A Brewed Awakening by Pepper Basham - A Book Review

   

Are you in the mood for a lively rom-com? Pepper Basham has just the thing in her newest book, A Brewed Awakening. He is a coffee lover who is the new owner and chef of an English pub located in Wisteria, North Carolina. She is a lifelong resident of that quaint town, and is the owner and baker of her late grandmother's tea shop located next to his pub. While loving all things English, Daphne Austen thinks she needs to amend that to almost all things after meeting her new neighbor, Finn Dashwood. You know how rom-coms go, and likely anticipate an enemy to lovers trope. Everything follows the typical pattern with lots of humorous verbal jabs back and forth, a slow-burn romance, an adorable child, and a snuggly dog; until, around eighty-five percent into the book, things change and become much more serious when a tropical storm appears on the scene. The author's personal experience of weathering the storm and its aftermath when Hurricane Helene caused an enormous amount of damage in North Carolina in 2024 is certainly apparent in the final chapters of the story. She not only focuses on the devastation, but rejoices in the care and concern of neighbors for one another.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of A Brewed Awakening from Thomas Nelson without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Home No Matter Where by Nancy Naigle - A Book Review

  

This novel will appeal to women of all ages as they empathize with three generations of the Palakiko women. Rosemary, the widowed grandmother, had moved and made Whelk's Island her home. Nina, her divorced daughter, looking for a way to reconnect with her teenaged daughter and to find peace in her own life, has brought them to stay with Rosemary for the summer. The question now is: Can Whelk's Island work its magic on Nina and Kendra as it had done for Rosemary and her friends.

This delightful book contains a story of hope and reconciliation, but these don't come easily, nor do they arrive all at once. Patience and perseverance are key. The gradual steps toward healing and the building of community are what will keep readers engrossed in this poignant tale. Fans of Grace Greene's books will also love Nancy Naigle's Shell Collector novels of which this is the third.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Home No Matter Where from Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.

The Inklings Detective Agency by John R. Kelly - A Book Review

  

While, admittedly, The Inklings Detective Agency is a work of fiction, it is a masterful work of mystery in the vein of the classic mystery writers of the past, several of whom are characters in the book along with other beloved writers of other genres. John R. Kelly has done his research and utilizes the knowledge he has acquired to weave the personalities and quirks of C.S. Lewis, J.R. Tolkein, and their fellow Inklings along with Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and even occultist Aleister Crowley among other notables with the atmosphere of Oxfordshire and London of the 1930s to create a delicious murder mystery. While the story includes a secret, occult society, readers can count on C.S. Lewis to keep the story grounded with his Christian influence. This book is indeed a treat, and I most highly recommend it to my fellow mystery lovers.

I give this book five stars and can only hope that John R. Kelly has more mysteries in store for the Inklings Detective Agency to solve. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of The Inklings Detective Agency from Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

Anchoring You by Robin Patchen - A Book Review

  

Anyone who reads my reviews knows that I am a big fan of Robin Patchen's books. While I will admit that Anchoring You is my least favorite of the Wright Heroes of Maine series, I still highly recommend it. The entire series is well worth one's valuable reading time. In this book, as is typical of this series, the intense emotional and physical energy is vividly detailed. The multiple themes are well-developed, especially the focus on reconciliation with God and with oneself, as well as the theme of allowing God to heal the hurts of one's past. Fans of the series will find the story and its ending satisfying not only for Jaz's story, but also for that of Noah and Charlotte.

Anchoring You is the next to last book in this series. So, I not only await the final installment, but eagerly look forward to the beginning of a new series by this incredible author. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy from the author without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

A Gift in Time by Shaen Layle - A Book Review

  

The idea behind the plot of A Gift in Time is very interesting: A hometown girl returns to open a shop selling curated antiques and art, multiple people have reasons to sabotage her efforts, and much hinges on the provenance of an antique music box linked to a famous historical inventor. The underlying theme of God's bringing good from all things is well developed in both the current day and the historical storylines. The two protagonists show readers that it is possible to see this good whether or not things work out the way we initially wanted them to. Sometimes one sees the good in hindsight. Other times, if one believes in God's goodness and is willing to be open to seeing the good, they are blessed to recognize the good along the way.

Now, I need to make it clear that I read an advanced reader's copy of A Gift in Time, so the one concern I had as I read this book likely has been corrected before the book went to print. My concern was that there were some contradictions in the text, not enough to alter the overall meaning of the story, but enough to be slightly annoying.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of A Gift in Time from Guideposts via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own. 

The Mountains We Call Home by Kim Michele Richardson - A Book Review

  

The Mountains We Call Home is Richardson's third book about Book Woman Cussy Lovett and her family. Cussy has an inherited blood disorder called methemoglobinemia which causes her skin to have a blue tint. This means that due to the miscegenation law prohibiting one from marrying a person of another race, a law that both she and her husband have broken, thus losing their freedom. When forced away from home and family, one quickly realizes what thing is most important in life. One also becomes aware of what they will do to protect it and to get it back.

Richardson not only tells a poignant story with wonderful character development, she displays her own love for Kentucky and her own family's heritage there. Richardson honors our state's history not only through her novels, but also by campaigning for a historical marker to honor the contribution of Kentucky's pack horse librarians, leading an initiative to place free little libraries in county courthouses across the commonwealth, and highlighting authors and teachers who positively impacted Kentucky's literacy efforts over the years.

I highly recommend The Mountains We Call Home, and suggest readers also read The Book Woman of Trouble Creek and The Book Woman's Daughter. I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed herea re my own. 

Where We Belong by Kim Vogel Sawyer - A Book Review

Where We Belong is an Orphan Train novel, but the two children on whom the story focuses are not truly orphans. When their mom passed away during the younger sister's birth, their father was unable to care for them while trying to hang onto a job during the Great Depression. With their care home closing and an inability to reach their father, the girls were placed on the Orphan Train heading west. Where We Belong is the story of the girls' lives with the lady who adopted them as well as a young boy from the train, the oldest sister's struggle to get back to New York City where their father can find them, and a desperate father's search for his daughters. While the ending is easily predictable, readers will enjoy following the emotional journey of the girls and the people who love them. Vogel has done a wonderful job generating empathy, developing her characters, and painting vivid word pictures of times and places I have never personally seen, but can now readily visualize.

I am grateful to have received a complimentary copy of Where We Belong from WaterBrook, an imprint of Penguin Random House Christian Publishing Group, via NetGalley without obligation. All opinions expressed here are my own.