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Book Review: Always A Wedding Planner by Various Authors

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

About the Book

Title: Always A Wedding Planner
Authors: RL Ashly; Leeann Betts; Toni Shiloh; Davalynn Spencer
Genre: Contemporary Christian Romance
Publisher: Barbour Fiction
Release Date: June 1, 2021

Love Is Only Business for 4 Wedding Planners
 
Working together at Weddings by Design in Loveland, Colorado, Felicity, Kiki, Cassie, and Saffron are business partners and the best of friends. Their goal is to make every bride’s special day perfect, but when they start keeping secrets from each other, friendships fray and business suffers.

Felicity Anderson, the cake baker, reconnects with a high school friend at a cake tasting. Could helping his sister plan her wedding lead Will Davenport to his own romance?

When Kiki Bell, the seamstress, inherits her late aunt’s farm, romance is the last thing on her agenda, until a fire brings confirmed bachelor-to-the-rapture Bing Kelley to the scene.

Cassie Blackthorn, the coordinator, is an introvert who meets a party-loving playboy. Can she share her heart safely with him, or is he simply along for the ride?

Chef Saffron Fare can’t let her partners learn she has lost her sense of taste, and with a nosy handyman working on her house and heart, keeping her secret may be impossible.

Could falling into their own romances be the key to working out these friends’ differences and learning to trust each other–and God–with their futures?

Click here to grab a copy!


About the Authors

R.L. ASHLY is a master seamstress with a Master of Arts degree in Literature. A mother and grandmother, she is active in her local writing community, never says never to a home improvement task, and strives to one day write the Great American Novel. This is her first collection.


LEEANN BETTS writes contemporary suspense from Denver, Colorado and wherever her characters drag her. She is the alter-ego of Donna Schlachter, who describes Leeann as cute and perky and everything she’s not.


TONI SHILOH is a wife, mom, and Christian fiction writer. Once she understood the powerful saving grace of the love of Christ, she was moved to honor her Savior.

She writes soulfully romantic novels to bring Him glory and to learn more about His goodness.

Before pursuing her dream as a writer, Toni served in the United States Air Force. It was there she met her husband. After countless moves, they ended up in Virginia, where they are raising their two boys.

When she’s not typing in imagination land, Toni enjoys reading, playing video games, ​making jewelry, and spending time with ​her family.

Toni is a member of the American Christian ​Fiction Writers (ACFW) and of the Virginia ​Chapter.


DAVALYNN SPENCER. Cowboys. Gotta love ’em, right? That’s why I married one – and write about others and their sweethearts, whether they live in 1800s Colorado or on a modern California ranch. A background in rodeo journalism helps me add a bit of cowboy reality to those stories.

The Rocky Mountains offer rich settings for my historical novels, from actual cities with Wild West history to fictional towns tucked into the fold where granite ramparts meet grassy plains.

Along with Blue the Cowdog and mouse detectors Annie and Oakley, I’ve also collected three “Bestseller” labels for novellas in Barbour collections, and a Will Rogers Gold Medallion for Western Inspirational Fiction.


My Review

Always A Wedding Planner
by RL Ashly; Leeann Betts; Toni Shiloh; Davalynn Spencer
Rating: 4/5

I always love reading these novella collections because I get to discover new authors and enjoy my favorites. I picked this one up because of Toni Shiloh but in turn, I discovered some other new-to-me authors who I am now interested in. This reading hobby is getting expensive lol. Each story revolves around one of the business partners of the Weddings by Design company located in Loveland, TX.

Finally a Sweetheart by Toni Shiloh
Felicity Anderson is the cake baker.

Hemmed In by RL Ashly
Kiki Bell is the seamstress.

The Worst-Kept Secret by Leeann Betts
Cassie Blackthorn is the coordinator.

Taste and See by Davalynn Spencer
Chef Saffron Fare is the caterer.

As each of these lovely ladies yearn to have a romance and love story of their own, they find their lives interrupted by eligible bachelors who find them irresistible and antics ensue. There’s even some hints of Cinderella but can they manage their insecurities to open up and let someone love them?

I love when I can read a shorter story in a couple hours and laugh and smile over swoonworthy gentlemen who do their best to pursue the lady that makes a bride’s dreams come true. If I had to choose a favorite, I think it was Hemmed In but they are all worth reading.

Highly recommend if you’re looking for a clean, fun, rom-com beach read.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

Book Review: Come Back to Me by Jody Hedlund

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

About the Book

Title: Come Back to Me
Series: Waters of Time #1
Author: Jody Hedlund
Genre: Time Crossing Romance
Publisher: Revell Books
Release Date: June 1, 2021

The ultimate cure that could heal any disease? Crazy.

That’s exactly what research scientist Marian Creighton has always believed about her father’s quest, even if it does stem from a desire to save her sister Ellen from the genetic disease that stole their mother from them. But when her father falls into a coma after drinking a vial of holy water believed to contain traces of residue from the Tree of Life, Marian must question all of her assumptions. He’s left behind tantalizing clues that suggest he’s crossed back in time. Insane. Until Marian tests his theories and finds herself in the Middle Ages during a dangerous peasant uprising.

William Durham, a valiant knight comes to Marian’s rescue and offers her protection . . . as his wife. The longer Marian stays in the past, the more she cares about William. Can she ever find her father and make it back to the present to heal her sister? And when the time comes to leave, will she want to? 

Bestselling author Jody Hedlund is your guide down the twisting waters of time to a volatile era of superstition, revolts, and chivalry in this suspenseful story.

Click here to get your copy!


About the Author

No 15

Jody Hedlund is the author of over thirty historicals for both adults and teens and is the winner of numerous awards including the Christy, Carol, and Christian Book Award.

Jody lives in central Michigan with her husband, five busy children, and five spoiled cats. Although Jody prefers to experience daring and dangerous adventures through her characters rather than in real life, she’s learned that a calm existence is simply not meant to be (at least in this phase of her life!).

When she’s not penning another of her page-turning stories, she loves to spend her time reading, especially when it also involves consuming coffee and chocolate.

Connect with Jody: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Bookbub | Goodreads


My Review

Come Back to Me
by Jody Hedlund
Book 1 in the Waters of Time series
Genre: Christian Romance, Science Fiction
Rating: 5/5

“She’d never expected to fall in love with the man of her dreams in 1381.”

Wow. Just wow. This book completely took me by surprise and I was up till 4am desperate to know what happened next. It is full of passion and romance with action and adventure plus time-travel. I definitely understand the comparison to Outlander but there’s something so endearing about the swoon-worthy Sir William Durham and his devotion to Marian. With hints of Outlander and Somewhere in Time, the author weaves an exciting and super romantic story about a woman trying to save her sister and her father.

Research scientist, Marian Creighton, is determined to find a cure for her sister. Working for Mercer Pharmaceuticals puts her in a great position, but she knows her sister is running out of time. When her father calls her with cryptic instructions, she doesn’t really put much weight into it because of his crazy theories and obsession with find the cure of all cures. When tragedy forces her to travel to Canterbury, she is determined to discover what happened to him and why someone seems to be after his research. As she follows the clues her father left her, she opens up a whole new world of time travel and decides to risk it all to save her sister and hopefully, her father.

What she experiences and finds in 1381 is not what she was expecting. When Sir William Durham comes to her rescue, she is grateful until she is forced into a marriage with him for her protection. The attraction between the two of them is immediate, but Marian must guard her heart and focus on her task to find the vials of holy water from the Tree of Life that will heal her sister. As she gets to know William, she finds that he may be feared as a knight but on the inside, he is a kind but tortured gentleman. He has his own demons to fight, but he realizes that there’s something about Marian that calms him and gives him peace. What will William do to protect the woman he loves? What will Marian sacrifice for love?

“Each moment with him had been more real than if she’d been living in the present. Every sound of his breath, every touch, every beat of his pulse—everything about him was more vibrant than anything she’d known before.”

The romance is strong with this one. My romantic heart could not take it. LOL. Obviously, in the beginning, all the attraction is mostly lust but as they talk and get to know each other, they fall in love. William marvels at how deeply he could fall in love with someone after his experience with his first marriage.

“He may be stubborn, milady. But he will love you to his dying breath.”

As for the science fiction and time traveling part, the theories about the Tree of Life are interesting and definitely come from history and the search for the “Fountain of Youth” and the author does a decent job of trying to explain the science and background. It’s still not crystal clear the way it all works but I hope to gain more understanding when I continue reading this series (because I will definitely be reading the next books). I was definitely impressed with the author’s world-building and cannot wait to read more.

Though I’ve said there’s lot of romance and passion, this book is still a CLEAN and CHRISTIAN romance novel with aspects of science fiction and time travel in it. I highly recommend this book if you enjoy Christian romance with lots of action and time-travel theories.

My thanks to the author and publisher for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.


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Book Review: Plot Twist by Bethany Turner

Disclosure: Bear in mind that some of the links in this post are affiliate links and if you go through them to make a purchase I will earn a commission. Keep in mind that I link these companies and their products because of their quality and not because of the commission I receive from your purchases. The decision is yours, and whether or not you decide to buy something is completely up to you.

Plot Twist
By Bethany Turner
Rating: 4/5
Release date: June 15, 2021

Since I was such a huge fan of Bethany Turner’s books, I was so excited to receive an advanced reader copy of Plot Twist. The title and cover and description just got me. I was excited to dive into another romantic comedy.

When aspiring screenwriter Olivia Ross meets an interesting and struggling actor at a coffee shop, she forgets to get his name despite agreeing to meet back in ten years. Each year, Liv finds some coincidence or another that makes February 4th stand out. When Liv figures out who that actor from the coffee shop was, she begins to keep track of his career as she struggles to finish her screenplay. What’s more real – her writing or her actual personal life? Can the glamour of Hollywood even compare to romance in real life?

I laughed. I cringed in embarrassment. I was giddy with excitement at the ending. I thoroughly enjoyed this entertaining book. I can understand why there were some negative reviews because the style is so different than her other books but I don’t think it deserves the harsh comments. I will say that I was a bit disappointed that the book was more a clean romcom than a Christian romcom. However, I always love all the pop culture that Bethany includes in her stories. The resurgence of “MFEO” is now inevitable. If you know, you know.

Moving the story from year to year – snapshot to snapshot- started off entertaining but ten years seemed a little too long. I wanted more growth from Liv. But then a part would pull me back in until I thought I had guessed the plot twist.

Highly recommend if you enjoy hilarious, clean romantic comedies with some modern day glitz and mystery.

My thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions expressed here are entirely my own. No positive review was expected and no compensation received.

Click here to get your copy!


About the Author

Bethany Turner has been writing since the second grade, when she won her first writing award for explaining why, if she could have lunch with any person throughout history, she would choose John Stamos. She stands by this decision. Bethany now writes pop culture-infused rom-coms for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight. She lives in Southwest Colorado with her husband, whom she met in the nineties in a chat room called Disco Inferno. As sketchy as it sounds, it worked out pretty well in this case, and they are now the proud parents of two teenagers. Connect with Bethany at seebethanywrite.com or across social media @seebethanywrite, where she clings to the eternal dream that John Stamos will someday send her a friend request. Text her any time at (970) 387-7811.

Connect with Bethany: Website | Facebook | Instagram | Twitter | YouTube


More from the Author

Read my review of Hadley Beckett’s Next Dish here.