Checked Impression by Carolyn Miller

I am emerging out of my book hangover after reading Checked Impressions by Carolyn Miller. This wonderful love story is about Jai, a Chicago Hawks hockey player, and Allie, who works at the Chicago Art Museum and also happens to be a huge hockey fan. Their romance was charming and I enjoyed walking through their ups and downs as they navigated their relationship. Their impressions changed over time as they got to know themselves and each other.

Allie’s family is hysterical, and will make you laugh out loud. The author did a great job helping you to visualize the Chicago area, and making hockey easy to understand. I am becoming a big hockey fan as I read through this series!

The themes of redemption, identity, forgiveness and loving challenging people spoke deeply to my heart. I enjoyed the spiritual aspect of the story as it spoke to our identity and being secure in who we are in Christ. The author does this effortlessly through the story without being preachy. The story is a delightful read that you really do not want to miss! The romance, humor and themes of identity are so enjoyable and make for a great read! I highly recommend this story.

I was given a complimentary copy and not required to write a positive review.

I'm an Inspirational romance author who lives in the beautiful Southern Highlands of New South Wales, Australia with my husband and four children. Together with my husband I pastored a church for ten years, and I've worked as a high school English and Learning and Support teacher. I love reading (especially Jane Austen and Georgette Heyer), music, films, gardens, art, travel and food. I really enjoy creating worlds where flawed people can grow in faith, hope and love. I am represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steve Laube agency.

The Veteran's Vow by Jill Lynn

 

Do you know anyone with a service dog?  This is our son's sweet service dog, Comet. Though we do not have the cool mountains in the background of our picture, Comet did agree to pose in front of the door  where we have some snow outside.  Scroll to see a better picture of the book.  

Review:   The Veteran’s Vow by Jill Lynn is part of the Love Inspired  K-9 Companions series, and is a stand alone novel.  The novel takes place in Colorado with Ellery, who owns an organization that trains service dogs for Veterans. She is passionate about the cause after losing her brother, Ace.  Behr is a soldier who returned from combat with issues he struggles with daily.  Behr’s mother and sister signed him up for a service dog without his knowledge. He knows he needs one, but has many hurdles to overcome to make that a reality.  Both characters become friends and have great chemistry making this a fabulous story.  

I am a huge fan of author Jill Lynn and I love her writing! I enjoyed her well developed characters in this story. Behr’s family is hysterical and you want Ellery’s best friend Brynn to be your best friend too!  The story handles grief in a beautiful way that will resonate with all readers. 

It was hard to lose your person. To recall anew every morning that they were gone, to start typing a text to them a decade after the fact only to remember they didn't have that communication option in heaven.  

The Veteran’s Vow by Jill Lyn is a wonderful story with the themes of remembering those you love, redemption, and rebuilding after losses. This was such a pleasure to read and I highly recommend A Veteran’s Vow.  

Jill Lynn Buteyn is a co-author of Just Show Up with Kara Tippetts, and an author of inspirational romance for Love Inspired ® (as Jill Lynn). A recipient of the ACFW Genesis award for her fiction work, she has a bachelor’s degree in communications from Bethel University. Jill lives near the beautiful Rocky Mountains with her husband and two children.
Connect with her on social media or at Jill-Lynn.com.

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson

I was so thrilled to be able to read Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson. Savannah Cade is an editor who wants to be a writer.  She navigates living with her younger sister, hysterical co-workers, and  is on a mission to write the next great romance.  Never mind that she is not a fan of kissing.  What she really needs is a good editor.

I found this light romance the perfect winter read.  Savannah’s co-workers, the writers she works with, and her family were a  wonderful cast of secondary characters who were laugh out loud funny!   The story had some twists that had me guessing till the end who was her true love.  

Meet Me in the Margins by Melissa Ferguson is a delightful, romantic, and laugh-out loud funny book.  I enjoyed every minute of reading it, and found it the perfect light read!  I highly recommend this story! 

I was given a complimentary copy and not required to write a positive review.  

Melissa Ferguson lives in Bristol, Tennessee, where she enjoys chasing her children and writing romantic comedies full of humor and heart. Her favorite hobby is taking friends and acquaintances and turning them into characters in her books without their knowledge. She is confident you should read all her novels, starting with this one.

What Might Have Been by Holly Miller

Thank you to PutnamBooks for the gifted copy.

Do you still have snow on the ground? I could not believe how much ice and snow we got last week! 

What Might Have Been by Holly Miller is a novel that branches off from one event. Lucy has quit her job and is sitting in a pub where she meets Caleb.  After seeing her old boyfriend and meeting Caleb at the pub Lucy has to decide whether she Stays in her seaside hometown or does she Go to London.( I am not going to lie, I kept hearing the song. “Should I Stay or Should I Go” in my head as I read this story.) 

I loved following the duo story line as it was very interesting. The different perspectives on what might have happened if she stayed in her hometown or if she moved to London kept me thinking and guessing.   How many times have I wondered what might have been, or what would happen if?  It was fascinating to view the different events in Lucy’s life and in the lives of her friends and families though two timelines.

I found this a great quick read that I had trouble putting down.  I loved the themes of  destiny, the choices we make, and exploring what might have been.  I highly recommend this book. 

Thank you to PutnamBooks for the advanced copy, all thoughts are my own.

I grew up in Bedfordshire, UK, and have been a bookworm for as long as I can remember. My love of reading soon turned into a passion for writing, and from an early age I was filling notebooks and floppy disks (remember those?) with the stories I’d invented.
I moved to Norfolk in my late teens, to study creative writing at Norwich Art School (now Norwich University of the Arts). After graduating, I worked as a magazine editor, marketer and most recently, a creative copywriter. But it was writing fiction - especially books that tug at the heartstrings - that was always what I wanted to do.
I’m thrilled to say my love story The Sight Of You is being published on 11 June 2020 in the UK and in 26 other territories around the world. The novel has also been optioned for film by a Hollywood studio, which I’m still pinching myself about!
I live in the Norfolk countryside with my husband and our rescue dog, a border collie. I’m lucky enough to be writing fiction full-time now - editing my second novel and dreaming up ideas for a third.

Never Leaved Me by Jody Hedlund

Look at the beautiful cover!  This stunning cover is indicative of a memorable and beautifully written story.  Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund is a time slip book, and is second in the series Waters of Time.  It is a stand alone novel.

Ellen Creighton has decided to live out her final days on the estate of  her friend, Harrison Burlinton.   Both good friends are afraid to tell the other of how much they care.  Our friends to lovers story takes place in the present and in medieval time. The characters race against the clock to save each other and work towards their own happy ending. 

This story is engaging from page one.  The author drew me into both timelines seamlessly and made the entire story very believable.  I could not wait to read more each day and found myself sneaking time to read.  The characters in both timelines were memorable and I was very invested in them.       

Never Leave Me is a captivating love story,  mystery, and fantasy.   The author writes beautifully and draws you into the story.  The story’s fabulous themes of  sacrificial love, the importance of taking risks, and living every day to the fullest were very inspirational. I highly recommend Never Leave Me by Jody Hedlund. 

 

I was given a complimentary copy of the book and not required to write a positive review. 

Jody Hedlund is the author of over thirty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award. Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).    When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.