"Love Unexpected" by Jody Hedlund is Enjoyable and Heartwarming

Love Unexpected by Jody Hedlund is a heartwarming historical romance novel about Patrick, a lighthouse keeper with a 2-yr.-old boy (Josiah) who marries Emma the first day he meets her, the day of his wife’s funeral.  He has left his former criminal lifestyle and has become a God fearing man of God, but is Emma really safe with him?  How did his former wife die?  Can Patrick really put his past behind him?  Can Emma trust him?  Has he really changed?  Will she stay when she discovers the truth about him and his boy?  I’m not saying, you’ll have to read the book.  This is the first of the “Beacons of Hope” series and I look forward to reading more.

I enjoyed this heartwarming clean romance novel and was rooting for Patrick and Emma all the way.  It is a good read based on true lives of lighthouse keepers in Michigan from the 1800s.  I was surprised to learn pirating existed on the Great Lakes back then. 

(Karen's review, 4 stars)  

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The SEARCH" by Suzanne Woods Fisher is abouth Family Secrets

There's a dog and cat in this one!

The Search by Suzanne Woods Fisher is the third book in her Lancaster County Secrets series that is another good read!  It is about young love, forgiveness, grief, God’s sovereignty and new beginnings.  This is a story about an Amish man, Jonah and his daughter, Bess who believes her grandmother when she says “good things take time.”  Her grandmother, Bertha, has a rose farm and has a knack for knowing everyone’s business and getting her way.  She was my favorite character in this book.  Lainey is an Englisher, raised in the foster care system but who has returned to the community and decides she wants to join the Amish church.  Her and Bertha both have a big secret.  When Bess goes to live with her grandmother for the summer, she learns many things.  

I enjoyed this book with the humor, the big dog, the window into Amish living, the romance, the heartwarming plot and the fantastic ending!   The first two books in this series are The CHOICE and The WAITING.

(Karen's review, 4 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The WAITING" by Suzanne Woods Fisher--A Beautiful Amish Romance

The WAITING by Suzanne Woods Fisher topped The CHOICE!  In The Waiting, Jorie King, the main character who helps her grandparents on their Amish horse farm and agrees to teach school finally finds love.  This is a great story that focuses on one particular Amish family, the Zooks.  The oldest, Cal is left with his young daughter, Maggie and his three brothers--Ben, Matthew, and Ephraim when his beloved wife dies of Cancer.  Cal stepped up to run the family farm when their parents died.  Issues in this book include life struggles, family issues, faith, education, judging others, relationships and coming of age.

I absolutely loved this book and look forward to reading more by this wonderful author.  The romance is clean, the Christian theme runs throughout without being preachy and it's thought provoking.  I cheered out loud at a couple parts--once when Cal through Ben's medications into the garbage and when the test results came back for Jorie's 8th graders.  Ephraim was my favorite character. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Choice" by Suzanne Woods Fisher is Very Good Christian Romance

The Choice, the first in the “Secrets in Lancaster” series by Suzanne Woods Fisher is about romance in an Amish community along with Englishers.  This is an enjoyable read with a love triangle and some hard times that work out for good.  It is a story of faith,  mercy and forgiveness with several interesting characters and a bit of humor.  As an Amish girl, Carry must choose to run off with Sol as he pursues a professional baseball career as a pitcher, an Amish boy who has not yet been baptized that she is in love with or stay and take care of her brother when her father dies, remaining faithful to the Amish ways.  She wants him to stay but he does not want to miss his opportunity for more.

I particularly liked the way the author followed the lives of several different people and didn’t just focus all on the main character and her relationships.  This book touches on many different aspects of Amish life and I look forward to reading others by this author.  This would be a good Book Club read and has discussion questions in the back.    I recommend this to anyone who enjoys  clean romances or  Amish stories.  (I read this on my Kindle so no cat pictured, sorry!)

(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"The Remaining: After the Rapture, There are Fates Worse Than Death"

The Remaining:  After the Rapture, There are Fates Worse Than Death by Travis Thrasher is a thriller.  The first part of the book sets the scene--a picture perfect day with an outside wedding that goes according to plan, but . . . then a trumpet sounds, the sky goes black and people begin to die.  Is it the rapture as predicted in the Bible or something else?  Soon only a few members of the wedding party are left.  Will they find a way out?  Do they have long kept secrets to tell before the world ends?  Once that trumpet sounds, this book gets very good! 

I loved the ending and the message it sends.  This book is a movie too!  So do both or just one but give it a chance.
(Gerard's review, 5+ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Remembered" by Tamera Alexander is a Funny Historical Western Romance

Remembered by Tamera Alexander is the third book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles Series.  I really loved the first two books in this series so was excited to read this one as well which proved to be good too!  It is about Veronique's journey from Paris, France to Willow Springs in Colorado territory to try to find her father to fulfill her mother's dying wish.  Her father was a good man who left her and her mother behind when he came to America when she was just a little girl.  Veronique had quite the culture shock when she first arrived and quickly became known by everyone in the small town with her pretty fancy dresses and her French words.  She learns about herself and finds romance she did not expect on her journey. 

I liked this book because of the humor in it and I enjoyed reading about the funny and sometimes scary things that happened to Veronique.  It was also nice reading about some of the characters from the previous books in this series, but this book can also stand alone.  If you like Christian historical romance and western fiction, I highly recommend it.
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Rekindled and Revealed are the first two books of this Fountain Creek Chronicles series.

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Heaven Sent Rain" by Lauraine Snelling is Great Contemporary Christian Fiction! (UPDATED)

Heaven Sent Rain by Lauraine Snelling is about Dinah Taylor, a single woman who is a biochemist and CEO of her own company with a quiet, orderly life until it gets turned upside down when she befriends a small boy, Jonah, and his dog, Mutt.  She finds herself really caring for the little kid and before she knows it, he becomes a big part of her life—bigger than she ever imagined.  Dinah is bitter against God for letting her little brother and her aunt die when she was a young girl.  When Jonah’s dog gets hurt, it’s Dinah he calls for help which is how she meets Dr. Garrett, the vet.  I loved how he would paint pictures of the pets and their owners to give to them.

I loved this book because I liked all the characters and I couldn’t help feeling sorry for Jonah and pulling for Dinah to trust God again.  I enjoyed the veterinarian and Dr. Garret became my favorite character who painted and had dogs, birds, and a cat for pets.  This book was recommended by Best Friends.  I loved it!  It is heartwarming contemporary Christian fiction that includes animals and a bit of romance with discussion questions included in the back for book club use. 
(Karen's review, 5 stars)

  
Gerard says:
This novel is about a young boy named Jonah and his dog, Mutt. They are befriended by a woman, Dinah.  When Mutt has a problem, Dinah takes the boy and his dog to the vet and meet Dr. Garret who helps all three of them!  This book has plenty of action that kept me turning pages.  The relationships in this novel carry it because they are done so well.  I highly recommend this one and encourage to you put it on your TBR list!
(Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!

"Revealed" by Tamera Alexander

Revealed by Tamera Alexander is an historical Christian fiction romance that I thoroughly enjoyed reading from beginning to end.  This is the sequel to Rekindled which I also enjoyed and is the second book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles series.  Although the ending was predictable, I loved the journey with humor, action and interesting characters.  This is about Annabelle, a former prostitute who marries the man who bought her from the brothel.  Right off the bat, she finds herself a widow with a very antagonistic brother-in-law, Matthew.  The novel beautifully shows how people can change and become new creatures in Christ.  Both Annabelle and Matthew have pasts they would rather forget.  Once I started, it was hard to put this one down!  I highly recommend it.  

(Karen's review, 5 stars)

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. Happy Reading!