A Husband For Mari

A Husband for Mari (The Amish Matchmaker)

Feb 1, 2016 | Kindle eBook

by Emma Miller

Back to Amish Country Struggling single mother Mari Troyer decides to move—temporarily—to the Amish community of Seven Poplars. With a place to stay and a good job, Mari soon fits right in with the warm, welcoming Delaware residents. But when her son asks a matchmaker to find Mari a husband, Mari worries that the handsome builder who's become the boy's father figure can never be her intended. James Hostetler requires a wife as committed to the Amish life as he is. Need brought Mari to Seven Poplars, but maybe love and renewed faith will make her stay forever.

This is another excellent installment in "The Amish Matchmaker" series and I can't wait for the third book. It is a fairly quick read at only 224 pages and a great book to curl up with on a cold winters day. Even though I am a non-believer I can recognize the spirituality behind this book, and how Mari has troubles deciding whether she is coming back tot he church for her beliefs or because she just want to belong. Mari left the Faith on the very day of her Baptism. In the ensuing years she has had a child and her husband had left her. She had come home to Wisconsin and struggled to make ends meet and to take care of her 9 year old son. Now she needs to find another job and she travels to Delaware -the Amish community of Seven Poplars. Here she can get back on her feet but she soon finds that it is a place of serenity, family, Faith and fun. And here is where she meets James Hosteltler. He is good not only for Mari, but he is wonderful with her son. The growth of Mari and especially here son is amazing in these pages and the author's descriptions of the people and town make me want to go live there.

Anything For You by Kristan Higgins

Anything for You (The Blue Heron Series)
Dec 29, 2015

by Kristan Higgins


Before you get down on bended knee… 

…you should be pretty darn sure the answer will be yes. For ten years, Connor O'Rourke has been waiting for Jessica Dunn to take their on-again, off-again relationship public, and he thinks the time has come. His restaurant is thriving, she's got her dream job at Blue Heron Vineyard—it's the perfect time to get married.  

When he pops the question, however, her answer is a fond but firm no. If it ain't broke, why fix it? Jess has her hands full with her younger brother, who's now living with her full-time, and a great career after years of waitressing. What she and Connor have is perfect: friends with an excellent benefits package. Besides, with her difficult past (and reputation), she's positive married life isn't for her. 

But this time, Connor says it's all or nothing. If she doesn't want to marry him, he'll find someone who does. Easier said than done, given that he's never loved anyone but her. And maybe Jessica isn't quite as sure as she thinks…

I generally love this author.  I love her quirky characters and nearly impossible situations.  But this book was a little too 'real' for me at times. Too many times did I need to wipe the tears form my eyes. Then at other times I just wanted to throw this book against the wall. But I'm glad I stuck it out,  even when I felt emotionally drained.  To watch the characters grow and blossom was a journey I'm glad I didn't give up on.

The story was a unique one for me. It deals with several painful issues that plagues quite a few people. We have to deal with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Alcoholic Parents, a teen/ young woman having sex just to protect her brother. And true love.

The book starts out with Conner our hero, on his knees proposing to Jess -the love of his life since he was 12 and was attacked by Jess' brothers pit bull...

My issues with this book is that for the first half, the breaking up/getting back together was cute -but by the second half I just wanted to slap some sense into them, especially Jess. (thank goodness for character growth!)

There are many other interesting  facets to this story that will make the main plot fade into the back-ground at times.

The blending of so many story lines and how the characters grow, is what makes this a book that I will be re-reading and has me giving it 4 stars.

.

Feel the Burn by G. A. Aiken

Feel the Burn (Dragonkin)

Nov 24, 2015

by G.A. Aiken

 War makes strange bedfellows. 

I, Gaius Domitus, one-eyed rebel dragon king of the Provinces, know that better than most, since I have to fight off half my ungrateful family on a regular basis to keep law and order here in my lands. But I never expected to have to consort with a barbarian human woman. Kachka is beautiful, if you like them fierce—and of course I do. But she keeps complaining about how spoiled and decadent I am, and how a feared Daughter of the Steppes has no time for foolish dragons. I think she likes my eye patch, though. It is quite dashing. With death always at our tails, we take our passion like we take our allies. As they say, love the barbarian you’re with…

This is a book that seems to be written as a series of meshed novellas, rather than the single novel it is supposed to be. I had been loosing interest in this series a couple of books back and decided to give this author another shot since the beginning of the series was so much fun.  However, nothing seems to have changed and I find that it just isn't fun anymore.

The interaction between the main lovers doesn't even start until you are approximately 43% through with the book.  There are so many sub-plots by this point in the book, that I can't keep them all straight.  I am sure that they are all straightened out by the end, but I have simply lost interest in what might happen in the future.

It is too bad too since the main plot of the desecration of the Temples, was  an interesting one. However, Gaius and Kachka just got on my nerves after a while...especially Kachka. Trying to see them in a romance no matter how it was going to be portrayed - was typical of this author.  Take two highly unlikely, poles apart people (dragon King/female warrior and shove them into bed together and voilà  instalove!  This trope is getting old.

The editing/formatting issues had supposedly been fixed, but you can't prove it by my Kindle edition!

An Amish Noel (The Amish Bachelors) Kindle Edition

An Amish Noel (The Amish Bachelors) 

Dec 1, 2015by Patricia Davids

An Amish Homecoming Luke Bowman's homecoming is turning Emma Swartzentruber's carefully ordered world upside down. Gone is her rebellious girlhood crush, and in his place is a handsome man who seems committed to serving the community. Luke's even agreed to work for Emma's ill father, whose last wish is to see his daughter wedded to a stable, loving man. But Luke—a man who flirted with the outside world with disastrous consequences—is hardly marriage material for a good Amish woman. Yet this Christmas, when her family is flung into crisis, Emma finds that he may just be the one to capture her heart for good.

This is the second time I've tried to read and review this book. I managed to get through it the first time, but I didn't get a chance to write my review. I decided to read it a second time to re-fresh my memory before reviewing.

I'm glad I did, because I remembered why I put off writing the review earlier.

This story was not a very festive one, at least not for me. The angst and anger throughout the novel just took away any pleasure to be found at the end. The character's just didn't click with me - Luke and Emma just seemed too angry, too anxious...too something. I just couldn't find it in my heart to connect with them.

ARC supplied by publisher

The Amish Midwife (Lancaster Courtships Book 3)

Nov 1, 2015

by Patricia Davids

 An Unexpected Family
Amish midwife Anne Stoltzfus is used to late-night visitors—but she's shocked to find reclusive bachelor Joseph Lapp on her doorstep with a baby in his arms. Their neighborly quarrels are pushed aside when Joseph explains that his sister has left her daughter in his care—and Joseph needs Anne to be her nanny. Soon they're bonding over baby Leah, and the love they feel for her is healing them both. When Joseph makes an offer of marriage, Anne's painful past resurfaces and she's unsure of what to do. But taking a chance could mean love—and family—are waiting just across the fence.

I am starting to like Amish romances more and more, the older I get. I don't think I love the overt sexuality in other types of romances as much as I used to. Well sometimes I still do - LOL!

I worried about Amish based romances because I don't want to be preached to, or to be told that 'their God' is the only rue one - I shouldn't have worried. Ms Davids adds religion to her romance in a very subtle way and also in a way that soothes your soul.

This was a very emotional story and it had me weeping in several spots, yet we do get a very happy HEA so never fear.

It all started with a tomato patch, a goat and a pair of very stubborn Amish neighbors and a well places thrown tomato, and soon turns serious when Joseph Lapps sister comes home and asks him to take care of her infant for a couple of days. Now Joseph needs help from the tomato thrower who also happens to be a midwife.

The romance is very subtle, the underlying plot is a good one and the secondary characters are not too 'pushy' but lend the right amount of incentive to push this couple a little closer together.

Ms Davids adds to her book a lot of interesting facts about cooking, pumpkins, goats,cheese making etc. and I liked that fact very much. It was not enough information that it takes away from the story, just enough to leave you a little more informed and maybe willing to try something new.

All in all this was an excellent read.

ARC was Supplied by the Publisher and NetGalley

DINO HO HO HOs!: Pebbles Rocksoff (a.k.a. -Susan Donovan)

                  Satire and Parody and the Love Habits of the Dinosaur

A collection of four short erotica satires.

About the Author



And Now For A Confession...

"Pebbles Rocksoff" is really Susan Donovan, a New York Times bestselling author of women's fiction and contemporary romance novels known for their humor, sexual tension, and complex characters. One day a couple of years back, Susan saw that there were actual dinosaur erotica ebooks for sale and said to herself, "Hallelujah! I've found my special purpose!" She then immediately set out to write short parody dino lust fiction.
You can learn more about "Pebbles" and her upcoming releases on Facebook: facebook.com/rocksoffwriter. Once there, feel free to inform Pebbles that she's going straight to hell for writing such horribly offensive tales.  You'll fit right in.

This is what happens when you take a best selling romance author like Susan Donovan, who writes amazing books like these -The Kept Woman and He Loves Lucy http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003... and set her loose in the Cretaceous period to have her write a satire about a bunch of horny dinosaurs and a pair of sisters...then throw into the mix the guy who sent these sisters back in time, named Hans Fukengreoven. This was the most fun I've had reading horrible parody in a long time. There is nothing erotic to see here, but there is a lot to hoot and holler about. I wish I could post some of the more memorable parts of this brief novella, but I don't think Amazon is going to let me talk about one din's love cudgel, or how much lube the sisters go through. But the best was the ending of the second story and unfortunately you might not see the humor unless you love Mary Tyler Moore sitcoms! Darn it all, now I can't get that theme song out of my head!

The Kept Woman - by Susan Donovan

The Kept Woman

Apr 1, 2007 | Kindle eBook

by Susan Donovan

Book Description :WHEN A GOOD-GIRL DIVORCÉE Playing by the rules has left Samantha Monroe with an AWOL ex-husband, maxed out credit cards, and the task of raising three children on a hairstylist's salary. It's time for a new game plan. When Sam learns that politician Jack Tolliver needs someone to play the part of his fiancée for six months in return for a generous paycheck, she's ready to sign up on the spot.MEETS A BAD-BOY POLITICIANJack needs Sam and her kids to help tone down his image from womanizing cad to dependable dad. But he was expecting Sam to be a frumpy single mom, not a wickedly smart, sexy redhead. Keeping nosey newshounds from discovering that his engagement is a charade is going to be a tough job, but one mind-blowing kiss from Sam and suddenly Jack is ready to put in all the overtime necessary…
LOVE WINS IN A LANDSLIDE…Now, with scheming opponents itching to bring Jack down, Sam's ex returning to stir up trouble, one stubborn pre-schooler, two squabbling teenagers, a crazy dog, and some out-of-this-world sex, Jack and Sam are discovering that playing make-believe can be complicated—but not nearly as much as falling in love…

This is what I consider one of my "comfort reads", a book I read just because I love it so much and one that I pull out anytime nothing else would seem to do.

The story is excellent with just a touch of "pop-corn" read to it.  The characters are well developed and they grow even in the short time this book allows us.

The premise may not be a new one, but it is handled perfectly, giving us laughter and even some tears.

When a comment is made in passing (and jokingly) in front of her friends about becoming a "kept woman", the comment is soon passed on to a womanizing politician who could use a ready made girlfriend/fiance with a family in tow.

Of course because this is a romance it doesn't hurt that they are both gorgeous and sexually attracted to each other!  While fighting off Jacks overbearing mother, the paparazzo and various others who would like to be in Jack's bed both figuratively and literally and while trying to keep this relationship to a business deal...things change, feelings change, people change.  And thankfully they all change for the better.

While the idea that a woman could become kept in the loosest non-sexual sense of the word,  may rankle a few readers, I would  go for it anyway since things all even out in the end and truth and justice will prevail.

Ms Donovan is one of my very favorite contemporary romance authors.  She consistently write good comedy, lovely romantic scenes, excellent characters that you could just see yourself being friends with and she always keeps you on your toes with her plots.