A Treasure Concealed (Sapphire Brides #1) - Tracie Peterson

This is the first book in a new series, Sapphire Brides.

Emily has never had a real home.  Her father takes them from one place to another, hoping to find a motherlode of gold.  They scrape by, but Emily’s mother is dying, and Emily can’t help but wonder if they’d just stayed put, maybe her mother could have gotten the care she needed.  As a result, Emily dreams of a place she can call home and know she won’t be uprooted.

Caeden is a geologist in the area to evaluate the ground.  Emily’s father has offered for him to stay on their land, and he immediately gets introduced to Emily in a most embarrassing way!  From then on, she attracts his attention, but he’s determined to never marry.  His relationship with his father was not good, and he fears turning into the man.

A swindler is in the area, employing a ruthless individual to convince people like Emily’s father to sell their land.  Her father doesn’t want to sell, and they soon realize how much danger they're in.  When things turn deadly, Emily finds herself turning to Caeden for support.

This was a good book, with likeable characters all around.  Even the supporting characters have a lot of depth, making it a well-rounded story.  I was getting a little nervous toward the end, thinking it might end up being a cliffhanger, but everything is resolved and you get resolution and a happy ending.

Next up is A Beauty Refined, due out June 2016.  There are fresh characters, so these books will stand alone.  Good Book!

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Playing the Part (A Class of Their Own #3) - Jen Turano

Playing the Part is the third book in the series called A Class of Their Own.  The first book was called After a Fashion, followed by In Good Company.

Lucetta is tired of men who admire her.  They don’t admire who she is, they admire who they think she is based on the characters she portrays on stage.  One of those admirers has taken his obsession too far and trapped her stepfather into trying to hand her over to settle his gambling debt.  Lucetta has no intentions of agreeing to that and flees the city.

Abigail, her matchmaking friend, takes Lucetta to her grandson’s castle, Ravenwood.  Approaching the gatehouse, which strangely looks like a mausoleum, they’re turned away and have to find a new way onto the grounds.  Suddenly, Lucetta is dealing with a moat, dogs and cannon blasts.

Bram isn’t sure what’s going on, but seeing his grandmother turn up unexpectedly is sure to be an adventure.  It doesn’t take long for him to realize that she’s got matchmaking on the mind, and since Bram has been smitten with Lucetta for some time, he’s more than willing to rescue what he perceives as a damsel in distress.  He soon finds out that Lucetta is nothing of the sort.  Now that his illusion of her is shattered, he finds that she’s even more intriguing than he’d imagined.

Both Lucetta and Bram have their secrets.  Unfortunately, Bram’s secrets have his mother thinking he’s up to some nefarious dealings and Lucetta starts to wonder if she’s become friends with a madman.  Lucetta doesn’t want to acknowledge her feelings, and Bram’s not sure what to do with his.

As with every other book I’ve read by this author, I found myself chuckling more than once.  Her witty writing style is so engaging that you don’t realize how much time you’ve spent reading.  There are mentions of the main characters from the other two books, Harriet and Millie, and they also show up.  It’s a treat for those that have read the previous books, but you can read these out of order without any problems.  Her previous series, Ladies of Distinction, had four novels, but the end of this one was wrapped up pretty nicely, giving me the impression it’s the end of the series.

If you’re looking for a fun, romantic adventure, this is it.  I highly recommend this book, and any of the others this author has written.  She’s very talented and you’ll fall in love with the characters.  I look forward to more in the future!  Great Book!

*I received a copy of this book from Bethany House through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Cold Shot Sweepstakes - Dani Pettrey

To celebrate the release of Cold Shot, Dani Pettrey and Bethany House are having a sweepstakes!  There's some great prizes connected to the book, including a gift card to reunite with a long-lost friend, a super cool steamer trunk coffee table, and a tin packed with treats from Maryland!  To enter, just click on the picture below:

Cold Shot is the first book in Pettrey's new series, Chesapeake Valor.  It's a great book I highly recommend.  To read my review, click HERE.

The sweepstakes runs now through March 7th.  You get 2 easy entries by just entering your name and email and then picking your favorite prize.  After doing that, you unlock more ways to enter, mostly by sharing the book or sweepstakes.  Good Luck everyone!

The Vicar's Daughter - Margaret Bennett

This is my Kindle Unlimited title for the month.  I was on the lookout for a new author when I saw this book.  The summary interested me and it was on the short side, listed at around 100 pages, so I picked it up.

Grace comes across the drunk Earl of Hatton and brings him back to the vicarage.  They form a friendship, and that's as far as I got.

By the 22% mark, I wondered what I was reading.  This title is listed under Christian fiction, but I'm not sure why.  First, when Grace comes across Trent, he proceeds to forcibly kiss her, including mentions of tongue.  Grace stops the kiss, but her feelings are stirred.  There was just too much sexual undertones in there.  When I quit there were no less than three references to Grace's backside among other things.  There's also some mild language in there.

Between that and the author's writing style, I had to put this one down.  I'm disappointed, because I was looking forward to discovering a new author.  Giving bad reviews isn't something I like to do, but I can't pretend I liked it.  I won't count this as a new author for my 2016 challenge since I didn't get very far.  Sadly, this one was a miss for me.

The Forgotten Way Meditations - Ted Dekker

If you've ever read any of my reviews of Ted Dekker's books, you'll know he's hands down my favorite author.  The man has been gifted with being able to reach people with the written word.  While I love fiction, I am very picky about the nonfiction I read.  Honestly, it's because I hate it.  I can't get through it, which is why I made it part of my yearly reading challenge.  When I saw this book, I knew there was a high chance I'd get through it - I mean, it's Ted Dekker!  If you want a little intro about this book, read my review of Waking Up.

This book has 21 meditations.  Each week, you're exploring one of three truths: The Truth, The Way and the Life.  You're discovering who you are by putting aside all labels this world has given you (even ones you've given yourself) and seeing with new eyes.  You'll see who you are, be able to forgive and let go of anxiety and anger by realizing we shouldn't define ourselves by the ways of the flesh.  We're spiritual beings, here for just a short time.  It is only God who can define who we are: His son or daughter.

These meditations spoke to me.  They're truths I've probably heard many times, but they are put forward in a way that made me say, "I never thought of it that way before." And I ended up thinking that more than once.  That's saying something, since I grew up in the church.

At the end of the book is all the Scriptures that are referenced in the meditations.  These are called the reflections and are written by Bill Vanderbush.  Some of my favorite points in the book are summed up in there, so even if you know the verses, I recommend going back there and reading through them again.  It's worth it.

Getting this book is a little tricky.  I was able to get it through the initial fundraising campaign, where the book sold out.  There are plans to print more in early 2016.  Last I read, there are NOT plans to publish this through the retail market, so if you want to know when it will be available, go to The Forgotten Way website and sign up for the alert. You're not obligated to buy anything.

I heartily recommend this book.  I haven't read many devotionals that touch me in such a way, and I can't really express in words how this can change the way you see the world.  I plan on reading through this book again this year, and possibly picking up a few copies for friends when they're available again.  Great Book!

*Update - The book is available on The Forgotten Way website, alone or in various bundles.

Millie's Treasure (The Secret Lives of Will Tucker #2) - Kathleen Y'Barbo

This is the second book in the series.  There's a short story prequel, Miss Merriweather's Marriage, and then the first book in the series, Flora's Wish.  There's also a third book in the series, Sadie's Secret.

Kyle is an inventor and a Pinkerton agent.  He's on the roof of the Cotton Exchange in Memphis when he discovers a society scientist.  Millie is on the roof for much different reasons, but now they're both trapped and the only way down is testing Kyle's flying machine.  They decide it would be inadvisable for either to reveal their true identities, and they spend a magical few hours together.

Millie's father doesn't approve of her scientific pursuits, and she sees an escape by marriage to Sir William Truek.  What she doesn't feel is love for the man, and simply wants to be free.  She's intrigued by Kyle and finds reasons to be around him.  One of those reasons is solving the puzzle of unusual jewelry.

As they work together, Kyle finds out the real identity of Millie's intended, one Mr. Will Tucker, an escaped convict.  Working with Millie might end up being more complicated, both for his job and his heart.

This book was a cute tale of pirate treasure and puzzles.  I liked that Millie was a strong character with lots of smarts, and Kyle was more than willing to appreciate her the way she was.  You get peeks of Lucas from book 1 and hints of who Sadie is for book 3, but you won't be lost if you haven't read Flora's Wish.  The common thread of Will Tucker is also sufficiently written so that you can read these alone or out of order.  Good Book!