Review of An Uncommon Courtship by Kristi Ann Hunter

From the Back Cover:

Lord Trent Hawthorne couldn't be happier he is not the duke in the family. Free to manage his small estate and take his time discovering the life he wants to lead, he has grand plans of someday wooing and falling in love with the woman of his choice. When he finds himself honor bound to marry a woman he barely knows, his dream of a loving marriage like his parents' seems lost forever.

Life for Lady Adelaide Bell was easier when she hid in her older sister's shadow--which worked until her sister got married. But even with her socially ambitious mother's focus entirely on her, the last thing she expected was a marriage of convenience before she's been introduced to society.

With nothing going as expected, can Trent and Adelaide's marriage of obligation survive their own missteps and the pressures of London society to grow into a true meeting of hearts and minds?

My Thoughts:

This was such a sweet, delightful story!

 Kristi Ann Hunter has crafted a story set in the Regency period that remains true to the times, yet is delightfully quirky. This family is a riot!

Trent struck me as afraid of commitment, which was hysterical given that he suddenly found himself married. I loved seeing him ask and learn the answers to marital bliss. Adelaide proved to be sweet. She was very shy and had been neglected by her family to horrendous lengths, so it was great to see her finally stand up for herself!

The story definitely picked up for me once more of Trent's family got involved. There were times that I was frustrated with Trent and Adelaide, but let's be honest, when do we handle everything perfectly? So I really, really loved that the author wrote flawed characters. We are not always going to like every decision every character makes in every book. I consider it a mark of a good author when the characters make me feel real emotions.

This story fell somewhere between 3.5 and 4 stars for me. I'm honestly not sure which! LOL. I will confess, this was my first book by Kristi Ann Hunter. However, it won't be my last book by her! An Uncommon Courtship is book three in the Hawthorne House Series. I'm very much looking forward to the next book in the series!

I received a copy of An Uncommon Courtship by Kristi Ann Hunter from Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group. All opinions expressed are my own.

God bless you guys! See you next time!

 Hugs!

~V. Joy Palmer

Review of Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig

From the Back Cover:

This Is the Way the World Ends.

Four years after a tragic mission decimated his team, Cole "Tox" Russell has been disavowed by the United States. And that's fine--he just wants to be left alone. But when a dormant, centuries-old disease is unleashed, Tox is lured back into action.

Tox and his former Special Forces team regroup to work with FBI deception expert, Kasey Cortes, and fiery archaeologist, Tzivia Khalon, to search the globe for answers--and a cure. As the mission leads from one continent to another, it becomes clear they're not just fighting a plague but battling an ancient secret society whose true goals remain hidden.

With time running out and the threat for a global pandemic rising, Tox and his team realize their sole chance might be to reach back through centuries of silence to find the only answer that can save them all.

My Thoughts:

Hold on guys! I have to duck and cover.

*glances over shoulder*

Okay, I'm good. ;)

This is one of the. best. suspense novels that I have read in a very long time! Oh, my gosh. I loved, loved, loved Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig! The action. The plot. The secrets. The romance. The faith. And I know I mentioned this already, but seriously, the action!

I've gotten kind of picky about suspense/thriller novels with threads of romance. Maybe that's what happens when you binge read Dee Henderson and Ted Dekker books. Usually the romance feels forced and underdeveloped, and there's usually not enough action for me. I am happy to report that Tox more than lived up to my expectations!

If you were to look up "soldier" in the dictionary, you would see a picture of Tox. No joke. He is the embodiment of patriotism, honor, regret, and loyalty starting at you with blue eyes. I loved Kasey, and the romance between Tox and Kasey is a long time coming so sweet. Tzivia was a spitfire; I can't wait to see what happens with her!

I loved how the author mixed in more secret societies than National Treasure and an ancient, Biblical plague. The action grabs you by the throat from the first page and doesn't die until the last page. Scratch that. We know there's more action to come since this is the first book in The Tox Files. AHH! I can't wait.

I received a copy of Conspiracy of Silence by Ronie Kendig from Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group. All opinions expressed are my own.

God bless you guys! See you next time!

 Hugs!

~V. Joy Palmer

My Imperfect New Year's Eve (And Why That's Okay)

Hi guys! I hope you had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! <3

So did you guys have any big New Year's Eve plans? I did. They were so huge. Like Reese's peanut butter cups huge.

This was my New Year's Eve -

I found myself putting together the doll house that parent's whisper about with dread and despair. Seriously, this thing had like a hundred parts. And somehow I was fool enough to buy it. (Ahem. Okay, so I didn't realize it wasn't put together... I know! I know! Please don't mock me!)

It's so cute and cool, though!

So I put together this insane princess castle, my husband got home from work, Gilmore Girls played in the background, and my husband stayed up just long enough to give me a New Year's Kiss.

That's it.

Okay, so maybe boring. It wasn't the perfect definition of New Year's Eve.

And you know what?

That's okay. Really okay. I'm actually pretty content with it.

Because here's the thing. Think about 2016. All the ups and downs. All the laughter. All the joy. All the heartache. All the trails. All the births. All the loss. Everything that made up 2016 for you. It's the past tucked into bed with a nice warm quilt.

Now think about all the things you're excited for, dreading, and expecting in 2017. The unknown wrapped in a pretty silver ribbon.

How does one take all the life from the previous year and all the anticipation for the coming year and combine them into a few perfect hours, minutes, or seconds?

It's kind of a let down because I usually fail.

Except for the years when I don't try. And I just live in the glorious moments. Some have been exciting. Some have been calm.

All have been lovely.

And it's in those moments, when I'm not chasing the elusive New Year's Eve, that I hear my Father whisper these words:

"Happy New Year."

And there's nothing boring about what He's made new.

Hugs!

V. Joy Palmer