Tuesday, April 30, 2019

The Memory House

About the Book

Book: The Memory House
Author: Rachel Hauck
Genre: Christian Romance
Release Date: April 2, 2019
Embracing the future means remembering the past . . . When Beck Holiday lost her father in the North Tower on 9/11, she also lost her memories of him. Eighteen years later, she’s a tough New York City cop burdened with a damaging secret, suspended for misconduct, and struggling to get her life in order. Meanwhile a mysterious letter arrives informing her she’s inherited a house along Florida’s northern coast, and what she discovers there will change her life forever. Matters of the heart only become more complicated when she runs into handsome Bruno Endicott, a driven sports agent who fondly recalls the connection they shared as teenagers. But Beck doesn’t remember that, either. Decades earlier, widow Everleigh Applegate lives a steady, uneventful life with her widowed mother after a tornado ripped through Waco, Texas, and destroyed her new, young married life. When she runs into old high school friend Don Callahan, she begins to yearn for change. Yet no matter how much she longs to love again, she is hindered by a secret she can never share. Fifty years separate the women but through the power of love and miracle of faith, they each find healing in a beautiful Victorian known affectionately as The Memory House.
My Thoughts: I hate to admit it but I wasn't sure it could be done. I wasn't sure an author could tell a story from multiple points of view and hold my attention. Usually with those types of stories I get so confused or lost I end up tossing the book aside. But not this one. This one not only manged to grab and hold my attention but it had me staying up late just to finish. I found myself gasping out loud in some parts because the author threw me a curve I didn't see coming. This book went far beyond anything I was expecting and I know you will love it. Ms. Hauck writes in a such  a way that the reader gets drawn into the book  and becomes part of the story. You feel their pain and can see yourself setting right beside them on some of their wildest adventures. I loved The Memory House and I hope you give it a try!
* I was provided a free copy of this book. All opinions expressed are my own.

About the Author

Rachel Hauck is the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and USA TODAY bestselling author of The Wedding Dress, which was also named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times and was a RITA finalist. Rachel lives in central Florida with her husband and pet and writes from her ivory tower. Visit her online at RachelHauck.com; Facebook: RachelHauck; Twitter: @RachelHauck; Instagram: @rachelhauc

Excerpt from The Memory House

When Mama Applegate spoke as if Everleigh were a guest rather than a family member, she embraced it with grace. Because at the end of the day, she was Rhett’s wife. She alone shared his dreams, his heart, his life.
And at night, when she couldn’t sleep, his soft breathing was her lullaby.
“Listen, mister, I have to get back to work or I won’t make it home in time for our dinner.” She tugged at his shirt collar. “So are you going to tell me why you’re here?”
“I was going to wait until tonight, but I got so excited . . .” Rhett stepped over to the desk in front of Everleigh’s and retrieved a long white canister. “Here. Open it. I feel like a kid at Christmas.”
“Rhett, what have you done?” She pried away the cap and slipped out a set of drawings.
“Here, let me.” Rhett unrolled a rendering of a cozy house with a wraparound porch nestled between two cottonwoods. “Our house, Ev. I took those sketches you made after we were married and gave
them to the architect. What do you think?”
“Th-this is our house?” She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning against his thick arm as she studied the drawing.
“It’s our house, darling.”
Everleigh studied the drawing. It was just like she imagined. “Are you sure?” She gazed up at her husband. “I didn’t think we’d saved enough money.”
“We’ve saved every penny of your salary, and I finally sold the stud bull to Jacob Marshall. He’s been after me for a year . . .” Rhett held her with one hand while flipping through the drawing with the other. “I bought the ten acres by the stream. You know, the one with the trees we loved. Dad wanted to give it to us, but I said no strings.
I wanted to buy it so he can’t hold it over me. Not that he would, but family business can get tricky.” Everleigh leaned to see the name of the road. Memory Lane.
“Darling, the section right off Memory Lane? The spot I wanted?”
Rhett’s grandmother had named the dirt road years ago, when she imagined a large family with lots of grandkids running around.
She envisioned an Applegate community.
But her sons, Melvin and Earl, went to war. Only Earl—nicknamed Spike—returned home the fall of 1918. He inherited the ranch, married Mama Applegate, and fathered Rhett, an only child. Grandma’s two daughters married and moved away.
“Your granny would be proud, darling,” Everleigh said. “We’re beginning her dream.”
“Sh-she would.” Rhett cleared his throat, pressing his fist over his cough. “So, w-what do you think?”
…
Tell him! The timing could not have been more perfect.
“Rhett, sweetheart—”
He jerked his wrist up, checking his watch. “Oh, Ev, sorry, darling, but I promised Dad I’d pick him up from the hardware store thirty minutes ago.” He gave her a quick, passing kiss. “I’d planned to show you these tonight, but I just couldn’t wait.” He rolled up the drawings and tucked them into the canister. “What is it you wanted to say?” On reflex, he checked his watch again.
“Nothing,” she said, smiling. “I’ll see you later. We can talk then. I have work to do anyway.”
“You sure?”
Everleigh fell into him and pressed her cheek against his chest.
“You make my dreams come true, Rhett Applegate.”
He kissed her one more time, then held her at arm’s length.
“Distraction, girl, you are one beautiful distraction.”

Blog Stops

The Avid Reader, April 22
Wishful Endings, April 22
Worthy2Read, April 23
C Jane Read, April 25
Carpe Diem, April 26
Mary Hake, April 27
EmpowerMoms, April 27
Bigreadersite, April 28
Pause for Tales, April 28
Quiet Quilter, April 30
Moments, May 5
Simple Harvest Reads, May 5 (Guest post from Mindy Houng)

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Rachel is giving away a grand prize of a copy of The Memory House!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/e2aa/the-memory-house-celebration-tour-giveaway
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Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Uniquely Common

About the Book

Book: Uniquely Common
Author: Caryl McAdoo
Genre: Christian Historical Romance
Release Date: April 4, 2019
Steel sharpens steel, but will its sparks ignite unfailing love?
Instead of living a pampered life on the civilized east coast with a new husband, rejection compels Christina Adams westward with her widowed brother and his two daughters. Harboring ulterior motives, Ethan Cord, the man her brother hires to accompany the family, is more a match for her, and he appears almost perfect, but how could she possibly trust her instincts about him when she’d been so wrong about her previous fiancé? Will her past ruin her future?
My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book! The author wrote a story that manages to capture you attention yet leaves you wanting more at the same time.  I have read several of Mrs.McAdoo's stories and have loved everyone. From the characters to the setting you will fall in love with Uniquely Common. I absolutely loved Christina! She has a grit and determination you can't help but admire yet she's not so tough you can't relate to her. I loved everything about Uniquely common and I think you will too!
*I was provided a free copy of this book. All opinions expressed above are my own.
About the Author
Award-winning author Caryl McAdoo prays her story brings God glory, and her best-selling novels—over forty published—delight Christian readers around the world. The prolific writer also enjoys singing the new songs the Lord gives her—listen to a few at YouTube. Sharing four children and eighteen grandsugars with Ron, her high-school-sweetheart-husband of fifty years, she lives in the woods south of Clarksville, seat of Red River County in far Northeast Texas. The McAdoos wait expectantly for God to open the next door.

More from Caryl

I’m so excited about this year’s Lockets and Lace story! I’ve fallen in love with its characters. Asher and his sister Christina, his girls Samantha and Patricia, and his friend, Ethan Cord is certainly a man’s man though he has a checkered past to overcome.
His wife dies in childbirth, leaving him with two little girls, then when his parents pass, too, what’s to tie Asher Adams to New York?
His younger sister Christina is about to be settled into her new life, married and well cared for, so there’s nothing holding the wine merchant back from his dreams of owning a vineyard in the Napa Valley. He decides a new life in the west is the best thing for him and his daughters.
Then at the last minute, the family is turned upside down when the rogue engaged to Christina dumps her and calls the wedding off. Asher’s already sold the brownstone. She suddenly has nowhere to go and no one to watch over her if he leaves.
She never wanted to, but he insists her only choice is to go with them, accompany him and her nieces and make her new life in California . . . and he knows the perfect man for her, too!
One thing I love about this book is that as it draws to its end in Saint Joseph, Missouri, a new young woman is introduced, Remi, and her book—my May ‘Prairie Roses Collection’ story REMI—continues with the Adams family and segues into a new romance!
I hope readers will love that as well, praying my story gives God glory!

Blog Stops

Splashes of Joy, April 25
Bigreadersite, April 28

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Caryl is giving away
Grand Prize $50 Amazon Gift Card
1st Place – Print copy of UNIQUELY COMMON
2nd place – eBook copy of UNIQUELY COMMON
3rd place – Choice eBook of Caryl’s FORTY+ titles!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter. https://promosimple.com/ps/de84/uniquely-common-celebration-tour-giveaway

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Tuesday, April 23, 2019

Killer Exposure


If you love a mystery that will both thrill you and have you hanging on the edge of your seat, then you have come to the right place!! Killer Exposure by Jessica Patch is all this and more!! If you've never read a book by Ms. Patch this is a great one to start with so grab a copy and give it a try. You won't be sorry!

Greer Montgomery may not have it all, but she's doing the best she can. She's working three jobs and taking care of her daughter, Lin. Her only regret may be that she doesn't have enough free time to spend with Lin, but she's working hard to give Lin the life she never had. While working one of her many jobs, Greer stumbles upon a crime in progress. As a deputy sheriff she feels it's her duty to chase the criminal into the near by woods. This rash decision almost cost Greer her life if not for Locke Gallagher, her night in shining armor come to save the day, or is he her worst nightmare?

The last thing, or person rather, that Locke Gallagher expected to find while on the job chasing tornadoes is Greer Montgomery. He loved her once, then she left him and his broken heart in the dust without so much as a phone call. It hurt but he wasn't going to tell her that. Right now he's busy trying to save her from some crazed lunatic trying to kill people. Locke has been a failure at life, at least that's the way he sees it, but he refuses to fail when it comes to protecting Greer and her little girl.

I don't like mystery and intrigue novels as a rule. They either give me nightmares or I can figure out who the killer or bad guy is about half way through. As with any rule there are exceptions and Jessica Patch's books are that exception!! She has a way of writing that grabs you from the start and while they are a little scary, it's nothing to keep you up at night. She gives plenty of detail so you can picture the scenes in your mind's eye but you don't get bogged down.

As with any book (and sometimes movies) I try to figure out who did what before the author is ready to tell me. I tend to think I'm pretty smart and while I may not always know who the bad guy/girl is I usually have it narrowed down to one or two people. With Killer Exposure I was so sure I knew who the killer was,but when the true identity was revealed I actually gasped out loud!! It's so not who I thought it would be. I have to admit, that person wasn't even on my radar!

Killer Exposure isn't all doom and gloom, Ms. Patch manages to sprinkle humor as well as tender heart felt moments throughout the book all the while a crazed killer is on the loose. It all feels natural though, nothing forced or fake, she added them to provide levity and humanity to her book not just for filler.

I truly enjoyed Killer Exposure and I can't wait for you to read it! Even if mystery/intrigue isn't your normal genre, I hope you give it a chance. You won't be disappointed! I loved everything about this book, even me being wrong at the end, ha ha! If you do read Killer Exposure come back here and let me know what you think! Also, let me know if you were able to figure out who the killer was before the identity was revealed.

*I was provided a free copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own.
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