The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck

Rachel Hauck knows how to keep you on the edge of your seat!  This book gives the term "page turner" true meaning!  This story at times shocking, unnerving, pulse racing, tear jerking and amazing will captivate you in the first pages.  The story spins back and forth from Cora, a bridal shop owner in the 1930s to present day Haley military veteran.  Haley has come back home to re-establish her walk with God and find a dream she can commit to.  When the old bridal shop she once played in is up for demolition she comes up with a plan to save the shop and in the process God saves her.  As Haley works through her own bouts of grief and guilt God continues to show her in intimate details that He is present in her life and that He loves her.  As she begins to cling to His grace, mercy and forgiveness her heart is open to wondrous possibilities for her life that she had never imagined.  As the reader goes back in time to Cora's heart rending story - one sees how God is meticulous in every piece of the puzzle in an individual's life.  The choices and consequences of one person's decision have far lasting effects into future generations than any can fathom.  The best thing is that God is still in control and He allows U-turns.  No mistake, no fumble, no sin is a match for God's unconditional love that unfolds in a person's life to bring about a plan of blessings if one just accepts God's gift as presented at the cross.

I received this book free from Book Look Publishers and was not required to write a positive review.

Home on the Range by Ruth Logan Herne

One of the best books I've all year!  Ruth Logan Herne is a new author for me but I can assure you this won't be the last of her books I'll read!  In fact when I realized this was book 2 of her Double S Ranch Series I quickly went out and got book 1 Back in the Saddle.  To say I can't wait for book 3 to come out is an understatement.  This book (series) has lots of family drama!  With three strapping cowboy brothers each dealing with tremendous loss from their childhood and as grown men, there is a lot to deal with. This story offers readers a taste of processing grief, forgiving the unforgivable, restoration of faith, family and God's surprising ways of helping us become whole again.  Filled with a cast of intriguing and secret holding characters this is a book that is hard to put down.  Elsa, the counselor who needs healing herself from past trauma finds amazing peace as she reaches out to a hurting child.  A little girl abandoned by her mother and angry at the world finds wonder in the birth of puppies.  A man learning to trust his instincts and build a safe haven for his daughters find forgiveness a balm he didn't expect.  A grandfather who put his sons last commits to putting them first now as he faces his own time running out.  The small town flavor mixed with the big ranch living provide a wonderful blend of homey belonging that makes one wish they could live there among the Stafford clan and friends.

I received this book free from the publishers and was not required to write a positive review.