Blooming with Books

4.27.2022

Crown and Cinder ~ Review

Crown and Cinder

The Austen Fairy Tale #2

By Kendra E. Ardnek

Lizzy, Eliza Benne is a Cinder, and most Cinders are servants, but Lizzy is the daughter of a gentleman and bound to the Forest. For years she has been summoned to the Forest to do the Mistress's bidding, but this year something is different. This year instead of the Mistress, Lizzy finds someone different upon the throne - the Gardner.

After years of keeping secrets to protect her family and her country, Lizzy doesn't know what to make of this new mistress of the Forest. Not willing to trust the Gardener and fearing for both her family and for Binfield, Lizzy decides to test her. A royal ball seems the best way to test the Gardener, but Lizzy never expected to catch the attention of anyone. Yet that is exactly what she has done. What follows is confusion as Lizzy tries to decide whom she can trust and where she truly belongs in the world.

Crown and Cinder is the sequel to Rose Petals and Snowflakes, and it is an excellent one as it continues the story of Elen and Mari. And yes, you most definitely should read the first book in the series as it provides the backstory to CandC. I love the meshing of Pride and Prejudice with Cinderella as it is brilliant and seamless but offers enough elements from each to be recognizable and yet wholly unique. This is a retelling that you don't want to miss.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.

Releases April 27th

Book Description:

It is a fact universally acknowledged that a girl, in possession of stepmother and stepsisters, must be in want of a fairy godmother to come whisk her away to some ball, where she might fall in love with a prince and live happily ever after... Lizzy hated facts universally acknowledged.

Lizzy is a Cinder. However, conjuring fire at one’s fingertips isn’t considered appropriate in polite society, so she hides among her family's servants. Besides, her ruse also serves to protect her country from the Mistress's mad quest for power. No, it's much better all-around if she lets her stepsister live her life.

But now the Gardener has taken the Mistress's throne, her motives unknown, and three royal balls have thrown Lizzy into the path of the most irritating king in the land. Meanwhile, can her beloved stepsister ever find a man willing to look past her farmer father? It's a complicated mess and Lizzy only wants out.

Too bad the Forest doesn't care what she wants.

Purchase Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09B4DG79B/

Add Book on Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/57722373-crown-and-cinder

Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09GXDLZQP

Author Bio:

Kendra E. Ardnek is the self-proclaimed Arista of Fairy Tales. She lives in the Piney Woods of East Texas with her dragon babies and massive herd of mini-giraffes, and she is still waiting for one of of her fifty nutcrackers to come to life and marry her. When not writing, you can usually find her sitting in a random box, and she's frequently known to act before she thinks.

Find her online at:

Website || Blog || Goodreads || Facebook || Twitter || YouTube || Newsletter || Instagram || TikTok || Tumblr || Amazon

4.26.2022

Dark Angel ~ Review

Dark Angel

The Shepherds #2

By Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson

Narrated by MacLeod Andrews

Dark Angel finds Jedidiah Johnson continuing his association with the Shepherds. Jed has returned to Nashville, where he is undertaking specialized training so that he might be a warrior with the Shepherds. The training, similar to what he is familiar with, is also very different. Everything is state-of-the-art, and there is a spiritual aspect to it that is totally new.

An old enemy who in the past betrayed the Shepherds is about to make his presence known. And he is taking orders from Victor. Yep, the ultra scary guy from Dark Inception is back, and he has a plan that involves Jed facing off with Nicholas Woland.

And Jed is going to need all the help he can get. He's having visions again, and the enemy has targeted him. Jed will need his God-given gifts and for his team to have his back, both physically and spiritually, if The Shepherds have any hope of stopping a world-encompassing religious war.

Dark Angel combines modern warfare with spiritual for a Suspense-filled Speculative Thriller that you won't want to put down. This is an intense read with plenty of military action as Jed, and the Shepherds do what they do best. Whether you enjoy your books, reading or listening, you will enjoy this if you are a fan of Frank Peretti, James Rupert, or Joel C. Rosenberg.

I received a complimentary paperback copy of this book with no expectations - all thoughts expressed are my own.

Giveaway:

Be sure to enter the giveaway for Dark Angel/Dark Intercept on Instagram! Click here for all the info

About the Book:

Former Navy SEAL Jedidiah Johnson returns to Nashville ready to begin his training with the elite warriors known as the Shepherds. He thinks he knows what to expect when he arrives on the sprawling, state-of-the-art facility but quickly realizes he’ll have to find his place as the rookie leader of a new team. Then he starts having visions of an imminent attack overseas, and with the clock ticking, Jed and his team are dispatched to neutralize the threat. All the while, Jed hears whispers of another threat . . . a name that raises unexplained fear and anger throughout the Shepherds organization.

Once a military man, Nicholas Woland betrayed the Shepherds and all they stood for when he joined their enemies. After years in prison, Woland is eager to get back in action spreading chaos and death. And he has been freed for a purpose: a sinister plot that will result in hundreds of casualties and incite worldwide religious warfare for years to come.

As Woland and the Shepherds race toward a collision, Jed must rely on his gifts, his training, and his untested team to make critical decisions on a global stage—never realizing that a secret servant of the enemy is growing closer and closer to him.

Turn My Mourning Into Dancing ~ Book Spotlight with Excerpt and Giveaway

Turn My Mourning into Dancing JustRead Blog Blitz

Welcome to the Blog Blitz for
Turn My Mourning Into Dancing by Henri Nouwen,

hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Book Spotlight

Title: Turn My Mourning Into Dancing

Author: Henri Nouwen

Publisher: Thomas Nelson

Release Date: March 8, 2022

Genre: Christian, Spiritual Growth, Grief

How do you find hope in hard times? Why is it important to have hope during difficult times? Turn My Mourning into Dancing will help you survive the difficult seasons and learn how to live a full life in the midst of them and beyond. With practical advice, Henri Nouwen will gently point you towards a way of life that is grounded in God’s constancy and rooted within eternal hope.

In this updated edition, Turn My Mourning into Dancing discusses five movements we experience during hard times:

• From Our Little Selves to a Larger World

• From Holding Tight to Letting Go

• From Fatalism to Hope

• From Manipulation to Love

• From a Fearful Death to a Joyous Life

Healing begins with taking our pain out of its diabolic isolation and seeing our sufferings in communion with all humanity, and all creation. Nouwen teaches us that our little lives participate in something much larger. Turn My Mourning into Dancing is a must-read for:

• men and women looking for growth and insight on life

• anyone going through the grief process and searching for real solutions

• anyone who has experienced a loss, betrayal, or hard times

Everyone grieves differently. It is a process, not a science experiment. Mourning shouldn’t last forever. Do you want the kind of life that allows you to dance even in the middle of the darkest night? Get the answers and find hope within your hard times with Nouwen’s works on spiritual growth.

About the Author

Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996) was the author of With Open Hands, Reaching Out, The Wounded Healer, Making All Things New, and many other bestsellers. He was the senior pastor of L’Arche Daybreak in Toronto, Canada, a community where men and women with mental disabilities and their assistants create a home for one another.

Excerpt

From Holding Tight to Letting Go

For years I have loved watching trapeze artists. The love began when my then- eighty-nine-year-old

father came for a visit. Let’s go to the circus, we decided one day. That evening we watched five South

African trapeze artists—three fliers and two catchers. They danced in the air! The fliers soared and all

was dangerous until they found themselves caught by the strong hands of their partners. I told my

father that I had always wanted to fly like that, that perhaps I had missed my calling!

I am constantly moved by the courage of my circus friends. At each performance they trust that their

flight will end with their hands sliding into the secure grip of a partner. They also know that only the

release of the secure bar allows them to move on with arcing grace to the next. Before they can be

caught, they must let go. They must brave the emptiness of space.

Living with this kind of willingness to let go is one of the greatest challenges we face. Whether it

concerns a person, possession, or personal reputation, in so many areas we hold on at all costs. We

become heroic defenders of our dearly gained happiness. We treat our sometimes inevitable losses as

failures in the battle of survival.

The great paradox is that it is in letting go, we receive. We find safety in unexpected places of risk. And

those who try to avoid all risk, those who would try to guarantee that their hearts will not be broken,

end up in a self-created hell. C. S. Lewis wrote in The Four Loves,

To love at all is to be vulnerable…If you want to make sure of keeping [your heart] intact,

you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal. Wrap it carefully round with

hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket of your

selfishness. But in that casket— safe, dark, motionless, airless— it will change. It will not be

broken—it will become unbreak-able, impenetrable, irredeemable…The only place

outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from the danger of love

is Hell.

In so many ways, the more we insist on control and the more we resist the call to hold our lives lightly,

the more we have to deny the reality of our losses and the more artificial our existence becomes. Our

belief that we should grasp tightly what we need provides one of the great sources of our suffering. But

letting go of possessions and plans and people allows us to enter, for all its risks, a life of new,

unexpected freedom.

How can we live with greater willingness to let go? Another step in turning our mourning into dancing

has to do with not clutching what we have, not trying to reserve a safe place we can rest in, not trying to

choreograph our own or others’ lives, but to surrender to the God whom we love and want to follow.

God invites us to experience our not being in control as an invitation to faith.

Taken from “Turn My Mourning into Dancing: Finding Hope During Hard Times” by Henri Nouwen.

Used with permission from Thomas Nelson Publishing. www.thomasnelson.com

Tour Giveaway

(1) winner will receive two print copies of Turn My Mourning into Dancing (one to keep, one to give!)!

Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight April 26, 2022 and will last through 11:59 PM EST on May 3, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

4.25.2022

Shadowed Loyalty ~ Review

Shadowed Loyalty

By Roseanna M. White

Sabina Mancari appears to have it all, but she feels unneeded and unwanted since her sister's death. Allowing these feelings to grow makes her susceptible to a man's admiration who uses her to get to her father. The man she thought loved her is determined to bring down her father as part of his work as a Prohibition agent. With nowhere else to turn, she calls on her childhood friend and her fiancé of three years.

Lorenzo (aka Enzo) has loved Sabina all her life and looks forward to the day that he can marry her and be free of all ties to the life they grew up in. Enzo knows that the life his family is caught up in is wrong, and he wants to break free, working not for any of Chicago's families but for himself and Sabina. But when Sabina calls asking for his help in getting her father out of custody, he finds himself caught on the edge of a life he doesn't want. Worse, the man who betrayed Sabina has caused a rift in their relationship with mere months until their wedding.

As Enzo and Sabina work through everything, they also work to strengthen and rebuild their relationship and the truth they once shared. Sabina has lost her belief in her father's integrity and honesty, believing that her father was different from the other bosses in Chicago's Sicilian community.

What's sad is that the things they were trying to escape in Italy were the very things they brought with them. The underworld of Chicago's Sicilian underworld was not pretty. If it was illegal or immoral, they most likely dabbled in it. Sadly, the American Dream they searched for was lost in their inability to break the bonds that bind them to the world they left behind. Shadowed Loyalty is a look at Chicago in the 1920s, a world in flux as it is about to change. Prohibition was the reason behind the government's interest in the families, but this wasn't the only catalyst for the coming changes, and not all of them were looking to improve conditions for those caught in this dark and evil world. As Sabina and Enzo learn, it is only through faith in God and leaning on prayer that they could break free and withstand the assaults on their souls.

As with all of Roseanna M. White's works, one can see that a lot of research went into this book. The attention to detail is impressive, and the various characters have a depth to them that brings this book to life. For anyone wanting a squeaky clean read, that is not happening, not if the book is historically accurate. There isn't anything depicted per se, but abuses and violence are mentioned. I mean, this is the mob, and they profited off the evils of the day.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion ~ all thoughts expressed are my own.

About the Book:

Sabina Mancari never questioned her life as the daughter of Chicago’s leading mob boss until bullets tore apart her world. The man she thought she loved turned out to be an undercover Prohibition agent. Now she sees how ugly the underworld can be. Ambushes, bribes, murder, prostitution—she thought her beloved Papa was above all that, but clearly, he isn’t. What does that mean, though, for her and their family? Maybe Lorenzo, the fiancé who has barely paid her any attention in the last two years, has the right idea by planning to escape their world.

All his life, Lorenzo’s family assumed he would join the Church, but he had different ideas—marrying Sabina and pursuing a career in the law. But despite his morals, he knows at the core he isn’t so unlike his father and brothers, which has always terrified him. Has he, in trying to protect Sabina from his flaws, in fact, harmed her? It sure seems that way when he realizes he all but forced her into the arms of the Prohibition Agent, now bent on tearing her family apart at all costs. But how can they rebuild what has so long been neglected…and do it in the shadow of the dark empire of the Mafia?

Shadowed Loyalty, set amid the glitz and scandal of the Roaring Twenties, examines what love really means and how we draw lines between family and our own convictions, especially when following the one could mean losing the other.

4.21.2022

A Rose for the Resistance ~ Takeover Tour with Review, Spotlight and Giveaway

A Rose for the Resistance JustRead Takeover Tour

Welcome to the Takeover Tour for

A Rose for the Resistance by Angela K. Couch,

hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

A Rose for the Resistance
Heroines of WWII #5
By Angela K. Couch

Rosalie Barrieau has tried to avoid the threat of Nazi forces taking France but ignoring a threat does not neutralize it. She is determined to keep her brother safe amid the loss she has undergone, but her brother is equally determined to join the resistance.

But how can you stay safe when all around you there are those in need? How can you stand by and do nothing when others suffer in the face of war and occupation? These are the questions and thoughts that motivate Rosalie, her brother Marcel, and Franz Kafka to do what has to be done.

A Rose for the Resistance takes place mainly in France from June, 1940 to July, 1946, and looks at the actions of Rosalie, Marcel and Franz during this time. Do you give in to fear, blindly follow orders, or listen to your heart and do all you can to help end the war, to aid those who have been declared your enemy?

This was an intriguing and engaging read. Fans of WWII fiction will enjoy this book. I have not read Angela K. Couch's work before but I look forward to reading more of her work in the future. The characters were engaging and complex, the scenes detailed but not excessively so. Would make for an interesting book club selection.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I share my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: A Rose for the Resistance

Series: Heroines of WWII

Author: Angela K. Couch

Publisher: Barbour Fiction

Release Date: April 1, 2022

Genre: Christian, Historical Romance

A French Woman and German Soldier Create a Truce

With her father in a German POW camp and her home in Ste Mere Eglise, France, under Nazi occupation, Rosalie Barrieau will do anything to keep her younger brother safe. . .even from his desire to join the French resistance. Until she falls into the debt of a German solder—one who delivers a wounded British pilot to her door. Though not sure what to make of her German ally, Rosalie is thrust deep into the heart of the local underground. As tensions build toward the allied invasion of Normandy, she must decide how much she is willing to risk for freedom.

Full of intrigue, adventure, and romance, this new series celebrates the unsung heroes—the heroines of WWII.

MORE BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

Angela K Couch

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

To keep from freezing in the great white north, Angela K. Couch cuddles under quilts with her laptop. Winning short story contests, being a semi-finalist in ACFW’s Genesis Contest, and a finalist in the 2016 International Digital Awards also helped warm her up. As a passionate believer in Christ, her faith permeates the stories she tells. Her martial arts training, experience with horses, and appreciation for good romance sneak in as well. When not writing, she stays fit (and toasty warm) by chasing after five munchkins.

CONNECT WITH ANGELA: Website | Facebook | Twitter

TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy of A Rose for the Resistance and a $15 Amazon egift card!

A Rose for the Resistance JustRead Giveaway

Be sure to check out each stop on the tour for more chances to win. Full tour schedule linked below. Giveaway began at midnight April 20, 2022 and lasts through 11:59 PM EST on April 27, 2022. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. US only. Void where prohibited by law or logistics.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.

4.20.2022

Inheritance of Secrets ~ Review with Giveaway

Inheritance of Secrets Blog + Review Tour

Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour for
Inheritance of Secrets by Robin Patchen,

hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

Inheritance of Secrets
Coventry Saga #6
By Robin Patchen

She never knew her mother and her father's last words were to find the woman who disappeared years ago. Aspen Kincaid is determined to find the answers she seeks, but finding them may be harder than she ever imagined.

Coventry, New Hampshire, remembers Jane Kincaid, and all the animosity they felt towards her is now directed at the daughter who never knew her. Aspen will renovate the house she inherited and learn all she can about her parents before she leaves Coventry behind forever.

Garrett McCarthy is caught in the middle of everything when he is hired to renovate a stranger's home. But though she is a stranger, it seems Coventry has a long memory and wants answers too. And they have decided that Garrett is their best way to get them. But is Garrett willing to spy on this woman who is seeking one last connection with her parents and to uncover the secrets long hidden away?

Inheritance of Secrets layers years of secrets one upon another so that one has to wonder if the truth will ever be revealed? This is the sixth book in the Coventry series, but it can easily be read as a standalone if you have not read the previous books. The suspense builds as the book progresses so that putting it down will become increasingly more difficult, so plan accordingly before you begin reading. And as to who is the guilty party, well, there is an abundance of potential suspects who could be hiding the truth.

I was provided a complimentary copy of this book with no expectations but that I provide my honest opinion - all thoughts expressed are my own.
ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Inheritance of Secrets

Series: Coventry Saga #6

Author: Robin Patchen

Publisher: JDO Publishing

Release Date: April 19, 2022

Genre: Christian romantic suspense

From a USA Today bestselling author comes the latest in the edge-of-your-seat Christian romantic suspense series that will keep you reading all night long.

"I didn't do right by your mother. Or by you. Find her and do what I never had the courage to do.”

Her father’s deathbed confession changed everything for Aspen Kincaid. The mystery of her mother’s disappearance was unsolvable, or so she’d believed.

It seemed her dad had lied to her all her life.

After inheriting a house in New Hampshire—a house Aspen hadn’t known her father owned—she travels thousands of miles, desperate to fulfill his dying wish. But some residents of Coventry don’t want Jane Kincaid’s daughter digging into things they think should remain buried forever.

Renovating the secluded old house on the mountain should be the next step in Garrett McCarthy’s contracting career, but Aspen’s arrival in town stirs up old animosities in Coventry that he'd known nothing about. All he wants is to complete the job, hoping it’ll open doors to new opportunities. But when he’s asked to keep an eye on Aspen's activities, he feels he can’t refuse. How can he honor his beautiful, vulnerable client and remain loyal to the people who need his help?

Join Aspen and Garrett as they attempt to solve a thirty-year-old mystery—without becoming its latest victims.

Page-turning suspense, heartwarming romance, and a plot-twisting mystery that'll keep you guessing until the very end. Order Inheritance of Secrets today.

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | BookDepository | BookBub