Category: Litfuse

In Playing the Part, can they accept who they are behind the parts they play in time to save the day?

About Playing the Part

Lucetta Plum is an actress on the rise in New York City, but is forced to abandon her starring role when a fan’s interest turns threatening. Lucetta’s widowed friend, Abigail Hart, is delighted at the opportunity to meddle in Lucetta’s life and promptly whisks her away to her grandson’s estate to hide out.

Bram Haverstein may appear to simply be a somewhat eccentric gentleman of means, but a mysterious career and a secret fascination with a certain actress mean there’s much more to him than society knows.

Lucetta, who has no interest in Abigail’s matchmaking machinations, has the best intentions of remaining cordial but coolly distant to Bram. But when she can’t ignore the strange and mysterious things going on in his house, it’ll take more than good intentions to keep her from trying to discover who Bram is behind the part he plays.

My Thoughts

Lucetta is an actress who is admired for her fragile nature that she plays on stage. Her true nature is as far from the characters she plays on stage as possibly can be. She is strong, independent and free willed. She does not need the men who adore her on stage character and want to take care of her, something she does not need.

Bram happens to be one of those men. He wants to pamper her with attention and pampering. When he finds out that she does not need nor want this attention, he is kind of lost with how to treat her and how to accept her. He also has a deep secret that he has been hiding from many people,including his aunt Abigail (who would love to see him with Lucetta!).

I loved our two main characters who are so perfect for each other but both were stubborn and hiding a secret that they were too afraid to share. They wanted romance but were both to scared to look for it. They have to learn to accept each other for who they are and open up to each other about their past and present in order to move forward.

Throw in some mysterious happenings in his home with Lucetta almost being hurt several times and we have a romance bubbling under mystery and suspense! Playing the Part was an excellent novel from start to finish. I wish I could have just a little bit more of their story, it is always sad when a good novel ends!

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Jen Turano, author of the Ladies of Distinction series and the A Class of Their Own series, is a graduate of the University of Akron. She is a member of ACFW and lives in a suburb of Denver, Colorado.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

“I was here. I saw beauty. I embraced it.” -Kara Tippetts.

About And It Was Beautiful

How do you live out extravagant love in the everyday moments? How do you celebrate grace when your life turns out differently than the one you dreamed?

Kara Tippetts discovered how to find joy in the small moments of life. She learned how to hold tight to hope even while battling intense physical and emotional pain. And she lived out the truth that God can redeem any story.

In her final book, Kara offers gentle reflections on living and dying well. She invites us to cultivate soft hearts even when we face great disappointment. Her ideas for living are hard-won, wrestled with in the crucible of family, illness, and faith. And her constant reminder is that whether we are in the midst of dark days or mundane moments Jesus is always there, life is surprisingly beautiful, and God is forever good.

My Thoughts

Kara Tippetts was an amazing Mother, Wife and individual. Her first novel, The Hardest Peace touched my deeply, I cried, I laughed and I learned so much about my own life. I realized those dark moments could always be darker and that even in those moments we can glimpse moments of light.

And It Was Beautiful is a wonderful compilation of her work and her story. She had this honest and open way of writing that makes you laugh, cry and want to reach out to her. She let you into her life without hiding over the ugly moments, instead she celebrates these moments for what they are. She found the light in each of these moments and shared it with us. I feel blessed to have read both of her books, the lessons of love, family and living with grace are precious. She guides you and teaches you by showing her own struggles.

The world has been blessed to have Kara Tippetts walk among us for such a short time. Her words of wisdom, love and grace will live on in her work.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour Page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating:5/5

About the Author

Kara Tippetts was the author of The Hardest Peace and the co-author of Just Show Up. She blogged faithfully at mundanefaithfulness.com. Since her death in March 2015, her husband, Jason, has been parenting their four children and leading the church the couple founded in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

In The Hearts We Mend, planning and Post-It notes are the epitome of Evie’s life. But when she meets Jack, her life gets more than a little complicated.

About The Hearts We Mend

Thirteen years ago, Evie’s firefighter husband was killed in the line of duty, leaving her to raise their young son, Cody, alone. Now, Cody is marrying the love of his life, and as he packs up his belongings, the house feels as empty as Evie’s heart. But for all her planning and mad organizational skills, Evie could never have anticipated the dramatic shift her life is about to make.

Tattooed, rough-around-the-edges Jack raises quite a few eyebrows in the tight-knit community of Banister Falls. Where Evie’s life is stream-lined, Jack’s approach to living is moment-by-moment. But as Evie gets drawn into Jack’s world—a world that isn’t as safe or predictable as the one she’s worked so hard to create—he challenges her to open her eyes to the problems outside the walls of the church.

Jack doesn’t make Evie feel comfortable, but he definitely makes her feel something. Something she hasn’t felt since Max passed away—or, maybe ever. Because even though Jack isn’t anything like her late husband, he just might be everything she needs.

My Thoughts

This is the second book by author, Kathryn Springer, following Evie and her son Cody. This second book is just as fantastic (if not more!) as the first novel. In this novel, we see Cody marry his highschool sweetheart and pregnant girlfriend,watching this transition from depending on Evie to being his own man. This has a huge array of effects on Evie and she struggles at first with these changes until she meets Jack. Jack challenges her to get out of her comfort zone, to realize her potential and want more. But does she really have the courage to accept his challenge? Can she look beyond tattoos and the outer appearance of Jack to see the person inside? A fantastic novel from start to finish! It leaves you wanting that much more.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse blog tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 5/5

About the Author

Kathryn Springer is a USA Today bestselling author. She grew up in northern Wisconsin, where her parents published a weekly newspaper. As a child she spent many hours sitting at her mother’s typewriter, plunking out stories, and credits her parents for instilling in her a love of books — which eventually turned into a desire to tell stories of her own. Kathryn has written nineteen books with close to two million copies sold. She lives with her husband and three children in Marinette, Wisconsin.

In Kissed by a Cowboy Cassidy was looking for a home and a place to belong and not for a cowboy to steal her heart!

About Kissed by a Cowboy

Having lived through her parents’ endless string of “matrimonial bliss gone wrong,” Cassidy Starr knows when the odds are not in her favor. Divorced and humiliated, her faith on rocky ground, Cassidy is through with love. She has been bucked off that horse far too many times. Instead, she returns to Wishing Springs, Texas, and the rundown farm she has inherited from her great aunt Roxie. She’ll reopen the strawberry farm and a bed & breakfast and follow in her aunt’s footsteps, remaining forever-independent, happy and single.

Rancher Jarrod Monahan’s hands are full running the ranch, looking after his ailing grandfather, and chasing down a group of rustlers on the loose. He’s pushed his longing for a family to the bottom of his list of priorities. Besides, he was in love once but ran scared and lost his one shot at happiness. But suddenly, the biggest regret of his life has moved in next door with a wounded heart, determined to become a spinster and that is a challenge that Jarrod just can’t pass up.

Jarrod sets his mind to breaking down the walls around Cassidy’s stubborn heart. How can he show her that this cowboy’s kiss lasts forever?

My Thoughts

A great Western romance read with some twists along the way. We have our main character Cassidy who has been through so much through her marriage. She is hurt, betrayed and unable to trust and ready to start another relationship. She has darkened her heart to a chance of romance. A strong part of me can’t blame her, I can’t even begin to imagine the emotions she is going through. She is struggling to come to closure and does not want this to interfere with her future but it is hard not to let it. Her pain keeps surfacing to the top throughout the novel.

On the flip side we have Jarrod, a man who has known her whole life but who has also been scarred by family and life. He has come to terms with his past and wants to move forward but he needs to help show Cassidy the way. He needs to help build her trust and acceptance, which is not easy!

A wonderful tale of trust, honesty, love and acceptance with a Western spin! You will fall in love with the warm and funny characters and the honest story.

You can find more reviews on the Litfuse Blog Tour page. You can purchase a copy of the book here.

Rating: 4/5

About the Author

Debra Clopton is a multi-award winning novelist and has written more than 22 novels. Along with writing, Debra helps her husband teach the youth at their local Cowboy Church. Debra’s goal is to shine a light toward God while she entertains readers with her words.

Disclosure: I received a digital copy of this book in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.