Ramblings

     "A November Bride" by Beth Vogt was published by Zondervan as a part of the "Year of Weddings" novella series.  This seemed just fine to me as a stand-alone; my only problem was that I thought this was a full novel because I didn't pay attention when I picked it, so it went by way too quickly, finishing abruptly when I was headlong into falling in love with the characters! :)

     Sadie McAllister is a personal chef who has been dumped by text one too many times, but she is thankful to have a great best friend in Erik.

     Erik Davis has been happy with the "just friends" status with Sadie, but after her latest boyfriend breaks up with her, and she is offered a cooking job across the country, he realizes he doesn't want to let her go.  However, Sadie won't take him seriously because he has not been very interested in dating.  Can he woo her before it's too late?

     I enjoyed this light, quick read.  The characters were cute and quirky, and the plot fairly light.  I've enjoyed this author's works a lot, and this one did not disappoint in the least.

     Thank you so much to Net Galley and Zondervan publishers for providing me with an electronic copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own, and were not required to be positive.  I would definitely recommend this.

     "The Dandelion Field" by Kathryn Springer is published by Zondervan.  This is my first book from this author, but several authors that I enjoy recommend her, so I thought I'd try this out.  I'll admit this was pretty low in my stack of books to read, so I procrastinated and skimmed through the beginning.  Then, somewhere in chapter two or three, the plot grabbed at my heart and the characters would not let go.  I was hooked and could not put the book down.  While its plot is pretty complicated to explain in a review, I'll do my very best to sum up its characters. 

     Evie Bennett is the widow to Maxwell Bennett, a firefighter, and mother to Cody Maxwell Bennett, who is around eighteen or nineteen at the start of the book.

     Cody Bennett is Evie's son, boyfriend to Raine Lightly, Christian, and the father of Raine's baby.

     Raine Lightly is Ginevieve Lightly's daughter.  Raine and her mom travel from town to town, never staying in one place for too long, because staying means getting to know people, and knowing people means that they are close enough to hurt you.  Raine is also around eighteen, and the mother of Cody's baby. (I know, stating the obvious...)

     Ginevieve Lightly does not trust men; she's been hurt by them too many times, her mother's been hurt by them, and Raine has been hurt because her father left them. 

     Dan Moretti is a local firefighter, best friend to Evie and Max from when they grew up as neighbors.  Since Maxwell's death when Cody was six, Dan has stepped in as a father figure to Cody.  While he had romantic intentions towards Evie in the past, he does know what to think when Ginevieve Lightly comes into his life.

     I loved this book! I cannot say enough good things about it.  Yes, the first two or three chapters were hard to get in to.  That is my only complaint.  The characters drew me in, and the plot was heart-breakingly captivating.  The chapters were short, so it was easy to pick up and read bits at a time (not that it mattered, considering the book drew you in to read it all at once!).  The themes of redemption, loving one another through conflicting social statuses, unexpected bumps in the road, and having empathy for each other's pasts and pains made this book one of my top five favorites of all time.

     Thank you so much to the BookLook bloggers program and Zondervan publishers for providing me with this opportunity and a copy of this book to read and review.  I absolutely loved it, and will be watching out for more from this author from now on.

     "Beyond All Dreams" is the latest stand-alone novel by Elizabeth Camden, which is published by Bethany House and will be released on December 30, 2014.

     Anna O'Brien would love nothing more than to simply be able to stay tucked away in the map room of the Library of Congress for the rest of her days.  She has been fascinated with maps since her father, who was a mapmaker, passed away from a shipwreck.

  Luke Callahan is a politician used to getting his way, and is shocked when Anna whispers a rebuke regarding that attitude at a political meeting.  She intrigues him though, and he seeks to get to know her by requesting her to do an enormous amount of research for his political campaign.  The tables turn when she asks him to look into the mystery of the ship that her father was on when it sank.  This seems easy enough, but soon proves to be a task that will drag them both into a mess much better than they ever could have dreamed.  

     Elizabeth Camden is, most likely, my favorite author, so I did have high expectations for this book.  I could tell that this was very well researched, yet that research did not make this book dull in the least.  The setting of a library was charming, and very fitting for a book, and the characters had their own quirks that enticed me to continue on with their stories.  While I don't know that anything else Elizabeth Camden writes could ever top her "Lady of Bolton Hill" or "Against the Tide", I was not disappointed with this latest release.

     Thank you to Bethany House publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own; I was not required to write a positive review. 

1. "Rebellious Heart" by Jody Hedlund.  This was the first book that I had read by this author, but the drama, characters, and setting of the turmoil around the American Revolution was superb; it was an especially sweet surprise to read in the back of the book that the main characters were based off of John and Abigail Adams.

2. "As You Wish" by Cary Elwes.  As a die-hard fan of the movie "The Princess Bride", this invaluable inside look into the making of the movie was awesome! I got this book on audio, and it was narrated by Cary Elwes himself.  I cannot think of many better things to do than listen to his British accent tell tales about "The Princess Bride"!

 3. "Meant to Be Mine" by Becky Wade.  I loved this sequel to "Undeniably Yours"! The characters were so loveable and this was a fun read. 

4. "Dare to Love Again" by Julie Lessman.  This was another fun sequel, and I look forward to the third in the trilogy. 

 5. "Anne of Avonlea" by Lucy Maud Montgomery.  I love Anne! This was just as good as the first book of the series.

 6. "The Book Thief" by Marcus Zusak.  I think the book was better than the movie in this case, but the movie did a great job considering all the material to cover.  This was a very powerful book, and I loved its characters.

 7. "Dancing with Fireflies" by Denise Hunter.  This book had a different plot than "usual", but I absolutely loved its themes of redemption and unconditional love. 

8. "Full Steam Ahead" by Karen Witemeyer.  This book as well has charming characters, and beautiful messages.  Another winner from Karen Witemeyer!

9. "Beyond All Dreams" by Elizabeth Camden.  Elizabeth Camden is one of my very top favorite authors, which you may know if you've been following me for a while.  Thus, you may wonder why her books are at the bottom of this list.  Mainly, I did not get as attached to her characters in her most recent books as I did her first books.  These books were still good though, as evidenced by having two from the same author on my "Top 10" list. :)

10. "With Every Breath" by Elizabeth Camden.  This was another book from 2014 that had a unique plot, but I could tell that it was very well researched, and I appreciate that. Camden does a wonderful job of bringing clarity to the historial aspects of her stories without boring the readers. 

     "The Old Fashioned Way: Reclaiming the Lost Art of Romance" is by Ginger Kolbaba, and based off of the screenplay of the movie "Old Fashioned" (set to release on Valentine's Day 2015) by Rik Swartzwelder.

      This book is a nonfiction, devotional type companion to the novel "Old Fashioned".  Intended to drive the messages of "old fashioned" techniques of romancing home from the fictional story, this book lays out the movie's/novel's moral in a 40 day devotion.  Each day has a quote, various insights on inner healing and romance, and points to ponder or journal about. 

     I did enjoy this devotional, as it is a great follow-up to the book, and assumedly the movie, which, at the time of this post, has not yet been released.  Each entry is short and thought-provoking, averaging around 3-7 pages or so per day.  It pries deep into those who read it, promoting fresh perspectives on life and love (as cliché as that sounds).  I would recommend reading this book in conjunction with the novel or movie (or both), instead of by itself, as it frequently references characters and scenes in the movie.

     Thank you so much to Tyndale House publishers for providing me with a copy of this book to read and review.  All opinions are my own; I was not required to post a positive review, just an honest one, which I have done.

Bonus:

Here's the cover of the companion book:

Also, here's the link to the movie website:

http://www.oldfashionedmovie.com/resources