No Place Like Here by Christina June – Review and Giveaway

May 23, 2019 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

No Place Like Here
By Christina June
Young Adult Contemporary
Paperback, Audiobook & ebook, 288 Pages
May 21st 2019 by Blink

From Christina June, author of It Started with Goodbye and Everywhere You Want to Be, comes No Place Like Here, a modern twist on Hansel and Gretel.

Ashlyn Zanotti has big plans for the summer. She’s just spent a year at boarding school and can’t wait to get home. But when Ashlyn’s father is arrested for tax evasion and her mother enters a rehab facility for “exhaustion,” a.k.a. depression, her life is turned upside down.

The cherry on top? Ashlyn’s father sends her to work with a cousin she doesn’t even know at a rustic team-building retreat center in the middle of nowhere. A self-proclaimed “indoor girl,” not even Ash’s habit of leaving breadcrumb quotes–inspirational sayings she scribbles everywhere–can help her cope.

With a dangerously careless camp manager doling out grunt work, an overbearing father trying to control her even from prison, and more than a little boy drama to struggle with, the summer is full of challenges. And Ashlyn must make the toughest decision of her life: keep quiet and follow her dad’s marching orders, or find the courage to finally stand up to her father to have any hope of finding her way back home.

Fans looking for stories with elements of drama, romance, friendship, and an unflinching look into navigating and improving even the most difficult parent-teen relationships need look no further.

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More to Love by Robin Helm – Review, Guest Post & Giveaway

May 22, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 8 Comments

About the Book

Book: More to Love
Author: Robin Helm
Genre: Christian Historical Sweet Romance
Release Date: February 12, 2019
“She is tolerable, I suppose, but there is rather too much of her to tempt me.” Overhearing Mr. Darcy’s rude dismissal of her shocks and mortifies Elizabeth Bennet to the core. She is living her worst fear, and it galvanizes her into action. Soon, the gentleman cannot keep his eyes from her, but can she forgive his thoughtless judgment of her appearance and character? Especially since he faces a worthy competitor for her attention? Who will win the lady’s hand, along with the right to love her through thick or thin?

Click here to purchase your copy.

Act of Valor by Dana Mentink – Review, Guest Post, and Giveaway

May 21, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 5 Comments

About the Book

Book: Act of Valor
Author: Dana Mentink
Genre: Inspirational romantic suspense
Release Date: June 1, 2019
A True Blue K-9 story …When airline employee Violet Griffin encounters several suspicious passengers, she’s thrust into the crosshairs of a drug smuggling operation. NYPD officer Zach Jameson and his drug detection beagle, Eddie, can tell this is no small-time threat. Someone’s gunning for Violet, and after recently losing his brother, Zach refuses to lose her, too…especially now that she’s gone from friend to the woman he’s falling for.

Click here to purchase your copy.

The Heart Changer by Jarm Del Boccio – Review & Giveaway

May 20, 2019 by Suzie Waltner 4 Comments

Welcome to the Blog Tour & Giveaway for Heart Changer by Jarm Del Boccio with JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: The Heart Changer
Author: Jarm Del Boccio
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: April 26, 2019
Genre: Middle Grade Biblical Fiction

Can an Israelite captive, wrenched from all she loves, serve the very man who destroyed her village? Miriam is asked to do the impossible: serve the wife of Naaman, commander of the Syrian army. Clinging to treasured memories of home and faith, Miriam faces captivity with worry and bitterness. Little does she know the Heart Changer is wooing and preparing her for a greater mission far beyond what she could imagine.

This middle-grade historical novel reflects the heartache and angst of a young refugee in a foreign land where all hope seems lost.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Christian Book

IN MY OPINION

I adore books for young readers that carry the message that, no matter what age we are, our actions, decisions, and reactions are noticed—and often influence—others. Jarm del Boccio takes it a step further by introducing young minds to a Bible story they may not have heard or paid a lot of attention to before.

When young Miriam is taken captive and put to work as a slave girl, she’s understandably angry, wondering how a loving God could tear her away from her family and deposit her in a new land with strangers. That anger is something she struggles to overcome throughout The Heart Changer. But this girl is also compassionate, caring, and courageous.

Del Boccio invites readers into an ancient place and time with her descriptions while delivering a story that draws readers in as they journey with young Miriam who is learning every day to lean into her Jehovah.

My Rating:

Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jarm Del Boccio (‘J’ pronounced as a ‘Y’) finds her inspiration in everyday life, but in particular, when she travels the globe, observing the quirky things that happen along the way. Focusing on lives of characters from the past, Jarm is devoted to breathing new life into the pages of history.

Jarm has a background in elementary and high school education, and served for seven years as a school librarian. Grateful for the opportunity, she taught three missionary kids in an isolated area of Papua New Guinea. She is part of SCBWI and American Christian Fiction Writers, and has published articles in “The Old Schoolhouse” magazine.

“The Heart Changer,” her debut MG historical/biblical fiction, released with Ambassador International April 26th 2019. Jarm is content with the journey God has placed her on, and lives with her husband and adult son and daughter (when they are not away) in a tree-lined suburb of Chicago.

CONNECT WITH JARM: Website | Facebook | Twitter

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive 1 print (US only)
AND
(1) winner will receive 1 ebook (open internationally except where prohibited by law)

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight May 20, 2019 and last through 11:59 pm May 27, 2019. US only. Winners will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

Becoming Us by Robin Jones Gunn – Review

May 19, 2019 by Suzie Waltner Leave a Comment

I was thrilled when I first learned about this new series from Robin Jones Gunn. New friends, a new couple, and some familiar faces (namely Christy Miller Spencer and Sierra).

About the Book

From the author of the best-selling Christy Miller and SisterChicks series comes a new book of community, friendship, and tackling the hard things of life with God and loved ones around a table.

Five young moms, including beloved Gunn character Christy Miller, gather to share meals and soon become unlikely best friends. The regular gatherings provide opportunities for the women to reveal their stories, and those life stories endear them to each other. They experience their lives naturally meshing as they raise their children together in community. In Becoming Us the group find ways to challenge, encourage, and help each other become the nurturing mothers they wished they’d had when they were growing up. They unite to be remembered for what they do as moms and not for what was done to them.

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