Love at Any Cost by Julie Lessman

Love at Any Cost

by Julie Lessman

Book #1 Heart of San Francisco Series

Description:

Fooled by a pretty boy once,

shame on him.

Fooled by a pretty boy twice,

shame on me.

Jilted by a fortune hunter, cowgirl Cassady McClare is a spunky Texas oil heiress without a fortune who just as soon hogtie a man as look at him … until Jamie MacKenna, a handsome pauper looking to marry well lassoes her heart. But when Jamie discovers the woman he loves is poorer than him, Cassie finds herself bucked by love a second time, sending her back to Texas to lick her wounds and heal her heart. In her absence, Jamie discovers money can’t buy love, but love built on faith can set a heart free, a truth he discovers a little too late … or is it?

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Julie Lessman has done it again. She’s sucked me into her story world. One thing I love about her novels is the layers of truth, passion, faith, and redemption that are threaded into the stories she writes. Love at Any Cost is an example of this. Jamie, a fortune hunter with a good heart goes after an oil heiress to marry so his sister can have the operation she needs and he can get his family out of the poverty of the Barbary Coast. It’s not easy because Cassie, the oil heiress has been burned by a man who was only after her money before. As Jamie woos Cassie, he finds that he’s fallen hopelessly in love with her. What Jamie doesn’t do is that Cassie’s family wells have gone dry. Warning: As with all Julie Lessman novels, this story will keep you up at night because you won’t be able to put it down. More importantly, it shows we can trust God with out lives and our fortunes because He paid the cost.

The Dance by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

The Dance

by Dan Walsh and Gary Smalley

Book 1, The Restoration Series

Description:

Jim Anderson is a successful businessman, and his wife, Marilyn, is the perfect wife. And why wouldn’t she be? He gives her everything she needs. That’s why Jim never expected to come home one day and find Marilyn gone.
After 27 years of marriage, Marilyn has had enough of feeling unloved and neglected. She wants to experience some measure of happiness before she’s too old to enjoy it, even signing up for dance lessons, something Jim would never do. What will it take for Jim to finally become the man Marilyn needs him to be?

Combining the literary talents of bestselling author Dan Walsh and the relationship expertise of bestselling author Gary Smalley, The Dance is the first novel in The Restoration Series. Readers will get caught up in these flawed but sincere members of the Anderson family as they rediscover genuine love and start a transformation that  ultimately affects all of them.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

I highly recommend this novel for all Christian married couples. Jim is the control freak husband who thinks of only himself and doesn’t realize the damage he’s done to his wife and children. Marilyn, the perfect Christian wife, can’t take it anymore. She leaves him. She doesn’t tell him where she’ll be or talk to him at all. She leaves him a note telling him he’s lost her heart. The rest of the novel is how this clueless man humbles himself and learns the damage he’s done. Then he goes about showing his wife love and trying to win her back. But it won’t be easy. Marilyn is afraid to open herself up again to the pain he’s caused.

This novel covers many techniques marriage counselors use to heal broken marriages, but it does it in a way that we can see it through the character’s lives. I could relate to this novel because, at one time, my marriage had been broken because my husband was a lot like Jim in this story. My husband got saved, humbled himself, and won back my love. We’ve been married 34 years, and the last 18 years have been wonderful.

When the Heart Heals by Ann Shorey

When the Heart Heals

by Ann Shorey

Sisters at Heart Series, Book 2

Description:

Courageous and unconventional, Rosemary Saxon served as a nurse during the Civil War, a service that has caused most women in town to regard her as unfeminine and downright vulgar. Although she would like to put her experiences as a nurse behind her, she must support herself.

Rosemary takes a position with Dr. Elijah Stewart and a mutual attraction begins to develop. But when a sophisticated woman arrives in town claiming to be Elijah’s fiancée, a heartbroken Rosemary decides to leave Noble Springs and start fresh. Can Elijah convince her of the mystery woman’s deception before he loses her forever?

Return to the town of Noble Springs, Missouri, for an engrossing story of love’s tentative first steps and fragile future in the face of opposition. Readers will find in Rosemary a sympathetic but strong woman determined to thrive in a world that doesn’t always understand.

Read Excerpt Here

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Ann Shorey has done it again. I love her historical novels. She weaves in romance and prairie settings, but her novels are anything but prairie romance. They show strong women fighting for a place in a man’s world in a society that holds them down with mystery and intrigue thrown in as well.

Rosemary was a very capable nurse during the Civil War. Since the war, she’s had to deal with polite society’s disdain of her profession. She’s been rejected by her parents for working as a nurse with the Union Army, and now is rejected by the town. She wants acceptance, but she’s given up on ever being accepted or loved. She decides to work as a nurse for the town doctor to support herself, but he objects to her herbal cures and to her helping patients on a personal level. To make matters worse, somebody in town is destroying her greenhouse, threatening her, spreading rumors, and accusing her of being a witch. Rosemary has to muster all her faith in God to get through these trials.

Rebekah by Jill Eileen Smith

Rebekah

by Jill Eileen Smith

Wives of the Patriarchs Series Book 2

Description:

Can love heal the rift between two souls?

When her beloved father dies and she is left in the care of her conniving brother Laban, Rebekah knows her life has changed forever. Though she should be married by now, it’s clear that Laban is dragging his feet, waiting for a higher bride-price to line his pockets. When she is given a chance to leave her home to marry Isaac, a cousin she has never even seen, Rebekah’s hope for the future is restored. Little does she know what a wondrous and heart-wrenching journey she is beginning.

As Rebekah experiences the joy of young love and the bitterness of misunderstanding and betrayal, her resolve will be tested. When the rift between her and Isaac grows so wide it is surely too great to be mended, can she trust the God of Isaac’s father Abraham to bridge the gap?

Live Interactive Video Chat with Jill Smith – Tuesday, February 19th at 7:00 pm EST

Join best-selling author Jill Eileen Smith as she presents ten facts and/or possibilities you might not know about the Patriarch Isaac’s wife Rebekah. Do you have a question about the people in the Bible you’ve always wanted to ask? Jill will take questions about biblical characters, biblical fiction, and about any of her books in the Wives of the Patriarchs or Wives of King David series. So please, plan to join us! Click here  for details.

My Review:  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

In past novels of Jill’s, I’ve loved how she made Bible characters come alive as normal people I could relate to. Rebekah is no exception. Without giving away any spoiler, the novel deals with difficult subject the Bible glosses over like how Sara and Issac handled Issac being offered as a sacrifice, why Rebekah felt she needed to betray her husband to coax him to carry out God’s plan, and how their marriage fared the betrayal. I highly recommend this novel.

 

 

The Unfinished Gift by Dan Walsh

The Unfinished Gift

by Dan Walsh

Winner of 2 ACFW Carol Awards 2010 – Best Short Historical Novel & Debut Author

Read First Chapter

Get Discussion Questions Here

Patrick Collins is seven years old, and on his Christmas list are only three items. He wants the army to find his father. He wants to leave his grandfather’s house. And, for reasons even he doesn’t understand, he wants the soldier that’s tucked away in his grandfather’s attic. Set at Christmastime in 1943, The Unfinished Gift tells in an engaging, simple style the story of a family, and reminds us of the surprising things that affect powerful change in our hearts–like a young boy’s prayers, a shoebox full of love letters, and even an old wooden soldier, long forgotten. This nostalgic story of forgiveness will engage readers everywhere.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

It’s been a while since I’ve read a Christmas novel that really touched me at the heart, but this one did. The Unfinished Gift is a tear-jerker about a seven year old boy who’s mother has died and father is off to war. He’s sent to live with his grandfather, a grouchy old man he never met who doesn’t celebrate Christmas. I sobbed through most of the novel. But in the end, I was inspired by this child who kept his faith in the midst of adversity. It reminded me of the verse “a little child shall lead them”. It’s every bit as good as The Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens or It’s a Wonderful Life. I plan to read more Dan Walsh novels after this. A must read.

Reviews & Endorsements

“The Unfinished Gift is one for the keeper shelf! Dan’s book is a fabulous story of redemption and forgiveness. I couldn’t put it down and it made me cry, which is hard to do. Loved it!” - Colleen Coble, Best-selling Author of the Rock Harbor and the Lonestar series

“The Unfinished Gift is a poignant story about a grieving little boy and the estranged angry grandfather who takes him in. Make sure you have a tissue nearby, because you’re going to need it!” – Terri Blackstock, NY Times Bestselling Author of Intervention and Double Minds

“Although this is a debut novel, we have a Christmas classic in the making. A story readers will want to revisit year after year, much as they do with movies like It’s a Wonderful Life. So move this book to the top of your to-be-read list and grab a box of Kleenex on the way.” - Lena Nelson Dooley, Author of more than 20 Christian fiction novels

If We Survive by Andrew Klaven

If We Survive

by Andrew Klaven

Description:

They came on a mission of mercy, but now they’re in a fight for their lives.

High schooler Will Peterson and three friends journeyed to Central America to help rebuild a school. In a poor, secluded mountain village, they won the hearts of the local people with their energy and kindness.

But in one sudden moment, everything went horribly wrong. A revolution swept the country. Now, guns and terror are everywhere—and Americans are being targeted as the first to die.

Will and his friends have got to get out fast. But streets full of killers . . . hills patrolled by armies . . . and a jungle rife with danger stand between them and the border. Their one hope of escape lies with a veteran warrior who has lost his faith and may betray them at any moment. Their one dream is to reach freedom and safety and home.

If they can just survive.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

When a group of teenagers go to a country in Central America to build a wall, a revolution breaks out. And they’re right in the middle of it. As typical Americans, they have to face challenges they never thought possible to survive the ordeal. This awesome story explores what it takes to do what you need to in the face of adversity and find the courage you never thought you had. I loved it. Every American teenager should read it.

Placebo by Steven James

Placebo

by Steven James

Book 1, The Jevin Banks Experience

Description:

While covertly investigating a controversial neurological research program, exposé filmmaker Jevin Banks is drawn into a far-reaching conspiracy involving one of the world’s largest pharmaceutical firms. After giving up his career as an escape artist and illusionist in the wake of his wife and sons’ tragic death, Jevin is seeking not only answers about the questionable mind-to-mind communication program, but also answers to why his family suffered as they did. Rooted in ground-breaking science and inspired by actual research, Placebo explores the far reaches of science, consciousness, and faith. Readers will love this taut, intelligent, and emotionally gripping new thriller from master storyteller Steven James.

Read Chapter One

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

I am a big fan of Steven James novels, especially his last series of novels, The Patrick Bowers Files. I was so caught up with his Patrick Bowers novels, I was worried I wouldn’t like Jevin Banks, the hero of this series, as much. I thought he might be either a carbon copy of Bowers or not near as interesting. I was wrong. Jevin Banks, a former magician and documentary filmmaker, uses his skills for illusion, escapism, and misdirection to fight the bad guys. He’s different than Bowers but every bit as interesting as he tries to find out what’s behind a secret government project. One Warning. If you start to read this novel, don’t expect to get any sleep until you finish it. And expect to sleep with the light on. Brilliant suspense and storytelling at it’s best.

A Light in the Window by Julie Lessman

A Light in the Window

by Julie Lessman

An Irish Christmas Love Story

Available in Ebook Format

 

Description:

One Woman. Two Men.

One stirs her pulse and the other her faith.

But who will win her heart?

Marceline Murphy is a gentle beauty with a well-founded aversion to rogues.

But when two of Boston’s most notorious pursue her, attraction, dreams and faith only muddle her mind.

Can the light in the window illuminate the path of true love?

Click on this picture for a link to a contest to win a Kindle Fire or an autograph print copy of this book.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

If you’ve read any of Julie Lessman’s novels, you’re already familiar with the O’Conner clan. This is the romance that started it all. Marcie is through with rogues who break women’s heart. When she returns to Boston with her family, two rogues who have reputations to make a decent girl blush vie for her hand as she works to put on a Christmas play for her church fundraiser.

Patrick has fallen madly in love with Marcie. But she won’t give him anything but friendship because of his past. He settles for that and decides he’ll pursue God, allow God to redeem his past, and leave it in God’s hands. But there’s a problem. Marcie has fallen for his best friend, Sam. Sam is the same kind of womanizer Patrick was, but he has no intention of giving up his past life as he pursues Marcie. Patrick knows he has no chance of winning her, but he’s torn between betraying his friend and losing Marcie’s friendship or keeping quiet and watching the woman he loves tie herself to a scoundrel.

I have loved everyone of Julie’s books about the O’Conner family, but this one is even better. There’s something special about this story that shows how putting God in the center of our lives, our passions, and our romances and allowing His love to redeem us will make it so He can give us the desires of our hearts.

A Voice in the Wind by Francine Rivers

A Voice in the Wind

by Francine Rivers

20th Anniversary Edition

Mark of the Lion Series Book 2

Description:

A Voice in the Wind transports readers back to Jerusalem during the first Jewish-Roman War, some seventy years after the death of Christ. Following the prides and passions of a group of Jews, Romans and Barbarians living at the time of the siege, the narrative is centered on an ill-fated romance between a steadfast slave girl, Hadassah, and Marcus, the brother of her owner and a handsome aristocrat. After surviving the massacre of her family and the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, Hadassah is captured and sold to a well-to-do merchant’s family. Brought to Rome, she is pressed into service as a personal slave to hedonistic Julia Valerian.  Hadassah struggles to walk in the footsteps of Jesus and to treat her masters in a manner in keeping with His teachings, but she is forced to keep her religious identity a secret in order to survive.  Confused and alone, she has only her faith to cling to as she tries to subtly bring God into the lives of her captors.  Reckless, impulsive, and villainous, Julia tries to undermine Hadassah at every turn.  But Julia’s brother, Marcus, is a different sort altogether.  Is it possible for a love between Hadassah and Marcus to flourish considering not only their differing stations in life, but also the gap between Hadassah’s unrelenting faith and Marcus’ lack of belief in anything?  Simultaneously, Atretes, a captured soldier from Germania, is forced to become a gladiator. This is the time of Rome’s decline and the decadence of a civilization on the verge of self-destruction serves as a powerful backdrop to the Barbarian’s struggle for survival in the arena.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Rarely have I read a novel that impacted me this much. A Voice in the Wind covers the time period when Jerusalem fell and the early church was persecuted. During this time, we meet Hadessah, a Jewish Christian, as she suffers the loss of her mother and sister to starvation, her father to martyrdom, and her brother to being murdered by Roman Soldiers. Hadessah is sold into slavery to a prominent Roman family. Hadessah struggles to conquer her fear and hold to her faith in a time of uncertainty and danger. Throughout the novel, I felt myself going through the journey with Hadessah. In many ways, she could have been me. By the time I was done with the book, I was overcome with grief for the suffering early Christians went through and a determination to live out my faith with the courage Haddesah had. I highly recommend this book.

The River by Michael Neale

The River

by Michael Neale

 

Book Description:

“You were made for The River . . .”

Gabriel Clarke is mysteriously drawn to The River, a ribbon of frothy white water carving its way through steep canyons high in the Colorado Rockies. The rushing waters beckon him to experience freedom and adventure.

But something holds him back—the memory of the terrible event he witnessed on The River when he was just five years old—something no child should ever see.

Chains of fear and resentment imprison Gabriel, keeping him from discovering the treasures of The River. He remains trapped, afraid to take hold of the life awaiting him.

When he returns to The River after years away, his heart knows he is finally home. His destiny is within reach. Claiming that destiny will be the hardest—and bravest—thing he has ever done.

My Review:  ♥  ♥  ♥  ♥

Gabriel, as a small boy, watches his father die in a river while trying to
save someone else. This affects him deeply throughout his whole life. The novel
has a series of characters and stories that help him deal with the tragedy. It’s
a good story, but I would have like to have seen a little more depth. At times,
like in the first chapter when the father dies, I felt like the writer distanced
us from the characters emotions and pain – like we were watching the story
instead of experiencing it. Overall it was good, but it didn’t live up to the
advertising.