Teaser Tuesday (July 3)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Book Description

As soon as Marcus Brookstone lifts his bride's veil, he sees he's been tricked. He made a bargain with God—to marry a good, Christian girl if his mother recovered from illness. But Marcus intended to marry pretty Amanda, not stubborn Constance. His next plan, to ignore his new wife, fails as well when Constance makes it clear that she wants a true union.

Constance Somerton doesn't dare reveal that she's been enamored of Marcus for years. The man believes love is for weaklings. Someone needs to teach him about marriage's blessings. Someone who sees beyond his arrogance to the tender heart beneath. Someone exactly like Constance….

My Teaser

"This is my home now, Tom Harper, as much as yours," she said,  anger strengthening her voice. "You telling me I'm no good doesn't make it true.  It just makes you the kind of man my father was."
It was the worst insult she could think of, and anyone acquainted with the Bligh family knew it. 
Tom's face turned a deep, brick-red. 
"That might have been an exaggeration," she muttered. Too late - Tom had stalked from the room, surprisingly light on his feet for such a big man.

Pg. 98 in  The Earl's Mistaken Bride   by  Abby Gaines

(Book #1 in The Parson's Daughters series) 

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Christian Book

~~~

So that's my teaser for this week! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Review: Wildflowers From Winter by Katie Ganshert

Title: Wildflowers From Winter

Author: Katie Ganshert 

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Pages: 320

Release Date: May 8, 2012

Publisher: Waterbrook Press

Purchase: Amazon / Christian Book / Barnes & Noble / Water Brook Multnomah

    

About The Book

A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built a life far removed from her trailer park teen years. Until an interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa. Determined to pay her respects while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.

Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years. So when Bethany is left the land, he must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany’s vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.

For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn’t seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace she’s not even sure exists?

About the Author

Katie Ganshert was born and raised in the Midwest, where she writes stories about finding faith and falling in love. When she’s not busy plotting her next novel, she enjoys watching movies with her husband, playing make-believe with her wild-child of a son, and chatting with her girlfriends over bagels. She and her husband are in the process of adopting from the Congo. You canfind her online at her blog and on Facebook.  

My Review

Wildflowers from winter is the first book in a series from new author Katie Ganshert.

The story centers around main character Bethany Quinn. Bethany grew up in Peaks, Iowa - first on her Grandpa Dan's farm with her parents and brother until the death of her father, then in a trailer park with her mother and brother.

She dreamed of becoming a big-time architect and being able to leave Peaks - and her past - behind her. Now twenty-eight, she's living her dream, working for a prestigious firm in Chicago. One day, she gets a call from her estranged mother calling to tell her about a tragic situation that has happened to Micah (husband of Robin - her childhood best friend).  Later that day, her mother calls again with news about health issues with her grandfather.  Feeling the need to visit both Robin and her grandfather, while avoiding any emotional entanglements, Bethany decides to go back to her home town - but only for a week. However, the unexpected inheritance of 500 acres of farmland and the sudden change of things back in Chicago force her to draw up a new plan.

The book starts off with a prologue about Bethany when she was twelve years old. The first sentence is rather gripping: "The summer I turned twelve, I tried to kill myself".  It was an unexpected start to the book and I was curious as to why the character tried to do that. The author doesn't let the reader know why though until much later in the book.

It was hard, at first, for me to get into the story after the prologue. I'm not sure why. It may be that it went from Bethany telling about the time she tried to kill herself to present day with her at work. I did get more into the story around the time she receives her inheritance (about 100 pages in).

The way the main characters each handled the difficult circumstances and  tragedies that occurred seemed realistic. Robin definitely had the hardest time, but that's to be expected.

I thought the main characters - Bethany, Robin and Evan - were well developed with back-stories that seemed realistic.  I also liked how the author showed  how someone can have a totally flawed image of who God really is and how that can affect them throughout their life.

Overall, I feel this was a great debut novel from Katie Ganshert. I thought it was an interesting, good read with well-developed characters and story line that progressed at a good pace. I'm looking forward to reading her next novel, Wishing on Willows, due to release next year.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group in exchange for my honest review. 

 To check out bonus features about this book, go HERE.

Please Rate My Review:

Teaser Tuesday (May 15)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Book Description

Like the winter, grief has a season. Life returns with the spring.

A young architect at a prestigious Chicago firm, Bethany Quinn has built the life she dreamed of during her teen years in a trailer park.  An unexpected interruption from her estranged mother reveals that tragedy has struck in her hometown and a reluctant Bethany is called back to rural Iowa. 

Determined to pay her respects to her past while avoiding any emotional entanglements, she vows not to stay long. But the unexpected inheritance of five hundred acres of farmland and a startling turn of events in Chicago forces Bethany to come up with a new plan.

Handsome farmhand Evan Price has taken care of the Quinn farm for years.  When Bethany is left the land, Evan must fight her decisions to realize his dreams. But even as he disagrees with Bethany’s vision, Evan feels drawn to her and the pain she keeps so carefully locked away.

For Bethany, making peace with her past and the God of her childhood doesn’t seem like the path to freedom. Is letting go the only way to new life, love and a peace that she’s not even sure exists?

My Teaser

 A faint tapping filtered through the bedroom walls, creeping through the peaceful aura she'd cultivated upon waking. Bethany yawned and burrowed beneath the quilt.

Pg. 23 in Wildflowers From Winter (ARC) by Katie Ganshert  

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Christian Book

~~~

So that's my teaser for this week! I'd love to hear your thoughts! :)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? (May 14)

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme, hosted by Book Journey, where you share what you've read the past week and what you hope to read this week!

What I read this past week:

 I thought it was a good book. It held my attention. Every time I had to put it down for awhile, I found I was eager to get back to it! :)

What I plan to read this week:

I got this for review from the Blogging For Books Program. It's the debut novel from author Katie Ganshert. I'm looking forward to reading it! :)

So, that's it for me! What are you reading?

Teaser Tuesday (May 8)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I was planning on doing a teaser from the book, " Wildflowers from Winter " which is the debut novel by Katie Gansher, since today is the day of it's release, but I started a different book over the weekend and haven't finished it yet, so I'm doing a teaser from that book. 

Book Description

A killer strikes. A love rekindled. A life-altering choice.

 When her best friend, is murdered, Reyna Cruz doesn’t believe the police have the whole story. An investigator by trade, she has the talent to track Summer’s killer, but when clues lead to a family connection and a vicious gang, she suddenly becomes the hunted. At the end of her rope, Reyna must decide to trust the God she believes abandoned her. 

 Wanting justice for his sister’s murder, lawyer Jimmy Corbeau agrees to help Reyna—even though she’s his ex-fiancé, and their break-up devastated him. Romance is reawakened, but so are memories of their tragic undoing. Jimmy must decide if he will fight for a future with Reyna or allow their past to derail the investigation and his second chance at love.

 When the investigation goes awry and Summer’s infant daughter is kidnapped, Reyna must put her life on the line. Will Jimmy and Reyna survive the desperate measures it takes to recover his niece, catch a killer, and secure a happily-ever-after for them all?

My Teaser

My heart slammed in my chest, and blood began to pound in my head. Then anger and adrenaline boiled their way into my mouth, and I shook with the taste of it. 

Pg. 73 in Purple Knot  by  Raquel Byrnes 

(Book #1 in the Shades of Hope series)

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Christian Book

~~~

So that's my teaser for this week! I'd love to hear your thoughts on it!

Teaser Tuesday (April 3)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers: 

There were no lights on this side of the house. Darkness pressed against the panes, mitigated only by reflections of the dim night-light Grams always left on in the hall.
- 38% in Hide in Plain Sight (Love Inspired Suspense series #65)  by Marta Perry

Book Description:

She couldn't turn her back on her family in their time of need. So when her sister was injured, financial expert Andrea Hampton traded the big city for Amish country to help turn her grandmother's house into an inn. But life with the Plain People took a treacherous turn when a string of accidents and pranks threatened her family. Someone didn't want the secrets the old house harbored to come to light. Trusting anyone-- even the handsome carpenter who seemed so genuine--was a battle for Andrea, but her life depended on her ability to find the truth.

So that's my teaser for this week! What do you think?

Teaser Tuesday (March 13)

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) "teaser" sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (MAKE SURE THAT WHAT YOU SHARE DOESN'T GIVE TOO MUCH AWAY! YOU DON'T WANT TO RUIN THE BOOK FOR OTHERS!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My Teasers: 

He leapt from bed, mind shrieking, feet stumbling. After an eternity he rammed into the wall by the door, hands scrambling for the light switch. Terrified sounds fell from his lips.

P. 156 "Coral Moon"
(book #2 in the Kanner Lake series) by Brandilyn Collins

Book Description:

The figure remained still as stone. Leslie couldn't even detect a breath.

Spider fingers teased the back of her neck.

Leslie's feet rooted to the pavement. She dropped her gaze to the driveway, seeking ... what? Spatters of blood? Footprints? She saw nothing. Honed through her recent coverage of crime scene evidence, the testimony at last month's trial, the reporter in Leslie spewed warnings: Notice everything, touch nothing...

 Leslie Williams hurries out to her car on a typical workday morning---and discovers a dead body inside.

Why was the corpse left for her to find? And what is the meaning of the message pinned to its chest?

 In Coral Moon, the senseless murder of a beloved Kanner Lake citizen spirals the small Idaho town into a terrifying glimpse of spiritual forces beyond our world. What appears true seems impossible.

Or is it?

Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Christian Book

So that's my teaser for this week! What do you think?