"The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip," by Sara Brunsvold

"The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kip," by Sara Brunsvold

"A throwaway assignment is about to change two lives forever

Aidyn Kelley is talented, ambitious, and ready for a more serious assignment than the fluff pieces she's been getting as a cub reporter for the Kansas City Star. In her eagerness, she pushes too hard, earning herself the menial task of writing an obituary for an unremarkable woman who's just entered hospice care.

But there's more to Clara Kip than meets the eye. The spirited septuagenarian may be dying, but she's not quite ready to cash it in yet. Never one to shy away from an assignment herself, she can see that God brought the young reporter into her life for a reason. And if it's a story Aidyn Kelley wants, that's just what Mrs. Kip will give her--but she's going to have to work for it."

This wasn't the easiest book to get into.  I found it slow going at first.  However the more chapters I read the more I wanted to read.  It took a while for the story to unfold, but the more you read, the more involved you will get.  

Although this is a sad story as Clara is dying; and yes you will be in tears, it is a story of a life well lived and of a women who achieved a lot with God's help and love.  It is a book that will make you think and will make you evaluate your own life.

Stars out of 5 : 4 The first half of the book dragged by too slow for me.  The story didn't interest me right away.  I had a good cry close to the end.  I also found it interesting the small details of life in the hospice.  Also the small things that were super important to Mrs. Kip, for example just feeling the sun on her face.  It's those things we just take for granted.  It was those attention to details things that made this book for me.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"Elysium Tide," by James R. Hannibal

"Elysium Tide," by James R. Hannibal

Dr. Peter Chesterfield is the top neurosurgeon at the Royal London Hospital. He's also a workaholic, and after a blow-up with a colleague, his boss orders him to attend a medical symposium at the luxurious Elysium Grand on the island of Maui. During a midnight walk on the beach, Peter pulls a woman with a skull fracture from the water. Despite all his skill, she dies in his arms, leaving him with only one clue to what happened to her: the word "honu."

Obsessed with finding the cause of his patient's death--discovering what or who ripped the power over life and death from his surgeon's hands--Peter becomes entangled in an ongoing investigation. He also becomes a source of deep irritation to detective Lisa Kealoha, who has jurisdiction over the case.

The reluctant pair join forces, diving deep into Maui's evolving gang culture, and unearth a conspiracy that runs deeper than either could have imagined. Knowing too much is deadly--and they must catch the killer before the killer catches them.

Set in Hawaii this book is all go right from the start.  The first chapter with Dr. Peter in the operating theatre doesn't even begin to describe where this book is going.  Once in Maui, things turn very interesting; add in the dynamics between the doctor and detective Lisa and the sparks fly in more ways than you can imagine.

You are taken from one scene to the next at a speed, which leaves you not certain that you can keep up.  Very imaginative the way this was written with all sorts of twists and turns that will keep you guessing.

Stars out of 5 : 5 This is the first book I have read by James.  It won't be my last.  I was reading up about the author and found it interesting, you can read more here.  At the end of this book, there is a preview of his book Gryphon Heist and even with the two chapters there I was sucked right in!!  So that will be another book I will be reading of his.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"Where the Road Bends," by Rachel Forham

"Where the Road Bends," by Rachel Forham

As Norah King surveys her family land in Iowa in 1880, she is acutely aware that it is all she has left, and she will do everything in her power to save it--even if that means marrying a man she hardly knows. Days before her wedding, Norah discovers an injured man on her property. Her sense of duty compels her to take him in and nurse him back to health. Little does she realize just how much this act of kindness will complicate her life and threaten the future she's planned.

Norah's care does more than aid Quincy Barnes's recovery--it awakens his heart to possibilities. Penniless and homeless, he knows the most honorable thing he can do is head on down the road and leave Norah to marry her intended. But walking away from the first person to believe in him proves much harder than he imagined.

I really enjoyed this book; mainly because there is a twist in the plot, that you never see coming.  The main characters are a joy and so personable.  I wanted to give Quincy a good shake, as despite his good intentions he kept messing up!!

One of the things this book brought up was how women were reliant on men for many things in life back in the 1880's.  Also how there were different rules applied to men versus women for how they conducted themselves.

Mrs. Dover was such a warm and loving character and deserves a mention.  Also the way the author describes Nel's you can just imagine the little scamp.  Rachel's books just get better and better with each one she writes.

Stars out of 5 : 5 Was sucked into the story right away.  Well worth reading. A great book to read over a couple of summer days. 

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"When the Day Comes," by Gabrielle Meyer

"When the Day Comes," by Gabrielle Meyer

How will she choose, knowing all she must sacrifice?

Libby has been given a powerful gift: to live one life in 1774 Colonial Williamsburg and the other in 1914 Gilded Age New York City. When she falls asleep in one life, she wakes up in the other. While she's the same person at her core in both times, she's leading two vastly different lives.

In Colonial Williamsburg, Libby is a public printer for the House of Burgesses and the Royal Governor, trying to provide for her family and support the Patriot cause. The man she loves, Henry Montgomery, has his own secrets. As the revolution draws near, both their lives--and any hope of love--are put in jeopardy.

Libby's life in 1914 New York is filled with wealth, drawing room conversations, and bachelors. But the only work she cares about--women's suffrage--is discouraged, and her mother is intent on marrying her off to an English marquess. The growing talk of war in Europe only complicates matters.

But Libby knows she's not destined to live two lives forever. On her twenty-first birthday, she must choose one path and forfeit the other--but how can she choose when she has so much to lose in each life?

This was such an unique book/story.  I have never read anything like it before.  Generally I am not a fan of skipping from one time period to another, but the way this book was written I just had to keep reading to see what happened next.  Each time period was as interesting as the other.  Each story unique and you were drawn into Libby's life from the beginning.

If you ask me what genre to place this book into I wouldn't really know how to answer that as first and foremost in my mind it is historical fiction.  Though with Libby spanning two lives and time frames, it adds another dimension to the book.

I will say I never guessed the final outcome/ending of this book.  The author wrote it in a way that you think you know what's going to happen, but she twists it up a bit.

Stars out of 5 : 5 I would thoroughly recommend anyone reading this book, it was such a good book.  I have sent an email to the author as this is the first book in the "Timeless" series, but I couldn't find any other information about any of the other books.  I have never read anything by this author before, but will be looking up more of her books.  Super book.

***Update: The author got back to me and here is what she said;  

"Book two will release in May 2023 and will be Maggie’s story. She will have three paths. 1861, 1941, and 2001 in Washington, DC." ***

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc. 

Available at your favourite bookseller from Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"The Sweet Life," by Suzanne Woods Fisher

"The Sweet Life," by Suzanne Woods Fisher

Welcome to summer on Cape Cod--a place where the sweet life just might be possible.

Dawn Dixon can't believe she's on a groomless honeymoon on beautiful Cape Cod . . . with her mother. She was supposed to be here with Kevin, the man she loves. Still, Mom was the right choice. Dawn's heart may have been broken, but Marnie Dixon is in need of mending as well.

But Mom--being Mom--creates a mess when, on a whim, she buys a run-down ice cream shop in the town's tightly regulated historic district with big plans to fix it up. She's never remodeled anything. And she's never even made ice cream!

Dawn knows she has to stay and fix this fiasco. But her mother's money pit ice cream shop may have created a chance for a happy ending . . . one Dawn could never have expected.

This is the perfect summer reading, set by the sea and all about ice cream.  Add in a bit of craziness, a broken heart, and a lot of ups and downs and you're onto a winner.  This book is the first in the "Cape Cod Creamery" series and it's off the a good start.

I think a lot of us can relate to the whole mother/daughter relationship.  Add in that this mother and daughter duo are more or less complete opposites, and that they go into business together; what could possibly go wrong?

The cast of characters in this book were so well thought out and all fitted into the story perfectly. Funnily enough I am not a huge fan of ice cream, but even I thought that all the flavour combinations that Marnie and Dawn came up with was interesting.  It would have been fun to have a couple of recipes included in the back of the book?  I enjoyed the historical preservation part of the story also.

This book does have a more serious side to it and that part of the story was interesting.  I can't say more without giving away the story; but again well worth reading for that aspect as well.

Stars out of 5 : 5 No complaints from me.  A great easy read.  Perfect book for down by the beach.  Looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"All That Fills Us," by Autumn Lytle

"All That Fills Us," by Autumn Lytle

The journey toward healing starts with a single brave step--but it is never walked alone

Mel Ellis knows that her eating disorder is ruining her life. Everyone tells her rehab is her best option, but she can't bring herself to go. Broke, broken, and empty in more ways than one, Mel launches one last-ditch effort to make hers a story worth telling. She will walk her own road to recovery along the lesser-known trails of the North American wilderness.

Though she is physically and mentally unprepared to face the difficulties that lay ahead, she sets off on foot from Michigan. Her goal? Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State. During the long journey, she meets strangers with their own stories, as well as ghosts from her past who can no longer be ignored. But though the land she travels threatens her success at every turn, it's her own dark thoughts she'll have to overcome in order to find peace in the life and the body she has been given.

This book was such an inciteful book; my emotions were all over the place when reading this. The main character Mel, strikes so many feelings in you and is such a strong leading character you feel as though you are with her every step of her journey.  Add in the people whom she meets along the way and you cannot help but cheer her along.

Each of the people whom she meets, adds that something extra to the story.  The struggle with her anorexia was also very interesting.  I learned a lot and felt it was so well written.  I think it helps that the author has first hand experience with the condition.

It was a learning experience for Mel, to understand the way that God sees us and accepts us.

Stars out of 5 : 5 I was glued to this story from the beginning.  It helps I have always had a secret desire to do a thru-hike; I never will.  I know a couple of people who have had/have anorexia, so I was interested in how Mel took on her illness and what her thoughts were, and how people with anorexia think. Overall I couldn't fault this book.

I will be interested to see what the author will write next.....

"Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".

"The Master Craftsman," by Kelli Stuart

 "The Master Craftsman," by Kelli Stuart

In 1917, Alma Pihl, a master craftsman in the House of Fabergé, was charged to protect one of the greatest secrets in Russian history--an unknown Fabergé Egg that Peter Karl Fabergé secretly created to honor his divided allegiance to both the people of Russia and the Imperial tsar's family. When Alma and her husband escaped Russia for their native Finland in 1921, she took the secret with her, guarding her past connection to the Romanov family. 

Three generations later, world-renowned treasure hunter Nick Laine is sick and fears the secret of the missing egg will die with him. With time running out, he entrusts the mission of retrieving the egg to his estranged daughter, Ava, who has little idea of the dangers she is about to face. As the stakes are raised, Ava is forced to declare her own allegiance--and the consequences are greater than she could have imagined.

This book has a bit of everything in it; mystery, suspense, romance, action, history, fabulous jewels and artifacts.  It was so good I read it in one sitting/day!  I could not put it down.  It was a page turner right from the beginning; I HAD to know what happened next.

There were twists and turns right until the very end of the book.  Some I guessed; others were surprises.  Even the going back and forward between the past and the present, which normally annoys me; it was written in such a way that I never minded it.

Stars out of 5:5 I would give it 100 if I could, it was that good.  It was so well researched and the details were so spot on that I would love to visit St. Petersburg to see everything.  I have to say I have always loved the Faberge Eggs so that too was good to read about.  A very talented writer, I must look into her other books she has written.

 "Book has been provided courtesy of Baker Publishing Group and Graf-Martin Communications, Inc.

Available at your favourite bookseller from Revell , a division of Baker Publishing Group".