Remembrancy

*Inspirational and clean reads to remember and see

Can’t Wait Wednesday – Brunch at Bittersweet Cafe

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cant wait wednesday

 

Can’t-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted at Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we’re excited about that we have yet to read. Generally, they’re books that have yet to be released. It’s based on Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by the fabulous Jill at Breaking the Spine. If you’re continuing with WOW, feel free to link those up as well! Find out more here.

 

How did it get to be Wednesday again already? This month is flying right on by. Anyone else wondering how their 2019 reading schedule is already brimming? I was working on my January calendar earlier today and am booked (pun intended).

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Room for Cream: A Maya Davis Novel by Erynn Mangum – Review

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Of all Erynn Mangum’s series couples, Jack and Maya are my favorite. So, as you can imagine, I was ecstatic when Mangum announced a new book with these two. I love that this author is revisiting some old friends.

About the Book

Room for CreamPresley McCoffrey just wants to make the mark.

The only child of two doctors, she’s never lived up to their dreams for her life. Choosing to do zookeeping was a huge disappoint to her parents and they’ve never let her forget it.

But now, there’s a chance to be the manager of the Hudson Zoo. And after putting in time at the place for ten years, Presley is bound and determined to get it. Maybe then, her parents will finally see that not only is she good at zookeeping, she actually likes it. Ten years at Hudson Zoo should make this job a shoe-in.

But just as she submits her resume, she sees the job isn’t a shoe-in after all. Jack Dominguez, her old co-worker and friend, is moving back from Seattle and also applying for the job. And everyone is talking about the new guy, coming from San Diego, who is also vying for the position.

When the Board of Directors suggests a two-week interim trial for each candidate, Presley knows she’s got the upper hand. After all, she knows the zoo like the back of her hand. She knows the staff, she knows the animals, she knows exactly what will happen. But then everything goes wrong and all of a sudden, life doesn’t look as cut and dry like she thought it would.

In the midst of it all, Presley gets close to Jack’s wife, Maya, who is also discovering that life isn’t what she planned. Does God have a plan that is better than theirs? And if so, what could He possibly be doing?

Amazon // Goodreads

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Silent Days, Holy Night by Phyllis Clark Nichols – Review & Giveaway

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Silent Days Holy Night blog tour

Let’s all get in the mood for Christmas with this blog tour and giveaway for Silent Days, Holy Night by Phyllis Clark Nichols, hosted by JustRead Tours.

ABOUT THE BOOK

silent days, holy nightTitle: Silent Days, Holy Night
Author: Phyllis Clark Nichols
Publisher: Gilead Publishing
Release Date: October 30, 2018
Genre: Contemporary Women’s Fiction/Christmas

The sounds of Christmases past echo through a silent house…

Everyone in town knows Emerald Crest, the green granite mansion atop the highest hill: the legendary, lavish Christmas festivities that used to light up the nights— and the silence that followed when the parties abruptly stopped many years ago. And everyone has heard whispers about the reclusive, mysterious master of the manor, Henry Lafferty the Second . . .

When eleven-year-old Julia Russell steps into the great house for the first time and meets Mr. Lafferty, the entire course of her life is altered. She meets a man who is nothing at all like the rumors she’s heard from neighbors and classmates. He’s kind and extraordinarily talented—he also happens to be deaf and uses a wheelchair. And when she overhears a secret about him, Julia decides it’s time for the town to bring Christmas back to Emerald Crest—an act that will change them all forever.

PURCHASE LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | CBD | Book Depository

IN MY OPINION

This book is one that embodies what the Christmas spirit should be in each of our lives. Love, acceptance, giving, friendship, family, and so, so much more.

Young Julia Russell is full of curiosity, gumption, and questions—lots and lots of questions. The moment she meets Henry Lafferty is one that defines her young life. Everything about this man is interesting and she longs to know more. She’s not deterred by his deafness or the age/generation gap. Henry has a story and Julia wants to learn it.

As Julia and Henry (or H as she thinks of him) form an unlikely friendship that is defined by an ability to communicate with each other beyond mere words. That friendship teaches Julia about herself and life at a young age: Kindness comes from the heart. There is good in everyone and everyone needs a friend. With a little effort, a can’t can be turned into a can.

Phyllis Clark Nichols gives readers a Christmas story to warm hearts and expand minds. It only takes one person to make someone else’s life better—and that often has a ripple effect into other lives. You definitely don’t want to miss this story.

My Rating:

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

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Phyllis Clark Nichols’s character-driven Southern fiction explores profound human questions using the imagined residents of small town communities you just know you’ve visited before. With a strong faith and a love for nature, art, music, and ordinary people, she tells redemptive tales of loss and recovery, estrangement and connection, longing and fulfillment . . . often through surprisingly serendipitous events.

Phyllis grew up in the deep shade of magnolia trees in South Georgia. Born during a hurricane, she is no stranger to the winds of change: In addition to her life as a novelist, Phyllis is a seminary graduate, concert pianist, and cofounder of a national cable network with health- and disability-related programming. Regardless of the role she’s playing, Phyllis brings creativity and compelling storytelling.

She frequently appears at conventions, conferences, civic groups, and churches, performing half-hour musical monologues that express her faith, joy, and thoughts about life—all with the homespun humor and gentility of a true Southern woman.

Phyllis currently serves on several nonprofit boards. She lives in the Texas Hill Country with her portrait-artist husband.

CONNECT WITH PHYLLIS: website | Facebook | Twitter

silent days, holy night giveaway

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive (US only):

  • a print copy of Silent Days, Holy Night by Phyllis Clark Nichols
  • a print copy of Sleigh Bells Ring by various authors

Enter via the Rafflecopter giveaway below. Giveaway will begin at midnight December 10, 2018 and last through 11:59pm December 17, 2018. US only. Winners will be notified within a week 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!

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Starving Hearts & Never Past Hope by Janine Mendenhall – Spotlight, Excerpt & Giveaway

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On Tour with Prism Book Tours

Starving Hearts
(Triangular Trade Trilogy #1)
By Janine Mendenhall
Christian Historical Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 300 Pages
May 16th 2016 by Heritage Beacon Fiction

Carol Award Finalist
Selah Award Finalist

Plagued by nightmares, Annette yearns to find her anonymous rescuer — the man who saved her life from a near deadly assault. Deep inside she is starving for companionship and a mutually respectful relationship. When Mr. Peter Adsley, an abolitionist pastor dealing with his own emotional baggage, agrees to a clandestine meeting, the event appears providential. But self-doubt, deception, and the schemes of a mutual enemy threaten to keep the pair apart. A phantom adversary will stop at nothing to win Annette’s dowry for himself, even if it means killing Peter.

Praise for the Book

“Not only is this a delightful regency romance but it is also suspense filled mystery of the very best kind.” – Amazon Review

“The author did a great job, maybe too great a job, describing the slave scenes. Spine tingling and suspenseful. I was biting my nails throughout much of this book.” – Amazon Review

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Book Depository

Never Past Hope
(Triangular Trade Trilogy #2)
By Janine Mendenhall
Christian Historical Romantic Suspense
Paperback & ebook, 308 Pages
September 10th 2018 by Heritage Beacon Fiction

Miss Mary Hope Adsley always considered herself to be the sensible one. But now, her sensibilities are unraveling around a man she thought she knew. After he attempted to marry her best friend—for money, no less—authorities charge Sir Steven Likebridge with masquerading as a gentleman and abduction. With his execution days away, Mary Hope desperately seeks to learn the truth about the man she loves.

Will the truth turn out to be worse than his lies?

Praise for the Book

“I thoroughly enjoyed this clean, historical fiction. . . enjoyed most that it is not the usual presentation of a regency novel.” – Amazon Review

“A lovely story that shows how despicable each of us can be and yet God not only still loves us, but He was willing to die for us.” – Amazon Review

Goodreads│Amazon│Barnes & Noble│Book Depository

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The Lieutenant’s Bargain by Regina Jennings – Review

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Do you listen to audiobooks? I do when I’m at the office. I mean, I’d never stay up with my monthly TBRs if I didn’t listen to a handful of those. But once in a while I come across a book that has people looking at me whenever they walk by my cubicle because I’m smiling and laughing at whatever I’m listening to. Regina Jennings’ The Lieutenant’s Bargain was one of those books.

 

About the Book

The Lieutenant's BargainHattie Walker dreams of becoming a painter, while her parents want her to settle down. As a compromise, they give her two months to head to Denver and place her works in an exhibition or give up the dream forever. Her journey is derailed when a gunman attacks her stagecoach, leaving her to be rescued by a group of Arapaho . . . but she’s too terrified to recognize them as friendly.

Confirmed bachelor Lieutenant Jack Hennessey has long worked with the tribe and is tasked with trying to convince them that the mission school at Fort Reno can help their children. When a message arrives about a recovered survivor, Jack heads out to take her home–and plead his case once more.

He’s stunned to run into Hattie Walker, the girl who shattered his heart–but quickly realizes he has a chance to impress her. When his plan gets tangled through translation, Jack and Hattie end up in a mess that puts her dreams in peril–and tests Jack’s resolve to remain single.

Amazon // B&N // Book Depository // Christianbook // Goodreads

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