Iola Goulton

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

It’s Storytime With Van Daniker | Reading Is My SuperPower

Alicia G Ruggieri | Susan Loves Books

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower, Rachel at Bookworm Mama, Sydney at Singing Librarian Books, or Beth at Faithfully Bookish. And check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

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

You can find Grace in Strange Disguise online at:

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

You can also click here to read my interview with Christine Dillon (and enter the giveaway), or click here to go directly to the giveaway page.

8 September 2017

First Line Friday | Week 7 | Magnolia Storms

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line. This one is timely, considering the recent devastation in Texas and the tempest due to hit Florida. My thoughts and prayers are with all those affected.

Today I’m sharing from Magnolia Storms by Janet W Ferguson.

Fear and loss snaked around Magnolia Marovich’s heart like they always did when she studied the satellite images on the three computer screens in front of her. Not again. The waters should be calming down in November, not churning up like a monster.

I have no first-hand experience of this kind of weather—New Zealand is more likely to be hit by earthquakes. I’m looking forward to reading Magnolia Storms with equal parts dread and anticipation: anticipation for the fictional story, but dread and sorrow over the loss, suffering, and death caused by Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.

About the Book

Maggie Marovich couldn’t save her father or her home from Hurricane Katrina, but she’s dedicated her life to meteorology so she can warn others when the monster storms approach. Except…she works three hours inland and rarely risks returning to her childhood hometown of Ocean Springs, Mississippi. Both her single-parent sister and the ship pilot Maggie once loved refused to leave the Coast, despite Maggie’s requests. Now a hurricane’s headed toward Mississippi, and Maggie’s sister is seriously injured, leaving Maggie little choice but to head south—into the storm.

The water and tides flow through Josh Bergeron’s veins, and he can’t imagine giving up piloting—even for the love of his life, the infuriating Magnolia Marovich. He tried to move on without her, marrying and having a child. But after his wife abandons him and his little boy, his career choice is threatened by the weight of his parental responsibilities. Moving next door to Maggie’s sister and sharing their child care seems like the perfect set-up. Until Maggie blows back into town.

Being forced to lean on Josh for help washes up the wreckage in Maggie’s faith. Where was God during the destruction of Katrina? Why do some prayers seem to go unanswered? Between the hurricane looming in the Gulf and another gale raging in her heart, can Maggie overcome her past and find the trust to truly live?

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU

You can check out what these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

It’s Storytime With Van Daniker | Reading Is My SuperPower | Alicia G Ruggieri

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

1 September 2017

First Line Friday | Week 6 | The Promise of Rayne

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from The Promise of Rayne by Nicole Deese.

Desperation undermines wisdom. Her grandfather’s legendary words crash-landed in the space between Rayne Shelby’s heart and head, though they did nothing to combat her frantic thoughts.

This book comes highly recommended, and is sitting on my to-read pile. Yes, it’s an actual paper book, not an ebook! That makes it perfect for winter reading in the spa (aka hot tub).

About The Promise of Rayne

Rayne Shelby has spent her entire life trying to earn the approval of her high-powered family, with the hope of one day managing her late grandfather’s prestigious Idaho lodge. But when she makes a mistake that puts her future in jeopardy, she faces an impossible choice: defy her family or deny her dream. The only way to fix the mess she’s created is to enlist the help of her neighbor, Levi, the apprentice of her family’s greatest enemy. And if Rayne gets caught crossing the divided property lines, the consequences will be irreparable.

Levi Harding has never forgotten the August night he shared with Rayne when they were teens—or the way she later rejected him. Despite his warring instincts, he can’t ignore her plea for help or the spark that’s ignited between them. But now, as wildfires bear down on their town and family secrets are revealed, their newfound alliance might just go up in smoke.

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

You can check out what these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

It’s Storytime With Van Daniker | Reading Is My SuperPower | Alicia G Ruggieri

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

25 August 2017

First Line Friday | Week 5 | Where We Belong

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from Where We Belong by Lynn Austin.

Rebecca Hawes lay awake in her tent, convinced that the howling wind was about to lift her entire camp into the air and hurl it to the far side of the desert.

About the Book

In the city of Chicago in 1892, the rules for Victorian women are strict, their roles limited. But sisters Rebecca and Flora Hawes are not typical Victorian ladies. Their love of adventure and their desire to use their God-given talents has brought them to the Sinai Desert–and into a sandstorm.

Accompanied by Soren Petersen, their somber young butler, and Kate Rafferty, a street urchin who is learning to be their ladies’ maid, the two women are on a quest to find an important biblical manuscript. As the journey becomes more dangerous and uncertain, the four travelers sift through memories of their past, recalling the events that shaped them and the circumstances that brought them to this time and place.

Yes, I know. This doesn’t release until October. But I have an advance review ebook and I have no self-control when it comes to books from my favourite authors …

By the way, I’m scheduling this in advance—my husband is taking me away for the weekend for my birthday, so I might not get to your comments for a couple of days 🙂

Amazon US | Amazon UK | Amazon AU | ChristianBook | Goodreads

You can check out what some of these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower.

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

18 August 2017

First Line Friday | Week 4 | Since You’ve Been Gone

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from Since You’ve Been Gone by Christa Allan.

My Granny Ruth says we always have choices about falling in love. So maybe you and I should have just fallen in like.

This was one of my favourite novels from 2016—I liked it so much that I bought the paperback so I could share it with friends. And now I’ve opened it to share the first line, I want to keep reading …

About the Book

One moment, Olivia Kavanaugh is preparing to walk down the aisle and embrace her own happily ever after. The next, she learns that her fiancé, Wyatt Hammond, has been in a fatal car accident. Then comes a startling discovery: Wyatt’s car wasn’t heading toward the church. He was fifty miles away…with a baby gift in the backseat.

Her faith shaken, Olivia pores over the clues left behind, desperate to know where Wyatt was going that day and why. As she begins uncovering secrets, she also navigates a tense relationship with her judgmental mother and tries to ignore the attentions of a former boyfriend who’s moved back home. But when she starts receiving letters written by Wyatt before his death, she must confront a disturbing question: Can we ever know anyone fully, even someone we love?

When an unexpected path forward—though nothing like the life she once envisioned—offers the promise of a new beginning, will she be strong enough to let go of the past and move toward it?

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

You can check out what some of these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower. Or check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

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

11 August 2017

First Line Friday | Week 3 | Ghost Heart

It’s Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from Ghost Heart by Lisa Harris and Lynne Gentry.

According to legend, their kind could never die.

It’s an intriguing first line, and let me assure you: the rest of Ghost Heart is both intriguing and nail-biting. It’s a must-read for medical suspense fans. My full review will post next week.

About the Book

A brilliant transplant surgeon. A rogue organ broker. A ghost child.
And the legend that could destroy them all.

A brutal murder convinces surgeon Mia Kendall there’s more than she imagined to the mysterious spike in heart transplant rejections. Determined to find answers before she loses another patient, Mia gets sucked into a dangerous international medical web. With time running out for her youngest transplant recipient, Mia is forced to partner with a disillusioned ex-military pilot who flies brokered organs across East Africa. But searching for the truth will prove costly for the unlikely duo racing to stop a madman before he annihilates a rare and cursed bloodline.

From best-selling author Lisa Harris and award-winning author Lynne Gentry comes a chilling, hypnotic medical thriller that will take you from the suburbs of Cincinnati to the jungles of Africa.

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

You can check out what some of these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross | Christian Fiction Girl

If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower. Or check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

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

4 August 2017

First Line Friday | Week 2 | The Space Between Words

It’s First Line Friday, which means it’s time to open the book nearest you and share the first line.

Today I’m sharing from The Space Between Words by Michele Phoenix:

My name is Adeline Baillard, and my life may end today.

Doesn’t that make you want to keep reading?

About the Book

“There were seconds, when I woke, when the world felt unshrouded. Then memory returned.”

When Jessica regains consciousness in a French hospital on the day after the Paris attacks, all she can think of is fleeing the site of the horror she survived. But Patrick, the steadfast friend who hasn’t left her side, urges her to reconsider her decision. Worn down by his insistence, she reluctantly agrees to follow through with the trip they’d planned before the tragedy.

“The pages found you,” Patrick whispered.

“Now you need to figure out what they’re trying to say.”

During a stop at a country flea market, Jessica finds a faded document concealed in an antique. As new friends help her to translate the archaic French, they uncover the story of Adeline Baillard, a young woman who lived centuries before—her faith condemned, her life endangered, her community decimated by the Huguenot persecution.

“I write for our descendants, for those who will not understand the cost of our survival.”

Determined to learn the Baillard family’s fate, Jessica retraces their flight from France to England, spurred on by a need she doesn’t understand.

Could this stranger who lived three hundred years before hold the key to Jessica’s survival?

Bookworm Mama | Singing Librarian Books | Faithfully Bookish

You can check out what some of these lovely FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today:

Radiant Light | Encouraging Words from the Tea Queen

Lauraine’s Notes | With A Joyful Noise | A Baker’s Perspective

Fiction Aficionado | Bibliophile Reviews | Kathleen Denly

Joy of Reading | C Jane Read | Moments Dipped in Ink

Molly’s Cafinated Reads | Romances of the Cross

Today we’re welcoming a new FirstLineFriday member, Nicole at Christian Fiction Girl. If you would like to join FirstLineFriday, contact Carrie at at Reading Is My SuperPower.

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

28 July 2017

Introducing First Line Friday | The Two of Us

First Line Friday (#FirstLineFriday or #FLF) is the baby and brainchild of Carrie Schmidt aka Meez Carrie at Reading Is My Superpower. It’s a fabulous name for a book blog, and I only wish I’d thought of it!

The premise is simple:

I will have to adjust that a little, as the “book” nearest me is most often my Kindle. The real books are usually either books on writing craft, or the Bible (sharing Genesis 1:1 each week could get boring).

I’ve been following the meme for a while, and I have noticed participants do tend to share the first lines of novels—specifically, Christian novels.

Today I’m sharing from The Two of Us by Victoria Bylin.

Mia Robinson couldn’t take her eyes off the man in a cowboy hat working a claw machine game, the kind where a child—or a boyfriend or father—put in a dollar and tried to grab a toy in thirty seconds or less.

I’ve played those games … and failed. But the man Mia is watching doesn’t fail … Does that whet your appetite? Keep an eye on the blog, because I’ve got a full review for The Two of Us coming up soon.

About the Book

Heartwarming and Touching New Contemporary Romance from Victoria Bylin

After two broken engagements, nurse practitioner Mia Robinson is done with dating. From now on, she only trusts herself and God, and she’s focused on her eighteen-year-old sister, Lucy, and caring for patients. Just as she applies to work for an international aid organization, a phone call from Lucy, who’s pregnant and running off to marry her twenty-one-year-old boyfriend, throws a wrench into all of Mia’s plans.

Jake Tanner may have recovered from the physical injuries he sustained on the job as a police officer, but his heart has yet to heal from losing his former partner in the tragedy. He’s poured himself into starting a camp for the sons of fallen officers and mentoring Sam, the adult son of his deceased partner, who’s asked him to be his best man at his wedding.

Mia is expecting a mess when she arrives to sort out the situation with Lucy, but she wasn’t expecting Jake. And Jake, who can’t help envying Sam and Lucy, doubts he’ll ever experience their happiness for himself. But maybe Jake’s courage and Mia’s caring spirit are just what they need to bring them a lifetime of healing and a forever kind of love …