In This Moment by Gabrielle Meyer

In This Moment is not the first book I have read by Gabrielle Meyer and will not be the last. I look forward to reading many more of her books. This is book 2 of the Timeless Series and it is one of the top series I read this year. It will hook you from the start, and you might need to binge read this series. The character development was fantastic. I loved getting to see Maggie navigate the three different lives she gets to live. Watching her wade through grief but also trying to become the woman that God made her to be. Her calling to help others through medicine was very evident. I loved how she used each life to help further her knowledge. The storyline and setting were perfect. This year in our homeschool we have been studying 1850-present times so this book was all encompassing of the time periods we have been looking at. I loved that 2001 was included as well. Getting to look at the civil war, start of WWII and September 11th was fun. I loved seeing all the research that went into this book. It was very evident from the book. The romance was the perfect balance and was nothing over the top. The right amount of spice, close door romance for me. Gabrielle Meyer did a great job intertwining faith throughout the book.

What I Left For You by Liz Tolsma

What I Left for You is the second book I have read written by Liz Tolsma and I look forward to reading some more. What I Left for You was a captivating book, filled with history and emotions. The character development was fantastic. I loved getting to know both Helena and her journey during WWII and McKenna and her journey as a social worker and looking into her family tree. I enjoyed the storyline and setting a lot. My husband has recently started looking into his family tree so I could relate to McKenna’s journey. It has been a fun adventure to go on. That aspect of the story tied in really nicely to the WWII setting. I enjoyed getting to know a different story of WWII from a viewpoint that is not always talked about. This was also great timing as we start to study about WWII in our homeschool in the next few weeks. Liz Tolsma did a great job of intertwining faith throughout the book. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

Hope Like Wildflowers by Pepper Basham

Hope Like Wildflowers is not the first book I have read by Pepper Basham and will not be the last. From the first book I read by her, Pepper became a favorite author. This is the third book in the series, but I seem to do things out of order sometimes. That being said, this book could totally be read as a stand-alone, though I do have the other two books on my TBR list. This book caught me in from the start and I could not put it down. The character development is great. I loved getting to know Kizzie and her heart. Watching her work through her faith really showed her heart. I also loved getting to know Noah Lewis and Mrs. Lewis. The storyline was great. I loved seeing Kizzie experience God from such a simple place and grow. My heart absolutely broke for her when she realized what had happened. But the hope that she had when she realized she was a daughter of God and even through it all, God would not forsake her, was beautiful. The romance was perfection. Seeing the two sides of ‘romance,’ one which is full of lust and one that is an unconditional pure love. I was so happy for Kizzie that she did not settle for less than what God had for her. The perfect closed door, low spice romance. Pepper Basham did a great job intertwining faith throughout and pointing us back to God. Even in the hard circumstance of our consequences of sin, still letting God work through us. It encouraged me to have more compassion on those who have different sin issues then me. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

An Honorable Deception by Roseanna M. White

An Honorable Deception is the third book I have read written by Roseanna M. White and I look forward to reading more. This is the third book in The Imposters series. I signed up to review this book purely off the cover and book description. I did not realize it was a series, but I am so glad I decided to read this entire series. Though you could read this book as a stand-alone, I would definitely recommend diving into the series as a whole. It was worth it. This Edwardian historical mystery series captured my attention from the beginning, and I could not put it down. The character development is fantastic. Getting to the end of this book I was sad to put the Imposters on the shelf as I have gotten to love each of them. I was so excited to see that Yates is who the last book was about. Learning more about Lady Lavinia was so fun. Watching her inner fight with herself to try and abide by her friends wishes and become less selfish as she looks into opening her mother’s house to help these women out. All the other characters we get to meet as the Imposters solve this case were an added bonus. The storyline and setting were perfect. I loved getting to explore more of the Imposters grounds. Their Tower really came to life this book. I loved that the storyline took on some hard issues, issues that we come across in modern times as well as what would have been an issue in history. The romance that finally gets to soar between Yates and Lady Lavinia is so sweet. I was rooting for them the whole time. Perfect closed door, low spice romance. Roseanna M. White did a great job intertwining faith throughout the book. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

The Queen's Cook (Queen Esther's Court, #1) by Tessa Afshar

The Queen’s Cook is the first book I have read written by Tessa Afshar and I look forward to reading more. Tessa Afshar did an awesome job bringing the story of Esther to life and what things might have been like during this time. The research that was put into this book if obvious and this book is truly a work of art. I cannot wait until the next one comes out in the series. The character development is great. I loved diving into Esther and her story through Roxannah and Adin. I thoroughly enjoyed it. It brought this portion of the bible to life. I loved peeling back the layers of Roxannah and get to really understand her. The storyline was great and tracked with the bible times. It can be hard to write stories based on the bible because it can seem limiting, but Tessa Afshar did a great job bringing it to life. The romance element was done really well. It gave a great view of what it would be like to marry someone of a different lineage and religious beliefs during bible times. Though also touching on the heart of the issue, just as when Ruth and Rahab were drafted into King David’s lineage (and ultimately Jesus). The romance was light, and appropriate. The biblical and historical element was great and beautifully executed. This being set in the Old Testament it was full of Judaism. But it is always fun to look at the roots of Christianity and understand our faith even more. Tessa Afshar did a great job digging into scripture and bringing it to life. She did an amazing job staying true to the bible and using her own creativity to bring us a story about Esther and her court. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

I Think I Was Murdered by Colleen Coble & Rick Acker

I Think I Was Murdered is not the first book I have read written by Colleen Coble but is the first I have read by Rick Acker. Colleen Coble has become a favorite of mine this year, and so far, I have loved every book I have read by her. I was caught right in from the first page. The character development is great. I loved getting to know Katrina and watching her process her grief but also having the AI software to ‘talk’ to her husband was a fun dynamic. Also getting to pull the layers back on Seb and understand him was fun. The storyline and setting were fantastic. It was fun seeing what AI could do. Crazy to think a software could mimic a human just off of his text messages, email and social media accounts. The suspense aspect was great. I did not suspect the person who did it. Not until close to the end. It is always a great read when the suspect element is not easily figured out. The relationship that unfolded between Katrina and Seb was sweet. Nothing over the top. Kisses only, and slow build due to Katrina only recently being a widow, which is to be expected. I appreciated that it was clean. The Christian element was there, though slightly on the lighter side. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.

All We Thought We Knew by Michelle Shocklee,

All We Thought We Knew is the first book I have read written by Michelle Shocklee, but I have multiple books by her on my TBR list. Reading this book just confirmed I need to move the books up on my TBR pile. All We Thought We Knew is in the top 5 books I have read this year and might be contending for first place. I will wait until the end of the year to officially decide, but it has a fair chance at winning right now. (Walking on Hidden Wing is the other top read currently) The character development was truly powerful. I was sucked in and right beside Mattie as she slapped Nash, with Ava as she taught English lessons to Gunther, and with Gunther as he was loaded on a rail car to move to North Dakota. The storyline was amazing. There is just something that fascinates me about WWII. It was such a complex war, with many dynamics. All We Thought We Knew touched on a lot of those different dynamics. It wasn’t so war heavy, but the side of the home front in the USA. But also, the glimpses of Gunther’s brother being a Nazi, and Dr. Sonnenberg being a Jew and dealing with Nazi POA which shown light on what was going on. The internment camps for the Germans and other Prisoners were an interesting side to learn more about. The historical element was great. I learned a lot. I felt like I was right there during 1940s and 1960s while the two timelines were going on. It was easy to envision and see what was happening. The relationship aspect was very clean and sweet. Very closed door and realistic. Michelle Shocklee did a great job intertwining faith throughout the whole book. I appreciated the journey that Ava, Mattie and Gunther went on to find their faith. It was really encouraging. *I received a complimentary copy from the author and voluntarily chose to review it. All opinions are my own.