romance

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. 

WEDNESDAY’S CHILD by Clare Revell ~ My Review

/ Dora Hiers

About the book: Liam Page, school teacher and ex-missionary, is a man with a secret agenda. Revenge. But when he says it with flowers, and accidentally drenches a woman who just happens to be the school’s landscape architect, he may have found a light in his darkness.

After an abusive relationship, Jacqui Dorne prefers work to men. It’s safer. But Liam Page with his boyish charm and wounded soul, manages to change her preferences. Has God led her to Liam to help him heal?

When their growing relationship is marred by the reappearance of Jacqui’s ex-boyfriend, they find themselves suddenly embroiled in a series of dangerous events which leads them to Africa and has them fighting for both love and life.

My review:
Liam wrestles with God over his wife’s murder, and the theme “Why do bad things happen to good people?” permeates the book. He’s bitter and wants revenge, and the heroine reminds him of the Truth he walked away from after his wife’s death.

After reading both Monday’s Child & Tuesday’s Child by Clare Revell, I couldn’t wait to dig into Wednesday’s Child and wasn’t disappointed. Wednesday’s Child started with an emotionally intense scene like the other two books based on the popular nursery rhyme, but unlike the others, I feel this story veered mostly towards romance until midway through the book before the suspense really kicked in. That’s OK with me because I enjoy both inspirational romance and romantic suspense. 

I enjoy this author’s no nonsense writing style combined with a wry sense of humor and strong heroes/heroines. You don’t have to read this book in order, although once you read Wednesday’s Child, you’ll want to go back and pick up the first two.

Purchase Link

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from the author in exchange for my fair and unbiased review.