Inspirational

ACFW December 2012 New Releases

/ Dora Hiers

Be still my heart! Check out all the new romances!

A Wedding Date in Hot Springs, Arkansas by Annalisa Daughety — Violet and Jackson both need dates to special events, so they hire a matchmaker to find somebody. Horrified when they meet—they already know and dislike each other from college—but with no other recourse, they agree to “pretend.” After a planned kiss with unexpected chemistry, will this sham arrangement turn into love?. (Contemporary Romance from Barbour Publishing).

The Fairest Beauty by Melanie Dickerson — In this retelling of the Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs fairy tale, Sophie has little choice but to trust her betrothed’s brother, Gabe, to help her escape the evil Duchess Ermengard. (Historical from Zondervan).

A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnn Diorio — When Sonia Pettit’s teenage daughter suddenly disappears for seven long years, Sonia faces losing her mind, her husband, and her son as she struggles to forgive her wayward daughter and trust God for her return. (Contemporary from Harbourlight Books (Pelican).

A Promise to Protect by Liz Johnson — Navy SEAL Matt Waterstone knows about keeping people safe. When his best friend’s sister is attacked, Matt promises no harm will come to Ashley Sawyer-not on his watch. But Matt’s not the only protective one. Ashley will do anything to safeguard the residents of the battered women’s shelter she runs. She’s sure she can handle the threats she gets in return. What she can’t handle is the way Matt scales the walls around her heart. Yet when she falls prey to a crime web far more sinister than she’d realized, trusting Matt could be the only way to survive… (Romantic Suspense from Love Inspired Suspense).

Sagebrush Knights by Erica Vetsch — Evelyn, Jane, Gwendolyn, and Emeline Gerhard arrive in Wyoming Territory in search of husbands. But when the men awaiting them are not the knights-in-shining-armor they hoped for, it will take a hearty dose of faith to see them through. Will love prevail or bring a not so happy ending? (Romantic Suspense from Barbour Publishing).

Counterfeit Cowboy by Lacy Williams — A con man with a conscience meets and falls in love with a girl way out of his league. (Historical Romance from Love Inspired).

More details for each books can be found at ACFW’s Fiction Finder website.

Everybody Loves Mickey by Therese M. Travis – My Review

/ Dora Hiers / 4 Comments

About the book:

He’s a saint with a tarnished halo, and Aubrey Thomas can’t stand him…or can she? 

Handsome fireman, Mickey Hurst is loved by all. He volunteers at the local parish where Aubrey Thomas works as an administrator. He sings in the choir. He leads the youth group. He even acts as the church handyman, but Aubrey knew him before he became Saint Mickey—when he told her he’d have to be drunk to kiss her…and he was. What’s so infuriating is that despite his horrible admission, Aubrey loves Mickey as much as everybody else. 

Mickey doesn’t blame Aubrey for disliking him. After all, he kissed her when he wasn’t sober—and insulted her, to boot. Aubrey deserved a better man—a Godly man. But, since that fateful kiss, Mickey’s drawn closer to the Lord. With the intercession of God and the matchmaking parish staff, Mickey prays that this Christmas he will be able to prove to Aubrey he’s now the man for her.

My review: 
Don’t you just love the cover? It looks so fun and playful, and that’s exactly how I felt about this book. 

Mickey kissed Aubrey while he was drunk but apologized the next morning, blaming the kiss on the alcohol. Like he’d never be tempted to kiss Aubrey while he wasn’t inebriated. Aubrey enjoyed the kiss, hated the apology. He hasn’t been able to look her in the eye since that kiss years ago, and she hasn’t forgiven him. Great conflict! The author even tucked in a little subplot with a theme: One sin is not greater or less than another. 

It’s been a year since I read any Christmas novellas. I forgot how enjoyable, and how short, they can be. I would have liked a little more…ending. But, even so, the end was sweet. 

Overall, this was a great story to spend a couple hours relaxing with in front of the fireplace on a cold winter evening. Sure to make you smile. 


Available with White Rose Publishing as part of their 2012 Christmas Extravaganza offering. To purchase or to read an excerpt of Everybody Loves Mickey, click here. 
Disclosure: I received this book from the author for a fair and honest review.

JOURNEY’S EMBRACE coming March 1st!

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments

He heard water running in the shower. Now what? He glanced around the room, his gaze stopping at her bedside table. Curiosity made him investigate. A raggedy stuffed doll with red stringy hair sat plopped against the lamp. Cell phone charger. A picture frame.

Who did she want to see when morning dawned? Who was the last person on her mind when she turned out the light at night?

He picked up the frame and stared at a picture of the three of them. Dane, Steven and Sage, at her college graduation. He smiled. Humbled, yet gratified, at the same time. She pictured them the same way he did.

As family.

“Why should I leave my house?” Her quiet words from behind surprised him.

He fumbled with the picture frame and settled it back on the table. He hadn’t heard the door open or the water stop. He turned around, gulped.

Dane’s shoulder length hair framed her face and rosy cheeks shimmered with goodness. Wearing jeans and a turquoise shirt that hugged her figure, she reminded him about what was good in life. Wholesome, outdoorsy.

It made him think about campfires and roasting marshmallows, about cooler temperatures and football games, about the spectacular colors and beauty of fall. How leaves fall from the sky to make room for new green buds in the spring. Seasons. And how life changed. How she’d grown from a pesky kid into a beautiful woman.

Dane made him forget the ugliness in the world.

But only for a minute.



After an injury forces Deputy U.S. Marshal Sage Michaelson off duty, he heads to his hometown with two things on his mind: recuperating and reevaluating, but Sage can’t refuse his best friend’s plea to keep a protective eye on his little sister after someone ransacks her house. But Delaney’s not so little anymore—and definitely not the young “Dane” Sage remembers. 


Flight Medic Delaney Hunt has loved Sage forever. But, he’s all about control and order while she embraces life and takes risks. As much as the idea appeals to her, she doesn’t need Sage looking over her shoulder. But when things go wrong and she finds herself hanging by her fingertips, who does she call to rescue her?
Will Delaney ever be the woman Sage wants by his side? Can Sage learn to live by grace, recognizing that God is in control? Can they overcome their fears to embrace life together?


Coming March 1, 2013
White Rose Publishing.

If you would like to read and post a review of  Journey’s Embrace on Amazon, Goodreads, and/or your blog, please contact me at 
Dora (at) DoraHiers (dot) com. 
I have a few pdf review copies available.