Review: Husband Material by Annette M. Irby

Husband Material by Annette M. Irby

Publisher: White Rose Publishing
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Rating: 1

 

Blurb

Wyatt Hansen has no fears about commitment, but only three years have passed since his beloved wife died, and he can't bring himself to break their annual dinner date-that is until he meets restaurant owner, Lara Farr. Lara doesn't have time for romance; she has a business to run. At least that's what she tells herself so she doesn't have to admit that commitment scares her. But Lara's business is failing, and it just may take a miracle-or marketing analyst, Wyatt Hansen-to save it. Can Wyatt rescue Lara's restaurant, help her overcome her fears, and prove he is good husband material?


Clare's Review

When Lara first sets eyes on Wyatt, she is drawn to the sense of loss emanating from him. Only when he turns up for dinner, alone on Valentine's Day at the restaurant she owns, does she find out why.

A lovely story of love the second time around, this short story (dollar download) from Annette M Irby, isn't short on emotion or details. With warm and loveable characters, and an engaging storyline, this book will hold a place in your heart after the last page is turned.

4 Tea Cups!

 

   

Review: Hearts Communion by Marianne Evans

Hearts Communion by Marianne Evans


Publisher: White Rose Publishing
Genre: Inspirational Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb

Jeremy "JB" Edwards dreams of one thing: Having a loving wife and children of his own. Not a surprising ambition, since he was raised at the heart of a large, tight-knit family.

Monica Kittelski spends her days at Sunny Horizons Daycare Center pouring her heart and faith into other people's children. But Monica harbors one impossible dream: Having children of her own someday.

JB and Monica seem the perfect match, but what will come of their electric, sassy relationship when Jeremy learns of Monica's infertility?

Hopes and reality collide when they must confront the idea of finding God's plan and following His will when a dearest hope is destined to remain unfulfilled.

Can these two loving, passionate hearts survive a communion of dreams and reality?


Clare's Review

The third in the Woodland Series, Heart’s Communion tells the story of JB and Monica. JB, from book one, comes from a large family and wants nothing more than to leave his business to his kids. Monica, on the other hand, knows a family is not on the cards and throws herself into running her daycare centre and ballet school and pouring her love on those children in her care.

Dealing with the hard hitting issue of infertility, Ms. Evans has penned a novel that doesn’t hold back the punches. Affecting a vast number of couples, yet never spoken about, infertility has rocked Monica to the core. How can she follow God’s plan and yet fulfill her own ambition and keep the man she’s fallen for?

Not to be missed, this book keeps you reading, smiling and crying til the last page.

4 1/2 Tea Cups!

      

Review: Just the way you are by K.M. Daughters

Just the way you are by K.M. Daughters


Publisher: White Rose Publishing
Genre: Inspirational Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb

After surviving a fire, Noelle Walker is finished with undergoing unsuccessful operations to eliminate facial scars and to restore the use of her hand. Her neighbor, owing his life to Noelle's selfless rescue, finances her Valselo pilgrimage where she might experience the living presence of the Mother of God. Noelle silently prays to receive the miracle of self-acceptance so that she might live normally despite her gnawing self-consciousness about her appearance.

When she meets the handsome Shane Thompson, his avid, romantic attention makes Noelle believe that perhaps miracles do happen in the quaint Adriatic village. The renowned maxillofacial surgeon doesn't seem to care that her hand is crippled and her face is scarred-that is until he claims he can give her "her miracle."

Noelle survived the fire, but will she survive her broken heart after concluding Shane's interest is conditional on fixing her appearance?

Will Shane acknowledge that only God can perform miracles, and can he convince Noelle that he loves her regardless of her scars, and not because of them?


Clare's Review

Noelle and Shane’s story is lovingly and beautifully told in volume 2 of the Gospa Journeys. Injured saving her neighbours life in a fire, Noelle is left with severe scarring. All she wants is a miracle, to be able to accept the way she is now. Shane, an eminent plastic surgeon, falls for her the instant he meets her, and is convinced he is her miracle.

KM Daughters have penned another wonderful story of love, faith and hope. We catch up with characters we already met, and meet new ones, all set in amazingly detailed scenery. Proving that God knows best and works miracles in His own way, this story is not to be missed.

5 Tea Cups!

      

Review: Adelaide's War by Vivian Kees

Adelaide's War by Vivian Kees

Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Historical Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb

Isolation has become Adelaide Warren's solace. She lives far from civilization, up in the hills of West Virginia, after the end of the Civil War and the death of her husband. When Josiah Hamilton finds his way to her doorstep, nearly frozen to death one stormy winter night, she nurses him back to life.

They form a fast friendship, which soon becomes more. When Josiah professes his love for her, she refutes him. But when tragedy strikes, it’s Josiah who comes to her rescue. Now, Adelaide is forced to confront her love for him which she has both denied and hidden.

A proposal is made. Will she accept him? If she does, what does that mean for her future?


Clare's Review

Living with the consequences of the war, Adelaide lives alone in the middle of nowhere, until a blizzard lands Josiah literally on her doorstep. Half frozen and almost dead, she brings him inside to care for him. Both Adelaide and Josiah have suffered devastating, life changing losses and know all too well the harsh tongues of the gossips.

In this well written short story, Ms. Kees has packed two well rounded characters, with a supporting cast of secondary characters, each with their own distinct personalities and quirks. Very much like an onion, each page of this book reveals more about Adelaide and Josiah. From a literally frosty beginning, to its heart thudding fiery conclusion, this is well worth curling up with as the nights draw in.

4 Tea Cups!

   

Review: Buried Treasures by Mary Manners

Buried Treasures by Mary Manners

Publisher: White Rose Publshing
Genre: Inspirational Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb

When Caroline flees Chicago following the brutal murder of her husband, the last thing she expects--or wants--is to fall for Matt Carlson, a builder with strong roots in the small town of Mountainview, Tennessee. She needs to focus on raising her six-year-old daughter and protecting both their hearts from ever being shattered again.

Matt is struggling with issues of his own...guilt over the death of his wife and the responsibility of raising a cynical teenaged nephew who is dropped on his doorstep, abandoned by Matt's alcoholic sister. He doesn't have time to fall in love, yet he can't help being drawn to the woman who is ready to defend her home--and her daughter--with nothing more than a fiesty attitude and a broom handle.

Can Matt's help and friendship convince Caroline to trust again...and when Caroline's daughter goes missing, will Matt be able to find the girl before it's too late and he loses everything he loves...again?


Clare's Review

From first to last this amazing story grips the reader and pulls them in. Widow and single mum Caroline inherits her aunts house in the country. Fleeing the memories of her husbands brutal murder, she very nearly brains her neighbour, Matt, as soon as she arrives. Matt, a widower, is also a surrogate single parent, bringing up his nephew Paul. Both bruised by the past, they have to learn to move on.

This book is unputdownable as it's beliveable and loveable characters leap from the pages. Ms Manners conveys a rich depth of emotion on each page, going from laughter to tears to heart stopping moments almost effortlessly. Throughout the story, God's love is evident, as is His guiding hand on every situation. Not so much as each cloud having a silver lining, but finding the treasures that the clouds can bury, this story is a treasure in itself.

5 Tea Cups!

      

Review: Roselynde by Roberta Gellis

Roselynde by Roberta Gellis

Publisher: Ellora's Cave
Genre: Historical Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb

Alinor Devaux, is beautiful and very rich. She is also an orphan, but her grandparents had not left her defenseless. She has been trained to manage her estates and to rule her vassals. But then the old king dies and Alinor becomes the ward of Richard Coeur de Lion. Alinor knows that her safety and the well-being of her precious lands rests on her ability to make her warden, Sir Simon Lemagne, her willing slave.

Sir Simon has known many women, but never one like Alinor. He is an easy victim. But Alinor tumbles into love. Soon Sir Simon is the only man she will take as a husband. But Simon is no suitable match—he is poor and has no political power. The king would make no profit by permitting Simon to marry Alinor. In their struggle to be united despite the obstacles in their path, Lady Alinor and Sir Simon are swept from the Royal Court in England into King Richard’s Crusade, through the king’s conquest of Cyprus and into the Holy Land. They endure bloody battles and heartrending separations before Simon convinces King Richard to allow their love fruition in marriage.


Dodie's Review

As I finished the book, my immediate thought was, “Wait! That was the ending!?!” Of course, upon further thought no other ending would have been appropriate for Simon and Alinor. Don't get me wrong, they got their happily ever after, or at least disposition to marry and have the futures of their own making, which made them very happy. Sunshine and roses and glowing happiness would not have been appropriate for Simon and Alinor. Ok, I know I'm putting the cart before the horse. The beginning and middle are very good, and while the ending was not the one I was imagining and hoping was coming it was appropriate.

Simon and Alinor are two practical, down to earth people who somehow find themselves in the courts of Queen Alinor of Aquitaine and King Richard the Lionhearted. Interesting how they can survive and survive well in the Courts of chivalry and courtly love, when they both disdain such a rosy colored view of the world. It is very fitting that they found each other.

This is not a light hearted beach read kind of book, but I loved it nonetheless. It was an excellent picture of middle ages courtly life, the times of King Richard, and his battles in England and in the Holy Land on his Crusade. Allinor and Simon are well suited, and their struggles make for an interesting read. I enjoyed the political maneuvering they had to go through in order to convince the King that they should be married.

The book is called The Roselynde Chronicles Book One. I look forward to Book Two.

4 1/2 Tea Cups!

      

Review: Future Savior: Resurrection by Jennifer Hartz

Future Savior: Resurrection by Jennifer Hartz


Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
Genre: Fantasy Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb

ough toTime matters very little when you're dead. I discovered this intriguing fact after being tortured and stabbed to a tree in the strange land of Meric, a place where I discovered my unbelievable powers and experienced an adventure far more amazing than I could have ever imagined.

Now that I'm dead, I find myself stuck in my past, 1991 to be exact… or am I actually dead? Perhaps my adventure to Meric had just been a dream. My unbelievable destiny, all of the friends I made, and even Shaw, the man I fell in love with… just a dream? bridge that gap and get their intimacy back on track?



Clare's Review

Resurrection takes up the story from where Conception leaves off. Christina is dead and the forces of evil are amassing in Meric. Or is she dead? Stuck in her past she’s unsure what’s the dream and what is reality.

Just as gripping as book one, the second book in this series pulls you into its pages and sets you off on a rollercoaster or a ride. Full of vivid landscapes, battles, and loves lost, it has enough twists and shocks to leave you breathless and wanting more.

5 Tea Cups!

      

Review: Unplanned by Jerri Drennen

Unplanned by Jerri Drennen

Publisher: Liquid Silver Books
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Heat Rating: 1

Blurb
Galen Hall wakes in a Ecuadorian jail with a murderous headache, a murder charge, and a memory gap where his alibi should be. How does the jungle guide prove his innocence? His best friend comes to help, only to bring with him the woman whose unplanned love sent him fleeing the Amazon to begin with.

One night of steamy jungle passion has botanist Dana Rutherford carrying a stranger’s baby. While coming to terms with raising a child on her own, she learns of the father’s captivity. In a town where corruption reigns, she unknowingly initiates a jailbreak, and finds herself again face-to-face with the hunky, green-eyed devil who has changed her life forever.


Lorien's Review

Galen Hall wakes up in an Ecuadorian prison and is being accused of murder. He doesn’t remember much leading to his current predicament except for the night with the twenty-eight year old virgin, Dana Rutherford.

Dana is pregnant with Galen’s baby and fears the damage to her reputation. Despite the fact that Galen wants nothing to do with her, she shows up anyway to help him bail out of jail and prove his innocence.

The story is fairly simple and predictable, but interesting enough to read. The couple’s emotional conflict pretty much establishes the pace. I was looking forward to a lot of adventure, action, and romance. I did enjoy the romantic suspense part, but had a hard time believing the romance between both main characters. If you’re looking for a sweet story with great effort, give this book a try.

3 Tea Cups!