Review: Anchor in the Storm by Sarah Sundin

5 Stars!

I absolutely fell in love with Arch in the first book of this series, Through Waters Deep, and even though Lillian was not actually in book one I couldn't wait to 'meet' her! So needless to say I was totally looking forward to this book, it was one of my most anticipated releases of 2016! And I am absolutely thrilled to say that I was most definitely not disappointed! Anchor in the Storm exceeded every single one of my expectations, Arch and Lillian's adventure was every bit as amazing as I had hoped it would be! I don't even know where to begin gushing, I loved Lillian, she has a permanent spot on my list of most awesome heroines! And Arch, oh my goodness! It is not often that a fictional character makes me swoon, but he totally and completely did *and I may or may not have spent almost as much time staring at the cover model who portrays Arch as I did reading the book* 

I found it to be such a great message that Lillian and Arch are not perfect, they have both made mistakes in their pasts, and yet they are both willing to look past them and love the other for who they are inside! As a young, single woman I found that message to be incredibly meaningful and inspirational, on so many levels!  

The mystery was so good, I hated to set the book down! 

I admit that while I am a lover of historical fiction/romance, for the most part World War 2 is not my favorite time period and I don't often read books that are set during that time period but I always make a special exception for Sarah Sundin's books, they are absolutely phenomenal, so beautifully written with such fabulous historical detail that I feel as though I am living right alongside the characters in the 1940's. 

I highly recommend her books! 

I think Anchor in the Storm just may be my favorite of Ms. Sundin's books that I have read, though there are still five of her books that I need to read but I am hoping to remedy that before the end of this year! 

I just can't express how much I absolutely loved every single moment of Anchor in the Storm, it is definitely one that has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf and I plan to reread it many times in the future!

I look forward to the final book in the Waves of Freedom series, and all of her following releases! 

Sarah Sundin is one of my all time favorite authors! 

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

Bout of Books 16 Wrap Up!

I loved participating in this read-a-thon yet again! And even though I didn't have time to participate in any of the challenges I am absolutely thrilled with what I got read (even though I wasn't able to get Anchor in the Storm read!) 

Books I read from start to finish during the read-a-thon:

Dashing through the Snow by Debbie Macomber

Vanishing Act by Jennifer AlLee and Lisa  Karon Richardson

Shadows in the Mirror by Linda Hall

Three Wishes by Lisa T. Bergren

I also finished Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley on Tuesday.

My favorite read was definitely Vanishing Act. It was just soooo amazing! :D

Review: Girls Slimline Bible NLT Edition

5 Stars!!!

I have two Bibles (Besides this one!) a King James Version and a NIV God Sightings one year Bible, but I have wanted a slimline Bible like this one for a long time! Needless to say when I was offered the chance to review it I jumped on it! I have to say that the beautiful pink and green "Love" design on the cover is what first caught my eye! I was very surprised when I received this and first felt the cover: it's fuzzy! Which I wasn't expecting, but I actually really like it, even though the Bible is covered in fake fur it is very smooth and low pile, totally different than say, a shag rug, and it feels really soft and nice when I hold it in my hands! I also love the glitter around the edges of the cover, and I was very happy to discover that the glitter appears covered with some kind of plastic material so there is no chance of the glitter falling off and getting all over everything! Purple is my favorite color and I absolutely adore the purple edged pages! The same goes for the built-in orange ribbon book marker! This Bible is hardcover which gives it a very rugged, sturdy feel (I think it will last a long time) and also makes it very easy to read, and I love the slimline design! As for the inside of this Bible, I love the maps and that Christ's words are written in red, that makes it very easy to know when Jesus is speaking! Believe it or not I have never before owned a Bible that features a concordance, and I love that this one does, that is such a helpful feature! 

Overall, I love this Bible and I am so happy I got the opportunity to review it! It will become my everyday Bible, and I plan to continue using it for years to come! 

Oh, and I know that this particular Bible is aimed mainly at tween girls but I am almost twenty five years old and I can honestly say that I loved everything about this Bible! I truly believe that this Bible is totally worth buying and is an excellent choice for girls and women of all ages! 

Highly recommend!

I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from Tyndale House publishers in exchange for my honest review, which I have done!

All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own!

Bout of Books 16 Reading list/Goals!

My goal is to read these four books and also finish Dawn Comes Early by Margaret Brownley (Not pictured) which I should be able to finish on Tuesday!

I am really looking forward to all of these books!

Review: Someone Like You by Victoria Bylin

5 Stars!

I really enjoyed Victoria Bylin's contemporary debut, Until I Found You, when I read it a while back! But I must admit that the cover of this book is what first attracted me to it, I know, I know, never judge a book by its cover but isn't that cover just so gorgeous?! And I am delighted to say that the story inside was every bit as beautiful as the cover! 

I LOVED THIS BOOK! It was sooooo good, where do I even begin? I loved Zeke and Julia's romance, I have found that I really enjoy storylines where the hero and heroine dated sometime prior to the start of the book, things didn't work out and they parted ways only to be brought back together during the course of the story! Such was the case with Zeke and Julia, I loved watching them rekindle their romance! And then there was Hunter, oh how I detested him, (But I was clearly supposed to!)

I don't want to risk spoiling anything but I just have to say that I absolutely adored the sub-plot romance between George and Ellen, theirs was a totally unique story of true love finding you when and where you least expect it, I loved them as much if not even more than Zeke and Julia, I had the biggest smile on my face when I read about the two of them! 

Many times my favorite books are those in which the setting is described so vividly that it really becomes another character in the story, I loved Caliente Springs, and I felt like I was really there! One of the things I loved the most about this book was the faith story, it was so good, I found myself relating to Zeke and Julia in many ways. I was totally pulling for them and the ending just made me so happy! I can't end this review without mentioning Ladybug, the goat, oh my gosh she took this story to a whole other level, every single time this troublemaking goat made an appearance on the page I ended up laughing so hard my face hurt at all of her antics, while this book would have been every bit as wonderful without her, she totally MADE the story! I loved this book so much, as evidenced by the fact that I read it in under twenty-four hours! Someone Like You definitely has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf and will be on my favorite reads of 2016 list! Highly recommend!

I was honored to receive a complimentary copy of this amazing book from the author and publisher to help promote it! 

All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own! 

Review: Sins of the Past by Dee Henderson, Dani Pettrey and Lynette Eason

5 Stars!

When I first heard that this novella collection was going to be happening only one thought went through my mind, my three all time favorite romantic suspense authors together in one book? Yes, please! Needless to say Sins of the Past was my most anticipated read of 2016!

Missing by Dee Henderson-4.5 Stars!-

This story got the collection off to a great start! As a huge fan of Dee's O'Malley family series, I am happy to say that I feel like this one was a lot closer to her earlier books than her more recent ones. While the suspense wasn't quite the same as in the O'Malley books, Missing was still very suspenseful, I had no clue whether John's mother would survive. And I totally didn't guess the reason for her disappearance until right before it was revealed! I also really enjoyed the romance between John and Sharon, it was very fun and I felt that it was very well developed for a story this short! Overall, while this novella wasn't my favorite of the collection, I still really loved it!

Shadowed by Dani Pettrey-5 Stars!-

If you know me at all then you probably know what a huge fan I am of Dani's books! I absolutely adored every page of her Alaskan Courage series and I was over the moon excited when I found out that Dani's contribution to this collection would feature the parents of our beloved McKenna clan! Words truly cannot express how happy it made me to finally be introduced to Ben and Libby, I was completely enthralled with every single word of their adventure! I don't know how Dani does it but every time I think one of her books has reached the absolute pinnacle of awesomeness, the next ups the awesome factor tenfold. Such was the case with Shadowed, forgive me but I just can't seem to stop gushing, it was just SO perfect! The suspense was off the charts crazy, I loved it! One of the things I thought was so cool about this story was all the references to pop culture and things of the time, I'm only twenty four years old but those details helped to paint such a vivid picture that while I was reading the story I felt like I was really living in 1979! I could go on for days about how much I loved this book but for the sake of everyone reading this review and for fear of spoiling something I'll draw this gush-fest to a close! Let me end by saying that the ending of this book caused me to feel giddy tingles of pure happiness and I had the biggest grin on my face when I read the last few sentences! This was my favorite of the three novellas and as soon as I finished it I found myself wanting to read it all over again, and I plan to make sure I leave room in my schedule to re-read it many times in the future!

Blackout by Lynette Eason-5 Stars!-

Lynette Eason is another one of my favorite authors, I always love her stories and Blackout was no exception! Macey and Chad were both such great characters and I loved their story. This was such a unique take on a suspense storyline and I loved it! I really had no clue who the villain was and I was totally surprised when their identity was revealed! I was absolutely blown away by the intensity as well as the sheer number of suspenseful scenes that Lynette was able to squeeze into a story this short, I never had a chance to catch my breath and I loved it! This story also contains one of the most crazy suspenseful climax's that I have ever read, I was literally on the edge of my seat wanting to know what would happen next! I loved every minute of Blackout and I anticipate re-reading it many times in the future!

Sins of the Past is a novella collection that not only has a permanent spot on my keeper shelf but that all fans of romantic suspense NEED to read, you will not be sorry! This book will totally make my favorite books of 2016 list! 

I was honored to receive a complimentary copy of this amazing book from Author Dani Pettrey and Bethany House publishers in exchange for helping to promote it! Thank you! 

All thoughts and opinions are one hundred percent my own.

Review: Her One and Only by Becky Wade

5 Stars!!!

What an amazingly perfect, yet very bittersweet (For all us fans!) ending to the Porter family series! I have been so looking forward to Dru's story ever since book one and I was not disappointed in the slightest! I loved both Dru and Gray (Becky Wade has crafted yet another utterly swoon-worthy hero!) I liked how God used Dru to help strengthen His relationship with Gray, and vice versa, always such a wonderful thing to see in a romance novel! I loved the banter between Dru and Gray, as well as between Dru and her family so much, that has been one of my favorite things about this family since book one. I love that I can always count on Becky Wade to tug at my heart strings, make me smile and keep me chuckling from beginning to end and this book was no different! Words truly cannot express my depth of love for this book as well for the entire series! It was so awesome that this book provided closure in several different areas, I especially loved the conclusion of Meg and Bo's story! It's funny but I guess I felt about the Porter family similar to the way Mrs. Bennet (From Pride and Prejudice) felt about her children, that I wouldn't be truly happy until each sibling had found the love of their life. LOL! :D

As that is now the case, then, while I am sad to say goodbye to this fictional family that I love so much, I am completely and perfectly and incandescently happy that they are each living their happily ever after's and I can revisit them and their adventures any time I want to! 

I highly recommend Her One and Only to fans of contemporary romance with a suspense element (oh yes, how could I have forgotten about the suspense, it was sooo good! I absolutely loved that part of the story, and let me just say that I am usually able to figure out the identity of the villain(s) pretty early on but with this one there were so many possible suspects that my guess kept changing and until the ID was made I had no clue for sure who the guilty party was!)

While I think the books can definitely stand alone I would recommend reading them in order! Fans of the Porter family series are not going to want to miss this final installment! 

I cannot wait to see what else Becky Wade has in store for us!

 

Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for helping to promote it!