ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Hometown Healing
Author: Jennifer Slattery
Publisher: Love Inspired
Release Date: August 1, 2019
Genre: Inspirational Contemporary Romance

EXCERPT:

Paige Cordell felt as if she had regressed back to that awkward, frizzy-haired bookworm who’d left Sage Creek, Texas, fourteen years ago. With no intention of ever returning.
And yet here she was. As a divorced, unemployed, single mother no less.
Nothing screamed failure like sitting in Mom’s driveway, with all of her belongings crammed into a U-Haul hitched to her car.
She glanced back at little Ava, sleeping soundly in her car seat. She looked so peaceful, with  her rosy cheeks, the halo of red curls and the slight part of her lips. As if she hadn’t just spent nearly an hour fussing, not that Paige could blame her. They’d had quite the drive. Traffic, work zones, an accident just outside of Houston.
Her phone rang. Paige glanced at the screen. It was Mira, her old high school friend.
“Hey.”
“Just checking you made it into town okay. And to see if maybe you’d like to stop by my place for a nice, cold milkshake.”
“Just got in.” She explained the reason for her three-hour delay. “And though I appreciate the offer, I’m wiped.”
“I imagine.”
“And discouraged. I know I’ll find another job eventually…”
“Have you prayed about it?” Mira’s statement sliced through Paige like an accusation. “Might help.”
“Please don’t talk religion to me. Not today.” She believed in God. But unlike her friend, she didn’t find comfort in tossing every decision up to Him.
Besides, she and God hadn’t exactly been on the best terms as of late.
“Well, like I said, this is only a hiccup.” Mira’s overly perky pep talk wasn’t helping. “Consider this an extended vacation.”
“I can’t believe Ardell let me go. I mean, I get budget cuts, but why me? I was a high performer. I never missed a deadline, pitched great article ideas…”
“You’ll find something even better, with more job security.”
Paige inhaled a fortifying breath. “You’re right.” She’d never allowed setbacks to discourage her before, and she had no intention of starting now. “Maybe even for a better magazine, with a larger readership.”
Only, Chic Fashions was about as big as they came. Not only was it Chicago’s premier fashion publication, but it was considered the top in the nation. She’d worked long and hard to land a position with them, only to end up jobless and living with her mother.
The antithesis of adulthood.
She glanced at Mom’s single-story brick house, heavily shadowed by a towering oak. Thick roots snaked through the grass, and a handful of dandelions dotted the lawn. The windows were dingy, like they hadn’t been washed in…ever, and the canary-yellow trim was beginning to peel.
Other than that, the place seemed well-kept, and the yard had been mowed, which was surprising if her sister were right about how much Mom struggled. Hopefully Paige’s arrival would help pull Mom out of this phase she was in.
A blur of red seeped into her peripheral vision, and she shifted to watch a shiny red pickup truck pull into the adjacent driveway.
Her pulse spiked as a tall, broad-shouldered man dressed in jeans, boots, and a cowboy hat stepped out and then turned her way. “Seriously? Could this day get any worse?” she muttered.
“Why? What happened?”
With the phone still pressed to her ear, she sank farther into her seat, with no intention of leaving her vehicle. At least, not until Jed Gilbertson was no longer standing less than fifty feet away. Staring at her.
She turned to the box of office junk on the seat beside her to avoid making eye contact. “Jed just pulled up at his grandmother’s.” It’d been too long, and her heart had been too shattered, for him to still have such a pull on her.
“I thought you were over him.”
So did she.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

CONNECT WITH JENNIFER: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

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Topic:

Title: Until the Mountains Fall
Author: Connlyn Cossette
Series: Cities of Refuge, Bk 3
Publisher: Bethany House
Narrator: Rachel Botchen
Narration Time: 11hrs & 32mins
Publication Date: July 2nd, 2019

About the Book:

Recently widowed, Rivkah refuses to submit to the Torah law compelling her to marry her husband's brother and instead flees Kedesh, hoping to use her talents as a scribe to support herself. Without the protection of her father, Kedesh's head priest, and the safety of the city of refuge, Rivkah soon discovers that the cost of recklessness is her own freedom.

Malakhi has secretly loved Rivkah for years, but he never imagined his older brother's death would mean wedding her. After her disappearance, he throws himself into the ongoing fight against the Canaanites instead of dwelling on all he has lost. But with war looming over Israel, Rivkah's father comes to Malakhi with an impossible request.

As the enemies that Rivkah and Malakhi face from within and without Israel grow more threatening each day, is it too late for the restoration their wounded souls seek?

My Thoughts:
I have loved this series. I love how these books have built off of each other and have introduced us to characters that were only in the background at first and have brought them forward and have given them such depth.

Rivkah and Malakhi's story was one that was intense, but not in a bad way mind you! They each had their own growing to do in their own way. The choices that they made, or had made for them, shaped who they become through this story. It is an interesting progression to watch. The story unfolds in a way I didn't see coming in some, and ways I was hoping for in others.

Rivkah is a girl, thinking her life is set before her, but that isn't the case when her young husband dies. The choices that were made for her, in accordance to the law, were not what she wanted. Her decisions led her down a path that was hard. Her story is heartbreaking and hope-filled in many other ways. There were times that I wanted to shake her and ask, what the heck were you thinking?!

Malakhi, goodness, he is one we really see go through changes. He is one you can't help but root for, but also mourn with. He has a passion that is deep. He has his own personal demons to fight, and trying to prove his worth, or so he thinks.

These two characters are ones that I was amazed at the transformation of who they were through out.This was a story I had a hard time stopping.

I read this book through Audible, hello mutitasking! I honestly would have been useless if I had sat down with the book, till I was done reading it. Rachel Botchen has become a favorite narrator, her voice is one that is lyrical to listen to and it helps you get caught up in the story more. 

I'm so very happy that there is still one more book in this series, it releases soon! Book 4, Like Flames in the Night will releases in March 2020. I honestly can't wait to see how this series wraps up.

The detail and history of these Cities of Refuge was so new to me when I first dove in this series, but the information gleaned from this and the research it has lead me to do, I'm forever grateful for. This is some fantastic Old Testament history.

5 out of 5