Book Review: "Love in the Details" by Becky Wade

Holly Morgan broke up with Josh Bowen eight years ago.  She thought she had dealt with the heartache of losing him , but when he comes to town to help plan his best friend's wedding, she isn't prepared for the old feelings to come flooding back.  Josh has had eight months to prepare himself for seeing Holly again and he only has to make it through a month without telling Holly how he feels. Will he make it?

I enjoyed reading "Love in the Details"  I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for Holly and Josh to get back together, even though I knew they were going to (since they were the main characters!).  The characters grew through the book and spoke of following God.  Novellas are fast paced, but nice for reading in a short amount of time.

"Love in the Details" is available in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 1942 KB
• Print Length: 93 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: Zondervan (October 27, 2015)
• Publication Date: October 27, 2015
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00UF72DSK

I received a free ecopy of this book from booklookbloggers in exchange for an honest review.  A positive review was not required and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: "The Perfect Arrangement" by Katie Ganshert

"The Perfect Arrangement" by Katie Ganshert is a novella in the 2nd "A Year of Weddings Novella" series. Amelia Woods runs a small town florist, which she loves. She's only had one boyfriend and they broke up four years ago. She decides to drive by the church on the day of his wedding to spy on the proceedings. Being distracted, she rear ends another car, owned by handsome wedding guest Nate Gallagher. When Amelia sees something that upsets her about her brother's girlfriend, she sends a frantic email to her best friend, only to accidentally send it to Nate instead.

"The Perfect Arrangement" has a definite "You've Got Mail" feel to it with the hero and heroine writing emails to each other (other than the fact that Amelia and Nate had meet, albeit briefly, before they started emailing). The story was cute and fun and quick to read. There wasn't really any spiritual content, but the story was clean with no physical contact other than holding hands and kissing. I haven't read many of the novellas in this year's series, but I'm glad that I was able to read this one.

"The Perfect Arrangement" is available on Kindle:

• File Size: 1669 KB
• Print Length: 84 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Up to 5 simultaneous devices, per publisher limits
• Publisher: Zondervan (September 29, 2015)
• Publication Date: September 29, 2015
• Sold by: HarperCollins Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00OFMBDTG

I received a free eBook from booklookbloggers in exchange for my honest review. No other compensation was received and a positive review was not required. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: "The Golden Braid" by Melanie Dickerson

"The Golden Braid" by Melanie Dickerson is a re-telling of the Rapunzel story. It is set in Hagenheim like many of her other stories. "The Golden Braid" actually overlaps her book "The Princess Spy" and you can see some of the action from a different perspective. I love Melanie Dickerson's books and "The Golden Braid" lived up to my expectations. There were some classic elements from the Rapunzel story, with new twists to make this story unique. I enjoyed the characters and stayed up way too late to finish the book. The conflict wasn't just the hero and heroine running through the forest to escape the bad guys, which was also nice.

"The Golden Braid" is available in hardcover:

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 17, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718026268
• ISBN-13: 978-0718026264
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 1.1 x 8.7 inches

and in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 2254 KB
• Print Length: 318 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 17, 2015)
• Publication Date: November 17, 2015
• Sold by: HarperCollins Christian Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00XPV60U0

I received a free copy of this book from booklookbloggers in order for me to review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: "Every Girl Gets Confused" by Janice Thompson

"Every Girl Gets Confused" by Janice Thompson is the second book in the "A Brides with Style Novel" series. I did not read the first book, but it would be a good idea to read it first as "Every Girl Gets Confused" continues on from the story in the first book.

I had a hard time reading this book. It just didn't flow for me. It was told in the first person, which is different than most books, but I've read first person perspective that flowed easier for me. I understand that not everyone likes the same books and this book just wasn't my style. The book is supposedly about Katie Fisher being confused about whether she should stick with her current boyfriend, Brady James, or go back to her ex-boyfriend Casey Lawson. I didn't really get a sense that Katie was really that confused. She sort of wonders about Casey seeming to want to spend time with her, but she always sticks with Brady. The quotes about or by Doris Day at the beginning of the chapters were fun, but along with the titles, didn't seem to go with the chapter's content. Everyone seemed to be arguing about something all the time and there was constant bickering about what denomination church the people went to. It was also strange to me that Katie's family was so tied in with the people from her work with her brothers both dating coworkers.

"Every Girl Gets Confused" is available in paperback:

• Series: Brides with Style (Book 2)
• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Revell (October 20, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800724003
• ISBN-13: 978-0800724009
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.8 x 8.5 inches

in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 4706 KB
• Print Length: 338 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0800724003
• Publisher: Revell (October 13, 2015)
• Publication Date: October 13, 2015
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00XNJGMLQ

and large print hardcover:

• Series: Brides With Style
• Hardcover: 500 pages
• Publisher: Center Point Pub; Lrg edition (December 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1628997958
• ISBN-13: 978-1628997958

I was given a free copy of this book by the publisher in order for me to review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: "All is Calm All is Bright" by Colleen Coble

"All is Calm All is Bright" by Colleen Coble contains two Christmas novellas.

All is Calm  Lauren Everman remembers her time at Bluebird Ranch when she was a foster kid as a haven, so when she needs somewhere to hide, that's where she heads. Brendan Waddell is immediately drawn to her, but can also tell she's hiding something. Will they be able to sort things out before her past catches up with her?

All is Bright  Delilah Carter manages the Tidewater Inn and is planning the wedding for her friend, but when her car is forced off the road, she wonders if someone from her past is trying to harm her. Sheriff Tom Bourne doesn't feel like he's in the same league as Delilah and has kept his feelings for her to himself. He realizes that he needs to do what he can to keep her safe or whomever is trying to hurt her may succeed.

"All is Calm All is Bright" has romance, suspense, and mystery all wrapped up within the Christmas setting. Things happen quickly in the stories which is expected in a novella. I liked the characters in both stories and rooted for them to be able to solve the case and get the bad guys. In "All is Calm",
the mystery kept me guessing up until the end, but I had guessed what was going on in "All is Bright". I still didn't know all the details of what was going to happen, so the story wasn't totally predictable. It was fun to have a quick and enjoyable book to fill a day.

Thomas Nelson and Zondervan are having a contest right now on their Facebook page that you can win a copy of "All is Calm All is Bright" along with Colleen's other Christmas novella book "Silent Night Holy Night"

"All is Calm All is Bright" is available in paperback:

• Paperback: 200 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 6, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0718037820
• ISBN-13: 978-0718037826
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 0.6 x 8.4 inches

and in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 1958 KB
• Print Length: 199 pages
• Page Numbers Source ISBN: 0718037820
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (October 6, 2015)
• Publication Date: October 6, 2015
• Sold by: HarperCollins Christian Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00WDJSWJW

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in order for me to review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: "The Christmas Joy Ride" by Melody Carlson

Miranda Fortner is not feeling very into the Christmas spirit having lost her job and her husband and about to loose her house as well. When her 85 year old neighbor asks her to go on a cross country trek to spread Christmas Joy, she figures she doesn't have anything else better to do and this way she can make sure Joy gets their safely.

"The Christmas Joy Ride" was a very quick read that puts you in the mood for Christmas. As Joy and Miranda make stops along Route 66 delivering Christmas Joy surprises to 6 contest winners, Miranda finds her joy returning. I got teary eyed as they described the situations of the winners and why Joy wanted to help them out. The ending did seem a bit rushed, but with it being a novella, it isn't always possible to elaborate. In all, I thought it was a fun book.

"The Christmas Joy Ride" is available in hardcover:

• Hardcover: 176 pages
• Publisher: Revell (September 1, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0800719670
• ISBN-13: 978-0800719678
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.7 x 0.8 inches

and in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 5218 KB
• Print Length: 176 pages
• Publisher: Revell (August 25, 2015)
• Publication Date: August 25, 2015
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00XNPCHUA

I received a free copy of this book by the publisher in order for me to review it. All thoughts and opinions are my own and a positive review was not required.

Book Review: "The Girl from the Train" by Irma Joubert

Gretl Schmidt escapes from a train headed to Auschwitz, but at only 6 years old, she is left destitute. Jakob Kowalski brings him to his house, but she isn't able to stay there forever. There are already too many people living there. He brings her to a German orphanage and prays he is doing the right thing for her. With her connections to Poland, the Catholic Church, and her Jewish ancestry, she has a lot to hide. There is little hope that Gretl will see Jakob again, but they both can see the moon at night and she takes comfort in that.

"The Girl from the Train" starts in April 1944 and spans the next 16 years. It is told from both Gretl's and Jakob's experiences. I found it easy to read and stayed up too late on more than one occasion because I didn't want to stop reading. The characters were realistic and fleshed out. It was interesting to learn about the events that were taking place in Poland during and after World War II. I also was not aware of the German orphans that had been relocated to South Africa.

"The Girl From the Train" is available in paperback:

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 3, 2015)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0529102374
• ISBN-13: 978-0529102379
• Product Dimensions: 5.4 x 0.9 x 8.4 inches

and in Kindle edition:

• File Size: 1630 KB
• Print Length: 379 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson (November 3, 2015)
• Publication Date: November 3, 2015
• Sold by: HarperCollins Christian Publishing
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00PWOGZAI

I received a free copy of this book for me to review. No other compensation was received and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Book Review: "Winning the Queen's Heart" by Carol Moncado

"Winning the Queen's Heart" by Carol Moncado is the second book in the "Brides of Belles Montagnes" series and I would recommend reading the books in order (It would be best to start with the Montevaro Monarchy books as those characters are also carried over into the Brides series, too).

Christiana has been the queen of Ravenzario since her parents died when she was five. Her uncle, who rule as her regent, was shown to have less than honest intentions for the country and was put in prison. Now, about 18 months later, she learns that her fiance was not who he claimed to be either. She is left with no groom for her wedding. How will her people survive another blow to their country?

Alexander Bayfield has been a part of Queen Christiana's inner circle after bringing her uncle's duplicity to light. When she has no one left to turn to, he steps up to be her protector. Can he win her heart or will events from the past tear them apart?

When I loaded this book on my Kindle, I opened it to make sure it had loaded properly. I started reading and didn't want to put it down! It sucked me right in. I loved how protective Alexander was of Christiana and all the things he did for her. Christiana is sweet and loves her people. This book has romance, suspense, and twists I didn't see coming.

There are many threads woven through the book and not all of them are finalized, but will carry over through the other books in the series. I can't wait to read the next one and find out what is going to happen next.

"Winning the Queen's Heart" is available for Kindle:

• ile Size: 1366 KB
• Print Length: 317 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Publisher: CANDID Publications; 1 edition (October 31, 2015)
• Publication Date: October 31, 2015
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B016CB3UR0

I was given a copy of this book by the author in order for me to review it. No other compensation was received and a positive review was not required. All thoughts and opinions are my own.