Title: Cold Shot
Author: Dani Pettrey
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-0-7642-1197-3
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2016

Synopsis:

Four Best Friends.
And Then One Went Missing . . .
In college, Griffin McCray and his three best friends had their lives planned out. Griffin and Luke Gallagher would join the Baltimore Police Department, Declan Grey would head to the FBI, and Parker Mitchell would study to become a crime scene analyst. But then Luke vanished before graduation and their world--and friendships--crumbled.

Now years later, Griffin has left the police and his friendships behind. Still trying to forget a case that went bad when he was a SWAT team sniper, he's living a quiet life as a park ranger at Gettysburg. Quiet until skeletal remains are uncovered near Little Round Top--and they aren't Civil War-era.

Griffin just wants the case to go away, but charming forensic anthropologist Finley Scott discovers evidence pointing to the work of an expert sniper. When FBI agent Declan Grey steps in to take over the case, past and present collide. Griffin soon realizes he'll need to confront some of the darkest days of his life if he--and those he cares about--are going to escape a downward spiral of crime, danger, and murder.

Review:
Dani Pettrey has proven again what a fantastic author she is. She can write a mystery/suspense that can pull you in, mixed with a fun touch of romance. Her story telling is addicting.

I was really introduced to contemporary suspense fiction with Dani's first series of books, Alaskan Courage. Before that series, I was mainly reading historical fiction. Dani's writing style opened up a whole new genre for me and I couldn't be more glad!

With each story that Dani writes, the better they get. Cold Shot isn't any different. This book kept me hooked and wanting to find out what was going to happen. The characters were fun and kept me engaged. The setting added the perfect back drop. I also enjoyed the mix of history into this story. In all honesty, I loved reading about the Civil War, so to have modern look at some historic sites is a lot of fun.

Cold Shot was a fantastic story. If you have been a fan of suspense or new to the genre, I couldn't recommend this story enough!

Too Read!
5 out of 5

About the Author:
Dani Pettrey is a wife, home-schooling mom, and the acclaimed author of the Alaskan Courage romantic suspense series, which includes her bestselling novels Submerged, Shattered, Stranded, Silenced, and Sabotaged. Her books have been honored with the Daphne du Maurier award, two HOLT Medallions, two National Readers' Choice Awards, the Gail Wilson Award of Excellence, and Christian Retailing's Best Award, among others. 

She feels blessed to write inspirational romantic suspense because it incorporates so many things she loves--the thrill of adventure, nail-biting suspense, the deepening of her characters' faith, and plenty of romance. She and her husband reside in Maryland, where they enjoy time with their two daughters, a son-in-law, and a super adorable grandson.
You can find her online at danipettrey.com.


Thank you to Bethany House, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Title: I AM: 40 Reasons to Trust God
Author: Diane Stortz
Illustrator: Diane Le Feyer
Publisher: Tommy Nelson
Pages: 224
ISBN: 978-0-5291-2066-3
Publication Date: February 2nd, 2016

Synopsis:  

God’s names tell us who He is, what He is like, and what He does. This beautiful book covers 40 of the Bible many names and descriptive titles for God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit.

 
Jehovah Jireh 

The Lord My Shepherd 

Immanuel  

Rabbi  

I Am  

Through Bible stories, short devotions, and prayers, children discover the meaning of each name and how it relates to their lives. As they develop understanding of God’s character and His love for them, children will grow to know, love, and trust the great I Am more and more.

Those who know your name put their trust in you. —Psalm 9:10

Review:
 When I first saw this book, I knew I wanted to review. The cover was gorgeous and the idea for this devotional was unique. It's taken me a little longer to get through this book, but only because, I decided  to let my kiddo read it and let me know what she thought.

When my mom saw the book, she decided she wanted to use it for my kiddo's Bible class. So every day for the last several weeks, my littles has read this book.

This first thing the kiddo told me was how pretty all the pictures are are so pretty. My mom said that the kiddo loved to look at the pictures as they worked on the devotional. They kept her attention through all of Bible. As time progressed, my kiddo would start telling me about the new names of God she had learned, but not only that, but the Hebrew way of pronouncing them. She loved learning about the names and the stories that corresponded with it. My mother even enjoyed learning Hebrew.

This devotional has been fantastic in offering more insight in to the Bible, plus also offering many different areas of learning. The illustrations are stunning, the Biblical insight and verses are great for kids. I honestly can't recommended this book enough.

Too Read!
5 out of 5

About the Author:
 Born in Detroit and raised in Southern California, Diane Stortz has lived in Cincinnati, OH, since graduating from Arizona State University with a BA in journalism. For ten years she led the book group at Standard Publishing as editorial director.
Diane is married and has two married daughters and three grandsons. These days Diane devotes time to baby care rather than bunny care. Two baby boys joined the family this year!

Thank you to Booklook blogging program, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: Playing the Part
Author: Jen Turano
Publisher: Bethany House
Pages: 352
ISBN: 978-0-7642-1277-2
Publication Date: March 1st, 2016

Synopsis:

Can they accept who they are behind the parts they play in time to save the day?

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan’s interest turns threatening. Lucetta’s widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta’s life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson’s estate to hide out.

Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there’s much more to him than society knows.

Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail’s matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can’t ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it’ll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.

Review:
 Jen Turano has become a favorite author of mine. Her attention to detail, her character and world building are phenomenal! None of her stories have disappointed me. In fact, they usually leaving me smiling and laughing and raving to others about the fabulousness of the story. Playing the Part in no different. A Class of Their Own series has just been great, and Lucetta was the perfect one to wrap the series up with.

I've enjoyed Lucetta since the first book, After A Fashion, she has her own style and personality you can see from a mile away. I enjoyed having her the lead. Jan Turano writes some very strong, independent, and stubborn female leads. Lucetta I think is one of the strongest yet. As an actress, she is a character that is able to do more outlandish things then others and be comfortable about it.

That is one of the main reasons I enjoyed this series, each character is their own, but also has some amazing characteristics, they are flawed, and present themselves very lifelike. Lucetta deals with some more serious things with a stalker, but it is handled in a way where it works.

If you haven't read this series yet, you need to do so!

Too Read!
4 out of 5

About the Author:
 Jen Turano, author of seven books, is a graduate of the University of Akron with a degree in clothing and textiles. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado.
Visit her website at www.jenturano.com.








Thank you to Litfuse and Bethany House, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review. 

Title: The Hearts We Mend
Author: Kathryn Springer
Publisher: Zondervan
Pages: 320
ISBN: 9780310339724
Publication Date: March 8th, 2016

Synopsis:

Planning and Post-It notes are the epitome of Evie’s life. But when she meets Jack, her life gets more than a little complicated.

Thirteen years ago, Evie’s firefighter husband was killed in the line of duty, leaving her to raise their young son, Cody, alone. Now, Cody is marrying the love of his life, and as he packs up his belongings, the house feels as empty as Evie’s heart. But for all her planning and mad organizational skills, Evie could never have anticipated the dramatic shift her life is about to make.

Tattooed, rough-around-the-edges Jack raises quite a few eyebrows in the tight-knit community of Banister Falls. Where Evie’s life is stream-lined, Jack’s approach to living is moment-by-moment. But as Evie gets drawn into Jack’s world—a world that isn’t as safe or predictable as the one she’s worked so hard to create—he challenges her to open her eyes to the problems outside the walls of the church.

Jack doesn’t make Evie feel comfortable, but he definitely makes her feel something. Something she hasn’t felt since Max passed away—or, maybe ever. Because even though Jack isn’t anything like her late husband, he just might be everything she needs.

Review:
Can I just start off by saying, how gorgeous the cover is! Oh, my! It looks like a movie cover. It grabs the attention for all the right reasons.

Now, on to the story. I fell in love with The Dandelion Field last year. It was one of my most favorite stories of the year. It was left in a way where I thought it was a standalone book, and I hoped that there would be more. Thankfully there is!

The Hearts We Mend is such a fantastic addition to the series. This book focuses on Evie, Cody's mom from TDF. When we met her in the first book, she had been hit with a lot and came off a bit cold and closed off. It was hard to warm up to her, but by the end of TDF, I liked her and understood where she was coming from. In The Hearts We Mend, we dive all the way into who Evie is and what her life is like and how it gets thrown into disarray when Jack comes into her life.

Jack and Evie are opposite of each other, but also in a way very similar. There story was good and kept you reading and wanting to find out more! Jack I thought was a lot of fun and I thought the interactions between him and Evie were good.

This was a fantastic read!
Too Read!
4.5 out of 5

About the Author:
Kathryn Springer is a USA Today bestselling author. She grew up in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child she spent many hours sitting at her mother's typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of books – which eventually turned into a desire to tell stories of her own. Kathryn has written nineteen books with close to two million copies sold. She lives with her husband and three children in Marinette, Wisconsin.





Thank you to Litfuse Publicity and Zondervan, I received a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.