More Then I Imagined (Happy New Year!)

Happy New Year guys!



So I was looking over my New Year's posts from last year. I remember writing this big, long, insane list of resolutions, which you can read here. About the only thing I accomplished from that list was cleaning out my e-mail inbox AND my closet. I did good. ;)

I didn't go to ACFW with a new manuscript. Instead I signed a contract with WhiteFire Publishing. The reason I cleaned out my closet was because I had a baby, and most of my clothes no longer fit me. I had a bunch of complications and a serious medical condition. I left my day job, and my husband and I learned to rely on God even more. I've got my first joyous, sleep deprived taste of motherhood thanks to my beautiful daughter. And although my husband might claim I did, I definitely did not buy a new book every week. I've had a host of blessings, rejections, fears, joys, struggles, and changes this year.

Basically, the last year has been like that ride that shoots you into the air really fast, and then drops you before your heart has a chance to catch up with you. More has happened then I could have possibly dreamed.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us." Ephesians 3:20

God did more for me then I'd expected or even hoped for this year. Despite all the trials and hardships this year, He gave me things I'd prayed desperately for, given up on, and hadn't even asked. I have no predictions for 2016. I know that despite the bad days, God is going to keep on blessing us, because that's just what He does.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

However, I want to bless God back this year. I want to be a worthy daughter to the King of Kings. I want to make my Father proud. I want to chase God with my whole heart faster and harder then I ever have before now.

"You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:13

That's what I want for 2016.

God bless you guys so much this coming year. May it be more then we ever could have dreamed! :) See you on January 10th!

V. Joy Palmer

Review of The Shock of Night

From the back cover:

The Darkwater Claims All Who Enter It.
All But One.

When one man is brutally murdered and the priest he works for mortally wounded, Willet Dura, reeve to the king of Bunard, is called to investigate. As he begins to question the dying priest, the man pulls Willet close and screams in a foreign tongue. Then he dies without another word.

Willet returns to his task, but the clues to the crime lead to contradictions and questions without answers, and his senses are skewed. People he touches appear to have a subtle shift, as though he can divine their deepest thoughts. In a world divided between haves and have-nots, gifted and common, Willet soon learns he's been passed the rarest gift of all--a gift that's not supposed to exist.

Now Willet must pursue the murderer still on the loose in Bunard even as he's pulled into a dangerous conflict that threatens not only his city, but his entire world--a conflict  that will force him to come to terms with his inability to remember how he escaped the Darkwater Forest--and what happened to him inside it. 

My thoughts:

Willet Dura is a reeve to the king, which from what I gathered was like the king's personal detective. He has an uncanny ability to ask the questions others don't think of, or see the details lost in the shuffle. Despite his ability, this was not the life Willet had originally sought. He wanted to be a priest, but the king called every man to arms. When Willet went to war, the blood on his hands forced him away from the priesthood. Willet was also one of the only men to survive a night in the Darkwater Forest, a place were evil practically leaks from the branches. As a result, the story deals a little with Willet's PTSD. Now thanks to an unknown priest's death, the way he looks at the world and the happy ending he thought he'd finally found are changed forever.

When the story started, it had a detective vibe, which was kind of fun. It was like reading about a cop in another world. I also liked the idea of "gifts" being handed down from God. The society was completely built around who was gifted and who wasn't. It was an interesting concept, and it has a lot of potential.

The story felt very dark to me, but Patrick Carr did a great job with layering the details. The first book in a series often seems slower because there is so much new information being given to the readers. I LOVED that Willet's perspective was told from the first person. It made a big difference for me. However, I had a hard time relating to Willet as a character. I often couldn't follow his thought process until he was back from his latest scheme.

Bottom line is that I want to know more. I have questions that still need answers, and the story drew me in enough that I need to know the answers. The first book of The Darkwater Saga ended on a somber note, so I pray that the series has happy endings for the characters. I'm a happy endings kind of girl.

I received a copy of The Shock of Night by Patrick W. Carr from Bethany House in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

Hope you all have a Merry, blessed, joyous Christmas! God bless and see you guys on January FIRST!! Oh, my goodness! Goodbye 2015! :)

V. Joy Palmer

Review of A Season to Wed

From the back cover:

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.

Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk

Sometimes the road to happiness is paved with youthful mistakes.

Ten years after what she thought was her almost-wedding, Hope Prentiss discovers that the ceremony counted—and, as fate would have it, the jilted John Burke has just ridden back into town. After spending some time with John and helping plan a Christmas wedding for a mystery couple, Hope begins to wonder if she really wants a divorce . . . or a real wedding of her own.

A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck

Revealing the beauty in other women might be Ginger Winters’s specialty—but it will take an unexpected kind of love to help Ginger see the beauty in herself.

Ginger Winters will be the “beauty-maker” for the Alabama society wedding of the decade. But when high-school crush Tom Wells shows up looking for a haircut, Ginger’s thinly veiled insecurities threaten to keep her from love once again . . . despite Tom’s best efforts.

Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt

Meadow knows how to serve delicious food to match any wedding theme. But can she accept love when it’s served up on a silver platter?

Meadow Larson is having the mother of all Mondays when her roof caves in during a blizzard, right before the most important wedding contract of her career. Renovation contractor Colin McGrath offers to fix Meadow’s roof, even though he knows he is the last person she would accept help from.
But the more Meadow gets to know the new Colin, the more she realizes God may have something more permanent in store than a new catering kitchen.

My thoughts:

I loved this book. Loved it. From the gorgeous cover design to the amazing authors all the way to the end of each sweet story. I can't even pick a favorite of these three sweet novellas.

Let me break it down a little bit.

Love at Mistletoe Inn by Cindy Kirk -

The characters were good. Hope's bestie was the comedic relief for me. I thought she was hysterical. If John wasn't caring, sweet, charming, and hunky, he still would have been awesome because he said "darling." I'm a sucker for a man who says that, even if he is fictional. I liked Hope. She didn't draw out drama, and I could related to her.

Spiritually, Hope had to learn to be silent and trust God, and John had to learn not to run but fight for the things - and people - he loved. The biggest thing holding Hope and John back was wounds from their respective childhoods that they had never discussed or truly realized. While touching on serious things, this was still a fun story.

A Brush with Love by Rachel Hauck -

Ginger suffers from emotional and physical scars due to a trailer park fire she was caught in as a child. Due to the opinions of stupid people, Ginger has never viewed herself as beautiful, wanted, or even worthy. She feels like God abandoned her.

Tom always had feelings for Ginger, but because of his father's demons, he moves away before he can tell Ginger how he feels. Now he's back and he feels God's call to lead Ginger to Jesus and to help her understand her true beauty - even if it's only as a friend.

The spiritual plot was much more intense, but in a good way. It dealt with believing lies about ourselves. Lies that have shaped us, controlled us, and hindered us. This was a moving story with a deep, emotional ending.

Serving Up a Sweetheart by Cheryl Wyatt -

Meadow suffers from deep, emotional scars from her childhood and teen years. She came from an abusive home before she and her siblings were moved to her grandparents home where money was very tight. Unfortunately, love interest Colin played a big part in Meadow's emotional trauma. He gave into peer pressure and ignored the horrid way his friends treated Meadow. He was selfish and concerned with his social status, but also suffered from a difficult home life that was just more concealed due to his family's social standing.

Meadow has carried her scars into adulthood, and always looked for the bad in people first. When she sees Colin again, she struggles with forgiving him and letting those lies go. I liked Meadow because she was fun and sarcastic, and her struggle was realistic. Colin was endearing because he had given his life to Jesus years ago, and when he and Meadow met up again, he made it his mission to right the wrongs he had done to her.

My favorite part was when Colin sees Meadow again for the first time. There's no golden ray of sun illuminating her. Instead she's beating up a snowman. This was a fun story, with all too realistic struggles.

 If you're looking for a charming, romantic, wedding related read, then pick up your copy ASAP!!!

I received a copy of A Season to Wed by Cindy Kirk, Rachel Hauck, and Cheryl Wyatt from Book Look Bloggers in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

See you guys on December 20th! God bless!

V. Joy Palmer

Thankful

On November 25th, I had a baby.

My beautiful baby girl, Maddie. :)

After a day of irregular labor, two days of stalling labor, and painfully long induction, an hour of pushing, a failed forceps delivery, and then an emergency C-section, my sweetly crying baby girl was held up Simba style for my husband and I to see. After such a long and difficult pregnancy, there was the beautiful baby that had been occupying the majority of my thoughts for the last nine months.

And she was absolutely perfect. Still is.

Today's post isn't going to be a regular blog post. I was in the hospital for a six days, and am recovering from a C-section with my sweet daughter who has decided she needs to be in my arms in order to sleep. I'm still a little out of it. I just wanted to share this wonderful event with you guys, and ask for your prayers during recovery and sleepless nights.

I am so incredibly thankful for God's hand in such a long, difficult, and scary time, but I'm beyond words thankful to God for my amazing daughter. It was the perfect Thanksgiving present from Him.

Daughter. That seems so weird to say. :)

Thanks guys! I'll see you on December 10th!

V. Joy Palmer

Review of Every Girl Gets Confused

From the back cover:

Katie Fisher and Brady James may be a match made in heaven, but that doesn't seem to guarantee them a happily ever after accompanied by angelic choirs. Katie's almost-fiancé Casey is back in Fairfield, ready to rekindle their relationship. And there's nothing Katie's parents want more than for their small-town girl to leave Dallas and come home for good.

But can she really leave Brady behind? And will she ever be able to wear that gorgeous wedding dress she won?

"Every Girl Gets Confused is romantic comedy at its best. A sweet romance. A wonderful band of supporting family and friends. And enough humor to keep me smiling on each page. I highly recommend it!"--Cara Putman, award-winning author of Shadowed by Grace and Where Treetops Glisten

"A delightful mix of romance, inspiration, and humor, woven together with Thompson's trademark Texas storytelling and a happily-ever-after ending that will make you want to swoon."--Judy Christie, author of Wreath, A Girl in the Wreath Willis series

"Janice Thompson tosses her readers into a humorous whirl of romantic possibilities with characters I swear I've met in small-town Texas. Fun!"--Julianna Deering, author of the Drew Farthering Mystery series

My thoughts:

Brides. Wedding dresses. Weddings. Fun characters. Happy sigh. If I could live in this world, I would. This world is fun and witty, and centered around the greatest thing around: love. Precisely, the reason I love Janice Thompson's books so much.

Katie has entered a busy, confusing time at the start of the story. She knows she loves Brady without a shadow of a doubt. Well, maybe there's a little shadow. Everyone seems sure that it's just a matter of time before they tie the knot, but she's been down this road before, and it didn't end so well. Now her ex-boyfriend, Casey, is back in town, and because Brady is going through difficulty with his knee injury, he's pulling away from her. Casey is ready to pick up where they left off, and sneaky doubts start to sneak into the back of Katie's mind about her relationship with Brady. I love what her Aunt Alva says, "You can't let the little foxes spoil the vine." A good reminder not to let a difficult season spoil the relationships in your life.

Speaking of which...

The spiritual theme of this book was seasons, and what a good message! We all go through seasons of confusion, difficulty, heartache, and joy. I liked that we saw different kinds of season for the characters. This message was strong. No matter how difficult the season, it's just for a season. It will pass, so don't give up on God's plans.

This is the second book in the Brides with Style series. It's filled with fun throwbacks to Janice Thompson's popular Weddings by Bella Series and her Weddings by Design Series. However, the story is still different and filled with Janice Thompson's trademark humor.

I was given a copy of Every Bride Gets Confused by Janice Thompson in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given. It was such an honor to review her newest release!

God bless you guys! I will see you on December 1st!! :)

V. Joy Palmer

Review of The Christmas Joy Ride

From the inside flap:

 

Miranda did not put adventure on her Christmas list, but thanks to her eighty-five-year-old neighbor Joy, that's exactly what she's getting this year. When Joy tells Miranda that she plans to drive an old RV decked out in Christmas decorations from their Chicago neighborhood to her new retirement digs in Phoenix--in the dead of winter, no less--the much younger Miranda insists that Joy cannot make such a trip by herself. Unemployed and facing foreclosure, Miranda feels she has nothing to lose by packing a bag and heading off with Joy toward Route 66. But Joy has a hidden agenda for their Christmas joyride--one that could derail the whole venture.

No one captures the heartwarming fun of the Christmas season quite like Melody Carlson. Fasten your seat belt, because it's going to be an exciting ride! Melody Carlson is the award-winning author of more than two hundred books with combined sales of more than six million. She is the author of the bestselling The Christmas Bus, The Christmas Dog, Christmas at Harrington's, and The Christmas Cat. She received a Romantic Times Career Achievement Award in the inspirational market for her many books, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series and Finding Alice. She and her husband live in central Oregon. Learn more at www.melodycarlson.com.                 

From the back cover:

"I'm going on a mission, Miranda. I'm going out to spread some Christmas joy along Route 66. And no one is going to stop me."

"But you can't go driving across the entire country in the middle of winter and--"

"I can and I will," Joy declared stubbornly . . .

"I think it's a totally outrageous plan. I can't bear the thought of you being out there by yourself--and at your age too. I'll be scared sick about you being on the road . . ."

Joy had an idea, and she knew this was her chance. She had to give it one good try. "And that is exactly why I want you to come along with me, Miranda."

My thoughts:

Fans of Melody Carlson's Christmas stories are not going to be disappointed! The Christmas Joy Ride was a delightful, quick read. It's short - only 176 pages - but a charming story that fills you with Christmas warmth. I found myself wishing for snow outside, and I fought the urge to decorate for Christmas right now. Thankfully, I remembered that I was pregnant, and I didn't have the energy or the capability to maneuver those large boxes around my nine month sized bump. Regardless of the cold, hard facts, reading this story without the backdrop of garland and my Christmas décor seemed wrong on so many levels. This is a great story to read for a little Christmas pick-me-up, or even to give to someone as a gift.

Joy "Christmas Joy" Jorgenson was a delightful, spunky, incredibly generous lady. Her Godly, Christmas spirit was so loveable, and she was the type of character you expect to see revealed as an angel or one of Santa's elves in a Christmas movie. Miranda Fortner seems slightly jaded from the hard times that have fallen on her, but her love for her elderly neighbor/friend outweighs all that. As she and Joy spread God's Christmas magic, it turns out that Joy has a little Christmas joy planed for Miranda as well.

I did wish that the story was longer. There's an awful lot of stuff happening in a 176 pages. You wish for more details. More stops on their Christmas joy spreading road trip. More time spent on the developing romance at the end of the story. I'm not a fan of the widower scenario that was used for the potential love interest. It's done a lot, and it's just not a story line I like. However, the author did not spend a lot of time on that, which I greatly appreciated. I would have liked to see their attraction spread out more and given more time to develop into the love we know would happen, but again, it's a short story.

I was so, so honored to be able to read one of Melody Carlson's books for review. She has been a favorite author of mine since my preteen days. Even more fun, given that "Christmas Joy" and I share a name. ;)

I was given a copy of The Christmas Joy Ride by Melody Carlson from Revell in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

V. Joy Palmer

Review of Vendetta

 

From the back cover:

No one needs to push Nikki Boyd to excel on the Tennessee Missing Person Task Force. The case of her own missing sister, still unsolved after ten years, is the driving force in her work. When a Polaroid photo of a missing girl shows up at a crime scene, Nikki quickly recognizes similarities to the past. The closer she gets to the abductor, the more she feels that this case is getting personal, and that she is not the hunter at all--but actually the one being hunted.

With this explosive first book in the new Nikki Boyd Files, Lisa Harris takes readers on a fast-paced pursuit of justice that will have them holding their breath until the heart-stopping finish.

My thoughts:

I enjoyed Vendetta by Lisa Harris. I can't say that the plot surprised me; it starts like your typical abduction case. However, Lisa Harris presented the information and dropped plot twists in such an excellent way that I HAD to keep reading! This was a short, fast paced read, that wasn't bogged down with unnecessary details. It was like reading a Criminal Minds script, only way less creepy! (I was only slightly disturbed in my dark, empty house. LOL.)

The only thing I disliked about this story was the guy you know Nikki Boyd is going to end up with in the end. It's not because he's a bad guy - Tyler Grant is actually quite perfect. You can see their chemistry from the first chapter. He's a strong hero, who makes you feel protected yet swoony. My problem is with his back story. As I've said before, I don't like the deceased spouse angle. I just don't. So I was a little surprised when I found out that Tyler had been married to Nikki's best friend, and that she had died. I always prefer the boy-next-door, friend I-didn't-know-I-loved, handsome-stranger-getting-in-the-way angles.

The spiritual angle in this book dealt with guilt. Guilt that resulted in the characters taking responsibility for things that are beyond our control. Nikki struggled with guilt over her sister's own abduction ten years prior, feeling like if only she had arrived earlier, her sister would still be around today. Tyler struggled with guilt over his wife's death, thinking that if only he had known she had been having dizzy spells, she and their unborn child would still be alive today. The spiritual journey these characters take is beneficial to anyone who has held onto the emotional burden of things that are a result of living in a fallen world.

Vendetta was the first book in The Nikki Boyd Files. If you read the sneak peak for Book 2, you will be anxiously awaiting the next instalment, too, as we are left hanging! That and the need to see Nikki and Tyler get together. :)

I was given a copy of Vendetta by Lisa Harris from Revell in exchange for my honest opinion, which I have given.

God bless you guys! See you November 10th! :)

V. Joy Palmer