Ramblings

Get swept down the aisle with The Accidental Bride by Denise Hunter. This book is a modern-day story set in Montana about a girl who owns a failing ranch and her high school sweetheart Travis McCoy, a rodeo rider.

Shay lives on her ranch with her twelve year old daughter Olivia. The ranch is failing and the banker is trying to get it from Shay. To celebrate Founder's Day, a holiday celebrating the founding of their small town, Shay is to participate in a re-enactment of the wedding of the couple who started the town. She’s playing the bride. The groom is supposed to be played by the boyfriend of one of the snottiest girls, who is mad that her boyfriend is playing in a wedding and she’s not the bride.

So anyway, Shay goes to her friend Miss Lucy's shop to try on the town's special old wedding dress that she is to wear in the play. She puts it on in the back room and comes out to the shop to let Miss Lucy do any alterations. It fits so beautifully; Miss Lucy coos and ahhs over it. Shay, meanwhile, is thinking of her past. Travis McCoy, her high school sweetheart, and herself were going to the courthouse to elope when he left her on the courthouse steps and winds up in Texas as a rodeo star. Shay, since she has not seen him since then - fourteen years past- thinks bitterly towards him and how he dumped her for the rodeo. In those fourteen years, Shay got married and had Olivia. That husband left her also, and died a short time later in another state. Shay and Olivia were devastated.

So now, Shay is in Miss Lucy's shop, with a wedding dress for the Founder's Day play on, when none other than Travis McCoy himself walks in the door.

Travis is shocked to see Shay in Miss Lucy's shop, and even more so to see her in a wedding dress. Sure, he had heard of her late husband and how he died and how Shay was dating again, but he did not think she was already getting married again. He remembers how he kissed Shay in her parents' barn late one night on a dare, and has come to realize over the fourteen years that they were apart what a mistake it was to leave Shay behind and is upset to think that she is getting married to someone other than him. But judging from the hate shooting from her eyes, they were never meant to be.

Miss Lucy, an eccentric older lady, decides it would be wonderful for Travis to play the groom in the Founder's Day play. She does a little meddling and gets him the part.

Shay walks down the aisle for the play, expecting to see the boyfriend of one of the meaner girls, and is shocked to see Travis McCoy standing there. She quickly overcomes her shock and turns to anger. Her anger turns back to surprise when Travis breaks the rules of kissing the bride on the cheek for the play and kisses her on the mouth instead. Shay notes that he is still an amazing kisser and that nothing has changed since that night in the barn, but quickly pushes him off.

Travis discovers a few days later that someone found his and Shay's marriage certificate that was never used fourteen years earlier and that it was activated during the Founder's Day play. In other words, he and Shay are officially married.

Shay is horrified when Travis tells her that they are married. She thinks back to when he hurt her and almost demands for an annulment when Travis comes up with an idea that her failing ranch forces her to accept-to allow Travis to stay at the ranch for five months and help Shay get her ranch back in order.

Thank you so much to Net Galley and Thomas Nelson publishers for letting me review this book! I loved it.

If you need your appetite for reading wet again, then try out this new book that's rolling in on the tide. Lily by Diane Ashley and Aaron McCarver is an excellent book about a girl (Lily) who buys a boat to try to escape from her aunt and uncle, and society. When she finds out that she only owns half of the boat, and the other half is owned by Blake Matthews, a gambler, it gets interesting.

Lily Catherine Anderson and her sisters Camellia and Jasmine are orphans sent to live in Charlestown, South Carolina with their Aunt Dahlia, Uncle Phillip, and grandmother. Lily's parents and family used to live a life on the river, living on a steamboat, before an accident took her mom and her dad left them. Now Lily is in Charlestown, and she is having a hard time trying to fit into society. Plus, her aunt and uncle are trying to get Lily married off to a really old guy, and she's only eighteen. At the beginning of the book, we see Lily meeting Blake Matthews when a pickpocket steals her purse and falls into the water. Lily asks the closest person to rescue him, and we connect the dots later to see that was Blake. Within the first week that Lily was with her aunt and uncle, they take her to a ball on a steamboat and she meets Jean Luc Champey, a son of the wealthy steamboat owner that Lily later does business with.

Blake Matthews runs a gambling boat. He docks in the harbor and claims to play an honest game. Once he has been in that harbor for a while or makes somebody mad, he will move on to the next one. Now he's looking to buy a bigger boat to use.

Jean Luc Champey has finally been trusted enough by his father to get the deed to a boat. Well, really the deed to 49% of a boat, The Hattie Belle. He goes out that night, looking to gamble for some more money since he has a knack for gambling. He runs across Blake Matthews's boat and is intrigued by his "honest game" reputation. Well into the game he lets his guard down and loses his boat to Blake. Jean Luc is worried about facing his father, because with the first thing he trusted to Jean Luc, he gambled it off the same night.

Blake goes to claim the boat, is mad to see he only owns 49%. Lily's grandfather dies, and she takes her dowry from her grandmother and buys a boat. When she goes to claim it, she sees other people on the boat and finds out by looking at the fine print with the man in charge of the boat that she only owns 51% of the boat. They, Lily and Blake, fight over the boat and what it will be used for.

Meanwhile, Jean Luc is trying to find a way to woo Lily so he can get her part of the boat. But for Lily, she seems oddly immune to his charms, and seems to be fascinated by Blake.

Thanks to Net Galley and Barbour publishers for letting me review this book! It was excellent.

This is an amazing biography about the life of Scott MacIntyre. Scott was the first blind finalist to be on American Idol. He played the piano at his first wedding at seven years old. He swims. He skies. He also had stage four kidney failure. He graduated summa cum laude and was accepted into Cambridge University in England. And, as I said, before, he's blind.

This guy is amazing! This book is an autobiography of his life, and it is so inspirational. Scott MacIntyre has gone through so much in his young life, good and bad, scary and exhilarating, and he praises God through all of it. I have been reading this book as a read-aloud to my family and we all just eat it up. Scott is so amazing and inspiring to others. He continues to push through trials that left my family speechless. This book tells the story of how he had stage four kidney failure at age nineteen and all the doctors said he would need a transplant within the year-the very same year he was supposed to be going to England for school at Cambridge University. Also, this book tells about the little things that he went through and the fear and other emotions he felt when going through them, such as when he lost his first tooth, learned how to swim, competed on American Idol, jumped off a bridge, and traveled back and forth to different hospital through it all. This is a very great book that makes you want to live life to its fullest and celebrate the little challenges as well as the big ones and praise God through it all.

Thank you to Book Sneeze and Thomas Nelson publishers for letting me read and review this book. It was excellent.

What a Daughter Needs From her Dad-- this ranks very highly in my list of important books. Besides the Bible, what could be more important? Daddy-daughter relationships are very important. What is a daughter supposed to look for in a husband? How is she supposed to act, serve others, or follow Jesus? A dad is a prime example and leader in daughter's lives. This book discusses what you, as a dad, can and should be doing for your daughter. I like this book a lot because it is a quick read, yet jam-packed with information. It covers topics on everything from dating, friendships, money management, politics, and your daughter's relationship with you, others, and Christ. This book guides you along through parenting a girl from infancy to her wedding, and beyond. God, the author, and I all want you to have a lasting relationship with your daughter, and this book gives stories of the author's life, tips, ideas, and encouragement.

The author, Michael Farris, has certainly had his experience with daughters. A home school dad of ten children, six of which are girls, this man knows what he is talking about! He's also the President of Patrick Henry College- a man you certainly would not mind taking advice from!

Thank you so much to Bethany House and Baker publishing group for providing me with this book to read and review!

This Bible is in the King James Version. It is filled with notes about the history of America, and how it all relates to the Bible. These notes are written by Richard G. Lee, who also wrote "The Coming Revolution", among other books. This Bible is published by Thomas Nelson publishers. This Bible would be a great gift for men, grandfathers, music pastors, etc. The notes in this Bible certainly tie in with what is going on in the world today. The font size in the hardcover version is relatively large, compared to other Bibles. The notes in this Bible are very interesting, the topics ranging from wars to Presidents to slavery, and are almost as worthy of reading as the Bible itself.  You can buy this book at Family Christian Bookstores, amazon.com, and pretty much just wherever books are sold! It is also found at christianbooks.com. You can buy this book in hardcover, leather (two choices of colors for leather) or as an e-book.  Please enjoy.

Thank you to Thomas Nelson publishers and their Book Sneeze program for letting me read and review this book! I enjoyed it and look forward to working with you all in the future.