Tuesday, June 25, 2013

A Bride for All Seasons by Margaret Brownley, Debra Clopton, Mary Connealy, Robin Lee Hatcher

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Thomas Nelson Publishers.  This book contains four novellas.   Each novella is about a different bride from the Hitching Post Mail-Order Bride Catalogue.  I thought that this book sounded kind of cute.  I'm not sure what I expected, but the books were quite sappy.  In each story, the couple meets and finds out that something in the ads and replies has been changed.  They all start out feeling like there is no way that they could ever love each other.  In each story the couple overcomes whatever the misunderstanding was and comes to love each other.  The characters are interesting and all quite different.  All of the stories take place in 1870, so you get a small feel for what the time period was like.  I would give this book 3/5 stars.

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Bethany House Publishers.  Eve Marryat's family is finally leaving St. Paul.  It is 1931 and St. Paul is not a place that you want to raise your family.  Eve's father has lost his job and her Uncle Cy has offered to let the family help out at his Marryat Island Ballroom and Lodge.  Eve thinks that she has landed in just about the perfect place.  She is making friends and even has a boyfriend.  Then she finds out a secret and everything changes.   I thought that this was a wonderful book.  The characters are very believable.  There is a lot going on and it is all tied together nicely.  I really connected with Eve and loved seeing the strength and drive that she had.  I like how the story started with Eve as a grandma, and how she is telling the story of that summer to her grandson.  Very will written.  I would give it 4.5/5 stars.

Gone South by Meg Moseley

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Multnomah publishers.  Tish McComb has fallen in love with her great-great-great-grandparents home.  The only problem is that it is located in Noble, Alabama and she lives in Michigan.  Tish decides to buy the house and start fresh.  Her fiance died in a tragic accident five years ago, and her mother has moved to Florida.   After arriving in town Tish discovers that the McComb name is not well liked and has a hard time trying to make friends or find a job.  Making matters worse, Tish finds Mel Hamilton just after she has been kicked out of her parents home and offers to take her in.  The town might have forgiven her being a McComb, but they won't forgive her helping out the local thief.   I really like the characters in this story.  It is nice to think that there are still people out there that are willing to risk everything to do the right thing.  Tish is a strong women who is trying to overcome the challenges in her life, and thrive where she is.  George seems like a nice guy, and I found myself hoping that he and Tish would be able to work things out.  Mel is a very immature girl.  I had a hard time believing that she was really supposed to be 20.  Overall I enjoyed this book.  It is great to see a book that shows how just a little help up can change a life so completely.  I would give it 4/5 stars.

Monday, June 17, 2013

Grace's Pictures by Cindy Thomson

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Tyndale House Publishers.  Grace McCaffery has been given a chance to start over in New York City.  After growing up with an emotionally abusive father and then spending years in a workhouse in Ireland, Grace has a hard time believing in herself.  Can she trust the people that are trying to help her?  Can she be the independent women that she wants to be?  Can she survive the gangsters that she has managed to make mad?  I liked the character of Grace.  She was believable.  It was nice to watch her overcome what others had been telling her about herself and become the strong women that she knew she could.  There was a lot of coincidences in the story.  She just happened to take 3 pictures that made a group of gangsters mad.  This seemed like a stretch.  Overall I enjoyed the book.  I would give it 3.5/5 stars.  An Author Q&A can be found here.   An excerpt from Chapter One can be found here.  And the authors blog can be found here.