BookLoverAmanda

 Runaway Bride and Prejudice by Emma St. Clair - 5 Stars  In The Appies Series but can be read as a Standalone WHAT A GREAT BOOK YALL! I loved this one so much. The way Emma writes her sweet rom-coms is CHEF'S KISS. The characters have depth and you really grow to love them. I could NOT put this book down, it's one of my fav rom-coms now! In this one we have Van, who is the bad boy image guy on the Appies hockey team. Amelia is getting married when Van finds her fiancé cheating on her. The wedding is broke off, but Amelia is going to go on her honeymoon trip anyway.... Van is driving her to the airport when her Dad asks him to go with her on the trip to keep her safe. The one rule? Don't get any romantic ideas....but Van can't help but fall for the Coach's daughter..... This book has the BANTER, friendships, sweet romance and laugh out loud moments you want in a rom-com! Seeing Van and Amelia really get to know one another and fall in love was so great! The side tex

  Lending a Paw by Laurie Cass - 4 Stars  Book 1 in A Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series This was a fun introduction to a new cozy mystery series with a cute cat sleuth helping along the way! With the help of her rescue cat, Eddie, librarian Minnie Hamilton is driving a bookmobile in the resort town of Chilson, Michigan. Things happen she least expects when Eddie runs off and finds the body of a local man in town..... Minnie is ready to let the police solve the case but Eddie seems to smell a rat! Together they work to find the killer.  This was a really fun one to read while I was recovering from having surgery this last week! :) As a gift from my friend Tammy, I am so glad I read it! (And that I had my kitty Simba right there with me while I read it was a cute bonus!) Eddie is a stubborn kitty and I LOVED THAT! He kept on pushing the limits to help Minnie out. :)  A bookmobile is also a unique thing to find in books that I absolutely loved. I am looking forward to more of Minnie and Eddie

 Target Acquired by Lynette Eason (Book 2 in the Lake City Heroes Series) 3.5 Stars  Double Take is one book I absolutely loved, so this one was one of my most anticipated releases for the year. This one is a dual timeline story and I really liked the past timeline of 1940s from the mental institution where we follow a woman's story of being thrown in this hospital by her father, the doctor and friend she has while in there that help her throughout the story and her doing what she has to do to get out of there. In the present day timeline we follow Kenzie King who finally earned her place as a medic on the SWAT team and Cole Garrison who cares for Kenzie and works with her to solve the mysteries that keep unfolding. Seeing how the past timeline was tied into the current and how the characters were related to our present day group was something I really enjoyed. However, I will say I liked the first book better than this one. For some reason, I was not as engaged or connected to the

  Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard - 5 Stars  "I will write upon her a new name, the name of her God. The Lord God is a sun and shield: the Lord will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." Psalm 84:11  What can I say about this book? It has transformed my heart. I have cried. I have felt conviction. I have felt the warm hugs from the Lord. I have felt seen and heard and loved. I am Much Afraid and she is me. When I feel unworthy, when I feel left out, when I feel less than, when I feel unloved and lonely....HE IS THERE. THE LORD IS THERE. He has always been there. In my pain, suffering, sorrow, grief, struggles...JOY COMES IN THE MORNING. He will not forsake you. He will not leave you. And when you doubt or think He has left you, HE HAS NOT. When you feel the Lord delaying or changing your circumstances - delay does not mean no. You are right where you are meant to be in His ultimate plan. When you are in the valley of

  Between the Sound and Sea by Amanda Cox - 4 Stars  “Because God meets us right where we’re at. And maybe things in our lives get broken down and beat up along the way. The good news is restoration work is kind of His specialty.” In this story, we follow Josephina or "Joey" Harris who takes the opportunity to help restore an old lighthouse. Little does she know the story behind it and the legends she would find. She meets 81 year old Walt and his grandson Finn. We see that together they go on a journey to uncover what happened long ago.... I really enjoyed the faith elements, immersive setting, the characters and the mystery behind the lighthouse. This really felt like a generational moving story. We are in the North Carolina Outer Banks in 2007 and the 1940s here and seeing how the story was brought together was beautiful in how Amanda told it. Joey is trying to figure out what happened to the lightkeeper and his daughter while Walt is desperate to restore the lighthouse

  Shield of the Mighty by Connilyn Cossette  (Book 2 in The King's Men Series) 4 Stars  “But just as a soldier trusts his commander and a commander trusts his king, you must trust the King above all Kings to direct you." Shield of the Mighty is a captivating dive into the ancient world of Israel. Connilyn seamlessly weaves a rich narrative in faith, love and biblical truths. I really enjoyed this second book in the series and look forward to book 3! This story follows Zevi, a warrior who, as a child was captured by the Philistines. Zevi is a captain in King Saul's army who is tasked with recruiting soldiers and artisans for the king's court. Zevi goes back to Maresha. Here we see the start of his character development as he is struggling through his past memories, while trying to get the job he has upon him completed. We see Zevi meet Yochana, a perfumer whose shop has beautiful scents that hide from the world. Yochana is still grieving the loss of her husband and lear

Beneath the Surface by Lynn H. Blackburn  Book 1 in the Dive Team Investigation Series   3.75 / 4 My first Lynn H. Blackburn book and won't be my last. I really enjoyed the writing style, characters and romance. This book was wild! I wasn't as interested in the suspense aspect in this one as the ending wasn't my favorite but I really liked the romance and writing so looking forward to continuing the series. Leigh lives in North Carolina and works in the ER in the local hospital. Someone tampers with her breaks, she fears her stalkers is back. She reaches out to Ryan, her old high school friend turned homicide investigator to help. Ryan uses his skills as a volunteer underwater investigator with the Sherriff's office dive team to help uncover the mystery of how the body of a wealthy businessman is discovered in Lake Porter, also with a connection to Leigh... things go on from here and Ryan continues to protect Leigh and the suspense aspect tries to be solved. As someone

  Love in the Wild by Mandi Blake - 5 Stars (Book 3 in the "Love in Blackwater" Series) 💕 HAPPY RELEASE DAY!💕  "Believing in God doesn’t mean life is always a bed of roses and we get what we want. It means trusting and having faith that we’ll always have the strength to handle the tough times because He is on our side.” Mandi does it AGAIN with another beautiful Christian romance book! Highly recommend! I am loving the Love in Blackwater series so much. All of Mandi's books are my comfort reads - and this did NOT disappoint! SO GOOD. After book 2, I was HIGHLY anticipating Gage's story and wow, what a "WILD" ride! Mandi truly is a favorite author and I will continue to read through her backlist! Read if you like: 💕 Christian Romance 💕 Feuding Families 💕 Grumpy x Sunshine 💕 Epic Friendships 💕 Suspense Elements 💕 Beautiful Faith Content 💕 Small Town 💕 Dual POV We follow Gage and Hadley's romance and before I read this one, I just so happened

  The Perfect Putt by Annah Conwell - 4 Stars  Book 2 in the "More Than a Game" Series  What a cute rom-com! If you are a golf girly, you will really like this one! Some nice beach vibes too!  Read if you like: ⛳️  Sports romance (Golf Lover Bonus!) ⛳️  Sweet, clean rom-coms ⛳️  Boss & Assistant trope ⛳️  Forced Proximity ⛳️  A bit of reversed Grumpy Sunshine Trope ⛳️  Sassy FMC and Pro Golfer MMC ⛳️  Great dual narrators ⛳️  Amazing friend and family dynamics ⛳️  THE. BANTER! ⛳️  Real life serious topics but healing from them! We follow Miles and Ellie in this book. Ellie thinks golf is for the rich, pretentious jerks who need something to do while they gossip. She is not a fan! But the six-figure salary attached to the assistant to Miles, the youngest golfer to ever win the masters - she can't so no. Miles gives Ellie the job - with one rule, she can't fall in love with him. Easier said than done right? Our girl Ellie is SASSY and the grump in the book! You real

  The Winged Tiara by J'nell Ciesielski - 4 Stars  This was giving all things Mr. and Mrs. Smith for me! Jewel thieves, high stakes, banter!! Really enjoyed it. This was a really unique storyline. It's important to note, this is a secular historical romance. Some have stated in their reviews they thought this was Christian Fiction. Thomas Nelson doesn't just publish Christian Fiction, they publish secular clean fiction as well, so that is what I consider this book after reading it. We start the book off with Jasper and Esme celebrating the end of WWI. They got married after knowing each other for 1 day in the celebration and too much champagne. She wakes up the next day and realizes her mistake and leaves her new husband behind....cut to 4 years later when they meet back up and they are now both jewel thieves after the same tiara and we see a wild race to get this well sought after item.  I laughed so many times in this book, we saw some great banter and the situations they

                                                             Beyond Ivy Walls by Rachel Fordham 5 Stars                                               Reading Vlog:  https://youtu.be/U7ns0QplUG0 Rachel Fordham can do no wrong! Absolutely beautiful. 5 stars. A new favorite historical romance with beauty and the beast vibes! Set in the early 1900s, Sadie West's family is in dire financial need so she leaves to go work in the Hoag duster factory. She has nowhere to live so she stays in an abandoned building. This throws her right in the path of the town's mysterious bachelor - Otis Taylor. Otis hires Sadie - with the condition that she tells no one he has returned. Sadie and Otis get to know each other and they start to care for one another as she shows him how much he truly matters, regardless of his scars that have left him feeling less than desirable. Otis has been a recluse for so long, embarrassed of his appearance and Sadie coming in truly opens him up and is the bright light

  The Other Side by Mandi Blake - 4 Stars  (Book 5 in the Wolf Creek Ranch Series) Mandi's most dramatic one yet! WOW - ya'll this one is filled with the FAMILY TEA! What a wild ride! I am so glad I read this one because Thea and Brett are a new favorite couple and it's prepared me to read Gage and Hadley's story in Love in the Wild (Love in Blackwater series #3). We learn all about the Patton - Howard family feud in this book.  Thea skipped town 5 years ago after a tragic accident. She left behind Brett, the man she loved. Brett never expected to see her again but he finds her injured on a snowy night and they start reconnecting as Brett takes care of her and they try to figure out who harmed Thea.  I really enjoyed this one - we got so much back story on different characters to come in future books and Thea and Brett's family feud. I loved the natural faith thread Mandi weaves in her stories, this one was beautiful. This story had so much tension between the famil

  Fire Storm by Nancy Mehl - 4.5 Stars (Book 2 in the Kaely Quinn Profiler Series) FBI profiler Kaely Quinn's mother is diagnosed with cancer so Kaely takes time off work to Nebraska to go help her brother care for their mother. When she gets there, there is a series of fires in the small town. The fire chief has attributed the fires to misuse of space heaters but Kaely is skeptical and searches for patterns in these cases. They realize quickly these fires are arson and Noah, her partner, comes in from St. Louis to help solve the case. Another good Nancy Mehl read! I love the relationship growing with Noah and Kaely in this series, we really see how much he cares for her. I really like the spin on the fires in this suspense because we don't see a lot of arson suspense stories, so it makes it more unique for me. Kaely's family issues also add a good layer of depth to her character and for the story. You are really rooting for her in this series. The audiobook was fantastic,

 The Secret Book of Flora Lea by Patti Callahan Henry - 4 Stars  A woman discovers a rare book that has connections to her past.......long-held secrets about her missing sister and their childhood spent in the English countryside during World War II are revealed.  We are in 1939 and 1960 for this story where we follow Hazel as a young girl and grown woman. Her sister Flora disappeared when she was young and no one was able to find her. Cut to 20 years later when Hazel is working in the bookstore and receives a package that has illustrated books representing the made up world " Whisperwood " that she and her sister created when they were young. Only Hazel and Flora should know of Whisperwood so what does this mean? Is Flora still alive out there somewhere? Did someone else know of their made up world and create the story themselves? Why did she receive this package? The plot thickens as we follow this journey to see what really happened so long ago.... I really enjoyed this s

  Divine Rivals by Rebecca Ross - 4 Stars  Rivals to lovers.  Young journalists find love through a magical connections.  War among gods. YA fantasy. Really enjoyed this one more than I was expecting to yall! In this we see 18 year old Iris Winnow who just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addictions and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the promotion at the Oath Gazette. Iris is writing letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe doo where they vanish and go into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. He anonymously writes her back and the two of them forge a connection that follows them to the front lines of battle, where the least expect it. I loved Roman and Iris together in this book. I didn't really care about the gods and war stuff, I was just here for Roman and Iris! I loved their banter, their letters back and forth and all the things that get revealed in the end LOVE

  Tracking Tilly by Janice Thompson  (Book 1 in the Little Red Truck Mysteries Series) 4 Stars Because I can relate to this story with my Dad and his old truck/trucks, I really enjoyed this one! We have a cute small town in Texas, a vintage truck, a girl opening an antique store and some great character relationships here. This is a Christian Cozy Mystery (with no deaths) that centers around our main character RaeLyn's grandpa's old vintage truck going missing after the auction to get it back. Her grandpa passed away many years ago, so it's very important to get it back. We see RaeLyn work to figure out what has happened, with her old high school flame Mason hanging around helping, but honestly he's a bit suspicious at first too. :)  We have some small town drama going on with a romance subplot. I did get the side character's mixed up several times but it was fine - I was just here for the read! :)  Overall a cute feel good story that will bring the nostalgia of thi

  Audio Releases August 6th 2024 (Graphic is for my Instagram on Release Day!) But He's My Grumpy Neighbor by Annah Conwell - 5 Stars I LOVED THIS YALL! I love a next door neighbor romance and to add the grumpy sunshine on top of this - chef's kiss*. This is book 1 in her But He's A Carter Brother series and I can't wait to read more! The characters have been through some hard things in their lives which leave them a bit closed off to others or relationships. Seeing them get to know each other and really open up was absolutely beautiful.  I loved seeing Adrian fall in love with Juliette most of all. His internal thoughts were my favorite. He started really opening up throughout this book, which was great to see. AND THE LETTER - don't get me started on how AMAZING that was! :) They had some cute nicknames too that I loved. Such a cute, cozy rom-com with a lot of great small town elements such as a small town bakery, cookouts with families, bingo nights, fun sibling

  Royal Assassin by Robin Hobb - 4.5 Stars (Book 2 in The Farseer Trilogy) Video to come! Y'all, last year Assassin's Apprentice was a book I challenged myself to read to start the HOBB journey in support of my special friend Chrissie! Hobb is her favorite author and she is always reading her friend's favorite books so I wanted to continue the tradition this year by reading book 2 in this series for Chrissie's birthday month! A full vlog is coming tomorrow August 2nd! So, the review:  Royal Assassin, the second book in the Farseer Trilogy, is a masterful continuation of the saga that began with Assassin's Apprentice. The story picks up right where book 1 left off, following the life of FitzChivalry Farseer, a royal illegitimate child and trained assassin, as he navigates the treacherous politics of the Six Duchies.  In book 1, Fitz was just a child in his training. We follow Fitz in his coming of age journey in his teenage years in book 2.  One of the standout featu