*Inspirational and clean reads to remember and see
Happy Friday, friends! Can you believe that Christmas is only nine days away? Whether you’re enjoying a white winter season or just wishing for one, I hope the season is filled with love, laughter, and a little extra reading time.
Grab the book nearest you and drop the first line in the comments section then head to our host’s site at the Hoarding Books Blog and check out what everyone else is reading.
[Read more…] about First Line Friday: Welcome to Wishing Bridge (Travel/Winter Edition)
Kelsey is on her way to a life do-over. And it’s not the first time. Abandoned by her drug-addict mother as a teen, she landed in a foster-care group home where she experienced faith and community—and met her best friends, Jazz and Theadora. The trio stuck together like sisters and vowed to make their lives mean something.
Now Kelsey’s pushing thirty, and her life has taken a wrong turn. Pregnant and alone after loving the wrong man, she’s on her way to making another life-changing decision when a wicked blizzard strands her outside the sleepy town of Wishing Bridge.
After being rescued from a snowbank by a handsome cop, she’s embraced by the welcoming village, but she still feels upside down. Fortunately, her frantic SOS brings her besties rushing to help sort things out. They soon find that Wishing Bridge has as many secrets as Kelsey does—and she’s connected to it in ways she couldn’t have imagined.
[Read more…] about Welcome to Wishing Bridge by Ruth Logan Herne (Review)
In spite of their differences, Trey Walker Stafford knows he owes his life to cowboy and legendary rancher Sam Stafford–the uncle who rescued him after his parents’ death. Trey had left the Double S Ranch to pursue music against Sam’s wishes, but returns to central Washington when he learns he’s the best match for a procedure that could save Sam’s life. Although Trey’s found country music fame and success, he’s also endured the tragic loss of his wife. He croons about love, but struggles with a yawning emptiness he can’t explain.
Overwhelmed by a growing list of challenges, but mistrustful of Stafford men, single mother Lucy Carlton reluctantly accepts Trey’s help to revive her crumbling farm when Sam instructs him to repay the overdue debt to her family.
As the two grow closer, Trey slowly begins to open his heart to this beautiful woman and strives to let go of the grief he’s held for years. Lucy has a complicated history of her own. Can Trey accept her as she is, learn to forgive the past, and find the elusive peace he’s sought for so long?
[Read more…] about Review: Peace in the Valley by Ruth Logan Herne
This week, Home on the Range, Ruth Logan Herne’s second book in her Double S Ranch Series is available to purchase. Here’s a fun fact. I got to meet Ruth Logan Herne (and a bunch of other Christian fiction authors) at the Christian Fiction Readers’ Retreat this summer. It was a blessing to get to learn more about several of my favorite authors—and there was lots of laughter throughout the day.
But let’s get back to why you’re here. Readers met Nick Stafford and his daughters in Back in the Saddle but we get to know this little family more in Home on the Range. As Nick’s oldest daughter Cheyenne struggles with school, she’s on the verge of being held back. When the principal suggests a counselor, Nick is unsure. Surely he can help his daughter—both of his daughters. He doesn’t need any help.
Upon their first meeting, Elsa Andreas doesn’t seem interested in taking on the challenge of his daughters either. But it doesn’t take Nick long to realize that he does need help and seeing Elsa with his girls, he realizes she’s the best person to work with them. Soon he finds himself taking her advice with his relationships and he is drawn to this quiet, even-keeled woman. A woman who is so different from his ex-wife.
Both Elsa and Nick must come to terms with letting go of the hurts of their past, of realizing their perceptions of the past aren’t reality (the difference between a child’s perspective and an adult’s), but will those understandings come to late to build the future they both long for and dream of?
These two characters were a perfect fit for each other. Nick’s a gentleman at heart, caring for the little ladies (and the new woman) in his life. Elsa is patient and everything Nick needs in his hectic life.
The author depicts life on the farm (the good and the bad) in a beautiful way. And since some of my family lives in Washington State, I could picture the Stafford Ranch clearly in my head. Even if you’ve never been to the beautiful Pacific Northwest, you’ll experience it in Home on the Range.
***The publisher provided me a complimentary copy of this book via Bloggingforbooks. I was not required to write either a negative or positive review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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