Excited about Reading: Love on a Deadline by Kathryn Springer

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The Cover Story~
MacKenzie “Mac” Davis left her hometown of Red Leaf, Wisconsin, to pursue a degree in journalism. But when her dad, the town’s beloved Coach Davis, suffers a mild heart attack, Mac returns home to help out. She takes a job at the weekly newspaper but instead of covering serious topics, her editor wants her to write about social events—like the garden club’s flower show and the historical society’s afternoon tea. Mac knows it’s no way to earn her father’s respect—or the attention of one of the newspapers she hopes will hire her when she leaves Red Leaf.

When Hollis Channing, Mac’s high school nemesis, returns to Red Leaf to marry her celebrity fiancé, the editor asks Mac to cover the big event—and all the festivities leading up to—for the newspaper.

The last thing Mac wants to do is reconnect with the person who made her life miserable when she was a teenager . . . unless it’s spending time with Ethan Channing, the bride’s older brother—and Mac’s first crush.

Mac is no longer the awkward girl who wore the school mascot costume to the Homecoming dance but she realizes something hasn’t changed. Her feelings for Ethan.

Sharing my takeaway~
Reporter "Mac" Davis chomps at the bit for a meaty story, anything that'll take her back to the big city, away from Red Leaf where everybody still thinks of her as Coach's daughter. Physician Ethan Channing returns to his hometown, intent on sinking roots in the small community, surprised at Mac's transformation from sideline "water girl" to beautiful woman.

I have read a few books by Kathryn Springer and enjoyed them, so I scooped up Love on a Deadline when it listed on NetGalley. I'm glad I did. The romance between Mac and Ethan moved along at a fairly smooth pace, and the cast of secondary characters really enhanced the story. The faith thread was subtle, and the story kept me flipping pages for a couple hours.

No heavy drama to sift through in this novella, just a really sweet story that makes for light, relaxing reading. A great book to pack in your beach bag or to squeeze in on a lazy weekend afternoon.:)

Disclaimer: Sending my thanks to NetGalley and Zondervan for the privilege of reading and reviewing Love on a Deadline. I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

Excited about Reading: Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant

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The Cover Story:

Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn’t trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to her brokenness—so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but always falls short. So she keeps her passion for her secret art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn’t get another job soon, she’ll be stuck living with her parents.

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée in a car crash. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he’ll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town’s old theater, and is shocked to learn former flame Stella is the designer for the project.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and their pasts as they struggle to compromise and come together on a vision for the theater. Chase doesn’t understand why Stella is such a subdued version of herself, while Stella doesn’t get Chase’s constant need for productivity and speed. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness—and their unresolved feelings for each other—until Chase breaks through Stella’s walls and convinces her to enter her mosaic tile art in a contest.

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force both Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice—to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from the broken.

Sharing my takeaway:

Back home in Bayou Bend after the death of his fiancee, Contractor Chase was hired to restore the town's old theater. From the blurb, I expected him to be a risk taker, but he wasn't that way at all. He was steady and kind, quite the hero, coming to Stella's rescue several times. Recently divorced Stella, a preacher's daughter and ex-pageant queen, is trying to make a living as an interior designer, but will soon be evicted if she can't work with Chase on the theater's design. She hides her pain behind a fake pageant smile, baggy jeans, and no makeup. I could relate to Stella's feelings of inadequacy and loss of self-esteem from divorce. 

The cover is stunning, a perfect match to the inside! The writing was exceptional. The author dug deep into relationships, and this book was so much more than a romance. It's about people and pain, and how we hide it, and how a person so broken can find their beauty or, in Stella's case, her "colors" again. It's about loving people through their brokenness. The story kept me flipping pages, but some threads just didn't come together as neatly or as satisfying as that last piece in a jigsaw puzzle. As the title implies, Love Arrives in Pieces seemed a bit fragmented, but maybe that's by author design.

This is the first book I have read by Betsy St. Amant. Readers who appreciate a hefty dose of drama in their stories will enjoy Love Arrives in Pieces. This isn't a book you'll whiz through in a couple hours. Set aside a few nights to really dig in. :)

Disclaimer: Sending my thanks to NetGalley and Zondervan Fiction for the privilege of reading and reviewing Love Arrives in Pieces. I was provided a free copy of the book in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

A December Wedding by Denise Hunter ~ Sharing My Review

Purchase Link~
DeeperShopping.com

About the book~

What started as a whim turned into an accidental — and very public — engagement. Can Layla and Seth keep up the façade in Chapel Springs this holiday season - for the sake of her career . . . and his heart? Under normal circumstances, Seth Murphy — the best friend of Layla O’Reilly’s ex-fiancé — would be the last person she’d marry. But the news of their upcoming (and phony) nuptials convinces a big client that Layla may be high-society enough to work for his agency — a coup that would put her fledgling home-staging business on the map. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, even when she was dating his best friend. Maybe she’ll never forgive him for the way he hurt her back then, but he has to try. And Layla is willing to keep up their engagement farce until she’s landed her client. For Layla, it’s the chance to save her career. But for Seth, it’s his last chance to win her heart.

Sharing My Review~

A December Bride draws you into Layla's predicament right from the first page. Layla's friendly date cancels on her at the last moment, and she's determined to find another one, pronto. After all, the wedding she's attending should have been hers, but the groom's marrying her cousin instead. Seth Murphy offers to take her, and while she hasn't forgiven Jack's buddy for his role in their breakup, she's not about to miss the wedding and the chance to show her ex-fiance that she's so over him.

I just love a hero who's loved the heroine for a very long time, but the circumstances kept them apart, and Seth fills the hero role to perfection. He should have asked Layla out first, but Jack beat him to it. Now that Jack's married, this is Seth's chance, but he almost blows it. 

Layla set the white votive inside the Mason jar and slid it down the table to Murphy.

He caught the jar and cut a length of twine. "I swear they're going to revoke my man card."

Layla scooped sugar into the next jar and arranged red berries around the votive. "You own a hardware store; I think your manhood is intact."

He scowled. "I'm tying bows on glass knickknacks. Don't you need some wood chopped or something?"

"What I need is thirty of these to line the walkway, so butch up and tie the bow."

Cute, adorable sparring keeps the dialog moving along at a face pace, and A December Bride packs just enough heat to make me reach for the air conditioner switch in the middle of winter. Denise Hunter is now on my must-read list, and A December Bride could slide very easily onto your bookshelf any time of the year!

Disclaimer: Sending a big thank you to Zondervan  Fiction and NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of reviewing this book. I received a free copy of A December Bride in exchange for my fair and unbiased review. This opinion is my own, and I received no compensation.