Book Description

Shortly after burying her unfaithful husband, Georgia Peyton unexpectedly inherits the derelict Stardust motel from a distant relative. Despite doubts from the community and the aunt who raised her, she is determined to breathe new life into it. But the guests who arrive aren’t what Georgia expects: Her gin-loving mother-in-law; her dead husband’s mistress; an attractive but down-on-his-luck drifter who’s tired of the endless road; and an aging Vaudeville entertainer with a disturbing link to Georgia’s past.

Can Georgia find the courage to forgive those who’ve betrayed her, the grace to shelter those who need her, and the moxy to face the future? And will her dream of a new life under the flickering neon of the STARDUST ever come true?

My Comments:  This is such a great book!   The setting, Louisianna in the 1950s, represents a time when polio was somewhat of an epidemic.  Georgia, the main character, continues to withstand surprise after surprise with a great attitude.  I liked her more and more as the story progressed.  Single mom and newly widowed, Georgia inherits a old, broken-down motel and decided to make it her dream come true.  She faces opposition and a ton of hard work to make it a go.  Of course, romance plays a part, but not huge, just right.  The whole story includes romance, but doesn’t revolve around it.  If you want to read a great book, a book that is different than the norm, I recommend this!

This book will be out the middle of May.  I received an advance e-copy from NetGalley.

A fresh start is a gift. So is having a hand to hold.

Jade and Max share a deep love, though revelations from his past have recently shaken their marriage. And Jade is completely smitten with Max’s little son, Asa, whom she is now raising as her own. Their blended family brings her a joy she’s never known. But there is one more secret to be uncovered. One that will impact them all.

Max is doing his best to “man-up” and prove himself worthy of Jade’s devotion. As well as that of his young son. It seems like life in Whisper Hollow, Tennessee, will pick up where it left off until Max is faced with an unusual opportunity-leave his family’s law firm to coach high-school football in Texas.

Realizing a fresh start will bring healing to their marriage, Jade takes the leap of faith and moves with him and baby Asa, bidding good-bye to her beloved Blue Umbrella shop.

The new beginning in quaint Colby, Texas, is soon sullied when Max discovers the high-school program isn’t all it seemed. While Max struggles to rebuild a once glorious football team, Jade wrestles with news that could break Max’s heart and change their lives forever.

My Comments: I looked back to see what I had written about Softly and Tenderly – the first book in this series and I said I wouldn’t read more – guess I was wrong because I read this – Love Lifted Me – the second in the series.  I’m glad I did, because even though it is totally fiction and foreign to my life, I enjoyed the story.  There was a little mystery, a little romance, a lot of faith, and lots about making good choices.  With life today (and I feel like I can speak to this growing up in the 60s), we face many difficult choices – our culture tells us one thing and God’s Word tells us something completely different.  We face many difficult choices about relationships, faithfulness to God, work ethics, and just about everything else.  Even though I get tired of people saying if we pray, and if we believe in God things will always work out for us – not true – but God will use difficult situations to make us more like Him and closer to Him.  Life is never a bowl of cherries.  End of sermon.  Having said that, Max and Jade faced many difficult situations and choices and I think because of their faith, they made the right choices and you can read for yourself to see what happens.  Enjoyable read – I recommend this book – although it would help to read Softly and Tenderly first.

Thank you NetGalley!!

Where there’s smoke there’s fire, and no one knows this better than New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum.

Dead bodies are showing up in shallow graves on the empty construction lot of Vincent Plum Bail Bonds. No one is sure who the killer is, or why the victims have been offed, but what is clear is that Stephanie’s name is on the killer’s list. Short on time to find the murderer, Stephanie is also under pressure from family and friends to choose between her on-again-off-again boyfriend, Trenton cop Joe Morelli, and the bad boy in her life, security expert Ranger. Stephanie’s mom wants her to dump them both for a former high school football star who’s just returned to town. Stephanie’s sidekick, Lula, suggests a red-hot boudoir “bake-off.” And Joe’s old-world grandmother gives Stephanie “the eye,” which may mean that it’s time to get out of town.

With a cold-blooded killer after her, a handful of hot men, and a capture list that includes a dancing bear and a senior citizen vampire, Stephanie’s life looks like it’s about to go up in smoke.

My Comments: I thought I was finished reading these books, but when the movie came out it renewed my interest.  I am enjoying this book more than I thought I would and glad I put it on my Nook!  My New Jersey roots needs a little fix of New Jersey now and then and Stephanie and Grandma Mazur usually feel that need!  This book is funny as are all of them.  Maybe the plot is a little more predictable that some, but I still enjoy reading it.

I went to see the movie “One for the Money” this afternoon as well.  It does my heart good to hear that good old Jersey accent (even if the reviewers didn’t think it was perfect – it was close enough for me)!  I hesitated to see the movie as well because the reviews weren’t all that great.  But honestly, I liked all of the casting.  I was curious to see Morelli and Ranger and thought the casting of both of those leading men was spot on.  It may not be the best movie or even best movie made from chick lit I’ve ever seen, but nontheless, I enjoyed it!  It was a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

My Comments: This is a quick sweet read.  The premise of the book is a little hard to swallow – making a town famous for love – but my husband and I honeymooned in Vermont and it IS a romantic state overall!  Snow, skiing, cold biting weather (and we went in April!), and quaint little towns.  Four women from the town of Smitten share their love stories.  Each is different according to the personality of the author.  They share other aspects of their lives as well such as making a go of a new business, and fighting people who don’t agree with their idea of making Smitten a town for love (because of it’s name).  This book would be great to read for Valentine’s Day!  I would overall give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Thank you NetGalley!  This book is already pubished and ready to order.

When Carolyn’s grown daughter tells her she needs to “get a life,” Carolyn decides it’s time to step out of her familiar routine as a single woman in San Francisco and escape to her mother’s home in the Canary Islands. Since Carolyn’s mother is celebrating her seventieth birthday, the timing of Carolyn’s visit makes for a perfect surprise.

The surprise, however, is on Carolyn when she sees Bryan Spencer, her high school summer love. It’s been seven years since Carolyn lost her husband, but ever since that tragic day, her life has grown smaller and closed in. The time has come for Carolyn to get her heart back. It takes the gentle affection of her mother and aunts, as well as the ministering beauty and song of the islands to draw Carolyn into the fullness of life. She is nudged along by a Flamenco dance lesson, a defining camel ride and the steady gaze of Bryan’s intense blue-gray eyes.

Is it too late for Carolyn to trust Bryan? Can Carolyn believe that Bryan has turned into something more than the wild beach boy who stole her kisses so many years ago on a balmy Canary night?

Carolyn is reminded that Christopher Columbus set sail from the Canary Islands in 1492 on his voyage to discover the New World. Is she ready to set sail from these same islands to discover her new life?

My Comments: I enjoyed this book because it reminded me in so many ways of the Sister Chick books also by Robin Jones Gunn.  The traveling, the new culture, the close family, and the renewed romance made this book a relaxing, enjoyable, entertaining read.  The returning to Christianity after being bitterly disappointed also spoke to me because of experiences I have had with that in my own life.  Turning back to God is the ultimate happy ending to a story.  If you enjoy a great escape, I recommend this book.

I received this book as an ebook from Simon Schuster.  Thank you!  It will be released the beginning of July.

Product Description

In the middle of the year, in the middle of her life, Bethanne Hamlin takes a road trip with her daughter, Annie, and her former mother-in-law, Ruth.

They’re driving to Florida for Ruth’s 50th high-school reunion. A longtime widow, Ruth would like to reconnect with Royce, the love of her teenage life. She’s heard he’s alone, too…and, well, she’s curious. Maybe even hopeful.

Bethanne herself needs time to reï ¬ ‚ ect, to ponder a decision she has to make. Her ex-husband, Grant—her children’s father—wants to reconcile now that his second marriage has failed. Bethanne’s considering it….

Meanwhile, Annie’s out to prove to her onetime boyfriend that she can live a brilliant life without him!

So there they are, three women driving across America. They have their maps and their directions—but even the best-planned journey can take you to a turn in the road. Or lead you to an unexpected encounter—like the day Bethanne meets a man named Max who really is a hero on a Harley. That’s when Bethanne’s decision becomes a lot harder. Because Grant wants her back, but now there’s Max….

From Seattle’s Blossom Street to the other end of the country, this is a trip that could change three women’s lives.

My Comments: I love road trips and I love the Blossom Street series, so this book was a hit with me.  I love that Bethanne became a savvy business woman and could become independent after being a stay-at-home living basically for her husband and children.  She is a roll-model for women – single AND married who need to be their own person, not just an extension of her husband.

I love the way this book ended, although I wasn’t sure how it would end until it did (if that makes sense).  I wasn’t sure the best choice would be made – but it was!

Debbie Macomber writes great, warm and fuzzy romantic stories, and this one is another great addition to the Blossom Street series!

This book will be published the end of April.  I received an e-copy from NetGalley.

Kaye Redmond stages houses for resale, so masking trouble spots with strategic decor comes naturally. She does it in her personal life as well-her can-do attitude and ready smile disguising the emotional wear-and-tear of a failed marriage and raising a teenage daughter alone. But when her former mother-in-law comes back around, desperate for a place to stay while recovering from a botched facelift, Kaye begins to realize there’s a much more authentic way to brighten one’s countenance: look to God and His plan for her life.

My Review: I enjoyed this book – it is a light, easy read pointing the way to proper priorities in life when we tend to get side tracked.  Since I live so close to Hollywood and I think the whole US has the “Hollywood” mindset at times (eg, Dancing with the Stars, American Idol, etc.) this book is spot on.  Facelifts are so much more popular and easier to retain than in the past, and a botched facelift would be one of the worst nightmares imaginable, so I totally get this – what I don’t get is asking an ex-inlaw for help.  God can, however, use everything and anything in our lives – including a difficult teen and ex-mother-in-law!

There’s nothing left for Tara Sweet in landlocked Dexton, Missouri. Her fiancé called off their wedding, her sister is moving to Manhattan, and now her mother is marrying a much younger man with plans for a yearlong honeymoon in Europe. Tara believes a move back to her childhood home of Otter Bay, California, will help restore the fun and fearlessness she’s already missing in her twenties. Playing back memories of idyllic times spent there with her father along the majestic coast, a fairytale seems just around the corner.

Better make that a soap opera. After Tara finds a job in Otter Bay, makes friends at The Red Abalone Grill, and perhaps even a new flame in firefighter Josh, she begins to uncover shocking secrets about why her family left this heaven on earth all those years ago. And though she will have to question everything she has ever known, the faith that Tara must depend upon will be sweeter than ever before.

My Review: “Sweet Waters” is a great beach read.  The cover alone invites you to take this book out on your front porch with a class of diet coke or to sun yourself while reading on your blanket at the beach.  The story is about three young sisters searching for their roots without really realizing that is what they are doing.  I like this book although in some ways it is not believable.  Some aspects are a little out of my realm of reality, but who wouldn’t want to move from landlocked Missouri to sunny California.  Tara (don’t you love that name?) finds a sweet romance, she also finds out many truths about her past that are shocking to her and her sisters.  They find out the facts little by little as the story moves along.  The book causes me to want to know more about some of the characters and their families. The story takes a few twists and turns until it ends leaving me wanting for more.

About the book:

Watch the tangled mess a Kansas hairdresser gets herself into when she reports to the funeral home that the body she is to work on is not the same as in her reference photo. Is she being punished when the director accuses her of stealing a diamond ring? Will Hilde Higgins’s former boyfriend help her unravel the issue or only bring more trouble to her life?