MEN MAKE MISTAKES. GOD WILL FORGIVE THEM. WILL THEIR WOMEN? 
Gritty and realistic, this is not a sweet Christian romance. It’s life in Defiance.

Charles McIntyre built the lawless, godless mining town of Defiance practically with his bare hands … and without any remorse for the lives he destroyed along the way. Then a glimpse of true love, both earthly and heavenly, changed him. The question is, how much? Naomi Miller is a beautiful, decent woman. She says she loves McIntyre, that God does, too, and the past is behind them now. But McIntyre struggles to believe he’s worth saving … worth loving. Unfortunately, the temptations in Defiance only reinforce his doubts. 

Billy Page abandoned Hannah Frink when he discovered she was going to have his baby … and now he can’t live with himself. Or without her. Determined to prove his love, he leaves his family and fortune behind and journeys to Defiance. Will Hannah take Billy back or give him what he deserves for the betrayal? ​

Heather Blanton is the independent bestselling author of several Christian Westerns, including the Romance in the Rockies series, which has sold over 40,000 copies. Intrigued by the concept of three good sisters stranded in a lawless Colorado mining town, a few notable Hollywood producers have requested the script for her first book in that series, A Lady in Defiance. Heather's writing is gritty and realistic. In fact, her books have been compared to AMC's Hell on Wheels series, as well as the legendary Francine Rivers book, Redeeming love.

A former journalist, Heather is an avid researcher and skillfully weaves truth in among the fictional story lines. She loves exploring the American West, especially ghost towns and museums. She has walked parts of the Oregon Trail, ridden horses through the Rockies, climbed to the top of Independence Rock, and even held an outlaw's note in her hand.

She writes Westerns because she grew up on a steady diet of Bonanza, Gunsmoke, and John Wayne movies. Her most fond childhood memory is of sitting next to her father, munching on popcorn, and watching Lucas McCain unload that Winchester!

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Book two in the Romance in the Rockies, Hearts in Defiance, continues the story of Naomi and her two sisters and their adventures in the western town of Defiance.  Amid the bustle of adventure that takes place in this novel, all three women, Naomi, Hannah, and Rebecca each must deal with their different romance situations and decide where their hearts lay.  With pleanty of action, Heather Blanton brings to life her story of intrigue and romance in an old western town.  I would recommend this book to readers that like plenty of western action and romance.
 
Series: Romance in the Rockies
Genre: Christian, romance, historical, western
Publisher: Rivulet Publishing
Publication date: September 18, 2014
Number of pages: 366
 
Content Rating: PG, violence
Book Rating: 4 stars

Other books in the series:
1-A Lady in Defiance
3-A Promise in Defiance (coming July 22, 2016)
​
A review copy of this book was provided by the author.

No informatoin found for Julia B. Blake.

​Girls’ Camp is a fantastic resource for camp directors and leaders to use as they prepare for camp.  This unique book has personal examples of different situations that take place at camp, both good and bad.  It also has some easy recipes, tips for teaching, possible activities, ways to make every girl feel included and so forth.  I would definitely recommend this book to LDS or other religious camp leaders in helping them prepare for a fun and safe Girls’ Camp.
 
Genre: nonfiction, leadership manual
Publisher: Walnut Springs Press, an imprint of Cedar Fort
Publication date: March 7, 2016
Number of pages: 144
 
Content Rating: G
Book Rating: 5 stars

​​via The Broke and the Bookish

I have read many great books so far this year.  Below are some of my favorite releases so far this year.
Links to my reviews, as well as purchasing links are also included.

What are some of your top favorite 2016 release reads so far this year?

​Annalise Thomas has put together a fun and delicious looking cook book.  There are a variety of recipes included for breakfast; soup and salads; appetizers, snacks, and sides; main dishes; cooks and bars; desserts; and drinks.  Most if not all come with a picture showing what each dish looks like.  I love how the ingredients are listed out and then below or to the side are the instructions for how to make the given dish.  Annalise’s website also goes hand in hand with this book.  I would recommend this book to readers that want to try making something new and delicious.
 
Genre: nonfiction, cookbook
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Publication date: June 14, 2016
Number of pages: 176
 
Content Rating: G
Book Rating: 5 stars

It is Friday and I am joining Carrie from Reading is My SuperPower and Rachel from Bookworm Mama in First Line Fridays.  If you would like to join us, send Carrie a meassage and let her know!

Grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line!
​
​My first line today is from A Lasting Impression by Tamera Alexander.
​This is book one in the Belmont Mansion Series.
Book two in this series is A Beauty So Rare.
Book three in this series is A Note Ye Unsung and will be releasing in January of 2017.

A Lasting Impression is the first book I ever read by Tamera Alexander.  This was several years ago when I was going to school for my undergrad and working at the public library.  I had a friend that worked with me that loves Tamera's books and a new one with a gorgeous cover had just come in.  This friend highly recommended Tamera's books and I loved the cover and the book description, so I decided to give it a dry!  It totally blew me away and hooked me on her books.  I highly recommend any of Tamera Alexander's novels!!!  You can add her books to your Goodreads list or purchase them on Amazon.

And now I am going to totally have a fan girl moment before giving you my first line (which is was influenced by my first line for today)...

A couple of days ago, Tamera released the cover for the third book in the Belmont Mansion Series.  I commented on her post indicating how excited I was to read this upcoming release.  And... Tamera responded to my comment.  I don't remember her ever having responded to one of my comments before so...

I had a little freak out session in my office/book room!  And... totally had a FAN GiRL moment!!!

And now let's get to my first line of the day...

"Claire Laurent studied the finished canvas on the easel before her, and though masterpiece hardly described it, she knew the painting was her best yet."

​What are you reading?  What is your first line?
​Opent the book nearest you and post the first line...

Hidden Agendas: Dropping the Masks that Keep Us Apart(New Growth Press, May 2016)
We like to pretend that hidden agendas are just for self-important bosses or egotistical politicians, but we all have them. Deep down, we all have a secret plan for getting from where we are to where we want to be, even if we refuse to admit it to ourselves.
And if our hidden agendas aren’t enough, we wear masks to obscure the truth even more. We put on these masks—like religion, appearance, power, politics, or protection—to drive our agendas. But all of this leaves us feeling phony, ashamed, guilty, and afraid. It’s killing us and hurting those we love. But for most of us, it will be a cold day in a hot place before we will be fully honest with anyone else.
There is so much more to life than hiding, pretending, and never being loved. In fact, there is already one person who sees behind the masks we wear and the hidden agendas that drive us. It does no good to tell God that you’re sick when you’re drunk, that you love him when you don’t, or that you didn’t steal and eat an apple (with apple juice dripping down your chin). God always recognizes and loves the “you” behind the mask.
So what can we do about the hidden agendas we have and the masks we wear? How can we gather the courage to be real? “Being real” has to start with your relationship with your heavenly Father. God already knows you inside and out. But God doesn’t know you in order to “out” you to your friends. His unconditional love for his own is reason we can pray to our Father without fear of rejection or judgment. Knowing God’s love, knowing that your heavenly Father is for you not against you is the only reason to give up your masks and develop the type of authentic relationships you never thought you could have.

Dr. Sarah Gordon lost her husband and daughter. Now she’s about to lose her life.
After losing the two people she loved the most, Sarah Gordon doesn’t think life could get worse. But, after a fire in her garage is ruled an arson, she begins to realize someone is after her—and that person wants to see her dead. But first, they want to see her suffer.
Her late husband’s best friend, Kyle Andrews, and a recovering alcoholic detective, Bill Larson, are trying to solve the mystery before it’s too late, and they’re both trying to win her heart, too. Not only does Sarah feel torn between two men, she also feels as though she cannot trust anyone.
With creepy threats that become more and more sinister, Sarah finds herself in constant fear, but even the best home alarm technology won’t protect her. Who is doing this, and why are they after her?

One grand prize winner will receive:

• A copy of Medical Judgment
• A Kindle Fire HD 6

Enter today by clicking the icon below, but hurry! The giveaway ends on June 21st. The winner will be announced June 22nd on the Litfuse blog.

Charlotte Darby’s ship is sinking. Penniless and alone, she is struggling to care for herself and her young sister in the harsh seaport town of Kingston upon Hull. When a solicitor from London brings news that she is the heir to a vast estate in Kent, it seems her days of rough seas are over. Willowkeep is prosperous and grand, far too much for a shipping merchant’s daughter to manage, and she quickly comes to rely on the help of Henry Morland, the estate’s kind and handsome steward.

Henry has worked hard his entire life, but all the money he’s saved won’t be enough to get his father out of debtor’s prison. Henry’s fondness for Charlotte and her sister is only another reminder of his low status and lack of money. Though he is willing to do whatever it takes to keep Charlotte happy and looked after, as the county’s wealthiest lady, she can never be his.

Courted by a charming man of the ton, threatened by those desperate to get their hands on her money, and determined to keep her sister safe from the same fate that cost her the rest of her family, Charlotte turns to the ghost of the beheaded queen, Anne Boleyn, for help. But no matter the size of the fortune, life—and love—are never smooth sailing. ​

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Julie Daines was born in Concord, Massachusetts, and was raised in Utah. She spent eighteen months living in London, where she studied and fell in love with English literature, sticky toffee pudding, and the mysterious guy who ran the kebab store around the corner.

She loves reading, writing, and watching movies--anything that transports her to another world. She picks Captain Wentworth over Mr. Darcy, firmly believes in second breakfast, and never leaves home without her verveine.

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​Julie Daines’ Willowkeep is a fun, engaging, and sweet regency, romance novel that readers will absolutely love.  From page one readers will be drawn into the story of an impoverished young women, Charlotte and her sister, Susan, who suddenly find themselves thrust into a new world of polite and high society for Charlotte is now an heiress.  A strong theme in this story is family and family bonds.  I love how Charlotte is so tender and protective of her younger, handicapped sister.  Especially in a world and society that would normally cast this child aside or send her to an asylum.  I also love how from the beginning, Henry, the steward of Willowkeep, takes up a kinship with Susan.  And of course along with these excellent characters, the story and sweet romance will draw readers in as well.  I would recommend this novel to readers that enjoy regency romance novels.
 
Genre: regency, romance, historical
Publisher: Covenant Communications
Publication date: June 1, 2016
Number of pages: 280
 
Content Rating: G
Book Rating: 5 stars

A review copy of this book was provided by Covenant Communications.

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In the first of a brand new series set in Victorian England, a young woman returns home from India after the death of her family to discover her identity and inheritance are challenged by the man who holds her future in his hands. 

Rebecca Ravenshaw, daughter of missionaries, spent most of her life in India. Following the death of her family in the Indian Mutiny, Rebecca returns to claim her family estate in Hampshire, England. Upon her return, people are surprised to see her… and highly suspicious. Less than a year earlier, an imposter had arrived with an Indian servant and assumed not only Rebecca’s name, but her home and incomes.

That pretender died within months of her arrival; the servant fled to London as the young woman was hastily buried at midnight. The locals believe that perhaps she, Rebecca, is the real imposter. Her home and her father’s investments reverted to a distant relative, the darkly charming Captain Luke Whitfield, who quickly took over. Against her best intentions, Rebecca begins to fall in love with Luke, but she is forced to question his motives–does he love her or does he just want Headbourne House? If Luke is simply after the property, as everyone suspects, would she suffer a similar fate as the first “Rebecca”?

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After earning her first rejection at the age of thirteen, bestselling author Sandra Byrd has now published more than forty books. 

Sandra's new series, Daughters of Hampshire, historically sound Gothic romances, launched in 2015 with best-selling Book One: Mist of Midnight. That book earned a coveted Editor's Choice from the Historical Novel Society. The second book in the series, Bride of a Distant Isle, released in March 2016 and has been selected by Romantic Times as a Top Pick. Her latest nonfiction title, The One Year Home and Garden Devotions, published on October 1, 2015.

Check out her contemporary adult fiction debut, Let Them Eat Cake, which was a Christy Award finalist, as was her first historical novel, To Die For: A Novel of Anne Boleyn. To Die For was also named by Library Journal as a Best Books Pick for 2011 and The Secret Keeper: A Novel of Kateryn Parr, was named a Library Journal Best Books Pick for 2012. 

Sandra has published dozens of books for tweens and teens, including the best-selling, The One Year Be-Tween You and God, Devotions For Girls. 

She is passionate about helping new writers develop their talent and their work toward traditional or self-publication. As such, she has mentored and coached hundreds of new writers and continues to coach dozens to success each year via novelcoaching.com 

Please visit www.sandrabyrd.com to learn more or to invite Sandra to your book club via Skype.

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Author's Pinterst Board for Mist of Midnight Book

Check out the interview HERE.

​From page one, readers will be entranced with Sandra Byrd’s Mist of Midnight.  It is a spine-tingling Victorian England gothic mystery that readers will absolutely not want to put down.  Filled with excitement and continual plot twists, readers will be pulled into this well-written, fascinating and intriguing tale of gothic mystery and romance.   This is the type of novel that will suck you in, as you become attached to the various characters, but have continual confusion of who is good and who is bad and who to trust or not.  Readers will become breathless, holding on to the edges of their seats, in anticipation of what will happen next.  I would recommend this novel to readers that enjoy historical gothic romance novels.
 
Series: Daughters of Hampshire
Genre: historical, mystery, romance, gothic, Victorian, Christian
Publisher: Howard Books
Publication date: March 10, 2015
Number of pages: 374
 
Content Rating: PG, suspense
Book Rating: 5 stars

Other books in the series:
2-Bride of a Distant Isle
3-A Lady in Disguise (coming in 2017)
 
A review copy of this book was provided by the author.

Sandra Byrd has graciously offered a homemade bookmark for one lucky winner.

Blog post comment question:
 This novel reminds me of a couple other gothic novels I enjoy--The Secret of Pembrooke Park by Julie Klassen and Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. What similar gothic novels have you read and would recommend?