BookLoverAmanda

  My Hope Next Door - Tammy L. Gray - 5 Stars - A beautiful, redemptive story all about forgiveness and new beginnings! (Book 2 in The Fairfield Duology) This book TOOK ME THROUGH IT Ya’ll! Such a beautiful redemptive story all about forgiveness and new beginnings. This was such realistic story that grabbed me from the very first page and deals with issues Christians face in their everyday life. 5 BIG STARS. We follow Katie and Asher as they overcome their past challenges, find forgiveness and each other. Katie's past is all surrounding drugs and a bad reputation. After running from her hometown many years ago, Katie is back home because of an illness her mother is facing. She's turned her life around and wants to do the right thing, but every where she turns her past is staring her in the face and she doesn't know how to overcome it. Then she meets Asher - the boy next door and the son of a small-town pastor. His life has been turned upside down when his breakup left him w...

  A Lady of Esteem - Kristi Ann Hunter - 4 Stars - Such a great introduction to the characters of Hawthorne House! (Prequel 0.5 in The Hawthorne House Series) What a fun introduction to the characters of Hawthorne House! I listened to this on audio since it was a quick listen and short novella that introduces us to Amelia and Anthony. Lots of regency vibes! Amelia Stalwood lives in London but she has never really met any nobility or anything - her closest friends are servants. Her paths cross with the Hawthorne Family and their close family friend, Anthony, former Raeburn Rake. Anthony is very interested in her and I loved their interactions, especially when they first meet, I was laughing! Just as she is starting to get comfortable, she's blindsides by some unexpected changes and nasty rumors....the story took off here. I enjoyed seeing Anthony's transformation and the ending was wrapped up really nicely. Amelia was such a great character too! Very entertaining read and I am e...

  Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik - 4 Stars - 3 Brave Women making hard choices and sacrifices. This is the story of 3 brave women who each have their own hard choices to make, quests to embark on and sacrifices to make. Told in 1st person, with multiple perspectives, I think we have 6 in total, but a few primary perspectives. Many have said this is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, but I would say it’s loosely based on that and truly made into its own fairytale. We follow 3 main women’s stories – Miryem, Wanda and Irina. Each have an important role to play in this quest to stop the all-consuming threat – the king of the Staryk – grim fey creatures who seem to be more ice then flesh. I feel like we had some great “found family” vibes in this book and the story truly kept me engaged – especially since Fantasy isn’t my go-to genre. That’s really why I give it 4 stars, because I read this in 1 day – I was SO interested and engaged in the story. This book really has winter vibes to the highes...

  The Maid of Ballymacool - Jennifer Deibel - 5 Stars - Full of mystery, romance, history, faith, cinderella vibes - so GOOD! The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel is one of my favorite books of 2023 so far! Full of mystery, romance, history, emotions, faith, secrets, Cinderella vibes, a swoon-worthy male lead and a villainous headmistress -- this story has all the makings to be one of my favorite books of the year! 5 stars! I have loved both of Jennifer’s books so far, A Dance in Donegal and The Lady of Galway Manor, but The Maid of Ballymacool is my favorite one yet! There was something about Michael and Brianna that just made them unforgettable and unique. Set in the 1930s in Ireland, Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as a baby. She’s worked there her entire life and the Headmistress, Maureen Magee, runs the school and is a force to be reckoned with. Miss Magee also raised Brianna since she was a baby who was left on her doorstep. She is s...

  Counted with the Stars - Connilyn Cossette - 5 Stars - I am completely blown away. A beautiful biblical fiction story. Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette was Connilyn's debut novel and WOW I was really blown away with how connected I was to these characters and story! I just love the time period around Exodus in the Bible so this was for me!❤️ Love that we got a little romance in this too. This is all about a young Egyptian woman named Kiya who was sold into slavery by her father and was forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry. She becomes friends with a young Hebrew woman, flees with the Hebrews after going through the plagues described in the book of Exodus. Will she turn back to Egypt or will she surrender her life to God? This was beautiful in every way. Very biblically accurate and transports you right into the culture of the Egyptians and Hebrews. I was so intrigued by the Egyptian's view of the plagues too. I read this super fast and look forward to more...

  Memory Lane - Becky Wade - 4 Stars - A great start to a new series!  Memory Lane by Becky Wade is the first book in a new series, A Sons of Scandal Romance series. Set on a remote island in Maine, we follow Remy Reed, who spends most of her time working on wood sculptures and spending quiet time to herself. One day, she sees an unknown man swimming in the ocean, struggling to stay afloat. She goes out to sea and rescues this mystery man and everything takes off from here. We see Remy, her friend Leigh and a local EMT working to help this man get better, but he has a serious case of amnesia so they end up with the name “Jonah” for him until they can reveal his real identity. This story took me through it ya’ll! 4 stars! I was mostly connected to our main guy here and his story – as the mystery of him and his family really interested me along the way. Remy and him start to get to know each other and we start to see a bit of “enemies to lovers” going on here! I thought at first...

  Daughter of Eden - Eve's Story - Jill Eileen Smith - 4 Stars - What a great story that shows us what it could have been like during the times of Adam and Eve. Daughter of Eden: Eve’s Story by Jill Eileen Smith shows us what it could have possibly been like during the time of Adam and Eve, all surrounding the time during the book of Genesis in the Bible. This was my first book by her and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this story. It is a biblical fiction featuring real bible “characters”, primarily Adam, Eve, their children (mostly Cain and Abel). We also have chapters from Lucifer and how he fell and became the devil – the deceptive, cunning serpent. It follows many year, encompassing most of Adam and Eve’s life. This book is a fictionalized work of what it could have been like during the time of Adam and Eve at the creation of the world. It was really interesting to see how they may have spoke to one another, dialogue together, with God and with their children. It was also in...

  When in Rome - Sarah Adams - 4 Stars - A fun rom-com! What a fun rom-com! I laughed SO much! While this does have quite a bit of mild language, I really enjoyed our main couple and had a lot of fun listening to the audiobook! This is a clean, closed door secular romance. This is all about Ameila Rose, also known as Rae Rose to her fans. She is a very famous music artist from Nashville and she is just REALLY burned-out from so many years of trying to maintain her pop princess image. She loves the Audrey Hepburn movie, Roman Holiday, so inspired by that movie, she takes off in the middle of the night for a break to Rome.....Rome, Kentucky that is. She finds herself in her car, broken down in front of Noah Walker's house. He doesn't want to deal with celebrity problems but he agrees to help Amelia out. She isn't able to stay in a local hotel in town....so she ends up staying in Noah's guest room. for the 2 weeks she is there waiting for her car to be fixed. They start to...

  The Wonderland Trials - Sara Ella - 4 Stars - Lovers of all things Alice in Wonderland will LOVE this! (Book 1 in The Curious Realities Series) If you are a lover of all things Alice in Wonderland, you will enjoy this new, fun Alice inspired Young Adult Christian Fantasy story! While the first part was a bit slow for me to get into, by the 50% mark I was invested in the story. Fans of dystopian favorites like The Hunger Games will also probably enjoy this because it has a "trial" game that gave me Hunger Games vibes. The whole time you never know who to trust, what's real vs fictional, what "reality" you are in and it's just a very unique story I think many will enjoy. I also kind of had "Caraval" vibes too from the writing style - really enjoyed that aspect. This story is all about Alice who just wants to escape her normal life in Oxford and find her parents who abandoned her 10 years ago. She gets more than she bargained for though when her old...

  Murder in a Scottish Garden - Traci Hall - 3.5 Stars - Enjoyed a bit more than book 1! (Book 2 in A Scottish Shire Mystery Series) Book 2 in the Scottish Shire Mystery Series, Paislee, owner of her specialty sweater and yarn shop, Cashmere Crush, is a chaperone on her son's field trip. She hears a gun shot and sees a man fall through the hedges. Throughout the book they are trying to figure out who killed this man, who was the cousin to her landlord that's been trying to evict her, Shawn Marcus. Shawn is afraid someone is trying to kill him and his mother so Paislee starts trying to investigate the murder and everything gets crazy from there. I liked this one a little more than book 1, we have more of a focus on the mystery here then their family dynamics, but I still want a romance for Paislee! I will continue on listening to these audiobooks because they are very bingeable :) Love the Scottish vibes and accents, as always. Looking forward to see what happens next with our c...

  Assassin's Apprentice - Robin Hobb - 4.5 Stars - What a great foundational fantasty story to start this long series!  #HobbEmotionalSupportGroup 1-800-HOBB-HALP🤣 As someone who doesn't read a ton of fantasy and continues to dip her toes in different types of fantasy reads, this book was a great foundational fantasy story to our world, characters and journey for our main character, Fitz. Told in first person, we follow a young boy, Fitz, at 6 years old through what I believe was 13 or 14 years old in this first book as he learns about his father/relations, is taken into an apprenceship to train and must embrace his new life on the road to beocming a royal assassin. He's learning about weaponry, scribing, courtly manners, how to kill, nobility etc. His life is tough throughout the story and you keep wondering is life going to get any better for poor ol' Fitz?! You grow to love him so much and continuosly root for him. We have a lot of political intrigue throughout the ...

  Tribulation Force - Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins - 5 Stars - WOW WHAT A BOOK! WOW. Book 2 after Left Behind was so good! We continue the story of Rayford, Buck, Bruce, Chloe as they formed the Tribulation Force to stand and fight the enemies of God during the 7 year tribulation after the rapture. THE ENDING was intense and just...WOW. Love how this story is unfolding and coming together. Love our characters. What a classic where there is never a dull moment. We also really get to see great development between Rayford and his daughter Chloe. And then developments between Buck and Chloe in their relationship. Some of the way Chloe was acting with the miscommunication was annoying but still loved everything coming together in this story. Can't wait to dive into the next one. Goodreads Review:   https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5334731503 Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3XOlSRy YouTube Review Video:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Barking up the Wrong Tree - Janice Thompson - 4 Stars - really enjoyed this! Barking up the Wrong Tree by Janice Thompson is book 3 in the Gone to the Dogs Christian Mystery series. I have really enjoyed each book in this series so far. Each has been 4 stars! In this book, we follow Veterinarian Kristin Keller who realizes the Atkinson family champion sheltie dog, Remington, has somehow been stolen and switched with another almost identical sheltie dog right under their noses! Everyone is shocked and they start working together to figure out who could have done this, any why? We also have a cute romance between Tyler and Kristin blooming, and I loved their chemistry together. Very sweet. What I enjoy most about this series is how these stories just always feel like you’re coming back home to your family. As a southern girl, I love the charm for each town and how each character has sincere care for one another. I also love how we have so many different avenues as to what could have happ...

  The Thursday Murder Club - Richard Osman - 3.5 Stars - Hilarious with a great group of characters! (Book 1 in The Thursday Murder Club Series) I liked this mystery surrounding 4 hilarious, older characters who live in a upscale retirement village and work together to solve murder cases as part of the "Thursday Murder Club". This is sent in Kent, England during modern time. Things get wild really fast when some murders start happening at the retirement village and they start working to piece everything together. I LAUGHED SO MUCH in this book! These characters are HILARIOUS! My only complaint with this book is I really struggled keeping all the characters straight and what what going on throughout the story. It was close to 4 stars but ultimately the pacing and multiple character shifts took me out of the story many times. I still recommend this if you like a good mystery. I would not call this a "cozy" mystery, more along the lines of true crime mystery then a coz...

Turn to Me - Becky Wade - 5 Stars - Wonderful final book in the series! Turn to Me by Becky Wade is the 3rd and final book in the Misty River Series and I LOVED IT SO MUCH! 5 stars! Ya’ll, this series is one of my favorites of all time. Top tier Christian Romance stories full of love, faith, heartbreak, redemption, grace, humor and real life characters you can relate to with real life problems. In this final installment, we follow Luke Dempsey and Finley Sutherland. Luke is the last of the Miracle 5 that has always distanced himself from the rest of the group. He was recently released from prison after serving time for felony theft and promised a fellow inmate and friend, which happens to be Finley’s father, right before he passed away, that he would help piece together the clues for a treasure hunt for his daughter. Finley’s father was worried others will be searching for the treasure so he trusts Luke to protect Finley as he helps her find this missing treasure. Finley is the owner o...

  The Cairo Curse - Pepper Basham - 4.5 Stars -  If you love Agatha Christie, Clue, The Mummy, Indiana Jones, Cozy Mysteries and a romance with the best chemistry – LOOK NO FURTHER! (Book 2 in the Fredrick and Grace Mystery Series) The Cairo Curse by Pepper Basham is the perfect fun, wild and exciting sequel to The Mistletoe Countess that will keep you on the edge of your seat the ENTIRE time! Again, I know I will enjoy anything Pepper writes because it’s ALWAYS a good story that transport you exactly where our characters are! While The Mistletoe Countess is still my favorite, The Cairo Curse was such a wonderful follow up of Grace and Freddie back at their mystery solving game – this time they’ve taken a detour from their honeymoon to Egypt ready to explore the pyramids, tombs, mummies, artifacts and so much more – when all of a sudden, their trip soon takes a dangerous turn with murders happening left and right. Suspects start to mount up and Grace and Freddie attempt to sol...

  Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne - 4 Stars - Fun adventures with Phileas! What a fun adventure! I loved following Phileas Fogg around the world in 80 days! He was so kind and kept moving on his journey, no matter what life threw at him. I did get bogged down sometimes but overall enjoyed it and it makes you want to travel the world! I want to watch an adaptation now, because I think it would be so much fun to see this travel story come to life! I listened to the Jim Dale audiobook narration and it was amazing. Jim Dale can narrate so well! I feel like the characters really make this story! The whole plot of the story is Phileas Fogg has wagered 20,000 pounds (and his honor) to go around the world in 80 days. He says it can be done so he sets out to do just that. So many people doubt him but he plans to make this happen, no matter what. It's also a beautiful ending, that last page was so beautiful to read. This book had me laughing and just pulling for Phileas the entire ...