PASSIONATE ABOUT SCHOOL LIBRARIES
Where The Road Bends
– Rachel Fordham –
Revell
Published 1 June 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
Where the Road Bends is a heartwarming story about second chances and overcoming the worst of situations life can throw at you.
Where The Road Bends didn’t unfold in the way I expected and the story was all the richer for it. While the characters are faced with horrible circumstances and trials, it makes them finding the good in life all the sweeter.
Home Field Advantage
– Dahlia Adler –
Wednesday Books
Published 7 June 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
Home Field Advantage is a jovial sports novel with queer romance and a powerful message about coming out and standing up for what’s right, wrapped in a bright, bubbly story.
I think I start every sport novel review with a statement about how much I l sports novels, so I’ve put this a bit further down in my review just for a change. My stance remains, though. I love sports novels. I can never find enough to satisfy my own cravings or that of my readers, so this is an automatic buy for my school library. It’s a great sports novel. Romance – check. Game suspense – check. Team drama – check. Strong, determined athletes – check, check. We have two athletes who take centre field in this story. Jack, female quarterback on the boys team, hated by her team mates and determined to prove herself. And Amber, cheerleader, firmly in the closet and totally crushing on the new quarterback.
In Honor’s Defense
– Karen Witemeyer –
Hanger’s Horsemen #3
Bethany House Publishers
Published 7 June 2022
♥♥♥♥
Aside from my Australian dictionary not much liking this book’s title, there was a lot I liked about In Honor’s Defense. It is apparently the third and, sadly, final, book of the Hanger’s Horsemen series. What a series it has been. Full of adventure, danger and romance.
When The Meadow Blooms
– Ann H Gabhart –
Revell
Published 3 May 2022
♥♥♥♥
Ann Gabhart has crafted a heartwarming story of overcoming loss and grief and finding a place to truly live and love in When The Meadow Blooms.
Calla and her younger sister have been living in the Home for Girls for two years while their mother recovers from Tuberculosis in an sanitarium. For two years they have endured abuse, waiting for the day they can go home. Scared they will be separated, Calla is lead to reach out to her uncle, rumoured to live in isolation on the family farm, Meadowland. When Dirk receives a letter from his niece asking for rescue, he throws caution away and hurries to retrieve the two girls and their mother. Taking them back to Meadowland requires a change in his habits, it might even mean opening his heart to the women, big and small, who have entered his world. But secrets from the past bring up grief and hurt he’s never let go. If he can’t heal, will he risk losing his new family?
TJ Powar Has Something to Prove
– Jesmeen Kaur Deo –
Viking Books for Young Readers
Published 7 June 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
Brilliant, just brilliant. This book has the perfect mix of super cute romance, powerful societal issues commentary, friendship, family and self identity discovery that makes it the sort of YA realistic fiction I just adore. Add a touch of sport and I was all in on this fantastic story.
Forging Silver Into Stars
– Brigid Kemmerer –
Forging Silver Into Stars #1
Bloomsbury YA
Published 7 June 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
Forging Silver Into Stars is just the most beautiful fantasy novel, with romance, betrayal, intrigue and wildly swinging emotions. I don’t know how she does it but Brigid Kemmerer’s writing just gets better and better. I don’t know how to put my love for this novel into words, so instead I’ll just go about shoving this book into the hands of readers and demanding they read it.
Forging Silver Into Stars returns readers to the world we first fell in love with in A Curse So Dark and Lonely. While Forging Silver Into Stars introduces us to new characters, never far from the action are Grey, Lia Mara, Rhen and Harper.
A Time To Bloom
– Lauraine Snelling –
Leah’s Garden #2
Bethany House Publishers
Published 7 June 2022
♥♥♥♥
A Time To Bloom is the delightful second book in the Leah’s Garden series. It picks up where book one left off, with the story of the Nielsen sisters. Forsythia and Dr Adam are now married and living in town while Lark, Del and Lilac continue to work to build their homestead and dreams of a garden, farm and boardinghouse. Del is also teaching school for the town.
By gosh, these are busy women. I don’t know how they do it. Thankfully, they have gathered around them a wonderful community. Forsythia, Adam, his nephew Jesse, their three children, and now Del’s school children and their families. The sisters’ brother Anders also comes to visit, bringing his friend RJ. There are also new challenges for the sisters and their growing family to face. Plagues of grasshoppers, families damaged by violence, and a schoolhouse destroyed by a twister. With the amount of work to do, especially with the harvest and wanting to start on their boardinghouse, the Nielsen sisters need all the help they can get, but they also know that if they want to achieve their dreams it’s up to them to make it a reality.
Each of these books features all the sisters, but while Lark and Forsythia took more of the focus in book one, Del takes the spotlight in this second book. She is starting the school year without a school house. Worse the towns people, even her sisters, don’t seem to realise how important it is to her. New in town, RJ battles both memories and pain from the war. The injury that cost him his eye continues to bring him debilitating pain, causing him to offend Del right from the start. As Del continues to strive hard for her students and their families, she finds an unexpected ally in RJ and her own work helps to bring him peace and a place in of belonging in this little town he finds himself in. Their romance is slow to develop and we only really get anything more than friendship right at the very end of the book, but I enjoyed the friendship they build, as well as all the details of the lives of these busy sisters and their community.
I’m looking forward to continuing the story of these incredible sisters and the people they bring together around them.
The publishers provided an advanced readers copy of this book for reviewing purposes. All opinions are my own.
Category: Adult fiction.
Genre: Christian historical
Themes: Romance, teaching, homesteading, farming, sisters, family.
Advisory: References to domestic violence.
Published: 7 June 2022 by Bethany House Publishers
Format: Paperback, ebook. 352 pages.
ISBN: 9780764235726
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Gideon Green in Black and White
– Katie Henry –
Katherine Tegen Books
Published 17 May 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
When you laugh at the dedication and then snort laugh and fist pump at the end of the first chapter you know you are going to love the book and laugh a lot. Which is exactly how it went down reading Gideon Green in Black and White. Looking at the author, who is the author of some of my all time favourite and go-to humour novels, it’s no surprise that this book is funny. Like really, unexpectedly, dry-humour funny. But what was surprising was the mystery (very cool), sleuthing, totally platonic male-female best friend relationship (finally, yes!!) and cute but not attention demanding, just perfect romance.
Turn to Me
– Becky Wade –
A Misty River Romance #3
Bethany House Publishers
Published 3 May 2022
♥♥♥♥
Turn to Me is the third novel in the Misty Rover Romance series, that has (along with two novellas) introduced readers to the Miracle Five. In this third book, we finally get Luke Dempsey’s story of redemption and facing the hurt and guilt of his past. Readers will also be happy to see Ben get his own happy ending (though he totally should have got his own book. Why didn’t he get his own book!?!).
To Tame a Cowboy
– Jody Hedlund –
Colorado Cowboys #3
Bethany House Publishers
Published 3 May 2022
♥♥♥♥♥
I’ve enjoyed four historical romance novels this week and To Tame A Cowboy is by far my favourite. The romance is off the charts!! My goodness, it is as sexy and swoony as a Christian novel would dare. A story of new hope and lives rekindled. Horses, freedom and romance (have I mentioned the romance yet?)
Savannah’s future is set – marry a man who will bring fortunes to her father and allow her grieving parents the lives they want. On the eve of her wedding, Savannah decides she needs more time to face her future and she flees. She finds work at the Healing Springs ranch as their veterinarian. She spends most of her time with Brody as he works to tame the wild mustangs that roam the area. The two are drawn to each other, but Savannah is conflicted about her future and Brody is haunted by his memories of his time in the war. With a fiancé awaiting her return, Savannah must decide between her duty to her family and her growing feelings for Brody.
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