inspirational romance

A December Wedding by Denise Hunter ~ Sharing My Review

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Purchase Link~
DeeperShopping.com

About the book~

What started as a whim turned into an accidental — and very public — engagement. Can Layla and Seth keep up the façade in Chapel Springs this holiday season – for the sake of her career . . . and his heart? Under normal circumstances, Seth Murphy — the best friend of Layla O’Reilly’s ex-fiancé — would be the last person she’d marry. But the news of their upcoming (and phony) nuptials convinces a big client that Layla may be high-society enough to work for his agency — a coup that would put her fledgling home-staging business on the map. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, even when she was dating his best friend. Maybe she’ll never forgive him for the way he hurt her back then, but he has to try. And Layla is willing to keep up their engagement farce until she’s landed her client. For Layla, it’s the chance to save her career. But for Seth, it’s his last chance to win her heart.

Sharing My Review~
A December Bride draws you into Layla’s predicament right from the first page. Layla’s friendly date cancels on her at the last moment, and she’s determined to find another one, pronto. After all, the wedding she’s attending should have been hers, but the groom’s marrying her cousin instead. Seth Murphy offers to take her, and while she hasn’t forgiven Jack’s buddy for his role in their breakup, she’s not about to miss the wedding and the chance to show her ex-fiance that she’s so over him.

I just love a hero who’s loved the heroine for a very long time, but the circumstances kept them apart, and Seth fills the hero role to perfection. He should have asked Layla out first, but Jack beat him to it. Now that Jack’s married, this is Seth’s chance, but he almost blows it. 

Layla set the white votive inside the Mason jar and slid it down the table to Murphy.

He caught the jar and cut a length of twine. “I swear they’re going to revoke my man card.”

Layla scooped sugar into the next jar and arranged red berries around the votive. “You own a hardware store; I think your manhood is intact.”

He scowled. “I’m tying bows on glass knickknacks. Don’t you need some wood chopped or something?”

“What I need is thirty of these to line the walkway, so butch up and tie the bow.”

Cute, adorable sparring keeps the dialog moving along at a face pace, and A December Bride packs just enough heat to make me reach for the air conditioner switch in the middle of winter. Denise Hunter is now on my must-read list, and A December Bride could slide very easily onto your bookshelf any time of the year!

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Zondervan  Fiction and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing this book. I received a free copy of A December Bride in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.

Have you read FIVE DAYS IN SKYE by Carla Laureano?

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
Five Days in Skye

About the book~
Hospitality consultant Andrea Sullivan has one last chance to snag a high-profile client or she’ll have to kiss her dreams of promotion good-bye. When she’s sent to meet Scottish celebrity chef James MacDonald on the Isle of Skye, she just wants to finish her work as efficiently as possible. Yet her client is not the opportunistic womanizer he portrays himself to be, and her attraction to him soon dredges up memories she’d rather leave buried. For James, renovating the family hotel is a fulfillment of his late father’s dreams. When his hired consultant turns out to be beautiful, intelligent, and completely unimpressed by his public persona, he makes it his mission to win her over. He just never expects to fall under her spell.

Soon, both Andrea and James must face the reality that God may have a far different purpose for their lives—and that five days in Skye will forever change their outlook on life and love.


Meet the cast~

“I like men. I just don’t particularly trust them.” 
Meet Andrea Sullivan. After a disastrous marriage straight out of college, Andrea abandons her dream of playing in a symphony and strives to become Vice President of a hospitality consultant firm, ignoring the hurtful zingers from the men she works with about her personal life. She’s a workaholic with a strong closing ratio, and that coveted VP designation is right around the next contract.

Until she runs across celebrity Chef James MacDonald, who’s flirty and fun. His smile ignites her dormant excitement about life, but he’s too much like her ex-husband to stand a fighting chance to claim her heart. Besides, he’s fighting his own demons from the past. After a devastating breakup with his ex-fiance, he’s determined not to become emotionally entangled again. It doesn’t help that Andrea’s equally determined not to be just a pretty girl on his arm.

Sharing my thoughts~
OK. Here’s where I confess that I’m not particularly enamored with either the cover or the title, so this book sat unopened in my kindle for at least a month. But, when I read the first few pages and they totally reeled me in, I was hooked! What a playful, engaging book! I loved it, from the cast of characters to feeling like I was actually touring Scotland, if only in the pages of a book. 

I mean, really. What’s not to like about this?

“The entire Sound of Sleat spread out in front of them, a wide expanse of blue. Gentle waves lapped at the rocky beach below, creating lacy ripples of white froth against the dark sand. Across, she could see the mountainous edge of the Scottish mainland. The sun had finally risen, and now the sky was a brilliant blue, dotted with fluffy white clouds.”

Don’t you just want to dive into the pages of this book? Or book a trip to Scotland? Yeah, I know. I hear ya. If I like that excerpt, why don’t I like the cover? For some reason (lack of people maybe?) the cover doesn’t work for me. This is a prime example of why I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but that’s such a challenge for me.


If you know me, you know I love “happily-ever-after’s.” Like the title implies, this book covered just five days, so there wasn’t what I’d call a “proper” HEA, but the ending definitely left me satisfied. No spoilers from me. You’ll just have to read the book. Those Five Days in Skye are jam-packed with character depth, emotions and setting. 

Reviewers have noted that Five Days in Skye isn’t your typical Christian romance. Some readers might not appreciate particular topics like drinking wine/ale with meals, which I considered to be more of a cultural difference. It’s also rated high on the kissing intensity scale, yet I found the scenes well-balanced with emotional tenderness and never graphic. I appreciate how the author showed realistic characters and tackled sensitive issues like this:

“Christians like to talk about love and forgiveness, but they’re no better than anyone else. They’d sooner judge you than accept you. I’d rather be a heathen than a hypocrite.”

Ouch.

Have you read Five Days in Skye? 

Do you agree with my review? What were your thoughts?
What about you? Do you decide whether to read a book based on whether you like its cover?

Purchase Link

Disclaimer: I scooped this book up from Amazon when it was offered free. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

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Have You Read DARK ROAD HOME by Elizabeth Ludwig?

/ Dora Hiers / 6 Comments
Dark Road Home by
Elizabeth Ludwig

About the book~
The nightmares of her past have found Ana Kavanagh an ocean away.
Ana Kavanagh’s memories of Ireland are mostly of fire and pain. As a girl she survived a blaze that left her an orphan, left her scarred, and left her angry at God. Now in New York, Ana finds a kindred spirit in Eoghan Hamilton, who’s struggling with his own anger. His twin sister, Cara, betrayed him by falling in love with his enemy.

Cast aside by everyone, Eoghan hopes to rejoin the Fenians, an organization pushing for change back in Ireland, by securing information against Rourke, the man his sister married. Ana, Cara’s friend, may be his best source, and despite the attraction he feels, Eoghan determines to use the girl’s sweet nature to his advantage.

Adding to the danger is a specter from Eoghan’s own past, one whose thirst for vengeance knows no bounds. Eoghan must choose which road to follow–bitterness or forgiveness–and where to finally place his trust.

My Summary…
Irish immigrants Ana Kavanagh and Eoghan Hamilton both vowed never to cross the threshold of a church again, but for different reasons. Beaten and bruised by the Fenians and bitter over his sister’s betrayal, Eoghan wakes, gazing up at a steeple, robbed of his last coin. Father Ed offers a meal in exchange for some work around the church. Ana blames God for the fire that ravaged her home, killing her mother and sister, and leaving her an orphan far away from her home. When Ana’s friend practically drags her to the church to help feed the women and children staying in the mission, Ana discovers Eoghan’s identity. While Eoghan barters to get back in the good graces of the Fenians, Ana hopes to reunite Eoghan with his sister. Neither of them are aware of the rippling effect one circumstance has on the other.  

My Review…

Typically, I’m not a huge history buff, but the author did a great job sparking my interest in 19th century life for Irish immigrants living in New York. 

As circumstances brought Eoghan and Ana together, each had to decide whether to stay bitter or forgive. This was especially true for Eoghan. Faced with a life or death situation, he was forced to choose who to trust. Their faith journey was totally realistic and organic to the story.

What an interesting, intense plot with layers of depth! This isn’t a book you’ll breeze through in a couple of hours. I savored it over a few nights, soaking up the history and the author’s delightful way with words. This was a new author to me, and I’ll definitely be keeping abreast of future books by Elizabeth Ludwig!

To note…

I definitely recommend reading the first book in the series, No Safe Harbor, before Dark Road Home. The plot started with No Safe Harbor and continues, I suspect all the way through the third book in the series. Also, had I read No Safe Harbor first, I believe that my questions about the Fenians would have been resolved sooner. 


Purchase Link

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Elizabeth Ludwig and Bethany House Publishers  for providing me with an advance review copy of Dark Road Home. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

Have you read Dark Road Home? 
Do you agree with my review? What were your thoughts?
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