An easy read romance might be what you are looking for this summer. You’ll find just that with Sophia Knightly’s Sold on You.

A successful doctor finds himself needing a temporary fiancé to please visiting grandmother. He looks to a colleague to do just that, but in bidding at the bachelorette sale he finds that beneath the serious work woman is a hot one who wants to stay hidden. He gets more surprises as the weekend moves into the week and he finds himself with both feet in his mouth, four women bearing down on him, and surprisingly falling in love. Just a typical week. J

I had the pleasure of reading Ms. Knightly’s book, Wild for You, and thoroughly enjoyed it. I have to say that this one was even better than one. I fell in love with the characters especially the grandmother. I want to be like her when I get older.

Don’t read this book and try to see it as something that could actually happen. Then you’ll feel like it is not what you expect. This is a story. This is a love affair that allows you to escape reality and enter the world of “what if” with a smile on your face. That’s what I want, and that’s exactly what I got in this story.

The spunkiness of Ms. Knightly’s women gives the story humor and the necessary conflict to keep the reader entertained. It is also fun watching men think they have it all under control. Ms. Knightly shows the truth of how women really have the power.

This summer check out Sold on You. It will be a great beach read or one to read on the plane.

Note: This book was provided by the author with no expectation of a positive review.

You don’t generally find a good historical Christian fiction book. When I do, I make a note of that author and begin to read more of their work. I just finished The Master’s Reliquary Book One: The Man of Signs by Jim Dameron. It is one I’ll be reading the sequel to.

The time period is the 5th century. Scotland and Ireland aren’t getting along too well. One man bridges the gap to share the Gospel and unite man. With a reliquary that was built by Jesus Himself, Brother Brude returns to the land of his ancestors to find resistance and acceptance. He becomes caught in the middle of man’s pride and desire for war as he learns more about himself and his relationship with God.

One of the things I really loved about this book was how non one dimensional it was. This is not just a story of Brother Brude. It is the story of the people around him and of two cultures. You find interesting characters that exist in Brude’s world with their own stories that evolve as the pages are turned.

Is this an action packed story? No. Is this a romance? No, though you get to witness the blossoming of love between characters as well as deep friendships.

Another aspect of the book that really tugged at me was the work of God’s Word. Reading how the Brothers witnessed to those around them and lived what they preached made me stop and think of my own spiritual life.

This is a story of history, culture, spiritual journeys, the power of God, the miracles God can bring to everyday life, love, friendship, forgiveness, regret, and so much more.

A great read that you need to check out.

Note: This book was provided by the publisher without expectation of a positive review.

A deeply spiritual book, even Christian, is not always about rays of golden sunshine and immediate answer to prayers. Sometimes the path of a Christian is extremely dark making the Valley of the Shadow of Death look bright and cheery. Ms. Deidre Havrelock explores her spiritual growth in her book, Saving Mary – The Possession.

As you can probably tell from the title, this Christian book will take you down a dark path. You follow a young girl who watches her parents’ marriage fall apart. You see her deal with unseemly behavior from men in her lives. Be prepared to have your heart break as you watch her seek God only to find the evil one.

Deidre finds herself the object of Satan’s desire. He wants her. She seeks God but gets confused as to who is the good guy and who is the bad. The deceptiveness of Satan is extraordinary.

This is a raw book. Ms. Havrelock does not sugar coat anything. She lays out what she sees and experiences with such words that you feel her pain in the book.

What was wrong with the book? It ended. I forgot this was book one. She ended it with me wanting to contact her and demand the next part. My friends will see this as sweet justice directed at me.

What do you need to know before buying this book? It is Christian. It is an exploration in the world of evil. It explores divorce, molestation, drunkenness, demons, and more. It is not a long book but every page is full of the girl’s journey. You won’t find this a light read.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of The Virtual Book Tour Cafe' and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by The Virtual Book Tour Cafe', no payment was received by me in exchange for this review nor was there an obligation to write a positive one. All opinions expressed here are entirely of my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides

I was describing Douglas E. Richard’s book, Wired, to a friend recommending that she read. At that time I was about 50% done and described it as thriller/spy/mystery novel. I have to correct myself. Finishing book, I have discovered that this book is much deeper than that.

I fell in love the book by the end of chapter one. It was action from the beginning. I was hooked. A pretty girl suddenly is much more than that with guns, stealth, and a price on her head. A special-ops man is called to hunt her down. I am only in when I find that everyone could be lying. Who is the guilty? Who is really the innocent? Is there anyone innocent?

All those that know me well, know that I can peg the ‘secret’ in a movie or book pretty well. I have to admit that this has not been the year for that. Also, Mr. Richard’s book is the one that tripped most. I had no idea who was really behind stuff and why. It was a solution of the darkness. I applaud loudly Mr. Richard’s work. His intricate plot had me unable to put the book down at any chapter though I was literally forced to many times.

There is a very small amount of language with the F-bomb dropped a few times. Other than that, there were no embarrassing scenes, and the violence though strong was not bad at all. The intensity of the story came from the plot of genetics, biology, and chemistry. It was all about the unknown and who could be trusted.

I have had a few books this year that I have said are the must-reads of 2012. This book just shot up to the very top of that list! You will be missing out on so much if you don’t get this book and read it. But only start when you can finish it. It’s that good and I don’t give such praise on a book if I’m not sincere.

Note: This book was provided by the author with no expectation of a positive review.

I am a sucker for the romance, history, and mystery mix. They get me every time. And when they are well written, those authors have found a fan. I am now a fan of Margo Maguire, author of The Warrior Laird.

Set back in the 1700s, this is a story of a woman who finds herself unwanted by her own parents and siblings. Her decision to save her little sister’s life from her father makes her even more of an outcast. The final blow was her father’s decision to send her little sister away and send the defiant daughter away to be married to an old man. They underestimated her.

As she is led to her groom’s home, she manages to escape but not before meeting a laird that does more than please the eye. Her own actions bring him closer to her where they both find fulfillment of prophesies. They only have to reach the goal and stay alive in the process.

That was all very hard to say without turning it into a spoiler. But I think I succeeded. I found this a really good read. Even as an advance reader’s copy, the formatting and editing was great. This is not always the case. The story flowed smoothly with good character development. Ms. Maguire has a way of drawing the reader in. I felt like I was standing in the highlands. I could almost smell the air around the characters. Truly amazing.

I highly recommend this book. It would be great for a summer read or a romance book club. There are some minor graphic scenes of intimacy. They are short, but present. If you don’t mind skipping a page or two then go ahead and read the book. If any mention of intimacy bothers you, I sadly suggest you skip this recommendation. Though you will miss a great historical romance.

Note: I was given this book by the publisher with no expectation of a positive review.

A good mystery keeps you engrossed. It has you wanting to get to the next chapter. It doesn’t have to be nonstop action. It just needs you wanting to know who did it. I think you can find that in Charlotte Bacon’s The Twisted Thread.

This is a story of a young woman found dead in a high class boarding school. That alone is traumatic and worthy of a mystery, but throw in the fact that she unknowingly had a baby and that baby is missing gives you a much bigger story. Who killed the young girl? Where is the baby? Who is the father? Who knew about it? As you go along, you’ll discover that practically everyone has a dark secret and plays a part in the mystery of the girl’s death.

I really liked the fact that this was not a straight forward mystery. Yes, I did figure out who did it earlier in the book but the history and the background of it all I only had a small inkling. There were so many twists and turns that I found myself second guessing my original solution. I stuck to it and was right but it might prove a challenge to you.

Ms. Bacon did an excellent job of creating an intricate plot. It was an enjoyable read.

The copy I received was an advanced copy with many formatting issues that did cause problems reading the book. That should be resolved in the final version.

This is a great summer read. Add it to your list.

Note: This book was provided by the publisher with no expectation of a positive review.

Classic American stories are part of our lives. We read books on them, references in television series, and watch movies on them. But when we read the actual classic, we find that what we thought it was about is slightly different. The Last of the Mohicans is no different.

James Fenimore Cooper wrote a classic that is read in most schools across the country. It’s the story of 2 young English women on a journey to see their father who is a leader in the British Army. With an escort of British military and one native scout they find themselves ambushed. They are saved by a scout and 2 other natives. The fighting amongst the French, English, and native tribes gives Cooper a plethora of material for an intricate plot.

This proved to more difficult of a read than I remember from high school when I read it. Maybe it is because I’ve read so many more contemporary versions and watched movies. There are several scenes were the dialogue is only in French. Sorry, I know about three words in that language. Also, so much description was placed that I’d forget what was happening in the scene.

Now, I have to admit how movies ruined Cooper’s book for me. The movie with Daniel Daye Lewis was great. I loved it. When I just reread the book, I was so disappointed because the storyline is so different. The book has Alice and Duncan in love. The move has Hawkeye and Cora. There are many other differences, but I would be spoiling the reading experience.

If you have not read the book yet, try not to see any movies on it first. It will make the experience so  much more enjoyable.

Note: This book was free as a public domain piece of literature.

There are many classics that become icons of cultures and periods. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is one of those books. Mark Twain is an entertaining part of American history.

Most people who have been raised in America know at least Huck Finn’s name. He is known for his escapades in early America and his friendship with the well-known Tom Sawyer. If you haven’t read the book, you’ve seen the movie. That might be a bad thing.

How can that be bad? Because if you only watch the movies and then years later read the book, you’ll be very disappointed in what you read.

The movies are so different than the book is. Yes, there are many movies, but the majority veer far from Twain’s original works.

It also doesn’t help that I am mostly used to contemporary writing which is much different that of the writings of the 1800s and earlier. The works are more description of scenes and actions than we are used to today. The style is vastly different. In fact, you might it difficult to read because of that.

You might also find it difficult to read where the dialogue is written exactly the way it was spoken. When the slave, Jim, speaks, it is not in formal English. It is written as he spoke it. In reading these parts, you might want to read it aloud so you can hear what he said instead of reading it.

I also found reading of Huck and Tom’s actions rather difficult. I don’t see boys of their age really acting that way, but that is how Twain wanted them to be. I really think the movies ruined it for me. Though I still enjoy Twain’s short stories. Maybe that is where I need to stay with him.

Please be aware if you have your children read the book for school. Throughout the book, the ‘n’ word is used. It was a part of the culture’s everyday language which makes it important to use in the story. You might want to explain the use of the word then versus now before reading the book.

Note: This was a free copy obtained through a public domain venue.

How do you define a classic? Is it a popular piece of literature or one that is lucky enough to stand the test of time? Maybe it is one written by a famous author and all his or her works become classics. I wonder these questions as I finish reading Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.

It has been many years since I’ve read any of Ms. Austen’s work. I never read Northanger Abbey until I joined a book club that was reading it. I was thrilled. I’m to a point in my life where I’m revisiting all the books I hated in school or managed to avoid. I’m discovering that I’m enjoying most of them.

Northanger Abbey proved to a hard read for me. I couldn’t understand why until I really thought about it. I was so used to contemporary writing that reading a piece of English literature from more than a hundred years ago proved difficult for me. The plot seemed to drag and become nonexistent. I was truly disappointed. The story could have written in a quarter of the pages and delivered with a bigger punch.

I know that all the Austen fans will be calling for my head. Truly, I tried. I don’t think less of Ms. Austen. In fact, have another book of hers lined up to read. It was this one in particular that did not trip my trigger.

If you want to read more of the classics and are just getting started, you might want to put this novel off and read some of the others. You might love it. You might hate it. I would put this in the category of a back-burner classic to read.

This was a public domain book and came with quite a few formatting and editing issues. It did not detract too much from the reading. For free, I couldn’t complain about the issues.

Note: I purchased this book with my own funds.

The title of Virgil Moore's book, Demon Vampire, might turn you off. The cover of his book might turn you off. Or they could be intriguing to you and be the reason you want to purchase the book. Either way Mr. Moore is successful in this paranormal/horror book.

First of all, this is a paranormal story involving vampires and such creatures. I have to admit that these books are starting to not draw me in as much anymore because there are so many of them. I haven't read a ton of them, but of the vampire stories I've read, this is not one to fall in the copy-cat boring category. Mr. Moore gives a new twist to a story of vampires.

Next, I consider this a horror story. I have friends who like horror and might laugh that I describe it as such since they read ones that would give me nightmares from being within touching distance of the book. Yet I call this a horror story because it gave me nightmares. That right there convinced quite a few people they have to read this book. I might to agree with that.

Though I view this story as a horror story, I have to admit I enjoyed. Horror usually is a strike 'no' for me. This one was not over the top scary which is a plus for me. It takes unusual twists and turns that keep the story fresh and the reader guessing. That is one of the strongest points of Mr. Moore's work. The plot is very intricate and far from simple which is what I like. This on the other hand, made it difficult for me to follow in the beginning. I was very confused and was wondering if any of it would make sense. Yet the more I read the more I grew to understand and appreciate the writer's style.

I did find quite a few editing issues within the book but not enough to detract you from the story. At times, the dialogue seems a little unreal, but we are talking demon vampires here. They are unreal themselves.

Do you like paranormal stories? Do you like to read unique twists on vampires? Do you like mildly horror stories? Do you enjoy complicated stories and plots? Then you have to check this book out. I wanted to stop reading it because of the horror characteristics yet I had to know what was going to happen to this young man who was finding out that his 'ordinary' life is far from ordinary. Mr. Moore has done a great job of giving me a few sleepless nights.

*Disclosure of Material Connection: I am a member of The Virtual Book Tour Cafe' and a copy of this book was provided to me by the author. Although payment may have been received by The Virtual Book Tour Cafe', no payment was received by me in exchange for this review nor was there an obligation to write a positive one. All opinions expressed here are entirely of my own and may not necessarily agree with those of the author, the book's publisher and publicist or the readers of this review. This disclosure is in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255, Guides