THE TANGLED WEB by B. J. Hoff

Another good suspenseful story in the Daybreak Mystery series.  This story takes place mainly during a snowstorm at a camp that is being watched over by two couples (which you meet and get to know very well as you read books one and two).  They think they are the only ones around until Jason, Daniel and Jennifer Kaine's adopted son, says he saw two small children in the woods.  They believe he has imaginary friends until the children are found.  When they discover why the kids are hiding and realize the danger they are all in the storm is raging outside.  Gabe and his wife Lyss leave in their 4 wheel drive for town to get help, their phone lines are down, and they run into trouble.  Daniel and Jennifer also run into trouble and the story keeps you turning pages to see how it will out turn out.  It was a book I found hard to put down as it was intense at times.

I think this whole series would make for a great  movie.  Daniel and Jennifer keep getting themselves in trouble and it is interesting watching them get out of it.  Especially interesting is the fact that Daniel is blind.  I love the way the author handles his blindness and how well Jennifer works with him.  And their son Jason is great and Daniel's dog Sunny is also endearing.  These stories are quick reads and always full of adventure, suspense and love.  Daniel and Jennifer have a  faith that is real and so is their love for each other and those around them.  There are two more books in the series and I am looking forward to reading them!

THE DOMINO IMAGE by B. J. Hoff

This is book two in the Daybreak Mysteries and picks up shortly after where book one leaves off.  I would recommend you read book one, "Storm at Daybreak",  first as it helps you get to know the couple (Daniel and Jennifer) who seem to be the thread through each of the other stories.  This story was full of mystery and suspense, where I wasn't sure until the very end just exactly who to trust.

Daniel and Jennifer Kaine are enjoying their honeymoon on a lakefront cottage when they stumble upon Vali Tremayne's house.  She was a former contemporary Christian music star who has gone into seclusion when she lost her fiance in a mysterious plane crash 3 years ago.  They quickly become friends and then all 3 of them find themselves targets of someone who is out to do them harm.  Vali has two men friends who are trying to help her, one by getting her back into her music and the other by shielding her from anything and anyone.  Both of these men seem to have something to hide.  It was one of those stories where you think you know the good guy and the bad guy but just aren't 100% sure until near the end of the book when it all comes to light.  Looking forward to seeing what suspenseful adventure Daniel and Jennifer find themselves on next.

As a note, this title and cover has been revised and the new title is "The Captive Voice" which I think fits the story line much better!

STORM AT DAYBREAK by B. J. Hoff

This was just an all around good story.  The book says that the author "weaves spellbinding stories of faith, love and suspense" and this is a very good description of what this story was like.  Jennifer Terry accepts a position as executive assistant at a Christian Radio Station.  Her employer is Daniel Kaine, who was blinded in a car accident by a drunk driver.  Jennifer finds herself really liking her new employer and is astounded by how well he accepts the fact that he is blind.  She is struggling with how a sovereign God can let bad things happen to good people.  Then there is the person who for some reason is out to do Daniel harm and it all climaxes in a life and death situation.

I really liked the wisdom that came from Daniel as he tried to help Jennifer and  one example was "Jennifer, He will never, ever give you less than His best for your life.  Even when it involves loss or suffering or a broken heart, He knows exactly what He's doing."  Daniel kept a journal of his thoughts as he "bounced back" from the realization that he would never see again.  Near the end of the story Jennifer gets a chance to read it and his thoughts in his journal for me was worth the whole story.  Of course Daniel's tender feelings for Jennifer throughout the book were also very romantic and sweet.  I just closed the book wishing for more and guess what?  There are 5 books in the series so I am on to book 2, "The Domino Image"!

DAPHNE DEANE by Grace Livingston Hill

This is another classic Grace Livingston Hill story.  A story of a young man who grew up and away from his values and beliefs that he had as a child.  He finds himself in a world of money and social status.  But when he goes back to his home town to sell his parents home he finds himself remembering what he left behind and realizing how important it really is to him and how superficial his life is now.  He meets Daphne in his hometown and she is one of the reasons that Keith Morrell starts to rethink his life.

Even though this story was first written in the 1930's,  it is very applicable to today and what people struggle with.  It is not a fast paced story, although there is some danger and intrigue in it and a tender love story too.  I have long been a fan of this author and her writing style.  She always makes her stories have obvious "good" and "evil" in them and she also incorporates Christian values and principles in her stories.

FORSAKEN DREAMS by MaryLu Tyndall

Two things drew me to read this story.  One, the beautiful cover they put on this book and two, the author, who is a favorite of mine.  She loves to write about adventure on the open sea and this book was another great adventure.  I will say that at the beginning you are given a list of characters and it seemed daunting to me to keep track of everyone as I started to read.  But keep going, because each character will become familiar to you and the further you read, the better the story gets.

Colonel Blake Wallace is leading and organizing a group of people to the country of Brazil to begin a new colony.  The war between the North and the South has just ended and this is a group of Confederate people who no longer want to live under the rule of the Yankees. Eliza Crawford is a widow and was a Confederate army nurse who was married to a Yankee general (but no one knows that yet).  There are a list of more people you will get to know but these two are the central part of this story.  They both have strong feelings for one another but when it is discovered that she was married to a Yankee most folks on the ship want her thrown overboard.  Eliza though is someone who is always willing to help those in need regardless of how she is treated.  The Colonel has a hard time forgetting and forgiving and I appreciated the flawed characters and the way the importance of forgiveness was stressed in this story.  There was no lack of adventure, danger, intrigue and romance in this story.  It left itself wide open for other stories in this series as the colony lands in Brazil and begins their new adventure.  Looking forward to reading more in this series.

The bio on this author at the back of the book says "her passion is to write page-turning, romantic adventures that not only entertain but open people's eyes to their God-given potential."  I would say this books hits that mark!  So come aboard and be prepared for some rough seas ahead.

SEEDS OF SUMMER by Deborah Vogts

This was a story that grows on you the further into the story you go.  I had a hard time getting to know and appreciate Natalie Adams, the key character in this book.  She had her future plans interrupted through the death of her father and just couldn't seem to appreciate all she had in the here and now.

Natalie Adams is a former rodeo queen who thought she had her life figured out and it involved living a life independent of her family's ranch.  Then her father suddenly dies and she finds herself back at the ranch taking care of her two half-siblings and trying to run the ranch.  There is new young pastor in the town, Jared Logan, who gets to know the family through various situations that bring him and the family together.  He tries to help them out, but Natalie has a strong independent nature and really doesn't want or appreciate his help much at first.  Jared has his own struggles in the story as he questions his life as a clergyman and tries to keep his heart from falling for a girl that doesn't seem interested in the things of the Lord.

There was also the hunt for the hidden money at the ranch, and the appearance of someone they all thought had died.  Needless to say, there was always something happening in the story to hold your attention.  People are not perfect and this family did have problems understanding one another and getting along.  Natalie will grow on you, although it took me awhile to like her.  Sometimes our dreams of what we think will make us happy are not really what is best for us and it is a good lesson on being content with wherever God puts you and in whatever situation you find yourself.

RIVER OF SECRETS by Lynette Eason

This is book two in the "Amazon Adventure Series" and it was almost as good as book one.  It too was full of suspense, love and "inspirational romance".  It could be read as a stand alone, but I highly recommend you read book one, "Lethal Deception", first as it gives a lot of background to this story that you don't want to miss.

Amy Graham is an American nurse working in an Amazon hospital and trying to get over the fact that her mother was responsible for killing a whole team of Navy SEALS a few years ago, and who is now serving her time in a prison.  Amy find herself helping a amnesiac patient in the hospital, who she will later discover is Micah McKnight, one of the presumed-dead Navy SEALS.  Amy has a hard time telling Micah who he is, because she doesn't want to have to tell him it was her mother who caused it all.  But someone is out to kill Micah, or is it Amy they are after?

This was full of suspense, danger and romance.  I enjoyed getting to know these two main characters and watching them develop a relationship that was sweet yet also full of secrets and fear.  Both must come to learn how to forgive to be truly free to love.  It may be a short story, but it was a full and complete story.  Well done Lynette Eason!!

HOW YOU CAN BE SURE THAT YOU WILL SPEND ETERNITY WITH GOD by Erwin W. Lutzer

I liked the description on the back of the book that says, "No matter how much you know about the Gospel, this compelling book will provide a radical understanding of God's grace and power."  That was so true as I read this short but pack-full-of-truth book.  It deals with the "tragedy of misplaced faith", a great chapter on why grace is so amazing and ends the book with answers to very common questions of people who struggle with being sure of their eternal destiny.  I did a lot of highlighting and going back over certain sections of this book.  I highly recommend this concise and powerful book!

LETHAL DECEPTION by Lynette Eason

This book is listed as a "Love Inspired Suspense Riveting Inspirational Romance" and I must say it lived up to each and every adjective! It places you in the middle of the Amazon jungle at the very beginning with a kidnapping, and a suspenseful rescue.  But the suspense doesn't leave you even though you think everyone is finally safe.  It may be a small book but it was a full and complete story and I enjoyed myself very much.

Cassidy McKnight find herself in South America to pick up and child at an orphanage who has lost her parents and needs a home.  She finds herself kidnapped with no rescue in sight.  Gabe Sinclair, a former Navy SEAL guy, is asked to go and rescue her.  When Gabe finds her, rescues both her and the child, and brings them home he thinks his job is done.  But someone is out to do Cassidy harm and Gabe must protect her without falling in love with her and her sweet little orphaned child.

I liked Cassidy's attitude toward it all, "I don't understand God all the time.  If I did, I wouldn't need faith.  So, I'm going to exercise my faith and trust that God had something good come from all of the horror.  I may never know what it is, but I'm trusting He'll let me in on it one day in heaven."  I am looking forward to reading the next story in this series, "River of Secrets".

ONCE UPON A PRINCE by Rachel Hauck

If you just want to relax, enjoy yourself and read about a modern day fairy-tale, then this book is the one to read.  Doesn't every woman at one time or another wonder what it would be like to marry a prince and live in his kingdom forever?

Crown Prince Nathaniel is taking a "holiday" to America on St. Simon's Island.  He isn't looking for love, because like everything else in his life, the choice of a bride is out of his hands, it is a matter dictated by his royal position.  Susanna Truitt has just been told by her boyfriend of 12 years that he has found the perfect ring, but not the right girl to put it on.  Susanna is devastated, but at the same time realizes they both have changed and they both need to move on.  But she isn't ready for any new relationships right away.  When Susanna gets "rescued" by Prince Nathan she doesn't know he is a prince, just another vacationer on her St. Simon's Island.  They quickly become friends and the more they "hang out" together, the more they realize how much they care for one another.  Then Nathan's dad dies, Nathan must return home to become King.  Susanna has a hard time wrapping her head around the fact that she was hanging out with  a prince-soon-to-be-king!

Time and distance does not change the way these two feel for each other, even though they both know Nathan cannot marry a "commoner".  So when Susanna shows up for his coronation the media is not happy with this "friendship" and neither is his family.  Can true love survive all this?  Well let me just say that all fairy-tales have happy-ever-after endings, so you won't be disappointed with this ending.

The lesson behind the story was all about surrendering one's will and plans for the future to God even if it requires giving up a dream.  In the end He will work all things out for the good.  As a side note, if you liked the movie "The Prince and Me" with Julia Stiles, then I am pretty sure you are going to like this story.  There are many similarities.

This complimentary copy was provided by Zondervan through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Zondervan (May 7, 2013)
ISBN-10: 0310315476
ISBN-13: 978-0310315476

A DREAM TO CALL MY OWN by Tracie Peterson

This is the third and final story in the "Brides of Gallatin County" series and is has been very enjoyable to get to know the Gallatin sisters and the folks in their town and community.  It takes place in Montana in the late 1880's and shows what life was like back then and the evil that existed as well as the determination folks had to "make it through" the tough times.

In this story the youngest of the Gallatin girls, Lacy,  finds herself not able to let go of finding the person who killed her father.  Lacy should have been born the boy in the family because she likes to wear trousers, ride horses, shoots like a man and show herself tough on the outside.  But she has a tender heart on the inside and the capability to love and love well.  Dave Shepard is the deputy sheriff in town and Lacy and him seem to "butt heads" a lot.  Dave gets upset with Lacy, but it is only because he loves her and doesn't want her hurt.  Lacy doesn't like to be told what she can and cannot do, so they are always at odds with one another.  When a snowstorm finds them housebound together, Dave finally gives Lacy what she needs - a good kiss - and Lacy suddenly realizes she has feeling for this man.  But is it love or just a strong physical attraction.  This is something Lacy will need to decide for herself.  Meanwhile, there our men in the town who are out to do damage to the sheriff and the Gallatin girls if things don't go their way.  So there is also a good suspense factor to the story.  All in all, it is a story about people and their struggles both inwardly and outwardly in a time where evil prevailed and sometimes situations ended up with guns been drawn and people being hurt.

A LOVE TO LAST FOREVER by Tracie Peterson

Beth Gallatin has always dreamed of having a husband, children and living in her town for the rest of her life.  Because she moved from place to place growing up she wanted to claim the rugged Montana town of Gallatin home.  She is an avid lover of reading dime story romance novels and so she thinks she knows what love should look like and how the hero should act.  Nick Lassiter, who has loved Beth since she moved to town, does not exactly fit the picture Beth has painted in her mind.  Then when Nick starts to win her heart and unexpected arrival from Nick's past threatens the love that is growing between the two of them.  Is their love strong enough to "last forever".

This was book two in this series and I enjoyed getting to know Beth even better in this story.  You could read this as a stand alone, but you will miss out on  a lot by not starting with book one, "A Promise to Believe In".  The three sisters in this series may seem to have their lives put together and are handling things as they come, but each sister is dealing with issues from their past and must come to grip with false notions that are affecting the way they view themselves and others.  There is a lot going on in the whole family as you read this story, but it mainly focuses in on Beth, the middle sister. It gives a enlightening insight to the tough and rugged times of growing a town in Montana in the late 1800s.  I am  looking forward to the next story in this series.