Blog & Review Tour: Glory Falls by Janine Rosche

 Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Glory Falls by Janine Rosche, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Glory Falls
Series: Madison River Romance #3 
Author: Janine Rosche
Publisher: Berkley Books
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance
Release Date: January 12, 2021

Two people scarred by past trauma have a chance to write a new chapter in their lives, overcome loss, and find love in the third entry in the Madison River Romance series. 

Screenwriter Cecilia "Blue" Walker is victim to life's worst plot twists. Having lost her daughter to the depths of the Madison River and her husband to the arms of another woman, she finds herself yearning for something to restore her brittle faith and once-vibrant career. 

Hope arrives in the form of her childhood friend, Thomas Beck, a firefighter with a legacy of larger-than-life rescues who doesn't see himself as a hero. Haunted by his past, Thomas only agrees to a movie adaptation of his story if Blue, his longtime crush, is the screenwriter. 

However, as Blue and Thomas work together to bring his heroism to the big screen, the glitz and glamour of Hollywood threaten to shed light on secrets that could tear their fragile relationship and their lives apart.

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Book Review: Christmas Charms by Teri Wilson

Hello and welcome to a new feature on Only By Grace Reviews!!

I have so many holiday books that I wanted to share over the holidays but of course the season blew past way too fast (like it always does!), so I thought I'd try something fun and different for 2021.  

This year, on the 25th of every month, I will be sharing my reviews of some of my Christmas reads!!  To kick off the festivities I am highlighting Christmas Charms by Teri Wilson.

Publisher: Hallmark Publishing

Release Date: October 6, 2020

Genre: Clean Christian Romance

She never dreamed her holiday would include
her hometown, a dog, or a firefighter.
But a mysterious charm bracelet
predicted it all…
 
Ashley’s supposed to be having the Christmas of her dreams. After four years of working at an upscale jewelry store in Manhattan, she’s finally going to get a little velvet box of her own—from her boyfriend Jeremy, who’s taking her on a romantic trip to Paris. What could go wrong?

Well, everything.

Ashley heads home to Owl Lake instead, falling asleep on the train ride there…and waking up with a beautiful antique charm bracelet on her wrist. Soon, she realizes that each silver charm predicts an event that happens in real life. What does this mean for her and Jeremy…or her and Aidan, her former high school boyfriend, who’s now a local firefighter? Is there still a chance that she could have the perfect Christmas?

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Book Review: The Widows of Somerset: Timeless Regency Collection

Series: Timeless Regency Collection: Book 15

Publisher: Mirror Press

Release Date: October 6, 2020

Genre: Victorian Historical Romance

Rules of the Secret Society of Young Widows:
Rule 1: Be a widow.
Rule 2: Have an impeccable reputation.
Rule 3: Don't fall in love again.

♡ AN HEIR TO SPARE by Rebecca Connolly
Widowhood has changed much for Anna—Lady Lyndham—but an unconventional heir to the estate was not something she had anticipated. Nor had she anticipated that he would have no intention of forcing her out, although he has every right to. And she certainly did not anticipate finding him handsome, charming, and unfailingly generous. But Ned Richards, the new Lord Lyndham, has a world of surprises in store for her, and not anticipating them will become quite the adventure.

♡ THE WIDOW OF LAVENDER COTTAGE by Jen Geigle Johnson
As a widow, Lillian Hunter has never been in love and plans to never marry again, so the rules of the Secret Society of Young Widows suit her just fine. Her days are spent attempting to transform her newly inherited Lavender Cottage into a livable space until Oliver Wentworth shows up, asking for her late husband. Anxious to establish himself as a landed gentry in Somerset, Oliver is none too pleased to discover that a widow lives alone in a tiny run down cottage bordering his new property. The fact that she’s young and attractive only adds frustration to his sense of responsibility over her. And confound her, she challenges his every attempt to help manage her affairs.

♡ A PROMISE FORGOTTEN by Heather B. Moore
Charlotte Ashford never thought she’d marry a vicar, and she never thought she’d find herself widowed with a young child to care for on her own. She certainly never thought she’d return to Somerset to live with her mother again, and Charlotte never thought she’d see him again. But Lord Wilshore has never forgotten her, and he has never forgotten their promise made long ago. Charlotte would love nothing more than for Lord Wilshore to forgive her, but too much heartache and too much time might make that impossible. Friendship is all she can hope for, but that hope may be dashed as well.

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Book Review: Lana's War by Anita Abriel

Publisher: Atria Books

Release Date: January 12, 2021

Genre: Historical Fiction

Paris 1943: Lana Antanova is on her way to see her husband with the thrilling news that she is pregnant. But when she arrives at the convent where he teaches music, she’s horrified to see Gestapo officers execute him for hiding a Jewish girl in the piano.

A few months later, grieving both her husband and her lost pregnancy, Lana is shocked when she’s approached to join the resistance on the French Riviera. As the daughter of a Russian countess, Lana has the perfect background to infiltrate the émigré community of Russian aristocrats who socialize with German officers, including the man who killed her husband.

Lana’s cover story makes her the mistress of Guy Pascal, a wealthy Swiss industrialist and fellow resistance member, in whose villa in Cap Ferrat she lives. Together, they gather information on upcoming raids and help members of the Jewish community escape. Consumed by her work, she doesn’t expect to become attached to a young Jewish girl or wonder about the secrets held by the man whose house she shares. And as the Nazis’ deadly efforts intensify, her intention to protect those around her may put them all at risk instead.

With Anita Abriel’s “heartfelt and memorable” (Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author) storytelling, Lana’s War is a sweeping and suspenseful tale of survival and second chances during some of the darkest days of history.

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Blog & Review Tour: Still the One by Rachel D. Russell Presented by Susan May Warren

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Still the One by Rachel D. Russell presented by Susan May Warren, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Still the One
Series: Deep Haven Collection #1
Author: Rachel D. Russell presented by Susan May Warren
Publisher: Sunrise Publishing
Release Date: January 12, 2021
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

It’s never too late to finish a love story… 

Cole Barrett, former Army Ranger, has a new mission objective. Sell his grandfather’s house and put Deep Haven, a place that holds too many hurts, in his rearview mirror as fast as possible. Recently divorced, single, and unattached, Cole just wants a new life as a US Marshal. One where he can forget the past and start new. 

Unfortunately, there’s a tenant in the garage apartment who’s refusing to move. Even worse? It’s his childhood crush, Megan Carter, and her son. 

Wedding planner and single mom Megan Carter loves Deep Haven. To her, it’s the place where she makes dreams come true—at least, everyone else’s. Her big dream is to purchase the Black Spruce Bed & Breakfast to turn it into a premier event venue and, if she can stay booked for enough weddings over winter, she’ll have the needed funds to buy the inn, move out of Grandpa Barrett’s garage apartment, and finally give her nine-year-old son, Josh, the life he deserves. She just needs four thousand dollars in the next thirty days. 

Still, she’s oh, so close…until Cole Barrett returns to Deep Haven. Even if he’s not back to fulfill a silly childhood promise to marry her, but she never expected him to evict her! The last thing she needs is more expenses. Or for another man to walk into her heart…and break it. 

When a blizzard strikes Deep Haven, and Megan is overrun with wedding catastrophes, it takes a former Ranger to step in and help. Besides, the more he comes to her rescue, the sooner she’ll be able to move out…and he can move on. And that’s what they both want, right? 

Return to Deep Haven with this magical tale about the one who got away…and came back.

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JustListen Reviewer Tour: The Fruitcake Challenge by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Welcome to the JustListen Reviewer Tour for The Fruitcake Challenge by Carrie Fancett Pagels hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Fruitcake Challenge

Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels
Release Date: November 24, 2020

Genre: Historical Christian Romance

When new lumberjack, Tom Jeffries, tells the camp cook, Jo Christy, that he’ll marry her if she can make a fruitcake, “as good as the one my mother makes,” she rises to the occasion. After all, he’s the handsomest, smartest, and strongest axman her camp-boss father has ever had in his camp—and the cockiest. And she intends to bring this lumberjack down a notch or three by refusing his proposal. The fruitcake wars are on! All the shanty boys and Jo’s cooking helpers chip in with their recipes but Jo finds she’ll have to enlist more help—and begins corresponding with Tom’s mother.

Step back in time to 1890, in beautiful Northern Michigan, near the sapphire straits of Mackinac, when the white pines were “white gold” and lumber camps were a way of life. Jo is ready to find another life outside of the camps and plans that don’t include any shanty boys. But will a lumberjack keep her in the very place she’s sworn to leave?

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Blog & Review Tour: A Promise in Provence by Kyle Hunter

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for A Promise in Provence by Kyle Hunter, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: A Promise in Provence
Series: Provence
Author: Kyle Hunter
Publisher: Monceau Publishing
Release Date: May 7, 2019
Genre: Christian Contemporary Romance

Lauren is at a turning point. If only she knew where to turn. Her long-term relationship with Mark is fading fast. Instead, she feels drawn to Jean-Pierre, an attractive Frenchman she’d met the previous summer. When she’s laid off from her job as a chef, she decides to go see him in Provence, France. 

Mark can’t get Lauren out of his heart, even though it’s been close to a year since she asked him to give her space. When she goes to France, he’s afraid he’ll lose her for good. That is, until he decides to go there, too, as a last-ditch effort to win her back. 

At first, Lauren is angry that Mark follows her to France. But a joint desire to help a young refugee boy leads them to work together. Lauren finds herself torn between the two men. Worse, she’s confronted with obstacles in helping the boy and even greater obstacles within herself.

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Blog & Review Tour: Then Again, Maybe by Susan L. Tuttle

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Then Again, Maybe by Susan L. Tuttle, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Then Again, Maybe 
Series: Along Came Love
Author: Susan L. Tuttle
Publisher: BLING! Romance
Release Date: November 17, 2020
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Former beauty queen Belle Thornton knows what it is to think she has it all, only to discover she never valued what was truly important. Raising her daughter and building a thriving thrift shop that helps single mothers like herself has taught Belle what the word beautiful really means. Unfortunately, thanks to her shady landlord, Belle must toss those hard-earned dollars into the money-pit of a rental that houses both her tiny apartment and her business or risk the city closing her doors. When funds dwindle as quickly as her to-do list grows, she is forced to rely on the absolute last rescuer she’d choose: Micah Shaw. 

Leaving Belle at the altar, pregnant, was the worst choice Micah ever made. He returns home, hoping to reconcile with Belle and their toddler. While balancing his medical residency with caring for his ailing mother, he strives to win Belle’s heart again and ensure her business remains open. Helping with that is the easy part. Chiseling through the rock encompassing Belle's heart is more of a challenge, but one he’s determined to conquer. 

If only he could get her to realize that a new lease on love may be their best collaboration of all.

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Book Review: Crosscheck by Rebecca Connolly

Series: Northbrook Hockey Elite: Book 4

Publisher: Mirror Press

Release Date: February 11, 2020

Genre: Clean Sports Romance

He’s a hard hitter, she’s a straight shooter. Can they stop the sparks from flying? Do they want to?

Zane Winchester is a beast on the ice, known for racking up penalties and delivering hard blows. No one would suspect the complicated nature of his personal life, or just what it entailed. And no one, not even him, would have suspected what one unexpected encounter with a remarkable woman would do to his life.

Mara Matthews is a regular woman with a regular job and a regular life. Then she meets the father of one of her little students, and regular becomes the last word to describe her life. Zane is intense, funny, charming, and drop dead gorgeous; he shouldn’t pay any attention to someone like her. But Zane isn’t giving up, and Mara doesn’t want him to.

Welcome to Northbrook Hockey Elite!

Six professional hockey players used to play on an elite club team together, but have all separated and now play in the pro-hockey leagues. Not all of them were friends, yet circumstances bring them together, and for the greater good, maybe they can put aside their differences.

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Book Review: The Blizzard Bride by Susanne Dietze

Series: The Daughters of the Mayflower: Book 11

Publisher: Barbour Publishing

Release Date: January 15, 2020

Genre: Clean Historical Romance

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?

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Book Review: Her Hidden Hope by Jill Lynn

Series: Colorado Grooms: Book 4

Publisher: Harlequin

Release Date: May 1, 2020

Genre: Clean Contemporary Romance

Enjoy this heartfelt romance from Jill Lynn, part of the sweet and emotional series Colorado Grooms.

She once trusted him with her heart… but will she ever trust him with the truth?

With only two weeks to renovate her family’s Colorado B and B, struggling single mom Addie Ricci can’t turn away help. Especially not when it’s her handsome high school sweetheart, Evan Hawke, who’s offering to pitch in. As they repair the B and B, Addie and Evan also begin rebuilding their relationship…until a secret from their past threatens to bring it all crashing down.

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Book Review: Dog Flowers by Danielle Geller

Publisher: Random House Publishing

Release Date: January 12, 2021

Genre: Memoirs

A daughter returns home to the Navajo reservation to confront her family's troubled history and retrace her mother's life--using both narrative and archive in this unforgettable and heart-wrenching memoir.

After Danielle Geller's mother dies of a withdrawal from alcohol during a period of homelessness, she is forced to return to Florida. Using her training as a librarian and archivist, Geller collects her mother's documents, diaries, and photographs into a single suitcase and begins on a journey of confronting her family's history and the decisions she's been forced to make, a journey that will end at her mother's home: the Navajo reservation.

Geller masterfully intertwines wrenching prose with archival documents to create a deeply moving narrative of loss and inheritance that pays homage to our pasts, traditions, heritage, the family we are given, and the family we choose.

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Reviewer Tour: Eye of the Storm by Janice L. Dick

Welcome to the Reviewer Tour for Eye of the Storm by Janice L. Dick hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Eye of the Storm

Author: Janice L. Dick
Release Date: December 15, 2020

Genre: Historical Russian Fiction

As their lives are torn apart by world war, the Russian Revolution, and church and family conflicts, Katarina Hildebrandt and Johann Sudermann strive to maintain their faith in the God they have come to know.

Meanwhile, Paul Gregorovich Tekanin’s hope for Utopia has become a way of darkness and death. Will he remember the warnings of his childhood friend, Johann, or will the violence of revolution destroy him?

History unfolds as these young people look desperately for a source of balance and safety within the eye of the storm and ask: where is God when life betrays?

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Book Review: Bethlehem by Karen Kelly

Publisher: St. Martin's Press

Release Date: July 9, 2019

Genre: Family Life Historical Fiction

With the atmospheric storytelling of Kate Morton and Lisa Wingate, Karen Kelly weaves a shattering debut about two intertwined families and the secrets that they buried during the gilded, glory days of Bethlehem, PA.

A young woman arrives at the grand ancestral home of her husband’s family, hoping to fortify her cracking marriage. But what she finds is not what she expected: tragedy haunts the hallways, whispering of heartache and a past she never knew existed.

Inspired by the true titans of the steel-boom era, Bethlehem is a story of temptation and regret, a story of secrets and the cost of keeping them, a story of forgiveness. It is the story of two complex women—thrown together in the name of family—who, in coming to understand each other, come finally to understand themselves.

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Book Review: When I Meet You by Olivia Newport

Series: Tree of Life: Book 3

Publisher: Shiloh Run Press

Release Date: May 1, 2020

Genre: Christian Mystery & Suspense

A trunk abandoned at Denver’s Union Station more than a century ago leads Jillian and Nolan to untangle the mystery of its contents—including correspondence with the head of Pinkerton’s National Detective Agency Denver office. While Nolan digs into the legalities of the findings, Jillian searches for the descendants of a stolen identity who might not be who they think they are on Colorado ranch land. When Drew seems anxious to hear what Jillian has to say but his Great Aunt Min slams the subject closed—twice—Jillian is all the more determined to find out what happened to the woman who never claimed her luggage, why Min doesn’t want to talk about it, and what will happen for Drew if he gets the answers he seeks.
 
When I Meet You is the third book in the Tree of Life series by Olivia Newport. You’ll want to return to the lovely Colorado mountain town of Canyon Mines again and again to explore and celebrate unforgettable family stories that will inspire you to connect with your own family histories and unique faith journeys.

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Blog & Review Tour: Texas Witness Threat by Cate Nolan

 

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Texas Witness Threat by Cate Nolan, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Texas Witness Threat 
Author: Cate Nolan
Publisher: Love Inspired Suspense
Release Date: January 1, 2021
Genre: Christian Romantic Suspense

She saw something she shouldn’t have… 

Assistant US Attorney Christine Davis is positive she witnessed a murder, but with no body, the police aren’t convinced. Now someone wants her dead, and Texas Ranger Blake Larsen is the only one who believes her. For Blake, protecting Christine must stay more important than their growing feelings for each other. But can he keep her safe from an unknown enemy who wants her silenced?

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Blog & Review Tour: The Mulberry Leaf Whispers by Linda Thompson

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for The Mulberry Leaf Whispers by Linda Thompson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Mulberry Leaf Whispers 
Series: Brands from the Burning #2
Author: Linda Thompson
Publisher: Mountain Brook Ink
Release Date: December 15, 2020
Genre: Christian Historical Fiction

A WWII Japanese naval officer. The teenage daughter of a legendary Christian samurai. Three centuries separate them, but a crucial question binds their destinies together. 

Which lives have value? 

 In the highly anticipated sequel to her award-winning debut novel, The Plum Blooms in Winter, Linda Thompson provides a riveting story inspired by true events. 

"Splendid story!... Rivals Shogun with its sweeping story of passion and faith, of survival and hope.... Be prepared to be enriched, moved and deeply satisfied." - Jane Kirkpatrick, award-winning author of Something Worth Doing 

"Gorgeous... not-to-be-missed..." - Sarah Sundin, bestselling and Carol Award-winning author of When Twilight Breaks and the Sunrise at Normandy series 

1587. Bartered off in a peace agreement to the ancient enemies of her illustrious house, is Sono a war prize, a hostage, or a bride? One hope sustains her. If she can provide an heir to the dashing husband she just met, she'll ensure decades of peace for the beloved family she was forced to leave behind. But when a dark secret threatens her desperate bid to purchase their security, she must rise to a battle she never dreamed she'd fight. 

1942. Akira Matsuura’s naval vessel explodes under enemy fire. Everything he has lived for disappears in flames with it. His command, his crew, his future—all lost. Worse, his honor is eternally decimated. A prisoner’s life is of value to no one. Least of all to himself. But a stunning twist reveals his family’s secret shame. Can a long-buried truth provide the vital spark that reignites his will to live? 

Thrill to two poignant journeys of courage, duty, and sacrifice, deftly woven through the centuries to inspire with dynamic faith that conquers despair.

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Book Review: Jingle All the Way by Debbie Macomber

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine

Release Date: October 13, 2020

Genre: Clean Christmas Romance

Trapped in the middle of five siblings, Everly Lancaster always had big dreams. Now a top real-estate executive, Everly finds her work is her life, leaving no space for anything (or anyone) else. Sensing her stress, Everly’s boss insists she take December off. At first, a month away seems crazy—how will the company survive without her? But Everly’s mother convinces her otherwise. She deserves a vacation—plus, when she returns, she’ll have no excuse to skip family Christmas like she did last year.

But after her vengeful assistant books a guided cruise in the Amazon instead of the luxury beach vacation she expected, Everly is horrified to realize that she’s about to spend the next two weeks trapped—with no Wi-Fi!—in the rain forest. Not even Asher Adams, the ship’s charming naturalist, can convince Everly that the trip will be unforgettable. Slowly but surely, she realizes he is right: the sights are spectacular. And with each passing day, Everly’s relationship with Asher deepens, forcing her to take a long, hard look at her priorities.

Everly and Asher begin to see magic in the possibility of a life together. But as the cruise nears its end, and Everly’s family Christmas approaches, both must decide if love is worth the risk. A merry surprise may be in store in Debbie Macomber’s newest holiday delight.

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