Ибо так возлюбил Бог мир, что отдал Сына Своего Единородного, дабы всякий верующий в Него, не погиб, но имел хизнь вечную.
While I receive many books in exchange for review, I am never required to leave a positive review. All thoughts and opinions are my very own.

Thursday, July 22, 2021

Review: The Cost of Betrayal~ Henderson, Pettrey, and Eason

Another post I dragged up from my archived drafts. Enjoy my weirdly old writing style. I hope to pop out a few new reviews soon, but just now my brain is already on overload!



I hope you'll forgive me for skipping the blurb... there being three of them for this book.

Is it really fair to review this as one? I mean... they are all in the same book, but there are three separate entities going on here. Here I go anyway though...

I'm giving this set overall 4 stars. 

This was the first story by Dee Henderson that I'd ever read, though I know several people who are avid fans. I enjoyed the whole novella that started this collection. The characters were strong and there was a doggy for goodness sake! The suspense was great, and my inability to beat the ending to solve the case was annoying. Not...however... as annoying as having a (what I assume to be actually realistic) ending like that... which is to say, it wasn't a proper ending at all. If you like to have your mystery solved definitely, then I suggest you skip this one, "or wonder till it drives you mad" I suppose. Dani's novella excited me (having recently finished Dead Drift, I was "in the mood", you know) and it was suspenseful, and guessing the bad guy was really impossible. Unfortunately, it wasn't my favorite of her stories. Don't get me wrong! The farther in I was, the more I liked it. I suppose I'm just used to her series books. And last, but furthest from least, Lynette's story about Ruthie St. John, which, I'll admit, was the whole reason I bought this book. I couldn't stand by and lose a story right in the middle of a series, could I? Of course, having already had a background on the characters and the story, I think, made it easier for this to be my favorite. I was excited to see a glimpse of the police Chief, and to see more of the brothers and sisters that had already wormed their way into my heart.

Truly, I do recommend this set. I know it sounds like I said a lot of negative things, but the chills up my spine weren't imaginary! (Although, I'm sure they were caused by an overactive imagination!) A nice set of mysteries that are easy reads by three incredible authors. I'm excited for this to grace my shelves! (I've a nice place for it right between Code of Valor (Eason) and Blind Spot (Pettrey)!)


Saturday, July 3, 2021

CelebrateLit Tour: Review: Bridge of Gold by Kimberley Woodhouse

Repairs on the Golden Gate Bridge Uncover a Century-Old Murder

Walk through Doors to the Past via a new series of historical stories of romance and adventure.

Underwater archaeologist Kayla Richardson is called to the Golden Gate Bridge where repairs to one of the towers uncovers two human remains from the late 1800s and the 1930s. The head of the bridge restoration is Steven Michaels, who dives with Kayla, and a friendship develops between them. But as the investigation heats up and gold is found that dates back to the gold rush, more complications come into play that threaten them both. Could clues leading to a Gold Rush era mystery that was first discovered during the building of the bridge still ignite an obsession worth killing for?

 Guys guys guys. I love this book. I was a little nervous going in, because my mood lately has been hit and miss on those dual timeline books, but after only a few chapters, I was in. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised. I've loved Kim's historical books as well as her contemporary suspense novels. I expected to be more involved in the historical timeline, since that's my usual take on these time slip novels, but I was actually loving the modern day most! I found the humorous approach exactly what I needed for my stress relief, and I found that some of the struggles Kayla was going through helped me understand some of my own issues. My one complaint was that the book was so short. I wanted it to last longer. I wanted a chance to get more attached to the characters. I also felt that the ending just happened so quickly that I couldn't really catch my breath. But I absolutely would recommend reading it, and even put my copy in the living room of the dorm hoping that the other girls will pick it up and read it during their free time. 

While I did receive a free copy of this book, as always these are my own honest thoughts and opinions. 

Click here to get your copy!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Kimberley Woodhouse is an award-winning and bestselling author of more than twenty fiction and nonfiction books. A popular speaker and teacher, she’s shared her theme of “Joy Through Trials” with more than half a million people across the country at more than 2,000 events. Kim and her incredible husband of twenty-five-plus years have two adult children. She’s passionate about music and Bible study and loves the gift of story.
You can connect with Kimberley at: www.kimberleywoodhouse.com and www.facebook.com/KimberleyWoodhouseAuthor

More from Kimberley

BRIDGE OF GOLD was a blast for me to write. Not only do I love writing dual-timeline stories, but the present-day hero and heroine are named after my daughter and her husband. Steven and Kayla in the book are fictitious, but there are a few things in the book that do mimic their real-life namesakes.

One of them is food.

My son-in-law Steven in real life is six-foot-four and active military. The man can eat. It’s amazing to me how many calories it takes just for him to survive! Then there’s my daughter, Kayla. She was an elite swimmer for many years along with her brother. I could never keep them fed when they were at the height of their swimming careers. In fact, I joked that all I did was cook and load the dishwasher during those years.

To celebrate the release of BRIDGE OF GOLD, I’m going to give out a recipe that I created almost thirty years ago. It went through many revisions the first few months as I perfected it and now you get a special treat because I do not give this recipe out. In fact, one of my dearest friends begged for it when our kids were little. I gave in but made her promise to close her eyes while she made it (LOL) and to never, ever give it to anyone else.

Enjoy! And thanks for joining us on the tour for BRIDGE OF GOLD. I hope you love it.

Kim’s Chocolate Chunk Cookies – recipe by Kimberley Woodhouse

2 cups King Arthur all-purpose flour

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

¾ cup melted/browned butter (this is important! Don’t skip this step)

2 Tb. Hot chocolate mix

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk

1 – 12 ounce package mega morsels (I use Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips)

 

Directions: combine the first three dry ingredients and mix well. In a small saucepan on the stove, melt and brown the butter. Medium heat is recommended but you’ve got to watch it so it doesn’t burn. You want a beautiful caramel color. Set aside and allow to cool to around 100 degrees F before continuing. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Once the browned butter is cool, add the hot chocolate mix to it. Transfer to a stand mixer and blend the butter mixture with the sugar. Whip it until well combined and frothy about 2 mins. Gradually add eggs and flour mixture, beating on low just until blended. Stir in chocolate chips. Using a cookie scoop, drop heaping TB scoops 2 inches apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets. Bake at 325 degrees for 12-14 minutes, watching carefully. Allow to cool on cookie sheets for 5 minutes and then transfer to cooling racks. Enjoy!

For other fun tidbits about BRIDGE OF GOLD make sure you check out my blog at – kimberleywoodhouse.com

Giveaway

To celebrate her tour, Kimberley is giving away the grand prize package of a $25 Amazon gift card and copy of the book!!

Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.

https://promosimple.com/ps/10e03/bridge-of-gold-celebration-tour-giveaway

Blog Stops

Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 24

The Sacred Line, June 24

The Write Escape, June 24

lakesidelivingsite, June 24

Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 25

HappyWhenReading, June 25

Reflections From My Bookshelves, June 25

Through the Fire Blogs, June 25

Texas Book-aholic, June 26

Bigreadersite, June 26

Pause for Tales, June 26

Gina Holder, Author and Blogger, June 26 (Author Interview)

Inklings and notions, June 27

Christian Bookaholic , June 27

Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 27

For the Love of Literature, June 28

Mypreciousbitsandmusings, June 28

All-of-a-kind Mom, June 28

Where Faith and Books Meet, June 28

Abba’s Prayer Warrior Princess, June 29

Bliss Books and Jewels, June 29

Lis Loves Reading, June 29

For Him and My Family, June 29

deb’s Book Review, June 30

Simple Harvest Reads, June 30 (Guest Review from Marilyn Ridgway)

Livin’ Lit, June 30

Remembrancy, June 30

Older & Smarter?, July 1

Lighthouse-Academy, July 1

Tell Tale Book Reviews, July 1

Genesis 5020, July 1

Babbling Becky L’s Book Impressions, July 2

Betti Mace, July 2

Musings of a Sassy Bookish Mama, July 2

Locks, Hooks and Books, July 3

Inspiration Clothesline, July 3

The Meanderings of a Bookworm, July 3

Live.Love.Read., July 3 (YOU ARE HERE)

Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, July 4

Mamma Loves Books, July 4

A Good Book and Cup of Tea, July 4

Mary Hake, July 4

Blossoms and Blessings, July 5

Ashley’s Clean Book Reviews, July 5

Blogging With Carol, July 5

Connie’s History Classroom, July 6

Life of Literature, July 6

A Baker’s Perspective, July 6

A Modern Day Fairy Tale, July 7

To Everything There Is A Season , July 7

KarenSueHadley, July 7

Splashes of Joy, July 7