This is a very quick read that can be read at any time of the year. Blossom and her family are moving to Texas to improve themselves. Blossom is a newspaper writer that wants to get her big story. She does not know that it will happen for her in a small town on their way to a new life. Blossom learns that she is stronger than she thinks as she helps another family. This is very emotional and inspirational. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a four out of five stars.
She relinquished her childhood home. Abandoned her former life. And set off for a faraway valley that’s touted as magical. As an aspiring newspaper reporter, Blossom Evans expects to find plenty of material with which to carve out a career. But alarming tales about the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas abound. Barely tamed, rugged brush land. Mexican bandits. Wildcats, rattlesnakes, and tarantulas as big around as dinner plates. Where will she find the courage to face—and overcome—such foes, even for her dream career?The first hint of an answer lies in the sleepy little West Texas town of Winters. An unexpected conflict is brewing, one that could launch a reporter’s career—or crush it before it begins.How will Blossom be lured into the fray? And where will she find the temerity to confront this particular brand of evil? It’s Christmas Eve 1923, and Blossom Evans is about to discover what’s she made of.
As always these stories are well written and full of emotion. Each of these authors tells a wonderful Amish romance that will make you laugh and cry. As the title says we have returned to the Big Valley. I love all the characters. I never get tired of all the wonderful descriptions that are woven in to these stories. I received a copy of this book from the author and Barbour publishing for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
The Brunstetters Return to a Unique Amish Setting for Three New Stories of Love
Journey back to an area of Pennsylvania that is home to three distinct Amish communities and meet three young women who face heartfelt disappointments in romance.
Wilma’s Wish by Wanda E. Brunstetter Wilma Hostetler has been courted by Israel Zook for the last year, and he’s recently proposed marriage. But when his sister dies, leaving him to care for five young nephews who openly dislike Wilma, she has second thoughts of starting with a ready-made family and decides to call off the wedding. Can anything be done to restore the relationship, or will Israel seek another wife?
Martha’s Miracle by Jean Brunstetter Martha Yoder is different from other Amish women in her love of hunting and the outdoors. Meeting Glen Swarey, who is working with the local fire department, seems to be a good match. But can Martha accept Glen’s thoughts of leaving the Amish faith, or will she walk away from a chance at love?
Alma’s Acceptance by Richelle Brunstetter Alma Wengerd is a young widow who leaves her home in Kentucky to stay with friends in Pennsylvania. Soon she is speeding into a renewed romance with Elias Kurtz and raising the brows of the older church members. When Alma is waylaid by some unexpected news, could putting her happiness with Elias on hold be her only option?
I love this cozy mystery series. It is nice when the lead character is not a 20 something. It is nice that Bernie has her hot flashes and loves her mail carrier job. I love Iris and want to try her baked goods. This series has everything you need for a great cozy. I am glad that Bernie and Mac are settling in to their dating and I am looking forward to many more books in this series. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Tonya Kappes brings community, friendships, and family together in this heartwarming southern cozy mystery series.
Sugar Creek Gap is a southern small town where everyone puts their differences aside in order to come together for the greater good of the cozy knit community. But when a citizen, Jeff Faulkner, goes missing from the annual Sugar Creek Gap High School fundraiser, the rumor mill starts to turn faster and faster, churning up the past that puts Jeff Faulkner in the spot light. Bernadette Butler, a local mail carrier, hears all the gossip swirling around while delivering the mail on route.
Hearsay says Jeff ran off because his payment for an old gambling debt came due or he ran off with another women making both assumptions irrelevant after Rowena, Bernadette’s feline, finds Jeff’s lifeless body.
Heartbroken for Jeff’s family, Bernie knows all too well what it feels like to become a widow and a son fatherless.
Bernie can’t help but collect clues with all the gossip flowing faster than she can deliver the mail, putting her smack dab in the middle of the investigation that has more twists and turns than the roads where Bernie drives her mail carrier truck.
I have loved all of these books in this series. I love that the author takes a true happening and puts their own characters in the story to help solve the crimes. I love Polly and Edwin. I really liked how the “Shadows” thoughts were given throughput the book. I love that Polly gained more confidence in her ability to be a reporter as the story unfolds. Edwin also learns some good lessons. I received a copy of this book from Celebratelit for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
About the Book
Book: The Silver Shadow
Author: Liz Tolsma
Genre: Christian Historical/Suspense
Release date: May 2021
A Shadowy Figure Is Intent on Harming Denver’s Women
Book 11 in the True Colors series—Fiction Based on Strange-But True History
Denver of 1900 is still a dangerous place to be following the silver crash of 1893. And of out of the dark comes a shadow intent on harming women. Ambitious young Denver newspaper reporter Polly Blythe is searching for the big story that’s going to launch her career. On Friday evening, August 24, 1900, she gets her break when two women are cracked over the head within a two-minute walk of each other. But policeman Edwin Timmer thwarts Polly’s ideas of a serial criminal. . .until the shadowy figure strikes again. Will the reporter and the policeman team up to find the culprit before he strikes too close for comfort?
Liz Tolsma is the author of several WWII novels, romantic suspense novels, prairie romance novellas, and an Amish romance. She is a popular speaker and an editor and resides next to a Wisconsin farm field with her husband and their youngest daughter. Her son is a US Marine, and her oldest daughter is a college student. Liz enjoys reading, walking, working in her large perennial garden, kayaking, and camping. Please visit her website at http://www.liztolsma.com and follow her on Facebook, Twitter (@LizTolsma), Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest. She is also the host of the Christian Historical Fiction Talk podcast.
More from Liz
One of the most popular questions I’ve gotten from many readers of the True Colors Crime series is how do I come up with the ideas for the books? For the first two, Becky Germany, acquisitions editor at Barbour Publishing, had the ideas. That made my life easy. I just had to fictionalize it, and I had a book. But when I was putting together the proposals for The Gold Digger and The Silver Shadow, it was up to me to find the true crimes I wanted to use.
I went online and scoured historical crime blogs and books for ideas. I wanted crimes that I could work easily with, that made for compelling stories. As I was doing this, my husband and two daughters and I were driving home from Georgia. We were somewhere in Indiana. Don’t ask me why I remember this when I can’t remember what I had for dinner last night, but I do.
And then on Google Books, I discovered a book about crimes the world had forgotten. The first one in there sounded so good. Not too grisly, something that no one would be able to guess the culprit very easily. It was perfect. Imagine my excitement when Becky told me they would be publishing The Silver Shadow.
Then I sat down to research it more. And I could hardly find anything! What? Where was all the information on this? There had to be more. That chapter in the one book couldn’t be all there was. He had to get his information from somewhere.
Eventually I did come across some articles from various Colorado newspapers with a few details. Not many at all. None from any of the Denver papers, even though that’s where the crimes were committed.
In the end, that’s all the information I discovered. In a way, it was freeing. I could write whatever I wanted, and no one would be the wiser. Even if they did some research and some digging, there wasn’t much to find. I was able to take the facts that I did have, combine that with what I found out about Denver in 1900, and put it together in a story. I tried to use historical details wherever I could, but of my four True Colors Crimes books, this is the most fictional of them all.
Kadence and Lyndon are perfect for each other and find each other when one of them is almost killed. I love the romance and the suspense. I love how they have to keep each other at arms length as they begin to know each other and break down many layers that they have added over the years. I love how the author treats Mac. He is a fantastic cat. I did not want to put the book down. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
Former CIA sniper Kadance Tolle possesses a special set of skills and a rare pedigree. She comes from a family of assassins, and by saving Lyndon Vaile’s life she risks being found by them. Despite the danger, Kadance feels compelled to help Lyndon discover who is after him–and his research that seems to prove that the Ebola virus was manmade and is about to be weaponized.With shadowy figures pursuing them and a Mastermind watching their every move, Kadance and Lyndon must scramble to stop an impending bioattack at the State of the Union address. But their warnings fall on deaf ears, and it becomes increasingly clear that there’s no one they can trust–except perhaps each other.Strap in for a breakneck story that will have you up all night, hurtling toward the last page as the clock ticks and time runs out.
If you are looking for a sad and yet happy story that takes place in Poland during WWll you will love this daring tale. Sadie and Ella are quite different young women who grew up in Poland and accidentally meet during the last years of the war. They are wonderful young women that each have struggles that they must overcome. You will want Kleenex handy. I received a copy of this book from HarperCollins/Mira for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this story a five out of five stars.
The Woman with the Blue Star
Pam Jenoff
On Sale Date: May 4, 2021
9780778389385, 0778389383
Trade Paperback
$17.99 USD, $22.99 CAD
Fiction / Historical / Jewish
336 pages
About the Book:
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Girls of Paris comes a riveting tale of courage and unlikely friendship during World War II. 1942. Sadie Gault is eighteen and living with her parents in the Kraków Ghetto during World War II. When the Nazis liquidate the ghetto, Sadie and her pregnant mother are forced to seek refuge in the perilous tunnels beneath the city. One day Sadie looks up through a grate and sees a girl about her own age buying flowers. Ella Stepanek is an affluent Polish girl living a life of relative ease with her stepmother, who has developed close alliances with the occupying Germans. While on an errand in the market, she catches a glimpse of something moving beneath a grate in the street. Upon closer inspection, she realizes it’s a girl hiding. Ella begins to aid Sadie and the two become close, but as the dangers of the war worsen, their lives are set on a collision course that will test them in the face of overwhelming odds. Inspired by incredible true stories, The Woman with the Blue Star is an unforgettable testament to the power of friendship and the extraordinary strength of the human will to survive.
About the Author:
Pam Jenoff is the author of several books of historical fiction, including the NYT bestseller The Orphan’s Tale. She holds a degree in international affairs from George Washington University and a degree in history from Cambridge, and she received her JD from UPenn. Her novels are inspired by her experiences working at the Pentagon and as a diplomat for the State Department handling Holocaust issues in Poland. She lives with her husband and 3 children near Philadelphia, where she teaches law.
This thriller has such a great amount of twists and turns. I could not put this book down. I had to know who the murderer was and what happened to Delilah. It is so sad to see what can happen when a family member is missing. I love how the author handles all of these horrible situations. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
Local Woman Missing
Mary Kubica
On Sale Date: May 18, 2021
9780778389446, 0778389448
Hardcover
$27.99 USD, $34.99 CAD
Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological
352 pages
About the Book:
People don’t just disappear without a trace… Shelby Tebow is the first to go missing. Not long after, Meredith Dickey and her six-year-old daughter, Delilah, vanish just blocks away from where Shelby was last seen, striking fear into their once-peaceful community. Are these incidents connected? After an elusive search that yields more questions than answers, the case eventually goes cold. Now, eleven years later, Delilah shockingly returns. Everyone wants to know what happened to her, but no one is prepared for what they’ll find… In this smart and chilling thriller, master of suspense and New York Times bestselling author Mary Kubica takes domestic secrets to a whole new level, showing that some people will stop at nothing to keep the truth buried.
About the Author:
Mary Kubica is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of six novels, including THE GOOD GIRL, PRETTY BABY, DON’T YOU CRY, EVERY LAST LIE, WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT, and THE OTHER MRS. A former high school history teacher, Mary holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in History and American Literature. She lives outside of Chicago with her husband and two children. Her last novel THE OTHER MRS. was an instant New York Times bestseller; is coming soon to Netflix; was a LibraryReads pick for February 2020; praised by the New York Times; and highly recommended by Entertainment Weekly, People, The Week, Marie Claire, Bustle, HelloGiggles, Goodreads, PopSugar, BookRiot, HuffingtonPost, First for Women, Woman’s World, and more. Mary’s novels have been translated into over thirty languages and have sold over two million copies worldwide. She’s been described as “a helluva storyteller,” (Kirkus Reviews) and “a writer of vice-like control,” (Chicago Tribune), and her novels have been praised as “hypnotic” (People) and “thrilling and illuminating” (Los Angeles Times). LOCAL WOMAN MISSING is her seventh novel.
If you like spy thrillers you will love this book and this series. Ben has an op go bad and then his life falls out from under him. There is a lot of action and some romance. This has everything you want in a spy novel. Ben is great and you are not sure till close to the end who he can really trust. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this a five out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
After a rough mission in Rome involving the discovery of a devastating bioweapon, Company spy Ben Calix returns to Paris to find his perfectly ordered world has collapsed. A sniper attack. An ambush. A call for help that brings French SWAT forces down on his head. Ben is out. This is a severance–reserved for incompetents and traitors.Searching for answers and anticipating a coming attack, Ben and a woman swept up in his misfortunes must travel across Europe to find the sniper who tried to kill him, the medic who saved his life, the schoolmaster who trained him, and an upstart hacker from his former team. More than that, Ben must come to grips with his own insignificance as the Company’s plan to stop Leviathan from unleashing the bioweapon at any cost moves forward without him–and he struggles against the infection that is swiftly claiming territory within his own body.Award-winning author James R. Hannibal ratchets up the tension on every page of this suspenseful new thriller.
I enjoyed the narrator of this story. I plan to read or listen to more of the Doug Brown thrillers. I really like Doug and how he works. This book has some good twists and turns. I received an audiobook copy of the book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a four out of five stars.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
A series of ritualistic killings.
A retired detective inspector desperate to save his wife.
A horrifying secret.
Detective Inspector Doug Brown has retired to Scotland, but when his wife falls ill, there is no choice but to take on a private contract offered by an old acquaintance.
Soon he finds himself on a dark path, tracking down a ritualist killer of affluent men, who has so far eluded the police.
But as the merciless killings continue, Doug is unknowingly getting closer to unveiling a sickening conspiracy.
Blood Cull is a slow burn page-turner from USA Today best-selling authors, Jay Tinsiano and Jay Newton, that will keep you on edge until the end.
I do not know how I would react if I lost my eyesight. I feel the author did a great job in describing how Adam felt when he lost his sight. I really loved how Mary helps Adam to see his new world and be able to work again. I enjoyed the little bit of mystery in the story also. I received a copy of this book from the author for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
I give this book a five out of five stars.
How can a meek wallflower help a returning war hero whose dreams are plunged into darkness?
Mary Bloomfield has no illusions. Her chances for matrimony have long since passed her by. Still, her circumstances are pleasant enough, especially now that she has found purpose in assisting her father with his medical practice in England’s beautiful Lake District. Even without love, it’s a peaceful life.
That is until Adam Edgerton returns to the sleepy district. This decorated war hero did not arrive home to acclaim and rest, but to a new battle against the repercussions of an insidious disease. Mary’s caring nature cannot stand to see someone suffer–but how can she help this man see any brightness in his future when he’s plunged into melancholic darkness, his dreams laid waste by his condition?
Adam wants no charity, but he’s also no coward. If this gentle woman can work hard, how can he do less? Together they struggle to find a way forward for him. Frustration and antipathy slowly develop into friendship and esteem. Then a summer storm atop a mountain peak leads to scandal–and both Mary and Adam must search the depths of their closed hearts for answers if they hope to find any future path with happiness at its end.
Best-selling author Carolyn Miller is back with a fresh series that will not only thrill readers eager for more of her work, but bring in new fans looking for beautiful writing, fascinating research, deftly woven love stories, and real faith lived out in the Regency period.
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