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Love’s Fortune

By Laura Frantz

With two very different horizons stretched out before her, one young woman stands on the cusp of an unknown future.

Sheltered since birth at her Kentucky home, Rowena “Wren” Ballantyne has heard only whispered rumors of her grandfather Silas’s vast fortune and grand manor in Pennsylvania. When her father receives a rare letter summoning him to New Hope, Wren makes the journey with him and quickly finds herself in a whole new world–family members she’s never met, dances she’s never learned, and a new side to the father she thought she knew.

As she struggles to fit in during their extended stay, she finds a friend in James Sackett, the most valued steamship pilot of the Ballantynes’ shipping line. Even with his help, Wren feels she may never be comfortable in high society. Will she go her own way . . . to her peril?

With her signature attention to historical detail and emotional depth, Laura Frantz brings 1850s Pennsylvania alive with a tender story of loss, love, and loyalty.

ISLAND BREEZES

Wren loves her music and her home in Kentucky, but is about to set out on a river tip to visit relatives she’s never seen in Pennsylvania.

But how do you go from barefoot to high society? Wren really does try to fit in. She’s found a man she thinks is quite special, but he belongs to her cousin. Instead of trying for James Sackett’s attention she finds solace in her violin.

Too bad that violin ends up bringing her so much grief. Wren just wants to escape back home to Kentucky where she can have the music and beauty of her home instead of the anxiety and misery of unrequited love.

Laura Frantz always holds my attention throughout her books. I love the historical details. I enjoy learning and I always learn something new in each of her books. Thank you, Ms Frantz.

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

Laura Frantz is a Christy Award finalist and the author of several books, including The Frontiersman’s Daughter, Love’s Reckoning, and Love’s Awakening. She currently lives in the misty woods of Washington with her husband and two sons. Learn more at www.laurafrantz.net.

Go here to read the Constitution of the United States of America.

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Joyful

By Shelley Shepard Gray

A young Amish couple gets a second chance at love in New York Times bestselling author Shelley Shepard Gray’s final book in her Return to Sugarcreek series.

Randall Beiler is doing his best to put his family and the farm’s needs first, even forsaking love. But though he tries, Randall knows he needs help caring for his younger siblings and keeping the house together.

When his brother offers pretty Elizabeth Nolt a job taking care of the house and cooking for the family, Randall is furious—and guilty about the way he once broke Elizabeth’s heart. But when he learns that Elizabeth and her grandmother are struggling to make ends meet, he knows the offer, no matter how painful, is the right thing for everyone.

Elizabeth wants to refuse—to stay far away from the man who hurt her—but she needs the money. Though she vows to protect her heart, spending time in the Beiler household makes Elizabeth realize that, while she’s older and wiser, her love for Randall still burns strong.

Randal, too, seems to want something more. But does he want Elizabeth because he truly loves her—or because he needs a housekeeper? If Randall sincerely wants something more, he must find a way to show Elizabeth—or risk losing his chance at love forever.

ISLAND BREEZES

It’s good to be back in Sugarcreek with the Beiler family and Elizabeth Nolt, Randell’s former fiancee’. Things were beginning to get out of hand with the family. Randall’s cooking ability was very limited and forget keeping up with the house and laundry.

They needed the help, and Elizabeth needed the money, so Levi asked her to come work for them. Randall had no idea what Micah and Levi were up to until Elizabeth showed up the next day.

Elizabeth did end up taking the job, but both she and Randall were uncomfortable. There was still that thread of connection with both of them unsure of what to do about it.

You may need that box of tissues toward the end of this book. I did.

Thank you, Ms Shepherd Gray. I hope you kee bringing us back to Sugarcreek.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

Shelley Shepard Gray is a two-time New York Times bestseller, a two-time USA Today bestseller, a finalist for the American Christian Fiction Writers prestigious Carol Award, and a two-time Holt Medallion winner. She lives in Southern Ohio, where she writes full-time, bakes too much, and can often be found walking her dachshunds on her town’s bike trail.

  Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women’s fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

Hidden in the Stars

By Robin caroll

A quilt holds the secret to a killer still at large—and who his next victim will be.

Following an attack that killed her mother and stole her ability to speak, 21-year-old Sophia Montgomery has no choice but to accept her estranged grandmother’s offer to return to their family home. Although detective Julian Frazier is working hard on the case, Sophia unknowingly frustrates him because her inability to speak thwarts her eyewitness evidence. The fact that Julian is undeniably attracted to Sophia doesn’t help either, so Julian hides his feelings as concern for a trauma victim and focuses instead on finding the killer.

Little do they know, the clues to solving the case may be right in front of them, displayed in Sophia’s mother’s “special” quilt design. Who will realize the secret Sophia’s unwittingly been hiding in plain sight? When the truth comes to light, will Sophia find her voice again? Or will the murderer—still at large—silence her forever?

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Stars, ballet shoes and balance beams dreams. These are set in the quilts of this mystery.

Sophia’s mother was an up and coming star in the world of ballet. Sophia was an up and coming star in the world of gymnastics, and had just been granted a spot on the Olympic team.

And all this became dust in the wind as she and her mother were attacked. Both Sophia’s mother and her dreams were killed in that attack.

No one seems to be able to tell Detective Frazier what those thugs had been after. They destroyed the house and everything in it trying to find something. The only thing that remained unharmed was the quilt made up of bits of all her mother’s ballet costumes. Little did they know the importance of that quilt.

Thank you, Ms Caroll, for a mystery that held me rapt all the way through. I’m looking forward to reading more by you.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

Robin Caroll is the author of 22 published novels. When she isn’t writing, Robin spends time with her husband of 20-plus years, her three beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home in Little Rock, Arkansas. She gives back to the writing community by serving as conference director for ACFW. Her books have been named finalists in such contests as the Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, RT Reviewer’s Choice Award, Bookseller’s Best, and Book of the Year.

Nowhere to Turn

By Lynette Eason

She thought her days of hiding were over . . . but the danger has just begun

The day Danielle Harding takes her eleven-year-old son and flees from her abusive husband is the same day Kurt Harding dies. A relieved Dani believes she and her son are finally safe–but in reality, things are just heating up. When Kurt was alive, he took something important from a mysterious individual–who wants the item back and believes Dani now has it. As she and her son run for their lives, they have nowhere to turn, until she hires Adam Buchanan of Operation Refuge and goes into hiding. Unfortunately, she won’t be able to hide for long . . .

From the first breathless scene, this tension-laced story will hold you in its iron grip as bestselling author Lynette Eason propels you along in a race to discover the truth.

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Fear and then a sigh of relief. With her husband’s death, Dani and her son have escaped the abuse. Unfortunately that relief didn’t last long enough.

When her husband was alive, he stole something of value and now someone wants it back. Dani would be happy to give it up, but she has no idea what it is.

Now she and her son are on the run, and she finally hires Adam from Operation Refuge to help them hide. But it seems someone is always just one step behind them and always turning up at their hiding places.

Who or what is giving away their location? Will they be able to figure out why they are being pursued in time to live without always being on the run?

As always, Ms Eason has given us another adrenalin filled book. I couldn’t put it down. Start reading this early in the day or you, too, will be up all night reading.

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

Lynette Eason is the bestselling author of the Women of Justice series and the Deadly Reunions series, as well as No One to Trust. She is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and Romance Writers of America. She has a master’s degree in education from Converse College and she lives in South Carolina. Learn more at www.lynetteeason.com.

A Light in the Wilderness

By Jane Kirkpatrick

Three very different women. One dangerous journey. And a future that seems just out of reach.

Letitia holds nothing more dear than the papers that prove she is no longer a slave. They may not cause most white folks to treat her like a human being, but at least they show she is free. She trusts in those words she cannot read–as she is beginning to trust in Davey Carson, an Irish immigrant cattleman who wants her to come west with him.

Nancy Hawkins is loathe to leave her settled life for the treacherous journey by wagon train, but she is so deeply in love with her husband and she knows she will follow him anywhere–even when the trek exacts a terrible cost.

Betsy is a Kalapuya Indian, the last remnant of a once proud tribe in the Willamette Valley in Oregon territory. She spends her time trying to impart the wisdom and ways of her people to her grandson. But she will soon have another person to care for.

As season turns to season, suspicion turns to friendship, and fear turns to courage, three spirited women will discover what it means to be truly free in a land that makes promises it cannot fulfill. This multilayered story from bestselling author Jane Kirkpatrick will grip your heart and mind as you travel on the dusty and dangerous Oregon Trail into the boundless American West. Based on a true story.

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All kinds of people made the journey through the American West to Oregon. Not all of them wanted to be on this journey.

Three very different women bond in the Oregon Territory. A freed slave and a doctor’s wife become good friends during the rugged and heartbreaking journey. It’s not until they reach Oregon that the third woman, a Kalapuya Indian becomes the third unlikely friend.

Life isn’t easy on the journey or even after they reach Oregon. This novel, based on a true story, will hold your heart through to the end. In fact, I didn’t want it to end.

Thank you, Ms Kirkpatrick, for sharing this adventure with us. I’m looking forward to your next book.

***A special thank you to Lanette Haskins for providing a review copy.***

Jane Kirkpatrick is the New York Times and CBA bestselling author of more than twenty-five books, including A Sweetness to the Soul, which won the coveted Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Center. Her works have been finalists for the Christy Award, Spur Award, Oregon Book Award, and Reader’s Choice awards, and have won the WILLA Literary Award and Carol Award for Historical Fiction. Many of her titles have been Book of the Month and Literary Guild selections. Jane lives in Central Oregon with her husband, Jerry. Learn more at www.jkbooks.com.

Sunken Treasure

By Katy Lee

Shipwreck diver Gage Fontaine is used to modern-day pirates cha

sing after his boat and the buried treasure he salvages. But when he unknowingly leads a dangerous criminal to the waters off Stepping Stones Island, he puts a beautiful fisherwoman in grave danger. Rachelle Thibodaux has spent the past year hiding on her boat to avoid the town’s censure for her father’s crimes. But when she comes face-to-face with a gun-wielding pirate, she becomes a new kind of target. To save her own life, she’ll have to work with Gage to find the treasure before the pirates do.

You can go here to read an excerpt.

ISLAND BREEZES

Another one of Katy Lee’s books that take place on and around Stepping Stones Island. I love that little island, and am always happy to see the people we already know as well as the new ones we meet.

This book is about pirates and rumors of pirates – about sunken treasure and missing pirate booty.

Ship wreck diver, Gage, who is on the run hiding from criminals, brings danger to Stepping Stones and to Rachelle, who just wants to hide out from the town’s people and their accusing faces.

They both end up in danger, and you’ll end up needing that box of tissues near the end of this story. This book is one of those you don’t want to put down. You feel compelled to read it straight through to the very end.

Thank you again, Katy Lee. Please tell us you have more Stepping Stones Island mysteries up you sleeve.

***A special thank you to the author for providing a review copy.***

Katy Lee is an Inspirational Romantic Suspense author writing higher-purpose stories with high-speed suspense. As an author, speaker, children’s ministry director, and home-schooling mom, she loves to share tales of love, from the “greatest love story ever told” to those sweet romantic stories of falling in love. Her Harlequin Love Inspired Suspense novels, WARNING SIGNS and GRAVE DANGER, both received a 4 1/2 star rating from RT Magazine, making them fantastic keepers! Katy lives in New England with her husband, three children, and two cats. Keep in touch with Katy at her website, www.KatyLeeBooks.com

Blue Time

By Andrew Maloney

On a cold, stormy evening in Ireland, five teenagers suddenly find themselves lost, separated, and unprepared for a dangerous quest “beyond the Veil” into Morsden Forest, a secret world hidden from ours. There they must learn to grow, learn to trust, learn to fight, learn to sacrifice, and learn to love in order to rediscover the first of seven lost jewels that contain the ancient verses of The Master Song.

Together with a myriad of the Awakened—humanlike animals and plants—they will battle wild beasts, wraithlike doppelgangers, and an evil power nearly as ancient as creation itself.

Will they stand strong and discover the virtues they have within themselves? Or will they, too, fall to the Corrupted?

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I wasn’t sure about this book when I started reading it. I don’t read many fantasies, but now I can’t wait to read the next verse in this song. Thank you, Mr Maloney.

An old lady and five kids lost in the woods and no one else is home to even miss them. Except they’re more that just lost. They’ve entered some kind of time warp or something.

Any way, they’re split up in this very unique place with some very unique inhabitants – some of whom aren’t very friendly. And not only that – this is no camp out in an RV.

They have to figure out how to survive while trying to find each other and get back home. They have to deal with unfriendly plants, animals and evil personified. But the Blue Time of the day brings hope of eventually everyone getting back home. There are likely to be tears at the end, so keep that box of tissues handy.

***A special thank you to Cathy Hickling for providing a review copy.***

Andrew Maloney grew up in the backseat of a car, traveling across the States and abroad with his healing evangelist parents. It gave him lots of time, staring out the window, to come up with some fantastic ideas for stories.

He graduated from the University of North Texas with an arts degree in writing and has ghostwritten and edited more than a dozen nonfiction books. Along with the next novel in the Blue Time series, he is currently writing a sequel to his first fiction book, The Elementalists.

The Scroll

By Parrish Smith

Life-Changing Inspiration. Unwavering Support.

Scrolls have always been considered sacred, filled with prophecy and direction. Realizing that today’s spiritual leaders fill a similar role, filmmaker Parrish Smith created the award-winning documentary series The Scroll, featuring modern-day prophets revealing more of themselves, their journeys, and their invaluable insights than ever before. Now, Parrish Smith draws on the words of America’s most beloved spiritual leaders to create a guide full of contemporary wisdom that will uplift and encourage you through life’s unexpected challenges.

Finding our life’s purpose. Creating lasting relationships. Surviving tragedy. Releasing self-destructive thoughts. These are just some of the trials faced—and joyously overcome—in these heartfelt accounts that are as healing as they are unforgettable. Featuring illustrative Bible verses, related parables, and transformative advice, The Scroll is a timely resource filled with the faith and inspiration that will lead you to life’s greatest rewards.

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I saw T.D. Jakes’ name on the front of this book, and thought it must be a good one. It said “Inspiration from America’s Most Revered Spiritual Leaders.”

Then as I was checking the names inside, two jumped out at me. I didn’t know a lot of the names, but these two stood out. Over the years these men have done nothing to inspire me. If Al Sharpton and Jeremiah Wright are examples of the kind of men Parrish Smith revers and is inspired by, he lost me as a reader before he even had me.

Men who spew such hatred and lead less than a Christian lifestyle turn me cold. I’m sorry, Mr. Smith. I couldn’t get past that to be able to read your book.

***A special thank you to Adeola Saul for providing a review copy.***

Parrish Smith is an award winning filmmaker whose projects have appeared on numerous networks and at film festivals. As a child and the son of a preacher, he always fell asleep in church. Nevertheless, it was the storytelling used by preachers during their sermons that engaged him, making the Word relevant to everyday life. Now, he strives to create projects that make a difference in people’s lives, leaving them inspired. The Scroll is his first film and book combination that uses the stories of wise and insightful spiritual leaders as a way to assist people as they face life’s struggles.

Home to Chicory Lane

By Deboran Raney

Landyn longs for home, but her mother may have other plans.

Audrey Whitman’s dreams are coming true. Now that their five kids are grown, she and her husband, Grant, are turning their beloved family home into a cozy bed and breakfast just a mile outside of Langhorne, Missouri.

Opening weekend makes Audrey anxious, with family and friends coming from all over to help celebrate the occasion. But when Audrey’s daughter, Landyn, arrives, the U-Haul she’s pulling makes it clear she’s not just here for a few days. Audrey immediately has questions. What happened in New York that sent Landyn running home? Where was Landyn’s husband, Chase? And what else was her daughter not telling her? One thing was for sure, the Chicory Inn was off to a rocky start. Can Audrey still realize her dream and at the same time provide the comfort of home her daughter so desperately needs?

ISLAND BREEZES

Crossed wires and dashed hopes. Is that all that’s left of Landyn and Chase’s marriage? Landyn packs up and heads home to her parents’ house.

But Grant and Audrey have turned the house into an inn with no room for children to move back in. They extended themselves too much not to need income from every boom booked with guests.

Lots of crossed wires as Chase and Landyn are back and forth between NYC and Langhorne, Missouri. It seems they can’t both end up in the same place at the same time.

It begins to look as if they might begin to work at shared dreams instead of individual goals, but don’t really have any idea where to start.

Then there’s always that struggle of her parents to make a go of the inn, but are they abe to put the time, money and hard work into making it a viable dream?

Thank you, Ms Raney. I’m looking forward to Two Roads Home and many more stories from the Chicory Inn.

***A special thank you to litfuse for providing a review copy.***

Deborah Raney’s books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas—the setting of many of Deborah’s novels—for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away.