My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray

 

My Hope Next Door - Tammy L. Gray - 5 Stars - A beautiful, redemptive story all about forgiveness and new beginnings! (Book 2 in The Fairfield Duology)

This book TOOK ME THROUGH IT Ya’ll! Such a beautiful redemptive story all about forgiveness and new beginnings. This was such realistic story that grabbed me from the very first page and deals with issues Christians face in their everyday life. 5 BIG STARS.

We follow Katie and Asher as they overcome their past challenges, find forgiveness and each other.

Katie's past is all surrounding drugs and a bad reputation. After running from her hometown many years ago, Katie is back home because of an illness her mother is facing. She's turned her life around and wants to do the right thing, but every where she turns her past is staring her in the face and she doesn't know how to overcome it. Then she meets Asher - the boy next door and the son of a small-town pastor. His life has been turned upside down when his breakup left him wounded by members of his church. He meets Katie and even though they come from 2 different worlds, they need each other more than they know.

I absolutely LOVED the ending to this story. I will admit, it was a tough read for me personally as I could relate to the parental fights and hoarding battles Katie was going through with her parents. I found myself saying, we'll I've said that to my parents before - lol. Parts were very emotionally draining for me personally just because of some of those things but overall I loved how this ended and it's now one of my favorite books of the year. I loved the aspect of forgiveness, the romance was AMAZING, Asher is the BEST, he was so patient with Katie and I loved that he never gave up on her. The faith was wonderful....What else can I say? I couldn't stand the scenes with Cooper, which I guess was the point for readers LOL but I am excited to read the next book to see how the other characters play out.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5372220515
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3PPCJl0
YouTube Video Review: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

A Lady of Esteem by Kristi Ann Hunter

 

A Lady of Esteem - Kristi Ann Hunter - 4 Stars - Such a great introduction to the characters of Hawthorne House! (Prequel 0.5 in The Hawthorne House Series)

What a fun introduction to the characters of Hawthorne House! I listened to this on audio since it was a quick listen and short novella that introduces us to Amelia and Anthony. Lots of regency vibes!

Amelia Stalwood lives in London but she has never really met any nobility or anything - her closest friends are servants. Her paths cross with the Hawthorne Family and their close family friend, Anthony, former Raeburn Rake. Anthony is very interested in her and I loved their interactions, especially when they first meet, I was laughing! Just as she is starting to get comfortable, she's blindsides by some unexpected changes and nasty rumors....the story took off here.

I enjoyed seeing Anthony's transformation and the ending was wrapped up really nicely. Amelia was such a great character too! Very entertaining read and I am excited to dive into book 1 of the official series!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5377990972
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pOKVHA
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik

 

Spinning Silver - Naomi Novik - 4 Stars - 3 Brave Women making hard choices and sacrifices.

This is the story of 3 brave women who each have their own hard choices to make, quests to embark on and sacrifices to make. Told in 1st person, with multiple perspectives, I think we have 6 in total, but a few primary perspectives. Many have said this is a Rumpelstiltskin retelling, but I would say it’s loosely based on that and truly made into its own fairytale. We follow 3 main women’s stories – Miryem, Wanda and Irina. Each have an important role to play in this quest to stop the all-consuming threat – the king of the Staryk – grim fey creatures who seem to be more ice then flesh.

I feel like we had some great “found family” vibes in this book and the story truly kept me engaged – especially since Fantasy isn’t my go-to genre. That’s really why I give it 4 stars, because I read this in 1 day – I was SO interested and engaged in the story. This book really has winter vibes to the highest level – it really feels like winter is personified into its own character – which I love. You truly feel the atmosphere while reading it.

My only complaint is the chapters/perspectives are not labeled, so I had the hardest time trying to figure out who was talking sometimes – mostly at the beginning as Naomi does a pretty good job differentiating the voices of the characters in general, but I still think this book could benefit from having titles for each POV throughout the story, especially since they’re all 1st person.

Our characters were very strong-willed women and I loved it. Miryem is the daughter and granddaughter of moneylenders, but her father was not making the effort to get their money back. With their mother sick and no food in sight, Miryem takes things into her own hands and sets out to claim what is owed. She becomes known for being able to turn silver into gold, which gets the attention of the king of the Staryk, leaving Miryem with some extreme struggles. Miryem is also Jewish, so I loved seeing the details surrounding her traditions and family. Very layered. I wish we had more of those details.

Then we have Wanda, she is hard worker who works for Miryem to pay off her father’s debt but also starts working for her own money as well. Her mother passed away and her father is extremely abusive, so she is so thankful Miryem basically saves them from their bad home life by taking her to work for them. Wanda is a strong woman who will do anything to protect her family and those she cares about.

Lastly, we have Irina, whose Father schemes and wants her to marry her off to the “tsar”. We are following Irina’s crazy path with this “tsar” as he holds a secret within himself that threatens ALL.

Miryem and Wanda were my favorite characters but Irina was great too. Overall, a wild adult fantasy story that I thoroughly enjoyed! THAT ENDINGGGG had me on the edge.

Content warnings: I would say this is a secular, adult fantasy story that leans a bit on the grimdark side, deals with family trauma, parental abuse, family death of parents and children, alcoholism and discussions of sexual assault. One character has a dark side that some may find rides a fine line of what they could be comfortable with – as it did for me, but I was overall ok with how it was portrayed.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5372499552
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44nh9ZC
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel

 

The Maid of Ballymacool - Jennifer Deibel - 5 Stars - Full of mystery, romance, history, faith, cinderella vibes - so GOOD!

The Maid of Ballymacool by Jennifer Deibel is one of my favorite books of 2023 so far! Full of mystery, romance, history, emotions, faith, secrets, Cinderella vibes, a swoon-worthy male lead and a villainous headmistress -- this story has all the makings to be one of my favorite books of the year! 5 stars!

I have loved both of Jennifer’s books so far, A Dance in Donegal and The Lady of Galway Manor, but The Maid of Ballymacool is my favorite one yet! There was something about Michael and Brianna that just made them unforgettable and unique.

Set in the 1930s in Ireland, Brianna Kelly was abandoned at Ballymacool House and Boarding School as a baby. She’s worked there her entire life and the Headmistress, Maureen Magee, runs the school and is a force to be reckoned with. Miss Magee also raised Brianna since she was a baby who was left on her doorstep. She is so cruel to Brianna and we are trying to figure out why she holds such a grudge against her – because it’s obvious there’s some internal turmoil secretly stored with Miss Magee about Brianna. Michael Wray comes to Ballymacool to oversee his unruly cousin and from the very beginning he stole my heart in this story. He meets Brianna, they connect immediately, and things take off from here as Michael shows his loyalty and heart throughout the story. He is truly the hero in this story and I LOVED it! What they discover together throughout this book changes so much in Ballymacool House and Boarding School.

The reason I loved Michael so much in this is he showed such love, loyalty, strength, commitment. He was not afraid to stand up for what is right, especially to the headmistress. Jennifer pulled Michael in the story at all the right moments when I, as a reader, would think “I hope Michael is about to show up!” and he did! He just has such a tender, loving heart and respect for others that I loved. He also had a good foundational faith that I really appreciated.

Brianna was such a complex character, and I was so intrigued from the very beginning. Her story really reminded me of Cinderella in many ways. She was passive because of all the hardship she had in her life and Michael helped her really open herself up to everyone else and be able to grow. Also loved the side characters, specifically Finnuala.

Overall, this is my favorite of Jennifer’s books so far and I highly recommend if you love Historical Romance! (Also, loved seeing a couple of characters from A Dance in Donegal here! 😊 )

Thank you to Baker Publishing, Revell and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy to honestly read and review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4926442550
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44oTKqC
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/465113
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette

 

Counted with the Stars - Connilyn Cossette - 5 Stars - I am completely blown away. A beautiful biblical fiction story.

Counted with the Stars by Connilyn Cossette was Connilyn's debut novel and WOW I was really blown away with how connected I was to these characters and story! I just love the time period around Exodus in the Bible so this was for me!❤️ Love that we got a little romance in this too.

This is all about a young Egyptian woman named Kiya who was sold into slavery by her father and was forsaken by the man she was supposed to marry. She becomes friends with a young Hebrew woman, flees with the Hebrews after going through the plagues described in the book of Exodus. Will she turn back to Egypt or will she surrender her life to God?

This was beautiful in every way. Very biblically accurate and transports you right into the culture of the Egyptians and Hebrews. I was so intrigued by the Egyptian's view of the plagues too. I read this super fast and look forward to more by this author!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4796500698
Amazon: https://amzn.to/44IeysL
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/38110
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Memory Lane by Becky Wade

 

Memory Lane - Becky Wade - 4 Stars - A great start to a new series! 

Memory Lane by Becky Wade is the first book in a new series, A Sons of Scandal Romance series. Set on a remote island in Maine, we follow Remy Reed, who spends most of her time working on wood sculptures and spending quiet time to herself. One day, she sees an unknown man swimming in the ocean, struggling to stay afloat. She goes out to sea and rescues this mystery man and everything takes off from here. We see Remy, her friend Leigh and a local EMT working to help this man get better, but he has a serious case of amnesia so they end up with the name “Jonah” for him until they can reveal his real identity.

This story took me through it ya’ll! 4 stars! I was mostly connected to our main guy here and his story – as the mystery of him and his family really interested me along the way. Remy and him start to get to know each other and we start to see a bit of “enemies to lovers” going on here! I thought at first they had some great chemistry and really enjoyed seeing them interact while he was trying to get his memories back. I specifically loved seeing even though “Jonah” didn’t have any memory of his life or who he was, he felt like faith was important to him and he felt the urge inside him to go to church and we see him do that.

While I never fully connected to Remy and would have liked a bit more faith content/revelations/in depth discussions for her in this story, the journey she takes with “Jonah” was special and I enjoyed seeing all the emotions taking place. A wild ride indeed!

Once “Jonah’s” identity was revealed, everything gets CRAZY with his family fast! We are learning all about his parents, their drama, and the reason this is a “Sons of Scandal” story! I did like seeing his brother Jude and him together – can’t wait for his story as future books come out. His family dynamic was very interesting and wild!

One item I did really enjoy was seeing Remy help this older man Wendell cleaning and organizing his home and trying to help him find an old girlfriend of his. That was so sweet.

This book does deal with some heavier topics, including sexual assault, trauma, infidelity, affairs, and suicide.

Overall, I really enjoyed Memory Lane and am so grateful to have read an advanced reader copy for honest review. Thank you, Becky Wade!

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5281754462
Amazon: https://amzn.to/43qRJJ2
Becky's Website to Order: https://beckywade.com/home/memory-lane/
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0

Daughter of Eden: Eve's Story by Jill Eileen Smith

 

Daughter of Eden - Eve's Story - Jill Eileen Smith - 4 Stars - What a great story that shows us what it could have been like during the times of Adam and Eve.

Daughter of Eden: Eve’s Story by Jill Eileen Smith shows us what it could have possibly been like during the time of Adam and Eve, all surrounding the time during the book of Genesis in the Bible. This was my first book by her and I thoroughly enjoyed my time with this story.

It is a biblical fiction featuring real bible “characters”, primarily Adam, Eve, their children (mostly Cain and Abel). We also have chapters from Lucifer and how he fell and became the devil – the deceptive, cunning serpent. It follows many year, encompassing most of Adam and Eve’s life.

This book is a fictionalized work of what it could have been like during the time of Adam and Eve at the creation of the world. It was really interesting to see how they may have spoke to one another, dialogue together, with God and with their children. It was also interesting to see how they may have ate, figured out how to be “the first” parents of the world etc. I feel like the author did a great job creating a story for us, while interweaving God’s truths and scripture throughout the story.

Seeing how Eve may have reacted or handled her sin when she made the mistake of eating the fruit and being deceived by the serpent was probably the most interesting for me. I had some mixed feelings on some of how Adam and Eve would have interacted together, but overall enjoyed the story and portrayal. It was emotional to read the depiction of the fall of humanity – I feel like Jill did a wonderful job with that description.

The best part about this story is it made me go back to Genesis and read my bible to see God’s word and compare it to this fictionalized work. Very thought provoking as many other reviewers have stated. To see how Adam and Eve could have possibly grieved what Cain did to Abel was also very eye opening.

Overall, the author did a great job portraying what it could have been like during this time and many parts touched my heart and sprit. The ending was beautiful and made me a bit emotional as a woman because she so beautifully portrayed how we are not perfect, but God still loves us. Thank you to Baker Publishing and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy to honestly read and review.

Goodreads Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/5059247536
Amazon: https://amzn.to/3pPZCtZ
Baker Book House: https://bakerbookhouse.com/products/465082
YouTube Review Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EuFKv2eeju0