Hope Rekindled by Tracie Peterson

Book 3 of the Striking a Match Trilogy

Hope Rekindled brings this wonderful trilogy to an end.  Book 3 continues the storylines started in the previous books and introduces a few of its own.  The plot thickens and builds... takes twists and turns.

Deborah's life seems to finally be falling into place.  The beginnings of healing are occurring in Perkinsville and Deborah and Christopher are about to embark on the grand adventure of life.. marriage, but before the blessed day arrives Christopher receives a telegram requesting his immediate return home.  With the wedding postponed, he travels to Kansas City only to find his life turned inside out once there. In the meantime,  an old adversary slips back into play and threatens to destroy the Vandermark family and Perkinsville.  Revenge is an evil thing!

It takes more than human resolve to survive... it take God and unwavering faith in His ability.

A wonderful conclusion to this terrific series!

Hearts Aglow by Tracie Peterson

Book 2 of the Striking a Match Trilogy

Deborah Vandermark continues to be courted by Dr. Christopher Clayton and to be trained by him in the practice of medicine. Her life in Perkinsville, TX seems to be progressing nicely.  But then tragedy of the greatest kind strikes and her lifestyle... her family... her town.. are all in danger.  Just when it appears things cannot get worse, Christopher receives a letter from home that requires his attention and a interested suitor from her past comes back on the scene.  What is Deborah to make of all this?   Will the community survive... the family... her heart?

This is a series that MUST be read in order. Each book builds on the previous one continuing storylines through to the end.  And the plot thickens with each book and each twist and turn. Prepare to be captivated!

No Place for a Lady by Maggie Brendan

Crystal Clark in alone in the world except for her Aunt Kate, so in June 1892 Crystal leaves all she knows in Georgia and travels to Colorado to visit her Aunt and decide where life will take her from there.  She never expects to fall in love with the land or the people, so different from her beloved South, but she does.  Crystal finds a solace there... and a purpose for her life.  She also finds love... not just romantic love, but friends and family and a deepened awareness of the love God has for her.

I love Crystal.. maybe because like her I am a feisty Southern Belle. We both enjoy being pampered, but not being ignored or treated like we don't have a brain.  Crystal may look like a soft withering gardenia, but she is a steel magnolia through and through.

This is the first book I have read by Brendan. It was a free book offer at Amazon for the Kindle.  I am glad I grabbed it when I could. Looking forward to reading the other books in this series.

A Daughter's Inheritance by Tracie Peterson & Judith Miller

Broadmoor Legacy, Book 1

Fanny Broadmoor is a young woman of means who enjoys the simpler things in life... and she may soon be forced to live that simple life forever.  Orphaned at a young age and reared by her doting grandparents, Fanny's grandfather's death brings changes no one foresaw... changes that bring hostility to the Broadmoor family and threaten to destroy lives and dreams.

Amanda, Sophie and Fanny, although cousins, grew up like sisters and share a bond forged in love that cannot be broken. But will they be forced apart over money, propriety and forbidden love?

Warning.... Book 1 leaves many questions unanswered and a plot thickened with greed and desperation.  No doubt books 2 and 3 carry the story along to the perfect conclusion.  They are headed for my to read stack soon!

Embers of Love by Tracie Peterson

Book 1 -- Striking a Match series

I knew I would like this book.. Tracie Peterson wrote it and I love Peterson's books!  I am sooo looking forward to reading the other 2 books in this series:  Hearts Aglow and Hope Rekindled.

Lizzie Decker is in a fix.. she is about to exchange wedding vows with a man she does not love just to spite her overbearing mother. How did she get here? and how will she get out?  Her friend, Deborah, has the solution. Run!  Deborah is headed back home to Texas after attending university back East and she suggests that Lizzie go with her.. right now.. before it is too late. And with her father's blessing, Lizzie does just that.

Both girls settle into life in Texas.. a whole new world for Lizzie and a familiar one seen through new eyes for Deborah.  New loves... a jilted groom... an overbearing and uncaring mother... typhoid... and more emerge on the lives of the girls and those they love.. and as they press on through the various storms of life, they emerge with renewed confidence in God and new visions for their lives.

Always a Baker, Never a Bride by Sandra D. Bricker

Emma Rae Travis is a confectionery wizard. Longtime pastry chef and baker at The Backstreet Bakery, her creations are loved and admired.. and then she wins the coveted Passionate Palette Award for her Creme Brulee Wedding Cake and life takes a dramatic change. Emma is offered the position of head baker at a new establishment... a one top wedding extravaganza... an old world hotel renovated into a world class setting for showers, weddings, rehearsal dinners, teas and even honeymoons. The concept is intriguing and draws Emma in... as does the owner, Mr. All-Busy Jackson Drake.  Emma is determined to add a bit of fun to Jackson's life and Jackson is determined to avoid Emma.  The result is explosive!

Come to the Tanglewood Inn and join the festivities!

A new way to read...

E-Readers are everywhere.. Kindle, Nook, iPad... and I have never wanted them. Well, I want an iPad, but not to read books.  I love the feel of a book in my hands... the act of turning the page... love it!  Could not imagine I would really enjoy reading any other way.

Last month I had a birthday.  Pretty much every one who knows me knows I am addicted to reading, so no surprise my gifts are often books or something related to reading.  This year I received a Kindle from my daughter and her fella. I can't say I was jumping for joy. I just wasn't sure I would really use this thing. Now understand, I love technology.... love gadgets and gizmos... but I still could not see me reading on a machine instead of holding a book.

A friend had given me a site to find free Kindle books some time ago and I actually had a bunch saved on an old laptop. I had tried to read there via Kindle for PC and hated it.  But for some reason I kept collecting free books. I mean really, who can resist!?

So once my new toy was set up, I was able to move my collection of freebies to it. 60+ books.  I played with it a bit and finally decided to give it a try. Oh my... I will not give up real books, but oh my. Here is the thing.. you can change the font size!  I am 49 and have always had poor eyesight. I was legally blind at birth... had surgery at 2... one eye was saved and is just slightly less than 20/20 these days. The other eye is just on the edge of still being legally blind. Both eyes are over 40 and strain to read tiny print especially late in the day when they are tired.  So this feature... being able to change font size... is like a dream!

It still feels odd to hold a gadget instead of a book and to click a button instead of turn a page, but I have gotten rather use to it and even have a rhythm to it once I get going.

Again, it won't replace books for me.... I love them too much and am an avid supporter of my local library! Plus once I have grandchildren, we will be reading the real thing not an imagine on a screen.  And I have to have real books for the bathtub. I have dipped many a page into the water.  Not a tragedy to me... adds character.. shows love.. I don't think the Kindle would fair as well.

I am adding a list here on the sidebar of a few books on my Kindle. So far all free... I haven't found anything I want there badly enough that I need to purchase it. Books I want to own are going to be in paper for now. But I won't toss the Kindle out either. It definitely has its place in my life... not replacing my beloved books, but adding a new dimension to the reading experience.

Dyer Consequences by Maggie Sefton

By now, if you read my blog, you know I love cozy mysteries and Sefton's Knitting series is one of my faves.  This is book 5. Sidenote: the next book in this series, as well as another fave (Seaside Sitters) are both set at Christmastime. I only read Christmas themed books from Thanksgiving to Christmas, so perfect timing! :-)

In Dyer Consquences, the knitters from Lambspun are ready to the winter thaw and the return of Spring, especially Kelly Flynn who is about to embark of the grand adventure of building a home.  Kelly is ready to move from the cottage in town and up into the mountains with her grand scenic views.  She will miss being able to walk over to the shop and enjoy coffee, knitting and conversation with her friends, but she won't miss the vandalism that has been plaguing her lately. What is it with these kids? Why are they targetting her? Slashed tires.. red paint on her stucco.. cracked windshields.. it's enough to drive a girl crazy!

The "pranks" escalate as Kelly's precious Carl is endangered and Mimi's shop falls prey to the vandals and when Kelly thinks the worst has come, a young woman is found dead in Mimi's basement floating in a tub of dye.  Are all the incidents related? Do they have anything to do with the canyon land Kelly has bought? Who would be so angry with her?

Kelly's sleuthing gene kicks into gear and she goes looking for answers.. and, as usual, finds trouble along the way.

the big 5-Oh! by Sandra D. Bricker

This is the first book I've read by Bricker.... or so I thought... then I realized she wrote the first Love Finds You... book I read... set in Holiday, FL. (Great book.. I reviewed it a while back.)

I read this the week of my birthday... my 49th birthday. I guess I could have saved it for next year, but I didn't want to wait.  When you look on the back cover, you see a picture of Bricker. A big smile, laughing eyes and red hair.. no doubt she has a big bubbly personality.. and it shows in her books.

Olivia hates birthdays... they often bring mishaps and even disaster.  So as the big 5-0 rapidly approaches she decides to run away.  She leaves the cold and snow of Ohio to bask in sunny Florida house and dog sitting for a friend.  Seeking peace, quiet and rest, Liv finds instead a barky little dog with a lampshade collar, a flirty old man who insists on waking her with his dawn swim, a too cute and way too young neighbor and a second chance or two she never saw coming.

Full of faith and looks within, the big 5-Oh! is a funny, entertaining tale of life at its best.... warts and all!