"Picture Perfect," by Janice Thompson

"Picture Perfect," by Janice Thompson

She’s trying to focus on her future. How can one man make everything feel so . . . fuzzy?

Hannah McDermott has a successful photography studio. She’ll soon be featured in Texas Bride magazine. And she has a celebrity client whose Galveston ceremony will be her ticket to the top spot on wedding coordinator Bella Neeley’s list of recommended photographers. But it could all come crashing down around her because of one man: archrival and photographer extraordinaire Drew Kincaid.

As the competition between Hannah and Drew heats up, Hannah is surprised to find that it’s not the only thing getting more intense. She can’t get the handsome man out of her thoughts-or even out of her line of sight-and the job of her dreams is turning into a nightmare. Will everything she’s worked for slip out of her hands? And can she see past her pride to find a picture-perfect love?

With contagious humor and a cast of quirky characters, Janice Thompson gives you crazy bridal-business drama, sweet romance, and a satisfying dose of laughter.

I have no idea why, but it took me a while to get "into" this book.  It's not a hard book to read and it's a fun book with a good story line.  I think the author made it a tad too wordy and more complicated than it needed to be.

True there are a great "cast of quirky characters," ones that you can relate too, and a story ending that is predictable, there was just something missing for me.

Stars out of  5 : 3 Enjoyed the book, but didn't fall totally in love with it and will probably forget all about it very soon.

"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".

"Firefly Island," by Lisa Wingate

"Firefly Island," by Lisa Wingate

SOMETIMES LOVE TAKES YOU ON AN ADVENTURE COMPLETELY OFF THE MAP

Mallory Hale's life quickly veers off course when she falls hopelessly in love. After a whirlwind romance, Mallory finds herself leaving the bustle and action of Capitol Hill for the remote town of Moses Lake, Texas--with husband, stepson, and a U-Haul in tow.

A sweet, mishap-filled journey into marriage, motherhood, and ranch living ensues, and Mallory is filled with both the wonderment of love and the insecurities of change. But what she can't shake is the unease she feels around her husband's new boss, Jack West. Jack's presence--and his mysterious past--set her on edge, and when hints of a scandal emerge, Mallory finds herself seeking answers . . . and comes to realize that the middle-of-nowhere home she wasn't sure she wanted is the very place she'll risk everything to save.

Another book in the Moses Lake series and another winner.  Although a little slow to get going, the pace of the story picks up with each and every chapter, until you HAVE to know what is going to happen next.  Love the twists and turns in this book and all the main characters are memorable  and well thought out.

You will meet some of the other characters from the two other books in the series, but it's not totally necessary to have read the other books.

Stars out of 5 ; 4.5 Other than it was a bit slow to start with a great book overall.

"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".

"Call the Midwife," by Jennifer Worth

"Call the Midwife," by Jennifer Worth

An unforgettable story of the joy of motherhood, the bravery of a community, and the hope of one extraordinary woman

At the age of twenty-two, Jennifer Worth leaves her comfortable home to move into a convent and become a midwife in post war London's East End slums. The colorful characters she meets while delivering babies all over London-from the plucky, warm-hearted nuns with whom she lives to the woman with twenty-four children who can't speak English to the prostitutes and dockers of the city's seedier side-illuminate a fascinating time in history. Beautifully written and utterly moving, The Midwife will touch the hearts of anyone who is, and everyone who has, a mother.

If you have seen the television series you will enjoy the book.  You will recognize the stories from the television series in the book.  So in this case if you read the book first, you will find that the television series elaborates more on each story told in the book.

It's hard to believe what the people of the Docklands had to endure even in the 1960's.  However they were a close nit group of people who did the best they could with what little they had.  I must have had a sheltered up bringing as I had never really heard much about workhouses.  The story told in the book was eye opening for me.

I see there are a couple more books in the series, so I will have to see about borrowing those as well from the library.  I will say the producers of the television series did a fine job of adapting the book to the TV.

Stars out of 5 : 5 a great book and well worth the read.

"A Cast of Stones," by Patrick W. Carr

"A Cast of Stones," by Patrick W. Carr

The Fate of the Kingdom Awaits the Cast of Stones

In the backwater village of Callowford, roustabout Errol Stone is enlisted by a church messenger arriving with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Eager for coin, Errol agrees to what he thinks will be an easy task, but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.

Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty nears its end and the selection of the new king begins--but in secret and shadow. As danger mounts, Errol must leave behind the stains and griefs of the past, learn to fight, and discover who is hunting him and his companions and how far they will go to stop the reading of the stones.

This book goes under the genre of Fantasy, so not a type of book I am familiar with at all.  However I must say I got hooked into the story pretty fast and I had to keep on reading to see what happens next.  As I don't usually read this type of book I was a little confused at first about what was going on, but after a couple of chapters you get into the "swing of things," with it.

Errol as the leading character is wonderfully portrayed and so believable.  As this is the first in a series of books I thought it was a good introduction to the series.  It also closed off this first "chapter" in the series quite nicely and it did leave you wanting more.

Stars out of 5 : 4.5 As I said this is not my usual type of book, but really glad I chose it to review it as it's opened my eyes to a whole new section of books.  Well worth the read and not too to way out for novice Fantasy reader like myself.

"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".