Lilac Cottage by Carrie Fancett Pagels

 

About the Book

Book: Lilac Cottage

Author: Carrie Fancett Pagels

Genre: Historical Romance, Christian Fiction

Release date: April 12, 2023

Inspirational Contemporary Women’s Fiction from Award-winning Bestselling Author Carrie Fancett Pagels

Lilac Cottage – set on Mackinac Island, Book 2 Mackinac Cottages Series

Out of options, after losing her job and apartment, Rachel Dunmara “camps out” at her deceased Grandmother’s cottage on Mackinac Island. Next door, her childhood nemesis, Jack Welling, is overseeing his family’s remodeling of their home on the West Bluff. When Rachel’s new boss, at a local coffee shop, pushes her to work as Jack’s assistant, for her second job, can they mend their rift?

Kareen Parker, widowed in the past year, returns to the island to share long-held information with her son and to transition ownership of her resort to her son. Her grandson befriends Rachel, who was banned by her family from associating with the Parkers.

After a summer full of secrets that are finally revealed, can three families be healed?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Carrie Fancett Pagels is the award-winning author and bestselling author of over twenty Christian fiction books. Twenty-five years as a psychologist didn’t “cure” her overactive imagination! Raised in Michigan’s beautiful Upper Peninsula, you’ll find her most summers at the Straits of Mackinac—where many of her stories are set.

 

More from Carrie

Why I Wrote Lilac Cottage

I had felt the Lord nudging me to write a sequel to my first-ever Women’s Fiction, Butterfly Cottage (after writing 20+ Historical Romances in Christian Fiction). I travel up to the Straits of Mackinac each summer to do book signings, library visits, and to see family and friends. At several of my book signings at the Island Bookstore, on Mackinac Island, I had readers ask if I had a sequel planned for Butterfly Cottage. I met a lovely young reader at one of the signings, who worked at Lucky Bean, my fave coffee shop in the world and it is on the island. Rachel asked me about plans for the next book and I thought – what if I had a young heroine who worked at Lucky Bean for the summer? Ya know, most authors stories start with the what if. So, I also tossed around the notion of what if Rachel was actually camping out in one of the mansions, called “cottages”, up on West Bluff? That spawned my plot thoughts.

 

When I work, I percolate an idea. I also will not pursue writing a story unless God’s hand is on it. So, I first submitted my will to His. I got the go ahead. I also got a lot of other stuff: Norovirus, Covid, a root canal and crown, a bleed on an optic nerve, and also what I thought might be a heart attack but thankfully it was only my Rheumatoid Arthritis, oh and did I mention recurrent shingles? Yup—all that. So, I figure there must be a reason this book needs to be written for me to have confronted such opposition from the enemy.

 

This is my very first novel where the main characters are all saved and are all newbies as far as being refreshed in their faith. At my church, one of the pastors preached about how new Christians are so on fire for the Lord and how they are often different from those of us who have been saved for a long time. I wanted to have that reflected in this novel.

 

I know people have strong feelings about the pandemic. I wanted to make sure I had written something that included some reality of what the winding down was like in 2022, which is when the story is set. My father was born in 1918 during the Spanish Flu pandemic and I always felt that authors from that time didn’t include enough references to how this affected people. I didn’t dwell on Covid in this novel, but I did touch on it in I hope realistic ways, such as shortages of workers.

 

Whew! One other reason I wrote some of the characters in this book was to give one of my continuing characters, Mrs. Hampy Parker, some redemption. She’s been a Co-dependent in two of my books (Butterfly Cottage and Behind Love’s Wall) and it was time, since she’s now in her early 80’s, for her to get free from that. I enjoyed the new start her character got and it was inspired by one of my friend’s real life stories.

 

Thank you for being part of the tour!!! And may God bless and keep you!

My Review:  I truly enjoyed this book and give it a rare 5 out of 5 stars. I read the book Behind Love's Wall by Carrie Fancett Pagels and really enjoyed it and this book is in the same vein.

This book is set in modern-day times as opposed to the other book I read but there were a lot of the same names in this book as the other. And, that is my only complaint, too many names and I got confused trying to keep them all in order. Especially the one named Parker as it seemed that was both the first and last name of this character.

The story flowed very well and it was a quick and easy read for me. The editing was well done and the story flowed well. It is a Christian book and that was very evident in a faith-based but not preachy way.

I was given a chance to read and review this book through CelebrateLit. The opinions are truly my own and freely given.

Blog Stops

An Author’s Take, May 2

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, May 3

Blossoms and Blessings, May 3

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 4

Betti Mace, May 5

She Lives to Read, May 5

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions , May 6

Texas Book-aholic, May 7

Mornings at Character Café, May 7

For Him and My Family, May 8

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 9

Mary Hake, May 9

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, May 10

Connie’s History Classroom, May 11

Holly’s Book Corner, May 11

Sylvan Musings, May 12

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, May 13 (Author Interview)

Books You Can Feel Good About, May 14

Christina’s Corner, May 14

debs book review, May 15

Books I’ve Read, May 15

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Carrie is giving away the grand prize package of $70 Amazon Gift Card, a copy of Lilac Cottage, and a copy of Butterfly Cottage!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/25f56/lilac-cottage-celebration-tour-giveaway

In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

 I received this book from LibraryThing via Netgalley. No positive review is required and all thoughts are fully my own.

I liked this book, it held my interest. My biggest problem with it is that it is listed as a Christian book. I feel that it should not be. Even though the main character prays, etc. I feel it can't be Christian (though it's a great, clean fiction) as it goes against what is written in the Bible, Hebrews 9:27 Just as man is appointed to die once... Other than this I did enjoy the book.

It is definitely a unique story and very well written. The main characters were mostly very well-developed. The story flowed in an orderly manner. Lastly, it was very well edited.

I give this a 3.5 out of 5 but since most don't allow fractions, I go up to 4 instead of down to 3. If you are looking for a clean, intriguing book, this is for you.

In the Shadow of the River by Ann H Gabhart

 First I want to say that I received an ARC of the book from Revell Reads through Netgalley. A positive review is not required and all thoughts are my own.

I asked to read and review this book for several reasons. First, I enjoy books by this author, Ann H Gabhart. Second, I enjoy Christian fiction, especially historical fiction. Third, the novel setting intrigued me.

This story is part mystery, part history, and a little bit of love story. The book was well-developed though not deep. It was an easy read. It kept my interest throughout. It was also definitely a Christian book without being preachy or pushy. It showed that a true Christian draws closer to God when times get rough. This book also looks at what is really a family. The characters were quite well developed though not deep. I figured out the bad character easily but not the motives.

If you like historical fiction that is clean without any vulgarity you will enjoy this book. I give it a strong 4 out of 5-star rating.

When Tomorrow Came by Hannah Linder

About the Book

Book: When Tomorrow Came

Author: Hannah Linder

Genre:Christian Fiction / Historical / Romance

Release date: April, 2023

They Waited Their Whole Lives for Their Papa to Return

Nan and Heath Duncan, siblings abandoned by their papa and abused by their guardian, have no choice but to survive on the London streets. When a kind gentleman rescues Nan from such a life, the siblings are separated and raised in two vastly different social worlds. Just when both are beginning to flourish and years have healed some of their wounds, their long-awaited papa returns and reunites them—bringing demands with him. Nan is expected to marry a rich suitor she’s never liked, and Heath is expected to forsake his gentle spirit and become the hardened man his father always was.

Dangers unfold, secret love develops, fights ensue, and murder upsets the worlds Heath and Nan have built for themselves.

They’ve waited their whole lives for their papa to return, for tomorrow to come—but now that it has, will they be able to see through to the truth and end this whirlwind of a nightmare before it costs one of their lives?

 

Click here to get your copy!

 

About the Author

Hannah Linder resides in the beautiful mountains of central West Virginia. Represented by Books & Such, she writes Regency romantic suspense novels. She is a double 2021 Selah Award winner, a 2022 Selah Award finalist, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). Hannah is a Graphic Design Associates Degree graduate who specializes in professional book cover design. She designs for both traditional publishing houses and individual authors, including New York Times, USA Today, and International bestsellers. She is also a local photographer and a self-portrait photographer. When Hannah is not writing, she enjoys playing her instruments—piano, guitar, and ukulele—songwriting, painting still life, walking in the rain, and sitting on the front porch of her 1800s farmhouse. To follow her journey, visit hannahlinderbooks.com.

 

More from Hannah

Love interests me. Not just in the romantic sense, but in every sense, because love is the driving emotion behind so much of what we do. It’s the heartbeat of everything. What do we have but love? Yet isn’t it the very essence of our greatest pain?

 

Sometimes it doesn’t make sense. Sometimes love has no reason. Like a tumultuous wind or a wet branch that sways in different directions, love is often petulant and aimless and powerful. But sometimes it’s soft, like a flower lifting dewy petals to the sunshine. The epitome of everything good, sweet, and true.

 

What makes love change? What makes two friends who have always been fraternal one day confess romantic affection? How much wrong, how much affliction, does it take for sweet love to sizzle into hatred? Even then, is it really hatred? Or merely the charred crust of the adoration still throbbing beneath? And how strong are the cords of new love? Will they break at every pull and tug, or are they more unfaltering than anyone might think?

 

Maybe those are silly questions. Maybe, like snowflakes, every heart knows a different answer. But if I explored anything in When Tomorrow Came, it was this. I glided through the story and felt love shift from brotherly to intimate, from hopeful to disappointed, from untested to proven, from safe to betrayed.

 

Just as love is the heartbeat of life, it is also the heartbeat of this story. I hope you will find yourself falling in love with the characters and their journey as much as I did.

 My Review:

I was so looking forward to reading this book but I was extremely disappointed overall. It took me literally almost halfway through the book to start enjoying any of it. I would have stopped reading altogether if I had not volunteered to read and review this book through Celebrate Lit.

This is a Christian Regency Romance. It was not believable in general. The characters were hard to get to like except the brother, Heath. I felt the characters were not as fully developed as possible. It was Christian in a light sense. Not at all preachy and barely mentions faith until the last quarter of the book or so.

Another thing, and I'm not sure if it was because this was an ARC copy and will be fixed or not, but there was no way to distinguish when the story took a turn. At one point two people are talking and the very next sentence was a total change in scenery. This was very off-putting.

I have read other books by Hannah Linder and I enjoyed those much more. She's a good author, but this book fell short of her usual style and quality.

Overall I give this a 2 out of 5-star rating.

Blog Stops

Texas Book-aholic, April 28

To Everything There Is A Season, April 28

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, April 29

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, April 29

Connie’s History Classroom, April 30

Book Butterfly in Dreamland, April 30

Lily’s Book Reviews, May 1

Genesis 5020, May 1

Locks, Hooks and Books, May 2

Betti Mace, May 3

Book Looks by Lisa, May 3

Labor Not in Vain, May 4

Becca Hope: Book Obsessed, May 4

Cover Lover Book Review, May 5

Blogging With Carol, May 6

For Him and My Family, May 6

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, May 7

Where Faith and Books Meet, May 8

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, May 8

Holly’s Book Corner, May 9

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, May 9

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, May 10

Splashes of Joy, May 10

Pause for Tales, May 11

Books I’ve Read, May 11

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Hannah is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon e-gift card and a print copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/25adf/when-tomorrow-came-celebration-tour-giveaway

Sylvia's Mother by Jennifer Lynn Cary

 

About the Book

Book: Sylvia’s Mother

Author: Jennifer Lynn Cary

Genre: Christian Historical Romance

Release date: February 26, 2023

She’s an overprotective single mother…

…He’s a former protector who can’t give up the role.

But who will guard their hearts from scheming high school matchmakers?

Eileen Avery is determined her daughter Sylvia won’t experience the heartaches she did. Even if it means taking parenting lessons from her mother, the dragon lady. But she is not like her mother. Not even remotely.

If only Sylvia could see that.

But she wants independence. How much is a good thing? And how much is too risky?

Besides, Sylvia is in love and needing a little freedom. It’s not like she’s about to run away to a commune and become a hippy. However, she is willing to try about anything to get her mom to loosen up, even play matchmaker. Maybe if her mother had her own love life, she’d quite trying to put Sylvia’s under a microscope.

But will it all blow up in her face?

Seth Matthews thought he’d said goodbye to Kokomo until an on-the-job injury with the FBI changed his plans. This town holds more than his family, and those memories had better stay buried for all concerned. But how was he to put his honed instincts on the back burner and stop safeguarding the ones closest to him?

He was willing to help his family with almost anything. But pretending interest in some woman to help with his nephew’s romantic endeavors? That was one thing he couldn’t see himself doing.

Until he realizes there was more than coincidence at play.

Forget about Women’s Lib. Return to 1972 Kokomo, Indiana for the second installment of The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue series—Sylvia’s Mother—and the fight for personal independence. Join Sylvia, her mother, Eileen, and the kooky mix ups that all point to romance in this small town romp. If you enjoyed the Weather Girls and Judy in Disguise, then this book is a must read.

You will love Sylvia’s Mother, inspired by the pop 1960s song by Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, because everyone dreams of a second chance with a first love.

 

Click here to get your copy!

 My Review:  I received this book through CelebrateLit and this review is totally my own, freely given.

When I asked to read and review this book I did not realize it was the 2nd in a series. I had also never read this author before. The title and synopsis intrigued me and I'm so glad I got a chance to read this book.

The story is loosely based on the song Sylvia's Mother by Dr Hook & the Medicine Show from 1972. It tells how Sylvia's mother tries so hard to protect her.

The story is very well written. The characters are very believable. It flows well and even though it's the 2nd in the series, I did not feel like I was missing anything by not reading the first book. Too many times that happens and I'm lost to some degree. This just made me want to read the first book to see what I missed.

The book is a Christian book but is not preachy in any way. I would recommend this book if you want a book set in the not too distant past (1970s) that is clean and uplifting.

I give this a 5 star review. The 5 stars is rare for me and kept for my favorite books.

About the Author

Historical Christian Romance author, Jennifer Lynn Cary, likes to say you can take the girl out of Indiana, but you can’t take the Hoosier out of the girl. Now transplanted to the Arizona desert, this direct descendant of Davy Crockett and her husband of forty plus years enjoy time with family where she shares tales of her small-town heritage and family legacies with their grandchildren. She is the author of The Crockett Chronicles series, The Relentless series, and The Weather Girls trilogy as well as the stand-alone novel, Cheryl’s Going Home, her novella Tales of the Hob Nob Annex Café, and her split-time novels The Traveling Prayer Shawl and The Forgotten Gratitude Journal. Sylvia’s Mother is the second book of her spin-off series The Weather Girls Wedding Shoppe and Venue.

 

More from Jennifer

Do you remember your high school prom? The one in Sylvia’s Mother is based on an actual prom—the Stardust Ball at Kokomo High School. I didn’t attend it—I’d gone to the Autumn Prom, but not the Stardust Ball in 1972, so I had to contact fellow classmates to get the scoop.

The date in the book is actually when it really occurred. And there are a couple other real events and personalities added to this otherwise fictional dance. It was fun to have friends tell me of their memories and to find out what some of the nominees were doing now.

Something else I learned that made me want to write this story. I had been researching and found an old interview by Chuck Buell who used to be a disc jockey for WLS in Chicago. I’d always liked him so when I ran across the interview, I wasn’t too worried about getting anything specific—it was pretty much a stroll down memory lane.

And then he told a story about meeting up with Dr. Hook. They were hanging out in Monterey, California on the good doctor’s houseboat when he offered to introduce Chuck to the guy who wrote the lyrics for “Cover of the Rolling Stone.” Turns out the guy lived a couple boats down the marina, so they walked over and Chuck Buell met Shel Silverstein for the first time.

Yep, the man who wrote The Giving Tree and those childhood collections of poetry—Light in the Attic, Falling Up, and Runny Babbit—got his start writing rock and roll lyrics. Among them are “Cover of the Rolling Stone,” “A Boy Named Sue,” and “Sylvia’s Mother.” And once I learned that, I couldn’t help hearing his style (“voice”) in the songs since I had taught from his books in my elementary classrooms for many years. The thought made me smile and I had to write a story from one of those. “Sylvia’s Mother” fit the plan for my new series, so I borrowed the title.

I hope you will enjoy the story, even if you’ve never heard the song. But if you do know that old pop hit, I think you will enjoy a couple Easter egg surprises I hid along the way.

Blog Stops

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, March 17

Texas Book-aholic, March 18

By The Book, March 19 (Author Interview)

Cover Lover Book Review, March 20

Locks, Hooks and Books, March 21

Sylvan Musings, March 22 (Author Interview)

deb’s Book Review, March 22

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, March 23

Connie’s History Classroom, March 24

Adventures of a Travelers Wife, March 25 (Author Interview)

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, March 26

Blogging With Carol, March 27

Pause for Tales, March 28

For Him and My Family, March 29

Beauty in the Binding, March 30 (Author Interview)

Books I’ve Read, March 30

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Jennifer is giving away the grand prize package of a $50 Amazon card and an eBook copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/24dbe/sylvia-s-mother-celebration-tour-giveaway

After the Shadows by Amanda Cabot

I requested and was given a copy of this book through the Revell Reads program. My review is my own and freely given.

I have always enjoyed Amanda Cabot's books, and this is no different. Ms. Cabot did a very good job in writing this book. The characters were well-developed. You felt like you might know these people or people similar to them.

The story flowed well. It had an interesting twist at the end. It mainly was a love story with a bit of mystery thrown in. It kept my interest throughout.

My only complaint is that I felt too much was left unanswered. I realize that this is the first book in a series but it would have been nice to have some of the questions answered as there is still plenty of story left for the upcoming books.

I give this a 3 out of 5 rating, and I would recommend it to my friends. I look forward to reading the next book as I hope it answers some of my questions.

Second Time Around by Melody Carlson

 I requested to read and review this book through the Revell Reads program. I am thankful they chose me to read and review this book and all thoughts are my own and freely given.

This is the second book by Melody Carlson that I have read. I enjoyed both books. She writes Christian romance fiction in a light-hearted fashion. The books are not in any way preachy but show how you can/should rely on God in both hard times and good times.

The book is an easy read. It's not one where you wonder how it will end, it's one where you stay interested in finding the path that leads to the end. The characters were quite well developed but not deeply developed. There were a couple of unexpected twists and turns but overall it was just an enjoyable book that kept my interest throughout. 

If you enjoy a clean, Christian-based romance book, you will enjoy this. Thank you to Revell Reads for allowing me this opportunity.