"The Wedding List" Autumn Macarthur

Book Description

You never forget your first love... 

With her eye for design and her cut-glass accent, no-one would guess Beth Forrest’s impoverished background. It’s all throw pillows, china patterns, and upper class brides as she manages the Wedding Registry at Pettett & Mayfield, the stately maiden aunt of London department stores. It’s not quite her dream job, but each bride she helps to select beautiful and oh-so-expensive items for their gift list brings her one step closer to buying a little home of her own, and financing the education she longs for. 

When physics professor James Tetherton-Hart, brilliant in his research lab but awkward and disorganised in everyday life, comes to the store in desperate need of both a gift and a partner for a wedding that evening and recognises her, all her careful plans and meticulous checklists are turned upside down.

Now her first love is back, determined to make her his partner for life, not just the evening. But unless Beth can let go of the mistaken beliefs that separated them in the past, and appreciate the depth and breadth of God’s love for us all, her only gift from the wedding will be another heartbreak.

Author Bio:

Autumn Macarthur is an Australian writer of inspirational romance living near London with her very English husband, three spoiled cats, and a guinea pig with a dandelion addiction. She loves reading, cooking, gardening, and writing deeply emotional stories to make you smile and remind you how big and wide and deep God's love and forgiveness can be.

She tends to talk a little too much, laugh a little too loud, and eat a little more than maybe she should. She's thankful to be blessed with some good friends and a very patient husband. Most of all, she's eternally grateful for God's great love and mercy.

When she's not talking to her strawberry plants or cherry blossoms, she can be found blogging at www.faithhopeandheartwarming.com; on Facebook as Autumn Macarthur, and on Twitter as @autumnmacarthur. She's also on Goodreads.

She'd love to hear from you!

Sign up for the newsletter at her blog and access exclusive subscriber only behind-the-book content and giveaways!

WARNING 
The Wedding List is a Christian romance! 

Please don't buy this book if you are offended by the G-bomb (God), Jesus, and mention of prayer, church, or the Bible. 

Includes Halloween costumes, kissing, and a hint of gentle slapstick humour, as well as British spelling. 

37,000 words 152 paperback pages 

My Review:

"The Wedding List" Autumn Macarthur is an inspirational romance! It is also a look at how judging people is so wrong! 

I wasn't sure I was going to really like this story because it started with Beth Forrest’s boss making her wear , "the corpse's bride costume" as part of her job. I didn't see the warning before I read this book and I am glad I didn't because I would have preconceived ideals, because I don't like Halloween. With all that I have just said, I loved this book and the Halloween costumes were a big part of the story, I love the way it all fell into place. Actually it was quite amusing. That is all I can say about that without giving a spoiler.

Beth and James were from different worlds, she was poor and he was rich and no one wanted them together. When James was away for a week, Beth left without a "Goodbye".  James and Beth never forgot their first love and also wondering why no contact from the other one.  Then one day after ten years, they are face to face again! Is God getting them back together or is He telling them to forget their love and move on with their other dreams!

While reading this story, I found myself wanting to cheer on James and Beth as they stood up to the bullies in their lives, and yes some of these bullies were family members.

I found this story quite enjoyable and believable and cannot wait till the others stories in this series (Love In Store) is available. There is going to be a Christmas, New Year's Eve and Valentine Day story in this series! They will be in my To Be Read List.

I was given a free ebook copy by the author for my honest review!

"Trinity Icon" by Steve Wilson

Steve Wilson/ Trinity Icon

ISBN: 978-1618081087    | List Price: $15.95 print/ $2.99 Kindle | Format: Paperback and Kindle | Page Count: 400 pages

Poland's past and present collide in an epic quest for peace and treasure. 

In Central Europe, Poland has rejected plans for an anti-missile shield—until a threat from beyond their borders causes disaster. During testing, an Iranian ICBM veers off course with tragic results, and the Polish government turns to NATO—and the United States—for protection. With the defensive shield now back on the table, National Security Advisor Willis Avery envisions an even broader network of emplacements. His strategy depends on the cooperation of the breakaway states—and the help of Captain Michael Neill. Tasked as a liaison, it’s Neill’s job to convince the republics. He enlists the aid of an old friend, General Andrei Ulyanov—and, if he can keep her alive, dynamic and beautiful journalist Viktoriya Gavrilenko. The stage is set for increased tension when the Russians threaten an arms race. Avery is targeted, and along the way, Neill becomes caught up in the search for a lost religious icon, foretold by legend to restore the faith of a disheartened people .

Author Bio: Steve Wilson is a multimedia designer for a large metropolitan newspaper, and has worked in advertising for over 25 years. He is a prior service Marine, now serving as a Master Sergeant in the Air Force Reserve.

Over the course of his military career, he has received the Iraq and Afghanistan Campaign Medals, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal. In 2010 he was named the Air Transportation NCO of the Year. His ties to the armed forces—as well as short-term mission trips—have taken him to Kuwait, Iraq, Afghanistan, Europe and the Pacific, as well as the former Soviet Union. These experiences have helped to shape his story lines.

Steve is also the author of Red Sky at Morning and Tempest of Fire, both military/espionage novels in the Michael Neill Adventure series. He is the father of two grown sons, and lives in Florida with his wife.

To learn more about Steve and his books, visit his website: http://stevewilsonauthor.com/ or his blog.  You can also find him on Facebook. You can purchase your copy of Trinity Icon on Steve's Website, Amazon, or at Barnes and Noble.

My Review:

"Trinity Icon"is the third book in the (Michael Neill Adventure Series ) and I have enjoyed reading all three. “Trinity Icon was not as fast reading for me as the other two but I still enjoyed reading it.

"Trinity Icon” reveals more facts about Michael Neill’s father’s death. We also learn the history of a legend about a raid by Swedes and how through the ages, survivors’ descendants continue to search for an icon missing from the church where Father Jakob was murdered on a snowy Christmas Eve in 1655. The journalist,Viktoriya Gavrilenko, whom Michael met previously in Odessa, Russia is following the story and has assassins trying to end her life. Michael is sent to Poland to help protect her and to enlist Poland’s help to combat Russia’s tactics.

“Trinity Icon” as well as the other two books in this series allows the reader to travel to different countries and learn about Marine Corps policies and tactics in a safe and fun way and not too technical and without giving away “ how things are really done”.

I am having a hard time picking out my favorite story line of “Trinity Icon” is it the romance between Marine Staff Sergeant Christina Arrens and Michael and that they try to deny the attraction because of the Marine Corps rules, or is it the ending. I was totally surprised, I really didn’t see it coming! Maybe, I should just say I loved the entire book  and the series and hope you check them out for yourself. This reader likes to think men like Michael Neill does exist and is protecting our world.

“Trinity Icon” by Steve Wilson gets five stars!

There is a fourth book coming soon and you know I will be reading it as there are still more secrets to be revealed.

I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew

" Mercy Fight" by T.L. Gray "

Book Description

Publication Date: August 19, 2014

He feared no one…but himself.
Recovering from a past shaped by violence, Matt Holloway has sworn to live a different life than his parents did. Matt has found a purpose that keeps his lingering pain and fear at bay: helping others to heal. Yet the nightmares continue to haunt him.
Grace has lived a life of luxury, sheltered by her family’s money and connections. When a betrayal forces her to question everything, she leaves her family and accepts an ambitious position in a career for which she may not be ready.
When the two first meet, they cannot deny their instant, intense attraction. While Grace is willing to take another risk with her heart, Matt remains chained by his past and struggles to trust their future together. Fighting to save the children they’ve pledged to help, Matt and Grace must learn to overcome the pain in their past and find their true courage.

Author Bio:
T.L. Gray is the kindle best selling author of the Winsor and Set Apart series. Her mission is to provide clean, culturally relevant romances that incorporate messages of hope and healing.

She currently serves as a pastor's wife in Ennis, Texas. When not chasing after her three amazing kids, T.L. Gray can be spotted with her head in a book. Writing has given her a platform to combine her passion with her ministry.

T.L. Gray is currently working on book 2 in the Set Apart series.

I'd love to hear from all of you! Come join me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/tlgraybooks or visit my website at http://www.tlgray.com

If you'd like to read a little on my testimony, follow this link: http://tlgray.com/healing-the-broken

My Review: "Mercy's Fight" is an honest  look (though fiction) at spousal and child abuse and the aftereffects. Even though they are hard subjects to deal with this book is an excellent  read! I would recommend this book to adults and real mature older teens! This book is a clean romance with lots of kissing but deals with drugs and alcohol and violence and murder!

Don't let my first paragraph make you not read this book! 

This book made me feel happy and angry and sad, not necessarily in that order. I was hooked from the first chapter, I had to get to the end to see if Grace and Matt overcame their pasts. You will have to read this excellent book to find the answer for yourself.

There was times I wanted to yell at the characters in the story. I wanted to say,"Come on you know that isn't right and why are you acting that way and just tell someone so you can heal"!

This book was a book chosen for an online book discussion or I probably wouldn't have read it only because I didn't know about it or T.L.Gray but I am glad it was chosen because now I have another favorite author and would read more of her books. I know she is working on book 2 in this "Set Apart Series" and I hope her readers get to know more about Grace and Matt and the other characters as well as new ones.

I guess you know by now I have given "Mercy Fight" by T.L. Gray" five stars.

A  copy was provided to me for review purposes. 

 I have included a book trailer  for you to enjoy:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=beCX5A-nzSM

!

"The Lyre and the Lambs" by Sydney Avey

Book Description

Publication Date: September 3, 2014

Literary fiction for Women.

A feast of family can be a plate load of problems!

It's the Sixties. Modernity and tradition clash as two newlywed couples set up house together. Dee and her daughter Valerie move with their husbands into a modern glass house Valerie built in a proudly rural Los Altos, California, neighborhood. When their young relatives start showing up and moving in, the neighbors get suspicious. Then a body is found in the backyard and the life they are trying to build comes undone.

Father Mike is back to guide Dee through a difficult time with humor and grace, even as his own life is unraveling. Now he's going to have to take some of his own advice about love.

The sequel to "The Sheep Walker's Daughter", "The Lyre and the Lambs" explores the passions that draw people together and the faith it takes overcome trauma.

Author Bio: 

Sydney Avey is a California girl who grew up in Silicon Valley and now lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yosemite and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. She has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a lifetime of experience writing news for non profits and corporations. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Forge Journal and Epiphany Magazine. She blogs at sydneyavey.com on topics related to relationships, legacy, faith, and the writing life. Her debut novel, "The Sheep Walker," is due out from HopeSprings Books on December 3, 2013.

My Review: 

"The Lyre and the Lambs" by Sydney Avey is a great follow up story to " The Sheep Walker's Daughter" and I certainly enjoyed reading this book much more than " The Sheep Walker's Daughter".  

How can two newlywed couples live in a glass house and get along with neighbors that complained about everything they do?  Not only are they trying to deal with this problem, there are different relatives showing up to make their neighbors even more angry!  

Father Mike has meetings with the young boys and their cars are filling up the streets and the neighbors don't care that is for Spiritual matters that they are meeting!  

There is romance and yes heartache in this story but what makes it such a great story is that the community finally comes together in a way that good comes from one of the tragedies toward the end of the book.  I have to be honest and say I wasn't to sure that I was going to like this book when I first started reading because of the event that took place, but I am glad I did. The tragedy was a suicide and like I said it almost made me quit reading this book but I am so glad I kept reading.

I am hoping there will be another book to this series of books as I like the ending but  I just want to know what happens to these characters, as I said there is romance other than the two newlywed couples but to explain further might be spoilers so I will finish this review with saying I want another book!

I am giving "The Lyre and the Lambs" by Sydney Avey four stars. 

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the Publisher in exchange for my honest review.”

"The Sheep Walker's Daughter" by Sydney Avey

Book Description

A Korean War widow's difficult mother dies before revealing the identity of her daughter's father and his cultural heritage. As Dee sorts through what little her mother left, she unearths puzzling clues that raise more questions: Why did Leora send money every month to the Basque Relief Agency? Why is her own daughter so secretive about her soon-to-be published book? And what does an Anglican priest know that he isn't telling? All this head-spinning breaks a long, dry period in Dee's life. She might just as well lose her job and see where the counsel of her new spiritual adviser and the attentions of an enigmatic ex-coworker lead her.
The Sheep Walker's Daughter pairs a colorful immigrant history of loss, survival, and tough choices with one woman's search for spiritual identity and personal fulfillment. Dee's journey takes her through the Northern and Central California valleys of the 1950s and reaches across the world to the obscure Basque region of Spain. She will begin to discover who she is and why family history matters.

Author Bio:

Sydney Avey is a California girl who grew up in Silicon Valley and now lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yosemite and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. She has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a lifetime of experience writing news for non profits and corporations. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Forge Journal and Epiphany Magazine. She blogs at sydneyavey.com on topics related to relationships, legacy, faith, and the writing life. 

My Review:

"The Sheep Walker's Daughter" by Sydney Avey makes the reader want to answer the questions for themselves that Father Mike asks Dee as she is trying to make since of her life. After the death of her mother, Dee finds out that she may not be an only child as she was led to believe. There are other secrets that she finds out as well. 

I think readers will be able to relate to Dee and her daughter Valerie as they both search for the answers. No, this book is not one to keep you up late at night reading but it will make you rethink why you do some things and why you  feel the way you do about some things. 

Although the "The Sheep Walker's Daughter" by Sydney Avey was a good story, one that focused on family relationships and how secrets can really hinder us, I am giving it three stars because there are words that I considered inappropriate in a Christian novel. These words aren't using God's name in vain or the F word,  but still words that I as a Christian found offensive. I know some will wonder why I included this in this review but I felt people should know if they want to read this book

"The Wisdom of the Sheep Walker" by Sydney Avey

Book Description

Publication Date: November 30, 2013

A companion to "The Sheep Walker's Daughter" by Sydney Avey, this journal collects the counsel of Father Mike, an Anglican priest who walks alongside Dee Moraga Carter as she grieves the changes in her life and the death of her mother. In his study, in a restaurant over a cup of coffee, or on walks through the orchard behind Saint Matthew's Church, Father Mike opens the mystery of faith to Dee by asking her questions instead of giving her answers.

Author's Bio

Sydney Avey is a California girl who grew up in Silicon Valley and now lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Yosemite and the Sonoran Desert in Arizona. She has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of California, Berkeley, and a lifetime of experience writing news for non profits and corporations. Her work is featured or forthcoming in Foliate Oak Literary Magazine, Forge Journal and Epiphany Magazine. She blogs at sydneyavey.com on topics related to relationships, legacy, faith, and the writing life. Her debut novel, "The Sheep Walker," is due out from HopeSprings Books on December 3, 2013.


My Review:
"The Wisdom of the Sheep Walker" by Sydney Avey  is only  52 pages long! It is filled with Biblical Scriptures taken from " The Message"Bible along with questions after the quotations.  I have given"The Wisdom of the Sheep Walker" five stars. I paid $1.99 for this book because I have been given an Advance Reading Copy of "The Lyre and the Lambs" for an honest review and I am the type of reader if I am going to read a book and if  there are others in the group I have to read them all. So after this review is written I need to read"The Sheep Walker's Daughter" and then "The Lyre and the Lambs". 

The questions really makes you think! The thing that is so great after the questions the page numbers are written so you know where they were written in the story! 

Even if you don't read the "The Sheep Walker's Daughter" I believe the questions will help you on your own quest to know God better!

I am going to end this review with one of the questions asked in this book, I would love to know your answer !

"Assume there is a God. What is the one question you would like to ask Him?"

"The Healing Quilt" by Wanda Brunstetter

Book Description
Retired Amish newlyweds Emma and Lamar Miller have decided to buy a winter place in Sarasota, Florida. But it wouldn’t feel like home if Emma didn’t take her quilting materials and offer classes. Wounded and hurting people have a knack for finding their way to her classes for some quilting therapy: Jennifer, a pregnant new mom; Mike, acharter boat owner; Erika, a wheelchair-bound teen; Kim, a waitress; Noreen, a newly-retired widow; and BJ, an artist facing illness. And when Jan visits from Indiana, romance is also added to the class discussions.
Author Bio: 

Wanda Brunstetter is an award-winning romance novelist who has led millions of readers to lose their heart in the Amish life. She is the author of over 60 books with more than 7 million copies sold. Many of her books have landed on the top bestseller lists, including the New York Times, USA Today, Publisher's Weekly, CBA, ECPA, and CBD. Wanda is considered one of the founders of the Amish fiction genre, and her work has been covered by national publications, including Time Magazine and USA Today.

Wanda's fascination with the Amish culture developed when she met her husband, Richard, who grew up in a Mennonite church, and whose family has a Pennsylvania Dutch heritage. Meeting her new Mennonite sister-in-laws caused Wanda to yearn for the simpler life. In their travels, she and her husband have become close friends with many Amish people across America. Wanda's desire to explore their culture increased when she discovered that her great-great grandparents were part of the Anabaptist faith.

All of Wanda's novels are based on personal research intended to accurately portray the Amish way of life. Many of her books are well-read and trusted by the Amish, who credit her for giving readers a deeper understanding of the people and their customs.

Wanda's primary attraction to the Amish is their desire to live a devout Christian life that strives to honor God, work hard, and maintain close family ties. Whenever she visits her Amish friends, Wanda finds herself drawn to their peaceful lifestyle, sincerity, and close family ties, which is in stark contrast to the chaos and busyness that plagues so many modern "Englishers." Time and time again, Wanda loses her heart in the Amish life, and she hopes her readers will, too. For more information, visit: www.WandaBrunstetter.com

My Review:

"The Healing Quilt" by Wanda Brunstetter is another five story novel from Wanda! It is the third in the "Half-Stitched Amish Quilting Club" series. These books are written so well that this reader cannot put the books down till the last page is read! I have to finish the book in a hurry because I want to know all I can about the characters and how their troubles are solved and how the new storyline brings the familiar characters back!

Once again personalities clash but wait till you learn the reason why! We also learn that there is someone less fortuned than we are and that we can always find a way to help others and be a blessing!

I don't know if there is going to be another book in this series or not but I do know if there is one, It will be read by me. 

I was given a pdf file from NetGallery!