Foremost by Jody Hedlund

Foremost, book two in Jody Hedlund's Lost Princesses series is fantastic! I loved the theme of faithfulness to the end that runs through this book. The setting of the Highland country of Mercia is fascinating and holds many dangers that must be overcome. Maribel and Edward are tested in many ways but they continue on their quest to find Maribel's sister, Princess Adelaide. So grab a mug of tea and settle in for one of the best reads of the year! I am eagerly anticipating Hearafter the final book in the series! It will be released October 29 of 2019. I am also greatly enjoying the covers! they are gorgeous!

I was given a copy of this book by the author with no expectations. All thought's are my own.

From Amazon:

A second princess. Another key to the treasure. And a cruel king desperate to squelch the growing rebellion.

Raised in an isolated abbey, Lady Maribel desires nothing more than to become a nun and continue practicing her healing arts. She’s carefree and happy with her life…until a visitor comes to the abbey and reveals her true identity as one of the lost princesses.

When he was a young boy, Edmund Chambers helplessly watched King Ethelwulf murder his family. Edmund escaped and has lived in the abbey ever since, uniquely trained to work with wild animals. Secretly, he loves Maribel and desperately hopes she doesn’t complete her holy order vows.

When King Ethelwulf’s army arrives at the abbey to capture Maribel, she flees with Edmund across the desolate Highlands in an attempt to reach Adelaide’s rebel army. Edmund can no longer hide his love, but can Maribel give up her dreams of becoming a nun to love him in return?

YA books by Jody Hedlund:

The Lost Princesses
Prequel Novella: Always
Book 1: Evermore
Book 2: Foremost (Sept 2019)
Book 3: Hereafter (Oct 2019)

The Noble Knights
Prequel Novella: The Vow
Book 1: An Uncertain Choice
Book 2: A Daring Sacrifice
Book 3: For Love and Honor
Book 4: A Loyal Heart
Book 5: A Worthy Rebel

Other books by Jody Hedlund:

The Bride Ships Series
Book 1: A Reluctant Bride
Book 2: The Runaway Bride (March 2020)

The Orphan Train Series
Prequel Novella: An Awakened Heart
Book 1: With You Always
Book 2: Together Forever
Book 3: Searching for You

The Beacons of Hope Series
Prequel Novella: Out of the Storm
Book 1: Love Unexpected
Book 2: Hearts Made Whole
Book 3: Undaunted Hope
Book 4: Forever Safe
Book 5: Never Forget

The Michigan Brides Collection
Unending Devotion
A Noble Groom
Captured by Love

The Hearts of Faith Collection
The Preacher’s Bride
The Doctor’s Lady
Rebellious Heart

Historical
Luther and Katharina
Newton and Polly

About the author:

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Biography

Jody Hedlund is the author of over twenty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

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Cross and Cutlass: The Great Alien Deception!

Cross and Cutlass: The Great Alien Deception!: I've mentioned this before, but I think it's worth bringing up again as a reminder and also for anyone new to my blog. Or anyone...

An Amish Christmas Kitchen by Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler and Kate Lloyd

I really enjoyed reading all 3 novellas in this collection. All three authors did a wonderful job of creating the spirit of Christmas with a bit of romance for good measure. I haven't read many Amish stories for a while because I was tired of the same old stories, but these three were fresh and really drew me in. I loved the Christmas setting and all of the characters. The plots were well developed and even though they were novellas the stories were complete. As an added bonus there are recipes included at the end of each story. So grab a cup of hot chocolate and some whoopie pies and settle in for a great read.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations. All thoughts are my own.


From Amazon:

As the weather grows cold and the nights grow long, the cheer and warmth of the Christmas season is one thing all readers can find comfort in. This collection from bestselling Amish fiction novelists Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, and Kate Lloyd finds the beating heart at the center of the holiday and offers three novellas that celebrate family, faith, and especially the sights and smells of a bustling holiday kitchen.

Leslie Gould tells the story of how, in the wake of a heartbreaking loss, a young Amish woman finds unexpected comfort and hope in a yearly baking tradition surrounding the local Lancaster Christmas market. Jan Drexler offers a sweet tale of a shy Amish woman who decides to use her gift for sweets to woo a local Amish boy with her beloved Christmas cookies. And Kate Lloyd offers a heartwarming tale of a woman's unexpected discovery about the truth of her past, and the warm and welcoming Amish family table she finds herself invited to on Christmas.

About the authors:

About the Author

Leslie Gould is the coauthor, with Mindy Starns Clark, of the #1 bestselling The Amish Midwife and The Amish Nanny. She is also the author of numerous novels including two Lancaster Amish series. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Portland State University and has taught fiction writing at Multnomah University as an adjunct professor. She resides with her husband and four children in Oregon. Learn more at www.lesliegould.com.

About the Author

Jan Drexler brings a unique understanding of Amish traditions and beliefs to her writing. Her ancestors were among the first Amish, Mennonite, and Brethren immigrants to Pennsylvania in the 1700s, and their experiences are the inspiration for her stories. Jan lives in the Black Hills of South Dakota with her husband, where she enjoys hiking and spending time with her expanding family. She is the author of several Love Inspired historical novels, as well as Hannah's Choice, Mattie's Pledge (a 2017 Holt Medallion finalist), and Naomi's Hope.

Author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her bestselling novels Leaving Lancaster, Pennsylvania Patchwork, and Forever Amish, the third book in the Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy. A Letter from Lancaster County released July, 2017, and her newest novel, Starting from Scratch, released April, 2018.

Kate is a member of the Lancaster County Mennonite Historical Society. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest, the setting for Kate's first novel, A Portrait of Marguerite. Kate has worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur. For relaxation and fun, Kate enjoys walking with her camera in hand, beachcombing, and playing with her two grandchildren.

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Becoming Princess Olivia by Lisa Prysock

Becoming Princess Olivia was a cute book, but would have been better if it had been set in an imaginary kingdom. It was distracting reading about the royal family of Great Britain and have it be other than the Windsor-Mountbatten family. The plot was good and I truly enjoyed the characters, but I could not get past the setting. So if you can suspend what you know,grab a pot of tea and settle back for an otherwise enjoyable read.

From Amazon:

Miss Olivia Jane Kennedy is something of a child prodigy when she becomes a published author earlier than anyone could have expected. She also finds herself with a broken heart by the time she’s nineteen. When an opportunity arises to study abroad in England at The London Writing Academy on scholarship, she takes the chance, hoping a change of scenery will do her some good. “Ollie,” as her kid sister, Kendra, has nicknamed her, takes up residence in a Victorian terrace flat on a scenic street in Chelsea.

Four years later, she's a successful writer, age twenty-three, and about to graduate, but maybe dreams only come true for the characters she writes about in her Christian historical romance novels, her “Beloved Britannia” series.

When the handsome twenty-eight-year-old, His Royal Highness Prince Stephen, asks to share her London cab to throw the paparazzi off, the country girl who grew up on a quiet farm in Minnesota is in for the ride of her life! The Prince is everything she could have hoped for and so much more, but falling in love means risking her once broken heart on high stakes far beyond her wildest dreams.

About the author:

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Biography

Lisa M. Prysock is the author of "To Find a Duchess," "The Shoemaker," "Marry Me Katie," "Dreams of Sweetwater River," "Geneva," "Protecting Miss Jenna," and many other novels. When she was thirteen, she knew she wanted to be a mother and a writer. Lisa says she went on a detour a number of times, but the Lord generously allowed both of her dreams to come true. Today, she writes both Christian Historical Romance and Christian Contemporary Romance books--"Romance with a Dash of Food, Fashion, Faith, & Fun."

Each of her books have a theme such as suffering, the depths of God's love for us, mercy, overcoming, discovering purpose, and more. Many of her books have fun, interesting characters and they often shine a spotlight on influential evangelicals in history such as Booth, Chapman, Moody, Charles Wesley, Spurgeon, Fanny Crosby, and more. She is also the author of a devotional.

"I don't know how it happens but most of my books end up in beautiful England or Kentucky, and of course, Wyoming."

Kentucky inspires her writing and is home. She is happily married to her husband of more than 20 years and homeschooled two of their five children, all grown. Lisa grew up in the Ohio Valley and also spent her early childhood years in Wisconsin and Minnesota on a farm. "Yes, there were chickens, a cow named Daisy, horses, a huge vegetable garden, fishing, a tree house, and snowmobiles!"

Lisa remembers writing her very first book in kindergarten in Wisconsin, with help from the teacher. "It was a book about 'Curious George.' I couldn't spell yet, but the teacher wrote words beneath my illustrations for what I wanted to say on each page and stapled the pages together for me." She has been writing ever since. She won a prize for a short chapter story in 8th grade and remembers buying a manual typewriter with some of her first earnings.

Some of her interests include walking, swimming, working out, cross stitch, sewing, crochet, sketching and painting, dollhouses, gardening, shopping and fashion, cooking and baking, hanging out with her family, watching movies, and reading/writing great books. She likes chocolate, dancing, learning to play the piano and violin ("a painful process," she admits), coffee, tea, flip flops, hats, butterflies, hydrangeas, roses, petunias, dill pickle flavored chips, and driving around in her red Jeep with the sunroof open, blasting the volume and singing to the Lord. Some of her favorite music artists include Jordan Feliz, Tedashii, Hollyn, Lecrae, Toby Mac, Michael W. Smith, and For King & Country.

A few of her favorite books include the "Little House on the Prairie" series, the "Anne of Green Gables" collection, the Jane Austen collection, C.S. Lewis books, "Heidi," "Christy," "Jane Eyre," and "Little Women."

She enjoys writing family oriented, romantic, sweet, clean, wholesome literature and likes to make readers smile and laugh. Sharing her faith in Christ and uplifting and encouraging others through her writing in an interesting way is her number one aspiration. She believes people need and want to know how wonderful the Lord is and attributes her dream of writing coming true entirely to Him. Her writing theme verse is Acts 16:31, Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved--you and your household. Her slogan is "The Old-Fashioned Everything Girl."

Lisa gives a generous portion of the proceeds of her books each month to missionaries and evangelists to further the gospel, striving to follow the model of Lydia in the New Testament, who supported and gave to Paul and Barnabas with her substance. For more information about this author and to find out when her next book will launch, enter book giveaways, and find more reader resources, she can be found at: www.LisaPrysock.com

State of Lies by Siri Mitchell

Siri Mitchell's State of Lies kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time I was reading it. There is non stop action and it wasn't until the last few chapters that the culprits became known. I loved the plot and the cast of characters was quite well developed. This book was very realistic and could be pulled from today's headlines. So grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and prepare to miss a bit sleep as you enjoy the story!

I was given a copy of State Of Lies by NetGalley.com with no expectations. All thoughts are my own.

From Amazon:

The secrets of those closest to us can be the most dangerous of all.

Months after her husband, Sean, is killed by a hit-and-run driver, physicist Georgie Brennan discovers he lied to her about where he had been going that day. A cryptic notebook, a missing computer, and strange noises under her house soon have her questioning everything she thought she knew.

With her job hanging by a thread, her son struggling to cope with his father’s death, and her four-star general father up for confirmation as the next secretary of defense, Georgie quickly finds herself tangled in a web of political intrigue that has no clear agenda and dozens of likely villains.

Only one thing is clear: someone wants her dead too. And the more she digs for the truth, the fewer people she can trust.

Not her friends.

Not her parents.

Maybe not even herself.

Praise for State of Lies:

“Don’t miss this thrilling ride.” —Kelly Irvin, author of Over the Line

“Siri Mitchell has created a story that will suck you in and not let go. With twists and turns, international intrigue, and danger galore, this book reads like a psychological thriller mixed with healthy doses of suspense.” —Cara Putman, author of the Hidden Justice series

About the author:

 Following

Biography

When I'm listening to a speaker and I'm taking notes, chances are, I've just had a great idea for a plot or a dialogue. If I'm nodding my head in response to a really profound statement, I'm probably thinking, 'Yes. Right. That's exactly what my character needs to hear.'

When I'm editing my manuscripts, I laugh at the funny parts. And I cry at the sad parts.

Sometimes I even talk to my characters. 'Okay, Joe. Talk to me. Tell me what you're thinking here.' And yes, the characters answer me. I actually hear them talking in my head.

Half the time, I think I'm an okay writer. The other half, I'm tempted to take a magnet to the hard drive.

The easy part is writing. The hardest part is editing. The worst part is wondering if the books are going to sell.

I have plenty of ideas for books; the thing I lack is the time to write them. I write by the word. Other writers write by the page. However you want to tally it, 90,000 words is a lot of pages.

In the world of writing I have done nothing right. I wrote 4 books and accumulated 153 rejections before I signed with a publisher. And then I had to write a fifth book so that they could publish it. In the process, I saw the bottoms of more pints of Ben & Jerry's than I care to admit. I vowed never to write another word again. Ever. I went on writing strikes and I even stooped to threatening my manuscripts with the shredder.

However. Here I am, over a dozen books into the process. And if you haven't heard the news yet, I'm also writing under the pseudonym Iris Anthony!

Learn more about me on the web at http://sirimitchell.com Learn more about Iris Anthony at http://irisanthony.com

**author photo by Tim Coburn