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Here to Stay by Melissa Tagg ~ Sharing My Review

/ Dora Hiers
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About Here to Stay ~ After playing nomad for five years, Blake Hunziker has finally had enough of adventure. Not sure what reception he’ll get from everyone back in Whisper Shore, he’s stunned at not only a warm welcome from his hometown but also a job offer. The job is his if he can successfully pull off the annual Christmas Festival. If only he knew the first thing about coordinating events…

If there’s one thing Autumn Kingsley knows, it’s Whisper Shore. For years, she’s been stuck running her family’s inn when all she wants is to see the world. Now she has a visit scheduled from a potential investor who could take over the inn, as well as a dream job offer in Paris. But with just two weeks to whip the inn into shape, her chance at escape is a long shot.

The Hunzikers and the Kingsleys may not get along, but Blake knows Autumn’s the only one who can help him. She agrees to a trade–she’ll help with the Festival and he’ll help with inn repairs. But what was meant to be a simple deal quickly becomes much more than that when the guy who’s done running away joins forces with the girl who can’t wait to leave.

Sharing My Review~
Oooh, I loved this book. Everything from the ornery secondary characters to the quaint town of Whisper Shore to the funny little “happenings.” And, oy, the romance…

From the very first page, I could almost feel the chilly lake breeze and picture the “pale ribbon of beach, where the turquoise waters of Lake Michigan tussled with the shore.” I got Autumn’s frustration with her predicament, owning and loving Kingsley Inn, but the lack of tourism has drained her bank account. Autumn carries around the weight of a dreamer father who put the lust for Paris in her heart. 


Adventurous Blake, who’s wandered the globe seeking peace, finally returns home to face his past. He worries about how he’ll fit in the small tight-knit community, and if his parents and friends will still blame him for his brother’s death. Understandable since he still blames himself.
It doesn’t take long for Autumn to question what she really wants and for Blake to realize what’s really important.

“We shared an awareness that life’s greatest adventure is love. Loving each other, loving others. And being loved-first by God, then by each other. There’s no better purpose.” ~ Mrs. Satterly


The bad blood between the two families, the Kingsley’s and the Hunziker’s, is almost a modern day Montague-Capulet story, and keeps ramping up the conflict. Tagg balanced some weighty stuff with grace and humor. One minute I was chuckling, the next I was reaching for a tissue. Here to Stay has it all: awesome characters, zippy dialogue, realistic emotions, great story line. If you enjoy romance (not just inspirational!), you’ll want to scoop this one up. 


Oh, and Blake also appeared in Tagg’s first book, Made to Last as the fake hubby of Miranda Woodruff, who makes an appearance here. Totally loved that book, too. If you haven’t read it, you’ll definitely want to pick that one up first. 

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing Here to Stay and for the free copy I received in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.

Meant to Be Mine by Becky Wade ~ Sharing My Review

/ Dora Hiers
Purchase Link

About the book~

Ty Porter has always been irresistible to Celia Park. All through high school–irresistible. When their paths cross again after college–still irresistible. This time, though, Ty seems to feel exactly the same way about Celia. Their whirlwind romance deposits them at a street-corner Las Vegas wedding chapel. 


The next morning they wake to a marriage certificate and a dose of cold reality. Celia’s ready to be Ty’s wife, but Ty’s not ready to be her husband. He’s a professional bull rider, he lives on the road, and he’s long planned to settle down with the hometown girl he’s known since childhood. 
Five and a half years pass. Celia’s buried her dreams so that she can afford to raise her daughter. Ty’s achieved all of his goals. Or thought he had, until he looks again into the eyes of the woman he couldn’t forget and into the face of the child he never knew he had.
How much will Ty sacrifice to win back Celia’s trust and prove to her that their spontaneous marriage can still become the love of a lifetime?
Sharing my thoughts~
Bull Rider Ty Porter is confident, flirtatious, and determined to marry his long time girlfriend, Tawny, as soon as she dumps her current boyfriend. After all, they’d grown up together and everybody believed they were meant for each other. Celia Park has loved Ty since high school, when she dreamed of marrying him and opening a coffee shop. Years later, she’s working as a sous chef when she reconnects with Ty after a rodeo in Vegas. Drunk and freshly broken up with Tawny, Ty sweet talks Celia into a hasty wedding ceremony. The next morning, sober and serious, he confesses that he’s still in love with Tawny, and that their marriage was a mistake. One spectacular night together changes the course of her life. Not so much, his. At least, not for a few years. 
Normally, I don’t reach for a book where the couple is married already, but a friend’s review enticed me to scoop up Meant to Be Mine. I’m glad I did. The dialogue is real, the banter is flirty, and zingers constantly fly between Ty and Celia. 

“I’ve been looking for you.”

“I can’t imagine why.”

“I went to your house. Your car was there but you weren’t, so I figured you’d come to the square.”

“Your mental powers rival Einstein’s.”

He laughed. “You’re rude as ever.”

“I prefer to think of myself as charmingly feisty. Why were you looking for me?”

“I missed you, sweet one.”

During the opening chapter, Celia’s heartbreak is actually tangible, so real and raw, her pain practically seeps from the pages. It was hard to like Ty at first, but even the morning after, the author paints a picture of a repentant Ty. It doesn’t take long for him to prove himself faithful and trustworthy, and he only wants what’s best for Celia and Addie, even if that isn’t him. Their journey to romance is fraught with emotion and obstacles, including ex-girlfriend, Tawny.
It took Celia much prayer and practice to forgive Ty, but Celia wasn’t totally off the hook here. More than a romance, this is a story of forgiveness, and how two people found their way back to each other, but maybe their hearts had never been that far away in the first place. I enjoyed everything about this book, and I think you will, too.
Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing Meant to be Mine and for the free copy I received in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.

A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander ~ Sharing My Review

/ Dora Hiers
Purchase Link

About the book~

Eleanor Braddock–plain, practical, no stunning Southern beauty–knows she will never marry. But with a dying soldier’s last whisper, she believes her life can still have meaning and determines to find his widow. Impoverished and struggling to care for her ailing father, Eleanor arrives at Belmont Mansion, home of her aunt, Adelicia Acklen, the richest woman in America–and possibly the most demanding, as well. Adelicia insists on finding her niece a husband, but a simple act of kindness leads Eleanor down a far different path–building a home for destitute widows and fatherless children from the Civil War. While Eleanor knows her own heart, she also knows her aunt will never approve of this endeavor. 

Archduke Marcus Gottfried has come to Nashville from Austria in search of a life he determines, instead of one determined for him. Hiding his royal heritage, Marcus longs to combine his passion for nature with his expertise in architecture, but his plans to incorporate natural beauty into the design of the widows’ and children’s home run contrary to Eleanor’s wishes. As work on the home draws them closer together, Marcus and Eleanor find common ground–and a love neither of them expects. 

But Marcus is not the man Adelicia has chosen for Eleanor, and even if he were, someone who knows his secrets is about to reveal them all.

Sharing My Review~

Archduke Marcus Gottfried escaped the pressures of his royal heritage by moving to America. In Nashville, he finds anonymity in restoring old buildings and grafting plants, but he knows it’s only a temporary reprieve. Next year, he must return to Austria and resume his…commitments. Eleanor Braddock, intelligent, but not pretty, is pushing thirty, and her dream of marriage and family has long since wilted.

There was wisdom in knowing when to let go of a dream, and even more, in knowing when it had let go of you.


With her finances dwindling and her father requiring special care, Eleanor moves in with her philanthropic aunt, who intends to honor a promise to Eleanor’s father by arranging a marriage that will secure her niece’s future.

Both Marcus and Eleanor have shameful family secrets, and both are being pushed into destinies not of their choosing. It surprised me to see who pushed back first, and up until 85% into the book, I still wasn’t sure how the story would end. As an avid reader who can usually anticipate endings, this kept me turning pages and more than made up for the beginning, which slowed from too much introspection and not enough dialogue.


In my opinion, the spiritual thread could have been beefier. That said, a resounding theme permeated the book, that beauty is more than surface level and means something different to each person. I also appreciate that the author didn’t wrap the broken family relationships in a neat, easy bow at the end. Family dynamics are tenuous and some relationships are not easily fixed, which the author portrayed well and true to life’s sometimes harsh realities. While A Beauty So Rare packs more pages than I typically read, I thoroughly enjoyed the complex plot and three dimensional characters, and highly recommend it.


Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Bethany House Publishers and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing A Beauty So Rare and for the free copy I received in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.