IT HAD TO BE YOU $100 Visa Giveaway from @SusanMayWarren!

Today, I want to tell you about It Had to Be You, a novel by Susan May Warren.  Oh, this was a good one!  I actually got caught up in it the night I picked it up, and when Paul woke up after 1 a.m. and I was still reading, he was not exactly thrilled with me.

It's a love story, but you could tell that from the cover art, right?  This book makes me smile just trying to describe it.  The characters are strong, vivid people you can easily imagine.  The tension of knowing that Eden and Jace are going to end up together, but not seeing how it's going to happen because they're so different and don't like each other at all makes the story suspenseful.

Parts of it are sad, parts of it are funny, but all in all, this was a great read for a cold winter's day, since it's centered around the world of hockey.

You know how sometimes you get the same "theme" or message from several different sources in your life?  Call it the Law of Attraction, or God trying to get your attention, or whatever you want, but here again, I find myself picking up the theme, Why do bad things happen to good people?  I liked the conversation between Jace and Eden's dad, John, where he talks about blessings from ashes and discovering what was seeded in the fire.  (If you're interested, there actually are certain trees that only sprout after a fire, learn why here.)

This book will make you smile.  It may make you cry.  And hopefully, it will make you register to be an organ donor.  I know Sam and Maddy's story made me want to double check my license for that telltale pink dot.

I loved the way there were several different threads going within the story line.  I felt made the book more multifaceted.  This was a worthwhile read, and I'll be looking for more books by Susan May Warren next time we make it to the library.

Susan May Warren is celebrating the release of her newest Christiansen Family novel, It Had To Be You, with a $100 Visa cash card giveaway and offering readers a free book club kit.

  One winner will receive:

• $100 Visa cash card
• Take a Chance on Me and It Had to Be You by Susan May Warren

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on March 29th. Winner will be announced April 1st on Susan's blog. Also, visit her website to learn more about the It Had To Be You backstory and Susan's free book club kit.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to stop by Susan's blog on April 1st to see if you won.

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Montana Rescue series from Susan May Warren

I whiled away the hours (well, some of them, anyway) on the long flight to Hong Kong in November with Wild Montana Skies, by Susan May Warren.  I had every intention of coming home and telling you all about it, after I finished it in China, but life got busy, and somehow, I let it slide.  Now that Rescue Me, book 2 in the Montana Rescue series, is out, it seems like a good time to talk about both books.

These were so good!  I really enjoy the way Susan writes.  Her characters are realistic and have a lot of depth.  If you've read any of the Christiansen family series, you'll know that she creates a place and a group of people, and then each book in the series takes a closer look at some of those characters.  I like that you still hear about old favorites in other books within the series.  And while each book stands alone, it's nice to read a book 2 where you already know several of the main players.

Wild Montana Skies sets the stage for this series with a fast paced tale of an old romance being rekindled with some delightful complications.  But it's not just Ben and Kacey's story.  There's steadfast Sierra and driven Ian.  There's flower child Willow and innocent Audrey.  And overshadowing it all, the search for Esme, who's been missing for 3 years.

The heroics continue in Rescue Me, a suspenseful story of a youth group outing gone wrong.  Way wrong.  Here we meet new characters, like young loves, Quinn and Bella.  Sheriff Sam is brought into the limelight with Willow struggling with her feelings for him.  Then there's co workers, Pete and Jess.  Really, that's all they are.  They just work together on the PEAK Rescue Team.  Only maybe... there's the potential for more.

I'm already looking forward to finding out what comes next in A Matter of Trust, due out this summer!

Susan May Warren's books prove that a story can be compelling and handle sensitive topics realistically and with discretion.  Although pregnancy out of wedlock occurs, there are no graphic sex scenes, and I feel good about letting my teen daughter read them.

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The Price of Valor

 

If you remember my Books of 2019 post from January, I mentioned that I read 6 books by Susan May Warren last year.  I want to share with you one of this year's Susan May Warren books, the newly released, The Price of Valor.  

The Price of Valor is book 3 in Susan's Global Search and Rescue series.  Each book can be read and enjoyed as a stand alone story, but you'll want to read them all!  I actually read book 2, The Heart of a Hero first, and enjoyed it so much that I ordered book 1, The Way of the Brave.  You can read my review of The Heart of a Hero here.  

The Price of Valor follows the story of Hamilton Jones.  As a kid, Ham's best friend was the girl next door, Signe.  Through a complex set of twists and turns, they end up married but living apart, and Ham believes her to be dead.  

Not only is Signe alive, but she has a child--Ham's child.  Ham's got some big feelings about missing the first 10 years of his daughter's life, but more than that, he wants to make this marriage work.  

You know how most of us have been indulging in a little shelter in place television escapism?  Well, my drug of choice on the screen is NCIS.  The original and the spin offs.  Well, when I was reading The Price of Valor, it was every bit as action packed as an NCIS episode.  This isn't a fluffy love story.  This is a suspense tale, and it kept me on the edge of my seat.  

Longtime readers will appreciate cameo appearances of characters from other Susan May Warren books.  If you're just coming on scene with this series, you'll appreciate that we get more time with Jake and Aria, and your heart will ache when Jenny drops a bombshell on Orion in this book.  

If you're up for glaciers and avalanches, hurricanes and escaped convicts, an erupting volcano and a terrorist plot, I'd highly recommend this series.  

When I Fall In Love book review and Kitchen Aid Mixer GIVEAWAY

Susan May Warren does an amazing job of creating 3 dimensional, likable characters.  I reviewed It Had To Be You earlier this year, and was sucked into the storyline and thrilled to discover that it was part of a series. When I Fall in Love was just as intense, as we find out what happens to more of the Christiansen family, and meet new characters.

Set both in Hawaii and in Minnesota, the story centers mainly around Grace, a shy girl, and Max, a celebrity hockey player... with a secret.  They go from strangers to classmates at a culinary school, to a team competing in Honolulu Chop, a cooking competition.

Back in Minnesota, we meet Raina, who I am gussing will be the focus of an upcoming book, as her story leaves off with a bit of a cliffhanger in this one.  Raina tangles with one of the Christiansen brothers--only to discover he was the wrong one for her.  By the time she figures out that she likes Casper, things are... complicated.

Susan May Warren's newest book in the Christiansen Family Collection, When I Fall In Love,  has won over readers' and critics' hearts alike. With critical reviews like, ". . . an exquisite romance. Profoundly touching on the topic of facing fears, this book is a true gem," and more than 60 five-star reviews at Amazon, When I Fall in Love is sure to please.

Susan has teamed up with some amazing food bloggers for a fun food challenge and a KitchenAid Mixer giveaway!

  One grand prize winner will receive:

• A KitchenAid Mixer
• The first three books in the Christiansen Family Collection.
• Melissa Ringstaff’s Kitchen Planner
• Jackie Brown's Freezer Inventory sheet

Grab your aprons and wire whisks and buzz on over to the When I Fall in Love website to learn more and enter the Hawaiian Chef Showdown! Susan is challenging you to make a Hawaiian-inspired dish using coconut, mango, or one of the other ingredients mentioned in the book. You’ll get extra points for creating your own recipe—plus she might share it on the When I Fall in Love site! Or if you're not up for an adventure in the kitchen just click one of the icons below for easy entry.

Hurry, the giveaway ends on August 10th. All winners will be announced August 13th at Susan's blog.

Don't miss a moment of the fun; enter today and be sure to visit Susan's blog on the 13th to see if you won!

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The Wonder of You - book review

You know why I don't like Susan May Warren books?  They make me cry.  Not, "Aw, happily ever after" tears, either.  The characters in her stories are so real, so human, with struggles just like mine.  Take, for example, the newest book in the Christiansen series, The Wonder of You.  Several passages held little nuggets of wisdom, such as when Roark tells Amelia, "It's not about how you feel.  It's about what you do."  Or when Jace tells Max (from When I Fall in Love), "Stop trying so hard not to be happy, and start trusting the life God is giving you.  It just might knock your socks off."

The downside of tears is quickly surpassed by getting totally engrossed in the plot and characters.  I really do become absorbed Susan's stories, even when they make me cry.  This book even mentions adoption, which, as you know, is near and dear to my heart.

The Wonder of You picks up where Always on my Mind leaves off.  Amelia is home from Europe, broken hearted.  Roark follows her to try and patch things up, but he's keeping a secret from her.  A big secret.  And then there's Seth, the boy Amelia dated all through high school.  The man that makes sense for her to settle down with.

I don't want to spoil the plot for you because you'll want to read it yourself.  In fact, you'll want to read all of them, starting with Take a Chance on Me.  I have really enjoyed all Susan's books that I've reviewed so far.  One of the things I like best about them is that we get to check in on the characters from previous books and see how they're doing.

You can connect with Susan May Warren at her website.

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Storm Front by Susan May Warren

If you've not yet discovered author Susan May Warren, you're in for a treat.  I got hooked on her books with the Christiansen Family series.  They're so good.  Susan creates families.  And while each book mainly deals with the romance of a different couple, you get updates on familiar characters from prior books in the series.  In fact, confession time here, when book 5 of the Montana Rescue series arrived for me to review and I realized I had somehow missed book 4, I ordered it that day.  And I was done with 5 before 4 arrived.  They're that good.

If you missed it, here's a post where I talked about books 1 & 2.  My review of book 3 is here.  Book 4, wowza!  It had me on the edge of my seat!  There's a shipwreck, and lots of nail-biting action.  I stayed up way, way too late finishing it because I just couldn't put it down.

But I'm here to talk about book 5 today, Storm Front.  Like all the Montana Rescue series, Storm Front is full of action and adventure.  PEAK Rescue collides with a storm chasing team (Remember the movie Twister?  Kinda like that.) when a tornado rips through southwestern Minnesota, throwing Ty and Brette back into each others lives in a way that creates swirling chaos that rivals the storms surrounding them.

Storm Front chronicles the efforts to find Chet and a group of students after a tornado wrecks havoc and leaves families crazy with worry about missing loved ones. 

Meanwhile as their wedding date gets pushed back over and over, Kacey wonders if Ben has changed his mind about marrying her.  And Pete gets terrible news about Jess. 

Eventually, Ty and Brett find themselves weathering yet another devastating storm together in the library, where they make a vitally important discovery. 

If you've been reading along from the beginning, you're going to want to get your hands on Storm Front right away.  If you're new to the series, here are links for the whole thing:

     Wild Montana Skies
     Rescue Me
     A Matter of Trust
     Troubled Waters
     Storm Front
     and coming in November... Wait For Me

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The Heart of a Hero - book review

Reading offers an escape from the COVID-crazy, upside down-ness of the world around us right now.  If you're looking for that escape, might I suggest The Heart of a Hero, the latest release from Susan May Warren? 

The Heart of a Hero takes you on a wild, heart-stopping adventure from the sailboat mishap beginning, to the "Omigosh, what happens next?" ending.  But the majority of the book is set in a hurricane.  I don't want to give too much away, but suffice it to say, this fast paced story is hard to set down.   

As usual with a Susan May Warren book, the cast of characters is varied and complex.  From main characters Jake and Aria, to the interesting supporting players like Aggie, a traumatized child whose father didn't know she existed, and a motley band of stragglers who shelter together out of necessity until the storm passes. 

I like the way the author combines romance and adventure with plenty of factual "local color."  For example, I know nothing about sailing, but the vivid explanations of the sailing scene in the first chapter make it so much more real.  Bits of the story take place around the world, and she infuses so much reality into these that you can almost see the sun sparkle on the Mediterranean, or feel the cold of a perilous Alaskan rescue. 

The Heart of a Hero is book 2 of Susan's Global Search and Rescue series.  Book 1 is The Way of the Brave, which I immediately placed on my wish list upon finishing The Heart of a Hero. 

The Heart of a Hero is available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Christianbook, IndieBound, and Baker Book House. 

A Matter of Trust #bookreview

Do you remember when I shared about Wild Montana Skies and Rescue Me?  Great books, I hope you've had a chance to read them by now.  Today, I'm back with Book 3 in the Montana Rescue series, A Matter of Trust.

Susan May Warren creates a network of likable characters, and highlights a few of them in each book in her series, but you get to check back in with old favorites, too.  Although A Matter of Trust is a Book 3, you can absolutely read it as a stand alone book and not feel "lost" without the backstory.  However, you'll end up feeling so strongly about the characters, you'll go back and read the others, too, so you might as well start at the beginning!

One of the reasons I'm finding this series so fascinating is because it takes place in such a foreign-to-me setting.  I'm a suburban housewife.  The most dangerous thing I do is drive on the freeway.  The members of PEAK Rescue put their lives on the line, both for each other and for complete strangers all the time.

A Matter of Trust is full of adrenaline and intrigue.  Someone on the team is not who you think.  The relationships are complex and evolving.  You have Gage, who is a really amazing skier, but he's still grappling with mistakes in his past.  Pete and Jess, who still haven't figured out if they're "just teammates" or not.  And Brette the reporter who knows there must be a story here somewhere.  Then there's Ella, who had a complicated run in with Gage a few years ago, and now she's just trying to keep her younger brother from self destructing, but the only one who can help her do that, is Gage, of course.

The tension and the drama are enticing.  This is one of those books you just can't put down.  You know, the sort of book that makes your chest ache as you read, hoping that things will work out?

I'm really looking forward to Troubled Waters, Book 4, which comes out in January.  Looks like we'll finally find out the rest of Esme's story, and how things work out (or don't!) between Sierra and Ian from Book 1.  If you plow through the first 3 between now and then, check out some of Susan May Warren's other books.

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Sunrise Book Review

It's no secret that I enjoy Susan May Warren's writing.  I've reviewed several of her books, and read as many as I can get my hands on.  Today, I want to share her latest work with you.  Sunrise is the first book in her new Sky King Ranch trilogy.  

Sunrise is the story of Echo Yazzie, who's had a rough childhood and carries some hurts from that time in her life. She also has some unfinished business with Dodge Kingston, who took off years ago, and has come back to small town Alaska because his dad crashed an airplane he was piloting.  

Now, I'm not supposed to give spoilers, which makes it really hard to gush about the book as much as I would like to, but let me just say that this book contains, hands down, the best awkward hug scene I've ever read.  I cringed.  

Sunrise is suspenseful without being scary when it comes to the action scenes.  There's danger, yes, but there's not darkness and evil, if that makes sense.  When it comes to romance, Susan May Warren creates tension and sweetness, never anything explicit.  

If winter weather has you wanting to curl up with a good book, look no further than Sunrise.  

Have Yourself A Christiansen Christmas #bookreview

 

You ever read a book and wish it would never end?  You just want to keep reading about these characters you've come to know so well?  Back in 2014 & 2015, I reviewed some of the books in Susan May Warren's Christiansen Family series.  So when she asked for reviewers for Have Yourself A Christiansen Christmas, I jumped at the chance.  

I got a few pages in and thought, "I barely remember who's who.  Maybe I should just start over."  

So out came the whole series.  (Almost.  I couldn't find my copy of Evergreen, so I requested it from the library.)  Very little else got done around here as I devoured them all over again, remembering why I enjoyed them so much, even though they made me cry.  The Christiansens are a strong, close-knit family with a good balance of faith and humanity.  

The next time I picked up Have Yourself A Christiansen Christmas, it was with eager anticipation to catch up with old friends.  HYACC takes place after a gap of about 7 years since the last Christiansen Family book.  The babies are kids, and the kids are teens now.  The young adults are (mostly) mature married folk now.  

One of the things I liked about Have Yourself A Christiansen Christmas, is that the characters are more mature than your typical romance.  A lot of books have all the fireworks of initial attraction and how a couple comes together.  This book shows the longevity of deep relationships and the hard work of living out that togetherness.  I think I appreciate that more because I'm no longer in the fireworks season of life, and while I still appreciate a good fluff romance from time to time, this book resonated with me more.  

The 7 couples (including Ingrid & John, the parents) deal with a variety of issues in this book.  Blessings, losses, good and bad surprises, misunderstandings, secrets, and opportunities.  But they face these challenges with a strong family support network.  I'm not supposed to share specifics, so as to not spoil anything for you, but I really enjoyed the book, and I hope author Susan May Warren will update us again in the future.  

Books of 2019

I read 83 books last year!  I don't know whether that was more or less than usual, because this was my first time keeping track.  I volunteer at our Friends of the Library's Book Den.  It's a used bookstore and warehouse full of books.  We earn free books for our volunteer hours, so my To Read pile has become a To Read bookcase. 

The links in this post are Amazon affiliate links, which means if you click on one, and make a purchase, I may get a tiny commission.  Here's some of the books that I enjoyed, or didn't, in 2019. 

Fiction
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen.  I read Pride & Prejudice in 2018, and would like to get through all 6 Austen books at some point, so when I came across Northanger Abbey at a used book sale, I added it to my pile.  I enjoyed it, and was pleased that the movie is very true to the book. 

I also read several works of Austen fan fic.  Some authors were better than others at staying true to Jane's beloved characters. 

Victoria, by Daisy Goodwin.  I ran across a proof copy of this at Book Den.  We can't sell proofs, so I rescued it from the recycle bin to read.  I'm glad I did, the British monarchy is fascinating.  I also enjoyed the PBS series on Amazon Prime. 

Mount Vernon Love Story, by Mary Higgins Clark.  This was a surprise to me.  I usually think of Mary Higgins Clark as writing modern suspense fiction.  This was historical fiction, based on the life of George Washington. 

Another small book I read, but this one I did not enjoy, was Tracie Peterson's Silent Star.  This one was depressing.  I cried my way through it.  I usually enjoy Peterson's works, so this may have been partly because of when I read it.  The subject matter, combined with personal events, was rough. 

Let's talk Murder, She Wrote.  Now, when Donald Bain was writing the series, I enjoyed them.  But this Jon Land guy kinda sucks at it.  I've read quite a few of the Donald Bain ones, and after 2 by Jon Land, I'm done.  I won't be reading any more of his.  The Mrs. Fletcher I grew up watching on TV doesn't swear. 

If you know the YouTube channel Crash Course, you'll recognize author John Green from CC History.  I read his The Fault in Our Stars, and I was impressed.  (Spoiler alert:  I cried.  I cry at everything.)  I'm keeping an eye out for more of his books to come through Book Den. 

The President is Missing, by Bill Clinton & James Patterson.  This was probably the newest book that I read this year.  It was a little improbable in parts, but very action packed. 

The Tattooist of Auschwitz, by Heather Morris.  This was one of those books that lingers with you for a while.  I found myself reaching for another WW2 book to stay in this world a little longer. 

Non-Fiction
Wandering away from the fiction aisle for a moment...
The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman.  The Warsaw Zoo during the war.  The slaughter of the animals by German troops.  The hidden refugees.  The cache of weapons.  And the incredible people who lived the story. 

My Folks Don't Want Me To Talk About Slavery, by Belinda Hurmence.  I stumbled across this accidentally while I was researching for my trip to North Carolina.  Wow.  First person accounts of slavery, collected in the 1930s. 

While I originally picked up Asian Americans in the Old West, by Gail Sakurai for Hannah and Katie, I found myself reading it. 

Fiction series
The Aunt Dimity books, by Nancy Atherton.  I discovered these in 2018, and have read most of them now.  I read 5 of these in 2019.  The only one I have yet to read is unavailable in our library system. 

I discovered Jennifer Chiaverini's Elm Creek Quilts books and read a couple of those.  There are a few more in my To Read bookcase. 

The Bookstore Cafe Mysteries are cute fluff books.  I found these in 2018 and read all the ones that were available.  This year, I read Alex Erickson's Death by Cafe Mocha as soon as it came out. 

What's Next?
Although I started The Complete Works of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I was ambitious in the undertaking, and have not yet finished it.  It's chewy reading, and after slogging through several cases, I set it aside.  I'm trying to read one case from this between lighter tomes, but I confess I am only about halfway through this 636 page behemoth.  I intend to finish it at some point this year. 

Since one of my favorite books from last year was The Forgotten Garden, by Kate Morton, I would be interested in reading more from her.  Although I'm not a knitter, I enjoyed a couple books by Maggie Sefton, and would read more from her, as well.  Susan May Warren continues to be one of my favorites, as I read 6 of her books last year. 

I do want to branch out and try some new-to-me authors this year, though.  I have works by Carl Hiaasen, M.C. Beaton, Vanessa Diffenbaugh, Lisa See, Amy Tan, and Ken Wheaton ready for me to crack open.  And Eli has loaned me Blitzed, a non fiction book about drugs in Germany during WW2.  I have plenty of books to get me started. 

I've been slowly weeding books out of our collection, as well.  I've gotten pretty good about donating books when I finish reading them, but I have old books that I would like to read again first.  I pared down our board books to less than one shelf, just the favorites I couldn't let go of.  I've gone through the beginning readers a couple times, but we still have 2 baskets full of those, so obviously, I need to do that again.  I've started purging some of the picture books, as well.  Katie is 9.  We probably don't need over 4 shelves of picture books any more.  I also need to find a new home for our homeschooling books.  I may contact the local enrichment co op and see if they have a library I can contribute to. 

Most people read only 4 books per year.  Let's set the screens down a bit more in 2020 and get back into the magical world of books. 

Always On My Mind

Some authors, you leap at the chance to read their latest book.  Susan May Warren is one of those.  Last year, I reviewed It Had To Be You, When I Fall In Love, and Evergreen by her.

Today, I want to share Always on My Mind with you.  As I hoped at the end of the last book, this one is about Raina and Casper.

At the end of It Had To Be You, Casper found out that Raina and his brother Owen had a fling before she met Casper.  Casper didn't handle that well, and took off for the tropics.  Meanwhile, Raina discovers that fling had some long term consequences.

As Always On My Mind opens, we find Raina great with child, living with Caspar and Owen's sister, Grace.  Casper can't get Raina out of his mind and decides to go home.  He shows up on Grace's doorstep, not knowing about the baby, only to find Raina in labor!

Raina pushes Casper away, believing that he feels sorry for her or wants to "fix" her situation, but not that he could love her enough to look past the circumstances.  She relinquishes her baby for adoption, believing it to be the best choice for her baby, and refusing offers of help from the Christiansen family.

One of the things I love about Susan's books is that you get the chance to check back in with characters from earlier in the series.  As Casper and Raina traverse the rocky path to friendship, we get to see what's going on with former couples, like Derek and Ivy, who are expecting a baby, and going through their own troubles.

Lonely, damaged Raina is the perfect prey for Monte, who seems nice at first, but becomes controlling and abusive.

The adoptive parents Raina chose for her baby, Layla, turn up pregnant unexpectedly, and decide to cancel the adoption.  The social worker offers to find another nice family for Layla, but Raina decides to raise her baby on her own.

I enjoyed Always On My Mind, and I'm looking forward to the next book in the series, The Wonder of You, due out this summer!

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Our Week

We've progressed from wind to rain here.  I'm trying not to think about it being dark and drippy from now until March.  I do much better with the sunshine.  

Over the 5 day weekend last week, I read an entire Susan May Warren trilogy, and started another one.  I was lamenting that I wouldn't hit my Goodreads goal this year, but I forgot that I tend to do a lot more reading once the weather gets yucky.  I may make it (or come pretty close) after all.  

I took this picture to remind me to make a shelf marker to divide the biography section from the Dewey section in picture books.  I've emptied out yet another tote this week in the library, and finished processing the October books I ordered last month, and received a bag and box of donated books.  All that to say that the additional book volume necessitates some adjustments to our shelves.  I'm getting close to having enough room for another half sized bookcase in the library, under the white board.  --Not that I *have* another half sized bookcase, but one can hope.  

Miss Fiona had to check out the empty tote I brought home.  Grumman considers such antics beneath him.  

The middle school flag football team had a scrimmage game against the high schoolers.  Having kids on both sides, we didn't really care who won, so it was fun to watch.  I somehow missed getting a picture of Katie in her uniform. 

So here's a picture of the uniform in the laundry.  She's got 2 games coming up this week.

Jack Jack lost his glasses at a shoot last summer, and we didn't manage to get him in before school started.  Getting both Jack and Hannah into Costco optical center was Top Priority for fall break, and this week the glasses were ready to pick up.  

Hannah's new glasses are about an inch wider than her old ones (which she broke a couple days before the new ones were picked up).  

I did guided spider web drawings with a couple classes in the library this week, and thought it would be fun to do them with the girls over the weekend.  At home, we used black paper and paint markers.