Review: You're the One that I Want by Susan May Warren

5 Stars!!!

If you know me at all then you know that I have been a HUGE fan of the Christiansen family since book one! I have adored every minute of this series and needless to say I loved this one as well, though I admit having to say goodbye to this amazing family was definitely bittersweet. In the previous books I never liked Owen much at all, so I was very curious to see how Susan May Warren would make me come to like him, I knew it would happen but I never expected to completely fall in love with Owen from chapter one, which is what happened! I also loved Scotty, I found myself relating to her quite a bit and I think she was the perfect match for Owen! 

Another thing that I loved about this book is how it contains references to two of my favorite things; The Princess Bride, and Les Mis, when I read those moments of the story I got this huge grin on my face, it was so totally awesome that Susan put them in the book! 

It goes without saying but I can't recommend this series enough, if you are a fan of contemporary romance and family sagas you NEED to read this series, you won't be sorry! 

Words truly cannot express how much I adored this book as well as the entire series, I can only say that the whole series has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf and that I hope to re-read the entire series from start to finish at least once a year in the future! 

This was such a great ending to the Christiansen family series and I love, love, LOVED every single minute of it! The epilogue was so beautiful and I will admit that even though I almost never cry at books, that epilogue made tears of joy (as well as sadness at the thought of saying  goodbye to one of my all time favorite casts of characters) spring to my eyes!

I can't wait to read whatever Susan May Warren writes next!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tyndale house for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, which I have done.

All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

 

Review: Step by Step By Candace Calvert

5 Stars!!!

This is the fourth book of Ms. Calvert's that I've read, having really enjoyed the others I jumped at the chance to review this one. I never would have to expected to love a story that centers around grief and loss, but this one was written in such a beautiful, inspiring and hope giving way that I can honestly say that I loved it! I ended up reading By Your Side (Book one in the Crisis Team series) and this one back to back, and while I really enjoyed By Your Side, I loved Step by Step! I loved both Taylor and Seth in book one and it was so great to read their story, they were such great, realistic and believable characters and I loved watching their story unfold! 

I know I'm sounding redundant but I don't feel like there is much I can say without spoiling something and I really did LOVE this book! I highly recommend Step by Step! 

This book has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf and I anticipate re-reading it many times in the future! I can't wait to read Sloane's story in the next Crisis Team novel, and I also look forward to reading all of Ms. Calvert's previous books that I haven't yet read! 

Overall, I absolutely loved Step by Step!

Thank you so much to the publisher, Tyndale house for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review, which I have done.

All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Review: Thin Ice by Irene Hannon

5 Stars!

I am a huge fan of Irene Hannon's suspense books, I have enjoyed every single one to date so needless to say I was greatly anticipating Thin Ice, I was not disappointed! I loved Christy and Lance, they were awesome main characters. I also loved how this book featured figure skating, something I've always wanted to learn to do. The suspense in this book was SO good, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I can't wait to read Finn's book when it releases! Another thing I really loved about this book was that we got to see Special Agent Mark Sanders again and get a bit of an update on his and Emily's lives, that was super cool, thanks for including it Irene! Thin Ice is definitely another one for the keeper shelf, I can't wait to see what Irene has in store for us next!!! I highly recommend Thin Ice as well as all of Irene's other suspense books! 

And on a side note, I love the cover! It will definitely be one of my favorite covers of 2016!

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

Bout of Books 15 Wrap Up!

I had a really busy Bout of Books this time around and I only managed to read two books, they were both really good though! And I was able to participate in all the challenges which I am really happy about!

Review: With This Ring? By Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, Mary Connealy and Melissa Jagears

5 Stars!!!

This is one of the best novella collections I've ever read, seriously! 

I found myself loving each story even more than the one before it! This book is so amazingly awesome, I loved every bit of it! Definitely a must read!!'

The Husband Maneuver by Karen Witemeyer

I am huge fan of Karen's books, I've read all of them to date! I loved Daniel and Marietta in A Worthy Pursuit and was hoping that we would get to read their happily ever after! They were such awesome characters and this was a really, really great novella, I loved it! Every single word. Especially how each chapter began with an excerpt from one of the fictional Dead-Eye Dan dime novels. I don't want to risk giving anything away so I will just say that this novella is definitely a must read, all Ms. Witemeyer's fans will be immensely pleased with this latest release!

Her Dearly Unintended by Regina Jennings

I've read a couple of this author's books and really enjoyed them both. This was a really great novella! I got a real kick out of the characters, I thought it was really neat how Katie Ellen was an inventor, and the fact that she and Josiah had known each other for years prior to the start of the story really prevented things from ever feeling rushed. This was such a fun story with some absolutely hilarious moments! I loved every moment!

Runaway Bride by Mary Connealy

I have read several of Mary Connealy's books and really enjoyed them all! This novella will definitely go down in history as one of my favorites of her books! So, so good! John and Carrie were such a great couple, I also really liked Carrie's brother Isaac. It was really super cool how Mary connected this story to several of her past books (Many of which I have yet to read!) but I was still able to appreciate how cool that was, and I have no doubt that that element of the story will absolutely delight Mary's many fans and win her new ones as well! I loved this novella so much too. By the time I read this was one it was becoming obvious that it was going to be impossible to choose a favorite novella in the collection!

Engaging The Competition by Melissa Jagears

Having read and enjoyed two of this author's books I was very much looking forward to this novella! I was most definitely not disappointed! I loved both Harrison and Charlotte, and I especially loved how Melissa turned the typical situation (The man being the tough rancher who isn't the most sophisticated, while the woman is the sophisticated city person whose talents lie in books and teaching) completely on its head. With Charlotte being the rancher and Harrison being the teacher, which was so cool! I loved that in this novella as well the characters knew each other for years prior to the start of the novella! This is another one that I loved, I told you it was impossible to choose a favorite! This novella as well as the entire collection is most definitely a must read for historical romance fans!

I can already tell you that With This Ring? will be on my list of favorite reads of 2016, yes I know it's only January but seriously it's that good!

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House publishers and author Melissa Jagears in exchange for my review. Thanks!

The above is my honest review, all thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Bout Of Books 15 Day Six Challenge!

Comfy Reading Spot Challenge!

I have several comfy reading spots in my house. But this one maybe my favorite, when I read in this chair it feels like sitting on a cloud and I love how I always end up totally snuggling up into a nice comfy, cozy place to read for an extended period of time!

Bout of Books 15 Day Five Challenge!

Book Scavenger Hunt:

1. Book Shelves

2. A book you’re planning to read/currently reading for Bout of Books

3. A Book and a Beverage

4. Blue Books

5. Cozy Reading Spot: That hammock (Minus the people in it of course, LOL!) looks like the perfect cozy reading spot to me!

Bout of Books 15 Day Four Challenge!

Villain Mash Up Challenge

Here are the rules for the challenge:

Pick villains from two different books that you would love to see fight each other. It can be from any genre and it doesn't even have to be a physical fight. It could be a verbal one as well.

Give a short reason why you think these villains should fight each other

It took me a while to come up with a pairing for this challenge but I finally decided on Creighton from The Rook by Steven James versus Jane from

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer. Yes, I'm aware that these are two completely different genres. Jane possesses an ability to incapacitate the one victim she is focusing on by putting them in  excruciating pain, Creighton has a physical condition that makes him unable to feel physical pain, in fact the ability to feel pain is actually one of his goals in life. Since Jane's ability is mental (She does it without ever touching her victim) I wonder whether Creighton would be affected by it. I have no idea who would win in this fight but it would be interesting to see who would win in a fight between a completely evil human versus a completely evil vampire.

Bout of Books 15 Day Three Challenge!

Rainbow Challenge!

For the author challenge, use authors surnames to complete an acrostic poem style rainbow of ROYGBIV – you can only use surnames and no prefixes (eg. Vincent van Gogh could be used for a G, not a V). Any ‘writer’ is acceptable, for example, playwrights, poets and comic book/graphic novel authors)

Try to fill your list with authors you have read, and that way I can learn about you and your tastes! If not, branch out and select an author you would like to read. If you still can’t find an author (I’m looking at you, Y) then select someone people have likely heard of!

R – Reed, Terri

O – Orchard, Sandra

Y – Y'Barbo, Kathleen

G – Ganshert, Katie

B – Bergren, Lisa

I – Irvin, Kelly

V – Vogt, Beth

Bout of Books 15 Day Two Challenge

Would you rather:

Lend books to someone who dog-ears pages or to someone who reads with cheesy Cheetos fingers?

Someone who dog-ears pages.

Would you rather:

Be able to meet one character of your choice or meet one author of your choice?

Author

Would you rather:

Never be allowed in a book store again or never be allowed in a library again?

Book store.

Would you rather:

Have to choose one of your favorite characters to die in their book or have to pick one of your favorite couples to break up in their book?

Break up, and then have them get back together in the next book! ;)

Would you rather:

Be required to read Twilight once a year for the rest of your life or The Scarlet Letter once a year for the rest of your life?

Twilight, I am a big fan so this would not be a hardship for me at all!