A Beauty So Rare by Tamera Alexander

I love reading Tamera Alexander. She does an amazing job of creating such a beautiful scenes that you want to go and visit the places she is writing about. A Beauty So Rare is about a young woman named Eleanor Braddock who has never married and has decided that she never will. Her father is ill so she has to make permanent living arrangements for him and temporarily live with her rich aunt, Adelicia Acklen. Eleanor has plans for what she would like to do for her future but her aunt's plans are much different and her aunt is not a force to be reckoned with. Eleanor hires a poor widow to help her with a project and decides to use her love of cooking to feed the poor widow and her child. What starts out as a simple meal being shared becomes much more and Eleanor begins to see her future changing rapidly. The other main character in the book is Marcus Gottfried. He is from Austria and has come to America to hide from his past and his future, but must return shortly. He has great aspirations to build something amazing while in Nashville and to use his love and knowledge of plants to create the perfect colored flower for Mrs. Acklen. Eleanor and Marcus meet while he is working on the flower for Mrs. Acklen and their relationship grows into something more, but their families plans for them doesn't allow the relationship to go further than just friendship. As time inches closer to Marcus's return to Austria, Eleanor realizes her feels for him are strong but has resigned to that fact that her future does not include a happy married life. She knows he has to leave soon and that he has a surprise for her, but what could it be? Will it be something to help her remember him when he is gone? Thank you to the publisher for the free copy of this book. It was a wonderful read.

Where Courage Calls by Janette Oke and Laurel Oke Logan

I have been a Janette Oke fan for many years. Her books never disappoint. This story is about a young lady who comes from a wealthy family whose mother would prefer for her to become a part of society but Beth Thatcher wants to do more with her life so she sets out for a small mining town to fill a request for a teacher for one year. She has some challenges along the way traveling far from home for the first time and once she gets there, she struggles starting up her one room school house in an inconvenient place with children who come with their own personal challenges. The small mining town has it's own share of problems and Beth struggles to help the people of this town without hurting their pride and without upsetting the rules of the town. A book written by Janette Oke wouldn't be complete without a love story and this book doesn't disappoint. On Beth's train trip she was greeted by a family friend, Edward, who is a Canadian Mountie heading to his new post. She is not too happy about him being there and struggles with their relationship whenever he comes around the mining town. There are also a couple of other male characters in the story who cross Beth's path. I really enjoyed how Oke weaved romance in the story as a side story to the main. I really enjoyed this book and highly recommend it. This book was given to me by the publisher.

The Dancing Master by Julie Klassen

Julie Klassen is one of my favorite authors, so I have read all of her books. The Dancing Master was not as good of a read as Klassen's other books. Usually you are drawn in right away to her stories and have a hard time putting down the book. I wasn't completely hooked on the story line until more than half way into the book. It just seemed to take a long time to "set the stage" and once that was done, then I wanted to see how the story would unravel and if there would be a happy ending. I will say that the last quarter of the book was interesting and filled with an unraveling story plot. The book was just okay for me, but I would recommend her other books. Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

Sweet Mercy by Ann Tatlock

Another great book by Tatlock! This story takes place during the prohibition era and is about a family trying to make a better life for themselves by moving out of crime ridden Minnesota to peaceful Ohio. Eve Marryat is a young woman who finds tranquility at her Uncle's lodge in Mercy, Ohio. She is just beginning to get settled and starts dating for the first time when her world is turned upside down and she is faced with a decision which threatens her core morals and beliefs. This book is a well written story set during an interesting time in history. I enjoyed the story from beginning to end. Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.

The Guardian by Beverly Lewis

This is a sweet Amish story. A little Amish girl becomes lost, an Englisher finds her and returns her to her family. This is only the beginning of the story. The main story is about how an Englisher worms into the hearts of an Amish community and how the Amish community helps a young woman heal and figure out her place in the world. I enjoyed this story but it was not one of my favorite Lewis stories. There were times when I scanned through pages. Thank you to the publisher for the free book to review.

Unrivaled by Siri Mitchell

Loved this book!! I have enjoyed all of Siri Mitchell's books and this one did not disappoint. There is nothing better than a mystery mixed with a love story and many scenes describing candy making. Yum! I enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters, Lucy Kendall, daughter of a struggling candy maker, and Charlie Clarke, son of a successful candy maker. In this story they both are struggling in a relationship with a parent, with how to make their families candy business more successful and with their competitive relationship with each other. This is a book I highly recommend. The story pulled me in from the very beginning and was a delightful read all the way to the end. Thank you to the publishers for this free copy.

Firefly Island by Lisa Wingate

From the first page of this book, I was dragged in and couldn't stop reading. Well, okay, I did have to stop on occasion in order to take care of my own love story here in the burbs of D.C., but I couldn't wait to get back to Lisa Wingate's story about Mallory Hale. Mallory found the kind of world-wind love that many dream about. He's handsome, attentive and has a little boy who adores her. Shortly after their relationship started to get serious, he, Daniel Everson, is offered a job in Texas. So Mallory does what any D.C., Capitol Hill, career-oriented girl would do. She packs up, has a quick wedding, one night honeymoon, and moves, to the middle of nowhere, Texas as a new wife and mother. This is when her life gets really interesting. Mallory struggles with all the new changes in her life, having to live in a small town, a house that is not fit to live in and the deep down feeling she has inside that something is just not right in the new town she has moved to. When an accident happens, Mallory puts her life in danger to find out what happened, but most importantly, why. Will this new knowledge help her to settle into her new life and find contentment in a small Texas town? I highly recommend this book! Thank you to the publisher for the free copy.