The Dating Charade

Just when you think you’ve met your match . . . the charade begins.

Cassie Everson is an expert at escaping bad first dates. And, after years of meeting, greeting, and running from the men who try to woo her, Cassie is almost ready to retire her hopes for a husband—and children—altogether.

But fate has other plans, and Cassie’s online dating profile catches the eye of firefighter Jett Bentley. In Jett’s memory, Cassie Everson is the unreachable girl-of-legend from their high school days. Nervously, he messages her, setting off a chain of events that forces a reluctant Cassie back into the dating game.

No one is more surprised than Cassie when her first date with Jett is a knockout. But when they both go home and find three children dropped in their laps—each—they independently decide to do the right and mature thing: hide the kids from each other while sorting it all out. What could go wrong?

Melissa Ferguson’s hilarious and warmhearted debut reminds us that love can come in very small packages—and that sometimes our best-laid plans aren’t nearly as rewarding and fun as the surprises that come our way.


My Rating: 5 Stars(and then some!)
What a charming debut novel! It gets ALL the stars!! I literally laughed my way through most of this book, it was a such a fun read. There are a few serious moments in the book as well and I loved every minute of it, the serious and the fun. I will be on the lookout for more from Melissa and I am already counting days till her next release!! She has a new fan in me.

The Tea Chest

Boston, 1773
Emma Malcolm's father is staunchly loyal to the crown, but Emma's heart belongs to Noah Winslow, a lowly printer's assistant and Patriot. But her father has promised her hand to Samuel Clarke, a rapacious and sadistic man. As his fiance, she would have to give up Noah and the friends who have become like family to her--as well as the beliefs she has come to embrace.

After Emma is drawn into the treasonous Boston Tea Party, Samuel blackmails her with evidence that condemns each participant, including Noah. Emma realizes she must do whatever it takes to protect those she loves, even if it means giving up the life she desires and becoming Samuel's wife.

Present Day
Lieutenant Hayley Ashworth is determined to be the first woman inducted into the elite Navy SEALs. But before her dream can be realized, she must return to Boston in order to put the abuse and neglect of her childhood behind her. When an unexpected encounter with the man she once loved leads to the discovery of a tea chest and the document hidden within, she wonders if perhaps true strength and freedom are buried deeper than she first realized.

Two women, separated by centuries, must find the strength to .fight for love and freedom. . . and discover a heritage of courage and faith.

My Rating: 4 Stars
What a skillfully woven tale! Heidi wove the stories of Emma and Hayley beautifully with their struggles and fears being very similar despite the over 200 years separating them. The story overall reads quickly(at least for me) but it wasn't the easiest read for me due to some of the heartbreaking moments as well as a couple of other plot points that happen during Emma's story line. I enjoyed the mystery for Hayley and Ethan to find out more about the Tea Chest and learning about Noah and Emma in the process. Both women's journeys were interesting and held my attention. All in all, an enjoyable read-just be warned there are a couple scenes not for the faint of  heart. 

I received this book from the author and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my own

The Art Of Friendship

In this age of limitless digital connections, we are somehow lonelier than ever. This isn't just bad news--it's dangerous news. Loneliness puts us at greater health risk than smoking or obesity, but we would sooner label ourselves overweight than admit we are lonely. It is a secret that is killing us.

Contrary to all our efforts, the answer is not found in more connections, but deeper ones that mirror God himself as the originator of friendship and the original Friend. The Art of Friendship walks with you into a greater understanding of how God has equipped you to be a friend and to have meaningful friendships. With step-by-step guidance, you will begin to strategize how to fulfill your divine calling as a friend. And through God's Word, as you come to understand the depth and width and breadth of God as Friend, you will discover that the spiritual discipline of friendship is both life-changing and life-giving.

My Rating: 4 Stars
This is a fantastic read. It has a lot of "meat" and things to chew on within it's pages. It's a relatively short book for all that it packs in between its covers. Kim is very good at explaining the ways she breaks down the behind the scenes stuff of making, being and keeping friendship going in day to day life. Interspersed with real life anecdotes from Kim's own experiences, this book lays it all out there of how to be a friend the way Jesus is a friend to us and how he desires for us to have these types of friendship while on Earth. Very compelling read and one I will refer back to again and again.

I received this book from the publisher and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my honest opinion.

Cover Reveal!

I am pleased to share with you the cover for book 3 in Roseanna White’s Codebreakers series! First off here’s a little about the book.

Zivon Marin was one of Russia’s top cryptographers, until the October Revolution tore apart his world. Forced to flee after speaking out against Lenin and separated from his brother along the way, he arrives in England driven by a growing anger and determined to offer his services to the Brits.

Lily Blackwell sees the world best through the lens of a camera—and possesses unsurpassed skill when it comes to retouching and recreating photographs. With her father’s connections in propaganda, she’s recruited to the intelligence division, even though her mother would disapprove.
After Captain Blackwell invites Zivon to dinner one evening, a friendship blooms between him and Lily. He sees patterns in what she deems chaos; she sees beauty in a world he thought destroyed. But both have secrets they’re unwilling to share, and no one is quite certain where Zivon's loyalties really lie—until his enemies are discovered to be far closer than he’d feared, and only Lily's skills can save him.

Isn’t that cover gorgeous?? What do you think??

The Blizzard Bride

A Blizzard Changes Everything

Abigail Bracey arrives in Nebraska in January 1888 to teach school…and to execute a task for the government: to identify a student as the hidden son of a murderous counterfeiter—the man who killed her father.

Agent Dashiell Lassiter doesn’t want his childhood sweetheart Abby on this dangerous job, especially when he learns the counterfeiter is now searching for his son, too, and he’ll destroy anyone in his way. Now Dash must follow Abby to Nebraska to protect her…if she’ll let him within two feet of her. She’s still angry he didn’t fight to marry her six years ago, and he never told her the real reason he left her.

All Dash wants is to protect Abby, but when a horrifying blizzard sweeps over them, can Abby and Dash set aside the pain from their pasts and work together to catch a counterfeiter and protect his son—if they survive the storm?

My Rating: 5 Stars

This was such a fun historical read! This is my first read of The Daughters of the Mayflower series but I will be looking in to more of them. This book has great characters, an interesting(and based on true events) plot and a satisfying conclusion. And can we talk about that cover?? It is so pretty! The blizzard element made for some exciting and tense moments and the mystery angle was really good. All in all, this was an enjoyable and easy read. This book perfect for curling up with a blanket, a cup of tea/coffee and reading to your heart's content.

I received this book from the author and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my own.  

End Game

When elite members of the military are murdered on the streets of Washington, DC, FBI Special Agent Bailey Ryan and NCIS Special Agent Marco Agostini must work together to bring the perpetrator to justice. Unfortunately, all evidence points to a Navy SEAL sniper whom Bailey refuses to believe is guilty.

When Bailey and Marco start to connect the dots between the victims, including a link to a powerful defense contractor, they wonder if there's a deeper cover-up at play. Then Bailey is targeted, and it becomes clear that someone is willing to kill to keep their dark secrets.

With the stakes getting higher by the moment in a twisted conspiracy, there's a rush against the clock to determine whom they can really trust. As allies turn to enemies, the biggest secret yet to be uncovered could be the end of all of them.


My Rating: 5 Stars
What an introduction to Rachel's new series! This book had lots of surprises in store and the mystery was fantastic. I really liked the NCIS part of the story and Marco was a great NCIS agent. I actually really liked all the characters. Rachel built a great team of people for this story and I look forward to seeing more of all of them, Izzy was a particular favorite of mine and I loved the father/daughter connection she made with Jay and the surprises that resulted from that bond. I have read some of Rachel's Love Inspired books before this but this was my first full length novel of hers. I will be looking up her previous series soon as I totally enjoyed her writing style. It was a quick easy read that held my attention extremely well. Need book two as soon as possible!!

I received this book from the publisher and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my own.

Three Widows and a Corpse

Food blogger Hope Early finds one item not on her scavenger hunt list--a dead husband . . .

Between developing her food blog, Hope at Home, and choosing low-cal recipes for a feature in Cooking Now! magazine, Hope has a full plate. Still, she's never too busy to compete in a Jefferson, Connecticut, tradition--the town's annual scavenger hunt.

But as she races with her team to check off the next item, Hope discovers a grisly surprise--the body of shady real estate developer Lionel Whitcomb, shot in a parking lot. His wife Elaine, who's also in the hunt, gasps and nearly faints. But two other women on the scene cry out that their husband is dead.

It turns out this louse of a spouse was more than a little lax in legally divorcing his former wives. Did one of them put a bullet in the bigamist? Number one suspect and number three wife Elaine begs Hope to investigate. Now Hope is on a new kind of hunt--for a cold-hearted killer and triple widow-maker . . .

Includes Recipes from Hope's Kitchen!

My Rating: 4 Stars
This was easily the best of the series so far. I have enjoyed the previous books in the set but this one was a step above those. The mystery was very good and kept me entertained throughout the read. The culprit was a bit of a surprise and the end was cute. Looking forward to the next installment!

I received this book from NetGalley and was not required to post a positive review. All thoughts are my own.