inspirational romance

Excited about Reading ~ His Wounded Heart By R. L. Syme

/ Dora Hiers
Purchase Link
The cover story:
Sean Raleigh has fired every nurse and physical therapist within firing radius. He wants to be left alone in his invalid despair. But when his best friend hires the beautiful Jaclyn Dalton, Sean’s curiosity about her selflessness and unwavering faith keeps him from sending her away.
Jaclyn needs this job to stay in Montana, but Sean’s icy heart and raging bitterness threaten to drive her away.
He believes his immobility is a punishment from some controlling but distant deity, yet she sees him crying out for a compassionate God he doesn’t believe in. Jaclyn wants to help Sean recognize the grace that can be his, even if she has to leave him to do it, which draws her into a surprising level of emotional vulnerability-a vulnerability that will be the key to healing Sean’s wounded heart.
My takeaway:
I must admit that initially I wasn’t too fond of Sean, the shoe-throwing jerk who refused to do physical therapy or hang onto a nurse. But as the story progressed and the details of his accident emerged, he grew on me, and I appreciated how much courage and strength it took for him to change over the course of the book.
The moment he touched her soft skin, he forgot all about his knee injuries, his braces, and the fact that he couldn’t stand on his own legs yet. Her smooth hand in his own, combined with the solid strength of her grip, produced a heavy thud in his chest. For one glorious moment, he could have been a whole, healthy man again, able to climb a mountain. ~Sean Raleigh
Sean labels Christians based on his experience with his father, but Carter and Jaclyn’s selfless actions slowly erode his opinion. Faced with an angry and bitter former athlete, I’m not sure I would’ve showered him with unending grace and generous love like Carter and Jaclyn, but it was a great picture of how God loves us, despite our bitterness and brokenness and in the midst of our pain and struggles. Sean also questions whether he could believe in a God who allowed bad things like his accident to happen.
Jaclyn loved a God who was real. His dad used religion to get obedience from his children, or his employees, or his wife. He used a set of beliefs to get what he wanted out of other people. He had no concept of who God really was.

It was hard to separate the two, since they claimed to worship the same God. But they didn’t. A blind fool could see the difference.
Although Sean did the most growing in His Wounded Heart, Jaclyn struggled through a rough patch herself. I appreciated that she didn’t waver in her faith, but I actually doubted if this book would deliver a happily-ever-after.
A warm, peaceful feeling spread through her chest, and she closed her eyes. As she often did when she felt God’s presence, she opened her imagination, and let the Holy Spirit comfort her. She imagined herself as a little girl, sitting on her father’s lap, held safely in his powerful arms. The peace deepened. God was at her side, and no matter what happened, He would always be with her like this.

With so much depth, physical, emotional, and spiritual, this isn’t a fluffy romance to scurry through in a couple hours. I savored this one over a few hours, rooting for Sean to be physically healed and for both of them to be emotionally whole so they could be together. Overall, I really enjoyed His Wounded Heart and would definitely pick up another book by R. L. Syme.

Disclaimer: I received His Wounded Heart free from Pelican Book Group as part of their 40 days of Lent free e-book program.

Excited about Reading ~ Her Nerdy Cowboy by Annette M. Irby

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments
Purchase Link ~ FREE through Lent

The Cover Story~

Whoever heard of a bookish cowboy? When Logan McDaniel’s brother-in-law dies, he steps in to help his beloved sister run her ranch. But what does a city boy know of herding cattle? Claire Langley loved her cousin. After he dies, she agrees to serve as a temporary nanny for two heartbroken children. Claire and Logan find they share a love of books, and Claire can’t resist the nerdy uncle who is great with children, and who reads to her of pirate romance. Claire’s ailing mother needs her in Seattle. Can she break away? And if she does, can there ever be a future for Logan and her?

My takeaway~
Chunky black eyeglasses and a book lover? Awesome! So Logan McDaniel isn’t your typical cowboy hero, but I admired him anyway. Not only did he put his career on hold to help his recently widowed sister with the kids, but horseback riding and ranching isn’t his thing. 

He was not up to this filling-another-man’s-shoes task, no matter what his mother said or Macy thought. He wasn’t heroic, as Claire and his sister declared. Just woefully nerdy and inadequate. But he’d try. Beginning in just a few hours at four-dark-nasty in the morning.


And what woman wouldn’t love a man who’s good with kids? Of course, that endears him to Nanny Claire. But when Claire becomes ill, and he brings dinner and reads to her…insert dreamy sigh. Yeah. Hero, right?

I can understand being reluctant to pick up a dollar download, but this petite thirty seven pages covers two years, from the cute meet to the…well, let’s just say it covers two years, so you won’t feel short-changed. Her Nerdy Cowboy is flirty and light, and is the perfect size and flavor to read during your lunch break or in the pick-up line at school. And did I mention that it’s FREE all through Lent? Don’t wait! But even if you can’t scoop it up before the sale ends, it’s only $1. 🙂 

Disclaimer: I received Her Nerdy Cowboy FREE from Pelican Book Group as part of their 40 days of Lent free e-book program.

On My Kindle ~ BETTING ON HOPE by Debra Clopton

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments
Pre-Order Link

The Cover Story~

Book 1 of FOUR OF HEARTS ROMANCE series
A bet gone wrong. A small town’s meddling. And a cowboy intent on saving his ranch.
Maggie Hope is an advice columnist whose background leaves her with little advice to give . . . and it’s beginning to show. When Maggie fills in at an interview with champion horse trainer Tru Monahan, the on-camera chemistry between them is undeniable. Maggie’s bosses know this is the opportunity she’s been looking for to launch her career—and their bank accounts. In order to save her column, Maggie takes Tru up on the bet that he can teach her to ride a quick-stepping cutting horse like any cowgirl, despite the fact that she has never been on a horse. And in the meantime, she can get the scoop on the man under the cowboy hat.

Tru has been on the competition circuit for longer than he’d like, but he knows it’s the only way he can afford to keep the Four of Hearts Ranch that means so much to his ailing grandfather. So when his sponsors see the opportunity for Tru’s fans to get to know the star on a more intimate level, he knows he must oblige. To his dismay, Maggie not only invades his small town of Wishing Springs, but she also invades his heart, and that is something he cannot let any woman do—for her own good.
In Wishing Springs, Maggie finds what she has always been looking for: a community and a home. But when her past catches up to her, it threatens everything, even the tender hope that this town holds all of her heart’s desires.

My takeaway~ 
Horse Trainer Tru Monahan’s life is more public right now than he’d like, but those endorsements help pay off the staggering debt on his beloved Four of Hearts Ranch. Advice Columnist Maggie Hope longs for a family, but that would involve trusting a man, something her father taught her not to do from an early age. It wouldn’t be a Debra Clopton book without town matchmakers, and Reba and Clara Lyn, co-owners of the Cut Up and Roll Salon, fill that role nicely. Also, just like the Mule Hollow series, Wishing Springs becomes the new “dating destination.”

Betting on Hope packed in plenty of real life issues like Alzheimer’s, teen pregnancy, adoption, sterility, and a main character hoping to keep an unsavory past hidden. While I cared about the three-dimensional characters and the story kept me turning pages, I would have preferred more, um, sizzle in the actual romance, but that’s just me. I bet (lol, pun intended) fans of the popular Mule Hollow series will enjoy Betting on Hope, available 2/15/15 with Thomas Nelson Fiction.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley and Thomas Nelson Fiction for the purpose of sharing my review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.