Tag: Bethany House

Book Review | The Burning of Rosemont Abbey by Naomi Stephens

The opening of The Burning of Rosemont Abbey hooked me immediately: like many non-twins, I’ve always had a fascination for twins … and for their reputed mysterious connection.

This connection gives the mystery a unique twist.

Louisa Everly knows her brother is dead, which means she knows Inspector Malcolm Sinclar is mistaken in considering Paul to be the major suspect for the arson at the abbey. If Paul wasn’t involved, then who burned the abbey? And who murdered Paul?

Louisa feels she can’t tell anyone that she knows Paul is dead—they’ll simply think she is hysterical and won’t believe her. It’s a clever plot point and executed well.

That original premise gives the story a strong forward motion and kept me turning the virtual pages.

Louisa works alone and—reluctantly—with Inspector Sinclair, Paul’s childhood best friend. To Malcolm’s annoyance, she makes several discoveries that the police couldn’t have made, given they had already identified Paul as their key and only suspect. I liked the way Louisa thought and acted. She made intelligent deductions, in the spirit of Miss Marple and other famous fictional lady detectives.

Unfortunately, the story was marred by Americanisms that didn’t make sense in the context of the setting (England in 1956). For example, what colour are “eyes the color of money”? If you’re American, you might think the answer is obvious: green. But the character is not American (and nor is this reader). British money in 1956 was almost all the colours of the rainbow—red and orange and green and blue and purple and grey (but not yellow). Lines like this brought me out of the story.

I didn’t find the ending entirely satisfying or believable.

Sure, the evildoer has been set up as a character with some … let’s call them personality defects. The story did keep me guessing whodunit, which is essential in a murder good mystery. But I didn’t see the motivation for the crime, which affected the story’s overall credibility.

However, I have often found that I’ve read the end of mystery novels too quickly, which has sometimes meant that I’ve missed key points (like the character’s motivation). I did re-read the last quarter, and while that did make the motivation clearer, it still lacked the depth and sophistication I’d expected.

Overall, the characterisation was excellent, the plot was unique and engaging (except for the big reveal at the end), and the writing was solid, but the Americanisms were distracting and the ending didn’t deliver for me.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Naomi Stephens

Naomi StephensNaomi Stephens is a bookworm turned teacher turned writer. She received a B.A. in English from Concordia University in Ann Arbor and an M.A. in English from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. 

Her first novel, Shadow among Sheaves, was an Inspy Award shortlist contender and winner of the 2020 Carol Award in Debut Fiction. In bookstores, Naomi gravitates towards 19th-century British novels—the broodier the better (i.e., Jane Eyre)—but she can also be found perusing the young adult, mystery, and fantasy sections. Anything that keeps her turning pages past midnight!​

Though she’s called many places home over the years, she currently lives in New York with her husband, her two children, and a rascal of a dog named Sherlock. When not writing or having adventures with her family, she can be found drinking tea, practicing photography, and pining for London.

Find Naomi Stephens online at:

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About The Burning of Rosemont Abbey

The Burning of Rosemont AbbeyEveryone in Wilbeth Green has something to hide, but she’s about to uncover their secrets.

1956: In a quiet English village, the smoldering ruins of Rosemont Abbey have set the residents’ tongues wagging, and everyone is quick to accuse troublemaker Paul Everly of the crime of arson. Paul has vanished without a trace, leaving only his plucky twin sister, Louisa, certain of his innocence. Fueling her conviction is an inexplicable connection–she felt her twin’s death an hour before the abbey went up in flames.

Armed with nothing but her wit and her keen sense of intuition, Louisa embarks on her own investigation, challenging the dubious townspeople and the disdain of her aunt and uncle. Even Inspector Malcolm Sinclair, once Paul’s closest friend, warns Louisa to abandon her pursuit. But Louisa is determined to solve a murder no one else believes was committed, even if it means unraveling secrets that could shake Wilbeth Green to its core.

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Being adopted was a gift I'd never take for granted. But I was tired of letting it keep me from living life.

Book Review | A Run at Love (Love in the Spotlight #2) by Toni Shiloh

A Run At Love is another winner from Toni Shiloh.

At twenty-eight years old, Piper McKinney has finally gained her independence from her somewhat overprotective adoptive parents, and bought her own farm … and her own racehorse. She’s hired Tucker Hale, her best friend and secret crush, as her trainer, hoping to take Dream to the Kentucky Derby.

A Run At Love has all the things I most love in contemporary Christian romance.

Friends-to-more plot? Check.

It’s one of my favourite tropes, and A Run At Love is the perfect illustration of why I love it so much.

Christian romance where the characters live their faith? Check.

It’s a strength of Toni Shiloh’s writing in general, and I loved the way Piper and Tucker both had spiritual lessons to learn.

Unique characters? Check.

Piper is an orphan adopted from Oloro Ile (a nod to Toni Shiloh’s In Search of A Prince), and has spent a lifetime navigating being the only African American in white-dominated spaces.

Unique plotline? Check.

There are a lot of Christian novels about cowboys and ranchers and their horses, but this is the first novel I recall reading about the Kentucky Derby, horseracing in general, and the issues in the industry.

And, of course, romance.

The friends-to-more plotline is obvious from the opening chapter and Toni Shiloh does a great job of bringing Piper and Tucker together late enough to build tension, but early enough to make for happy readers.

Recommended for fans of contemporary Christian romance, especially from BIPOC authors or with BIPOC characters.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Toni Shiloh

tonishiloh_highresToni Shiloh is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace of the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior.

She writes soulfully romantic novels to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.

Before pursuing her dream as a writer, Toni served in the United States Air Force. It was there she met her husband. After countless moves, they ended up in Virginia, where they are raising their two boys.

When she’s not typing in imagination land, Toni enjoys reading, playing video games, ​making jewelry, and spending time with ​her family.

Find Toni Shiloh online at:

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About A Run at Love

A CONTENDER RUNNING FOR THE ROSES

A Run at Love

As a Black woman in a field with little diversity, Piper McKinney is determined to make her mark on the horse-racing world. Raised on a Thoroughbred farm in Kentucky, Piper’s dream is for her horse to win the prestigious Kentucky Derby. With the help of her best friend and trainer, Tucker Hale, she gains national attention but must grapple with the complications that arise when a journalist delves into her past as a transracial adoptee.

A BEST FRIEND RACING FOR LOVE

In an effort to win Piper’s heart, Tucker formulates a plan to train Piper’s horse to victory, hoping to prove himself to her, her parents, and his own self-doubts. Then a shocking scandal hits the media, implicating both Piper and her parents, and she and Tucker will have to survive the onslaught to find their way to the winner’s circle–and each other.

A ROMANCE WORTH THE CHALLENGE

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First Line Friday

First Line Friday #324 | While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth Camden

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I am a big fan of Elizabeth Camden’s novels—I love the way she can weave real-life history and a solid Christian arc into her stories and make them unputdownable. While the City Sleeps is the first in her new Women of Midtown series, set in 1913 New York. Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

People were rarely in a good mood while in a dentist’s chair, but Dr. Katherine Schneider’s patient was singing.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About While the City Sleeps

Cover image - While the City Sleeps by Elizabeth CamdenAmid the hushed city, two hearts must navigate danger and deception, bound by a love that outshines the stars.

Katherine Schneider’s life as a dentist in 1913 New York is upended when a patient reveals details of a deadly plot while under the influence of laughing gas. As she is plunged into danger, she seeks help from the dashing Lieutenant Jonathan Birch, a police officer she has long admired from afar.

Jonathan has harbored powerful feelings toward Katherine for years but never acted on them, knowing his dark history is something she could never abide. Now, with her safety on the line, he works alongside her through the nights as they unravel the criminal conspiracy that threatens her . . . even as he keeps his deepest secrets hidden at all costs.

Find While the City Sleeps online at:

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Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

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The summer of '77 still defined her. Maybe because the summer of '77 had broken her.

Book Review | The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck

High school graduates Spring Duval, Summer Wilde, Margaret “Snow” Snowden, and Autumn Child are the Four Seasons, best friends from kindergarten who are now spending the summer of 1977 together as camp counsellors in Tumbleweed, Oklahoma.

It’s going to be the best summer of their lives.

But The Best Summer of Our Lives is a dual timeline novel, and 1977 is the past timeline. In the more recent 1997 timeline, Summer has just arrived back in Tumbleweed for the first time since the summer that broke their “forever” friendship.

The Best Summer of our Lives moves between both timelines to show the story of the summer of 1977 from the perspectives of each of the four teenage girls, then moving to 1997 to show where they are now, and how the secrets of 1977 moulded them into their 1997 selves.

I did find the story a little hard to get into because we were moving between four points of view and two timelines, which felt like eight different characters to keep track of mentally (and I imagine it would be even harder with an audiobook).

But I persevered, and the results were worth the effort.

There were hints of secrets and withheld information from the get-go. Spring’s secret was relatively easy to figure out, as was part of the underlying conflict between the friends. Other information was harder to figure out, perhaps because it was more important to the teenager characters than to the reader. (Although that still felt realistic, given teenage girls and our/their habit of misinterpreting motive and over-dramatizing events.)

But there were times when I mixed up the characters, forgetting their histories, and that did mean the Big Reveal of one secret fell flat, because I’d lost track of the character. There were also times when I wasn’t sure who the main character was, or even if there was supposed to be a main character.

There is: Summer Wilde.

In 1977, Summer is an opinionated and impetuous teenager with father issues. In 1997, Summer is a wannabe country music composer and singer who has never achieved the success she dreamed of (and who still has father issues). The beginning of the story belonged to Summer, and the end did as well. But, like Summer, it kind of got lost in the middle.

Despite the hormones of four teenage girls, The Best Summer of Our Lives in Christian women’s fiction rather than romance. The Christian element grows as the novel progresses … which potentially makes this a good novel to loan to non-Christian friends who are seeking God in the midst of their hurts, past and present.

The Four Seasons are excellent characters, and will remind many readers of the friendships and insecurities of their own teenage years (I’ll leave it to you to decide if that’s a good thing or a bad thing).

The Best Summer of Our Lives by Rachel Hauck is a strong coming-of-age story that builds in some of the wisdom that only comes with the passing of time. #BookReview #WomensFiction Share on X

Overall, The Best Summer of Our Lives is a strong coming-of-age story that builds in some of the wisdom that only comes with the passing of time.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Rachel Hauck

Author Photo Rachel HauckRachel Hauck is an award winning, New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author.

Her book The Wedding Dress was named Inspirational Novel of the Year by Romantic Times. She is a double RITA finalist, a Christy and Carol Award Winner.

Rachel sits on the Executive Board for American Christian Fiction Writers, and is the comical sidekick to Susan May Warren at the amazing My Book Therapy. She is a worship leader and speaker.

A graduate of Ohio State University with a degree in Journalism, Rachel is a devoted Ohio State football fan. She lives in sunny central Florida with her husband and ornery cat.

Find Rachel Hauck online at:

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About The Best Summer of Our Lives

Twenty years ago, the summer of ’77 was supposed to be the best summer of Summer Wilde’s life. She and her best friends, Spring, Autumn, and Snow–the Four Seasons–had big plans.

But those plans never had a chance. After a teenage prank gone awry, the Seasons found themselves on a bus to Tumbleweed, “Nowhere,” Oklahoma, to spend eight weeks as camp counselors. All four of them arrived with hidden secrets and buried fears, and the events that unfolded in those two months forever altered their friendships, their lives, and their futures.

Now, thirtysomething, Summer is at a crossroads. When her latest girl band leaves her in a motel outside Tulsa, she is forced to face the shadows of her past. Returning to the place where everything changed, she soon learns Tumbleweed is more than a town she never wanted to see again. It’s a place for healing, for reconciling the past with the present, and for finally listening to love’s voice.

Find The Best Summer of Our Lives online at:

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I keep wondering if Samuel 2.0 is going to reboot to his original factory settings.

Book Review | Julia Monroe Begins Again by Rebekah Millet

Julia Monroe is the widowed mother of two college-aged sons. She supports herself as a self-employed cleaner, and volunteers for the church cleaning ministry she established before her husband dies.

Ex-Green Beret Samuel Reed was Julia’s first love and first heartbreak. He’s back in town after an injury forces him out of the army. They meet at church, and it immediately obvious that Samuel wants to reconnect romantically with Julia. It’s equally obvious she has no interest in reestablishing any kind of relationship, even though it’s more than ten years since her husband died.

I could well understand Julia’s reluctance.

Having said that, I thought her big excuse (that her children were upset the last time someone asked her out) was a little weak given how much time had passed. I could also understand her reaction to Samuel’s over-confidence (which came across as almost arrogant). I get that he’s a Green Beret so his career has taught and required competence and confidence. But I did think a dose of humility might have helped his cause.

I’m amazed and impressed that Julia could support herself and two sons while working as a self-employed house cleaner. I’m also impressed that Samuel could go so long without a job. That speaks well to his financial sense – he’s a saver, not a spender.

The story is written in first person, and entirely from Julia’s point of view. While it might have been nice to get into Samuel’s head sometimes, we didn’t need to as there was no doubt about Samuel’s feelings or what he wanted from Julia. Being in Julia’s perspective meant we could journey with her on her journey from aversion and suspicion to friendship to more.

Yes, this is a romance.

There is definitely a “more” although it’s definitely on the slow-burn low-angst end of the scale. I liked that, because anything else wouldn’t have felt true to her character (and because there is enough angst in real life. I read to escape real life). I especially liked the Christian aspects of the story – the way Julia does (and doesn’t) pray about her problems (which felt realistic and believable), and the way she sees Samuel has changed since he became a Christian.

Julia Monroe Begins Again is an excellent second-chance #ChristianRomance from Rebekah Millet, and features an older couple. Recommended. #BookReview Share on X

Julia Monroe Begins Again is an excellent second-chance romance featuring an older couple. The cover gives off a bit of a rom-com feel, but it’s more romance than rom-com (apart from regular appearances from Chewy, Julia’s dog. He’s named for Chewbacca, but the other meaning also holds true). This is Rebecca Millet’s debut novel, and I look forward to reading more from her.

Recommended for fans of first-person contemporary romance and authors such as Jan Thompson, Liwen Ho, and Courtney Walsh.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Rebekah Millet

Rebekah MilletRebekah Millet is a Cascade Award and ACFW First Impressions Award-winning author of contemporary Christian romance novels. A New Orleans native, she grew up on beignets and café au lait, and she loves infusing her colorful culture into her stories. She exasperates her husband by rearranging their furniture and being a serial plant killer, while her two sons keep her laughing and share her love of strawberry Pop-Tarts.

Find Rebekah Millet online at:

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About Julia Monroe Begins Again

Samuel was back. It seemed unfair to be blindsided. And in church no less. Shouldn’t there be a commandment about that? Thou shalt not step foot inside thy ex’s place of worship.

Julia Monroe has just turned forty and has high hopes for a fresh start after the last decade of her life abruptly left her a young widow and a single mom. With both her boys off to college, she can finally focus on expanding her New Orleans-based cleaning business. Julia is ready for new beginnings–but God has other plans. Samuel Reed, the ruggedly handsome Green Beret who shattered her heart over twenty years ago, has returned to town and is the kind of distraction she never saw coming.

After their first interaction in years leaves her mind spinning and her emotions out of control, Julia knows she needs to avoid him if she wants any chance of preventing history from repeating itself, but her meddling best friend keeps throwing them together. And now it seems inevitable that the man who was hard to forget might just be impossible to resist.

Find Julia Monroe Begins Again online at:

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How could he look at someone he’d seen almost every day for years and suddenly see her so differently?

Book Review | All’s Fair in Love and Christmas by Sarah Monzon

Mackenzie enjoys her job as a graphic designer, where she works with her best friend and housemate. But she’s less than thrilled when her boss says she’s up for a promotion to a supervisory role that will mean supervising staff and working more closely with clients, even though it will mean a pay rise—which she needs to pay for her mother’s nursing home.

Sofiya has pitched Mackenzie against Jeremy Fletcher, her longtime secret crush, and someone who always has the right words to say. But Mackenzie has to try, for her mother’s sake. And she’s noticed something about Sofiya’s promotion strategy: promotions always happen around Christmas, and always go to the person who does the best job of bringing Christmas cheer to the office.

I have mixed feelings about office romances in general, and about the trope that pitches the hero and heroine against each other for a promotion (which is probably a hangover from years working in HR).

I think Sarah Monzon managed those two aspects of the plot brilliantly.

It was funny and believable and romantic. And while the story certainly delivered on the romance front, that wasn’t what made it special.

I loved the way the story featured a main character with a mental health issue—social anxiety–in a sensitive and realistic way.

I loved the way the story struck just the right balance between believing God for healing while acknowledging that God sometimes uses modern medicine to perform that healing.

I appreciated the acknowledgement that mental health issues are health issues, that doctors can help, that it’s not enough to think positive or practice gratitude or even pray for healing.

I especially loved the way we gradually got to know the real Jeremy and watch as he began to see–and fall for–the real Mackenzie, social anxiety and all.

Like Kiss Me on Christmas, All’s Fair in Love and Christmas is a fun Christian Christmas romance which delivers all the romantic feels along with a healthy view of people with mental health challenges. (If you enjoy this, I also recommend checking out Sarah Monzon’s 2022 release, Kiss Me on Christmas).

Recommended for anyone looking for a Christmas rom-com or for a Christian workplace romance with a serious side.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Sarah Monzon

Sarah MonzonA Carol award finalist and Selah award winner, Sarah Monzon is a stay-at-home mom who makes up imaginary friends to have adult conversations with (otherwise known as writing novels). As a navy chaplain’s wife, she resides wherever the military happens to station her family and enjoys exploring the beauty of the world around her.

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About All’s Fair in Love and Christmas

Two workplace rivals. One festive competition. And a romance that upends it all.

Every December two things are guaranteed for graphic designer Mackenzie Graham–Christmas celebrations and the annual promotion at her workplace. Those two things are by no means mutually exclusive. In fact, the better an employee is at harnessing the Christmas spirit, the more likely they’ll win the new job. With her social anxiety, Mackenzie never thought she’d be a contender in her company’s holiday competition, so how exactly has she found herself dueling her workplace crush with wrapping paper tubes and using tinsel as her weapon of choice for a much-needed raise?

Jeremy Fletcher’s life is meticulously planned out, including how to win this year’s promotion at work. Not only will the new position fulfill some of his career goals, but as a single guardian to his twin niece and nephew, he needs the salary increase to support his family. Jeremy has barely noticed Mackenzie Graham around the office, but now that she’s his rival, he can’t stop thinking about her. Her quirkiness intrigues him, and he’s afraid that if he can’t get his head on straight, the promotion isn’t the only thing he’ll end up losing to Mackenzie.

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Did they deceive people? Now and then, perhaps. But mostly they were dedicated to discovering truth. And they did so to protect their family.

Book Review | A Beautiful Disguise (Imposters #1) by Roseanna M White

Roseanna M White’s historical fiction has ranged from Biblical fiction to Gilded Age America to Edwardian England. My favourite stories are her romantic suspense stories set in England and which feature spies or investigators.

I’m thrilled to see her new series is back in my favourite sub-genre.

A Beautiful Disguise is the first in the Impostors series, and features Lady Marigold Fairfax, her brother, Lord Yates Fairfax, and the rest of their ragtag household. They make up the Impostors, a group of incognito private investigators who use their position in society–and their unconventional skills and talents–to ferret out information people need to know.

They are commissioned by Lieutenant Colonel Sir Merritt Livingstone to discover who Lord Hemming is corresponding with in Germany, England’s enemy and why.

We’re dropped straight into the story, as Marigold and Yates use their acrobatic skills to eavesdrop on a conversation that solves their current case, and the pace never lets up, taking us from London to a rugged coastal home with some unexpected residents.

Lady Marigold is my favourite kind of heroine.

She’s intelligent and brave and will do anything for her family and friends. She has a range of unusual skills, including the curious ability to be both the centre of attention and barely noticed. Sir Merrit notices her, and for all the right reasons. I’m always a fan of a man who notices and values the heroine’s intelligence, personality, and faith, rather than her looks and station in life.

But Marigold is obviously hiding a secret, so there’s the ongoing tension of if and how Merrit will find out, and how he will react. I have to say I thought that was brilliantly done, and spoke will to both their characters.

I thoroughly enjoyed watching these two characters fall for each other, and I am looking forward to the next story in the series.

A Beautiful Disguise has all the same strengths as White’s Shadows over England and Codebreakers trilogies: a closeknit group of friends and family working together to serve their country, and finding love along the way.

Recommended for fans of historical Christian romantic suspense, and circuses.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About Roseanna M White

Roseanna M WhiteRoseanna M. White pens her novels beneath her Betsy Ross flag, with her Jane Austen action figure watching over her. When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two children, editing and designing, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna has a slew of historical novels available, ranging from biblical fiction to American-set romances to her new British series. She lives with her family in West Virginia.

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About A Beautiful Disguise

In Edwardian London, not all that glitters is gold as a lady and an intelligence officer’s secret mission take them from the city’s dazzling ballrooms to its covert intelligence offices.

Sir Merritt Livingstone has spent a decade serving the monarch in the field, but when pneumonia lands him behind a desk in the War Office Intelligence Division just as they’re creating a new secret intelligence branch, he’s intent on showing his worth. He suspects an aristocrat of leaking information to Germany as tensions mount between the two countries, but he needs someone to help him prove it, so he turns to The Imposters, Ltd. No one knows who they are, but their results are beyond compare.

Left with an estate on the brink of bankruptcy after their father’s death, Lady Marigold Fairfax and her brother open a private investigation firm for the elite to spy on the elite. Dubbed The Imposters, Ltd., their anonymous group soon becomes the go-to for the crème of society who want answers delivered surreptitiously. But the many secrets Marigold learns about her peers pale in comparison to her shock when she and her brother are hired to investigate her best friend’s father as a potential traitor.

Lady Marigold is determined to discover the truth for her friend’s sake, and she’s more determined still to keep her heart from getting involved with this enigmatic new client . . . who can’t possibly be as noble as he seems.

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First Line Friday

First Line Friday #263 | All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese, a 2022 Christy Award and ACFW Carol Award winner.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

I used to marvel at the way my Great Mimi's arthritic fingers would pinch her eyeliner pencil and trace a perfect stroke of midnight black across her upper lash line.

The Kindle version is currently on sale for less than a dollar, so click here to check out the sample.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About All That Really Matters

Molly McKenzie’s bright personality and on-trend fashion and beauty advice have made her a major social media influencer. When her manager-turned-boyfriend tells her of an upcoming audition to host a makeover show for America’s underprivileged youth, all her dreams finally seem to be coming true. There’s just one catch: she has little experience interacting with people in need.

To gain an edge on her competitors, she plans to volunteer for the summer at a transitional program for aged-out foster kids, but the program’s director, Silas Whittaker, doesn’t find her as charming as her followers do. Despite his ridiculous rules and terms, Molly dives into mentoring, surprising herself with the genuine connections and concern she quickly develops for the girls–and Silas. But just as everything seems perfectly aligned for her professional future, it starts to crumble under the pressure. And as her once-narrow focus opens to the deep needs of those she’s come to know, she must face the ones she’s neglected inside herself for so long.

Find All That Really Matters online at:

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Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

I’m alone in the battle of a lifetime and have no idea how to even begin the fight.

Book Review | Love and the Dream Come True by Tammy L Gray

Cameron Lee isn’t living the music star dream.

Sure, he has two albums and an award-winning single, but now he’s contractually obliged to provide the label with a third album, but he’s lost his desire to write or even sing. First, he has to go home and attend his baby sister’s wedding … and hopefully not face up to the mistakes of his past.

Lexie Walters is the twenty-nine-year-old guardian/mother to Morgan, who is thirteen-going-on-forty. Despite being orphaned and having to drop out of college to raise her niece before the age of twenty, Lexi is the eternal optimist who doesn’t let things list clocks and lists get int he way of enjoying life. (To be honest, that annoyed me at first but she did grow on me). She’s an interior designer who has just bought a house with her contractor cousin that they plan to renovate and flip. And she’s had a crush on her best friend’s older brother since she was thirteen.

He’s a singer … Cameron Lee.

So yes, we know where this story is going.

I will say I found the beginning a little confusing. I’ve been watching old episodes of House, and so it took me a few pages to work out that Cameron was the hero, not the heroine. However, it was immediately obvious that Morgan was female, not male 🙂

It also took me a couple of chapters to realise the book is written in first person from both points of view—Cameron’s and Lexie’s—so it was important for me to read the chapter titles so I knew which character I was reading. Yes, I usually ignore chapter titles (because I find too many give spoilers).

The story picked up in pace and interest once Cameron and Lexie meet at the wedding.

They then discover Cameron is staying in town, renting a house two doors down from the house Lexie is renovating. That gives lots of opportunities to bring the two together and allow their relationship to develop.

It’s obvious from early on that Lexie has a strong Christian faith.

Cameron is a believer, but has struggling with faith for several years, since he left home to chase his music dream. His journey back to faith isn’t explicit, but it’s also obvious that it’s tied up with his journey back to music, and that is clearly shown. So while the novel isn’t all rah-rah-Jesus, it is definitely a Christian story … but one that a non Christian might also be interested in reading.

Love and the Dream Come True is the third book in Tammy L Gray’s State of Grace series, following Love and a Little White Lie and Love and the Silver Lining. I’ve read the whole series but have to admit that I can’t remember anything about the previous books except that I really enjoyed them (which is why I requested a review copy of this one).

Love and the Dream Come True by Tammy L Gray is a fun contemporary Christian romance featuring a music star and an interior designer. #ChristianRomance Share on X

However, I never felt as though I’d missed anything in not remembering. To me, that’s the market of a well-written novel, when I don’t feel like I’m missing anything from not having read (or remembered) the earlier books in the series. I have since re-read my reviews and can now remember how much I did enjoy the stories. What is most interesting is how much time has passed in novel-world since the first story was released—five or six years. I’m glad I didn’t have to wait that long.

Recommended for contemporary romance fans, especially those who enjoy rock star romance or similar.

Thanks to Bethany House and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

About the Author

Author Photo Tammy L GrayTammy L. Gray lives in the Dallas area with her family, and they love all things Texas, even the erratic weather patterns. She writes modern Christian romance with true-to-life characters and culturally-relevant plot lines. She believes hope and healing can be found through high quality fiction that inspires and provokes change.

Tammy is often lauded for her unique writing style within the inspirational genre, preferring to use analogies verses heavy-handed spiritual content. Her characters are real, relatable and deep, earning her a 2017 RITA award nomination in the Romance with Religious and Spiritual Elements category.

When not chasing after her three amazing kids, Tammy can be spotted with her head in a book. Writing has given her a platform to combine her passion with her ministry.

Tammy L. Gray has lots of projects going on.

You can find Tammy Gray online at:

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About Love and the Dream Come True

Their faith will face its toughest test yet.

Four years after getting the biggest break of his life, Cameron Lee’s music career has taken a nosedive, leaving him two options: become a sellout or give up on his lifelong dream. He reluctantly returns home for his sister’s wedding, hoping to avoid his past and find his love for music again.

Single mom Lexie Walters has suffered her fair share of tragedies and setbacks, but she has finally scraped together the money to achieve her dream of going into business with her cousin as an interior designer. When Lexie’s life is at an all-time high, she runs into her teenage crush, Cameron Lee.

Lost in the emotional turmoil of failure, Cameron is immediately drawn to Lexie and her infectious smile and optimistic spirit. Moreover, he adores her mouthy, no-holds-barred daughter. But fantasies only last so long, and soon Lexie and Cameron must face the real world, the one fraught with heartbreak, disappointment, and questions that sometimes can only be answered by a leap of faith.

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