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December Book Club/First Line Friday — Better Watch Out

1 Dec

Is it really December 1st already?! I am again behind in my Christmas preparations . . . except for my TBR. LOL. I have already finished 5 Christmas-themed books including my book club’s choice for this month, Better Watch Out. I really enjoyed Natalie Walter‘s NYC setting. My husband and I had such a great time there one Christmas, and this book brought back great memories. I am glad I didn’t run into all the mayhem main characters Frannie and Andrew did though!

Here’s the first line:

Bells! Literal jingle bells rang out as if the city of New York was saying, “Welcome to your holiday dreams, Francis Frost, where romance sparkles brighter than the lights in Times Square.”

An accidental meet-cute, a case of mistaken identity, and a bucket-list of Christmas activities befitting a Hallmark movie make this holiday romantic adventure the perfect Christmas read.

Leave the candy canes, take the pepper spray!

Nothing screams Christmas like a week spent ice skating, visiting Santa, and sharing a kiss or two under the mistletoe. Frannie Frost has crafted the perfect bucket list of romantic activities to surprise her boyfriend in the most magical place at Christmas time—New York City. When he unexpectedly becomes her ex, her plans are derailed leaving her with a choice. Wallow in self-pity at Christmas time or take matters into her own hands.

Former NHL defenseman turned personal protection agent, Andrew Bishop, loves his job—when things go as planned—but Frannie Frost is definitely not part of the plan. Still, when her brother, the man who saved Andrew’s life last year, asks him to deliver his sister safely to the airport, he can’t say no.

The only problem? Frannie isn’t leaving. She’s determined to make the most of her trip by checking off a bucket list of cliché Christmas activities that would make even Santa’s elves jealous. Andrew’s content to let her go until he learns that Frannie’s been mistaken for his client and thrust into the midst of danger.

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November Book Club Pick — Daughter of Eden

1 Nov

This month my book club is traveling way back in time to the very beginning with Daughter of Eden by Jill Eileen Smith. I believe this fascinating look into what could have happened at the dawn of time will generate a lot of great discussion. Won’t you join us? If you have already read this novel, please share your thoughts with us.

The first time she opens her eyes, Eve gazes on One whose beauty nearly blinds her, whose breath is in her lungs. Her Creator takes her hand and gives her to one like her and yet different. Together, she and Adam experience pure joy as they explore Eden. But her favorite moments are when the Creator comes to walk with them, day after day.

Until everything changes. With one act of disobedience, Eve finds that her world is no longer a friendly place. With remorse in her heart, she must face the unknown future–the births, the deaths, the sacrifices, the loss of the one home she has ever known. Perhaps worst of all is the loss of trust, not only with her Creator but with the man who shares her life. How will they ever survive out of Eden?

Bestselling biblical fiction author Jill Eileen Smith imagines the life of the first woman to ever live, unspooling a story of love, loss, and the promise of redemption.

Jill Eileen Smith is the bestselling, award-winning author of the Wives of King David series, Wives of the Patriarchs, Daughters of the Promised Land, The Heart of a King, Star of Persia, Miriam’s Song, and the nonfiction When Life Doesn’t Match Your Dreams, and She Walked Before Us. Her research has taken her from the Bible to Israel, and she particularly enjoys learning how women lived in Old Testament times.

When she isn’t writing, she loves to spend time with her family and friends, read stories that take her away, ride her bike to the park, snag date nights with her hubby, try out new restaurants, or play with her lovable, “helpful” cat Tiger. Jill lives with her family in southeast Michigan.

Contact Jill through email (jill@jilleileensmith.com), her website (http://www.jilleileensmith.com), Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/jilleileensmith), or Twitter (https://twitter.com/JillEileenSmith).

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October Book Club Pick — Broker of Lies

2 Oct

I always think October is the perfect month to read a thriller. There’s something about cooler temperatures and longer nights that call for a book that will make you hold your breath and cling to the edge of your seat while you frantically turn the pages to discover what in the world is going to happen. Have I got you intrigued yet? Broker of Lies by Steven James fits the bill. I can’t wait to hear what the members of my group think.

How about you? Have you read it yet? We would love to know your thoughts.

The man who knows all our secrets has a secret of his own.

When Travis Brock, a high-level Pentagon redactor with an eidetic memory, finds a clue to solving the tragic arson that took his wife from him, he risks everything to find the truth—and chances losing himself in the process.

With a terror attack looming on the horizon and a pair of assassins on his tail, Brock drops off the grid and joins forces with a disavowed Homeland Security operative. Together they race to stop the attack before Brock is neutralized by the people he trusts the most.

From critically acclaimed, bestselling novelist Steven James comes a smart, wire-tight, and emotionally resonant thriller that asks just how far across the line we might go to see justice carried out.

Steven James’s latest thriller, BROKER OF LIES, is a smart, wire-tight, and emotionally resonant thriller that launches a new series featuring a world of intrigue and espionage where truth can be a commodity or a weapon. The second in the series, FATAL DOMAIN, releases in 2024 and is available for pre-order now!

As an acclaimed keynote speaker and in-demand storyteller, Steven is equipped with a unique master’s degree in storytelling and has taught writing and storytelling on five continents, speaking more than 2000 times at events spanning the globe.

He is also the critically acclaimed author of eighteen suspense novels. His sci-fi novel, SYNAPSE, a near-future thriller, received starred reviews from both Publishers Weekly and Library Journal and was a finalist for an International Book Award.

When Steven isn’t writing or speaking, you’ll find him playing basketball or hiking near his home in the Appalachian Highlands of eastern Tennessee.

For more info, check out http://www.stevenjames.net. To listen to his podcast, click to http://www.thestoryblender.com.

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September Book Club Pick — Roots of Wood And Stone

1 Sep

This month’s book club pick is one I have had on my TBR shelf way too long! Amanda Wen‘s novel, The Roots of Wood And Stone garnered lots of praise, and I cannot wait to discuss it with my group. Have you read it? We would love to know your thoughts.

This historic home holds the keys to their destiny . . . and their hearts.

Abandoned at birth, her family roots a mystery, historical museum curator Sloane Kelley has dedicated her life to making sure others know theirs. When a donor drops off a dusty old satchel, she doesn’t expect much from the common artifact . . . until she finds real treasure inside: a nineteenth-century diary. Now she’s on the hunt to find out more.

Garrett Anderson just wanted to clean out his grandmother’s historic but tumbledown farmhouse before selling it to fund her medical care. With her advancing Alzheimer’s, he can’t afford to be sentimental about the family home. But his carefully ordered plan runs up against two formidable obstacles: Sloane, who’s fallen in love with both the diaries and the house, and his own heart, which is irresistibly drawn to Sloane.

A century and a half earlier, motherless Annabelle Collins embarks with her aunt and uncle on the adventure of a lifetime: settling the prairies of Sedgwick County, Kansas. The diaries she left behind paint a portrait of life, loss, and love — and a God who faithfully carries her through it all. Paging through the diaries together takes Sloane and Garrett on a journey they never could have planned, which will change them in ways they never imagined.

This warm, beautifully written split-time novel will resonate with readers looking for stories that reveal the beauty of God’s plan for our lives, and how our actions ripple for generations.

Amanda Wen is an award-winning writer of inspirational romance and split-time women’s fiction. She has placed first in multiple contests, including the 2017 Indiana Golden Opportunity Contest, the 2017 Phoenix Rattler Contest, and the 2016 ACFW First Impressions Contest, among others. She was also a 2018 ACFW Genesis Contest finalist.

In addition to her writing, Amanda is an accomplished professional cellist and pianist, frequently performing with symphony orchestras, string quartets, and her church’s worship team, and accompanying high school and middle school choirs. A lifelong denizen of the flatlands, Amanda currently lives in Kansas with her patient, loving, and hilarious husband, their three adorable Wenlets, and a snuggly Siamese cat.

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August Book Club Selection — The Best Summer of Our Lives

2 Aug

Is it really August all ready?! My teacher friends are back in school and the summer is winding down for the rest of us. What better book to choose for this month’s book club than The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck. This book is set in 1970s and 1990s (dare I call it historical 😉 ) — and the characters are the same age as I was then. I anticipate a great read! See all the details below.

Have you read The Best Summer of Our Lives? Let us know what you thoughts.

Twenty years ago, the summer of ’77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde’s life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow–the Four Seasons–had big plans.

But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, “Nowhere,” Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures.

Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It’s a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love’s voice.

Rachel Hauck is a New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal Bestselling author.She is a Christy Award Winner and a double RITA finalist. Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times Book Club. She is the recipient of RT’s Career Achievement Award. Her book, Once Upon A Prince, was filmed for an original Hallmark movie. Hauck has been acclaimed for her split time novels and royal romances. A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, and a former sorority girl, Rachel and her husband live in central Florida. She is a huge Buckeyes football fan.

Visit her at http://www.rachelhauck.com or http://www.facebook.com/rachelhauck.

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First Line Friday — The Best Summer Of Our Lives

28 Jul

Happy Friday! I’m traveling back to 1977 this week with The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck. I’m reading this book with my book club in August — can’t wait! Have you read it yet? Let me know what you thought.

Here’s the first line:

The second Summer tumbled into Tumbleweed, Oklahoma, she’d arrived in the middle of the end.

Twenty years ago, the summer of ’77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde’s life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow–the Four Seasons–had big plans.

But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, “Nowhere,” Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures.

Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It’s a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love’s voice.

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July Book Club Selection — The One You’re With

1 Jul

My book club is reading The One You’re With by Lauren K. Denton this month. This contemporary novel focusing on marriage has been on my TBR shelf way too long. Denton always delivers a thought-provoking read, so I am eager to discuss this one with my group. Have you read it? We’d love to know your thoughts.

Written in Lauren K. Denton’s signature Southern style, The One You’re With tells the story of a seemingly perfect marriage rocked by secrets from the past.

High-school sweethearts Mac and Edie Swan lead a seemingly picture-perfect life in the sleepy-sweet community of Oak Hill, near Mobile, Alabama. Edie is a respected interior designer, Mac is a beloved pediatrician, and they have two great kids and a historic home on tree-lined Linden Avenue. From the outside, the Swan family is the definition of “the good life.” And life is good—mostly. Until a young woman walks into Mac’s office one day. A young woman whose very existence threatens all Mac and Edie have built and all they think they know about each other.

Nineteen years after a summer apart, with a family and established lives and careers, the past that Mac and Edie thought they left behind has come back to greet them. For the first time, constants in their lives are called into question: their roles as parents, their reputation as upstanding members of the community, and the very foundations of their marriage. As they wade through the upheaval in both their family and professional lives, they must each examine choices they made long ago and chart a new course for their future.

Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Lauren K. Denton now lives with her husband, two daughters, and one fluffy dog in Homewood, just outside Birmingham. In addition to her fiction, she writes a monthly newspaper column about life, relationships, and how funny (and hard) it is to be a parent. On any given day, she’d rather be at the beach with her family and a stack of books.

Find her at LaurenKDenton.com or on Facebook (LaurenKDentonAuthor) or Instagram (LaurenKDentonBooks).

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June Book Club Selection — Cold Light Of Day

1 Jun

This month my book club is traveling to Alaska with Elizabeth Goddard‘s romantic suspense novel, Cold Light of Day, book one in the Missing in Alaska series. I read it some months ago, and I anticipate that my book club will love it. If you’ve read it, we would love to know your thoughts.

Police Chief Autumn Long is fighting to keep her job in the quiet Alaska town of Shadow Gap when an unexpected string of criminal activity leaves her with a wounded officer, unexplained murders, and even an attack on her own father. Despite her mistrust of outsiders, she turns to Grier Brenner, a newcomer who seems to have the skills and training Autumn needs to face this threat to her community.

Grier is in Alaska for the same reason so many others are–to disappear–when Chief Long enlists his help. He emerges from the shadows and proves his mettle, but his presence in her life could be a deadly trap for them both. If his secret is exposed, all will be lost. And he’s not sure even Autumn could save him.

As the stakes rise and the dangers increase, Autumn and Grier must rely on each other to extinguish the deadly threats.

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May Book Club Selection

1 May

I can’t wait to begin this month’s book club selection! Sarah Sundin has become a must-read author for my group, and we impatiently wait on each new book. Have you read The Sound of Light yet? We would love to know your thoughts.

When the Germans march into Denmark, Baron Henrik Ahlefeldt exchanges his nobility for anonymity, assuming a new identity so he can secretly row messages for the Danish Resistance across the waters to Sweden. 

American physicist Dr. Else Jensen refuses to leave Copenhagen and abandon her research–her life’s dream. While printing resistance newspapers, she hears stories of the movement’s legendary Havmand–the merman–and wonders if the mysterious and silent shipyard worker living in the same boardinghouse has something to hide.

When the Occupation cracks down on the Danes, these two passionate people will discover if there is more power in speech . . . or in silence. Bestselling author of more than a dozen WWII novels, Sarah Sundin offers pens another story of ordinary people responding to extraordinary circumstances with faith, fortitude, and hope for a brighter future.

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April Book Club Selection — Finding Me

1 Apr

This month’s book club selection might be a surprise, but there’s no trick or prank involved. 😉 We are reading/discussing Finding Me by Kathryn Cushman. It’s been on my TBR shelf for quite a while, and I’m excited to finally read it! Find out all about it below.

What would you do if you learned your life was a lie? All her life, Kelli Huddleston has been told the story of a fire–a fire that killed her mother and two siblings when she was an infant. After her father’s death though, she uncovers evidence of a different story, including clippings about a boat accident that killed a young father and his infant daughter. And Kelli quietly realizes the story of her life has been a fiction.

How far would you go to discover the truth? Armed with only a few pictures of what she thinks might be her family, Kelli crosses the country to Tennessee, determined to uncover the truth about what happened over twenty years ago in a small southern town. When the trip threatens to open doors to the past better left shut, and her plans for the future are jeopardized, Kelli is faced with an agonizing choice that will change her life forever.

Kathryn Cushman is a graduate of Samford University with a degree in pharmacy. She is the acclaimed author of ten novels. Kathryn and her family make their home in Santa Barbara, California.

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