don't think this is my favorite of Lynette Eason's books but with that being said the suspense was still really good, I was hooked from the first page and was completely absorbed until the last word of the breathless, adrenaline pumping ending!

Another thing I love about Lynette Eason's books is that she sets almost all of them in her home state of South Carolina, in cities that she knows well. And because of that as well as her amazing writing, even though I know that I'm reading about a big city it really feels like a small town! Much like my hometown, which is why I love that her books have that feel to them!

Nowhere To Turn also has a wonderful message about God's love for us, and learning to put our trust in Him alone!

If you enjoy Christian romantic suspense, I highly recommend Nowhere To Turn, though I think you might want to read No One To Trust first. 

I was honored to receive a review copy of this amazing book from Revell publishers in exchange for my honest review! 

Tackle Your TBR Read-A-Thon Sign Up and Goals!

So since I saw that a couple of my wonderful blogging friends had signed up for this read-a-thon, I couldn't resist signing up too! 

I will be tweeting my updates (@CaitlynSanti) using #TackleTBR

My goal is to read at least 5 books during this read-a-thon. This is the list I will most likely be choosing from though it is subject to change depending on what book from my TBR strikes my fancy at any given time! These are in no particular order!

Deceived by Irene Hannon

A Promise To Protect by Patricia Bradley 

 A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

The King by Steven James

Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

Singularity by Steven James

The Selection by Kiera Cass 

The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd

The Butterfly and The Violin by Kristy Cambron

The Sunflower Award!

I was nominated for this award back in June by my friend Melanie @Christian Bookshelf Reviews, and I just hadn't around to doing it until now! Sorry it took me so long! 

Melanie's Questions

1. What's the last book you bought? Raptor 6 by Ronie Kendig. The last thing I needed was another book but the ebook was only 79 cents on ChristianBook.com, and I just couldn't resist!

2. What's the last movie you watched? On DVD: a made-for- TV movie from the 1970's called Young Pioneers which was great. And on Netflix: an amazing movie called Finding Faith which I highly recommend!

3. What's your all-time favorite book cover? You mean besides all of Dani Pettrey's? :) There are two others (See photos below), A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert-I can't explain what it is about this cover but it's just absolutely gorgeous and it captured me from the first moment I saw it. The wonderful thing is that the story inside is every bit as beautiful as the cover- 

And Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon-This is my favorite book by this author, there are so many reasons why I love this cover. The models look exactly like how I pictured Mitch and Alison. I love the colors and how the dark clouds give such a deep feeling of foreboding. I love that the railroad tracks (A key part of the story!) are pictured. And lastly I love the publisher's attention to detail, if you look really closely at a copy of the book you will see that the badge on Mitch's belt actually does say Detective, St Louis County. :)

4. What's your favorite summer activity, besides reading? ;) Riding my horse, and standing near a beautiful waterfall on a hot day are my top two!

5. What is one of the worst/most-boring movies you've seen? Remember Me. Anyone who loves this movie please don't hate me! But aside from laughing at the sheer ridiculousness of most of the actors, I was bored out of my mind! Needless to say, I won't be watching this one again. 

6. If you could spend a week anywhere in the world, where would you choose? Either Ireland or Italy. Actually I would probably end up spending a few days in each country because it would be impossible for me to choose one over the other! :)

7. Sneakers or sandals? Sneakers

8. The beach or the pool? The beach

9. What's the last book that made you cry or laugh-out-loud? The last book that made me laugh out loud (Several times!) was Full Steam Ahead by Karen Witemeyer. Books don't usually make me cry so the last time one did was over a year ago, Undeniably Yours by Becky Wade for some reason that ending just made me tear up. In a good way!

10. What's your favorite candle scent? Lilac

11. Do you have a favorite B&W movie? I have two: Christmas in Connecticut and Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House 

My friend Abbi @Christian Novels also did this tag and nominated anyone who wanted to take part so I decided to answer her questions as well! Mainly because I just love to answer questions!

Abbi's Questions

1. What is one of your favorite books to reread? "Oh, Those Harper Girls!" by Kathleen Karr

2. Is there a Christian genre that you refuse to read? Yes, what I consider chick lit!

3. What is the biggest turn off for you in a book? Graphic sexual content. I don't really mind violence, and language doesn't bother me that much as long it's not excessive. But I do not tolerate sex scenes. Fortunately I'm very picky about the books I read so I almost never come upon scenes like that.

4. What is your favorite cover feature (i.e. dresses, bold font, cute couple, etc)? Hmm, I don't know. I never really thought about it before... I guess there is just something about certain covers that captures my attention, don't really know what it is though.

5. What is your absolute favorite musical? It's a three way tie between Les Mis, Oklahoma, and Cats!

6. Do you prefer online shopping or going to an actual bookstore? Online, but I love to go to a brick and mortar bookstore on special occasions like my birthday.

7. Where is the oddest place you have taken a book to read? I don't know. I've read while hanging out on my trampoline before, does that count? :)

8. If you could choose a fictional family to join, which one would it be?  No question, The McKenna Family! :)

9. What are some of your favorite TV shows to watch? MACGYVER, The A Team, Sue Thomas F.B.Eye, and Mcleod's Daughters.

10. What would be your dream job? Being a riding instructor. I love teaching kids and adults how to ride and care for horses!

11. How many books do you own? I've never counted but probably close to a hundred hard copy books. And I think there are somewhere around 130 on my Kindle.

Most of the people I know have already been tagged for this award so I nominate YOU! Anyone who is reading this post and wants to take part! I'm feeling lazy right now and think of any new questions so feel free to answer any or all of Melanie and Abbi's questions that I answered! 

Oh and by the way here are the two book covers that I mentioned above! Forget to include them earlier in this post!

The TBR Tag

Hosted by Dana @Danasquare & Rachel @ A Perfection Called Books

QUESTIONS

How do you keep track of your TBR pile? I love to write lists, and every once in a while I hand write a list of the TBR books that I own. I love putting a check mark next to one when I finish it! 

Is your TBR mostly print or ebook? I'm not sure of the exact number but I think I have somewhere around 70 TBR books on my Kindle, and I currently only have around 15 books in my print TBR pile. So mostly ebook!

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next? If I have any review books I always read those first. Next in line are any books that I am buddy reading with friends. And for the others, it's mostly just what strikes my fancy at any given time.

A Book That's Been On Your TBR List The Longest. Wonderland Creek by Lynn Austin

A Book You Recently Added To Your TBR. Airs Above The Ground by Mary Stewart

A Book In Your TBR Strictly Because Of Its Beautiful Cover. There aren't any!

A Book On Your TBR That You Never Plan on Reading. I plan on giving most of them a try, but the one I would be most likely to never read would be A Passion Most Pure by Julie Lessman

An Unpublished Book On Your TBR That You’re Excited For. 

There are several, here are just a few!

Sabotaged by Dani Pettrey

Always on My Mind by Susan May Warren

Spy of Richmond by Jocelyn Green

Deceived by Irene Hannon

A Promise To Protect by Patricia Bradley

An October Bride by Katie Ganshert

How A Star Falls by Amber Stokes

And Many More...!

A Book On Your TBR That Basically Everyone’s Read But You. A Most Peculiar Circumstance by Jen Turano, but I'm hoping to remedy that very, very soon!

A Book On Your TBR That Everyone Recommends to you. The Icing on The Cake by Janice Thompson

A Book On Your TBR That You’re Dying To Read. The King by Steven James

How Many Books are on Your Goodreads TBR Shelf? 

64

Review: What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth

5 Stars!

I had heard lots of amazing things about this author but this was my first time reading a book of hers so I didn't really know what to expect! 

I absolutely loved this book! The words on these pages spoke volumes to my heart, in fact there were moments when it felt like the author had read my mind and knew exactly how I was feeling at that moment in time! This may be a little book but the truths it holds make a huge impact! I just can't say enough good things about this book, it's a book every woman should read! I love that at the end of each chapter the author gives you the beginning of a prayer pertaining specifically to the message of that chapter which is super cool but what is even more awesome is that there is a space for you to customize the devotion to whatever your heart needs and is saying that day! And below that they give you a place to write down what God is saying to your heart! 

This was an amazing book that I know I will read again many times in the future!

I highly recommend this book to every woman.

I was honored to receive a review copy of this amazing book from Revell publishers in exchange for my honest review! 

Monthly Reflections #15

For August my goals were to read 8 books, and I am thrilled that I was actually able to read 11 books! Yes, some of these are pretty short but they are books and I read them, so as far as I'm concerned they still count! :)

The books I read were:

1. An April Bride by Lenora Worth

2. Evergreen by Susan May Warren

3. Blue Moon Promise by Colleen Coble

4. Nowhere To Turn by Lynette Eason

5. Allegiant by Veronica Roth

6. Fairy Slippers by Amber Stokes

7. The Foreboding by Travis Thrasher

8. Necessary Proof by Camy Tang

9. What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth

10. Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz 

11. Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White

My favorite read this month: Love's Reckoning, Nowhere To Turn, Circle of Spies, and Blue Moon Promise are all tied for my favorite read of the month, they were all awesome! 

My goal for September (Eeek, I can't believe it's September already!) is to read 9 books!

Bout of Books 11 Wrap Up!

I managed to slightly exceed my goal, I read four books from start to finish even though several of the books were pretty short I'm still really thrilled with what I was able to accomplish! I was also able to reach my goal of participating in all the challenges, they were all SO much fun!

The books I read:

1. Fairy Slippers by Amber Stokes (25 pages)

2. The Foreboding by Travis Thrasher (25 pages)

3. Necessary Proof by Camy Tang (75 pages)

4. What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth (240 pages)

I also read:

5. Circle of Spies by Roseanna M. White (I read the first 191 pages!)

6. Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz (I read the first 151 pages)

Total pages read: 707!

Bout of Books 11: Day Six Update and Day Seven Challenge!

Day Six Update: I had another really good day of reading today, I read the final 160 pages of What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth. And I read the first 15 pages of Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz.

5 Books Challenge hosted by Falling Down The Book Hole

"It is 11:00 PM on a Sunday night. You are laying in bed thinking about all of the things you must do the next day. Tasks of the coming days consume your thoughts and while your mind is somewhere else you are caught off guard by a flash in the sky that is followed by a large wailing screech that pierces the air and shatters your bedroom window. Slowly you move to the window and what you see catches your breathe and causes you to stumble back a few steps. The aliens (at least you think they are aliens) have began to enter the city and destroy everything that is in their path. Through the window your view is consumed with destruction, screaming people and large flames that are dancing across the city at a fast pace. You notice that the creatures are heading in your direction and you realize you probably have about fifteen minutes before they reach your home. That means you have only about ten minutes to gather your belongings and escape before you are caught in the attack from the aliens invading the city."

"Given the short amount of time you are only able to take 5 books with you. What books would you pick to take with you as you escape and prepare for the end of the world. Would you choose books that would help you survive in the post-apocalyptic world ,books for pleasure that would make you happy and take you to a fantasy reality or books that you can’t live without?"

My Books:

Remnants: Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren-This is a dystopian with a strong female main character and a foundation of hope that would help me to have courage.

The Icing On The Cake by Janice Thompson-I haven't read this book yet, but all of this author's books are absolutely hilarious and I'm sure I could definitely use some laughs!

The Bible-The only true survival guide.

The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund-This book is based on a true story about missionaries struggling to survive while traveling the Oregon trail, so it is another one that would definitely inspire me to be brave!

The River of Time Chronicles by Lisa T. Bergren-So this is technically cheating because it's a 3-in-1 but I couldn't live without at least the first three books in my all time favorite series!

Bout of Books 11: Day Five Update and Day Six Challenge!

Day Five Update: I had a really good day of reading today! I read a novella (75 pages), called Necessary Proof by Camy Tang which I absolutely loved by the way! And I also managed to read the first 80 pages of my current non-fiction review read, What Your Heart Needs For The Hard Days by Holley Gerth, which is amazing and is speaking volumes of truth that I need to be reminded of to my heart so far! My goals for the rest of the read-a-thon are to finish my non-fiction book and hopefully read at least 100 pages of Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Spell It Out Challenge hosted by Kimberly Faye Reads

I decided to spell out my first name!

C-Catch A Falling Star by Beth Vogt

A-Almost Heaven by Jillian Hart

I-Insurgent by Veronica Roth

T-Take A Picture by Lena Goldfinch

L-Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

Y-Yesterday by Amanda Tru

N-A Noble Groom by Jody Hedlund

Bout of Books 11: Day Four Update and Day Five Challenges!

Day Four Update! I was really pleased that I was able to achieve my goal of finishing the first half of Circle of Spies today! I read 82 pages. Didn't get a chance to read the novella I had planned on reading but hoping to get to it on Friday!

Recreate a Book Cover Challenge hosted by Spines and Covers

This is actually a book cover recreation I did a while ago, which I decided to use for this challenge. It is a recreation of the cover of Meant To Be Mine by Becky Wade, the photo is of me and my horse Ogen!

The Real Cover...

My Recreation...

Book Chain Challenge hosted by Christian Bookshelf Reviews

So I was having a difficult time with this challenge, all the books I kept coming up with would only make a chain of two or three books not four so I know this chain isn't the best but it's the only one I could come up with today. 

A Moment In Time by Tracie Peterson

A Time To Love by Katie McCurdy

Love Finds A Home by Janette Oke

A Home For My Heart by Anne Mateer

Bout of Books 11: Day Three Update and Day Four Challenge!

Day Three Update: I was really pleased with the amount I was able to read today. I read another 45 pages of Circle of Spies which brought me over the one hundred page mark. And I was also able to read two short stories that were about 25 pages each, they were Fairy Slippers by Amber Stokes (Which I absolutely loved!) and The Foreboding by Travis Thrasher.

By the end of the day on Thursday I'm hoping to reach the halfway point of Circle Of Spies, and read a novella called Necessary Proof by Camy Tang.

Like This, Try This Challenge hosted by Writing My Own Fairytale

"You must recommend a book based on another book, movie, tv show, etc similar to this: “If you liked _____, you should try _____ because _____.”

If you liked this...

Anomaly by Krista McGee 

You should try this...

Remnants: Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren

Because... These are both amazing YA dystopian novels! They both have strong spunky female main characters. And a delightful cast of secondary characters. While the dystopian world building is different in each, the plot lines are similar in that in both there are teens that were created to help save the world. 

There is also a huge foundation of faith and hope which both of these books are built on, which is something a number of dystopians don't really have.