Welcome, fellow book lovers! As we wrap up summer, we're bringing you four wonderful reads to take out on your deck chair. From the mountains to therugged west, these books offer a great variety of escapes. But if you could only pick one, which would make it into your need-to-read pile? Vote at the end--and don't forget to leave a kind word for your favorite author.
The Lady and the Mountain Fire by Misty M. Beller
Claire Sullivan's desire to help others carried her all the way to the Montana Territory to care for her blind grandmother, but the callous, hardworking doctor she meets there doesn't fit her expectations. When disaster strikes their rough mining city, Claire must face her her greatest fear to help the man she's come to love. Purchase on Amazon
A Bride At Last by Melissa Jagears
Silas and Kate are both wary of love after failed mail-order engagements,but when a common interest in a motherless boy leads to an interest in each other, they begin to think they can set aside past hurts. However, neither is prepared for the secrets that have yet to come to light. Purchaseon Amazon
To Soar on Eagle's Wings by Renee Blare
While the sun shines in Timber Springs, snow falls on the Snowy Range, and trouble’s brewing in the meadows. The area’s new game warden, Steve Mitchell launches his first wildlife investigation of the season, but the trouble follows him—straight to town.
Pennsylvania 1873: When Jim Farrell is hanged for murder, his three daughters resolve to clear his name. But all too soon their dangerous quest rips the family apart and could cost them the men they love.
Come home to Hope Harbor--where hearts heal . . . and love blooms.
Tracy Campbell never wanted to leave Hope Harbor, Oregon, or the idyllic three-generation cranberry farm where she grew up. But life–and love–altered her plans.
When tragedy strikes and changes her plans yet again, she finds herself back in her hometown with a floundering farm to run and a heartbreaking secret. Romance is not on her agenda. Nor is it on Michael Hunter’s. The visitor from Chicago has daunting secrets of his own. But when Tracy recruits him to help save a struggling charitable organization, the winds of change begin to sweep through Hope Harbor, bringing healing, hope, and love to countless lives–including their own.
Irene Hannon, who writes both romance and romantic suspense, is the author of more than 45 novels. Her books have been honored with two coveted RITA Awards from Romance Writers of America (the “Oscar” of romantic fiction), a National Readers' Choice Award, three HOLT Medallions, a Daphne du Maurier Award, a Retailers Choice Award, a Booksellers' Best Award and two Reviewers' Choice Awards RT Book Reviews magazine. She is also a two-time Christy Award finalist.
A former corporate communications executive with a Fortune 500 company, Irene now writes full time. In her spare time, she enjoys singing, long walks, cooking, gardening, traveling and spending time with family.
Tracy Campbell works as hard as her Uncle Bud on the family cranberry farm. Bu things are not looking very good for the farm financially. She must do something to keep the farm out of the red even though she already has two jobs, one as an accountant and the other volunteering for a charity, Helping Hands. As she is out running errands she is literally knock off her bicycle by a complete stranger. Even though he was polite and apologized she brushed him off and went about her way, she needed to get back to the farm and doctor her bruises.
Michael Hunter has taken some time off work to clear his head so he decides to visit Hope Harbor. When he arrives it is not what he expected. He is greeted by one disaster after another. Which includes no place available to book a room and he knocked a young woman off of her bicycle. As he ponders who this woman is so he can make amends for the accident another woman interrupts his pondering. She introduces herself as Anna and after a short conversation and seeing the predicament the young man is in she informs him she has an apartment for rent on weekly basis. At least now he has a place to stay. Tracy, Michael and Anna had something in common they each lost their spouses to death. Anna has become a recluse and is estranged from her adult son. They all have secrets and the pain and lack of forgiveness was causing problems in moving on with their lives. Blaming God seemed to their biggest problem.
This trio seemed to work well together supporting each other in their journey to forgiveness, God, life and love. For some there was reconciliation and for others there was romance. They heard God and knew he had a plan. There are many characters in this book that had a hand in God's plans for this trio. I call them Disciples in Christ. I had a hard time putting this book down and when I finished the book I sorry it ended. I highly recommend this book. I rated this book a 5 out of 5. Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book from Revell/Baker Publishing for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review. This is my honest opinion.
A delightful transport through time, The Rancher Takes a Cookbrings history to life with realistic characters, a colorful setting,and comfort food that teases your appetite!
~ Melody Carlson,
author of 200+ books
About the book:
When their South Carolina home burns to the ground, Anna Stewart’s onlychoice is to move with her younger brother to the wilds of a Texas ranch.
Their prospects are beginning to look better, until the rancher’s son,Jacob O’Brien, shows up with his alarmingly blue eyes to put a kink inAnna’s well-controlled plans.
When danger escalates in the form of a band of cattle thieves with deadlyintent, can Anna learn to release control to God’s capable hands…and thoseof the blue-eyed cowboy who’s stolen her heart?
Misty M. Beller was raised on a farm in South Carolina, so herSouthern roots run deep. Growing up, her family was close, and theycontinue to keep that priority today. Her husband and two daughters now addanother dimension to her life, keeping her both grounded and crazy.
God has placed a desire in Misty’s heart to combine her love forChristian fiction and the simpler ranch life, writing historical novelsthat display God’s abundant love through the twists and turns in the livesof her characters.
Misty's favorite Scripture and prayer for readers:
For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to prayfor you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His willin all wisdom and spiritual understanding; that you may walk worthy of theLord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasingin the knowledge of God; strengthened with all might, according to Hisglorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy.(NKJV)
On the hunt for an assassin, Titus Ray faces a threat he never imagined.
Can he overcome the obstacles and capture Ahmed Al-Amin before it's too late?
In this pulse-racing Christian thriller, CIA intelligence officer, Titus Ray, travels from Costa Rica to Venezuela in an effort to stop Ahmed Al-Amin, a Hezbollah assassin, from murdering a high-profile government official. Along the way, a family crisis jeopardizes his mission, and an Agency division head threatens to destroy his career. As the danger mounts, he’s forced to partner with an untested operative to complete the mission and bring Ahmed to justice. Will he make it in time?
--Great book. So exciting! Two Days in Caracas.
--The first book, One Night in Tehran, was excellent so reading the second book in the series is a given. Looking forward to it!
--Loved the book, "Two Days in Caracus" by Luana Ehrlich
--Luana Ehrlich is a wonderful storyteller! LOVE her books!
--Luana, I love the realism of your characters and the accuraccy of your research into the espionage community.
--I will be reading Luana Ehrlich's newest book!
--Luana, you are a fabulous writer. I am so excited to read Two Days in Caracus!
Q & A with Luana:
Is there a message for readers to take away after they read these stories?
If there's an underlying message in the series, it's that God is always at work in the lives of unbelievers to bring them to faith in Christ. Titus is a career intelligence officer, dedicated to carrying out deceptive, treacherous, sometimes violent, operations against both individuals and governments. He was raised in a dysfunctional family with no spiritual upbringing. Yet, while hiding out from Iran's secret police, he is confronted with the truth of the gospel. The message is simply that a conversion experience often happens to the most improbable people in the most unlikely of
circumstances.
In addition, contained in each of the books is the reality all believers must face—how to live out the Christian faith. Titus is forced to deal with what it means to be a follower of Christ in the world in which he operates. The first book primarily deals with his attempts to pray, but he also buys a Bible and attends church for the first time. Then, in Two Days in Caracas, Titus is thrust into several situations where he’s faced with the need to offer forgiveness for past sins. These are gut-wrenching episodes, and he’s not always successful.
Tell us a little about yourself.
I grew up as a preacher’s kid, and it was actually my dad who gave me my first spy novel when I was eleven years old. After that, I was hooked on the thriller/suspense/mystery genre forever. I’m also a news fanatic, and I follow events around the world on a daily basis, particularly the Middle East.
I married a minister, and we’ve lived in several states in the South and Midwest and have served as missionaries in Costa Rica and Venezuela. For the past two decades, we’ve lived in Norman, Oklahoma, where my husband has been the pastor of a Baptist church.
I’ve also done freelance work for Baptist Press, a national news service for Baptists, reporting on the experiences of newly converted Christians. And, in a similar fashion, when we lived in Indiana, I wrote a weekly column for The Indiana Baptist, which told the stories of ordinary people who became followers of Christ. I belong to several organizations for writers, including the American Christian Fiction Writers.
