Tag Archives: contemporary fiction

Mini-Book Review: The Preacher Wore Black Leather

22 Nov

With a clever title and intriguing plot, The Preacher Wore Black Leather by Loree Lough was a book I wanted to read. This quickly read novel takes the reader to Reliable, Texas, a small town where everyone knows your name and business! The story revolves around ex-pastor Matt Maxwell. His escape from problems and heartache ends when his motorcycle breaks down outside of town. The townspeople soon take Max into their hearts and homes and his healing begins. I really liked the characters Lough created — colorful, caring, and engaging. Suspense and mystery is included to move the plot along, and there is a fairly big loose thread at the end, promising a second book in the series. There are some cons to the book, though. The writing style is a bit jerky and there is trouble with continuity. I think a little more editing would have improved the novel. But I liked it enough, despite the problems, to want to revisit Reliable when book two in the Sundown Diner series is published.

Recommended.

Audience: adults.

(I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.)

Matt Maxwell wondered a lot about changing his first name to Former: Former Marine. Former minister. Former husband. One by one, he’d lost them all. After losing his wife to his church deacon, he’d packed his battered military duffel, gassed up his ancient motorcycle, and put Baltimore in the Harley’s rearview mirrors.
On an unusually cold and snowy Texas night, the Sportster breaks down along the Interstate. Out of luck and nearly broke, Matt’s lured by a bright red sign that reads SUNDOWN DINER. Inside, he meets the owners, the town’s three-man sheriff’s department, and a mechanic who thinks he can fix the old bike.
Icy weather and the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday make that impossible, and Matt finds himself stranded in Reliable, where everyone seems determined to keep him from the road to anywhere that isn’t Baltimore.
Once the Harley is roadworthy, will he put Reliable behind him? Or does God have other plans for the down-on-his-luck pastor?

At last count, USA Today best-selling author Loree Lough had 134 award-winning books (nearly 17 million copies in circulation), hundreds of industry awards, 7 book-to-movie options), 71 published short stories, and nearly 3,000 nonfiction articles in print.

An oft-invited guest of writers’ organizations, colleges and universities, corporate and government agencies in the U.S. and abroad, Loree loves sharing learned-the-hard-way lessons about the craft and the industry.

Once upon a time, Loree (literally) sang for her supper, performing alone and “opening” for the likes of Tom Jones, Dottie West, The Gatlin Brothers, and more. Though she refuses to share the actual year when she traded her Yamaha 6-string for a wedding ring, she IS willing to admit that, every now and then, she blows the dust off her six-string to croon a tune or two. But mostly, she just writes (and writes).

Loree and her husband split their time between a home in the Baltimore suburbs and a cabin in the Allegheny Mountains, where she continues to hone her “identify the critter tracks” skills. Her favorite pastime? Spending long, leisurely hours with her grandchildren…all seven of them!

Loree and co-host Andrea Boeshaar interview writers (fiction and non), artists, editors, agents, and performers on the popular weekly podcast, Discover the Story, broadcast via iHeart Radio, iTunes, YouTube, Spreaker, and more.

Loree loves hearing from her readers, and answers every letter, personally. You can connect with her at Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and http://www.loreelough.com.

Top 10 Tuesday — Headlines!

7 Nov

Happy Tuesday! Today’s TTT topic is titles that would make good newspaper headlines. I chose to turn the books featured today into titles of magazine articles also. Profuse apologies to the authors for this — you’ll see. 😉

For more headline worthy books, check out That Artsy Reader Girl.

Top Titles As Headlines

Obituary Headlines

The Forgotten Life of Eva Gordon by Linda MacKillop

The Late Mrs. Willoughby by Claudia Gray

Travel & Leisure

Meet Me in Monaco by Hazel Gaynor and Heather Webb

Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton

Crime Magazine

The Unhiding of Elijah Campbell by Kelly Flanagan

The Vanishing at Castle Moreau by Jaime Jo Wright

Military History

Facing The Enemy by DiAnn Mills

Rolling Stone

The Songs That Could Have Been by Amanda Wen

Backpacker

The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton and Tosca Lee

Top 10 Tuesday — Reading Goals

3 Oct

Happy Tuesday! I used to be hard core about reading goals. I had an overall target to reach every year, as well as several (many) reading challenges I joined. But I am a bit compulsive and the goals/challenges became more important than actual reading. That’s when I adjusted downward the number of books I planned to read per year and began to limit the reviews/launches I agreed to participate in. I want to read what I want to read! That being said I still overestimate the time I have available for reading.

I used this week’s topic to look back at the past year’s TBR plans. I am currently on track to meet my Goodreads goal of 75 books. In fact I have read 69 books so far this year; they just aren’t all recorded on Goodreads yet.

My TBR goals are all over the place though:

90% read for Winter 22/23,

100% for Spring 23,

0% for Summer 23 (although in my defense, that list was more for highlighting the books that were being released during the summer, rather than a personal reading goal)

20% for Fall 23 (which is pretty good, since I published that list just 2 weeks ago)

My NetGalley shelf is out of control with unread books. I am not going to embarrass myself by publishing that big fail. I will say that I read 8 books over the summer that had been on the shelf far too long.

So basically, I am doing what I proposed to do — reading what I want to read when I want to read it! 😉 And I am unapologetic, because at my age I certainly don’t need to squander any reading time.

Because I hate not mentioning specific books, here are more I have added to my Fall 23 list. Read 2, added 4 — sounds about right. I might post an update on my progress.

First Line Friday — The Thing About Home

18 Aug

Happy Friday! A group of friends and I have embarked on an exciting and admittedly scary journey to bring a book festival focusing on Christian fiction/nonfiction and “clean reads” to the middle Georgia area in Janruay 2024. We have over 30 authors committed to be part of all the fun. Many of the writers I have featured on the blog will be attendance. If you live anywhere near (or far) from us you need to attend. We can be found in a number of places, but all the latest news is found on our FB page — Perry Page Turners.

We are so pleased that Rhonda McKnight, author of The Thing About Home, will be joining us for a panel discussion. Find out all about Rhonda and her book below.

Now for the first line:

I stepped into my limousine and pressed the bottom of my wedding dress flat.

Home is not a place—it’s a feeling.

 Casey Black needs an escape. When her picture-perfect vow renewal ceremony ends in her being left at the altar, the former model turned social media influencer has new fame—the kind she never wanted. An embarrassing viral video has cost her millions of followers, and her seven-year marriage is over. With her personal and business lives in shambles, Casey runs from New York City to South Carolina’s Lowcountry hoping to find long-lost family. Family who can give her more answers about her past than her controlling mom-slash-manager has ever been willing to share.

What Casey doesn’t expect is a postcard-worthy property on a three-hundred-acre farm, history, culture, and a love of sweet tea. She spends her days caring for the land and her nights cooking much needed Southern comfort foods. She also meets Nigel, the handsome farm manager whose friendship has become everything she’s never had. And then there are the secrets her mother can no longer hide.

Through the pages of her great-grandmother’s journals, Casey discovers her roots run deeper than the Lowcountry soil. She learns that she has people. A home. A legacy to uphold. And a great new love story—if only she is brave enough to leave her old life behind. 

“. . . a beautifully written story about family, self-discovery, secrets, and forgiveness.” —Kimberla Lawson Roby, New York Times bestselling author

Rhonda McKnight is the author of twenty-five traditional and indie-published award-winning bestsellers, including An Inconvenient Friend, What Kind of Fool, and Unbreak My Heart. She is a two-time winner of the Emma award in the categories of Inspirational Romance of the Year (2015) and Debut Author (2010). She has been nominated thrice for the African American Literary Award. She writes inspirational book club fiction and Christian romance about complex characters in crisis. Her goal is to touch the heart of women through her stories using the themes of faith, forgiveness, and hope. Originally from a small coastal town in New Jersey, she writes from the comfort of her South Carolina home.

She can be reached at her website at http://www.RhondaMcKnight.com and on social media at http://www.facebook.com/booksbyrhonda, http://www.instagram.com/AuthorRhondaMcKnight, http://www.twitter.com/rhondamcknight and http://www.SistersofFaithBooks.com where she has joined with sixteen other authors to introduce her stories to the world.

First Line Friday — The One You’re With

7 Jul

Happy Friday everyone! Today I am featuring my book club’s July pick, The One You’re With by Lauren K. Denton. I have had this book on my TBR shelf for a year and am excited to finally read and discuss it with my group.

Here’s the first line (or two 😉 ):

“Hey, you.”

Mac heard the deep voice but was sure it wasn’t directed at him.

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.

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).

Spotlight on Contemporary Fiction — Where Promises Remain

18 May

Where Promises Remain JustRead Takeover Blitz

Welcome to the Takeover Blitz for Where Promises Remain by Heidi Chiavaroli, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

About The Book

Where Promises Remain

Title: Where Promises Remain
Series: The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast Series #7
Author: Heidi Chiavaroli
Publisher: Hope Creek Publishers
Release Date: May 16, 2023
Genre: Contemporary Christian Fiction

Hannah Martin thought she was about to have an empty nest . . . until the illegitimate daughter of her late husband shows up on her doorstep.

Five years after her husband’s death, Hannah Martin runs a successful inn and serves the needy in her community. Despite a house full of guests, she’s worried about the loneliness that will come with an empty nest. Now that no one needs her for anything other than serving her famous five-course breakfasts and retrieving fresh towels, she throws herself into winning Camden’s Hospitality Grant. With the help of the grant, the bed and breakfast will bring in even more customers and Hannah won’t have time to think about what she’s missing.

But when a handsome lumberjack named Kevin moves in next door, Hannah’s attraction to the widowed bachelor knocks her off-kilter. Just as she begins to think about dating again, a young woman arrives at the bed and breakfast claiming to be the illegitimate daughter of Hannah’s late husband.

When the Orchard House’s chances at the Hospitality grant is threatened, Hannah’s children oppose her “new” daughter moving in, and Kevin’s problems start to bleed over into her own, she must decide what matters most—before she loses the grant, the bed and breakfast’s reputation, and perhaps, her second chance at love.

This is Book 7 in The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast Series, a contemporary twist on the well-loved classic, Little Women. Readers will fall in love with the Martin family—Maggie, Josie, Lizzie, Bronson, Amie, and their mother Hannah—each trying to find their own way in the world and each discovering that love, home, and hope are closer than they appear.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Bookshop

Excerpt

Amos Martin is—was—my father.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard Josie and Maggie talking. Josie, upset. Of course, Josie was upset. My dear girl, despite her tough exterior, wore her heart on her sleeve.

Amos Martin is—was—my father.

I moved my tongue around in my mouth, searching for words. Searching for sense amid the horrifying knowing that built in my gut. In my muddled state, I grasped onto the solidity of numbers, doing the math in my head. Counting years, calculating possible ages against that of Amie.

When the numbers slid into place, a cold sweat broke out over my skin. 

I’d never thought my children would have to find out about Amos’s transgression, but then again, I never thought that one night had produced a child. 

A daughter.

“Excuse me.” Somehow, I found strength in my legs—enough to push myself out of the chair and propel my body into the house. I heard voices behind me, someone at my heels, but I ducked into Orchard House, its warm folds welcoming me like a mother hen does its chicks. Here, I was safe. Here, I’d built a life after my husband’s death. Here, my faith had deepened.

Hadn’t it?



More Books in This Series

Where Grace Appears Where Hope Begins Where Love Grows Where Memories Await Where Dreams Reside Where Faith Belongs


About The Author

Heidi Chiavaroli

Heidi Chiavaroli is a hope-inspired storyteller writing from the deep curiosity of her own heart. Her debut novel, Freedom’s Ring, was a Carol Award winner and a Christy Award finalist, a Romantic Times Top Pick, and a Booklist Top Ten Romance Debut. Her second Carol Award-winning novel, The Orchard House, is inspired by the lesser-known events in Louisa May Alcott’s life and led her to write The Orchard House Bed and Breakfast series, a contemporary twist on Little Women. Heidi makes her home in Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Connect with Heidi by visiting heidichiavaroli.com to follow her on social media or subscribe to email newsletter updates.


Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive the complete Orchard House Bed and Breakfast Series (7 books) plus $25 gift card to winner’s choice bookstore!

Where Promises Remain JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight May 17, 2023 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on May 24, 2023. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

Enter Giveaway


Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

JustRead Publicity Tours

Book Review: Finding Me

8 May

My book club read Finding Me by Kathryn Cushman in April. This women’s fiction has been on my shelf for a very long time. I’m so glad I was finally able to read this novel of personal discovery. Recommended.

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, including her recent release The Plans We Made. Kathryn and her family make their home in Santa Barbara, California.

My Impressions:

What would you do if you discovered you weren’t who you thought you were? Sounds impossible right? In Finding Me by Kathryn Cushman, main character Kelly discovers that her father lied to her her entire life. She has a family she thought had died years before when she was an infant. Inspired by two real life stories, Cushman explores the importance of identity and the repercussions when that is turned on its head. There are a number of issues explored in this contemporary women’s fiction — seeking truth regardless of fears/doubts/loss, the importance of finding personal faith, and the dangers of fitting/changing God’s word to suit our circumstances. My book club had a wonderful discussion of this book. We had several favorite characters, as well as some who annoyed us. 😉 Kelly was a relatable character whose emotions rang true. Plus we all had a rest of the story wish for the novel. Finding Me was a thought-provoking read which earned a unanimous thumbs-up!

Recommended.

Audience: Adults.

(I purchased this book from Amazon. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)

First Line Friday — Next Stop, Chancey

10 Mar

Happy Friday! I attended a small literary festival last weekend and met some wonderful authors. One was Kay Dew Shostak, author of several small town series. I love a book set in a small town, and one set in one of my favorite places, the north Georgia mountains, was irresistible. I purchased the first book, Next Stop, Chancey. I’m looking forward to some fun reading. 🙂

Here’s the first line:

So how did I get stuck driving with my daughter, the princess, during one of her moods?

Looking in your teenage daughter’s purse is never a good idea. 

After all, it ended up with Carolina Jessup opening a Bed & Breakfast for railroad fanatics in a tiny Georgia Mountain town. Carolina knows all about, and hates, small towns. How did she end up leaving her wonderful Atlanta suburbs behind while making her husband’s dreams come true? 

The town bully (who wears a lavender skirt and white gloves), an endless parade of teenagers through her house, and everybody talking about a ghost have Carolina looking for an escape, or at least a way to move back home. Instead, she’s front and center for all of Chancey’s small town gossip. 

Unlike back home in the suburbs with privacy fences and automatic garage doors, everybody in Chancey thinks your business is their business and they all love the newest Chancey business. The B&B hosts a Senate candidate, a tea for the County Fair Beauty contestants, and railroad nuts who sit out by the tracks and record the sound of a train going by. Yet, nobody believes Carolina prefers the ‘burbs. 

Oh, yeah, and if you just ignore a ghost, will it go away?

After being raised in a small-town in Tennessee, Kay Dew Shostak lived around the country in a variety of settings. Taking a look at the familiar and loved from new perspectives led Kay to see, and then write about, the absurd, the beautiful, and the funny in her South.

After publishing several stories in compilation books and spending a few years in journalism, Kay wandered into writing fiction and found it hard to leave. She currently is working on the fourth book in the Chancey series and living in Fernandina Beach, Florida with her husband. 

If You Liked . . . The Brilliance of Stars

27 Feb

This month’s book club pick was The Brilliance of Stars by J’Nell Ciesielski. The book set in the WWI-era featuring spies and their craft really wasn’t my cup of tea. But . . . I do have some reading recommendations if you did. 😉 And if you are of the same mind as me, the following were winners in my book! All feature spies, with two with historical settings and one contemporary. Give them a look!

The Debutante’s Code by Erica Vetsch

Jane Austen meets Sherlock Holmes in this new Regency mystery series
 
Newly returned from finishing school, Lady Juliette Thorndike is ready to debut in London society. Due to her years away, she hasn’t spent much time with her parents, and sees them only as the flighty, dilettante couple the other nobles love.But when they disappear, she discovers she never really knew them at all. They’ve been living double lives as government spies–and they’re only the latest in a long history of espionage that is the family’s legacy.
 
Now Lady Juliette is determined to continue their work. Mentored by her uncle, she plunges into the dangerous world of spies. From the glittering ballrooms of London to the fox hunts, regattas, and soirees of country high society, she must chase down hidden clues, solve the mysterious code her parents left behind, and stay out of danger. All the while, she has to keep her endeavors a secret from her best friend and her suitors–not to mention the nosy, irritatingly handsome Bow Street runner, who suspects her of a daring theft.
 
Can Lady Juliette outwit her enemies and complete her parents’ last mission?
 
Best-selling author Erica Vetsch is back with a rollicking, exciting new series destined to be a hit with Regency readers who enjoy a touch of mystery in their love stories. Fans of Julie Klassen, Sarah Ladd, and Anne Perry will love the wit, action, and romance.

A Lady’s Guide to Death And Deception by Katherine Cowley

What is a spy willing to do when both her heart and her country are at risk?

Life changes once again for British spy Miss Mary Bennet when Napoleon Bonaparte escapes from the Isle of Elba. Mary quickly departs England for Brussels, the city where the Allied forces prepare for war against the French. But shortly after her arrival, one of the Duke of Wellington’s best officers is murdered, an event which threatens to break the delicate alliance between the Allies.

Investigating the murder forces Mary into precarious levels of espionage, role-playing, and deception with her new partner, Mr. Withrow-the nephew and heir of her prominent sponsor, and the spy with whom she’s often at odds. Together, they court danger and discovery as they play dual roles gathering intelligence for the British. But soon Mary realizes that her growing feelings towards Mr. Withrow put her heart in as much danger as her life. And then there’s another murder.

Mary will need to unmask the murderer before more people are killed, but can she do so and remain hidden in the background?

The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal

Talia Inger is a rookie CIA case officer assigned not to the Moscow desk as she had hoped but to the forgotten backwaters of Eastern Europe–a department only known as “Other.” When she is tasked with helping a young, charming Moldovan executive secure his designs for a revolutionary defense technology, she figures she’ll be back in DC within a few days. But that’s before she knows where the designs are stored–and who’s after them. With her shady civilian partner, Adam Tyler, Talia takes a deep dive into a world where only criminal minds and unlikely strategies will keep the Gryphon, a high-altitude data vault, hovering in the mesosphere.

Even Tyler is more than he seems, and Talia begins to wonder: Is he helping her? Or using her access to CIA resources to pull off an epic heist for his own dark purposes?

In this Ocean’s Eleven-meets-Mission Impossible thriller, former tactical deception officer and stealth pilot James R. Hannibal offers you a nonstop thrill ride through the most daring heist ever conceived.