BookLoverAmanda

 Book Review: The King's Scrolls by Jaye L. Knight (Book 2 in the Ilyon Chronicles) 5 Stars  Wow, this series is becoming a favorite of all time at this point, and we are only on book 2! If you haven't picked up Resistance, you MUST read it asap because I cannot recommend this series enough. Knight's skillful storytelling and deep character development shine brightly in this sequel, making this series a must-read for any fan of fantasy and adventure. This is a Christian, non-magical fantasy series that has such beautiful biblical allegory, in-depth characters and found family. In this book, we also have DRAGONS! Let's goooo!  I tabbed this book up so much notating the faith elements, prayers, "wow" moments, etc. This is filled with a lot of action and emotions so get ready!  Set in the richly detailed world of Ilyon, this book dived deeper into the lives of its beloved characters. We see several new characters and creatures, in addition to those returning. The...

  Are We There Yet by Savannah Scott - 5 Stars - Book 1 in the Love Trippin' Series I have been on a road trip book kick lately and Savannah's book Are We There Yet is now a NEW FAV of mine! If you love road trip romance books, pick this up!  🧡Coming of Age Story 🧡Slow Burn 🧡Friends to More 🧡Best Friend's Older Brother 🧡Road Trip Story 🧡No Third Act Breakup 🧡Sweet and Clean Rom-Com 🧡Great Friendship Group 🧡Small Town traveling to California In this book, we have 4 friends in their early 20s who travel in a vintage VW van across the country on Route 66 from their small town of Bordeaux to Marbella Island (California). We saw a few appearances from some of our Getting Shipped characters, which I loved! This is the perfect best friends road trip story with the rom-com elements added in. Riley has always had a thing for her best friend's older brother, Cameron. She has kept it a secret for so long but on this trip, feelings start to come to the forefront on both si...

  The Inheritance Games by Jennifer Lynn Barnes - 3 Stars  I love a good story with a will-testament-who gonna get the money plot, so I was excited to pick this one up when I heard it had fun riddles, puzzles and high stakes drama. This book centers around Avery, a girl who unexpectedly inherits a billionaire's fortune, much to the dismay and bewilderment of the his family. While this premise is undoubtedly compelling, I was left a bit confused at times, specifically at the ending.  After talking to a friend who has read the whole series, I realize now that you have to read books 2 & 3 to figure out many things related to the plot that were left open in the end of this first book that I was confused about. What I liked: The plot is engaging and will keep you wanting to read. Lots of layers of secrets and puzzles and characters. Our protagonist Avery is relatable and a character you root for. The audio narration is very good and makes you want to just read and be along...

  Book Review: Mind Games by Nancy Mehl - 5 Stars (Book 1 in the Kaely Quinn Profiler Series) What a great start to the Kaely Quinn series! I have loved each Nancy Mehl book I've read so I am so excited to start this series by her! Kaely is unlike any heroine I have seen in her books so far. She is quirky and unique! Several have said this reminds them of criminal minds with faith content, I have never watched that show but wanted to mention for others who love shows like that.  All the characters were interesting to me and so many suspects - I did not figure this out so I was super shocked at the ending too! My favorite part about Nancy's stories are always the faith elements she weaves in with the suspense and this one did an excellent job of doing that!  In this story, we follow Kaely Quinn, who is an extremely talented FBI behavior analyst. A reporter outs her as the daughter of a serial killer so she is demoted to field agent and transferred to St. Louis. The same re...

  The Road Before Us by Janine Rosche - 4 Stars  This is a Christian Contemporary Fiction story surrounding a road trip on Route 66. From the very beginning of the story, you are invested in these characters, their backstories and their journey on this road trip. The story begins with Jade Jessup, in court with her fiancé after realizing he scammed their financial clients out of millions of dollars in a huge Ponzi scheme. One of the clients was a huge Hollywood star back in the 1960s, Berenice "Benny" Alderidge. Benny's adult foster son, Bridger, is filming a documentary retracing Benny's 1956 trip that started the love story between Benny and her recently deceased husband, Paul. We see Jade, Benny and Bridger's road trip journey in modern day, plus flashbacks of Jade's life in 2003 and Benny's in 1956. Jade is reliving trauma she experience when was kidnapped by her non-custodial father in 2003 traveling through Route 66 when she was 8 years old. Benny is...

For A Lifetime by Gabrielle Meyer (Book 3 in the Timeless Series) If I could give this book 10 stars, I would. This series has been absolutely phenomenal. The faith, characters, time travel level of detail and explanations - SOLID. This book is hard to review without spoilers so I will be brief - but all I can say is, this is *hands down* the best Christian Fiction series of all time for me. Nothing compares. If you know me, you know I am constantly recommending this series. From the moment I read book 1, I knew this series was going to be significant in my reading journey. Thank you Gabrielle for these stories. They mean the world. This book signifies God's plan is truly the best one for us. It reminds us over and over how good His plan really is. He gives us His Grace to go through things and we have the Hope of Christ through every circumstance. It's no mistake these twin sisters have the names, Grace and Hope. I love the significance of their names in this story. Both siste...

The Cowboy Who Looked Again by Liz Isaacson - 4 Stars  Love gets a second chance in The Cowboy Who Looked Again by Liz Isaacson! We have Lincoln (Link), who was adopted in the Glover family. His parents passed away so he doesn't feel 100% a part of his family. Misty is a young single woman who did not want marriage or family. Her past with her mother not being there to take care of them and her having to raise her younger brother at a very young age herself have left her with these hard feelings against marriage. Misty and Link dated previously but Misty broke it off back then. Now, she realizes that she may truly care for him more than she thought. Will they have a second chance at love? I really enjoyed this one. This is book 2 in the series and the small town, faith content and found family have my full heart! I really enjoyed seeing Misty and Link getting back together and trying this relationship again. Link was so kind and I loved seeing him pray too. We have great family ele...

  The Widow and the Highlander by Martha Keyes 4.5 Stars My first Martha Keyes book and will NOT be my last! Excited to read ALL her books now because this was wonderful! As someone who loves a good Scotland setting, especially in the 1700s, this clean historical romance did not disappoint! Such a charming story! We also have one of my favorite tropes - marriage of convenience! :) This is a very well written story with great characters, a sweet romance and an engaging storyline. I read this in less than 1 day y'all! We start off with Christina MacKinnon inheriting the estate from her husband who passed away. There is someone who was next in line that threatens everything she has inherited when Lachlan Kincaid returns to the MacKinnon's property to reclaim what was rightfully his. Lachlan wants justice served to the MacKinnons for betraying his family years ago and depriving him of his inheritance. What Lachlan finds is more than he anticipated though as Christina and Lachlan...

  Love for a Lifetime by Mandi Blake - 5 Stars (Book 2 in the Love in Blackwater series) WOW. LET. ME. JUST. SAY. NEW FAV MANDI BOOK RIGHT HERE! I absolutely love her books and this one is a new favorite now! Dawson was the SWEETEST guy and he reminds you of what a Godly man looks like. I loved the friends to lovers trope in this because he continued to pursue Olivia and always be there for her no matter what. He was a great cinnamon roll MMC! In this story, we see Olivia Laurence, who is a nurse and lives to serve others in her community, church, family and friends. She works on a farm and helping people and animals are her passion. She desperately wants a family of her own one day but her struggles with endometriosis have her worried about that future. Dawson Keller has cared for his best friend's sister, Olivia. Dawson is a police officer and always shows up when Olivia needs help. He loves kids and is bound to make you laugh! We see the feelings unfold between Olivia and Dawson...

  Shadows of Swanford Abbey - Julie Klassen - 4 Stars  I am so glad I read Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen last year because this had the perfect atmosphere that reminded me of a good Jane Austen meets Agatha Christie regency story! Very reminiscent of the Northanger Abbey itself - so I loved that! Julie Klassen has the best settings in her stories and this was just a good cozy time for me on a Sunday afternoon.  In this story, we follow Rebecca Lane who returns to her home village after a few years away. Her brother begs her for a favor to go to Swanford Abbey to deliver his manuscript to an author staying there so he can get published. She agrees to help him but this grand hotel known as Swanford Abbey is rumored to be haunted. She starts seeing strange things there and runs into Sir Frederick - the magistrate, widower and former neighbor who broke her heart long ago..... A famous author is found murdered in the abbey and the mystery goes on from here as feelings start ...

  Townshipped by Savannah Scott (Book 3 in the Getting Shipped Series) OK YALL - my FAV Savannah Scott book so far! Absolutely loved it! Aiden and Em have my WHOLE HEART!  Aiden was the sweetest guy in this story - he is such a caretaker and hometown hero - loved him! Em was the perfect match for him too! In this story, we see Em (Mallory) crash her car near Aiden's goat farm after calling off her wedding and having a honeymoon by herself adventure. She has short term amnesia and is unable to remember who she is or why she is there in their small town of Bordeaux, Ohio. Aiden is helping take care of her while she recovers from the accident and the rest is history as sparks FLY! This book will make you laugh and swoon left and right yall! We have so many funny scenes throughout the book and the characters truly feel like REAL people that you grow to know and LOVE. The more I read this series, the more I love these fictional characters and small town! Can it be real please?!...

  Book Review: Loyally, Luke by Pepper Basham - 4.5 Stars Pepper does it again with Loyally, Luke in book 3 of the Skymar Series! Izzy and Penelope have been some of my favorite books, just overall great comfort reads. Loyally, Luke does not disappoint as we are following Luke Edgewood's love story with a secret Skymar Princess! If you are looking for a book that just makes you overall HAPPY, pick this up! You can read this as a standalone, but I personally believe you get the BEST Skymar experience by picking up book 1 & 2 first. We follow Luke throughout the entire series so we've gotten to know him and really enjoy his character. So many of us have been looking forward to his romance story and I am so glad Pepper wrote this story! This story follows Luke and Ellie. Luke is in Skymar to help with some construction work and has a "meet-cute" with Ellie, the Skymar Princess! He is trying to avoid all "hallmark cheese" romance tropes but he ends up with q...

  What the Wind Knows by Amy Harmon - 3 Stars This was the first Amy Harmon book I have read. I started this book for the first 50% and loving it! It was giving 5 star level. Unfortunately, it ended up falling flat after chapter 15/16 for me personally. I absolutely love Amy's writing style because she can truly tell a good story and keep you interested in what's happening. I own several of Amy's books so I will be continuing to read them as I hear she has some wonderful stories to tell. Further details on what I liked vs didn't below.  This story is all about Anne in the year 2001 who is heartbroken by her grandfather's death. She travels to his childhood home to spread his ashes. Right when she is about to do this, she is pulled back in time to 1921 Ireland. Her grandfather is a young boy at this time and she is mistaken for her grandfather's mother after being hurt and taken care of by a Dr. Thomas Smith, who is the guardian of her grandfather after his paren...

  Book Review: Land of Silence by Tessa Afshar  5 Stars  Favorite Book of 2024 Well, I have found my favorite book of 2024 yall. This book was compelling, transformative, beautiful, encouraging and faith filled. Such a heartfelt novel that explores the power of healing, faith, and redemption. The storytelling here and well-drawn characters make this a must read for anyone who loves a biblical fiction story. We see courage. We see transformation. We see healing through Jesus. I am inspired by Elianna's character and faith.  This is a biblical fiction story surrounding the woman with the issue of blood in the Bible for 12 years. It amazes me that while we only have 2-3 sentences of scripture about this woman, Tessa Afshar was able to tell a fully fleshed out story about this woman and encourage me in my faith as well. We see Elianna go through tragedy after tragedy in this book, yet her FAITH remains strong in God. At one point, she says she has bled for 11 years, and ...