My life would have been more tranquil in the days after Martinmas had I not seen the crows. Whatever it was that the crows had found lay in the dappled shadow of the bare limbs of the oak, so I was nearly upon the thing before I recognized what the crows were feasting upon. The corpse wore black.Master Hugh is making his way towards Oxford when he discovers the young Benedictine - a fresh body, barefoot - not half a mile from the nearby abbey. The abbey's novice master confirms the boy's identity: John, one of three novices. But he had gone missing four days previously, and his corpse is fresh. There has been plague in the area, but this was not the cause of death: the lad has been stabbed in the back. To Hugh's sinking heart, the abbot has a commission for him . . .

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If you enjoy series, medieval mysteries and whodunits, then this could be the series for you. While this book is the 7th in the series, it works wonderfully as a standalone. That being said, if you enjoy things like Agatha Christie or Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, I'd suggest that you find the other books and enjoy them all. I love that this book stays true to the time period that it was written for. After all, who of us would investigate a murder in exchange for a Bible these days? It would be much easier to leave it to the police...oh wait, there wasn't an official police force back then. I really enjoyed the variety of characters in this book...everything from Sir Hugh (a surgeon and bailiff) to the various characters within and outside of the monastery. It seems that every type of person you could expect was represented. The book moves along at a good pace and before you know it, he's solved the crime and you're left wondering when the next book is coming out!



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They've helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

This hair stylist has adorned many a bride with the perfect bridal tresses. Now, she must overcome her past in order to realize that she, too, can find true love this January.







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Ahhh! It's back! You guys know I loved, loved, loved this series last year and I am so excited to see it back. Oddly enough, I'm reviewing it through a completely different outlet this time around, but I don't care! I love the fine folks that I get to work with and I love them even more since they brought this novella to my attention.

Now, looking at the book description above, I can imagine that you're all thinking something along the lines of, "But what is this book really about?"  I thought the same thing. It's about a girl..who meets a boy...hehe... Seriously, it's about this woman named Ginger, who like most of us, is somehow wounded by her past, including our main male. They meet again and it's time to find out if they can put the past in the past, heal and move towards the future. I'm not going to give any spoilers, but I will say that this novella is full of real turmoil and has characters that you'll find some small piece of yourself in. It is a Christian novella and you will see that in this novella. However, it isn't so in your face that, if you don't share those beliefs, it will get in the way of your enjoyment of the story.

Summary? The characters are relatable, the novella actually has really good closure, unlike some, and I'm already hoping to review the remainder of this year's series.




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Abigail Pressman would never have guessed that love notes penned on paper hearts by an anonymous couple could restore her belief in love. As a business owner in a quaint town at the base of the Rockies, she's poured everything into dreams of expansion . . . and resisting the matchmaking efforts of the Valentine Volunteers, who gather in her store to continue Loves Park's tradition of stamping mail with the city's romantic postmark.When Abigail is unwillingly drafted into the Volunteers, she encounters the paper hearts, a distraction that couldn't come at a worse time. A hard-to-read doctor has become Abigail's new landlord, and he's threatening to end her lease to expand his practice.As she fights a growing attraction to this handsome man crushing her dreams, Abigail is inspired to string the hearts in her store, sparking a citywide infatuation with the artsy trend. But when a new batch of hearts reaches the Volunteers, it appears something tragic has happened to the couple. Will uncovering their story confirm Abigail's doubts about love, or could it rescue her dreams . . . and her heart?

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A love story, just in time for Valentine's. The funny thing is that I didn't even intend that when I requested this book. Romance books, especially this time of year, can be hit or miss and I am so happy to say that this one was a hit. While I wasn't able to read it all in one setting, I wanted to and I kept coming back to it every chance that I got. Each of the characters in the book had their own pasts, their own secrets and things that haunted them. This didn't take away from the story at all. Instead, it added to it. On top of that, there were so many wonderful secondary characters and I sincerely hope that some of them get books of their own. I would love to read their backstories and find out what the future holds! I love the fact that while this is a work of fiction, the paper hearts can serve as a wonderful reminder about honoring and celebrating the love in all of our lives.



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An old woman who has given up hope and a boy who believes the impossible wonder if life would be perfect at the Westminster Dog Show.

Seventy-year old Bess Rutledge has dreamed of winning the Westminster Dog Show all her life. Despite her decades-long career as one of America’s top Standard Poodle breeders, she has decided she’s too old to hold on to her foolish dream. She sells off all the dogs in her once famous kennel except for the aging champion McCreery and his mischievous, handsome son Breaker. Part of her senses they might have been the ones to take her to Westminster, if only she’d dared to try.

Bess meets Benny, a teenager with mild autism who attends a therapeutic special school, and learns he has a dream of his own: to impress his self-absorbed mother. Benny is drawn into the world of dog shows and becomes convinced he has found the perfect way to win his mother’s attention. If he can win Westminster with either McCreery or Breaker, he just knows she will finally be proud of him. Getting Bess to go along with his plan, however, is not going to be so easy. . .

Up to 100% of the author’s profits will be donated to charities serving animals and children.

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When this book arrived in the mail, I cringed at the sheer size of it. This wasn't going to be a one night read, that's for sure! What it did turn out to be was a lovely bedtime read for over the course of a week or so. As someone who has always loved dogs, I fell in love with Breaker and McCreery and wished to know so much more about Bess's past as a breeder and showman. I loved the insights into how the show world works behind the scenes and I really enjoyed her as a curmudgeonly older woman who is at the point where she's having to give up her dreams, but you know that she has this secret soft spot. As for Benny, I had a bit more trouble with his side of the story. I felt as if there were blanks. Such as, how did he become such good friends with Steffie? What was the reality about his mother? What happened in the custody hearing? I also didn't feel as if it were made clear what his actual diagnosis was which made it a bit tough to relate to him.

I do love how he didn't give up and how he learned to handle his problems and his love for those dogs would make any animal lover smile. If you're looking for a fluffy puppy story, this isn't going to be the book for you, but if you're looking for a story with a whole lot of heart, pick this one up.



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Kaitlyn Reed and Steven Braden have always had a similar philosophy of life: when the going gets tough, they get going--out of town and away from the problem. Now they are both back in Last Chance, New Mexico, and trying to start over. Kaitlyn is working to reestablish a relationship with the seven-year-old daughter she left behind six months earlier. Steven is trying to prove to his family that he is not the irresponsible charmer they have always known him to be. As Kaitlyn and Steven find themselves drawn to one another, one big question keeps getting in the way: How will they learn to trust each other when they don't even trust themselves?

With emotional depth and characters who leap off the page and into the reader's psyche, Cathleen Armstrong continues to delight her readers and win new fans. Readers will be thrilled to return once more to the small town they've grown to love.

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Whew...for fiction, this book had a lot of emotional depth. From little Olivia to her mom and everyone that surrounded them, this book will have you feeling all the feels, as the kids these days say..or did the other day, anyway. I did have one teensy problem with this book, though. It was book 3 in a series that I hadn't read and while for the most part, it is a stand alone book, there was more than once that I felt as if I was missing some nuance or bit of information that I would have known from reading the other books. Other than that, it was all good and it made me wonder if tiny places like Last Chance still exist somewhere out there in the west.



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“It isn't the long day of monitoring a child's precarious health or being hypervigilant about her mood and mental health challenges that weighs parents down; it's the wishing that things were different. . . . Resentment, not the intense care they must provide their child, is the parents' greatest stressor and source of pain.” —Laurie Wallin

Parents of specials needs children are exhausted. They've done all the research, consulted all the experts, joined support groups, gotten counseling, fought for the best life for their children. Often just caring for their children's needs and attempting to maintain a home maxes out parents' mental, emotional, and spiritual reserves.

Laurie Wallin knows firsthand the difficulties of this journey. With Get Your Joy Back, she steps forward to make a bold, audacious claim: in the midst of this long-term, intense task, it is still possible to have an abundant life, full of joy. The key to radically changing daily life and restoring joy to the weary is forgiveness. Wallin gives parents a lifeline to find that restoration, pulling them back to shore when they feel like they're drowning.

This book is full of practical, biblical insights and strategies to shed the resentments that leave Christian special-needs parents themselves spiritually, emotionally, and socially drained. Wallin meets readers right where they are, sugar coating nothing, but addressing issues with honesty, humor, and--above all--hope.

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As a single mom to a special needs kiddo, I've found myself sometimes feeling buried under his needs. Please don't get me wrong. I don't resent it for a single moment. My grieving time for not having a "normal" child is long past and I love this kid with everything I have and I am as insanely proud of him and his accomplishments as I am his younger brother. What I mean is that while making myself available to him 24/7/365 and dealing with his special needs (such as I tutor him every single night for hours), I've lost myself in the process. I stopped dreaming or even thinking that I could have dreams.

This book made me smile from the moment that I started reading it. Laurie gets it. Every single page seemed to have something that I could relate to. Some of it I've dealt with, some of it I'm still dealing with. This book isn't about how to handle your child's needs or to find the perfect specialist. It's about finding yourself, forgiveness and finding joy in the journey again. She encourages us to dream and that we deserve to dream. Will you find joy after reading this book? I don't know but I do know that it will remind you that you are not alone and sometimes just having that reminder can make a huge difference.



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