Can I give a book more than 5 stars? I loved every word of this story. The two main characters were adorable together, and I loved their relationship growth.
My Synopsis:
Esther Miller lost her fiance, Jacob, two years ago, and she’s still mourning him. Her wedding dress still hangs in her closet, and her heart is not open to others. She spends her days helping her mother teach the children, and making soap to sell in an extended family member’s store.
Visiting town, Esther bumps into Lucas Brenneman, her fiance’s older brother. Lucas went on his Rumspringa ten years ago and never returned. Now it seems he is back in Honey Brook and is working as a Physician’s Assistant. Esther immediately has questions for him. He might hold the answers she has been looking for to be able to move on from the loss of Jacob.
One meeting turns into two, then three, as they find an unlikely friendship. They both have internal struggles that they are trying to resolve and find solace in each other’s conversation and company.
Their relationship, however, would not be taken well within the Amish community, as Lucas is not part of the community any longer. Guilt and doubt overtake Esther as she tries to figure out where this “platonic” friendship could be headed.
How I Felt:
It has been quite a while since I have read an Amish fiction book, and I’m now kicking myself for falling away from this genre for so long! This was a beautiful, slow-burn romance filled with Christian themes, the strength of family, and some fabulously humorous scenes.
One Woman Falling was such an emotionally impactful book, it almost hurt to read. I am so impressed with Melanie Campbells’s ability to write about the topic of domestic violence with such beautiful words. I was so drawn into this book and it deeply touched me.
How I Felt:
The characters felt so real in this story. Melanie Campbell created Cassie Peterson, a woman living a life filled with domestic abuse and made her come to life on the pages. Her story takes the reader through the emotional impact domestic abuse has on a person. Cassie comes to realize that she is worthy of love and that this relationship is not a loving one. Her faith helps to guide her to understand her own strength and empower her to make a change.
Jocelyn Green’s writing has a beautiful way of captivating a reader. I loved the story she told with a mixture of historical information and a mystery!
More Than We Remember had the most beautiful writing. I was so connected to the three main characters. The author did an amazing job of giving them each their own piece of the story. I felt drawn into each of the women’s thoughts and actions. It was amazing to read.
I loved our main character, MacKenzie’s curious habits. She has obviously been a bit nosy her whole life, her brother, the Pastor even comments on it. I thought it was an endearing trait and made her relatable.
This is officially my FIRST cozy mystery! One of my 2020 goals was to read one and I’m so glad I got the chance to read this one! If you haven’t read a cozy mystery before, they are a sub-genre of crime fiction taking place in a small town. Violence and sexually are downplayed making the story softer for readers that enjoy a mystery, but don’t want all the gritty details.
The characters included a wide variety of personalities from grizzly and grumpy to syrupy-sweet. I appreciated the differences in these characters and felt that it led to a well-rounded story.
The plot started just like a mystery should….on a dark and stormy night. It was a fun and mysterious read. When MacKenzie and her brother find the murdered body of a judge, she is immediately on the task as an amateur sleuth. Ignoring the slights from detectives telling her to stick to casseroles, she goes to task to solve this case.
Overall, this was a cozy read. A wonderful and enjoyable story for readers of this genre! With delightful characters and an intriguing mystery, readers will enjoy Murder at the Courthouse by Meghan Carver.
This book has a dominate christian theme with prayer, devotion, and christian characters. This is perfect for someone looking for a christian mystery!
Check out Murder at the Courthouse by Meghan Carver at these sites!
The first book in the Grace Pointe Cozy Mystery Series!
“Fiction is a waste of time.”
The heated comment made by a church library ministry team member shocks MacKenzie Baker, but it quickly becomes the least of her worries.
MacKenzie Baker is an impetuous, eavesdropping small-town librarian who lives in the apartment above the parsonage garage and refuses to be defined as the pastor’s single sister. She thought she was happy for years re-shelving books and helping patrons find their next great read, but as she turns forty, she suddenly struggles to figure out what more to do with her life. Solving murders in her small town of Grace Pointe wasn’t a part of her plan…until she and her brother find a local judge who had come to Pastor Baker for counseling murdered in his chambers, hit over the head with a massive volume of the Indiana Code.
Now, to clear the name of a family friend, she begins to work with the handsome criminal justice professor Ian Canter. Even though the detective with the chocolate brown eyes tells her to stick with making casseroles for the church pitch-in, she soon discovers the Judge’s scheming wife, his rebellious teen daughter, a network of lawyers in Grace Point who were disgruntled with the Judge, and even secrets that lurk among the library ministry team. But with the help of her new kitten Mr. Darcy, her best friend Callie, and her always-pastoring brother, MacKenzie debates the pros and cons of attending law school mid-life while she searches out a killer.
Welcome to Grace Pointe… where most of the people are friendly, the church is to die for, and the sleuthing is as strong as the coffee.
Murder at the Courthouse by Meghan Carver
Grace Pointe Cozy Mysteries Series Book 1
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Page Count: 214 pages
Publisher: Carol Street Books
Pub Date: October 28, 2019
By sixth grade, Meghan Carver knew she wanted to write. After earning a degree in English from Millikin University, she detoured to law school, earning a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University. She then worked in immigration law and taught Comp 101 at the local college.
Now, she home-schools her six children with her college professor husband, writing her stories of cozy mystery and romantic suspense in the nooks and crannies of her time. Her debut novel hit the Publisher’s Weekly Bestseller list. When she isn’t writing, homeschooling, or planning the family’s next travel adventure, she is active in her church, sews for her kidlets, and reads.
The main characters, Phillip and Arabelle had such depth. I felt like they were real people. They had wonderful backstory and enough details to really enjoy and connect with each of them. Arabelle was a strong female lead with a deep spiritual belief system and Phillip is a wounded man that you can’t help but love.
How I Felt:
The religion in this book was very prominent. Sometimes books will have a little of it here or there, but this book created some characters that were incredibly religious, and it made for a wonderful Christian romance.
The story line of On Wings of Devotionwas absolutely enchanting! There were little twists and turns in the story that made this a beautifully written book. I loved the change that Phillip goes through in this book. Taking a very negative persona and changing to a positive was a lot of fun to read.
This is my first book by Roseanna M. White, but I understand that there were characters throughout this story were from her other books, so regular readers of her books will really enjoy these cameos! Not knowing these characters, as this was my first book by her, did not in any way impede my enjoyment of the story though, so new readers, do not worry!
To Read or Not To Read:
Christian romance readers will really enjoy this story. Additionally, if you are already a reader of Roseanna M. White’s books, you absolutely need to pick this one up!!
Against Every Warning, She’s Drawn Ever Closer to the Man Known as “Black Heart”
All of England thinks Major Phillip Camden a monster–a man who deliberately caused the deaths of his squadron. But he would have preferred to die that day with his men rather than be recruited to the Admiralty’s codebreaking division. The threats he receives daily are no great surprise and, in his opinion, well deserved.
As nurse Arabelle Denler observes the so-dubbed “Black Heart,” she sees something far different: a hurting man desperate for mercy. And when their families and paths twist together unexpectedly, she realizes she has a role to play in his healing–and some of her own to do as well.
With Camden’s court-martial looming, an old acquaintance shows up, intent on using him in a plot that sends the codebreakers of Room 40 into a frenzy. With their fragile hopes for the future in the cross hairs, Arabelle and Camden must hold on to hope–and to each other–if they want to survive.
On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White
Book 2 in The Codebreakers series
Page Count: 400 pages
Publisher: Bethany House Publishers
Pub Date: January 7, 2020
Roseanna M. White is a bestselling, Christy Award-nominated author who has long claimed that words are the air she breathes.
When not writing fiction, she’s homeschooling her two kids, editing, designing book covers, and pretending her house will clean itself. Roseanna is the author of a slew of historical novels that span several continents and thousands of years. Spies and war and mayhem always seem to find their way into her books…to offset her real life, which is blessedly ordinary. You can learn more about her and her stories at www.RoseannaMWhite.com.
I received a copy of this advanced reader’s copy for free from Bethany House Publishing and JustReads Tours. I am leaving my honest review voluntarily.
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