This series gets better and better with each book. I love Bernie, Mac and the Front Porch Ladies. The mystery was fantastic because I got to learn more about Vince and his life. I love that a lot of the characters in this story are older. I received a copy of this book from Tonya Kappes Books 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
Discover the southern life of Bernadette Butler, along with the eccentric and lovable citizens, along with all the fur babies, who live in Sugar Creek Gap in this southern cozy mystery series by USA TODAY Bestselling Author Tonya Kappes.
Wedding bells are ringing all over Sugar Creek Gap for Bernadette Butler and Mac Tabor. Folks in Sugar Creek Gap, Kentucky are so excited for Bernadette Butler! She’s getting married to Mac Tabor, the man of her dreams!
Wedding week is nerve-wracking enough but add to that a murder of a local radio DJ with a nasty reputation was found stabbed to death with a letter opener days before Bernadette’s wedding and the DJ who Bernadette hired for the wedding is the number one suspect. Now Bernadette has not only possibly lost a big part of her dream wedding, she’ll have to solve a mystery with more layers than the five-tiered wedding cake! ‘Red Letter Slay’ is a full-length cozy mystery and can be read as a standalone. Book #8 in the Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery Series.
This was a very fast read and I loved this historical romance. I loved reading about the Appalachian mountains. I loved Jeb and Cora. I loved how inspirational each character is in the story. I did not want to put the book down. I enjoyed how Jeb and Cora each had something that they needed to work out before they could be happy. 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 Heart of the Mountains
Author: Pepper Basham
Genre: Christian Fiction / Romance
Release date: July 1, 2022
Can their hearts overcome the darkness of the mountains?
To escape a forced marriage, Cora Taylor travels from England to the Blue Ridge Mountains in search of her brother, who is working as a teacher in a mission school. She hopes to find a place where her nursing skills and independent ideas will be accepted and appreciated, but nothing prepares her for the wild mixture of isolation, community, brokenness, and hope within these mountains…or in the person of Jeb McAdams.
Returning from the devastation of World War 1 emotionally damaged, Jeb McAdams struggles against the rampant mountain alcoholism to soothe his nightmares. It’s easy to hide within the mountains, or it was, before Cora Taylor arrived. Now, she seems to show up at every turn, bringing her modern ideas, curiosity, and beautiful eyes with her.
Bound by their shared war history, the pair develop an unlikely friendship, which unexpectedly hints to something more. But when Cora’s desire to help the women of the mountains crosses an unspoken line, will Jeb be able to protect this feisty flatlander from the wrath of the mountain men or will he end up losing much more than his heart?
Pepper Basham is an award-winning author who writes romance peppered with grace and humor with southern Appalachian flair. Both her historical and contemporary novels have garnered recognition in the Grace Awards, Inspys, and ACFW Carol Awards. Her historical romance, The Thorn Healer, was a finalist in the 2018 RT Awards. Her historical romance novels, My Heart Belongs in the Blue Ridge and The Red Ribbon, and her contemporary novels, the Mitchell’s Crossroads and Pleasant Gap series, showcase her Appalachian heritage, as well as her love for humor and family. She currently resides in the lovely mountains of Asheville, NC where she is the mom of five great kids, a speech-language pathologist to about fifty more, and a lover of chocolate, jazz, hats, and Jesus.
You can learn more about Pepper at her website http://www.pepperdbasham.com or connect with her on FB, IG, or Twitter.
More from Pepper
It’s so interesting how one idea can influence an entire series, or…how one person’s story can.
The idea for The Heart of the Mountains started in Laurel’s Dreamwith a hint of a family history story about a girl named Kizzie. (Someday, I hope to bring Kizzie’s story to the pages of a book). From there, the idea began to grow out of a love for my Appalachian culture into a series of books which highlighted (and fictionalized) stories from my family history.
The main story in The Heart of the Mountains is about Jeb and Cora, two different people with similar servant hearts, but the secondary story that touched me so much was the one based on my great grandfather’s life. I write about it in the Author’s Note at the end of the novel, so I won’t go into detail about it. However, what I loved getting to do is bring the truth of God’s redemption in my great grandfather’s life…to life again.
I never knew “Papa Rat”. I only knew the stories handed down to me by my granny and my mama, but in writing this story, I feel as though I had a tiny opportunity to “meet” him in these pages. He was a gruff mountain man with a broken past which led him to make a whole lot of broken choices, but his story is incredibly encouraging, because it points to the God of broken people. My great grandpa wasn’t left in his brokenness, but, after years of running away from God, he would later recount that God pursued him. The beauty of Sam McAdams’ journey in The Heart of the Mountains is only a little glimpse into what I imagine my great grandpa’s redemption story looked like.
Because my great grandpa was forever changed when Jesus saved him (as any of us should be).
I think that’s what my granny and her siblings (and even “Papa Rat” himself) would want most -that his story would point to Jesus. I hope that’s what you see when you read about Sam McAdams in The Heart of the Mountains.
Have you ever read a book based on family history? One of my favorites is Catherine Marshall’s Christy.
I loved that this is a fast paced story full of romance and suspense. This is the last book in a series but you are ok if you do not read the others first. I plan to read the rest because this one was so good. Cecile and Josh are great as friends and I knew they would make a great couple. I loved that I did not know how this would be solved until the end. I received a copy of this book from Love Inspired for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
From Love Inspired Suspense: Courage. Danger. Faith.
Cowboy Lawmen
Book 1: Texas Twin Abduction Book 2: Texas Holiday Hideout Book 3: Texas Target Standoff Book 4: Texas Baby Cover-Up Book 5: Texas Killer Connection Book 6: Texas Buried Secrets
This is a great story with lots of suspense and romance. I love the town of Gothic. Elle and Adam are wonderful characters. I loved all the citizens of Gothic. I loved the psychic festival. I really enjoyed how Elle works to get her memories back. I loved that the story kept me guessing til the end. I received a copy of this book from HQN 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
“When it comes to nerve-shredding, edge-of-your-seat suspense, Dodd consistently delivers the goods…Point Last Seen is a gobsmackingly great read.”–Booklist STARRED REVIEW
Perfect for fans of Lisa Jewell, Karin Slaughter and Sandra Brown, New York Times bestselling author Christina Dodd’s all-new thriller, POINT LAST SEEN, will have readers keeping the lights on all night.
LIFE LAST SEEN
When you’ve already died, there should be nothing left to fear… When Adam Ramsdell pulls Elle’s half-frozen body from the surf on a lonely California beach, she has no memory of what her full name is and how she got those bruises ringing her throat.
GIRL LAST SEEN
Elle finds refuge in Adam’s home on the edge of Gothic, a remote village located between the steep lonely mountains and the raging Pacific Ocean. As flashes of her memory return, Elle faces a terrible truth–buried in her mind lurks a secret so dark it could get her killed.
POINT LAST SEEN
Everyone in Gothic seems to hide a dark past. Even Adam knows more than he will admit. Until Elle can unravel the truth, she doesn’t know who to trust, when to run and who else might be hurt when the killer who stalks her nightmares appears to finish what he started…
“No one does high-stakes, high-voltage suspense quite like Dodd.”
This is one of my favorite WWll books that I have read in a long time. I loved learning about what was happening in Lisbon during this time. It was fascinating to learn more about what some people did in France and in Lisbon to help end the war sooner. This story made me cry. I did not want to put the book down until I knew what happened to Elaine and Ava. I loved how the story was written to show what each woman was going through. I received a copy of this book from Harlequin for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Book Summary: From the New York Times bestselling author of The Last Bookshop in London comes a moving new novel inspired by the true history of America’s library spies of World War II.
Ava thought her job as a librarian at the Library of Congress would mean a quiet, routine existence. But an unexpected offer from the US military has brought her to Lisbon with a new mission: posing as a librarian while working undercover as a spy gathering intelligence.
Meanwhile, in occupied France, Elaine has begun an apprenticeship at a printing press run by members of the Resistance. It’s a job usually reserved for men, but in the war, those rules have been forgotten. Yet she knows that the Nazis are searching for the press and its printer in order to silence them.
As the battle in Europe rages, Ava and Elaine find themselves connecting through coded messages and discovering hope in the face of war.
Madeline Martin is a New York Times and international bestselling author of historical fiction novels and historical romance. She lives in sunny Florida with her two daughters, two incredibly spoiled cats and a husband so wonderful he’s been dubbed Mr. Awesome. She is a die-hard history lover who will happily lose herself in research any day. When she’s not writing, researching or ‘moming’, you can find her spending time with her family at Disney or sneaking a couple spoonfuls of Nutella while laughing over cat videos. She also loves travel, attributing her fascination with history to having spent most of her childhood as an Army brat in Germany.
This is a wonderful story filled with fantastic illustrations and a sweet story. I really like Kiki and how she writes her stories and it shows how God also writes his stories. I think that young children will enjoy the story and the illustrations and learn a good lesson. I received a copy of this book from Waterbrook and Multnomah 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
From the creators of The Inventions of God (and Eva) comes a delightfully illustrated picture book that tells the story of would-be author and artist Kiki—and the God who created her to be a lot like Him.
Little Kiki is an aspiring author and illustrator who weaves daring tales about swashbuckling otters, all-knowing sea cucumbers, and nail-biting rescues from the clutches of gerblins (part gerbil, part goblin). But where do her imagination, creativity, and ideas come from?
Meet God, the author of all stories. He writes adventurous tales such as Esther Saves Her Family and Friends, Jesus and the Tomb that Couldn’t Hold Him, and the Story of Kiki.
Kiki loves to write but sometimes she forgets to include important pieces (like the time she forgot to give the ship’s cook a kitchen). God also loves to write, and He knows exactly what every story needs. They are both writing their biggest story of all, and the endings are bound to be incredible.
Children and parents alike will delight in the playful illustrations, imaginative side stories, and the gentle reminder that the image of God is alive in each of us.
I loved this psychological thriller. I was on the edge of my seat throughout the story. I could not put this book down. I felt that Asa and Fiona were like oil and water but they also work well together. I was scared at times in this story and I was not sure who the killer was until the end. I loved the minor characters in the book. 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.
PUBLISHER DESCRIPTION
When a cold-case serial killer returns, FBI special agent Fiona Kelly has one last chance to stop him before he claims the prize he’s always wanted–her.
The sight of a goose feather at a murder scene modeled after a children’s poem is enough to make FBI special agent Fiona Kelly’s blood turn to ice. Almost two decades ago, a feather was left with her sister’s body–and with every subsequent victim of the Nursery Rhyme Killer. Now he’s back. Only this time, his latest gruesome murder is a message to the only one who ever got away: Fiona.
Finding “Rhyme” is an obsession that’s fueled Fiona’s career–and destroyed her marriage to fellow FBI agent Asa Kodiak. Now Fiona and Asa have to put their past tensions aside and work together one last time. But Rhyme is watching, and catching this killer may force Fiona to reveal her biggest, darkest secret…the one only he knows.
“Her Darkest Secret by Jessica R. Patch grabbed me in the first scene of this edge-of-your-seat suspense and didn’t let go until the end!”
–Patricia Bradley, author of the Memphis Cold Case novels
This was the first book that I read by this author and it will not be my last. There were twists and turns all the way through this book. There was a lot of psychological suspense and some murders. I wish I had read the first book in the series because then I would have understood the main characters a little better. This kept me on the edge of my seat throughout much of the story.. I hope to learn more about Henley and the rest of her team in the next book of the series. 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.
Detective Anjelica Henley confronts a series of ritualistic murders in this heart-pounding thriller about race, power and the corrupt institutions that threaten usfor fans of S.A. Crosby and Tami Hoag
When Detective Anjelica Henley is called to investigate the murder of popular preacher in his own church, she discovers a second victim, tortured and tied to a bed in an upstairs room. He is alive, but barely, and his body show signs of a dark religious ritual.
With a revolving list of suspects and the media spotlight firmly on her, Henley is left with more questions than answers as she attempts to untangle both crimes. But when another body appears, the case takes on a new urgency. Unless she can apprehend the killer, the next victim may just be Henley herself.
Drawing on her experiences as a criminal attorney, Nadine Matheson’s new novel deftly explores issues of race, class and justice through an action-packed story that will hold you captive until the last terrifying page.
This is a suspenseful romance that you will not want to put down. I loved Brooke and Noah and all the others in their group. I recommend reading the first two books in the series so you know who the other characters in the group are. This is inspirational and emotional. I enjoyed that there was more than one case that was being worked on. I received a copy of this book from Netgalley 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
A mass shooting.A stolen weapon capable of immense destruction. A painful secret that threatens to tear two hearts apart.CGIS Agent Noah Rowley is rocked to the core when he learns of a mass shooting raging on his Coast Guard base. He and his team stop the attack, but not before numerous innocent lives are lost. Furious and grief-stricken, he determines to do whatever is needed to bring the mastermind behind the attack to justice. Coast Guard flight medic Brooke Kesler evacuates the scene of the shooting in a helicopter carrying the only surviving gunman. Gravely wounded, the man whispers mysterious information to Brooke that immediately paints a target on her back. As Brooke and Noah race to uncover answers, emotions between them ignite. Noah struggles to protect Brooke at all costs and to conceal the secret that prevents him from becoming what he longs to be–the right man for her. Everything is at stake as a horrifying truth emerges. . . .The mass shooting wasn’t the end game. It was only the beginning.“This action-packed thriller is sure to please.”–IRENE HANNON, bestselling and award-winning author“I love Dani’s writing, andThe Deadly Shallowsis one of her best! Tightly written and dripping with tension. I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough.”–CARRIE STUART PARKS, bestselling and award-winning author of Relative Silence
This was a fantastic story. I loved how it shows that there are secrets in each generation of a family. There are great characters in each generation. I loved the romance also. I loved learning a little about different types of flowers. This story made me laugh and cry. I received a copy of this book from Tyndale House Publisher 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
Answering a woman’s desperate call for help, young Navy widow Helen Devries opens her Whidbey Island home as a refuge to Choi Eunhee. As they bond over common losses and a delicate, potentially devastating secret, their friendship spans the remainder of their lives.
After losing her mother, Cassidy Quinn spent her childhood summers with her gran, Helen, at her farmhouse. Nourished by her grandmother’s love and encouragement, Cassidy discovers a passion that she hopes will bloom into a career. But after Helen passes, Cassidy learns that her home and garden have fallen into serious disrepair. Worse, a looming tax debt threatens her inheritance. Facing the loss of her legacy and in need of allies and ideas, Cassidy reaches out to Nick, her former love, despite the complicated emotions brought by having him back in her life.
Cassidy inherits not only the family home but a task, spoken with her grandmother’s final breaths: ask Grace Kim—Eunhee’s granddaughter—to help sort through the contents of the locked hope chest in the attic. As she and Grace dig into the past, they unearth their grandmothers’ long-held secret and more. Each startling revelation reshapes their understanding of their grandmothers and ultimately inspires the courage to take risks and make changes to own their lives.
Set in both modern-day and midcentury Whidbey Island, Washington, this dual-narrative story of four women—grandmothers and granddaughters—intertwines across generations to explore the secrets we keep, the love we pass down, and the heirlooms we inherit from a well-lived life.
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