Cute&Quick Holiday Reads

Mixed-Up Christmas

Dixie Jo Jarchow

Holiday cowboy romantic novella

Ebook 2.99

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About the book:

When rodeo superstar Mix Malone announces he’s retiring from the bull riding circuit, his family is furious. Mix is tired, hurt, and disillusioned, but broken bones and concussions are not good enough excuses for quitting, according to his family whose fortune is built on Mix’s success. They’ll do anything to keep him riding.

Blossom Deavers has always told her special education students to follow their dreams—but finds herself faltering in her own attempts to run the Outlaw Café. Making it work is a lot tougher than she’d ever imagined. She has no time or energy to waste on good-looking superstars who seem to have it all.

But when Mix Malone staggers into her café and passes out at a table during the blizzard of the century, she is drawn into a family brawl with no holds barred. Blossom discovers that she can’t just abandon him. Her already hectic life is about to get a lot more complicated when she sets herself against his family’s wishes and advises him to quit. 

My review:

Mad bulls and mothers from the pit color this cute gulp of a holiday read. A family secret and all the wonderful smells of a coffee shop in cowboy country lend depth to a story where a busted rider and a worn-out former teacher have to haul themselves up by their bootstraps and punch out their dreams. Delightful scenarios, some twists, miscommunication, and machismo wash over everything. Two are always better than one when tackling life.

All I Want for Christmas

Janalyn Voigt

Holiday romantic inspirational romance novella

Ebook $.99

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About the Book:

Hailey may just give up on men entirely. When Corey broke her heart, her best friend Matt helped pick up the pieces. Matt made his interest in her no secret when they first met, but seemed happy to accept a friendship, at least until now. With Corey looking her way again, Matt has started acting funny.

If Matt wasn’t a cubicle worker who moonlights as a Seattle street musician, this could have been easy. Hailey can’t afford a drag on her ambitions. She needs to climb the career ladder to keep her childhood home, all she has left of her parents. 

After Amy ditched him for a man with more money, Matt isn’t about to tell Hailey that the fiddle he carries is a Stradivarius or that he owns a tuxedo. Let her love him for himself or not at all.

My review:

Quick and fun holiday bite of a read to keep your fun romance side going. A tale of mistaken identities, longing-for-more friendships, daily latte and office politics set in Seattle create a sweet story. The story of seeing what you want to see, having a hard time looking past your nose, and fearing failure and the future catch two people square at holiday time. Orphaned Hailey is good at her head job, but her artsy heart work may not pay the bills. If she was to fall in love, it would have to be with someone who won’t take advantage of her. Matt’s been burned a time too many and when he’s not being pursued for who he is, he can let his fun side out…only when confession time comes, he needs a stiff upper lip and the help of Hailey’s friend.

The Stone Giver military fiction from Buffy Andrews

The Stone Giver

Buffy Andrews

c. September 2016

Ebook $3.99

Print $11.99

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Full length book

Mainstream post-military romance

About the Book:

When a stone is thrown...ripples are created... A woman who has lost her way. A man crippled by war. What brings them together also pulls them apart. Zara Peede's growing feelings for her patient, soldier Jack Quinlan, scare the Walter Reed Medical Center nurse. Jack, a double amputee, is as wounded in spirit as he is in body. Jack's pain reflects her own grief for her lost brother, a fellow soldier who died in Afghanistan. Does she truly care for Jack, or are both of them just searching for someone to hold onto through their pain? To find out-and in search of her purpose-Zara flees, leaving Jack with only a note and a gift she doesn't fully understand herself. A stone. When Zara and Jack reconnect at an event in New York, they discover that some ripples last a lifetime. Will theirs?

My review:

From the shocking opening sequence of events to a satisfying conclusion, Andrews’s new romance show her penchant for well-researched and well-resourced stories. Readers are drawn right into the world of pain and recovery, anxiety and grief and rehabilitation as Jack makes the decision to find wholeness. Zara, one of his nurses, decides to shift course when Jack becomes that last patient who makes her work too personal. She only knows her new independence must include making a difference for others. An idea takes hold for a non-profit business that rewards encouragement and positive actions of others. Zara learns that a life of building on the success and joys of others spread out a wave of hope. When Jack and Zara cross paths again, they are able to take time without pressure and stress and pain to explore a relationship. 

Told in multiple viewpoints, this mainstream story tackles real questions of double amputees. The characters and dialog are lifelike, and overcoming problems handled in an empathy-inducing manner. Sexual scenarios and some swearing, along with bar scenes, are a natural part of the story. Readers will experience all the sweat, blood, and nightmares of the recovery process.

The Wedding Express with Jody Day

Sequel to The Washout Express

Inspirational romantic novella

Scott West is about to marry the woman of his dreams, but when delayed grief and a life-or-death event jeopardizes their relationship, Scott is forced to ask himself what kind of man he really is. Can he own up to the truth and risk losing the love of his life? And if he does come clean, will it be enough for Bailey? Discover the power of hope, forgiveness, and love in Wedding Express.

November 2016

Harbourlight Books

eBook

$4.99

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My review:

Scott takes a turn to tell his side of his romance with Bailey. He may have only met her a few months ago, but he’s had a washout engagement years past and knows this time Bailey is the right woman. Whether or not it’s the right time is the big question. When his former fiancé reenters his life in a frighteningly dependent way, both Scott and Bailey play truth or consequences for life.

This story takes up right after Washout Express. Set in a quaint Texas community, readers who love miracles and spectacular weddings will have fun with this story. It’s not necessary to read the first story to fall in love with these characters and their story in the Wedding Express. Told from multiple viewpoints, the reader is carried along by the whirlwind events of loss, a medical emergency, and surprise knots of every kind. It’s short and sweet.

Holiday time read with Jody Day

Washout Express

Jody Day

About the Book

Bailey Brown has just lost her job, her birthright, and her fiancé. Loaded with enough insecurities to fill a suitcase, she prays for God to show her the way and then hits the road feeling like the ultimate loser.

Exit 477: Washout Express.

The roadside sign taunts Bailey. Is God confirming she's expressly washed-up? Or does He have something better for her waiting at the end of the exit ramp?

Ebook 2.99

Inspirational Romance

Short book

Harbourlight Books

June 2013

Kindle 

Nook 

My Review: 

Looking for a cutie quick holiday read? Jody Day’s Washout Express will fit the bill!

You just know when the story opens with a devastating and cruel breakup, the sweeter the real romance that follows. And that’s exactly what you get.

I love less than twig perfect runway model heroines and six-pack ab heroes. If you like real people doing real, but sweetly heroic things like running into a fire to save mementos and proposing a lot, and realizing that bolstering each other in faith is truly the most important part of any relationship, Washout Express is for you.

Told in dramatic first person, Day’s Bailey Brown will grab your sympathy from page one. The author winds a mystery letter through the story, tantalizing the reader with its contents. Bailey meets the overworked young man, Scott, the owner of the truck wash business on Exit 477 in Texas, who holds the keys to her true purpose. I loved Bailey’s mom, Gwen, and especially Scott’s dad, Peeps. In fact, I enjoyed the story so much I bought the sequel, Wedding Express.

Clash of the Titles Alliance wishes you Merry Christmas with Barbara Britton

It's common knowledge that authors find their muse in many different places, but one author found her muse while teaching Sunday school.

Author Barbara M. Britton recently was featured on the Books of the Month TV program. Today we host the episode, now available online, on demand, courtesy of Preach the Word Worldwide TV Network. Learn how teaching Sunday school to children helped to spur Barbara's story ideas for her now-popular Biblical fiction series "Tribes of Israel."




(if you can't see the video, click here to visit the Preach the Word Worldwide Network TV station page.) 


Purchase Providence: Hannah's Journey today
Pre-order Building Benjamin: Naomi's Journey

Fiction from Edie Melson: Alone

Alone

Edie Melson

Prism Book Group

November 4, 2016

$3.99

$11.99

Amazon 

Barnes and Noble 

Smashwords 

About the Book

After her family is killed in the cleansing, Bethany’s purpose in life has changed. No longer will she be allowed to work to save her dying planet. As a slave, endurance is her goal as she marks each day as one moment closer to an eternity spent reunited with those she loved. But when her planet is invaded, everything changes. Now she must decide either to align herself with those from her planet who condemned her faith and killed her family, or with the warriors who have conquered her world. Ultimately her choice will mean life or death for more than just her planet’s ecosystem. She alone holds the key to a powerful secret, and the fate of the entire galaxy depends on her decision.

My Review

Reminiscent of the best Robert Heinlein or Arthur C Clarke stories, Melson explores the Christian faith spread through the galaxy. What might it look like over time and adulteration? It’s not all that different from ethnic cleansing on earth.

A dying world exploited to the extreme by a small group of powerful people are led by an influence of evil greater than time…a race of appointed spacefarers bent on taking over…an interpretation of moral codes passed down from generation to generation and now at great cost…and the cypher to a great formula the price of which is life as known.

I confess to changing my mind several times about the true identities of the good guys and the bad guys, who was telling the truth, but most importantly, who was trustworthy. Melson’s science fiction draws in echoes of my favorite stories, from Romeo and Juliet to Michael Crichton to CS Lewis. I enjoyed trying to decide whether the people of Bethany’s world understood what was at stake, how I might react if such a thing happened on earth, and whether the warriors were based on stories of the Nephilim from Scripture. I wondered what Bethany would decide to do, and who she would trust. Thought-provoking, action-packed, and well told, those who like Christian science fiction will find much to like in Alone.

 About the Author

Edie Melson is a leading professional in the writing industry. She’s a sought after writing instructor; and her heart to help others define and reach their dreams has connected her with writers all over the country. She’s the co-director of the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, as well as a popular faculty member at numerous others. http://steampunkfables.blogspot.com/

Jan Elder's Love Lies and Fireflies book review

Love, Lies, and Fireflies

Jan Elder

Prism Book Group

Contemporary romance

.99

14.99

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BN 

Smashwords 

About the Book

Didi O’Brien is engaged—at least she was an hour ago. Now she’s not so sure. Her fiancé, the suave Kevin Cabot, has just revealed that he’s been unfaithful, and he’s not the least bit sorry. Reeling from the betrayal, with her plans for a happily-ever-after life in doubt, she prays for direction. The answer comes as a complete surprise. God has someone better in mind.

Middle school teacher, Jake Montgomery, is struggling with some issues of his own. Sadly, a year previously his fiancée had been killed in a car crash. Battling anger and despair, in a mountain-top experience, Jake wrestles with the Almighty, and is ready to live again. In his youth, he’d felt an unmistakable call to the ministry but, like the prophet Jonah, since then, he’s been running hard in the wrong direction.

Through a crisis of faith, and glimpses of mercy, Didi and Jake find each other. But can they find the strength to resolve the many obstacles that conspire to keep them apart?

My review

A woman running into a marriage with a mentally disturbed person and a man running fast and hard from his own perceptions of faithfulness find each other. The right timing, interruptions by events out of their control, and self-revelation will either make them stronger together or apart.

When Didi’s attorney fiancé reveals what a cad he is, Didi walks out on their fancy restaurant dinner not realizing she’s caught the attention of a man healing from loss. That man, Jake, has some lessons to struggle through, though, before he can accept the blessings he’s avoiding. They begin a sweet relationship even as Didi’s former fiancé spirals into criminal behavior and Jake opens his ears and heart to his true calling. They may be able to face their past mistakes and save each other, but unless they are each obedient to their first love, God, they can never move forward, either alone or together.

Love is there—maybe even too quickly. Lies—well, justifying our selfish desires, withholding information either intentionally or innocently, and simple naiveté are all shades of misleading. Fireflies are God’s way of showing off, Didi’s father always said. Didi and Jake just need to pay attention.

Told through multiple viewpoints, Elder’s tale of love gone right and wrong is a sweet one with lots of description of food and fun, friendships and everything fun about falling in love is a very nice read.