BookLoverAmanda

On Living Stone by Heather Kaufman  Book 3 in the Women of the Way Series Can Be Read Standalone 5 Stars My First 5 Stars of 2026 Wow. What a powerful biblical fiction. I loved this so much. Anything with Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross for us always touches my heart and this one definitely did. This is all about Salome, the mother of James and John in the New Testament. We get to see what it could have been like with Salome in her early life, marriage to Zebedee and the birth of her sons James and John.  We also see events through Jesus' crucifixion with her. Heather brought to life these biblical figures and told what their stories could have been like in such a truthful, biblical way. It was well written and researched. It's very important for my biblical fiction to be biblically accurate, and Heather did such a good job keeping it that way! This book will lead you into deep reflection on the cost of following Christ that we see in the New Testament and the s...

Book Review: The Belle of Chatham by Laura Frantz 4 Stars  The Belle of Chatham is a Christian Historical Romance set during the American Revolution in 1777. You are pulled right in 1777 New Jersey, where loyalties are divided. We follow two sisters, Maebel and Coralie. They find themselves on opposite sides of the war and tensions begin to wear on both of the girls. Mae has a very emotional journey as she is growing in a romantic relationship with American General Rhys Harlow. Mae is forced to leave her home and go to New York as she is torn between Rhys and Coralie in a way due to certain events that happenn. Coralie continues her interactions with her childhood sweetheart, a British officer stationed in New York. I think Laura did a really great job pulling you in to the time period and bringing the events to life. Loved the George Washington bits and the history overall explained.  The romance with Mae and Rhys was quick but I liked their interactions together. I think it ...

  Memorizing Scripture by Glenna Marshall and Peace Under Pressure by the Daily Grace Co Both 5 Stars  ✨Memorizing Scripture by Glenna Marshall @glennadmarshall is a beautiful book on the importance of scripture, practical ways to incorporate memorization into your everyday life and little reminders that even if your memory isn’t the best, you too can take those small steps to writing God’s word on your heart and in your mind. I am definitely going to be using some of her techniques in this. Thankful it was the @bloombookandbible read for this month! ✨Peace Under Pressure by The Daily Grace Co @thedailygraceco was also timely book. I was walking through a season of comparison, stress, pressure for all the things I’m trying to keep up with and then unexpected news in my family that was hard to process. BUT. GOD. He is ALWAYS there. This book reminded me so much of when the things happen that we cannot control, we can truly LET GO AND LET GOD take care of it. That when unexpe...

 Mail-Order Duchess by Misty M. Beller 4 Stars  Book 1 in the Lords of the Rockies Series Misty always has really great characters in her Christian Historical Romances. I loved this one. With some heavier topics, this was layered, had depth and had good faith content. Mail Order Duchess is the first in her newest series, the Lord of the Rockies series. Enoch is forced to step into his late brother's role as heir and he ends up inheriting more than he realized he would...a mail-order bride...Mandie Beaumont. Mandie takes a journey as a young widow on the run to Montana after being assaulted by her brother-in-law. She's pregnant from the assault and needs to get away as soon as possible. She gets there and an accident causes her memories to be temporarily unavailable...until the memories start to return and she realizes exactly why she left in the first place, leaving the trauma to resurface and Enoch to make a decision about what to do next. What truly stood out to me about thi...

  Until You Found Us by Elle Christopher  4.5 Stars  This was so great! We have a single Mom, Alice, with twins, Jack and Lucy, and those kiddos are the BEST.  Alice felt so realistic as a mom trying to keep her flower shop afloat and carrying weight of disappointment and unanswered prayers. Johnny comes in as a guarded firefighter. He saves her son from being hit by a car, among many other things and their lives intersect together in the Southern small town of Tunbridge. They get to know each other and it was full of emotional depth, good faith elements, them going to church, I just really enjoyed it. Faith was depicted in a community type of way and I loved that because we do not see that enough in books sometimes. I also appreciated the growth and grief shown. The town was super cozy too!  I really like Elle's writing style, it flows well and you're really invested in the characters. I would recommend to anyone who likes a slice of life, contemporary romance,...

Tailing a Tabby by Laurie Cass 4 Stars Book #2 in the Bookmobile Cat Mystery Series In this book, librarian Minnie and her rescue cat, Eddie, roll the bookmobile out for some summer books to people in Michigan. The bookmobile is making its usual rounds when Minnie and Eddie are flagged down by a woman in distress. The women's husband is a famous artist and he needs emergency medical care. Minnie helps out quickly and gets him to the hospital. He disappears from the hospital and is discovered slumped over the body of a murdered woman...Minnie and Eddie start their investigating.... I just love this series. It's perfect for cat lovers - Eddie just steals the show! While I don't have a ton to say, I just generally enjoy these books. They are the definition of a good cozy mystery.  Clean, no explicit content, no language. Would recommend. Start with Lending a Paw, book 1. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6841526469 Amazon:  https://amzn.to/4sN0N9c *Amazon links ...

 The Memory Stone by Bryan Davis  Book 2 in the Dragons of Camelot Series 3.5 Stars  This continues Bryan's dragon-filled Christian fantasy series world with high stakes, fast-paced action and faith elements. Set in a medieval, King Arthur-inspired world, the story follows Sabina, Hawk, Merlin and their allies as fear spreads through the kingdom via a mysterious toxin poisoning the water supply. The use of portals, memory stone and dragons add such an adventure for this book, continuing right where we left off in book 1. There is a lot to enjoy here, epic battles, suspenseful rescues, emphasis on good versus evil. I think a lot of teen readers would enjoy this and really, any of Bryan's books. That said, I personally struggled to connect with this installment. I think it was the shifting perspectives and multiple characters, as that is something I seem to always struggle with. I was not as engaged as I was in book 1 for some reason but I still enjoyed the story and would ...

  26 Below by Kimberley Woodhouse  Book 1 in the Alaskan Cyber Hunters Series  I love a good book set in Alaska and this was AWESOME. I was fully engaged! Darcie prevent disasters in her new role as Emergency Operations Center director in Fairbanks, Alaska. Cybersecurity specialist, Jason, is determined to take care of the threats to the town.... An old woman's wild prediction leads to widespread destruction....as soon as the temperature falls to 26 below. People start dying and they need to work together to stop the killer. As someone who works in a technology advancing industry, I loved the details around the cybersecurity things. The setting in Alaska and being so cold make this a great winter book rec too!  Darcie struggled with faith because of her past and Jason wants to help her. They have a bit of a romance that grows throughout the book as they work through the case too. Each chapter was building on the next course of events because the temperature kept drop...

To Love A Beast by Karen Witemeyer 4 Stars I love a good beauty and the beast retelling or reimagining and this was a great one! Karen always has a fun twist on her retellings, I loved her Texas Ever After series so this was much anticipated for me to read! It's funny my first review in 2025 was Cloaked in Beauty by Karen and now my first review in 2026 is this one by her! :)  In the 1800s...we are in Texas. We follow the daughter of a bookbinder who faces the "beast" of the manor... Everett lives as a recluse in Texas, hiding from his scars left on him by a mad woman who wanted to be with him but he reject her advances only to be left scathed on his face from her. He is over his manor outside of town and no one hardly goes out there....but when an injury to Callista's father jeopardizes the family's book binding business, she goes out to do the work for Everett on her own. Here, they form a relationship together and the rest is history...or is it? I read this wit...