Review: Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk

4 Stars!

This was a cute, fun novella about second chances and God bringing about all things perfectly in His perfect timing! I enjoyed the characters though I don't think any of them were favorites. I would love to see a story written about Hope's friend Amity and Pastor Dan, that would be such a fun story!

I found the premise to be very unique and enjoyable, I think this novella was one of the more realistic romances I've read and so that was nice. I knew from the first moment what Aunt Verna was planning, and I must say it cracked me up how she was fabricating a story as she went along! 

Overall, this was a great novella that I'm very glad to have had the opportunity to read! I recommend it! 

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. 

Bout of Books 12 Wrap Up!

During this read-a-thon I read three books in their entirety, Triails and Targets by Kelly Eileen Hake, Four: Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth, and A Brush With Love by Rachel Hauck. 

I was also able to read the first half of Tried and True by Mary Connealy, which I am loving so far! 

I'm thrilled with what I was able to get read during Bout of Books 12!

I also participated in most of the challenges, they were all so much fun!!!

Bout of Books 12 Update and Day 7 Challenges!

Yesterday I finished Four: Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth. Today I finished A Brush With Love by Rachel Hauck, loved it! Now about to start Tried and True by Mary Connealy.

In Six Words Challenge hosted by Falling Down The Book Hole

I chose to use books from two of my all time favorite series!

Thrilling, terrifying, suspenseful. Yet incredibly inspiring! 

-The Patrick Bowers files by Steven James-

Luca, Marcello, action, romance, medieval Italy! 

-Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren-

The River of life flows forever!

-Deluge by Lisa T. Bergren-

My Dysfunctional Book Family hosted by Auggie Talk

Out of all the books you've ever read and all the characters you've ever known who would you choose to be in your family?

The directions

Select your characters and give each of them a title (mom, dad, sister, uncle, cousin). Get goofy or be super serious. Up to you!

 

Tell me a little bit about WHY you'd choose these characters for their spot in your fam!

 

Now have a bit of fun and tell me (in a short sentence or a long paragraph) HOW is your family dysfunctional. ;)

Here's mine!

Mom and Dad would be Ingrid and John Christiansen from the Christiansen family series by Susan May Warren. Luca Forelli would be my brother and Marcello Forelli would be my cousin, both characters are from The River Of Time Series by Lisa T. Bergren. Piper McKenna from The Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey would be my sister. Silas and Eden Ballantyne from Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz would be my Uncle and Aunt. Louise Turner from Where Treetops Glisten by Cara Putman, Sarah Sundin and Tricia Goyer would be my Grandmother. And Lazarro Rossi from the Wedding by Bella series by Janice Thompson would be my Grandfather. 

John and Ingrid are awesome parents so they would be perfect for this family. Luca and Marcello would each be super protective of me as my brother and cousin, plus I would love to talk then into teaching me how to fence! Piper and I would get along great and it would be super fun for her to be the sister I never had! I just think Eden and Silas would be a really cool Aunt and Uncle. I love both Louise and Lazarro and I think it would be so fun to pair them together as my Grandparents! 

I am sure this family would be dysfunctional (and definitely loud!) due to all their different points of view, cultures, personalities and the fact that they are all from different places and different times in history but when it comes down to it I think after we got to know each other we would truly become each other's best friends, and work together as one! This would be a loud, dysfunctional, wonderful family and it would be a true joy for me to spend even one day worshiping Jesus with them! 

Bout of Books 12 Day 5 Update!

On Thursday I finished my first book of this read-a-thon as well as my first book of the new year! It was also a new-to-me- author, the book was Trails and Targets by Kelly Eileen Hake. I really enjoyed it and am very much looking forward to the next installment! I'm currently reading Four: Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth, I'm halfway through and hoping to finish it tonight (Friday). My goal for the rest of the read-a-thon is to finish my current read, read A Brush With Love by Rachel Hauck, and start Tried and True by Mary Connealy. 

Bout of Books 12 Day 4 Challenge!

Synopsis Challenge hosted by Lulo Fangirl

"Sometimes it only takes a couple of sentences to determine whether a person will read a book. But nowadays, some of the synopses on the back of books are too long.

Your mission — should you choose to accept it — is to:

Create your own synopsis. In 3-5 sentences.

For any of the books you have read or plan to read during the read-a-thon!

You can be as creative as you’d like!"

Sometimes it only takes a couple of sentences to determine whether a person will read a book. But nowadays, some of the synopses on the back of books are too long.

Your mission — should you choose to accept it — is to:

Create your own synopsis. In 3-5 sentences.

For any of the books you have read or plan to read during the read-a-thon!

You can be as creative as you’d like!

Here's mine!

"Want to know what my life was like beFour I met Six? Before the ending of Allegiant turned me into an emotional wreck? Maybe why I chose Dauntless? Time is the most precious gift there is, I can't fathom why you would want to but if you choose to spend some of your precious hours on earth listening to me tell my story from my own lips I will be eternally grateful."

Sincerely, Tobias Eaton

 

-Four: Divergent Story Collection by Veronica Roth-

Bout of Books 12 Day 3 Challenge!

Character Coupling Challenge

Hosted by Writing My Own Fairy Tale

"1. You must take two characters from two different books and put them together in a relationship. Make sure you list the book and author that the characters comes from.

1. You must explain why you put them together.
2. The relationship is up to you (friendship, romantic, parental, etc.), let’s just keep it appropriate, please.
3. Characters must come from different books and series. Same author is okay with me as long as they aren’t in the same series or a companion series."

The first thing that came to mind was a friendship coupling. I think that Caitlin McKae from Yankee in Atlanta by Jocelyn Green and Mercy/Charlotte from Traces of Mercy and Finding Mercy by Michael Landon Jr and Cindy Kelley would be great friends. For starters they both disguised themselves as men in order to fight in the Civil War, albeit on opposite sides, they were both injured and brought to cities that were major strongholds for their enemy, for Caitlin a Union soldier it was Atlanta, Georgia, and for Mercy it was St Louis, Missouri, because of this they both learned to respect and better understand the people they one thought of as enemies. This journey led both of them to become braver, stronger, and better people. They each also fell in love with a man who was technically considered their enemy at one time. I love both of these characters and their stories so much, and I really think that with their shared experiences, their personal growth, and the lives they led after the war, they would get along really well and be great friends. I can almost picture both of these characters sitting down together to a noisy albeit laughter filled meal with all of their family members! Also if these two characters ever met and became friends it would make for an awesome story of two exceptional women working to help unite the country again after the Civil War!

Bout of Books Day 2 Challenge!

Hosted by Trees of Reverie

"The Challenge: You’ve just started to work at a bookstore (or library) - what are your top ten go-to book recommendations?"

1. The River of Time series by Lisa T. Bergren

2. The Alaskan Courage series by Dani Pettrey

3. The Patrick Bowers Files by Steven James

4. Short Straw Bride and Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer

5. The Deadly Reunions series by Lynette Eason

6. The Guardians of Justice series by Irene Hannon

7. The Doctor's Lady by Jody Hedlund

8. The Culper Ring series by Roseanna M. White

9. Undeniably Yours and Meant to be Mine by Becky Wade 

10. A Broken Kind of Beautiful by Katie Ganshert

Check out the challenge at: http://treesofreverie.com/post/107288766633/bout-of-books-12-challenge-top-10-recommendations

Bout of Books 12 Bookshelf Scavenger Hunt Challenge!

Hosted By Caught Read Handed 

(Love that blog title by the way!)

Find a book with the following criteria on a bookshelf:

1. Find an author with the same initials as you: The Hatmaker's Heart by Carla Stewart

2. Find a book with the color yellow on it: Love's Reckoning by Laura Frantz

3. Find an author’s name with the letter “S” in it: Steven James

4. Find a book with a female protagonist: Anomaly by Krista McGee

5. Find the longest book you own: NIV God Sightings one year bible

6. Find a book with a map in it or on it: Riptide by Elizabeth Goddard (An antique map is a key point of the story which is mentioned in the synopsis)

7. Find a book with a face on it (photograph or illustrated) Yesterday by Amanda Tru

Bout of Books 12 Sign up!

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 5th and runs through Sunday, January 11th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 12 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. - From the Bout of Books team

I finally got around to signing up or this read a thon! I don't have a clue how much reading I will be able to get done but I'm very much looking forward to participating again!

Monthly Reflections #18 and 19!

I ended up completely forgetting to do my post for November, so here it is combined with my December post. My goal for November was to read at least 6 books and I managed to exceed it! I read 9 books in the month of November! 

The books were:

1. Undercover Marriage by Terri Reed

2. The Icing on the Cake by Janice Thompson

3. Christmas Cover Up by Lynette Eason

4. A November Bride by Beth Vogt

5. Airs Above The Ground by Mary Stewart

6. A Distant Melody by Sarah Sundin

7. Christmas Roses by Amanda Cabot

8. October Baby by Eric Wilson 

9. Bourne by Lisa T. Bergren (Re-read)

For December I didn't have a set number of books as my goal but there were several books I wanted to get read and I managed to get to them all! Overall, I was very pleased with the amount of reading I was able to get done in the last two months!

The books I read in December were:

1. A Most Inconvenient Marriage by Regina Jennings

2. Double Crossed by Ally Carter

3. Checkmate by Steven James

4. Dangerous Passage by Lisa Harris 

5. Where Treetops Glisten by Cara Putman, Sarah Sundin and Tricia Goyer

6. Tributary by Lisa T. Bergren (Re-read)

7. Deluge by Lisa T. Bergren

I absolutely loved almost all of these books so this is one time where it is impossible to choose a favorite!!!

I don't know how busy I'm going to be in January so I'm going to stick with a small goal, 5 books!