This is a new author for me. I originally picked up this book for three reasons. One I love the cover. Two was the fact that the main female character owned a bookshop. And the last reason was that it is set in North Carolina. I had my reservations because it is not Christian fiction and I was unsure if it would be a clean read or not. However, this book was definitely a clean read and it was also a really good story. It is a good story about how important it is to let things that you cannot change go so they do not hold you back in life. It also shows the power of second chances. I would definitely recommend this book.
Review of “Summer on Blackberry Beach” by Belle Calhoune
This is in a series of books that take place in Mistletoe, Maine. I would definitely say this is a good beach read and not just because it has beach in the title. This author does such a good job with describing the people as well as what is going on that you will have no problem picturing everything. I can picture myself visiting the local coffeehouse, Coffee Bean, and then heading to the bookstore, Bookworm. Based on the description of Stella, I could see us being friends and sitting with a cup of coffee watching the ocean view at her little beach cottage. And though Luke is a fictional character, my heart goes out to him. His character is definitely very realistic. I just want to jump into the story and help him through his turmoil. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes to read.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in order to give an honest review.
Review of “The Clause in Christmas” by Rachael Bloome
I was drawn to this book because of the cover and the fact that it is a Christmas book. However, once I started reading it and realized the main female character, Cassie Hayward, loves coffee as much or more than I do, I really started liking this book. I cannot relate to the fact that she does not love Christmas and also had a hard childhood though. The author of this book does a great job of describing the town and secondary characters to the point where I feel like I am there. The town of Poppy Creek definitely sounds like a town I would love to either live in or at least visit especially during the Christmas season. As for the secondary characters, they range from a grumpy old man you could call Scrooge to a really sweet older lady who knits in a rocking chair in Luke Davis’s, the main male character, law office lobby. And on top of it all, you get to see Cassie begin to fall in love with not only Luke but Christmas itself. For anyone who absolutely loves Christmas books, this is the book for you.
Review of “Heart of Stone” by David James Warren
This is the last book in “The True Lies of Rembrandt Stone” series. I would say this book is like a mix between a cold case show and a time travel movie. It is a book that you will not be able to put down. It is an edge of your seat suspense novel with some romance mixed in. It teaches you that you should appreciate what you have. It also helps you learn that you cannot do everything by yourself and your choices all have consequences whether good or bad. This book should definitely be on your must read list.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book in order to give an honest review.
Review of “Christmas at Mistletoe Square” by Various Authors
This novel is a collection of four novellas: “The Christmas Clue Finding You” by Pepper Basham, “Silver Bell Secrets” by Cara Putman, “An Unscripted Christmas” by Teresa Tysinger, and “Dreams in Toyland” by Janine Rosche. I have read books by two of the four authors and really enjoyed them which is one reason I wanted to read this collection. The other reason is that it is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina at Christmas.
The first novella in the collection called “The Christmas Clue Finding You” was such a sweet romantic story that also had elements of forgiveness. It warmed my heart as I was reading it. It definitely made it so I wanted to live in the town of Kedgewick Creek and participate in the Christmas scavenger hunt.
“Silver Bell Secrets” is the next novella and it is also such a great story. It pulls at your heart for Avery to not feel comfortable with her learning disability. As the reader, you are wishing she would realize that it is not something she should be ashamed of or trying to hide.
“An Unscripted Christmas” is novella number three in the collection. In this story, you have a couple that has been married for awhile and are having issues to the point of wondering if they’ll make it. I found myself wanting to jump in and help them with their problems because you can tell they are so cute together when things are going well. And I also found myself knowing a great solution to part of their problem which just added to the desire to make a jump into the story.
“Dreams in Toyland” is the fourth and final novella of this collection. It is such a cute romantic comedy and has a good life lesson of not judging a book by its cover at the heart of the story.
I have to say this is one of the few Christmas collections I have read in which I could not pick a favorite novella. They were all fantastic in their own way and I enjoyed reading every single one. I have to say I thoroughly love going to the North Carolina mountains and these stories made me feel like I was right there. I definitely recommend this collection.