FOOLS RUSH IN by Janice Thompson

This was a fun story to read. Bella Rossi has been given the family's wedding planning business to run on her own and her first wedding is a 'Boot-Scootin' Texas wedding. Bella doesn't know anything about country music for this wedding, so she quickly needs to find a deejay and when she meets D.J. Neely you have a little bit of country meeting alot of Italiano.
The fun part of the story is Bella and her Italian Rossi family, who are transplanted and living in Galveston, Texas. You have Bella's family, which you will learn to love (I especially liked Grandma Rosa), the Neely family and even the parrot Guido will at some point in the story bring a smile to your face. If you are looking for a light-hearted romance with lots of laughs, you will enjoy this story.

THE PRICE OF TRUST by Amanda Stephan

This is Amanda Stephans first book, and I think she definitely has the gift to write! I appreciated this book for many reasons, the way she weaved the gospel message into this story, the importance of prayer throughout the story, and the way her characters relied on God, even through tough times, without blaming Him for everything bad that happened to them.
Carly Richards finds herself pulling into a small town in Montana with a car that finally dies on her. She needs a place to live, a job, and for her ex-fiance not to find her this time so he can drag her back to Texas and abuse her again. She finds a job at the local hardware store where the owners take her under their wing and also give her a small room above the store. At first Carly resists the friendliness of those in this small town, but the kind people around her begin to soften her heart and she learns to trust folks again. Joe Baird has also slowly been making progress with Carly and the two of them just seem to hit it off right from the start with their teasing and fun-loving humor. It was just enjoyable to watch their friendship quickly turn into love. But Carly's past will soon catch up to her and it won't be pretty when it happens.
I will be putting this story on my favorites list of books I have read. It was just a delight to see the people in this book live out their faith and put their trust in God. (The only thing I would change is the cover of the book; I didn't think it did justice to the story.)
I would like to thank Amanda Stephan for sending me her book and allowing me to review it for her. I am one of the lucky ones who has had the privilege to read this book, and hope many more will.

SWEETWATER GAP by Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter has written another great story. I enjoyed reading this very much. It is a story of how someone's guilt can affect the way they live their life and how they treat the ones they love. Until someone can understand God's redeeming love, guilt can take away all joy.
Josie Mitchell has traveled everywhere but back home, to their families apple orchard business. Until her brother-in-law calls her one day and tells her her sister Laurel needs her to come home and help run the orchard so that Laurel can take care of herself and her pregnancy. Josie has no choice but to go home to help out, but facing what happened years ago at the orchard, is something she can't do, and keeping her health a secret is something she must do. She also wasn't counting on Grady Mackenzie, the orchard's new manager. They of course don't hit it off at first, but both of them end up sharing the hurts from their past and falling for each other. Grady's feeling for Josie near the end of the book were precious to read. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story and think you will too!

The Least Among You - An inspired by a true story DVD

This is my first review of a DVD and I would like to thank BookSneeze for sending me this movie for review. This was a story about Richard Kelly, who was arrested in the 1965 Watts riots. Although he thought he had his life going where he wanted it to go, a night in the prison, changed everything. He is given a probation if he agrees to attend the Seminary his mother wants him to go to for two semesters and study to be a preacher. This is an all-white seminary, and Richard, being a black man, has to break through racial barriers all around him, plus study for something he has no interest in. The caretaker/gardener of the school helps guide and get Richard through many tough choices.
Although I thought the acting in this movie was very well done, I thought the movie itself lacked something. What was the purpose and meaning behind all that happened to this young man? And the Christian Seminary he went to, well, let's just say I use the term "Christian Seminary" very loosely. I feel like something was missing in this movie.

FEAR NO EVIL by Robin Caroll

This was another good suspenseful story in this series. Lincoln Vailes (a former Smoky Mountain park ranger) finds himself a new police officer deep in Louisiana, having moved there to be close to his ailing father and his mother. Eternal Springs is a small town where not much happens, but the beginning of the story starts out with a hurricane and it just keeps moving at a fast pace from then on.
Jade Laurent is a new social worker who is out to make a difference in peoples lives because her childhood saw abuse firsthand from her Dad. What brings Jade and Lincoln together at first is her passionate and forceful way she had of keeping a drunk husband from getting into the women's shelter to get his wife and kid back. From that moment on Jade's life seems to get complicated, because it looks like someone is out to due her harm. But who? And why are gang members from Philly showing up in their town and getting killed? Somehow it must relate to Jade's troubles. It is a mystery Lincoln needs to figure out before it is too late.
This was a fast paced book which keeps you reading to see what happens next. Robin Caroll is a very good story teller; she deals with hard subjects, but does it in a very good way. There are two characters in this book who both came from similar hardships; one let it make them a better person and the other one didn't make as wise of choices. There was alot of good lessons to learn about our God in this book. Good job Robin!

The PREACHER's BRIDE by Jody Hedlund

This is Jody Hedlunds debut story and she did a great job. She takes history and heroes of the faith and pens a moving portrayal of how the Puritan people in the 1650's, in England, faced the hardships of their times. It had love, hardship, persecution and romance all rolled into one.
Elizabeth Whitbread feels it is her calling to help out John Costin who has just lost his wife shortly after delivering their 4th child into the world. Although John doesn't want her help, she refuses to back down and takes over the running of the household for him. John is a tinker by trade, but a preacher by God's calling. His preaching though during this time in history makes him a target of political and religious leaders. Elizabeth gets caught up in this intrigue and finds herself in alot of danger by helping out John. She is willing to stand by John and his family, but at what cost? And can John ever truly love her as she finds herself loving him? She faces alot of hardship throughout this story and the best part of the book was the quote a good friend of hers gives to her, "hardships are the Lord's greatest blessing to the believer. Without them we would love the Lord only for what He does for us. Our troubles teach us to love Him for who He is." I recommend this book, especially if you are interested in history and the Puritans. And be sure to read the Author's Notes after you read the story, as it will tell you what great hero of the faith she was writing about!
A special thanks to LibraryThings Early Reviewers for sending me this copy for review.

MENU for ROMANCE by Kaye Dacus

I have enjoyed reading both books in this series so far and have appreciated the characters in this series. This story is about Meredith Guidry (and her great Guidry family). Meredith has worked with Chef Major O'Hara for 8 years and has loved Chef Major for most of those years (I know this seems like an awful long time to wait for someone to notice you). But she is tired of waiting on him to return her love. So she sets out to find someone else. On a trip to the hardware store she runs into a guy, Ward, who is Mr. Perfect in so many ways and is willing to help her fix up the home she is remodeling.
The problem is Chef Major has also fallen in love with Meredith, but can't tell her his true feelings because he has a family situation she doesn't know and must never find out about. So when he starts to see Meredith showing an interest in another man, he gets a little distraught. Can he win Meredith back with his "menu for romance".
I loved Meredith's brothers and sisters and the way they interact with each other. And I also loved Major's Mom even though she was a little "crazy". This was for me an enjoyable story and I look forward to reading the next story in this series.

BEYOND SUMMER by Carie Lawson

Okay, Carie Lawson has become a favorite author of mine. This is her second e-book in the Twisted Roots Book Series and I have loved both stories! I am afraid I didn't get much done, because I just wanted to sit and finish this story - I really liked it!
This story is about Zane McCord and Carly Peterson. Zane has a little boy, Daniel and Carly 2 little girls, Brie and Anna. Zane is a little leary of pretty women, because his pretty wife up and left him and his little boy. Carly is leary of men in general since her husband was abusive and just wanted a "showcase" wife. Carly has left her husband and finds nanny work with Zane, through her good friend Lilly, who is Zane's sister-in-law. When Zane first sees her he wants nothing to do with her, because she is beautiful to look at, but soon finds his feelings changing. Carly has a hard time trusting anyone and being herself, except for when it comes to taking care of the 3 children. Zane and Carly start to care for each other, until Zane discovers she is a liar and a thief. Can he learn to trust her, forgive her and help her? Can beauty truly be more than skin deep?
This story was just all around good. I can't wait to read the next one in this series! You won't be disappointed when you read this book!

LOVE FINDS YOU in MIRACLE, KENTUCKY by Andrea Boeshaar

Meg Jorgenson is leaving Chicago for a fresh start in Miracle, Kentucky. She loves children and teaching, but has been burnt by a relationship that went nowhere. She finds herself in Miracle, living with her Grandma and starting fresh at a new school. Eight year old Cammy Bayer, a wheelchair bound girl for most of her life quickly wins Meg's heart. But Cammy's widowed dad, Vance, has a harder time with Meg's heart. Can they both keep open minds about each other and see God work a miracle in Miracle, Kentucky?
This was a quick, and enjoyable read for me!

TEXAS ROADS, by Cathy Bryant

This was a feel-good, delightful book. It is book one of the Miller's Creek series and I look forward to reading the next book in this series. Dani (short for Danielle) has grown up in Dallas, but has never felt "at home" there. She has never had a close relationship with her parents and finds herself visiting her Aunt Beth in Miller's Creek, Texas over Spring Break (she is a teacher), just to get away. What she discovers there is the feeling of "home". The town is dying and the mayor and ranch owner, Steve Miller is trying to do everything possible to keep their town from "dying". Steve has a special bond with "Mama Beth" as everyone calls her, so when Dani comes for a visit and decides she wants to stay, and help out the town, Steve gets a little suspicious.
This story had alot of secrets, and things hidden. I think a sentence in the book sums it up for all the characters in this story; "victory and growth don't come through an easy life, but from struggle." Mama Beth, Dani, Steve, they all had to struggle through things and they all come out on the other side victorious and growing in their walk with their Lord. A story you will feel good about after having read it.

ECHOES by Kristen Heitzmann

As I finished the last pages of the this series I closed the book with a big AHHHH! I thoroughly enjoyed this series and liked the way the author ended it. This book did not deal as much with the two main characters in the first two books, but dealt mainly with Lance's sister Sophie and the past she was trying to overcome. Sophie chose to leave her home and family in the Bronx and move out with Lance and Sophie in Sonoma valley. There she encounters Matt Hammond, a Child Protective Service worker who finds himself getting involved with the "crazy household" of the Michelli's, Rese, her Mom and their friend Star. This family both concerns and fascinates him, but his real attraction is towards Sophie. When Sophie is called upon to confront some serious issues that she thought she had left behind, Matt is there to help her.
This was another book of intrigue, love and letting go. All the characters are back and the author does a good job of tying up the loose ends as she finishes out this series.