Bitter and Sweet

 

I found this book difficult to read at first, but the further I got into it, the more I liked it.   Revolving around three main characters, it takes place in a fictional area of South Carolina, but reads like it should be in Louisiana or Florida swamp lands.  

Sabrina and Mariah have been called back to help their grandma after their grandpa had a stroke.  Grandma needs help finishing the refurbishing of Tabby's Meats and Sweets restaurant.  Both girls have experience and their own unique set of skills to bring to the table. The thing is they both have a rather contentious relationship.  Sabrina doesn't understand the animosity Mariah has toward her and Mariah doesn't quite have a full grasp on it herself.  As the two girls work together to get the restaurant off the ground, they both delve into their history and find out who they really are.  

By the end of the book, I found myself drawn in and consumed by the plot.  Rhonda McKnight writes in such a way that women of all colors find themselves in her stories and find points of common interest with the characters.  I have to imagine that Rhonda is as beautiful a woman as she writes her characters to be.  

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a jar cake to tickle your taste buds.  

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.  

Before We Were Us

 

Denise Hunter likes writing about the east coast small towns and while this is a departure from the North Carolina area of the Appalachian Trail, it is just as engaging as her novels taking place in those areas. The crux of the plot of this book is when Lauren gets amnesia the day Jonah was going to propose to her.  She falls off a ladder in the barn that she is converting to a wedding venue and hits her head, giving herself a concussion and amnesia.  She only loses four months, but it's the four months of her relationship with Jonah.  She remembers the early stages of "I don't like you," but has forgotten the stages where he grew on her to the point that she fell in love with him.  

The way Denise handled the amnesia is a breath of fresh air compared to how other authors I've read have handled it.  I appreciated how she didn't try to "fix" everything but allowed it to flow organically, as real life would. 

I really appreciate the way that Denise brought about the love story between Lauren and Jonah.  His love never waned and he worked to rekindle the emotions within Lauren.  

This is a five star book, with two thumbs up, and a magical barn wedding venue. 

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.  

Finding You

Darcy is on her way to work to give a presentation after a doctor's appointment when her car refuses to start.  Carter is in the same parking lot and tries to help Darcy get her car going to no avail.  He calls a tow truck for her and takes her to work.  He's intrigued by her and would like to know her better.  His sister, whom he lives with, encourages him in that endeavor. When Darcy's car is fixed, he calls her to let her know and somehow gathers the courage to ask her to accompany him for dinner.  

Both Darcy and Carter are holding secrets from each other, but little do they know it's the same secret.  Only Carter's secret is a bit more convoluted than Darcy's.  And it makes all the difference in the world to their relationship.  

Amy Clipston is known most for her Amish fiction and her writing here is the same kind of sweetness that she puts into her Amish works.  I didn't find the plot to be as compelling as some of her other works.  It is a fast read, so that is a point in its favor.  I just felt overwhelmed by the "secrets" as they seemed to pervade the whole plot and the relationship between Darcy and Carter.  Finding You is a good book for a lazy afternoon.  Three and a half stars, rounded up to four.  

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

The Summer of Yes

Kelsey wakes up in the hospital after having been hit by a car that ran up onto the sidewalk where she was walking back to work after a break.  Soon after she wakes up, another woman is placed in her hospital room--making constant demands. After Kelsey is recovered enough to be released, she comes back to visit her roommate and to make a proposal to get the roommate out into the world again. After a conversation with her mother, Kelsey realizes that she says No to nearly everything.  Her mother thinks her accident was a disruptor meant to show Kelsey a better way to live, so she decides to say Yes to things she wouldn't normally do.  

Her roommate is Georgina Tate, a beauty products mogul worth a ton of money, but her health is failing and she seems to like her reclusiveness. When Kelsey asks Georgina if she had regrets, Georgina doesn't answer her but a sad look crosses her face and quickly disappears.  Still Kelsey sees the look and convinces Georgina to join her on her "Summer of Yes" adventure.  The adventure allows Georgina to reconnect with family and Kelsey to find out what she really wants out of life.  

This book is a quick read because the action encourages the reader to keep on going.  It's the kind of book that needs to be read before summer actually starts because it will encourage readers to enjoin their own Summer of Yes and to take on new adventures, to pay attention to life's disruptions, and to find themselves for who they truly are. 

This is one of the best books by Courtney Walsh that I have read.  Kelsey is as irrepressible as Georgina is recalcitrant. Their personalities clash at every turn, but mutual respect is earned and a friendship is ultimately formed.  This is a five-star book with two thumbs up and a road trip in a 1965 Mustang. 

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

A Run at Love

I grew up near Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, like three blocks away from the back side of the racetrack.  There was a small rental house across the street from me where jockeys lived on a short term basis.  The racing season in Arkansas lasted from January to April, and people followed the races from city to city--some were connected to specific horses, some were just roadies that followed the races and bet on the horses.  One thing racing season always did was create unmovable traffic.  

Piper owns a horse, Dream, that she wants to run in the Kentucky Derby, but first he has to qualify.  Piper gets caught in a media storm that isn't all good and does more harm than good to her farm,  Toni Shiloh has taken the racing culture and incorporated it into A Run at Love, the second novel in the Love in the Spotlight Series.  There is some awesome horse racing information as well as a sweet love story that started when Piper and Tucker Hale were just elementary school children.  Tucker is now Piper's trainer for Dream and travels with her from race to race.  She has included some significant information about horses and the risks as well as the rewards from racing. 

As with any good book, there has to be some tension to keep the reader engaged, and Toni uses the darker side of racing to provide that tension: doping the horses, equine flu, and other maladies that make the horses not perform as well as they should. 

While there was some predictability and a bit of formulaic romance, the book is a solid read.  Four Stars. 

Bethany House provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

 

It's All Relative

 Helena has to go to a remote island off the coast of Florida to attend her mother's wedding.  The man she is marrying has three children and Helena is her mother's only child.  Helena feels threatened by Amelia, the fiancé's oldest, who has everything in hand and seems to be nearly perfect in every way.  Helena enlists her best friend, Landon, to go with her to the wedding only to find out that Amelia is his "one that got away."  

The book goes from one misadventure to the next and Helena lives up to her fly-by-the-seat-of-her-pants reputation throughout the whole book.  It seems to be a bone of contention with her mother and with Amelia.  

Rachel Magee has written a book that has laughs and angst and will keep the reader engaged and enjoying every minute.  The characters are a bit over the top and just a bit too much at times, but they learn from each other and find their true selves in the meantime.  This is a book I would read again.  There's everything from a capsized sailboat to Double Fudge with Chocolate Chunks ice cream and more twists and turns than a mountain highway.  It's All Relative is unpredictability at its finest. Four Strong Stars 

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own. 

Cole and Laila are Just Friends

 Cole is a chef at a restaurant/bar owned by his grandfather who is on his last legs.  When the time comes for the will to be read, Cole finds out the restaurant has been sold out from underneath him.  He is devastated beyond just the normal grief of losing his grandfather.  Cole gets an invitation to be a sous chef at a new upscale restaurant in Manhattan.  Cole and Laila go to Manhattan with their newly married friends Seb and Brynn.  They take the time to explore and experience all that the city has to offer.  When the job offer comes in, Laila goes back to Colorado.  She refuses to be a stumbling block to Cole's career.  She will be able to find a job when she gets back home.  After Laila leaves, Cole's mother returns to Adelaide necessitating Cole's return as well.  

Cole and Laila have been friends since childhood and Laila has loved Cole almost since then.  One of my favorite parts of the book is their "first date" in Manhattan--the amount of thought Cole puts into the date, the sheer enjoyment Laila gets from it, and the realization that neither is willing to hold the other back.  

There were parts where the plot seemed to drag a bit for me, but overall, this is an excellent book with yummy characters and incredible settings.  It is part of a series, but it stands alone quite well, and that makes it worth reading.  Bethany Turner is an author I truly enjoy reading and this is why.  

Four Strong Stars.

Thomas Nelson Fiction provided the copy I read for this review.  All opinions expressed are solely my own.