Monday, August 15, 2016

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Beauty for Ashes and Monstrous Beauty by Carol E. Keene

Purchase your copy here.

About the Books


Beauty for Ashes

Jazz is being forced to move and her mom has given her a major task to accomplish. She has to pack up the attic. What Jazz finds in the attic changes her life in ways she never imagined, and opens her up to life altering possibilities.

Monstrous Beauty

 Ethan’s father was a piece of work, to put it mildly. His father managed to become quite wealthy before he died, yet he left Ethan deeply damaged in more ways than one. Can the love and care of a strange young woman with a past of her own free him, or is he doomed to never change?









My Review
Beauty for Ashes is a short retelling of Cinderella.  Jazz and her mother must move, so Jazz has been assigned to pack up the attic.  Disheartened and going about her job mindlessly, she discovers something in her attic that changes her life.  Talk about stepping into character!  This book is both bittersweet and hopeful and puts a refreshing new spin on the tale of Cinderella.

Beauty and the Beast has always been my favorite fairytale and Monstrous Beauty is author Carol Keane’s take on it.  Following the fairy tale closely, we are given little treats at the unfolding of this beloved story with some twists thrown in.  The Beast here is a selfless hero and the villain(s) were quite a surprise.  Forgiveness was a big theme.  I always like to see how an author will make the story theirs and I was not disappointed. 

This story has a connection with Beauty for Ashes, this first in the series and I look forward to more retellings.  The author did not explain everything about the connections; hopefully we will be given more of a glimpse into this author’s fairytale world.  I am curious to know which fairytale will be tackled next.

I was given a copy for an honest review through Celebrate Lit and the opinions are my own.


About the Author

 Carol E. Keen currently resides in Alabama with her husband and family. She spends her time writing, reading, working on photography, and working with her much loved critters. She started creating stories to share with others at the age of two years old. She was published for several years in FAMA magazine (Freshwater And Marine Aquarium) as a contributing editor. She published her first book on CD, called Simply Seahorses. She is overjoyed to be publishing her fiction to share with you now. Carol currently has more books in the “works”. Please feel free to follow her for updates.

On a personal note: Carol really enjoys coffee and a good book.

Guest Post from Carol E. Keen

Can you believe it? I’m on my second tour with Celebrate Lit! Wow! I’m floored and happy and close to tears too. I have to say a HUGE thank you to Sandy and Denise for their encouragement and patience and help.

Today we are talking about my first series, The Beauty Series. The first book, Beauty For Ashes is the very first published fiction book that I have released. It started out as a contest entry. When it didn’t make the winning selection, I expanded it and had several trusted people read it. It was well received over all, and so I braved the scary world of navigation Amazon and published it.

Beauty For Ashes is based on Cinderella, and it was a challenge to write. I had always had some questions about why certain things weren’t covered in that story, so in my version, I added them. I answered my unanswered questions. I also have always felt that Cinderella had to be Christian to survive what she did and still be who she was.

My third published book is the second book in this series, and one of my favorite fairytales of all time. Monstrous Beauty is based on Beauty and the Beast. As with Beauty For Ashes, I always felt a “back story” to what drove the Beast was missing. In this version I have added all that, as well as having other answers to why “Beauty” was in this situation to start with. How would either of them relied on God to get through their situations?

I had a lot of fun writing Monstrous Beauty, and I’m looking forward to the next book I plan to write in this series.

Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure, and please feel free to ask questions!
Blessings, Carol 🙂

Blog Stops

August 14: Back Porch Reads
August 15: Pause for Tales
August 17: A Greater Yes
August 17: inklings and notions
August 18: Karen’s Krayons
August 20: simpleharvestreads
August 22: The Power of Words
August 24: ArtisticNobody

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Carol is giving away three ebook copies of the Beauty Series with bookmark. Enter the giveaway here: https://promosimple.com/ps/a180

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Review: Summer House Party by Regina Scott, Donna Hatch, and Sarah M. Eden

Summer House Party




Summer House Party is the fourth in the Timeless Regency Series and includes three more novellas, this time taking place at summer house parties.  I have been immensely been enjoying these novellas, and this one is no different; however I think I enjoyed the predecessors a little bit more.

In An Engagement of Convenience by author Regina Scott, we are introduced to an impoverished cousin by the name of Kitty Chapworth.  She plays the chaperone to her cousins and makes sure their suitors have their best intentions towards them.  Though her selfish, cruel uncle ill uses her she has made herself as content as possible.  It is at the summer party for her last remaining single cousin that she comes face to face with Quentin Adair, whom her father and elder cousin had a hand in almost ruining 10 years prior.  Kitty also had a hand in the situation and has carried great guilt around.  Now they meet again and Quentin enlists Kitty to be his pretend fiancé to help her out of her dire circumstances and he can go undercover to see what her uncle has planned for his family.  Let the shenanigans begin.  This was a fun story and my favorite of the three.

I have mixed feelings on A Mixed Match by Donna Hatch.  I have always enjoyed this author’s work and I did like this story overall, however it was not a finished story.  This couple’s journey continues in a full length book which is good and bad.  The bad in that I thought I was receiving a completed novella.  Yes, you could just reach the end of this story and leave at the happily ever after ending, but I know that that is not the end.  Also, their book seems to be a little depressing in nature due to some events that take place and may not be as lighthearted as I would like for this couple.  The good is that I enjoy Ms. Hatch’s writing very much and I am intrigued as to how she handles this couples’ story in A Perfect Secret. The villain is cruel and I do plan on reading the rest of their story just too finally see how everything ends up.

The Pauper’s House Party by Sarah Eden was an interesting novella in that this particular house party was thrown just for the much poorer of the elite.  The very wealthy benefactors had no children nor did they like their relatives so they have a house party to pick a person worthy of their estate.  This entails a lot of back stabbing and bickering among the guests and almost seems too cruel.  However, there are a few who find that riches are not the best gift after all.  True love trumps it all. 

I received a copy for an honest review from I Am a Reader and the opinions are my own.


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Saturday, August 13, 2016

Review: Rise & Shine by Sandra D. Bricker



Rise & Shine






Rise and Shine by Sandra D. Bricker is a relatively true-to-the-original-story retelling of Sleeping Beauty, even if it does take place in contemporary times.  We have the sleeping beauty Shannon Ridgeway who has been in a coma since she was in a diving accident on her honey moon (though, the back of the book says it was a car accident that put her in the coma which kind of threw me for a loop).  She awakes ten years later with the help of Dr. Daniel Petros to find that she’s slept away ten years of her life, her husband is dead, and the world has moved on without her.  Shannon sets out to rediscover who she is in this strange world, but she’s not alone.  She has the help of her three lovable aunts, her best friend from grade school, and the handsome Dr. Petros to help her get her feet underneath her.  But even with all their combined efforts will she be able to find her happily ever after especially with her deceased husband’s sister, Millicent, bent on making her life miserable?

On a whole this book was a sweet, cute fairy tale retelling, though I did find it to be a little depressing at times.  As I read I kept wondering what I would do if I were in Shannon’s place and lost the things that she did, which really made me feel for her.  I received a copy for an honest review from Moody Publishers and the opinions are my own.

Reviewed by Nicki
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Thursday, August 11, 2016

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: Love's Harvest by Linda Shenton Matchett


Purchase your copy here.

About the Book
Click to purchase.


Noreen Hirsch loses everything including her husband and two sons. Then her adopted country goes to war with her homeland. Has God abandoned her?

Rosa Hirsch barely adjusts to being a bride before she is widowed. She gives up her citizenship to accompany her mother-in-law to her home country. Can Rosa find acceptance among strangers who hate her belligerent nation?

Basil Quincey is rich beyond his wildest dreams, but loneliness stalks him. Can he find a woman who loves him and not his money?

Three people. One God who can raise hope from the ashes of despair.

My Review:
Love’s Harvest by author Linda Shenton Matchett is a retelling of the Biblical story of Ruth and Naomi during the time of World War 2.  Naomi is British and Ruth is a German and both have been dealt harsh blows in their lives.  I have always enjoyed Ruth and Naomi’s story, the love, loyalty, and friendship those two women had for each other with being in-laws but not only that, but coming from two different cultures.  I quite enjoyed reading this novella and seeing that story played out in a different period of time and place but the theme remains the same.  This story also explores the prejudices toward others, especially when judged by your whole culture.  It is something to think about in our day and age.

I received a copy for an honest review through Celebrate Lit and the opinions are my own. 

About the Author



A freelance writer for over ten years, Linda Shenton Matchett has had a wide and varied career that includes stints as a Human Resources professional, youth center director, B&B owner, and dining services manager. She loves history of all kinds, and serves as a volunteer docent at the Wright Museum of WWII. A member of Sisters in Crime and ACFW, Linda writes World War II and mystery fiction. She was a semi-finalist in ACFW’s 2013 and 2015 Genesis contests. She makes her home in New Hampshire’s Lakes Region with her husband Wes and fur-baby, Ben.

Guest Post from Linda Shenton Matchett


I’ve been scribbling since I was a child. One of my favorite memories is about the weekly “newspaper” I published when I was about seven or eight years old. Written on three-ring-binder paper, it included a weather report (complete with “graphics”), an editorial, letters to the editor, and lots of articles-most of which make no sense when I read them now! The newspaper didn’t last long, but I continued to write stories until I graduated from high school. Then it was on to college and my “real life.”

Fast forward nearly twenty-five years. My husband and I were fleeing the rat-race known as Washington, DC for a small village in New Hampshire to purchase a bed and breakfast, and I decided to journal about the experience. My first entry was made while we pulled out of the driveway. As I filled my diary, I remembered the joy that writing gave me. After we got settled in NH, I decided to try my hand at writing for publication. I found some freelance opportunities, and my articles were published in various magazines.

But fiction was still calling my name.

It took about a year, but I finished a historical novel about a young woman who leaves her home to become a Harvey Girl. I thought it was brilliant (it was not) and hurried it off to a Christian publisher. It was rejected. And rejected. And rejected. Fortunately one of the rejection letters offered some practical advice. The editor said the manuscript showed promise, but I had a lot to learn as a writer. She suggested I attend writing conferences and join a critique group.

I found a group of other Christian writers, then searched for a conference. The Crimebake Mystery Conference is sponsored by Sisters in Crime New England and Mystery Writers of America and located about two hours from my home. I wasn’t writing mystery stories at that point, but figured a lot of the information must be transferrable. Besides, the conference was driving distance and very affordable. What could I lose?

As an unpublished author, I felt like an imposter at first. But I was quickly enveloped by authors (published and unpublished), editors, and agents, and made to feel at ease. The workshops were jam-packed with information, and I filled page after page in my notebook.

Hungry to learn more, I signed up for Jerry Jenkin’s Christian Writers Guild course and was paired with Eva Marie Everson. An excellent mentor, she helped me improve my writing by leaps and bounds. I also continued to attend the annual Crimebake conferences. In 2010, I was selected to attend a three day writers retreat with authors Hallie Ephron, Roberta Islieb, and Susan Hubbard. I received one-on-one critique and instruction from each of them. It was an unforgettable experience.

By 2014, I finally completed the manuscript, Under Fire, I had started as my Christian Writers Guild assignment. What an accomplishment! I worked with freelance editor Janice Elsheimer to polish the book, and she made me realize it was time to bite the bullet and submit the manuscript to a publisher or agent. Since I was headed to the ACFW conference that year, I signed up for two agent pitches. Gulp! I was going to do this in person!

I was a nervous wreck, but both agents were gracious and calming. One didn’t care for what she read. The other agent loved everything that the first agent disliked. She requested a full manuscript. Ultimately it was not a fit for her, but I had made it over the hurdle of preparing my one sheet and making a pitch. Meanwhile, I wrote two sequels to complete the trilogy. Under Fire is currently under consideration at a traditional publisher.

Last year, members of my group blog (StitchesThruTime.Blogspot.com) decided to put together a collection of novellas. Over the years, I have toyed with the idea of writing a fictionalized account of a Bible story. I did a significant amount of research about Priscilla and Aquila, but never felt led to put pen to paper. So, the story idea simmered on the back burner. I realized the novella project was the perfect opportunity to pursue that idea. But instead of Priscilla’s story, I decided to write about Ruth and her relationship to Naomi.

Writers are told to write what we know, but I believe we should also write what we don’t know so we can learn. I had a very special relationship with my mother-in-law until she passed away from cancer in 1999. I wanted to capture that in a story. I also wanted to explore what it would be like to leave everyone and everything you know to go to a foreign land. I grew up moving a lot, and I considered it an adventure. My husband grew up moving a lot, but considered it a nightmare. I wanted to explore that aspect of Ruth’s story. I thought that World War II was the perfect era to combine these themes. The result is Love’s Harvest. It features German-born Rosa and Englishwoman Noreen.

One of my favorite verses is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans for welfare and not calamity, to give you a future and a hope.” The story of Ruth is a perfect example of this. She and Naomi experienced terrible tragedies, yet in the end both women were blessed, and God was glorified. Sometimes it is hard to see “the forest for the trees” when something awful is happening to us or our loved ones. My hope is that readers will be able to relate to Rosa and Noreen, and learn how God takes care of us even when we don’t realize it.

Blog Stops


August 7: A Greater Yes
August 9: Sharon R Paavola
August 10: Texas Book-aholic
August 11: Pause for Tales
August 13: Karen’s Krayons

Giveaway



To celebrate her tour, Linda is giving away a handwoven basket with a box of English Breakfast tea and a copy of her book Love’s Harvest. Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/a094
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Monday, August 8, 2016

Review: A Beauty Refined by Tracie Peterson


About the book:


A Beauty Refined (Bethany House, July 2016)

What does it take to reveal the true beauty of a hidden gem?

Phoebe Von Bergen, the daughter of a German count, is excited to visit America for the first time while her father purchases sapphires in Helena, Montana. Little does she know, however, that her father's intentions---both for her and the gemstones---are not what she thinks.

Ian Harper, a lapidary working in Helena, finds the dignified young woman staying at the Broadwater Hotel more than a little intriguing. Yet the more he gets to know her, the more he realizes that her family story is based on a lie---a lie she has no knowledge of. And Ian believes he knows the only path that will lead her to freedom.

Meeting Ian has changed everything for Phoebe, and she begins to consider staying in America, regardless of her father's plans. But she may not be prepared for the unexpected danger that results when her family's deception begins to unravel.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/29Sh70o


My Review:

A Beauty Refined is written in the usual Tracie Peterson fashion.  In this one we are taken to a hotel resort in Montana with Phoebe Von Bergen and her father.  She has accompanied her father from Germany to America so that he may acquire sapphires for a wealthy heiress.  However, in the midst of all the usual business of her father’s, Phoebe finds out that what she thought was her life has turned out to be lies.  Now confronted with another reality, she must now find out who is telling the truth.  Danger abounds in this novel when those you trusted most mean to do you harm. 

One of the big lessons from this story is when do you tell the truth, sometimes or always?  When all is going well and everything lines up or do you always tell the truth no matter how hard, even when you’re very life depends on it?  I liked how the story revolved around bringing out the flaws of gems, and showing how life’s circumstances and trials can shape you and make you the beautiful jewel in God’s eyes that you were meant to be. There is a romance, but I think this story deals much more with familial relationships.  This is the second in the series of the Sapphire Brides but it read well as a standalone. 

My thanks go to Litfuse Publicity for providing me with a copy for an honest review.  The opinions are my own.

About the author: 

Tracie Peterson is the bestselling, award-winning author of more than one hundred books. Tracie also teaches writing workshops at a variety of conferences on subjects such as inspirational romance and historical research. She and her family live in Montana.

 What others are saying.
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Thursday, August 4, 2016

Review: A Heart Most Certain by Melissa Jagears

...”Red-light fines help pay for our schools, streets, and other municipal improvements, yes?”
        “They do.” 
“Then if the town takes their money for our betterment, they can use our books for theirs.”
        Nicholas stepped closer, his breath ruffling her hair and tickling her ear.  “I hadn’t thought I could like you more.”
Lydia and Nicholas on page 161 of A Heart Most Certain


A Heart Most Certain was one of my most anticipated reads of this year.  First off, this cover: back, spine, and front is beautiful.  I enjoy books with pretty covers and this one is a favorite of mine.  Does the story match the lovely cover?  Yes, yes it does and some.  I would have to say that this is my favorite Melissa Jagears book to date.  The hero, Nicholas has some secrets.  He is also a very private man so this makes him look like a Scrooge to the town, with him living in his magnificent mansion, especially when Lydia King tries to get him to donate to the Moral Society cause to help the poor.    I savored Nicholas and Lydia’s constant tug-o-war, the personal lessons each tried to teach the other, and finally their attraction.  I also admired Lydia’s tenacity and her spunk, especially when everything seems stacked up against her, she does not give up. 

This story has shades of Beauty and the Beast in it.  I really enjoyed all the book references and that Lydia loved stories and that Nicholas had an extensive library.   Yet, this story touched on some deep subjects that are relevant in this day and time about Christianity, hypocrisy, Pharisees, and what would Jesus really do.  This is one of those novels that make you pause and think, not only was I getting a great story, but some much needed reminders of life lessons as well.   All this was done in a non-preachy way.

The town and all the characters, the good, the bad, and the in-between, round out this novel quite nicely.  These characters kept me turning the pages and I read this book in less than a day.  I look forward to more in this series, the Teaville Moral Society.  My thanks go to Melissa Jagears and Bethany House Publishers for providing me with a copy for an honest review.  All opinions are my own.

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Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway: She Who Knows by Barbara Bras


Purchase your copy of She Who Knows here.

About the Book
Click to purchase.


One girl’s journey from loneliness to love.

Isolated on a Maui mountaintop, Cassandra has only her imagination to keep her company. Shut in due to her heart condition and shut out emotionally by her father, she meets the Menehune in a dream. Their “Gift” enables her to take the first step away from her loneliness. Along the way she finds an amazing woman in the grandmother she never knew and experiences true friendship with a new classmate. Eventually she learns that to love another she must open her heart, even if it means it may break.


My Review:


She Who Knows by Barbara Bras is a coming of age story about a young woman who is learning to navigate this world she lives in during the 1950’s.  At 5 years of age her mother passes and she herself has a heart problem and is sent away to live in her late grandparents’ home in Maui.  She is alone and secluded for health reasons but this also takes a toll on her emotions and socially.  Adding a little fairytale mix to the story, at the age of 10 she dreams of the Menehune (which to me seems to be like fairies/leprechauns of European folklore) for the first time and these dreams stick with her.  We are with her as she grows up and finally is allowed out into the real world where she encounters a little bit of bullying, she meets her mother’s family whom she didn’t even know existed, and she meets her very best friend.  As she opens up her heart she discovers that she must forgive, that some pain is more than physical, and maybe her father really does love her.

This is a sweet story and I enjoyed visiting Hawaii and being introduced to some of its folklore.  There is a little bit of paranormal woven into the story as well, enough mysteriousness to keep you turning the pages.  I would recommend this to young adults and adults alike.  I received a copy through Celebrate Lit for an honest review and the opinions are my own.


About the Author


In 2015, Barbara Bras left her career to pursue her dream of serving God. She believed that her first step would be to share the amazing ways God had blessed her. As she wrote of her son’s miraculous adoption and the challenging years that followed, it led to the rediscovery of her entire life, including the history of her grandparents’ remarkable survival in Armenia and her search for purpose and love. Her memoir led to her first novel, which she hopes readers will find engaging and memorable.

Guest Post from Barbara Bras


An interviewer asked what inspired me to write and publish two books within a year. It’s a long story. Unlike many authors, I didn’t always write, nor did I yearn to write. In fact, the opposite was true for me; fear of judgement discouraged me from writing. Judgement from my mother, an English teacher and a strict perfectionist who demanded excellence in everything, especially writing.

In spite of the circumstances, my love of reading led to my first profession, teaching English at the high school level. Teaching laid the foundation for my career, which ultimately resulted in twenty-five plus years in various corporate environments as an Human Resources leader. Naturally, during my career I wrote a great deal, including proposals, papers, and communications of all kinds. But never anything creative, I never even journaled.

Almost two years ago, our Pastor handed out little pieces of paper during his sermon that said, “ENOUGH”. He questioned our inane desire to accumulate things when we already have the one thing that is needful. Just as Mary choose to worship at the feet of Jesus rather than be distracted by the world, so must we choose what is most important. (Luke 10:42) It struck a nerve.

Shortly thereafter, I made the decision to leave my position of ten years. Unsure of my next move, I focused my energy on a burning desire. Ever since the Lord provided a son for us through a miraculous adoption, I believed He wanted me to share it as an encouragement to others. I had tried to write the story many times without success. I signed up for retreat that promised, “Write your book in a weekend!”

The three-day retreat required nonstop writing, first in long hand, then on the pc. Amazingly, at the end of the third day I had not only finally written the story of the miraculous adoption, I had shared the incredible disappointment and heartache of the years that followed, all captured within the context of my life and the life of my ancestors. Wrapped in God’s Grace, a Life Rediscovered had materialized. I felt a great release and I thought that would be the end of my writing.

Over the next few months as I edited the book, I followed the system of editing for 45 minutes, and writing new material for 15. What emerged during those 15 minute segments became Cassandra’s story, or She Who Knows, a Tale of the Heart. The story unfolded in front of me, inspired by the woman who supervised my student teaching in Honolulu back in 1977.

Barbara Robinson was an inspiration to me both as a teacher and as a person. As we worked together that semester, she shared many stories and took me under her wing. She told me the story of how her grandmother, a musician, had come to islands and married her seafaring grandfather. She spent a great deal of her childhood isolated in the mountains on Maui, presumably to recover from an illness. When finally allowed to return to school years later, her years of isolation and her archaic English made for a lonely life. She also believed she that she had an usual gift, which she decided was better left unused.

So what began as an effort to share my story and encourage others has developed into a love of writing and a desire to serve the Lord through my new passion.

Soli Deo Gloria. To God Alone Be the Glory!

Blog Stops




To celebrate her tour, Barbara is giving away a $100 Amazon gift card, copies of She Who Knows, and Wrapped In God’s Grace. Click here to enter: https://promosimple.com/ps/9f1e

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My Thoughts on Cascade by Linda K. Rodante

  About: A fresh start in the Tennessee mountains was supposed to bring peace. Instead, it brought a killer. Crista Henson fled to a quiet ...