This Is Not The Jess Show by Anna Carey

When a device falls out of one of her best friends backpack Jess has no idea what it is. What she does know is that her friends are keeping a secret from her. Jess has no clue what impact that secret will have on her life.

THIS IS NOT THE JESS SHOW was an interesting read for me. I liked the characters. I didn't find Jess overly whiny as so many teens tend to be in books. Also once Jess found out the big secret she didn't stick around and play the victim or allow people to manipulate her. She took charge of her life and did something to change it. I liked that about her character.

I haven't read a young adult book in awhile so I was a bit put out with the foul language in the book. At the risk of becoming too preachy I'll just say this, I don't think that it was necessary to the story line.

An entertaining story line, with likable characters.

The Kissing Tree

 

Broken Limbs, Mended Hearts by Regina Jennings:

The Kissing Tree is a huge oak tree that many loves have carved their names into over the years. Bella is hoping to have her name carved into the tree along with getting her first kiss. Unfortunately Adam is witness to the most embarrassing moment of Bella's life. So starts the legacy of The Kissing Tree. The first story was sweet and I really enjoyed it. I totally could picture this huge old oak since when I was a child I used to play under such oaks! They are gorgeous and fun to climb and hide out under. Loved Adam and Bella's story!

Inn For A Surprise by Karen Witemeyer:

When Barnabas comes to help the boss' daughter get her Inn ready for customers he is surprised by Phoebe's flamboyant tastes in colors and backgrounds. The Inn is near The Kissing Tree so of course it is called Kissing Tree Inn. Barnabas is there to help temper some of Phoebe's tastes and to help make the Inn the best success. 

From Roots to Sky by Amanda Dykes:

Having lost his best friend in WWII and been wounded in that same war, Luke has come to visit his best friends sister Hannah. Luke and Hannah had corresponded after her brother, Luke's best friend, died. Now Luke has come home to meet the woman who's letters helped him get through when he thought he was going to die. Luke helps Hannah build a groundskeepers cottage for The Kissing Tree Inn. 

Heartwood by Nicole Deese:

Abby is the groundskeeper for The Kissing Tree Inn. Griffin is an arborist that the Inn has hired to determine if the Kissing Tree is in need of being cut down. Abby refuses to believe that the old oak is dying and Griffin is there to do what he can to save the tree. 

Such sweet love stories each one. I loved how each one connected somehow with the tree and were set in different times of history. A sweet compilation of short stories!

Night Fall(Nighthawk Security book 1) by Susan Sleeman

Aiden Byrd and his brothers are getting their business, Nighthawk Security, up and running. Olympic skiier Harper Young will be their first client. Harper has attracted a stalker that seems to be escalating so she needs around the clock protection. Neither Aiden or Harper have time for a relationship outside of their professions. Harper is determined to win her next medal and Aiden is determined to get their business off the ground. But and instant attraction to each other could be the downfall of both of their plans.

Ok, totally a fan of the Byrd brothers! I'm so excited for this new series! This first one was exciting and totally left me wanting more! I love the brothers loyalty to each other, their humor, their care for their client and of course they are all pretty easy on the eyes apparently. There are several twists and turns in the story that leave the reader surprised with heart racing and the anxiety level high. One thing I always appreciate in this author's writing are the spiritual elements of the story. NIGHT FALL did not disappoint in that area, both characters had hard spiritual lessons to learn throughout the story. A fantastic beginning to a new series and highly recommended!

Illusion by Ginny Yttrup

 

This is the second book in the Mendocino Village series. I loved revisiting all of the characters I had come to love and relate to in the first book INVISIBLE. My favorite character was Ellyn. I found that I related with her the most. Her struggle with weight and self-image continues in this book and it resonated with me. I loved Rosa as well. She is a bossy woman who tends to drive people crazy but her heart is big and she truly loves those that she tends to mother. Pia is Rosa's daughter. I love how obedient and respectful she is to her mother even when it hurts her. Miles...such an understanding and loving man. He's much more understanding with Ellyn than I think most men would be, but then he was married a long time before so maybe he is just seasoned. I have to admit Twila's "gift" is a bit beyond me and something I would be leery of, but her insight helps a lot of people and was interesting in the story. I liked Nerissa's strength and determination to hang on to what she knows about God even when she was receiving no answers and not feeling his presence. The spiritual battles that were fought and won were heart-breaking and heart-warming. There was even a thread of humor throughout, because honestly, if we can't have a bit of humor in our struggles then we truly would sink into despair. At the beginning of each chapter there is an inspirational quote from Thomas Merton and each one touched my heart, but my favorite quote in the whole book was something that Nerissa had said to Ellyn early in the book and then Ellyn reminds Nerissa of it in this quote:

"When we believe God is anyone other than who He says He is, we believe an illusion." "And if we believe we are anyone other than who God says we are, we also believe an illusion."

A great reminder for sure. ILLUSION touches the heart and speaks to so many different emotions, I smiled and I cried and I was definitely satisfied with the ending. If you like contemporary fiction, strong female characters and spiritual insight in your reading then you will definitely want to pick up ILLUSION, but I recommend that you read INVISIBLE first because it is just as wonderful!

Midwinter Murder by Agatha Christie

This is a compilation of short stories by Agatha Christie. I had never read them before so I enjoyed them very much. A couple of them featured Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's never-to-be-forgotten famous Belgium detective with the mega "gray cells" and the perfectly groomed mustache. A couple featured Miss Marple as well. I've not read any Tommy and Tuppance stories before so reading a short story with them in it has me curious to read of their adventures. Each short story is about 30 minutes long. Although the first story is longer and takes about an hour to read. I enjoyed each story. Not all of the stories deal with murder, but they do have intrigue. If you are an Agatha Christie fan then I would recommend reading some of her short stories!

Point of Danger by Irene Hannon

Eve Reilly is a conservative talk radio host. She talks about all kinds of hot topics which means that she has some haters out there. But nobody has ever acted on their threats...until now.

Brent Lange is a police detective. When he gets a call out for a possible bomb found in a package on Eve's front step he is determined to do his best to find the person that has been threatening Eve before they escalate any farther.

Definitely an exciting beginning to a new series for this author. I enjoyed the suspense from the opening pages to the exciting conclusion. I also enjoyed the relationship explored between Eve and Brent. A couple aside stories were also pretty interesting and kept the pace of the story moving along. I found it interesting that though the characters were not dealing with a pandemic as "the real world" is at the moment, there were some hot topic issues that were relatable to what is going on around us(protesting, unrest etc.) that kept the story relevant for the times. I definitely look forward to Eve's sister Cate's story which is the next book in the Triple Threat novels.

Candy Cane Crime by Amanda Flower

Charlotte is put in charge of collecting money and notes for the candy cane sale to raise money for new costumes for the Nativity parade. When Charlotte finds an anonymous note in the box for her she doesn't know what to make of it. But when notes for her keep showing up she is determined to find out who her secret admirer is.

I just love the characters in this series! Even the animal characters! Of course Jethro the pig made an appearance. I like that Charlotte seems to have a nose for mystery as well as Bailey. And while I love a good murder mystery, and those have tended to follow Bailey around, it was nice to see that not every mystery has to involve a dead body. As with the other books in the series there is a recipe at the end of the story. I can't wait to try it for Christmas this year! mmmmm!