Lilly's Wedding Quilt by Kelly Long
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Jacob and Lilly marry in haste--will they repent in leisure? Jacob has loved Sarah for years. Lilly gets drenched on the way to Sarah's wedding to Grant. She stops at a nearby barn to get out of the weather and finds Jacob hiding. He has stolen a neighbor's horse that was being beaten and is shot in the arm. They help each other--he gives her dry clothes of his mother's, she checks his wound and promises to create a diversion at the wedding so that he can get the groom, a vet, to check his arm. They arrive together at the wedding, which causes a stir. Before things settle down, the local policeman barges in looking for the horse thief. He accuses Jacob, but Lilly claims he was with her and couldn't have stolen the horse. To save her reputation, Jacob announces their engagement.

What follows are the ups and downs of their relationship as they figure out how to be married. Throw in a case of depression (Lilly's mother), schoolhouse vandalism, misunderstandings, and they have more than just the usual adapting to deal with.

As the Lord blesses their efforts to be true to each other, Jacob sets in motion a plan to show Lilly his love in a tangible way with a traditional wedding quilt--which comes together in a very nontraditional way.

This book was borrowed from the Edward Ward Carmack public library.

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1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In this last book of the Cedar Cove series, Debbie Macomber wraps up a Christmas reat. Not only does she wrap up loose ends from all the previous books, but gives a new Christmast story to enjoy as well.

Beth and Kent divorced three years ago--nothing big broke up their marriage, just a series of little things that drew them apart. Their college age daughters are coming to Cedar Cove to visit Beth and say that Kent wants to come too. Imagine everyone's surprise when Kent shows up--with Danielle.

Beth also has ten Labrador puppies to find homes for before she goes on vacation with her daughters on the day after Christmas. (The puppies are a springboard to wrapping up the stories of other residents of Cedar Cove).

Will Baily and Sophie, Beth and Kent's daughters, have the Christmas they hope for? Will all the puppies find homes?

This book belongs to me and was purchased at Goodwill.

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Learning to Love: Sugar and Spice\Love by Degree by Debbie Macomber

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In the first story, Sugar and Spice, Jayne is a stereotypical children's librarian looking for a date to her ten year high school reunion. She becomes friends with Riley, a mysterious neighbor, who agrees to be her date for the reunion. Misunderstandings, mishaps, and mystery occur before the final happy ending.



In the second story, Love by Degree, Ellen is an older college student playing house mother to three freshman boys. In exchange for cooking and other house hold tasks, she receives a cut rate on rent. Enter Reed, owner of the house and brother to one of the boys. He is unaware of the housing arrangements and not too happy. Misunderstandings and misery occur before the final happy ending.



This book was borrowed from the Edward Ward Carmack public library.



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The Mercy by Beverly Lewis

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Rose misses her friend, Nick, a rebellious Englisch boy adopted by the Bishop's family. He leaves the community after the mysterious death of his foster brother.



Rose's sister, Hen, takes care of her estranged husband after an auto accident temporarily blinds him. Will the Bishop's visits soften Brandon's heart to Hen's longing for faith and family?



Rose's brother and sister-in-law introduce her to Isaac from a neighboring community. Will Isaac join the church and propose?



Faith and family triumph in this third book of the Rose Trilogy.



This book was borrowed from the Edward Ward Carmack public library.



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Breathe by Lisa T. Bergren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Odessa has consumption. She travels to Colorado Springs, CO to a sanatorium along with her brother, Dominic, and sister, Moira. The year is 1883--consumption had already taken the lives of their mother and several siblings. Their father has sent them to get treatment for Odessa.

Odessa is admitted to the sanatorium where she befriends Sam O'Toole and Bryce McAllen. Moira is courted by the local sheriff. Dominic is supposed to open a bookstore (their father is in publishing) but does so reluctantly--he would rather fight.

Sam O'Toole dies mysteriously, leaving directions to a treasure to Odessa and the deed to his land to Bryce. Unknown persons are willing to kill for that information.

Moira gets a leading role in an opera and wants to direct her own life. At their father's untimely death, Dominic must settle his affairs and make life changing decisions.

Odessa learns that her life and times are in God's hands and to be thankful for whatever time she has. Moira and Dominic go their separate ways and will presumably have adventures and learn lessons in the next two books of the series.

The story moves fairly rapidly from one adventure to another with nice resolution for Odessa.

This book was a free Kindle book that I downloaded to my Kindle.

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A Turn in the Road by Debbie Macomber
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It was a life changing road trip for Bethanne, her ex-mother-in-law, Ruth, and her daughter, Annie. The road trip was Ruth's idea--she planned to attend her 50 year high school reunion in Florida--and she wanted to drive and see the country. For years, her husband had promised such a trip, but died without fulfilling the promise. Bethanne volunteered to go with Ruth--in part to keep her children from worrying--and in part to consider whether or not she wants to reconcile with her ex-husband, Grant. On the night that Annie thinks her boyfriend, Vance, is going to propose, he instead announces his plan to tour Europe for a year without her. She asks to go along on the road trip so she can get away and think about her future.

The first day out, the trip takes a turn from Ruth's planned route--thanks to Annie. Annie continues to change the itinerary--they end up going to Vegas, the Grand Canyon--but Bethanne and Ruth get things back on track for a stop in Branson, MO.

Along the way they reunite with an old friend, have car trouble, meet a group of bikers,and discover more about themselves and each other.

At the reunion, Ruth rekindles a romance with her high-school sweetheart. Bethanne must now choose between her ex-husband, Grant, and Max, one of the bikers they met along the way. Grant is familiar and comfortable, Max makes her feel alive. Annie hears from Vance, whose trip hasn't turned out the way he thought it would and is lonely. She must decide whether she wants to reunite with Vance who is familiar or start something new with Jason, whom she met in Vegas--or Craig, the grandson of her grandmother's new love.

This book was borrowed from the Edward Ward Carmack public library.

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Over the Edge: A Novel by Brandilyn Collins
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Taken from events in the author's own life, Over the Edge presents a medical mystery.

Janessa McNeil's husband, Brock, is a renowned scientist on the subject of Lyme disease. He maintains that Lyme is easily treatable with a short round of antibiotics and that chronic Lyme does not exist. While he is away at a conference, someone breaks into his home and infects Janessa with Lyme (pouring a vial of infectious ticks into her hair as she sleeps). The onset of the disease is rapid and dramatic (due in part to the coinfections that came with the ticks).

Will Brock change his views on Lyme once Janessa is symptomatic? How does the disease affect not only Janessa but their daughter? Who broke in and infected Janessa and will she be the only one he infects? Why does the unknown man want anyone to get Lyme?

This was a real page turner as I kept reading to find the answers. Not only was it an engaging mystery, but there are also resources at the end of the book for anyone wanting more information about Lyme disease and its treatment.

This book was borrowed from the Allen County, KY public library.

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Lost December by Richard Paul Evans
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Lost December is a modern retelling of the story of the Prodigal Son.

Luke Crisp has worked in the family business since he was twelve. When he finishes grad school, his father wants to turn the business over to him. Luke would rather tour Europe with friends from school. He takes his trust fund, refuses his father, and begins his adventure.

His funds run out--so do his friends. He finds himself homeless and loses what little he has left. When Carlos finds him he has just been mugged and has only the clothes he wears. Carlos gives him a job and hope. As Luke rebuilds his life, he finds what is truly important to him.

A heartwarming story, predictable to a point given that it is based upon another story, but with some surprises along the way.

This book was borrowed from the Allen County, KY public library.

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Angel's Den: A Novel by Jamie Carie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Emma marries Eric, a handsome man with an evil soul. She, of course, doesn't realize his dark side until they are married. Eric plans an expedition to follow the route of Lewis and Clark and establish trading posts along the way. He hires Luke, a cartographer who had traveled briefly with Lewis and Clark, to be the cartographer of this expedition. At the last minute, Eric insists that Emma accompany the group. What follows is murder, abuse, disaster, a love triangle, forgiveness, and a surprise ending.

Two peeves which contributed to the three star rating: 1) at Emma and Eric's wedding they light a unity candle--the year is supposed to be 1808--a few minutes of internet research on several sites puts the origin of the unity candle in the last 30 to 50 years 2) the book's epilogue ends with the main characters telling each other what has happened in the last seven years--as if they didn't already know.

This book was borrowed from the Allen County, KY public library.

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Seaside Letters by Denise Hunter
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Sabrina is a waitress in a Nantucket cafe. Tucker runs a boating tour company and comes to the cafe for coffee every morning. They meet in an online chat room and form a friendship. When Tucker sends his picture to her, Sabrina realizes that she knows him from the cafe. Unfortunately, he is tied to mistakes she has made in her past and she decides he must never find out who she is.

Tucker knows who Sabrina is, but wants her to reveal herself. Not knowing the secret of her past indiscretion, he tries to pressure her to admit that she is his chat room correspondent.

Forgiveness is an important aspect of the story as Sabrina must accept God's forgiveness as well as Tucker's--and Tucker must forgive Sabrina for her mistakes.

This book was borrowed from the Allen County, KY library.

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House of Secrets by Tracie Peterson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Bailee, Geena, and Piper gather at the family's summer home at the request of their father. Fifteen years have passed since they were there last--the summer their mother died.

While there they open the Pandora's box of family secrets which include their mother's mental illness, the life and death of a brother they never knew they had, and their belief that their father murdered their mother.

Forgiveness and honesty are central themes--each character has their own journey toward openness and forgiveness.

This book was borrowed from the Allen County, KY library.

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I'm No Sleeping Beauty, You're No Prince Charming, and There's No Fairy God Mother in Sight! by Cate Howard
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

If you remember the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoon and the portion called "Fractured Fairy Tales", this is very similar. The author took familiar fairy tales and rewrote them--most with female lead characters who learn not to depend on Prince Charming or Fairy Godmothers/fathers to solve their problems.

There were a couple funny ones, but most were only mildly amusing.

This book was given to me as a gift.

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We Bought a Zoo: The Amazing True Story of a Young Family, a Broken Down Zoo, and the 200 Wild Animals that Changed Their Lives Forever by Benjamin Mee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Benjamin Mee uprooted his family and together with his mother, sister, and two brothers bought a failing zoo in Dartmoor. This book describes the highs and lows of getting the zoo up and running--escaped animals, buildings to refurbish, mountains of paperwork and forms, haggling for loans, staffing ups and downs, and much more before they were able to open in July of 2007. In addition to the struggles to get the zoo operational, Benjamin's wife, Katherine, suffered the recurrence of a brain tumor.

This was a very interesting story of a family's struggles to overcome the obstacles and succeed in making their dream come true.

This book was borrowed from the Allen County, KY library.

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Life's That Way: A Memoir by Jim Beaver
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book chronicles a year in the life of Jim Beaver, actor, playwright, and film historian. During the course of this year his two year old daughter was diagnosed with autism, his wife with stage IV lung cancer, his brother-in-law with a stage II brain tumor, his father-in-law was in a hotel fire and developed pneumonia, his own father's health deteriorated, and his grandmother died. The book is a collection of emails that he wrote to family and friends at that time.

The immediacy and rawness of emotion are apparent in each email. It was a hard read because of this. In addition to the joys and sorrows recorded, there is gratefulness to the many people in their lives who helped and supported them throughout the year. There is also an element of faith that I didn't expect to find in the lives of "Hollywood" people.

This book belongs to me and was purchased at Dollar Tree.

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