Book Review: Shootout by Sophia Summers

Title: Shootout
Series: Northbrook Hockey Elite: Book 6
Publisher: Mirror Press
Release Date: April 14, 2020
Genre: Clean Sports Romance

A pro hockey player with a past. A broadway dancer turned ice girl, and the ice that draws them together.

Trane wondered if he would ever be the kind of guy who settled down and had a family. He had too much in his past, too much to deal with in his present to have hope that his future would be anything other than many years as one of the best goalies in the NHL. Until he meets the new ice girl.

Former dancer on Broadway, Janae, can't seem to get a job anywhere but as an ice girl for the Detroit Comets. Her plan? To make her mark in Detroit so she can get back to Broadway as soon as possible. Things are going well. Her new dance routines for the team become an industry sensation. She predicts she'll be back in New York within the year. But then she goes out with Trane Jones. And suddenly everything she thought was important might not be.

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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Reviewer Tour: Hers to Love by Sherrinda Ketchersid

Welcome to the Reviewer Tour for Hers to Love by Sherrinda Ketchersid, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK


Title: Hers to Love
Author: Sherrinda Ketchersid
Publisher: Red Starling Press
Release Date: September 13, 2021
Genre: Historical Medieval Romance

He’s running from his past—she’s running from her future.

Fiona McGowan, a beautiful Scottish widow without hope for a family of her own, travels to St. Mary’s Convent to become a nun. In route she is kidnapped by handsome Highlander Adam MacIntosh in a case of mistaken identity. Adam, laird of the MacIntosh clan, is attempting to free his brother held captive by the rival Fergus clan. The failure of his plan leaves him reeling with betrayal, death, and a wee babe in sore need of a healer.

Though forced to delay her vows, Fiona’s anger and distrust thaws as rising tensions within Adam’s clan threaten to ignite an uprising. She chooses to aid her noble but beleaguered captor in his quest to restore peace among his Highland clan. But as the two learn to trust each other, the question remains: Can they move beyond the hurts of their past, or will the past be their undoing?

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Book Review: Violeta by Isabel Allende

Title: Violeta
Author: Isabel Allende
Publisher: Random House-Ballentine
Release Date: January 25, 2022
Genre: Historical Caribbean & Latin American Fiction

This sweeping novel from the New York Times bestselling author of A Long Petal of the Sea tells the epic story of Violeta Del Valle, a woman whose life spans one hundred years and bears witness to the greatest upheavals of the twentieth century.

Violeta comes into the world on a stormy day in 1920, the first girl in a family with five boisterous sons. From the start, her life is marked by extraordinary events, for the ripples of the Great War are still being felt, even as the Spanish flu arrives on the shores of her South American homeland almost at the moment of her birth.

Through her father’s prescience, the family will come through that crisis unscathed, only to face a new one as the Great Depression transforms the genteel city life she has known. Her family loses everything and is forced to retreat to a wild and beautiful but remote part of the country. There, she will come of age, and her first suitor will come calling.

She tells her story in the form of a letter to someone she loves above all others, recounting times of devastating heartbreak and passionate affairs, poverty and wealth, terrible loss and immense joy. Her life is shaped by some of the most important events of history: the fight for women’s rights, the rise and fall of tyrants, and ultimately not one, but two pandemics.

Through the eyes of a woman whose unforgettable passion, determination, and sense of humor carry her through a lifetime of upheaval, Isabel Allende once more brings us an epic that is both fiercely inspiring and deeply emotional.

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Blog + Review Tour: Review, Excerpt & Giveaway: Healing Skye by Janet W. Ferguson

Healing Skye JustRead Blog + Review Tour

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for Healing Skye by Janet W. Ferguson, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Healing Skye
Title: Healing Skye 
Series: Coastal Hearts 
Author: Janet W. Ferguson 
Publisher: Southern Sun Press LLC 
Release Date: December 16, 2021 
Genre: Christian, Contemporary Romance 

People can’t be trusted. 

Animals always made more sense than humans did to marine biologist Skye Youngblood. After her mother’s suicide, she left Alabama and never looked back. These days, she pours her heart into protecting nature’s sea creatures. When she returns to Dauphin Island, Alabama, for a temporary manatee migration study, her dark past is much too close. She can’t let her guard down. But how can she keep her heart hidden when a kind man with a genuine smile makes her want a fresh start? 

Charter fishing pays the bills for widower Pete Thompson and his little girl, but like his father, a pastor, Pete can’t help but fish for men. Only, after growing up under constant scrutiny as a preacher’s kid, Pete’s ways are a bit more unconventional. And the bulk of his life revolves around raising his precious daughter. 

When he witnesses the car wreck of a new marine biologist on the island, it doesn’t take a genius to see that more than just her physical pain needs tending. Pete feels called to help Skye find true healing, but he’s navigating dangerous waters. And he’s not at all sure he’ll walk away unscathed. 
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Book Review: A Man of Honor by Barbara Taylor Bradford

Title: A Man of Honor
Series: The Harte Family Saga-Prequel
Author: Barbara Taylor Bradford
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: December 28, 2021
Genre: Historical British Fiction

The prequel to Barbara Taylor Bradford's New York Times bestselling and dazzling saga A Woman of Substance.

Opening five years before the start of A Woman of SubstanceA Man of Honor begins with 13-year-old Blackie O’Neill facing an uncertain future in rural County Kerry. Orphaned and alone, he has just buried his sister, Bronagh, and must leave his home to set sail for England, in search of a better life with his mother’s brother in Leeds. There, he learns his trade as a navvy, amid the grand buildings and engineering triumphs of one of England’s most prosperous cities, and starts to dream of greater things... And then, high on the Yorkshire moors, in the mists of a winter morning he meets a kitchen maid called Emma Harte.

In A Man of Honor, the true Blackie O'Neill is revealed. For the first time, readers discover his story: his tumultuous life, the obstacles facing him, the desire he has to throw off the impotence of poverty and move up in the world. Like his friend Emma, he is ambitious, driven, disciplined, and determined to make it to the top. And like Emma Harte, he is an unforgettable character for the millions who loved the book. 

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Takeover + Review Tour: An Orphan's Hope by Christina Miller

An Orphan's Hope JustRead Takeover + Review Tour

Welcome to the Takeover + Review Tour for An Orphan's Hope by Christina Miller, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

An Orphan's Hope
Title: An Orphan's Hope 
Series: Natchez #2 
Author: Christina Miller 
Publisher: Love Inspired 
Release Date: January 25, 2022 
Genre: Contemporary Romance, Christian 

He trusts her with his new daughter. 

But his wounded heart is another matter… 

Twice left at the altar, preacher Jase Armstrong avoids commitment at all costs—until he inherits his cousin’s three-day-old baby. Pushing him further out of his comfort zone is Erin Tucker, the nurse for his live-in octogenarian boss, and her lessons on caring for an infant. But can Jase open his heart enough to see the family forming around him? 
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Book Review: Forever You by Leah Busboom

Series: Connor Brothers #12
Publisher: LBRB Consulting, LLC
Release Date: January 1, 2022
Genre: Time Travel Romance

Can love transcend the bounds of time?

Laci V’s star is bright. The up-and-coming singer just released her new single and it’s climbing the country music charts. Her concerts are filling stadiums, and she’s soon to be nominated for a Grammy award. Laci’s quickly becoming a big-time celebrity. But after a storm rolls through one of her outdoor concerts, Laci wakes up in 1855.

Matthew finds a woman from the future in a field near his homestead. He helps her and takes her home with him, and she fascinates him with stories of inventions that haven’t happened yet. Her determination and grit eventually capture his heart. But this rugged, handsome frontiersman isn’t quite sure what to do with this beautiful time traveler.

As Laci gets to know Matthew, she falls in love with his kind and gentle ways, his fierce love for the land, and his indomitable pioneer spirit. While Matthew may be her perfect man, he doesn’t live in the century she wants to live in. Laci longs for the modern conveniences of the time period she came from, for the friends and family she left behind, and for her blossoming career. Matthew realizes that to show his love for Laci, he must let her go back to the time that she came from. Even though it will break his heart.

Will one man’s love span generations? Can love transcend the limits of time, of past and present—turning what seems impossible into something extraordinary?

Book 12 in the Connor Brothers series of small-town, clean, and wholesome romances. You’ll visit Connor’s Grove before it became a town and Minnesota before it became a state.

This book is a unique blend of historical and contemporary romance, and a story about finding love and never letting it go despite the constraints of time. A clean and wholesome take on Outlander. Fans of The Time Traveler’s Wife or the Little House on the Prairie TV series will love this poignant, powerful twelfth book in the Connor Brothers series. This novel may be read as a stand-alone.

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Blog Tour + Review: A Path to Forgiveness by Lisa M. James

A Path to Forgiveness JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Path to Forgiveness by Lisa M. James, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Path to Forgiveness
Title: A Path to Forgiveness 
Series: The Prodigal Woman #1 
Author: Lisa M. James 
Publisher: Independently Published 
Release Date: January 21, 2022 
Genre: Christian Fantasy 

Reckless. Extravagant. Wasteful. These were all words that could describe Esther. Thirteen years of careless living had left Esther and her young son destitute. When her husband disappears at night, leaving Esther with the full burden of their debt, Esther has no choice but to claim her husband is dead and enslave herself and her child to stay alive. So severely had she broken the relationships in her life, she never expected a man from her childhood to speak on her behalf and carry the weight of her debt. Yet Esther soon realizes that escaping the demons of her past would not be so easy. 

Levi had little interest in seeing Esther again. When a promise to her father leaves him honor-bound to take her as his wife, he struggles with the bitterness he holds toward her for allowing her addictions and selfishness to derail her life. Yet, he could not hide the deep desire within him to be a husband and a father, even to a woman he did not love and a child that was not his by blood. 

Discover the story of a reckless woman in A Path to Forgiveness. 
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Book Review: The Inns of Devonshire: Timeless Regency Collection


Series: Timeless Regency Collection: Book 18
Publisher: Mirror Press
Release Date: October 5, 2021
Genre: Victorian Historical Romance

Three novellas, three times the romance, and three times the love...
in this brand new Timeless Regency Collection: The Inns of Devonshire

♡ THE SEVENTH STAR INN by Sally Britton
After years of looking after one another, Susan Baxter and her mother view their neighbors in Totnes as family. When a new landlord inherits the leases on their homes and businesses alike, Susan dreads knowing her world could change at the whim of a stranger. But when she meets Collin Stonecroft and his inquisitive daughter, her feelings shift quickly from cautionary to hopeful. Collin has lived in the confines of London boarding houses all his life, and he’s determined to give his daughter more. They check into the Seventh Star Inn with plans to return to London as soon as possible, but both find Miss Baxter and her local history lessons far too enchanting to leave behind. When Susan learns of Collin’s proposed changes to her beloved neighborhood, will she be able to help him see that some things are perfect the way they are?

♡ THE TRUTH ABOUT MR. BLACKMORE by Annette Lyon
Leigh’s life at the Old Grey Inn is drudgery broken by flights of fancy thanks in part to novels by Simon Blackmore. When Mattias McGrady comes to the inn for a fortnight, Leigh captures his attention. A relationship develops, and she dreads the end of his stay, which will mean a return to an unhappy life. An urgent letter to Mattias leads to him inviting Leigh to an event that stands to change both of their lives forever. If all goes well, Leigh will have a life of her choosing after all. But half-truths and lies have a way of complicating matters. When their plans go awry, Leigh loses her reputation and Mattias almost surely loses his career. Can either of them find happiness?

♡ THE COACHMAN'S CHOICE by Deborah M. Hathaway
Ever-reliable Mary Thorne has helped her widowed mother run The Golden Mermaid Inn for years. She spends her days greeting guests, ensuring the inn runs smoothly—and dodging flirtatious remarks from passing coachmen. But she’s far too busy to pay any attention to such men, even the enticingly attractive Mr. Northcott. Known far and wide for his horsemanship, punctuality, and dallying reputation, Robert Northcott relishes his life as a coachman, especially his freedom to flirt with numerous women from inn to inn, all without the messy details of commitment. There’s just one woman who's immune to his charms: the lovely, single landlady of The Golden Mermaid. Robert is determined to win Mary over, just as heartily as she is determined to keep her distance from him. But his carefree life is threatened when his pursual of Mary becomes more than just a game...

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Blog Tour: Spotlight & Excerpt + Giveaway for A Book Called You by Matthew Stephen Brown

A Book Called You JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for A Book Called You by Matthew Stephen Brown, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

A Book Called You
Title: A Book Called You 
Author: Matthew Stephen Brown 
Publisher: W Publishing / Thomas Nelson 
Release Date: October 5, 2021 
Genre: Christian Growth / Enneagram 

A biblically grounded Enneagram book that looks at the Enneagram numbers of people in the Bible so readers can discover more about themselves and gain specific wisdom about how and why they are uniquely made. 

Who am I? Everyone asks that question, no matter their age or status in life. If we truly are supposed to be real with others, shouldn’t that start with learning how to be real with ourselves? We think so. But we have to be willing to look inside and ask, "Okay, God, who am I? What is it that I don’t see about myself that you see?" A Book Called YOU will help us learn about who we are as individuals and how a biblical view of self-discovery can improve every part of our lives. 

Based on his widely successful teaching series "A Series Called You" and his personal experience using the Enneagram personality assessment tool in his marriage and other personal relationships, pastor Matt Brown offers a groundbreaking, entertaining, and heartfelt guide that highlights biblical truths alongside the Enneagram to help us better understand ourselves and how we relate to the people around us. 
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Blog + Review Tour & Giveaway for God is My Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom

God is My Hiding Place JustRead Blog + Review Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for God Is My Hiding Place by Corrie ten Boom, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

God Is My Hiding Place
Title: God Is My Hiding Place 
Author: Corrie ten Boom 
Publisher: Chosen 
Release Date: October 19, 2021 
Genre: Devotional, Christian

"If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. If you look within, you'll be depressed. But if you look at Christ, you'll be at rest."--Corrie ten Boom

Dutch watchmaker Corrie ten Boom, with her courageous, God-fearing family, sheltered Jews from the Nazis during World War II. This led to her arrest and suffering in prison and concentration camps--as told in her bestselling book The Hiding Place. Her dramatic life story and her more than 40 other books have prepared millions to face their own future with courage--relying on God's love to forgive, overcome, heal and restore. 

Through this 40-day devotional based on Corrie's writings, you will find inspiration to strengthen your faith, re-root your soul in Christ and increase your experience of God's peace. 

Receive the courage and comfort of the Holy Spirit, and remind yourself of what Corrie ten Boom knew and lived: God is your hiding place. 
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Book Review: The Evil Within by Darren Galsworthy


Title: The Evil Within
Author: Darren Galsworthy
Publisher: HarperElement
Release Date: March 3, 2016
Genre: True Crime

Previously published as Becky, this is the heartbreaking story behind the murder of 16-year-old Bristol schoolgirl Becky Watts, a crime that shocked the nation and tore a family in two.

A vulnerable and shy girl, Becky Watts was brutally murdered and dismembered by her own step-brother on 19 February 2015. As her father Darren discovered the horrific details of what happened to his darling girl, his world fell apart.

Writing about the darkest hours, Darren uncovers what Becky’s relationship with her step-brother Nathan, a child he had raised as his own son, was really like. He recalls the devastation of discovering the truth about the depravity with which Becky was torn from him in the safety of her own home. And he recounts the torment of the legal battle to see his step-son sentenced to life behind bars.

Both heartfelt and haunting, searingly honest and unflinching, this is the ultimate story of a family tragedy. 

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Blog Tour: Excerpt, Review, & Giveaway for His Road to Redemption by Lisa Jordan

His Road to Redemption JustRead Blog Tour

Welcome to the Blog Tour for His Road to Redemption by Lisa Jordan, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

His Road to Redemption
Title: His Road to Redemption 
Series: Holland Brothers 
Author: Lisa Jordan 
Publisher: Love Inspired 
Release Date: December 28, 2021 
Genre: Contemporary Christian romance 

A veteran in need of a fresh start 
will get more than he bargained for… 

Veteran Micah Holland's scars go deeper than anyone knows. An inheritance from his mentor could be a new beginning—if he shares the inherited goat farm with fiercely independent Paige Watson. Now the only way they can keep the farm is to work together. But first Micah must prove he's a changed man to keep his dream and the woman he's falling for. 
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Book Review: Saving Christmas by Ava Catori and Kim Koby


Title: Saving Christmas (formerly Their Small Town Christmas Romance)
Author: Ava Catori and Kim Koby
Release Date: October 27, 2018
Genre: Clean Christmas Romance

Is it too late to save Christmas?

Holly’s Christmas plans are ruined. Her sun-soaked Caribbean vacation has to wait. Instead, she's forced to spend the holidays in her small, Pennsylvania hometown...something she’s carefully avoided for years.

Things go from bad to worse when she’s tasked with the last-minute chore of finding a fill-in Santa for the community’s Christmas Eve celebration. Short on time and patience, she's beyond overwhelmed. Her list of things that need to get done is growing longer. She still has to bake cookies, help at her father’s jewelry store, and wrap presents.

Matt is surprised when he runs into Holly the week before Christmas. She doesn’t usually spend the holidays in Hope Valley—not that he’s complaining. He’s had a crush on her since they were teenagers. One look, and the feelings rush back at him, full-force.

Can he spread a little holiday cheer and magic, all while getting Holly to finally return his feelings? Or will Holly realize she was right to stay away from her small hometown, and plan her next Caribbean Christmas vacation the first chance she gets? Note: This book was previously titled "Their Small Town Christmas Romance".

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Book Review: The Churchill Sisters by Rachel Trethewey


Title: The Churchill Sisters
Author: Rachel Trethewey
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Release Date: November 23, 2021
Genre: Great Britain Biography

As complex in their own was as their Mitford cousins, Winston and Clementine Churchill's daughters each had a unique relationship with their famous father.  Rachel Trethewey's biography, The Churchill Sisters, tells their story.

Bright, attractive and well-connected, in any other family the Churchill girls – Diana, Sarah, Marigold and Mary – would have shone. But they were not in another family, they were Churchills, and neither they nor anyone else could ever forget it. From their father – ‘the greatest Englishman’ – to their brother, golden boy Randolph, to their eccentric and exciting cousins, the Mitford Girls, they were surrounded by a clan of larger-than-life characters which often saw them overlooked. While Marigold died too young to achieve her potential, the other daughters lived lives full of passion, drama and tragedy.

Diana, intense and diffident; Sarah, glamorous and stubborn; Mary, dependable yet determined – each so different but each imbued with a sense of responsibility toward each other and their country. Far from being cosseted debutantes, these women were eyewitnesses at some of the most important events in world history, at Tehran, Yalta and Potsdam. Yet this is not a story set on the battlefields or in Parliament; it is an intimate saga that sheds light on the complex dynamics of family set against the backdrop of a tumultuous century.

Drawing on previously unpublished family letters from the Churchill archives, The Churchill Sisters brings Winston’s daughters out of the shadows and tells their remarkable stories for the first time. 

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Book Review: Small Sacrifices by Ann Rule


Title: Small Sacrifices
Author: Ann Rule
PublisherEstate of Ann Rule in conjunction with Renaissance Literary & Talent
Release Date: July 5, 1988 (Original Publication Date) -July 2, 2018 (This Publication)
Genre: True Crime

Anne Rule's shocking and powerful account of the destructive forces that drove Diane Downs, a beautiful mother, to shoot her three young children in cold blood.

On the evening of May 19th, 1983, Diane Downs arrived at Mckenzie-Willamette Hospital driving a blood splattered Nissan. Inside were her three children (Christie Ann 8, Cheryl Lynn 7, and Stephen Daniel 3) in critical condition, lying in the back seat suffering from fresh gunshot wounds. Downs herself had been shot in the arm and immediately told authorities that a “bushy haired stranger” flagged her down on the side of a nearby deserted road and proceeded to shoot her three children, and then herself. She claimed she barely managed to get into the car and drive off, leaving the man behind. Two of Downs’ children, Christie Ann and Stephen Daniel, were expected to make a full recovery, while Cheryl Lynn passed away shortly after arriving at the hospital. Downs’ strange and cold reaction to this news was what immediately heightened the suspicions of the hospital staff and authorities, contributing to her becoming the lead suspect. As the investigation continued, her version of the story became more convoluted and new evidence against her led to her arrest.

In 1989 SMALL SACRIFICES was made into the popular TV movie of the same name starring Farrah Fawcett, which earned her an Emmy nomination. 

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