BookLoverAmanda

Cold Threat by Nancy Mehl - (Book 2 in the Ryland and St. Clair Series) - 4.5 Stars I will continue to say how AMAZING Nancy Mehl's Christian Suspense books are. She always blows me away with her writing, characters, on the edge of your seat feeling and the faith content throughout the story! This is book 2 in the Ryland and St. Clair Series, with book 1 being Cold Pursuit. These books are PERFECT for Winter Time and make you have that "I HAVE TO KNOW" feeling where you just really want to pick it up and finish it so quickly! This is the 5th Nancy Mehl book I have read and needless to say, she is my favorite Christian Suspense author now.  In this book, we have a solid story where River and Tony are back at it in their jobs as private investigators/profilers with a serial killer resurfacing after 20 years. 20 years ago, several people were murdered in Des Moines and the only evidence left behind was a snowman ornament hanging on a tree in their front lawns. A suspect was ...

  The Foxhole Victory Tour by Amy Lynn Green - 4 Stars  Amy Lynn Green's The Blackout Book Club was one of my favorite books of 2022, so when I heard about The Foxhole Victory Tour's release, I was so excited to pick up another great Christian Historical Fiction story that I knew wouldn't disappoint. And it didn't! The Foxhole Victory Tour skillfully captures the profound impact of music and humor in lifting spirits, especially in these challenging circumstances. In this story, we follow 5 total characters in the United Service Organization (USO), but primarily the story of 2 women in 1943. These characters come together in an effort to play music and entertain the troops in North Africa during this time. We see our characters at the forefront of the war looming over them and the story goes on from here. I loved learning about the USO tours in this story because I had never heard of them before. Our main female characters are Maggie and Catherine. Maggie has such spunk ...

  Royal Valentine by Sariah Wilson - 3 Stars This is book 6 in a short story anthology series. I picked this one because I have read one other of Sariah Wilson's books and this one had another Scottish male lead - let's gooooo! I enjoyed this short story - very quick audiobook / ebooks on Kindle Unlimited. Her books are just fun fluffy romance reads that while they are instalove-y, they are a good time. (At least the 2 I have read so far.) Anytime Sariah has a Scottish romance involved, I'll be here for it just because that's a fun buzz word for me :) This has Princess Illaria who trades places with her assistance to hide from the paparazzi on her tripe in Rome. As things would have it, she ends up meeting a handsome Scottish photographer and the rest is history as he becomes her tour guide.  This is a clean romance, with some innuendos but nothing too much for me on the sexual side of things. There was some other content I wasn't crazy about but it was still clean ...

  Veiled in Smoke - Jocelyn Green - 5 Stars (Book 1 in The Windy City Saga Series) I found my first favorite book of 2024! 5 stars. This book was a wonderful historical fiction story that immediately engages readers and brings you right into the thick of things in the 1871 Great Chicago Fire and its aftermath. We follow 2 sisters, Meg and Sylvie, and their father Stephen. Meg and Sylvie manage their family bookstore. Stephen is a Civil War Veteran and is going through some extreme war PTSD and certain events surrounding the fire land their father in an insane asylum. Meg and Sylvie work together, along with a reporter, Nate, to exonerate their father in a murder they don't believe he committed. I personally related to both of the sisters in this story with how they handled some of the situations throughout the story for personal reasons I will not go into. I loved both characters and how the story unfolded as we saw what Stephen was going through in the asylum and the sisters in th...

  Crime and Poetry - Amanda Flower - Book 1 in A Magical Bookshop Mystery Series - 4.5 Stars What a fun, cute cozy mystery! Amanda Flower always has the best characters in her cozy mysteries and this one did not disappoint! Throw in a cute tuxedo cat and you've got me sold! I really enjoyed my time with this one and look forward to book 2. This one is all about Violet who goes home after many years away to expect her Grandmother on her death bed, but finds her in perfect health. The plan was to get Violet back home to work in her magical bookstore, Charming Books. Violet has intentions of going back home to Chicago but a man dies in the bookstore and her Grandma is the prime suspect. Violet has to clear her Grandma's name and figure out why she was the number 1 person in this man's will..... I loved the audiobook on this one - highly recommend as the narrator was great.  For those curious about the "magic" element in this one, its very light and not over the top. ...

  Every Dog Has His Day by Janice Thompson (Book 5 in the Gone to the Dogs Series) 4.5 Stars In book 5, we follow Isabel who adopts a dachshund she found, that is until Texans quarterback Corey announces a reward for his missing dachshund. All of Houston is on the lookout for this missing dog that looks a lot like Isabel's new pup...The dog ends up going missing in the middle of the activities that take place between Corey and Isabel and the rest goes on from here as they try to find the dog, Ginger. This one was one of my favorites in the series because of all the friends and family elements and connections we see, reminded of great characters from earlier books in the series and it just feels like home in this small Texas town. I also always learning more about the Veterinarian life in these books.  If you love a cozy story with football, country music, dogs, food, pick this up. :) This series is always a good time. Goodreads Review:  https://www.goodreads.com/review/sh...

  Free Fall by Nancy Mehl (Book 3 in The Quantico Files Series) - 4 Stars This book concludes The Quantico File Series and I have fully enjoyed my time while reading it! I buddy read this entire series with my friend Theresa and we had the BEST time chatting through all the crazy twists and turns throughout the series! We became so attached to the characters and the faith content was wonderful with many prayers, salvation stories and trusting in God throughout each trial.  In this story we continue to follow Alex and Logan in the FBI's Behavioral Analyst Unit (BAU) and this time they need to profile someone who is abducting and imprisoning several women. One woman we see her POV of throughout the story is Tracy and she tries finding ways out left and right. Alex finds herself right in the middle of these missing women and works to be one step ahead of the man behind it all. Why does this man abduct the women only to feed them gourmet meals, give them nice clothes, books to rea...

  Ready to Protect - Valerie Hansen - 3.5 Stars  What a fun, quick read with a handsome cowboy, K-9 cop sets out to protect a pregnant woman who witnesses a congresswoman's murder - all with his great dog! I really enjoyed the audiobook of this one. I don't read many love inspired suspense romance books, but this made me want to try more of them! Cute, short, sweet, suspenseful, a little bit of faith and a good conclusion in the end. Everything you could want in one of those feel good stories.  I really liked the fast paced storyline here - we were on edge from chapter 1 because people are after our main girl, Jamie because of what she witnessed. Our protective hero Ben and police dog Shadow take their job very seriously, and I loved that as well.  The romance was very instalove here but it's fine - I enjoyed my time with it and would read more from the author. I wanted more of our characters having time to really get to know each other but it's all good. I still rec...

  The Seamstress of Acadie by Laura Frantz - 3.5 (rounding up to 4 on Goodreads) If you know me, you know I have LOVED the 2 Laura Frantz books I have read, The Rose and the Thistle and A Bound Heart. I adore her writing and the Scotland settings she brings to life. Although I found this book enjoyable, I personally struggled a little with the French dialogue/language. For those who appreciate a slow-burn romance, have an interest for all things French and are interested in delving into Acadian history, I recommend giving this one a read! The conclusion was particularly satisfying as it beautifully resolved the love story amidst the challenges they had faced. Set in 1754 when tensions were high between the French and the British on Canada's Acadian shore (modern-day Nova S cotia), Seamstress Sylvie Galant and her family end up caught up in the unrest as they prepare for the Christmas (Noel) season. William Blackburn, a British Army Ranger but also a Scottish hero, comes in and at f...

  Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble - 4.5 Stars - A SOLID Romantic Suspense  Ya'll, Colleen does it AGAIN with another edge of your seat romantic suspense read! I was HERE for this from the very beginning and truly INVESTED! In this story we follow Carly Tucker, whose police-officer husband is killed during a home break-in. Her husband didn't know she was pregnant before his death so Carly is left to raise little baby Noah all by herself. She's staying with her grandmother and has plans to turn the family's home into a bed-and-breakfast with her sisters --but the DRAMA and animosity that exists between the sisters is truly tragic. They think the worst of her all because of true misunderstandings but Carly is a character who just wants to take care of others and help everyone the best she can. Which leads me to her finding a letter in the attic from her husband that depicts how he discovered Carly's grandmother was adopted many years ago and the story starts to unfold...

  Christmas Baggage - Deborah Hathaway - 4 Stars  Book 1 in the Christmas Escape Series This was such a fun, sweet, clean and cute Christmas read! This book offers a charming, heartwarming, and wholesome Christmas tale that promises more joyous reads in the series to come. I definitely want to read more in this series during the next Christmas season. We have somewhat of this grumpy sunshine/enemies to lovers trope but it was more like banter back and forth than true enemies to lovers - which I really enjoyed! Claire and Liam are our main characters are the way this starts of is hilarious. Claire ends up on a fun trip to London with her friend, Melody, as her parents have basically left her alone this Christmas season. In comes Liam, Melody's cousin, who meets Claire in some funny circumstances a couple of times. They end up touring London together and the rest is history.  I loved seeing our characters deal with real life challenges and get to know each other in such a f...

  Clanlands in New Zealand - Sam Heughan and Graham McTavish - 3 Stars My husband and I have really enjoyed the Men In Kilts show with Sam and Graham - we laugh and laugh with all of their crazy adventures. They have traveled in Scotland and New Zealand - two of our dream vacation spots - so we loved seeing their travels along the way in the show format.  I also personally really enjoyed the Scotland Clanlands books and always have a good time listening to the audiobooks as Sam and Graham are again, hilarious to listen to just as they are to watch. I think the audiobooks are the only way to read these Clanlands books. However, this book for their New Zealand journey was not my favorite. It does a pretty good job celebrating New Zealand but honestly, most of this is Sam and Graham fussing back and forth that I found tiring. I would have liked more travel-related content personally. Instead of reading this, you might just check out the show and enjoy the laughs along the way. I ...