Meddling with Mistletoe by Liz Johnson

 If ever a book was meant to be made into a Christmas movie, it is this one. Meddling with Mistletoe, by Liz Johnson, was a delight to read - from cover to cover. I was engaged with this book on the first page. A rom-com with a subtle Christian message, this book is a clean read and is appropriate for all readers. It was sweet and funny. I loved getting to know Whitney and Daniel. The characters became real to me and I whipped through this book as fast a Whitney could whip up a pie. Such a fun read. And that first kiss.....I swear I felt it too! 

From the back cover:

The recipe for romance is simple: Sweets, Treats, and Mistletoe Meets.

Whitney Garrett is preparing to enter culinary school in the spring, but first she has to sell enough homemade pies at the local Christmas markets to pay her tuition. When her oven breaks, Whitney asks Marie Sloan, proprietor of the Red Door Inn, is she can use the inn's kitchen to keep up with her orders. Marie agrees with a catch: Whitney has to watch the three Sloan children and cook breakfasts for the Red Door in return.

The inn is busy with holiday guests -- including Aretha Franklin Sloan's nephew, Daniel and Ruby, a businesswoman in town to purchase Aretha's antiques store. Intent on making a Christmas match for the two, Aretha enlists Whitney's help in her schemes. But the deeper Whitney gets, the more she realizes that Ruby is not the right woman for Daniel -- and the more she thinks that she just might be his perfect match.

Honestly, an adorable book that is filled with quirky characters and a lot of fun. Made me laugh and made me feel all cozy. You'll love it!

This book provided for review by Revell. 

Flyover Church by Brad Roth

 

Flyover Church, by Brad Roth, is an easy-to-read book that encourages pastors in rural communities to reach their communities without comparing their ministry to bigger ones. I like that the author shares his hesitation to talk to people in public because, as a fellow-introvert, I have done the same thing. Being an introvert in ministry is hard! I like how he encourages the reader to focus on who you have in front of you at your church and in your small town. Minister to the people right there. You don't have to be bigger or better or have the crowd-attracting methods. The people right there need ministered to. Not to look past the small town that appears to be dying, as most of our country is "fly-over". 

Just 150 pages, this is a good book for any pastor. Roth weaves scripture throughout the book and I didn't find anything that would be a warning or red-flag with his theology. He is a man who loves the Lord and wants to help small-town pastors realize what they have right in front of them. 

This book provided for review by MennoMedia 

The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano

 The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple, by Joanna Davidson Politano, is a story with many layers that unwraps slowly while drawing the reader into the intrigue. This author consistently delivers beautiful fiction that is clean and appropriate for all ages. Lily Temple is a silent film star, one wrapped in mystery. Peter Driscoll is an independently hired investigator, his job: to find the truth about Lily's identity. Lily evades questions and, while other outside sources try the same thing, manages to invite Peter into her world and into her heart. Another local mystery teams them to find a missing child. All the while, the gardener friend from Lily's memories lingers somewhere out there...with clues along the way. 

This book was a delight to read. Not one to read quickly, took me about a week to finish it. 

Highly recommended. 

This book provided for review by Revell.  

Never Fall Again by Lynn H Blackburn

 Never Fall Again, by Lynn H. Blackburn, is the first in the Gossamer Falls series by this romantic suspense author. I have really enjoyed Lynn's books in the past and was so looking forward to a new one. This book didn't hook me as quickly as some of her previous ones. There is a gospel theme in it and that was really nice to have in it. The main character, Landry (I kept reading it as Laundry lol) was not as likable as I wanted her to be. She kind of got on my nerves and seemed weak. I did like Cal though. I was rooting for them to get together and was happy when they did. The Haven seemed like an interesting place and I would have liked more of the action to take place there. There seemed to be a lot of filler stuff in this story, stuff that didn't really lead the story forward but was more like dinner at someone's house or shopping. I was hoping for more suspense than this delivered.

This was a clean read and is good for all ages. Nothing in this that I would caution against. Easy to read and a good way to spend a few hours.

This book provided for review by Revell. 

All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

 All My Secrets, by Lynn Austin, is the story of the women in the Stanhope family - heiresses, the grandmother, mother, and daughter. The story takes place over many years in three timelines, going back in time as the character telling her story instead of a separate timeline. I enjoyed the way Austin wrote this, it was very easy to follow. 

As with Austin’s other books, I was drawn in from the first page. I don’t even bother reading the back cover copy of her books anymore, because I know I will love it no matter the topic. 

All My Secrets stays true to the author’s commitment to writing a clean book with strong Christian themes. This went so far as to have the gospel presented fully by the characters. 

This book was a treasure to read and I know the characters will stay with me for a long time. 

Look for it soon from Tyndale  

The divine proverb of streusel by Sara Brunsvold

 The Divine Proverb of Streusel, by Sara Brunsvold, is the second book I’ve had by this author. I really liked her first book a lot more. I could not get into this book at all. I think I got to page 20 and then it just hadn’t grabbed me and I didn’t care about any of the characters at all so I put it aside and forgot about it. I was getting confused as to who was who, so the included family tree Diagram is really needed for this book. The premise sounded interesting to me, but when push came to shove, I found myself disinterested in this altogether.

This book provided for review by Revell. 

2024 Reading List

 

January

1. One Hit Blunder by Christy Barritt (Kindle)

2. Edgewater Road by Shelley Shepard Gray (Kindle)

3. Sycamore Circle by Shelley Shepard Gray (Kindle)

4. Permanently Booked by Lisa Q. Mathews

5. Force of Nature by Dana Mentink 

6. Moonlight, Murder & Small Town Secrets by K.C. Hart (Kindle) 

7. All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

8. A Novel Murder by Elizabeth Penney 

9. Bitter Words by Jan Fields 

10. The Grim Reader by Margaret Welch 

February 

11. Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

12. A Deadly Chapter by Jan Fields  

13. An Autographed Mystery by DeAnna Julie Dodson 

14. Second Edition Death by Elizabeth Penney

15. A Crime Well Versed by Marlene Chase

16. A Murder Unscripted by Elizabeth Penney

17. Pride and Publishing by DeAnna Julie Dodson  

18. A Literary Offense by Elizabeth Penney

19. Up to Noir Good by Jan Fields

20. On Pens and Needles by Sandra Orchard

21. Ink or Swim by Catherine Dilts 

22. Tell No Tales by Marlene Chase

23. Page Fright by Elizabeth Penney 

24. A Fatal Yarn by Allie Pleiter

25. Read Between the Crimes by Lucy Averill

March 

26. From Fable to Grave by Marlene Chase 

27. A Fateful Sentence by Lucy Averill 

28. Cloak and Grammar by Allie Pleiter

29. A Lost Clause by KD McCrite

30. A Thorny Plot by Catherine Dilts

31. A Scary Tale Wedding by KD McCrite

32. Never Fall Again by Lynn H Blackburn 

33. Leave the Lights on by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

34. The End of the Road by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

35. Reckless Christianity by Holly Pivec and R Douglas Gievett 

36. A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell

37. Stars Over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

April

38. Betsey. A Memoir by Betsey Johnson

39. The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano

40. Stranger in the Looking Glass by Jan Fields

41.The Secret Letter by Mary Blount Christian 

42. The Christmas Riddle by Susan Sleeman

43. Pieces from the Past by Elizabeth Penney 

44.  A Ring of Deception by DeAnna Julie Dodson

45. Loom and Doom by Susan Sleeeman

May

46. Six Feet Undertow by Elizabeth Penney

47. Death Takes a Holiday by Susan Sleeman

48. Framed for Life by Kristi Holl  

49. Season of Misdeeds by Kay Marshall Strom

50. A Chime to Kill by Elizabeth Goddard 

51. Deadly Prospect by Elizabeth Penney

52. Humbug Hijinks by Kristi Holl

53. The Secrets She Kept by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

54. A Fedora Offense by Donna Kelly

55. Danger in Spades by Elizabeth Penney

56. Bride and Seek by Janet Holm McHenry 

June

57. Rigged for Murder by Elizabeth Penney

58. Three Ring Threat by Donna Kelly 

59. Treble and Strife by Elizabeth Goddard 

60. Tools of the Traitor by Lucy Averill

61. O Stolen Night by Nancy Mehl 

62. A Slippery Slope by Elizabeth Penney 

63. Dead and Married by Donna Kelly 

64. Ladies of the Lake by Cathy Gohlke

65. Most Likely to Die by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

July

66. The Secret Staircase by Sheila Connolly

67. The Year of Jubilee by Cindy Morgan  

68. The Do-Over by Bethany Turner 

69. The Society of Second Chances by Deborah Raney 

70. Code Name Edelweiss by Stephanie Landsem

71. The Deconstruction of Christianity by Alisa Childers and Tim Barnett

72. Fragile Designs by Colleen Coble 

73. Everything We Didn’t Say by Nicole Baart

74. The Lady in the Attic by Tara Randel 

75. Raised to Stay by Natalie Runion

76. Look What You’ve Done by Tasha Layton

77. Vacation Friends by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

August

78. Secrets of a Charmed Life by Susan Meissner 

79. You Were Always Mine by Nicole Baart

80. Veiled in Smoke by Jocelyn Green (Kindle) 

81. The Haunting at Bonaventure Circus by Jaime Jo Wright 

82. Tender Grace by Jackina Stark 

83. Beauty to Die For by Kim Alexis & Mindy Starns Clark  

84. A Mountain of Mystery by Carole Jefferson

September 

85. Nobody’s Safe by Carole Jefferson  

86. Silver Surprise by Carole Jefferson 

87. Wildfire by Carole Jefferson 

88. Night Falls on Predicament Avenue by Jaime Jo Wright  

89. Meddling with Mistletoe by Liz Johnson  

90. A Lode of Secrets by Carole Jefferson 

91. Time will Tell by Carole Jefferson 

October

92. A Code of Honor by Carole Jefferson 

93. Empty Saddle by Carole Jefferson 

94. What I Left For You by Liz Tolsma 

95. Reunion Dance by Carole Jefferson