About the Book:
Growing up in the west Michigan resort town of Sandy Shores in the early 1900s, Hannah Grace, the eldest of Jacob Kane’s three daughters, is feisty and strong-willed, yet practical. Between working at her father’s general store and courting the town’s physician, Ralston Van Huff, Hannah has her life planned out in an orderly, meaningful way. Or so she thinks.
Hannah’s world turns upside down when the new sheriff comes to town. Gabriel Devlin is strong, outspoken, and a Christian, to boot-but he’s sworn off women, having met ones mostly interested in money and apathetic about God.
Determined to ignore the newcomer’s handsome looks, Hannah is drawn to him nonetheless by a shy, runaway orphan boy named Jesse. While Hannah works to befriend the shy vagabond, who’s living with Gabriel until other arrangements can be made, God works in her heart. What plans does He have in store for this young woman who thought she had it all together?

About the Author:
Born and raised in west Michigan, Sharlene MacLaren attended Spring Arbor University. She traveled married one of her childhood friends and together they raised two lovely daughters. Now happily retired after teaching elementary school for 31 years, “Shar” enjoys reading, writing, singing in the church choir and worship teams, traveling, and spending time with her husband, children, and precious grandson. Shar is a regular speaker for her local MOPS organization, is involved in KIDS’ HOPE USA, a mentoring program for at-risk children, counsels young women in the Apples of Gold program, and is active in two weekly Bible studies. She and her husband, Cecil, live in Spring Lake, Michigan with their lovable collie, Dakota, and Mocha, their lazy fat cat.

My Review:
Oh my heavenly stars, I absolutely fell in love with Sharlene MacLaren’s writing! She is another new-to-me author and also one that is on my favorite author list!! I was so excited to have the chance to review Hannah Grace, the first book in The Daughters of Jacob Kane series. This book did not disappoint me in anywany!

In this good, clean, sweet and sassy historical, Sharlen MacLaren introduces us to Hannah Grace, the eldest of Jacob Kane’s sassy bunch. I was captured from page one, in which the story completely wrapped around my heart and pulled me into this heart-warming, God-filled story. When I met Hannah, my mother instincts kicked in and wanted to guide her in every way. But, boy when I met her beau, Ralston, I was inclined to want to pop him upside his head and tell him “wake up and don’t be dimwitted!”. And there was the matter of sweet Jesse Gant and the Sheriff Devlin who was looking after him. Both just stole my heart away!

I really enjoyed this fast paced read. I found myself often wishing the story wouldn’t end. I laughed so much through this story. It’s filled to over flowing with humor, love, family and friends coming together in times of crisis, over coming the problem by trusting in God and fully relying on His will.

This book is one worthy of 5 star praises and so much more. Please don’t hesitate to take a chance with this book. It’s truly an excellent story and I’m anxious to see what’s happening to Maggie Rose, Jacob Kane’s middle daughter and book 2 in the series!

You can purchase your copy here.

*This book was provided for review courtesy of Whitaker House Publishers*

I just want to take a moment and remember everyone who is a veteran or who knows a veteran on this special day. I want to shout out a special Happy Memorial Day to the veterans in my life: both my mother and my father, both my grandfathers, three uncles and a cousin. They all served proudly in the Navy and one in the Army. I am super proud of all of them! They are all still in my life today, sans one grandfather, who passed away in 1992. Please say a prayer for those who have loved ones fighting for our freedom today and those who have served and those who lost their lives to save ours. May God Bless our veterans and their families ALWAYS!!!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Robin Lee Hatcher discovered her vocation as a novelist after many years of reading everything she could put her hands on, including the backs of cereal boxes and ketchup bottles. The winner of the Christy Award for Excellence in Christian Fiction (Whispers from Yesterday), the RITA Award for Best Inspirational Romance (Patterns of Love and The Shepherd’s Voice), two RT Career Achievement Awards (Americana Romance and Inspirational Fiction), and the RWA Lifetime Achievement Award, Robin is the author of over 50 novels, including Catching Katie, named one of the Best Books of 2004 by the Library Journal.

Robin enjoys being with her family, spending time in the beautiful Idaho outdoors, reading books that make her cry, and watching romantic movies. She is passionate about the theater, and several nights every summer, she can be found at the outdoor amphitheater of the Idaho Shakespeare Festival, enjoying Shakespeare under the stars. She makes her home outside of Boise, sharing it with Poppet the high-maintenance Papillon

ABOUT THE BOOK

It’s 1918, and Daphne McKinley, heiress to a small fortune, has found contentment in the town of Bethlehem Springs, Idaho. But Daphne has a secret.

A series of dime novels loosely based on local lore and featuring a nefarious villain known as Rawhide Rick has enjoyed modest popularity among readers. Nobody in Bethlehem Springs knows the man behind the stories … except Daphne.

When newspaperman Joshua Crawford comes to town searching for the man who sullied the good name of his grandfather, Daphne finds herself at a crossroads, reassessing the power of her words, re-thinking how best to honor her gifts, and reconsidering what she wants out of life.

Robin is conducting a contest for the new book. Join in the fun HERE.

If you would like to read the Prologue and first Chapter of A Matter Of Character, go HERE.

My Review:
This is a perfectly sweet conclusion to the Sisters of Bethlehem Springs, though I didn’t want it to end! Book 3 jumps into the story of Daphne, Cleo and Gwen’s sister-in-law. And, as she has with all her previous books and is sure to do with her future stories, Robin Lee Hatcher shows her beautiful work of a blessedly seasoned author.

As with book 1 and 2, this book is full of family, humor, love and God’s unending guidance. We see all the wonderfully created old characters of Daphne, Morgan, Gwen, Cleo and Woody, but we are introduced to a few new ones in this ending, such as D.B. Morgan (hehehe!) and Rawhide Rick, not to mention the wonderful character of Joshua Crawford, who adds the perfect amount of depth to this charming book. I just didn’t want this series to end. These beautiful families and friends became a part of me, so much so that I felt like the mother hen wanting to protect them all! I wanted to treasure the feeling I had during my “visit” to Bethlehem Springs and the movement of God I saw there. With the added bonus of a BIG secret there is a touch of mystery to the story.

While this story is not confusing, nor was book 1 or 2, and they can be read as stand alone titles, I feel that you will have a better experience reading this story if you read it in order of this amazing 5 star series. With that being said, this is definitely a 5 star, inspiring story that I think everyone will enjoy. So, what are you waiting for? Don’t you want to find out what the BIG secret is that Daphne has? Grab a copy today and find out! And while you here, check out the contest that Robin’s having!

About the Book:
What do you do when you discover your whole life was a lie?  In Mary Carter’s unforgettable new novel, one woman is about to find out. . .
At twenty-eight, Lacey Gears is exactly where she wants to be.  An up-and-coming, proudly Deaf artist in Philadelphia, she’s in a relationship with a wonderful man and rarely thinks about her difficult childhood in a home for disabled orphans.  That is, until Lacey receives a letter that begins, “You have a sister. A twin to be exact…”
Learning her identical, hearing twin, Monica, experienced the normal childhood she was denied resurrects all of Lacey’s grief, and she angrily sets out to find Monica and her biological parents.  But the truth about Monica’s life, their brief shared past, and the reason for the twins’ separation is far from simple.  And for every one of Lacey’s questions that’s answered, others are raised, more baffling and profound.
Complex, moving, and beautifully told, My Sister’s Voice is a novel about sisterhood, love of every shape, and the stories we cling to until real life comes crashing in…

About the Author:
MARY CARTER is a freelance writer and novelist.  My Sister’s Voice is her fourth novel with Kensington. Her other works include:  She’ll Take It, Accidentally Engaged, Sunnyside Blues, and The Honeymoon House in the best selling anthology Almost Home. She is a graduate of the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, and the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, which is part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. She has just completed A Very Maui Christmas, a new novella for Kensington that will be included in a Christmas of 2010 anthology. She is currently working on a new novel, The Pub Across the Pond, about an American woman who swears off all Irish men only to learn she’s won a pub in Ireland. Readers are welcome to visit her at marycarterbooks.com.

My Review:
Mary Carter did a wonderful job with this book. She created a story that truly hit home with me. It did that, not because I’m deaf-I’m not, but because my “surrogate” little sister was deaf from birth and I felt protective of her when she was left out or made fun of because of her impairment and speaking with her hands.

I really felt my heart going out to Lacy. She was a brave young woman in this story who was extremely independent and just wanted to be treated as an equal, not someone to be pitied or as someone with a handicap. Then, to make matters worse(or it could end up being better???), she learns that she has an identical twin sister who has no handicap. What was wrong with her, Lacy Gears, that would make someone just abandon them?? That’s where the secrets come to play to make this story even more intriguing.

This is a highly recommended 5 star worthy book, with a powerful message with a deep meaning of family, trust. hope and hurt. Well done, Mary Carter!

You can purchase your copy here.

Visit other tour stops along the way here.

*This book was provided for review by the author and Pump Up Your Book Promotion*

About the Book:
Deb Raney delivers an emotion-packed, gripping story with the creation of Bryn.

A firefighter’s wife, Bryn thinks she knows more than most just how dangerous fire can be. Yet when it takes the life of her husband and four other firefighters, Bryn sees fire for the thief it truly is.

From their mutual despair, Bryn and another firefighter’s surviving spouse form a close friendship. As the relationship begins to blossom into more, though, the thief comes again and Bryn must face the question: what caused the fire that stole her husband’s life?

About the Author:
The award-winning, best-selling author of over twenty novels, Deborah Raney always delivers poignant stories of what it means to wrestle with the realities of a world in chaos…and emerge triumphant.

Her books have received the RITA Award, HOLT Medallion, National Readers’ Choice Award, Silver Angel, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. Her novel, A Vow To Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title.

My Review:
Coming soon!

You can purchase your copy of this book here.

*This book was provided for review by Howard Books and Glass Roads PR*