When a suspicious outsider with a shadowy past comes crashing into Amish widow Mattie’s fragile world, can she learn to love again? Find out in Ruth Reid’s new book, A Dream of Miracles.
When Mattie and Bo cross paths, all signs point to disaster. Yet as they face a crucible of trials and tragedies together, longings begin to stir that seem destined only to end in more heartbreak. Is a miracle possible—not only of healing but of forbidden love? What secrets lie in Bo’s dreams? And will Mattie find the courage to face her uncertain future . . . or will she simply run away?
Ruth is celebrating the release of A Dream of Miracles with a Kindle Fire HD 6 giveaway (details below) and an author chat party on May 3!
One grand prize winner will receive:
One copy of A Dream of Miracles
A Kindle Fire HD 6
Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 5/3. The winner will be announced at A Dream of Miracles Facebook party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Ruth and other fans of Amish fiction, as well as for a chance to win other prizes!
RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER, or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 3rd!
When Caterina Rosetta inherits a cottage in the countryside of Italy from a grandmother she’s never known, she discovers a long-buried family secret — a secret so devastating, it threatens the future of everything her mother has worked for.
About The Winemakers
1956: When Caterina Rosetta inherits a cottage in the countryside of Italy from a grandmother she’s never known, she discovers a long-buried family secret — a secret so devastating, it threatens the future of everything her mother has worked for.
Many years before, her mother’s hard-won dreams of staking her family’s claim in the vineyards of California came to fruition; but as an old murder comes to light, and Caterina uncovers a tragic secret that may destroy the man she loves, she realizes her happiness will depend on revealing the truth of her mother’s buried past.
From author Jan Moran comes The Winemakers, a sweeping, romantic novel that will hold you in its grasp until the last delicious sip.
Jan Moran is a Rizzoli bestselling and award winning author. She writes historical women’s fiction for St. Martin’s Press (Scent of Triumph, The Winemakers), contemporary women’s fiction (Flawless, Beauty Mark, Runway), and nonfiction books (Vintage Perfumes, Fabulous Fragrances). Her stories are smart and stylish, and written with emotional depth. Jan often draws on her international travel and business experiences, infusing her books with realistic details.
The Midwest Book Review and Kirkus have recommended her books, calling her heroines strong, complex, and resourceful. She likes to talk to readers at website and on social media. She lives in southern California and loves lattes and iced coffee, anything chocolate, and Whole Foods Double Green smoothies to balance it all out.
As an artisanal agricultural craft often elevated to art and associated with luxury, winemaking shares many similarities with perfumery, which was the industry backdrop of my last historical novel, Scent of Triumph. And I hardly have to say that the research for The Winemakers was thoroughly enjoyable.
How did you conduct your research for The Winemakers?
I’ve always been fascinated by winemaking and the history wine in Italy and America. Long before I began writing The Winemakers, I had visited Tuscany and spent time in the wine regions of California: Napa and Sonoma valleys, the Russian River valley, Paso Robles, and Temecula. I called on winemakers and producers in the industry and had the pleasure of meeting with luminaries such as Mike Grgich, the legendary co-founder of Grgich Hills in Napa; MaryAnn and Larry Tsai, co-founders of Moone-Tsai wines; and Elizabeth Vianna, the winemaker for Chimney Rock in Stag’s Leap.
Where do you get inspiration for your stories?
I often begin with the period of time and the industry I want to feature. At the center of the saga, I place a smart woman with an enormous, heartbreaking problem to solve. After that, the characters come to life in my mind and the story begins to spin itself.
Many books feature strong female protagonists. What is different about your writing?
My characters are highly multifaceted and readers tell me they readily identify with the women I write about. As women, we often juggle love, careers, children, parents, friends, businesses, and so much more. The characters I include are smart, savvy, and stylish, though perhaps untested in life. I like to follow characters who discover themselves and what they’re truly capable of. Resilience is also a common theme in my work—I believe we are all capable of great things, no matter what challenges life throws at us. I write from the heart and, like a method actor, I’m often crying or laughing as I write scenes.
What advice would you give budding writers?
Never give up on your dream. Everyone has a story, and that story deserves to be heard. Many people might not want a career in writing, but they do want to leave a legacy for their family. With today’s technology it’s easier than ever to do just that.
In The Reflections of Queen Snow White, what happens when happily ever after comes and goes?
About The Reflections of Queen Snow White
On the eve of her only daughter, Princess Raven’s wedding, an aging Snow White finds it impossible to share in the joyous spirit of the occasion. The ceremony itself promises to be the most glamorous social event of the decade. Snow White’s castle has been meticulously scrubbed, polished and opulently decorated for the celebration. It is already nearly bursting with jubilant guests and merry well-wishers. Prince Edel, Raven’s fiancé, is a fine man from a neighboring kingdom and Snow White’s own domain is prosperous and at peace. Things could not be better, in fact, except for one thing: the King is dead.
The queen has been in a moribund state of hopeless depression for over a year with no end in sight. It is only when, in a fit of bitter despair, she seeks solitude in the vastness of her own sprawling castle and climbs a long disused and forgotten tower stair that she comes face to face with herself in the very same magic mirror used by her stepmother of old.
It promises her respite in its shimmering depths, but can Snow White trust a device that was so precious to a woman who sought to cause her such irreparable harm? Can she confront the demons of her own difficult past to discover a better future for herself and her family? And finally, can she release her soul-crushing grief and suffocating loneliness to once again discover what “happily ever after” really means?
My Thoughts
Snow White was one of my favourite tales as a child and teen. I loved the innocence and underlying strength of Snow White. This story with Snow White begins many years after the childhood tale ends, with Queen Snow White facing the after effects of her husband’s death and her daughter Raven’s wedding.
Queen Snow White feels lost and alone. She finds no happiness in anything that used to bring her joy, not even with her own daughter’s wedding. She is struggling with her pain and instead of reaching out to others, she caves into her herself and suffers in silence. My heart broke for Queen Snow White just knowing the amount of pain she is going through. Her husband was her sole confident, the one person she could truly be herself with and her best friend. I think of my own husband and how close he is to me and I can’t even begin to imagine life without him. Your heart bleeds for her and you just want her to find the peace and strength we know is inside her and to heal the bond between her and her daughter, Raven.
It is in a state of loneliness and trying to hide from the guests that have in a way invaded her home, Queen Snow White finds herself climbing the stairs to her stepmother’s long forgotten rooms. Here she must face her past in her stepmother’s favourite object, a mirror. I loved how the mirror forced her to confront her pain and to look inside of herself, constantly reminding her that the mirror can only show her the truth not the way she remembers each memory. The story of Snow White makes her seems frail and dependent on her husband, when we see her through the eyes of the mirror we see a whole new picture. We see a strong young woman who has overcome pain and adversity and still sees the beauty in others. She suffered at the hands of her stepmother but instead of causing her to become a person who in turn does this to others, it makes her gentle, forgiving and righteous. I loved how we were guided through her life and those precious and terrifying moments in time, in order to watch her grow and understand her own strength and courage. Queen Snow White learns many valuable lessons throughout the novel, many of these lessons are ones that we all can easily forget in our own pain and even in our happiness. While my heart ached at times for Queen Snow White, I love how she slowly peels back the painful and happy memories in order to emerge a different woman throughout the novel. The story is beautifully written and is one I cherished from start to finish.
David Meredith is a writer and educator originally from Knoxville, Tennessee. He received both a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts from East Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee as well as a Tennessee State Teaching license. On and off, he spent nearly a decade, from 1999-2010 teaching English in Northern Japan, but currently lives with his wife and three children in the Nashville Area where he continues to write, teach English, and is pursuing his doctoral degree in educational leadership.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
In Sit, Stay, Love we take one abrasive professional athlete, a quirky out-of-work schoolteacher, and an overweight geriatric dog, and you’re ready for a lesson in love . . . Tippy style!
About Sit, Stay, Love
Pro baseball pitcher Cal Crawford is not a dog guy. When he inherits his deceased mother’s elderly dog, Tippy, he’s quick to call on a pet-sitting service.
Gina isn’t thrilled to be a dog sitter when her aspirations lie in the classroom. Furthermore, she can’t abide the unfriendly Cal, a man with all the charm of a wet towel. But with no other prospects and a deep love for all things canine, she takes the job caring for Tippy.
As Gina travels through Cal’s world with Tippy in tow, she begins to see Cal in a different light. Gina longs to show Cal the God-given blessings in his life that have nothing to do with baseball or fame. When her longing blooms into attraction, Gina does her best to suppress it. But Cal is falling in love with her too.
My Thoughts
Sit, Stay, Love is a light, comical romance that you never quite see coming. Gina and Cal are from opposites worlds, one rich and famous and the other just scraping by. But their lives cross when he inherits Tippy, an elderly dog that does what she wants she wants.
The story emerges through comical episodes that Tippy and Gina put Cal through, that make you smile and laugh. Tippy is exactly what Cal needs as he deals with the loss of his Mother, even though he doesn’t realize it! She reminds him what really matters in life, that love and happiness are more important than money and a career. This is a long and painful lesson for him, as he must also learn to forgive and to open his heart to love.
A beautiful, fun story of forgiveness, love and hope. It will be a great summer time read!
Dana Mentink lives in California, where the weather is golden and the cheese is divine. Dana is an American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year finalist for romantic suspense and an award winner in the Pacific Northwest Writers Literary Contest. Her suspense novel, Betrayal in the Badlands, earned a Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award. Besides writing, she busies herself teaching third and fourth grade. Mostly, she loves to be home with her husband, two daughters, a dog with social anxiety problems, a chubby box turtle, and a feisty parakeet.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
In The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder, set in 1910 Toronto, while other bachelor girls perfect their domestic skills and find husbands, two friends perfect their sleuthing skills and find a murderer.
About The Bachelor Girl’s Guide to Murder
Inspired by their fascination with all things Sherlock Holmes, best friends and flatmates Merinda and Jem launch a consulting detective business. The deaths of young Irish women lead Merinda and Jem deeper into the mire of the city’s underbelly, where the high hopes of those dreaming to make a new life in Canada are met with prejudice and squalor.
While searching for answers, donning disguises, and sneaking around where no proper ladies would ever go, they pair with Jasper Forth, a police constable, and Ray DeLuca, a reporter in whom Jem takes a more than professional interest. Merinda could well be Toronto’s premiere consulting detective, and Jem may just find a way to put her bachelor girlhood behind her forever—if they can stay alive long enough to do so.
My Thoughts
Growing up in and around Toronto, I loved reading this book looking at Toronto in the early 1900s. Life was not easy for immigrants coming to make a better life here in Canada, the language was different, the lifestyle was different and there was mistrust between both sides. On top of this, women were held to very difficult standards, when they could be out, needing an escort, etc. It is within this backdrop that this novel is set.
We have two young women who have abandoned the traditional role of a woman (children, married life) and embarked on an exciting journey in the detective world. They start of small but soon work their way up to the murder of two young women who they were roughly acquainted with.
The novel is full of suspense, adventure and just a little bit of romance. I loved how the romance that did develop, did not take away from the young woman’s independence and how he supported her in her role. These two female characters are strong, free and brave, which is something that we need to see more of in novels. A fantastic story from start to finish!
You can find more reviews on the Litfuse tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.
Rating: 5/5
About the Author
Rachel McMillan is a keen history enthusiast and a lifelong bibliophile. When not writing or reading, she can most often be found drinking tea and watching British miniseries. Rachel lives in bustling Toronto, where she works in educational publishing and pursues her passion for art, literature, music, and theater.
Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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