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Excited about Reading: Now & Forever by Mary Connealy

/ Dora Hiers / 2 Comments
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The Cover Story ~

Saddle up for romance and adventure with the Wilde sisters!

Shannon Wilde is the middle sister–and the one who loves animals. She’s established her own homestead and is raising sheep for their wool. Things are going fine…until Shannon gets swept over a cliff by Matthew Tucker!

Tucker seizes every opportunity to get away from civilization, but one particular walk in the woods ends with him sprinting away from an angry grizzly and plunging into a raging river, accidentally taking Shannon Wilde with him. Their adventure in the wilderness results in the solitary mountain man finding himself hitched to a young woman with a passel of relatives, a homestead, and a flock of sheep to care for.

As Tucker and Shannon learn to live with each other, strange things begin to happen on Shannon’s land. Someone clearly wants to drive her off, but whoever it is apparently didn’t count on Tucker. Trying to scare Matthew Tucker just makes him mad–and trying to hurt the woman he’s falling in love with sets off something even he never expected. 

Sharing my takeaway ~
I just love Connealy’s kick-em-in-the-teeth, explosive, laugh-out-loud openings scenes! They never fail to yank me right into the story. By the end of the first chapter, my palms are sweaty and hubby’s asking what is so funny. Now & Forever was no different.  

Circumstances led Shannon and Tucker to an abrupt wedding shortly into the book, but the romance didn’t stop there. No, it progressed until the very last page, sweet, funny and oh-so-tender. There was never any doubt about their love for each other. They had plenty of obstacles, though, to keep me turning pages.

Nightmares plague Shannon and at one point she questions where God was during the war. Tucker’s faith is steadfast and sure, and I like how he responded without judgment, by suggesting that she bring her doubts to God and not to hide them, that God’s big enough to handle our doubts.

I thought Tried & True, the first book in the Wild at Heart series featuring Kylie and Aaron, might’ve been my favorite Connealy book, but I was wrong. Now & Forever took its place, but that seems to happen with every one of her books. Both books can be read as stand alone, but trust me and just start with the first one. You won’t be sorry! Contemporary and historical romance readers alike will enjoy Now & Forever. Set aside a few hours to read it, though, because you won’t be able to put it down! 

Disclaimer: Sending a big thanks to NetGalley and Baker Publishing Group/Bethany House Publishers for the privilege of reviewing Now & Forever. I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.

Excited about Reading ~ Just One Kiss by Wendy Davy

/ Dora Hiers
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The Cover Story~

After acting on a dare and kissing the hottest guy at Granbury High, Molly Parker was left with a broken heart and a legacy she couldn’t live down; Dustin McKinley left town the very next day, taking her hopes and dreams along with him. A decade later…they meet again.

Molly assures herself she won’t fall for Dustin’s charms this time, yet with his good looks and dimpled smile, guarding her heart proves to be more of a challenge than she ever expected.

When Dustin inherits his grandmother’s farmhouse he returns to Granbury intending to sell the property. However, he must first evict the tenant occupying the garage apartment—the woman he walked away from years ago and has never been able to forget.

Dustin assures himself he’s doing what must be done, but when he reunites with Molly his attraction to her rekindles, jeopardizing his carefully constructed plans.

My takeaway~
Just One Kiss was all it took for Dustin McKinley to bolt for New York, leaving Molly Parker embarrassed about accepting the dare that sent him running. When another man swindles her savings, she’s over men and dating, content to grow flowers over relationships. That is until Dustin returns, and both are confronted with feelings that never faded. A few hurdles stand in their way, though, an eviction notice, the demands of Dustin’s job, and Carter Hutchins, the guy who plans to seduce Molly.

With a twenty-something hero and heroine who both value purity, Just One Kiss is sweet and soft, the kind of book that leaves you with an “ahhh” at the last page.

“I want to be loyal to my future marriage. I believe my body is a gift I should save for my husband.” ~Molly Parker

I especially enjoyed the parallel woven into the story involving Lakota, a homeless Labrador Retriever who the whole town cares for, with Dustin.

“She just has to believe she’s found the right place to be.” ~ Molly Parker on Lakota, the town’s stray dog 

 If you’re looking for a pleasant read to curl up with for a few hours on a rainy Saturday, you can’t go wrong with Just One Kiss. 

~ Dora, Fiction Faith and Foodies Blog

Disclaimer: I purchased Just One Kiss. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.

On My Kindle ~ BEYOND THE WAVES by Lynnette Bonner

/ Dora Hiers
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The Cover Story~
Can a Love Shattered by the Sands of Time…Rise Beyond the Waves?

Taysia Green nearly chokes on her water when Officer Kylen Sumner shows up in her office claiming he’s back in town because he loves her. Since he’s broken her heart more than once, and she recently started dating youth pastor Blaine Pittman, she wants absolutely nothing to do with Kylen. But he’s been asked to stand in as the mediator between Taysia and wannabe model Sophia Clinesmith, who twisted her ankle in the parking lot of Taysia’s business and is threatening a lawsuit.

If she didn’t need him to help save her gym, Taysia would tell Kylen to take a long midnight walk on a short cliffside trail. She’s perfectly happy with her life just the way it is. So why is it that just the sight of Kylen Sumner sets her traitorous heart to dancing faster than it did the time Blaine kissed her?

Sharing my thoughts~ 
Don’t you just love reunion stories, especially where the characters never stopped loving each other, and the hero is oh so determined to overcome his past mistakes and show the heroine how much he’s changed? :dreamy sigh: Totally my kinda read and write, and Beyond the Waves is exactly all that and more!

Back in high school, Taysia didn’t hang out with the cool kids. When Kylen moved next door during the summer and they struck up a tight friendship that quickly transitioned to romance, she warned him that he would be ostracized, but he only scoffed. You see where that’s going, right? Yeah, Kylen broke her heart…twice. After a few years apart, Kylen’s back, and he’s determined to romance the woman who never let go of his heart, to show her that he’s a changed man.

And romance he does, with gifts and flirting and buckets of romantic tension. I thoroughly enjoyed several laugh-out-loud funny scenes, but Beyond the Waves isn’t all fun and fluff. It tackles some tough topics like abortion, premarital sex, pregnancy outside of marriage, with sensitivity and a tender touch, and a gentle faith thread makes the entire plot a beautiful tapestry, a book I was loathe to put down because I sooo wanted Kylen and Taysia to reach their happily ever after.

“None of us deserve grace, Sophia. I certainly didn’t. But God gave it to me when I asked Him. So how can I give any less to those around me?”

Lynnette Bonner is a new author to me, but she’s definitely on my radar now! And I can’t wait to dive into Caught in the Current, the second book in the Pacific Shores series, featuring Marie and Reece several years later. Of course, the sweet excerpt at the end of this book with an adorable three-year-old just whet my appetite! Overall, I’m so thrilled to add another author to my must-read list!

“We all make mistakes. And since there’s no going back, only forward, it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to linger on those mistakes. We just ask for forgiveness from those we’ve wronged, and try to do better next time.” 

Disclaimer: I received this book free from Amazon. The opinions expressed in this review are my own, and I received no monetary compensation.