Note: I got this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

Despite their rivalry, Lucy realizes Colin's connections could be just what her family needs to turn the tide of their long legal battle over the fortune they were swindled out of forty years ago. When she negotiates an unlikely alliance with him, neither of them realizes how far the web of treachery they're wading into will take them.

At the beginning of this year, I gave myself a challenge- to read 100 books (or more) before 2018. I'd thought it was going to be pretty easy, but so far it's turned out slightly harder than I'd anticipated! Anyway, right now I'm reading what will be book number 74, and while I wasn't sure I'd make it to a hundred before my deadline, I'm beginning to have some hope... 

Since I was always interested in these things on other blogs, I thought I'd make a list of the books I've read recently and share my thoughts on them in a post- I'll try to do this regularly. I'll also make a list of books for my sidebar so you can see where I'm at in my little challenge. 

Have you ever challenged yourself to 100 books in a year, or something else similar? How did it turn out? 

I've been terribly behind lately in updating my blog, and for those of you who may have ever checked out my "Reviews" page and found that it hadn't been updated in quite a while, I apologize! I'm going to try to keep it orderly and up-to-date from now on. And I've also updated my design a bit. I felt like doing something new, and the header picture I wanted to use just so happened to be an Autumn photo, so that was perfect (and now I'm looking forward to orange, red and yellow leaves, coffee on a cold morning, and that crisp smell in the air that only fall can bring!). 

What are some of your favorite things about this new season we're heading into? 

 Genre: Historical Fiction

Rating: Five out of five hearts ❤❤❤❤❤ 

Series: Book one in the Shadows over England series

About

My Review

                               


Genre: Historical Fiction

Series: Book one in the Apart from the Crowd series

Rating: Three out of five hearts ❤❤❤

About:

Miss Permilia Griswold never asked to be thrust into society, with all its rules and regulations. In fact, she knows more about guns and swordplay than dancing and pleasantries- and being a wallflower wasn't in the plan, either. However, wallflower status does have its advantages- like hearing all the behind the scenes talk that are perfect for her society column, where her pseudonym is "Miss Quill".
 It is during one of these society events that Permilia happens to hear what she never expected- a threat on the life of one of the city's leading businessmen, Asher Rutherford. However, Asher doesn't believe the story she brings him, so what will she have to do to keep him safe?

My Review:

Permilia and Asher are the newest characters in Mrs. Turano's collection of comedic novels, and while I preferred Lucetta Plum and Bram Haverstein from Playing the Part, Asher and Permilia hold their own. Permilia's preference for swords and helping the poor versus balls and everything the social life brings made her interesting and slightly dangerous- especially since she can get pretty riled when provoked. I did feel that she was a bit too peculiar for my tastes, though it might just be our opposite personalities that made me not able to understand her. As for the hero of the story, Asher Rutherford- he is, perhaps, too city-like for me- however, I think that's the kind of character Permilia got on well with, and they were both good for each other. And Asher is not to be underestimated- he's not a simple dandy, but has a heart and will to be tough and formidable (although I'm not sure he'll ever get that far). The other very quirky characters also made for interesting reading, and although they were all sometimes too quirky and unusual for me (which made things frequently seem unrealistic), I did enjoy them pretty well. I have to say, Mrs. Davenport, Harrison Sinclair and Permilia's fellow wallflowers did make for fun characters- they were probably some of my favorites in the story.
 The writing style did seem to over-explain things a bit too much, which, coupled with the sometimes too silly characters, wasn't that great. Also, I wasn't overly fond over the way the story started. The story starts off at a grand ball- very interesting, but it went on for way too long, and I began to wish for it to end.  I felt that I would have liked to have read about Permilia alone first, find out her personality under normal circumstances  and all about her family and friends, get all that established, and then move on with the story and the events that are going to take place.
 The mystery, however, was interesting, and I thought the conclusion and all that progressed was a very fulfilling, slightly funny and altogether a good ending for the story. The storyline in and of itself was, I thought, unique and original, just like its characters, and  I only wish I could have gotten into it more, to give it a better review. 
 It was also interesting to read about this time period from the point of view of such a unique character. The beauty of the time period is represented, along with its frustrating and sometimes confusing rules and the ways it could have stood improvement. 
On the whole, (despite my dislike for some of the elements in the book) it was enjoyable reading a lighthearted comedy for a change (since I don't normally read a lot of that type of book) and I look forward to perhaps reading the next books in the series. 

 Note: I got this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own. 

About:
Book one left the Boden family after a tragedy as well as a victory, and book two, Long Time Gone, picks up where it left off. Trouble seems determined to entrap the Bodens and take over the Cimarron ranch, but it's a struggle to figure out exactly why. And through all this, Angie Dupree finds herself attracted to the wonderful (albeit slightly overprotective) Justin - and it's not the best time to become involved with a Boden. Who can be trusted, what in the world is going on, and will they make it out alive? 

My Review:

The Bodens, despite their differences, are a tight bunch, and (while they might not always show it) love each other dearly. No one messes with that family and gets away with it, nor will they go down without a fight. It's an interesting story idea- siblings finding love as they fight to protect their home from a faceless, nameless threat- and there were times (mostly near the end of the book) where my heart would pound with the suspense, or jump in anticipation. That being said, this wasn't my favorite book. 
 Justin and Angie's characters are the focus in Long Time Gone (although the point of view does skip around to others a bit) and for some reason I couldn't get into them as much as I could get into Heath and Sadie from the previous book. Their love story also seemed very fast, perhaps because it begins in No Way Up, and maybe also because the main focus was not on the romance, but on the attack on the Cimarron. Also, the humor was funny, at times, but seemed to get to be too much. I longed for more seriousness in their characters. 
 I myself have only read a few Mrs. Connealy's books (the Wild at Heart series), and while they weren't my favorites, I still enjoyed them. This series (I borrowed No Way Up from the library to read before I tried this one), however, just felt different- not as engaging. The writing style wasn't my type, the characters (and certain descriptions) seemed to state the obvious a lot- instead of leaving the reader to see what was going on, they were told. I felt that more could be accomplished without all the explaining. 
 Another thing I had a problem with was the cover. It looks western and cowboy-awesome, but I've got to wonder- is that supposed to be Angie and Justin on the cover? Because it looks nothing like how they were described. 
Oh, and just a warning- this is book two in a series, and could be hard to follow along with if you haven't read book one- the plot is continued on in this novel. 
   Despite all I disliked, I will be borrowing book three from the library when it comes out in order to see how this tale will end. And I must say- doesn't the cover for Too Far Down look awesome?




Note: I got this book from Bethany House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
  

Baking and cooking are two things I really enjoy, so I thought I'd start sharing different recipes I've recently tried or really liked. Enjoy! First off is Easy(er) Sour Cream Biscuits. I made them for supper several weeks ago, and deviated off the original recipe a bit.

Note: I got this book from Tyndale House Publishers in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

And here are portions from a Q&A (conducted by Tyndale) with the author, Eva Marie Everson. Very interesting seeing the research involved in the making of the book and all the other true stories she found about WWII!

Q & A with Eva Marie Everson 

Author of The One True Love of Alice-Ann

What inspired you to write The One True Love of Alice-Ann? 
This whole story started with the title. I was working on another project when the title The One True Love of Alice-Ann popped into my head. I thought, “That’s a cool title . . . ,” and I wrote it down. I went back to my project, but I kept looking over at the title. Then, as if inspiration just sprang up, I remembered a story our neighbors (both of whom have been deceased for a while) told my husband and me—their love story from World War II. I took that story, changed it slightly, wrote it down, ran it past my critique partner—she loved it—so I sent it to my editor at Tyndale . . . and then I got back to work!

What role does faith play in the story? 
Alice-Ann has a major life decision to make, and she can only make it with God’s help. But also, I think faith was much more of a natural reality in the ’40s. People went to church. Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night . . . They prayed for the troops. Actively. Sincerely. This was a different time in America (and one I wouldn’t mind seeing us go back to—as far as faith is concerned!).

What lessons or truths do you hope readers will take away from The One True Love of Alice-Ann? 
That when we take our distresses to God, he not only hears our cries, but he and he alone can wrap us up in his great big arms and show us the right path to take. He alone can ease our pain. You know, he loves us so much . . . he sent his Son to die for us. He won’t let us down now.

How did writing this story influence your perspective on the stateside effects of WWII, and more specifically on women’s roles during the war?
During the writing, I went to see a friend of mine who is in a veterans’ home in South Carolina. As I arrived, a hearse pulled in. After I met my friend in the cafeteria, I learned that one of the veterans living there had passed away. I accompanied my friend to the “graduation” ceremony. I have to tell you . . . since I’d researched the era and I was in the midst of writing the book, I started crying and couldn’t stop! As far as women’s roles, I learned that everyone stepped up to the plate. Everyone. Young. Old. Women. Men. Children. Everyone. My mother used to tell me stories of rolling up yarn and waving to the soldiers who were coming out of Camp Stewart (which is in the book!) and heading down 301. She was only about six to ten years old during the war, but even she had a part in the effort.

Please describe how you portrayed the US labor camps for European POWs and why you included that perspective in the story. 
My grandmother used to talk about the POWs who worked the fields with them. She said only the nicest things about them. Then, as I was writing, Bulloch County, Georgia, marked the site of the camp—ceremony and all. I read the (long) article printed in the paper and discovered that the woman they interviewed was the wife of one of my relatives! So I dug a little deeper. The fact is, the POWs helped keep the farms going. The men were at war. The women and children and farmers left behind did what they could, but they needed help. My uncle told me that one day a week, the children were let out of school to go work the farms. That’s all just so amazing to me! See what I mean about a different era?

 What are some future projects you’re working on? 
I just finished writing a biography on Eric Liddell with Rev. Eric Eichinger for Tyndale. Amazing, amazing, amazing story! I’m very active as the president of Word Weavers, as the director of Florida Christian Writers Conference, and with my work with new writers. And somewhere in all that, I’ve got another “based on a true story” popping around in my head. :)