BookLoverAmanda

                          B ook Review: The Lighthouse at the Cove by Amy Clipston 4.5 Stars I picked this book up during a tough season and it arrived at the right time. I started the audio and liked it so much I went out and bought the physical copy for my shelves! This is a warm, small-town romance like a good, hallmark movie. We follow Kaiah who is a journalist on an east coast road trip following a bad break up. She has car trouble and she meets Reid who is a single Dad and firefighter and they join forces to save Coral Cove's lighthouse through the town festival.  Reid lost his wife several years ago in a car accident, and while this does depict grief, it gives grief room without letting it dominate the story. It feels realistic without being heavy and made the story feel honest and gentle all together.  I loved Reid so much as a single Dad with his sweet little girl, Piper. The small town and fes...

  Charmed by the Cowboy - Mandi Blake (Book 2 in the Blackwater Ranch Series) Read if you love: - Christian Romance - Cowboys - Slow-burn  - Character-driven books - Lots of redemptive faith moments - Horses  - Second Chance Romance - Childhood Crush Maddie returns to Blackwater Ranch with a past she would rather keep hidden. She doesn't want to get too attached to anyone because she usually leaves before she gets left....Lucas is steady and patient...the kind of guy who cares about the small, everyday things on the ranch, like mending fences, tending the horses etc. This was a slow, tender story about finding home when you least expect it. Maddie really found trust in Lucas and I loved seeing their romance together. Mandi Blake gives us so many good details on the ranch, with the horses and chores and family small town life. If you want a clean, faith-filled romance with a sweet happy ending and some redemptive arcs, I recommend. Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/revi...

  Uncomplicate It By Hosanna Wong Christian Non-Fiction 4.5 Stars Hosanna reminds us that a "good" relationship with the Lord doesn't have to look the same for everyone. Your quiet time doesn't have to look like my quiet time. As a special needs Mama....and someone who used to feel like she had to have the perfect quiet time set up before I could even come to Jesus....before I had a kid, mind you, this was a breath of fresh air reminder. It was great because now-a-days...I am lucky to get 5 minutes of uninterrupted tim e with the Lord...and certainly not a "ideal" study time every day. What stood out even more....as someone with ADHD, I have spent a lot of time feeling like I was failing in my bible study because sometimes my brain doesn't always engage with the traditional study methods some use. I struggle with focusing and consistency. Sometimes I feel guilty for that. This book helped me realize my learning style and personality are not roadblocks or...

5 STARS!  Love Undercover by Mandi Blake Book 6 in the Love in Blackwater Series Christian Romance Series  WHAT AN ENDING TO AN AWESOME CHRISTIAN FICTION SERIES! FRIENDS! READ. THIS. SERIES! 👏👏👏👏 Mandi brings SOOO much to the table in this series and she ended it so beautifully.  Read if you love: - Redemption in Christ in Books - Clean, Christian Romance - Suspense, Going Undercover Thread - Found Family - Great Friend Group - Grumpy x Sunshine  - Opposites Attract  We follow Zach and Lauren. Zach saved her life years ago, his brother abducted her and he never wanted to be involved in it as far as it went. He saved Lauren and ended up still going to prison for 4 years for his crimes. She visits him in prison over the years, showing him there is hope for him again. When he gets out, she helps him back on his feet and he helps her work through some repairs at her rental place and she gives him a second chance at life to start over. He's a bit grumpy but ...

Book Review: Mail-Order Baroness by Misty M. Beller  4 Stars Book 2 in the Lord of the Rockies Series Just love this series! Misty sure knows how to keep you interested!! We pick up where book 1 left off, so I highly recommend starting with book 1 since we see Enoch and Mandie's story continue a bit in this as well from where things ended. You can read it as a standalone but its best in my opinion to start with book 1 :)  This is James and Rose's romance story. James Balfour is one of the brothers we follow throughout this series and Rose Prescott is his childhood friend on the run for her safety. James is determined to prove his worth on the ranch and Rose is trying to escape her abusive step-father as he had a contract for her to continue working for him for many years. She goes on the run answering an ad to help James and his family but when James realizes it's Rose from so long ago, his protective instincts kick in. They reconnect on the ranch and when trouble comes kno...

  Second Chance at Sunshine Inn by Amy Clipston  4 Stars  I had a good time with this one. I liked the cozy inn, the plot is always one of my favorites and the little twist had me really wanting to know more about the family backstory.  This follows Cade and Everleigh who each get 50% of the Inn. Cade wants to keep the Inn and continue to operate it. Everleigh wants to use the proceeds of the sale to form a non-profit in her godmother's honor after her passing. We see briefly their grief from losing Alana, but they quickly move to honoring her in trying to decide what is best to do with the Inn. I liked how Cade and Everleigh each had their own reasons for what they wanted to do with the Inn that made sense in such a realistic way. At first, I wasn't too sure about Everleigh and her motivations for the non-profit but it made sense and she had an honorable reason. It was good to see them communicate about all of this up front, even if they had some disagreements. Alon...

  Even After This - Deborah Clack DNF Review  DNF Video more in detail on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vASQX4FYnEo&t= *UPDATED REVIEW NOTE: After sharing my feedback with Haven, they have since added the content considerations to their ebook and the description of their retailer pages and goodreads page. I am so thankful. Thank you Haven for doing this to better set reader expectations.* Content note: Please be aware this is a heavy read. It deals with grief and loss in detail. Meredith’s husband and two small children died in a car accident 4 years ago in a tragic way where she saw it while she was driving behind them. It's important I share this upfront. This is not a spoiler. But please be aware of the subject matter. Romance is clean with kisses only, 1 small curse word "p*ssed." Destructions of embryos and miscarriage also mentioned in IVF. I wish I knew about the death of children before I picked it for review. I want to start gently here, because I ...

  What Did You Expect? Daily Grace Company 5 Stars  Some books come into your life right when you need them most and this was that book for me. This study gently but honestly walks through something many of us don’t talk about... disappointment. The kind that comes when prayers feel unanswered, life turns suddenly, and you’re left asking God questions you feel guilty for having. Right now this message feels especially personal as my family is walking through my Dad’s lymphoma diagnosis. I didn’t realize how many expectations I quietly have in my heart. So many expectations about how God would respond or what His will is...what His plan is....This book didn’t shame those feelings… it helped me examine them. I loved how it points out that sometimes we don’t just struggle with circumstances, we struggle with who we thought God would be in those circumstances. We had OUR WILL instead of HIS WILL. I’ve caught myself wanting God to operate according to my timeline, my idea of “good,...

The Bluff by Emma St. Clair 3 Stars  First, this was such a fun, quick rom-com read. The banter was strong, small town setting is always entertaining in Sheet Cake, TX, and I genuinely laughed out loud several times, as I always do in Emma's books.  Our main couple is James and Winnie. They work together and he is her grumpy boss. It's giving a little enemies to lovers in a way, lots of banter, grumpy sunshine type stuff. It was nice to see Pat and Lindy again from the first book and the family stuff I always enjoy.  That said, I did struggle a little with the romance pacing I guess. Their relationship just felt more surface level - attraction based versus emotional connection. They both had big emotional baggage they needed to deal with from loss, grief and other things. But I feel like I never really knew them and I feel like they never really got to know each other before their first kiss/make outs. I also think I wanted to see more details about why James was so grump...

  Taming Lady Temperance by Karen Witemeyer Book 1 in The Secret Society of Spinsters Series 4 Stars  This was just the book I needed during a hard season, filled with laughs and wit! We have a spinster, Noreen and our Deputy, James. Noreen is a member of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union and it's her goal to defend the cause of prohibition. James is the Deputy who wants to preserve the peace...but Miss Noreen ain't havin' any peace! :) She is invited to join the Secret Society of Spinsters and jumps at the chance to rally others behind her movement to shut the local saloon down. James is wanting to be elected sheriff so he really can't afford to be seen as her ally but Noreen ropes him into her plans for a temperance march...the rest is history. I just had a good time with this book. I think its a fun, old west style book that is a good mix of lightheartedness and emotional depth too.  James and Noreen together was chef's kiss! They were so funny because t...

  Whiteout by Lynette Eason and Dani Pettrey  4 Stars (3.5 Rounded Up) Novella Collections I always enjoy a good Christian, romantic suspense read and these were some great novellas! Very much an on the edge of your seat read for both novellas in this collection. If you are looking for a good quick winter read, check these out because both have snowed in, avalanches type of storylines, with high-stakes suspense.  The first one, Dani Pettrey's, follows Joel and Cassandra in a second chance romance. She left him at the alter years ago over this crazy situation with a stalker she had. Now, they are back around each other when they are both part of a destination wedding party. Everyone ends up being snowed in at an abandoned lodge with their friends after a tragic avalanche happens. But is her stalker lurking in every corner? Will she reveal the real reason she left so long ago? I was really engaged in this one! Loved the characters and suspense. It was very intense though, w...

How Can It Be - Kelli Galyean 4.5 Stars  What a powerful story of redemption in Christ. Mia and Ryan had a relationship together many years ago in college, before they were living for the Lord. Soon after, Mia learned she was pregnant and her parents, being "politically important" figures, forced her into having an abortion. 10 years later, Mia has found healing and embraced a new life in Christ. She goes to church one day and sees the drummer in the church band is none other than Ryan, from all those years ago. He has no idea what happened back then. Seeing him sturs up so many emotions and traumatic feelings from her past mistakes. They end up growing closer, discussing things and the rest is history as they worked through this together.  This was a really good second chance romance that was filled with church, faith, redemption and healing in Christ. This reminds us how nothing is too big for the Lord. He can redeem all things.  I loved these characters had full, deep ...