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September 30, 2015

Anna's Healing by Vannetta Chapman


I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: October 1, 2015
Number of pages: 352
Genre: Amish, Christian Fiction
Series: Plain and Simple Miracles #1

Synopsis:
Anna's Healing is the first book in a brand-new collection from popular author Vannetta Chapman. These stories of love and family and Amish community in Oklahoma tell of the miracles that can happen when lives are lived in service to God and to one another.

When a tornado strikes the farms surrounding Cody's Creek, Anna Schwartz's life is changed forever. She suffers a spinal cord injury and suddenly finds herself learning to live as a paraplegic.

Three people--Chloe Roberts, Jacob Graber, and Ruth Schwartz--join forces to help Anna through her darkest days. Chloe is an Englischer who writes for the local paper. Jacob has recently arrived in town and stays on as a hired hand at her uncle's. And Ruth is her grandmother, a woman of deep faith and a compassionate spirit.

Then one morning Anna wakes and finds herself healed. How did it happen? Why did it happen? And what is she to do now? Her life is again turned upside down as the world's attention is drawn to this young Amish girl who has experienced the unexplainable.

What did I think about this book:
Vannetta has done it again with her writing. As with the other books that I have read by this author I enjoyed reading it and am glad I got the chance to read it. I think this book is very well written and easy to read. Before you know it the day will be gone and the book will be finished as Vannetta has a way of drawing you in from the first page. I also really enjoyed hearing about Anna's Mammi as she sounds like a joy to sit and visit with. I do not know if I could be as strong as Anna was. She was a very strong woman. I like how this is a story of how miracles can and do happen. I think this will be a fun series and I can't wait for the next one to come out. 

About the author:
Vannetta Chapman writes inspirational fiction full of grace. She has published more than one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. She discovered her love for the Amish while researching her grandfather's birthplace of Albion, Pennsylvania. Her novel Falling to Pieces was a 2012 ACFW Carol Award finalist. A Promise for Miriam earned a spot on the June 2012 Christian Retailing Top Ten Fiction list. Chapman was a teacher for 15 years and currently writes full time. She lives in the Texas hill country with her husband. For more information, visit her at www.VannettaChapman.com

For more information, visit her at
webpage -- www.VannettaChapman.com
blog -- http://vannettachapman.wordpress.com
facebook -- www.facebook.com/VannettaChapmanBooks, and
pinterest -- http://pinterest.com/vannettachapman
instagram -- https://instagram.com/vannettachapman

September 29, 2015

The Berenstain Bears: The Very First Christmas by Jan & Mike Berenstain

I received this book from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: October 6, 2015
Number of pages: 24
Genre: Children

Synopsis:
A Christmas story from the bestselling Berenstain Bears Living Lights series.


The bestselling Berenstain Bears brand and Living Lights series continue their proven tradition of teaching children valuable lessons in a fun and creative way. In the affordable 8x8 softcover format, The Berenstain Bears and the Night Jesus was Born gives fans of the Berenstain Bears the story of Jesus’ coming … from the angel’s announcement of a new baby to the visit of the three wise men

This newest Easter title in the Berenstain series is perfect for gift-giving or as an easy addition to any holiday library.

What did I think about this book:
I just love reading the Berenstain Bears books. They bring me back to my childhood from the moment I open the book to the moment I close the book. I love the bright colors and the illustrations. This is a fun way to tell your children the story of the first Christmas. This would be a good addition to add to your child's collection just in time for Christmas. 

Finding It by Leah Marie Brown, No Regrets by Kate L. Mary and A Wedding in Truhart by Cynthia Tenent - Spotlight


Title: Finding It
Author: Leah Marie Brown
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Ebook/Paperback

Synopsis
Falling in love is the ultimate faux pas.

Anything can happen in a year! Unemployed, homeless, and left at the altar, Vivia Perpetua Grant could see her future as a flannel pajama wearing spinster—or worse, a bag lady shuffling around Golden Gate Park. But for a girl obsessed with rock music, Chinese take-out, and the color pink, misfortune is another word for opportunity. Vivia has found her niche as an international travel writer and the long-distance lover of Jean-Luc de Caumont, an über-hot French literature professor and competitive cyclist.

Still, even with so much going right, Vivia can’t help but wonder if something isn’t missing. The long distance thing is taking its toll on a girl who didn’t have that many tokens to begin with. And fate seems to be tempting her at every turn, first with a hunky Scottish helicopter pilot, and then with a British celebrity bad boy…Will Vivia continue to keep it real or will she discover some old habits die hard?

“Leah Marie Brown has a wily way of bringing her stories to life with sharp dialogue and drop-dead sexy characters.” —Cindy Miles, National Bestselling Author

“Prepare to laugh, to sigh, to turn pages fast! I want a one-way ticket to Vivia’s world.” —Kieran Kramer, USA TodayBestselling Author

“A funny, romantic, fast-paced, all-expense-paid pleasure read through France and Tuscany you don’t want to miss.”—Gretchen Galway, Bestselling Author on Faking It

“When it comes to crafting clever, intelligent, wonderful escapist fiction with a heroine every woman wants to know, Leah Marie Brown is a new voice to watch. Prepare to fall in love!” —Renee Ryan, Daphne du Maurier Award-Winning Author

“Audacious, adorable and addictive!” —Catherine Mann, USA Today bestselling author

About the author:
I am an American writer with a penchant for Paris and all things pink!

Before writing novels, I worked as a print journalist for a Pulitzer prize winning newspaper and served in the United States Air Force as a Radio and Television Broadcaster.

An avid traveler, I have had adventures and mishaps from London to Tokyo, which I write about on my blog, On Life, Love & Accidental Adventures, and in my contemporary romantic series, The It Girls.

I was once a collector of truly useless bric-a-brac and cheesy tee-shirts. My cheesiest? A tee with a cartoon Jesus riding a surf board and the words, ”And on the eighth day, Jesus went surfing in Greece.”

BIO
Today, I prefer to gather friendships and memories as travel souvenirs.

I live in the shadow of Pike’s Peak Mountain, near Colorado Springs, with my family and shamefully pampered poodles.

In my free time, I like to watch movies, read, and snap photographs. You can view my photography by clicking on the Adventures tab above or by following me on Instagram.

I love to hear from readers, so send me a note! Or connect with me on Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram!

For More Information
Visit Leah’s website.
Connect with Leah on Facebook and Twitter.


Title: No Regrets
Author: Kate L. Mary
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Ebook/Paperback

Synopsis:
College is supposed to be fun.
Go to parties.
Pick up guys.
Maybe get in a little trouble . . .

On the surface Cami is your average, wild teenager out to have a good time, but inside she’s struggling. Almost a year ago her best friend was in a car accident, an accident Cami feels responsible for. Since then, she’s made it her personal mission to experience everything life has to offer, both for herself and for Julie, who will never have fun again.

Then she meets Liam, her cousin’s sexy roommate. Hooking up with a hot British dude seems like the perfect way to start off the school year, but the more time she spends with him, the more she finds herself actually liking the guy. Which totally screws up her plans to live life with no regrets . . .

“An absorbing coming-of-age journey full of first love and first heartbreak.” —USA Today Bestselling author K.A. Tucker

About the author:
Kate L. Mary is a stay-at-home mother of four and an Air Force wife. She currently resides in Oklahoma with her husband and children. You can visit her at katelmary.com.

For More Information
Visit Kate’s website.


Title: A Wedding in Truhart
Author: Cynthia Tenent
Release Date: September 29, 2015
Publisher: Lyrical Shine
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Format: Ebook/Paperback

Synopsis
Welcome to Truhart . . .

Welcome to Truhart, Michigan, population 1300 and dropping. Where everyone knows everyone else and garage sales are front page news. Not exactly where you’d expect to find the celebrity wedding of the year. As Maid of Honor, and the famous bride’s big sister, Annie has to plan a wedding suitable for America’s newest sweetheart reporter on The Morning Show. But what she didn’t plan on was seeing Nick Conrad again. Her older brother’s best friend who left Truhart for the big city, Nick just happens to be Annie’s embarrassing childhood crush. He’s also the Best Man.

As Atlanta’s High Society descends on the tiny Midwest town, Annie has the impossible task of controlling her eccentric family and nutty neighbors, while hosting a wedding fit for a princess at her family’s rundown Amble Inn. But what she can’t control is the spark reigniting between her and Nick. Between snowstorms, an A.W.O.L. gown, and the broadcast of the wedding on The Morning Show, Annie is just hoping to survive the big day without losing her mind. And to survive being around Nick again without losing her heart.

Praise for A Wedding in Truhart
“Cynthia Tennent has captured the charm, humor, loyalty, and love of small towns, close families, and long-time friends. Annie, Nick, and the rest of the people of Truhart will find a place in your heart.” —Cindy Myers, author of The View From Here

“An A.W.O.L. wedding dress, family feuds, and kinky characters! What’s not to love? A Wedding in Truhart is a wedding to remember.” —Lois Greiman, award winning author of the Hope Springs series

About the author:
Cynthia Tennent was the original book thief, stealing romance novels from underneath her mother’s bed when she was just 12. As an adult, she grew serious and studied international relations, education and other weighty matters while living all over the world. In search of happy endings, she rediscovered love stories and wrote her own when her daughters were napping. She lives in Michigan with her husband, three daughters and her collie dog, Jack. This is her first novel. You can visit her at cynthiatennent.com

For More Information
Visit Cynthia’s website.

Tour Participants
September 28
Book featured at Griperang’s Bookmark

September 29
Book featured at Harmonious Publicity

September 30
Book featured at What Is That Book About

October 1
Book featured at Review From Here

October 2
Book featured at Bent Over Bookwords

October 6
Book featured at Write and Take Flight

October 7
A Wedding in Truhart Reviewed at Queen of All She Reads

October 9
Book featured at Voodoo Princess

October 12

October 14
Book featured at Literal Exposure

October 16
Book featured at Around the World in Books

October 19
Book featured at Deal Sharing Aunt

October 21
Book featured at Chosen By You Book Club

October 23



 


Finding Gabriel by Rachel L. Demeter - Spotlight and Giveaway


Published: September 24, 2105 
Number of pages:
Genre: Historical Romance


Synopsis:
Colonel Gabriel de Laurent departed for the war intending to die.

After a decade of bloodstained battlegrounds while fighting in Napoleon's army, Gabriel returns to the streets of Paris a shattered and haunted soul. Plagued by inner demons, he swallows the barrel of his flintlock pistol and pulls the trigger.

But fate has a different plan.

Ariah Larochelle is a survivor. Orphaned at twelve and victim to a devastating crime, she has learned to keep her back to walls and to trust no one. But when she finds a gravely injured soldier washed up on the River Seine, she's moved by compassion. In spite of her reservations, she rescues him from the icy water and brings him into her home.

Now scarred inside and out, Gabriel discovers a kindred spirit in Ariah—and feelings he imagined lost forever reawaken as he observes her strength in the face of adversity. But when Ariah's own lethal secrets unfold, their new love is threatened by ancient ghosts. Can Gabriel and Ariah find hope in the wreckage of their pasts—or will the cycle of history repeat again?

Perfect for fans of Gaelen Foley's Lord of Ice and Judith James's Broken Wing, Finding Gabriel features all the dark romance, searing passion, and historical intrigue of The Phantom of the Opera and Les Misérables.

Trailer

Excerpt:
“Look at me. Look at what you have saved.”

Gabriel released Ariah’s chin and tore away the bandage in a harsh movement. As his eyes bore into her own, pale moonlight fell upon the deformity, illuminating the twisted flesh and grotesque welts. The sight reminded her of a beautiful chateau . . . a stunning fortress situated along the coastline . . . one that had fallen into ruin and neglect. The skin was concave, destroyed, cavernous – a remnant of former glory. And the surrounding features – his burning eyes, the right side of his face, his powerful body – dwarfed the disfigurement with a striking beauty.

“Look at the monster you have created. Look upon my face, Ariah.”

She shivered at the sound of her name; slightly muffled from the injury to his mouth, it slid from his tongue with equal parts venom and hunger. “I was supposed to die that night . . .” The last of his words ended in a choked whisper. His face fell forward in despair until his forehead was pressed against her own. He was impossibly close. And he appeared every gram a flesh-and-blood warrior – coarse and ruthlessly untamed. Sweltering heat radiated from his body and engulfed all five of her senses. She was suffocating. Visions of that long-ago night echoed in her mind until she could perceive nothing else. Ariah gave a shallow cry as she struggled to free herself once more.

“Don’t. Don’t leave me. Please.”



About the Author 
Her movements ceased. The words struck a chord deep inside her chest. She connected her gaze with his and was rendered speechless by the naked anguish in his stare. Regret and desire were etched in every line of his face – but what stole her breath was something entirely different. For the second time, it was neither anger nor resentment that radiated from his eyes, but a longing so intense that it nearly overwhelmed her: hope.

Contact Links
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Google+ | Pinterest | Newsletter
https://sites.google.com/a/myaddictionisreading.com/summer-2015-promos/rachel-l-demeter

Purchase Links
Amazon US
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Giveaway
$5 Amazon gift card and 3 signed "The Frost of Springtime bookmark 





September 28, 2015

What the Owl Saw by Gerald W. McFarland - Spotlight and Giveaway





Historical Fiction
Date Published: July 2014

Synopsis:
"What the Owl Saw," the second volume in the Buenaventura Series and the sequel to "The Brujo's Way," opens in December 1705 with a terrifying nightmare that fills Don Carlos Buenaventura, a powerful brujo in his sixth life, with dread. Feeling the need to strengthen his brujo powers, always weakened by town life, he rides out into the wild mountain landscapes around Santa Fe in order to practice his sorcerer's technique of transforming himself into hawks and owls. Transformations are exhilarating, but they do not dispel his sense of an impending menace. In addition, as he tells his friend Inez de Recalde, he is impatient to move forward in his quest for wisdom on what he calls the Unknown Way. 

Into this picture comes a trio of itinerant entertainers, a magician and two women dancers, who offer an ambiguous promise. Can they lead him to deeper realms of consciousness, or are they agents of his enemy, the evil sorcerer Don Malvolio? The magician and his alluring companions introduce Carlos to dances that transport him into ecstatic mind states, but he remains uncertain about what master they serve. Despite the risk of exposing his secret brujo identity and of being disloyal to his beloved Inez, Carlos allows himself to be drawn ever farther into their web of dark and dangerous enchantments.

Excerpt:
Chapter One
Someone was shaking him and saying, “Alfonso! Alfonso! Wake up!” When he didn’t respond immediately, the voice came again more loudly, “Wake up!”

He opened his eyes to find Pedro Gallegos, his manservant and friend, leaning over him with a concerned look on his face. “What’s the matter?” Pedro asked. “You were shouting, ‘Go away! Leave me alone!’ What set that off?”

Still half-caught in the dream and half-muffled in sleep, he croaked, “A dream, a terrifying dream.”

“Alfonso, in all the time I’ve known you, you’ve reported many vivid dreams and never one that frightened you. What was so terrifying?”

“Wait a minute. I have to sit up.” He struggled to sit upright amid the tangle of bedclothes and restore his mind to his normal consciousness. He took a deep breath. “It started pleasantly enough,” he began. “I was in my mother’s womb. She was five months pregnant. I was enjoying myself.

Warmth, plenty of food, and relative quiet, except for my mother’s heart beating nearby. I was humming to myself and revisiting pleasant moments from previous lives when suddenly everything turned dark.”

“Alfonso. Of course it was dark; you were in your mother’s womb. No light was getting in there.”

“Not dark as an absence of light, but dark as in some lurking menace.” Pedro was grumpy about having been awakened from a sound sleep, and he was becoming impatient. “It’s the middle of the night. You’re safe in your own bed in your own house, not in your mother’s womb being threatened by some unknown menace.”

“That’s just it. This wasn’t some unknown menace. It was the presence of Don Malvolio, my enemy through several lifetimes, who killed me in my last lifetime, aided by a treacherous woman named Violeta. He almost succeeded in using his sorcerer’s powers to destroy me, body and soul, forever. Only by drawing on my innermost resources as a brujo was I able to escape with my soul and consciousness intact. But he’s closing in on me again. It was his presence I felt, I’m sure of it, and I was shouting at him to go away.”

“Alfonso, Alfonso. It was a dream about something that happened more than twenty years ago, and in a place far from here. Today the sun will rise on the last day of 1705. You’re in Santa Fe in New Spain’s New Mexico province. You’re a well-respected government official who has served ably as the governor’s personal secretary. There’s no evidence that Malvolio is anywhere nearby. You’re confusing the imagined with the real.”

“Easy for you to say; you didn’t have that dream. Something bad is about to happen.”

“That’s possible,” Pedro agreed. “We know there are rumors that Governor Villela is going to resign and that his replacement, who supposedly will arrive in Santa Fe in the near future, may want to appoint someone besides you to be his personal secretary. But that’s all rumor, and if it happens, you’ll land on your feet as you always do. Quit worrying. Especially, quit worrying about Don Malvolio. Lie down and go back to sleep. If I don’t get back in bed with my wife soon, María is going to come looking for me, and we’d be forced to tell her that a dream has you shaking in your boots.”

Don Carlos—Carlos being the name he’d always used as a brujo, though Alfonso Cabeza de Vaca was the name by which he was known in Santa Fe— eased himself back down in the bed, pulled up the tousled covers, turned over and muttered, “I’m not wearing boots.” He quickly drifted off to sleep.

He soon started dreaming again and found himself on a trail in a desert region of northern New Spain. No one else was visible, but his sense that an invisible menace was lurking nearby returned stronger than ever. When he looked around in the dreamscape, as great brujos are able to do, no threatening animal or person came into view. No Don Malvolio; no Violeta; no one who might mean him harm, not even a future governor who would deprive him of his job. Nevertheless, he was filled with dread that grew in intensity until it woke him up.

When he awoke his heart was pounding and he was bathed in sweat. He breathed deeply until his body returned to normal and the feeling of dread dissipated. He closed his eyes and dozed off again, and this time there were no bad dreams, and in a little while he was awakened by soft kisses on his cheek and ear. Still half-asleep, he imagined that his beloved Inéz de Recalde had sneaked into his bedroom and was delivering sensual licks to his face.

Licks! He opened his eyes, and by the light of the moon that was streaming in one window he saw Gordo, the household’s guard dog and source of all-around comic relief, gazing at him with adoring eyes. Carlos burst out laughing.

Sensing that it was nearly four o’clock, the hour that he usually got out of bed, he arose and dressed. He loved the quiet of the early hours when his housemates—Pedro and María and Diego, the Pueblo Indian who cared for their horses—were still asleep. Often he used the time before breakfast to read in several manuscripts that his Jesuit tutor and spiritual mentor, Father Stefano Urbina, had given him. One manuscript contained excerpts from the writings of the Desert Fathers, early Christian monks who had sought solitude in the Sinai desert. Another was a selection of sayings by Hindu mystics, practitioners of Tantric meditation, a subject to which his recently deceased friend, Zoila Herrera, had introduced him. Regardless of whether or not he read anything, every morning without fail he sat silently for at least an hour and practiced the Tantric-style meditation that Zoila had taught him, focusing his attention on the seven energy centers she called chakras that were found along his spine from its base to the crown of his head.

Those were his usual before-breakfast activities. Today, however, he felt restless, as though he had unfinished business to do. With an effort he settled himself, tried to focus his mind, and practiced his chakra meditation.

When he finished, his mind was clearer but his body was still restless. He put on warm winter clothing—the room was chilly, and he knew it was very cold outside—and started for the bedroom door that connected to the kitchen. Gordo, all white except for a black spot around one eye, hopped off the bed and danced excitedly around the room—danced, that is, as best he could with his lame left rear leg.

“Come along,” Carlos called to Gordo as he left the bedroom, walked through the kitchen, and out the back door of his compact four-room house. He turned left, heading toward the town’s main plaza a hundred feet away. Gordo jogged along at his side, eager to see what adventure his master had in mind at this strange hour for an outing.

The air was still and cold, the temperature well below freezing. A gibbous moon in a clear, star-filled sky illuminated the landscape.

When they reached the plaza Gordo let out a whine, turned tail, and ran home. The sight that greeted Don Carlos’s eyes spooked even him. The Santa Fe of December 31, 1705, with its many buildings, was gone. Except for the Palace of the Governors across the plaza, everything lay in ruins, and even the Palace of the Governors showed signs of having been partly wrecked. But the plaza was full of hundreds of human figures, grayish and insubstantial in the moonlight, but recognizable as a crowd of Spanish and Pueblo men, women, and children.

The scene was silent, although it was obvious from the open mouths of many of the spectral figures that shouts, cries, and moans were being uttered.

Directly ahead, in front of the Palace of the Governors, was a line of Spanish soldiers in full battle dress. Between the soldiers and Carlos’s position on the south side of the plaza stood dozens of Pueblo men, their wrists and ankles bound. Off to the right were other Indians, similarly bound, their faces stricken. As Carlos watched, a Spanish officer commanded the soldiers to aim their harquebuses and fire a soundless volley at the captives, who fell grievously wounded or dead. Others were prodded forward to meet their fate as the soldiers went through the awkward process of reloading their weapons to fire them again.

Don Carlos recognized the formidable Spanish officer who had raised his arm in the command to fire, and he realized at that moment that what he was seeing was an event from an earlier time. The Spanish officer in the scene was his stepfather, General Rodrigo Alvarez, the commander of the soldiers who had accompanied Governor Diego de Vargas’s 1693 expedition to reestablish Spanish control of New Mexico after the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 had driven the Spanish out. Carlos had killed enemies in battle, but executing captives in punitive cold blood was abhorrent to him. As he watched his stepfather’s face he saw no sign of regret at what the man was commanding his soldiers to do. Indeed, from what Carlos personally knew of General Alvarez, Carlos believed his stepfather took satisfaction from showing the

Pueblo rebels that defiance of Spanish authority would be crushed in the harshest way possible.

Don Carlos watched, repelled and horrified, remembering the events that had led up to this moment. The Pueblo rebels, having fortified themselves in the Palace of the Governors, had defied Vargas’s demands that they surrender and submit to Spanish rule. Vargas’s soldiers had besieged the Palace of the Governors, cut off the defenders’ water supply, and forced their surrender. The Spanish victory and the subsequent execution of seventy Pueblo rebels had taken place almost to the day twelve years ago, on December 30, 1693. Don Carlos’s brujo awareness had enabled him to see the torrents of negative energies that still swirled around the town and its plaza. It was possible, he assumed, that other Santa Fe residents also felt these dark reverberations but dismissed them as products of the icy winter weather and long, black nights.

Don Carlos turned away from the scene on the plaza and thoughtfully walked back to his house. Gordo was waiting for him at the back door with an anxious expression on his face. “It’s okay, my little friend,” Carlos said to him. “Everything’s going to be all right.” Then he tried to persuade himself that this was true. What he had seen at the plaza seemed to account for his bad dreams. The dreams had nothing, he told himself, to do with the prospect of losing his job, or with the threat of Don Malvolio being in pursuit of him. And yet he wasn’t entirely convinced. He had a nagging feeling that his dreams of dark portents had other sources than the horrors that had accompanied the Spanish reconquest of Santa Fe in 1693.

The following Sunday, as had been his custom for several months, Carlos escorted Inéz to Sunday Mass. He had declared his love to her, and she and Pedro were the only people in Santa Fe who knew his secret identity as a brujo. This morning he called for her at the home of Nicolas and Lucila Archuleta, friends with whom she’d been staying, and he and Inéz, the Archuletas, and their son Gerardo walked to the small chapel in the southeast corner of the Palace of the Governors.

Carlos was not a pious Catholic, as Inéz was well aware, having probed the issue some time earlier. “Why,” she had asked him, “do you attend Mass every Sunday when you don’t believe a word of the creeds or Catholic doctrine? Is it just out of habit that stems from the education you received from your Jesuit tutors?”

“Nothing of the sort,” he had replied. “I like being seen with you in public, and even if it weren’t for that, I enjoy being with you, any time, any place.”

“Don’t be evasive. There’s more to it than that.”

Echoing her, as though he didn’t know what she meant, he had said,

“It?”

“Yes, ‘it.’ Why do you attend Mass, really?”

“By virtue of being the governor’s private secretary, I have a high social rank. Since Catholicism is the glue that holds Santa Fe society together, it would be cause for comment if a man of my status didn’t show up for Mass regularly. Our friends and neighbors among the town’s leaders would see it as not conforming to the behavior they expect from a member of their social circle. My attending Mass, therefore, isn’t simply expected, it’s an essential part of my social role as Don Alfonso Cabeza de Vaca. You wouldn’t want there to be any hint, would you, that I am not a conventional hidalgo but a brujo named Carlos Buenaventura?”

“That goes without saying! Your true identity must remain a secret.

However, social reasons don’t explain why you seem to enjoy Mass—and even look forward to it.”

Don Carlos had paused before answering. “The best efforts of my Jesuit tutors, including Father Stefano, of whom I was fond, didn’t manage to reduce my skepticism about Catholic creeds and dogmas. But on occasion I am deeply moved by the Mass itself—the total effect of the incense, the Latin chants, the choreography, if I may call it that, and, most of all, the moment when the priest elevates the Host, which to all appearances is a simple piece of bread—yet to me it’s much more.”

Inéz had been surprised. “You believe the Church’s teaching that the bread becomes the body of Christ?”

“No, not in a literal way,” Carlos had admitted. “That’s too narrow a description, and I’m a heretic—at least by the Church’s standards. When, as sometimes happens, I’m swept up by the solemnity, the beauty, and the drama of the Mass, at the moment that the priest raises the Host above his head, I feel the Church has managed, quite unknowingly, to point to something profound, a deep spiritual mystery.”

“Is this an expression of the mystical path to which Zoila introduced you?”

“Yes,” he had said, and they had left it at that.

At the beginning of Mass, Carlos’s mind wasn’t on anything so elevated as the mysteries of the Divine. His thoughts kept drifting back to the anxiety-inducing dreams he’d had three nights earlier and other oppressive dreams he’d had subsequently. Ill at ease, Carlos kept shifting his weight in an unsuccessful effort to evade discomforting thoughts.

Inéz leaned over to him and whispered, “My! You’re twitchy this morning. What’s the matter? I’ve never known you to be so restless. I hope it’s not something I said or did.”

Carlos vigorously denied that possibility. “Not so! You’re perfection itself.”

“Are you still pining for your lost love Camila, even though it’s months now since she married Rafael and they moved to El Paso del Norte?”

“No, this has nothing to do with Camila and Rafael.” People were looking crossly at Carlos and Inéz for having a conversation during Mass. “I’ll tell you more later,” he whispered, and in so saying he had a sudden realization that there was more to tell, more than dreams or a vision of terrible events that had taken place in the plaza a dozen years earlier.

Since the vision, he’d talked with a member of Santa Fe’s army garrison who’d been present the day the seventy Pueblo rebels had been executed, and this veteran soldier had told him that during the twelve years the Pueblo rebels had occupied the Palace of the Governors, they had converted the old military chapel, the very room in which Carlos and Inéz were attending Mass, from a Catholic place of worship into a Native sacred site. They’d removed or defaced all the Christian symbols, including the crucifix on the wall, and had built a kiva, an underground ceremonial site, beneath the floor of the former

Spanish chapel. After the Spanish recaptured the Palace, Governor Vargas had the kiva destroyed, the pagan spirits who’d occupied the place exorcised, and the Catholic chapel restored. What Carlos had just realized was that he and Inéz were standing directly over the location of the kiva and that he was feeling the suffering of both Spanish and Indian victims of the Pueblo Revolt.

The feeling persisted during the Mass, so much so that the presences in the kiva of the past coexisted for him with the ritual being enacted at the altar. He found the mixture deeply disturbing. He wanted to tell Inéz about it, and at the conclusion of the Mass he followed her out of the dimness of the chapel into the pale winter sunlight with the intention of unburdening himself immediately. Putting his hand on her arm, he asked if she would go for a walk with him before she returned to the Archuletas’.

Inéz, however, also had things on her mind. She turned to him and said impatiently, “Don’t you remember that the Archuletas are having a dinner tonight for the Beltráns in honor of their daughter Elena’s eighteenth birthday? You should—you were invited! I’ve agreed to cook the whole meal. Lucila’s regular cook, Nina, will help, but I need every available minute to prepare the menu I’ve planned.”

“I didn’t know you were responsible for the cooking,” Carlos replied, taken aback. “Is that really necessary?”

Inéz sighed. “As I’ve repeatedly told you, since that horrible man whose name I will not speak spent all my money and left me without a peso, I have to find a way to earn my living. I’ve been cooking on occasion for the Archuletas as a way of thanking them for their hospitality in giving me a roof over my head these past months. Tonight’s dinner is different, something of an audition.”

“Audition?” Carlos asked. “Audition for what?” “For a paid position as cook for the Beltráns.”

It should not have been a surprise to Carlos to hear that Inéz, like himself, had anxieties about earning a living. Or that what for him was only the possibility that he would have to find a new source of livelihood was, for her, a pressing necessity. She had said as much before, and frequently. But Carlos had fallen into thinking that she had become comfortable as a member of the Archuletas’ household and that that situation could go on indefinitely.

“Oh,” he said, rather inadequately. “I thought…”

“Yes,” she replied. “You didn’t think my need for a job was serious. Well, it is, and I hope this dinner will get one for me. Now, if you’ll excuse me—. Oh, I see Joaquin is signaling to you. You’d better go and see what he wants.”

With that, Inéz turned and hurried off by herself, leaving the Archuletas to converse with other leading members of Santa Fe society, as was the post- Mass custom. After watching Inéz’s departing back for a moment, Carlos went to see what Joaquin had to say.

About the Author
A native Californian, Gerald W. McFarland received his B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and his doctorate in U.S. history from Columbia University. He taught at the University of Massachusetts Amherst for forty-four years, specializing, among other things, in the History of the American West. During that time he published four books in his field, including "A Scattered People: An American Family Moves West," cited by the Colonial Dames of America as one of the three best books in American history published in 1985. Since his retirement, he has written three novels in the Buenaventura Series. He and his wife life in rural Western Massachusetts.

Contact Links
Website
Twitter: @BrujosWay08sW

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The Madness of Lord Westfall by Mia Marlow - Spotlight


Title: The Madness of Lord Westfall
Author: Mia Marlowe
Release Date: September 21, 2015
Publisher: Entangled Select
Genre: Historical Romance
Format: Ebook

Synopsis:
Pierce Langdon, Viscount Westfall is mad. Everyone knows it. He fell from a tree when he was a boy and woke to hear strange voices. When the voices grow stronger as he grows older, his family commits him to Bedlam. But what he hears are the thoughts of those around him—a gift to be used in service to the Order of the M.U.S.E. Until he falls again…this time for a totally unsuitable woman.

Lady Nora Claremont hides her heartbreak behind the facade of a carefree courtesan. Viscount Westfall is the most confusing man she’s ever met. He seems to know exactly what she wants…and what she’s thinking.

Which is a dangerous thing, because what Nora wants is Pierce.

And what she’s thinking could expose her as a traitor to the crown…

About the author:
Mia’s work was featured in the Best of 2010 issue of PEOPLE magazine. One of her books was on display at the Museum of London Docklands next to Johnny Depp memorabilia. The RITA nominated author has over 25 books in print with more on the way! For more info, please visit http://www.miamarlowe.com!

For More Information Visit Mia’s website.


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Bold Seduction by Karyn Gerrard and My Lady Faye by Sarah Hegger - Spotlight

 


Title: Bold Seduction 
Author: Karyn Gerrard 
Release Date: September 1, 2015
  Publisher: Lyrical Press 
Genre: Historical Romance 
Format: Ebook/Paperback

Synopsis:
An Intriguing Proposition
 Passion. Seduction. Pleasure. These are the qualities of any courtesan worth her salt. As owner of The Starling Club, London’s most notorious house of ill-repute, Madame Philomena McGrattan has seen it all, heard it all, done it all. There is little that surprises her anymore, and even less that excites her. So when she is presented a chance at an irresistible seduction, she can’t help but rise to the challenge.

A Dangerous Game
Studiousness. Practicality. Discipline. Such are the attributes of a good scholar, and such are the principles Lord Spencer Hornsby has built his life around. Alone in the Welsh countryside, with only his wolfhounds for company, Spencer has thrown himself into his work. There is little time for the pleasures of society, not even to think of the joys of the fairer sex. But when an unexpected guest arrives at his isolated hunting lodge, Spencer cannot help but be baffled by the presence of this dangerously beautiful woman. And when he discovers the reason for her arrival, and the pleasures she promises, he cannot help but find himself irresistibly intrigued . . .

ORDER INFORMATION
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About the author:
Karyn Gerrard lives in a small town in the western corner of Ontario, Canada. She whiles away her spare time writing and reading romance while drinking copious amounts of Earl Grey tea. A multi-published author with a few bestsellers under her belt, Karyn loves to write historical and contemporary romances. As long as she can avoid being hit by a runaway moose in her wilderness paradise she assumes everything is golden. She has been happily married for a long time to her own hero. His encouragement keeps her moving forward. 
Find out more at karyngerrard.com.

For More Information

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    Title: My Lady Faye 
Author: Sarah Hegger 
Release Date: September 1, 2015 
Publisher: Lyrical Press 
Genre: Historical Romance 
Format: Ebook/Paperback 

Synopsis:
The Lady
The fair Lady Faye has always played the role allotted her. Yet the marriage her family wanted only brought her years of abuse and heartache. Now, finally free of her tyrannical husband, she is able to live her own life for the first time. But someone from the past has returned. Someone she has never been able to forget.

The Warrior
After years of servitude as a warrior for King and Country, Gregory is now free to pursue his own path: to serve God by becoming a monk. The only thing stopping him is Faye. Gregory has loved Faye since the moment he saw her. But their love was not meant to be. How can he serve God when his heart longs for her? He can neither forsake God nor the woman he loves.

The Promise
When Faye’s son is kidnapped, Gregory answers her family’s call for help, only to find that even in the most dangerous of circumstances, neither can fight their forbidden attraction. An attraction that now burns brighter than ever before. And it is only a matter of time until it consumes them both.

 “Sarah Hegger has a gift for storytelling that is not to be missed. She's a personal favorite of mine.” —Kathryn Le Veque,USA Today Bestselling Author

ORDER INFORMATION
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About the author:
Born British and raised in South Africa, Sarah Hegger suffers from an incurable case of wanderlust. Her match? A hot Canadian engineer, whose marriage proposal she accepted six short weeks after they first met. Together they’ve made homes in seven different cities across three different continents (and back again once or twice). If only it made her multilingual, but the best she can manage is idiosyncratic English, fluent Afrikaans, conversant Russian, pigeon Portuguese, even worse Zulu and enough French to get herself into trouble. Mimicking her globe trotting adventures, Sarah’s career path began as a gainfully employed actress, drifted into public relations, settled a moment in advertising, and eventually took root in the fertile soil of her first love, writing. She also moonlights as a wife and mother. She currently lives in Draper, Utah, with her teenage daughters, two Golden Retrievers and aforementioned husband. Part footloose buccaneer, part quixotic observer of life, Sarah’s restless heart is most content when reading or writing books.

For More Information

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September 27, 2015

Dark Chocolate Demise by Jenn McKinlay


Published: April 7, 2015
Number of pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Cupcake Bakery Mystery #7

Synopsis:
Scottsdale, Arizona, may not be the liveliest place on earth, but it’s never been as dead as this. Hundreds of fans have gathered together for the first annual Old Town Zombie Walk, and Mel, Angie, and the Fairy Tale Cupcake crew are donning their best undead attire to sell some horror-themed desserts to the hungry hordes.

But the fun turns to fright when Mel finds a real dead body in a prop casket outside of the bakery’s truck—and the corpse looks alarmingly like a zombie of their own. Knowing that Joe, Angie’s brother and Mel’s former flame, has been working on a dangerous mob case, Mel worries that the murder is a hit gone wrong and that someone near and dear was the real target. To keep any of her friends from winding up six feet under, Mel will do whatever it takes to find a killer—no matter how scary things get...

What did I think of this book:
This is one of my favorite cozy mysteries to read. I love Angie and Mel and their freindship with Tate. It is funny how they keep trying to get rid of Angie's brothers in this story even though they are just trying to help keep them safe. I am not a fan of zombies but it worked in this story. The author had me stumped up until the end of the book. Of course Mel always finds herself mixed up the finding of a dead body and mystery solving just like always. I hope Mel and Joe end up working things out sometime soon as I want to see them get together. Even though I do not like the lady from the other bakery (my memory if failing me but I think her name is Olivia) I have to say I missed her messing with Mel in this story. I am looking forward to the next book in this series. 

About the author:
Jenn is the New York Times bestselling author of several mystery series. She lives in sunny AZ in a
house overrun with kids, pets and her husband's guitars.

Visit her website at: www.jennmckinlay.com

Cupcake Bakery Series
#1 Sprinkle with Murder
#2 Buttercream Bump Off
#3 Death by the Dozen
#4 Red Velvet Revenge
#5 Going, Going, Ganache
#6 Sugar and Iced
#7 Dark Chocolate Demise
#8 Vanilla Beaned

Stirring the Plot by Daryl Wood Gerber

I received this book from the author in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: September 30, 2014
Number of pages: 304
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: Cookbook Nook Mystery #3

Synopsis:
Halloween in Crystal Cove, California, is a big deal, involving a spooky soiree where the Winsome Witches, a fund-raising group, gather to open up their purse strings and trade superstitions. But party magicians, fortune-tellers, and herbalists are only the beginning of this recipe for disaster…

Jenna Hart has packed The Cookbook Nook chock-full of everything from ghostly texts to witchy potions in anticipation of the annual fund-raiser luncheon. But there’s one unexpected addition to the menu: murder.

When the Head Priestess of the Winsome Witches is found dead under mysterious circumstances, there’s no logical answer and plenty of blame to go around. With her aunt, Vera, unable to call on her ability to foresee the future, Jenna will have to use more than just sleight of hand and a few magic tricks to conjure up the truth…

What did is think of this book:
This is such a fun series and I wish I could go visit this little town. I like how the author keeps you guessing up until the end. To me this makes a good book. Oh and the mention of all the cool cookbook titles mentioned. This is a good book to read right now as it is centered around Halloween so it will help to get you in the mood for this spooky holiday. It is nice to see Jenna and Rhett's relationship build as each book goes along. I can't wait to get the chance to visit my friends in Crystal Cove again and to see what sort of trouble that Jenna falls into next. I suggest reading this series in order. 

About the author:
Daryl Wood Gerber writes the critically acclaimed, nationally bestselling COOKBOOK NOOK MYSTERY series, which is published by Penguin Random (Berkley Prime Crime). Daryl is the real name of nationally bestselling, Agatha Award-winning author Avery Aames, who writes A CHEESE SHOP MYSTERY series.

Daryl also writes short stories. Her short story, "Palace by the Lake" from Fish Tales, has been nominated for numerous awards, including Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity. You can read the story on Daryl's website: http://www.darylwoodgerber.com. Daryl also created the format for the popular TV sit-com, "Out of this World," and she has won awards for her screenplays.

Both Avery and Daryl like to read, cook, and garden.

Avery & Daryl blog at Mystery Lovers Kitchen, http://www.mysteryloverskitchen.com -
a blog for foodies who love mysteries.

And some of their characters show up at the Killer Characters blog, http://www.killercharacters.com

Visit Daryl at her website: http://www.darylwoodgerber.com and/or visit Avery at her website: http://www.averyaames.com to see sneak previews, book trailers, find recipes, and more.

Cookbook Nook Mystery
#1 Final Sentence
#2 Inherit the Word
#3 Stirring the Plot
#4 Fudging the Books

A Ghostly Murder by Tonya Kappes

I received this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: September 29, 2015
Number of pages: 352
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Series: A Ghostly Southern Mystery #4

Synopsis:
Emma Lee Raines knows there's only one cure for a bad case of murder!

I told you I was sick, reads the heastone abouve Mamie Sue Preston's grave. She was the richest woman in Sleepy Hollow, Kentucky, and also the biggest hypochondriac. Ironic, considering someone killed her-proprietor of the Eternal Slumber Funeral Home, know all this? Because Mamie Sue's ghost told her, that's how! And she's offering big bucks to find the perp.

The catch is, Mamie Sue was buried by the Raines family's archrival, Burns Funeral Home. Would the Burneses stoop to framing Emma Lee's granny? With an enterprising maid, a penny-pinching pastor, and a slimy Lexington lawyer all making a killing off Mamie Sue's estate, Emma Lee needs a teammate-like her dreamboat boyfriend, Sheriff Jack Henry Ross. Because with millions at stake, snooping around is definitely bad for Emma Lee's health.

What did I think of this book?
This is another great addition to Tonya's Ghostly Southern Mystery series. As always I liked how the ghosts speak to Emma as well as her relationship with the sheriff. This series has both humor and mystery so it makes the stories just move right along for me. Just when I thought I had it all figured out the author threw me for a curve and I was wrong. Even though this book is a part of a series you can read it as a stand alone but I can almost bet you will want to go back and start with the first one.

About the author:
I am the author of twenty-six novels placed in and around small towns in Kentucky and thanking God for my chance to speak. Some have a little mystery and some have a little romance, but all have southern charm. When I'm not writing, I'm reading or gardening or cooking. Love to drink coffee, shoot the breeze with people and most of all, be with my husband and four boys - not always necessarily in that order. My most recent, A GHOSTLY DEMISE (the third book in the Ghostly Southern Mystery series with William Morrow) will be out on August 25th. Love to have company so come visit at www.tonyakappes.com or on Facebook. And by the way, serious huge hugs and thanks for everything - your kind words, posts and emails. Writing saves me, but without your support it wouldn't mean as much. xxoo Tonya

Ghostly Southern Mystery Series
#1 A Ghoslty Undertaking
#2 A Ghostly Grave
#3 A Ghoslty Demise
#4 A Ghostly Murder

September 25, 2015

An Amish Christmas Gift by Amy Cliptson, Ruth Reid and Kelly Irvin


I received this book from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for a fair and honest review

Published: October 6 2015
Number of pages: 416
Genre: Fiction

Synopsis:
Naomi's Gift by Amy Clipston
Naomi has started to think that she isn't meant to find love, but she might receive more than she ever hoped for this Christmas.

Twenty-four-year-old Naomi King, who has been burned twice by love, has all but given up on marriage and children. As Christmas approaches-a time of family, faith, and hope for many others-Naomi is more certain than ever her life will be spent as an old maid, helping with the family's quilting business and taking care of her eight siblings. Then she meets Caleb, a young widower with a 7-year-old daughter, and her world is once again turned upside-down.

An Unexpected Joy by Ruth Reid
Abigail has driven other suitors away, but can Micah find a way to show her he cares?

Abigail Kemp has managed to frighten off every beau who's ever driven her home from a singing. Sure she will live to be an old maid, Abigail starts saving her money to buy a horse so she can at least have some independence.

Micah Zook is looking for a caregiver for his grandmother, and Abigail needs a new job. He never expected that Abigail would talk so much . . . or that his grandmother would keep finding ways to set the two of them up.

Despite Abigail's constant chatter, she and Micah become friends-until Micah makes a decision that leaves Abigail feeling betrayed. With Christmas in their midst, can Micah find a way to reconcile with Abigail and to reveal what's on his heart?

A Christmas Visitor by Kelly Irvin
Frannie Mast returns to Bee County for Christmas, but her heart stays back in Missouri with an Englisch farm boy.

Frannie knows her parents have the best of intentions when they send her back to Bee County, Texas, to live with her aunt Abigail and her husband Mordecai. After all, she knows nothing can come of a relationship with Rocky, the handsome but Englisch farmer boy back in Missouri. It's best to put those feelings aside, no matter how hard it is. But all bets are off when Rocky follows Frannie to Texas to plead his case. Could he be the Christmas gift to end all gifts?

What did I think of this book:
Let's start by saying I always like to read Christmas themed books this time of year as it just seems to put me in the mood for the upcoming holidays. Each of the three authors of these short stories are great writers and I was excited to get the chance to read more by them. I enjoyed how they each wrote a romance story without being all gushy. Of course they were all so good I wish the stories would have gone on just a little longer. I think my favorite one was the last one: A Chrismas Visitor by Kelly Irvin. I like the connection to Missouri and that Rocky followed Frannie all the way to Texas. If you are a fan of Christmas stories, Amish stories or romance stories then this book is for you. I look forward to seeing what these authors come out with next.