Promise Me This is the first book I've read by two-time Christy Award-winning author, Cathy Gohlke.  But from her research details to her easy-reading writing style, I can see why she's received the honors.

Promise Me This is historical fiction that spans from the voyage of the Titanic to the end of World War I.  Sweeping and involved, this story is filled with memorable characters — from the self-sacrificing Owen Allen to the self-centered Aunt Eleanor, each one drove the story to its hard-fought end.

Annie Allen, a girl of fourteen at the book's beginning, has the most spiritual growth while Michael Dunnagan, a scrawny, starving lad of fifteen when he stows away upon the Titanic, grows emotionally into a man worthy of Annie's love.

Delightful secondary characters include Aunt Maggie and Daniel McKenica in America and the Spragues in England, each one showing another facet of God's amazing love.

Long, with one hardship heaped upon the characters after another, the plot climaxes on the French battlefield with Annie and Michael separated once more.  But during that dark separation is when they find the deep truths of God.  Annie (nor any of us) can be salvation for another.  And for Michael, he grasped that the laying down of one's life for another goes even beyond dying that the friend might live. To sacrifice and count it only gain.

I doubt you will find reading this book much of a sacrifice, and I suspect you will gain much through experiencing the lives of these characters.

Thyme for Love is a romantic mystery that is strong on the romance.  The story opens with April Love meeting her ex-fiance after eight years.  She's applying for a job as a chef. Marc Thorne works at the non-profit company she's interviewing at.  He wouldn't be her boss — until the boss turns up dead the next morning.

Ramon Galvez's death is ruled a heart attack, and life goes on for those at the His Helping Hands Ministry.  Except a variety of characters make for good suspects when April begins to question the authority's ruling.  Ramon's ex-girlfriend is top of the list.  But Ramon's gold-digging sister isn't far behind.  Then there are the folks that work at the mission — the maintenance man, the disgruntled accountant, the director of the board, two office workers, and, of course, Marc and Bob Cousins, men who are now vying for Ramon's position.

The romance between April and Marc is stalled because Marc now has a secret he won't share about what happened in the last eight years to derail his oh-so-important agenda of grad school. But as work circumstances and dating opportuntiies keep them together, April begins to see that as a couple they had deeper issues when they were engaged than she'd realized.  Perhaps it was for the best that they had time to grow up separately.

Still, she feels they can't move forward until Marc can trust her with his secrets.  Good thing she has a murder to solve while she's waiting on him.

Clean, straight-forward writing.  Easy to enjoy characters.  Simple romance.  I rarely figure out the killer in mysteries, so that doesn't surprise me.  I'm not sure I followed all the motives, though.  Why don't you give it a read, and we can chat about why the characters did what they did?

The Superlative Stream is the second book in The Dark Trench Saga, a Christian science fiction trilogy.  Marcher Lord Press puts out good fiction and this is no exception.

I had read book one, A Star Curiously Singing, before I started to post reviews, so I can't refer you back to refresh your memory.  But I had already met Sandfly and Hard Candy and knew they were seeking that singing star aboard the Deep Trench spaceship when book one ended.

Book two picks up while they are enroute.  Between the spaceship, the main characters, and the aliens they meet on a planet that shouldn't be possible, there is too much spiritual stuff going on for me to want to try to break it down. But suffice it to say Sandfly encounters the Superlative Stream.

I look forward to what he does with his new relationship in his old world, a horribly messed up and enslaved world.

Well written. Engaging. Wonderfully creative.  And challenging.  Try some Kerry Nietz fiction. 

I read Reinventing Leona on Kindle so I don't have the book spine to tell me what genre the professionals categorized this novel.  I'm guessing Women's Fiction because the heroine was middle aged and didn't fall in love during the course of the book.  I don't think it is giving away too much of the story to say that Leona grieves the loss of her husband and re-establishes her relationships with her children.

This was a surprisingly emotional read for the underlining snarky humor of the characters.  Leona has been a preacher's wife for 30 years.  The kind of preacher's wife who allowed the members of her husband's church to have way too much say in her life.  Now with the preacher gone, she's rebelling against the idiosyncrasies, the legalisms, and the poor choices the flock makes.

Both Leona's son and daughter take after their mother instead of their easy-going father  in their outlook on the congregation.  So more snarky humor comes through their point of view.

But just when I was thinking that Leona's husband must have been a horrible preacher to have been at this one church for 18 years and left no Spirit-filled, God-loving members behind, Maddie (the daughter) has a wonderful moment with the organist. Mrs. Wilkerson had given Maddie organ lessons when she was a child, but Maddie hadn't been interested in practicing.  Now Maddie is becoming a doctor.  Mrs. Wilkerson says, "I've been praying the Lord uses your hands to his glory.  And he will.  Practice and these hands will make the music of healing."

Reinventing Leona had lots of great character situations.  Bertie was over the top, as were most of the church members, but once I got into the tone of the novel, I rolled with it.  People who like slap stick comedy will enjoy this novel.

Plus, I teared up like five times.

Which just reminds me of my favorite line.  When Leona's best friend tries to convince her that she needs to cry before she drowns, Leona responds with this thought:  Dammed-up tears had ample room in her hollow chest.

Lots of character growth for Leona and her children.  I wouldn't have minded seeing another month of their lives.

Patty Froese is a new author at Desert Breeze Publishing and to the best of my knowledge this is her first book. 

When I started reading Pretty on Paper, I was reminded of the Harlequin romances I loved to read in the 80s.  It wasn't that the hero was rich and arrogant — Jake was well aware of his short-comings, though he was a lawyer and a workaholic.  It wasn't that there was a love scene three quarters of the way through the novel — this Christian fiction stayed on the safe side of its characters' passion.  I think it was the writing style that reminded me of the good ole days, just taking me one gentle scene at a time deeper into the foibles of Anne and Jake's relationship.

Pretty on Paper is a short contemporary romance set in small town, Charity Falls.  It has the age-old city girl/country boy theme going on, tweaked a little to question another not-so-old conundrum:  Should moms stay at home to raise their children at the expense of not using a God-given talent?  Jake says yes. He's participated in one failed marriage where neither partner made the marriage a top priority; he doesn't want to do that again.  Anne says no.  Her own mother was a career woman, and Anne didn't suffer because of it.

I think what pleased me the most about this book was how the romance developed.  They just liked each other. When the differences in their life goals surfaced, they were disappointed, because they liked each other and had hopes of seeing something deeper develop.  As much as they knew they shouldn't see each other, they both continued to find reasons to do just that — because they liked each other. They weren't cruel, selfish, or even immature.  They didn't spend the entire book spatting and then decide they were going to get married anyway.  They just liked each other. And eventually that like was strong enough to help both of them to compromise and realize they were in love.

Oh, there is a bit of mystery, too.  Anne's on the hunt to find out the secrets of her great aunt, the same aunt who recently died, bringing Anne to Charity Falls to care for her inheritance, a house, a cottage, and a little bookstore called Perfect on Paper.

Give this story a try and see what memories it evokes for you.

First the confession:  I read this book over a month ago and haven't found the time to do any reviews since.

Second, because this book came to me as a complimentary review copy, I learned how to open pdf files into ibooks.  (Just some useless information for you, but it made me quite happy.)

Third, the review.

Another enjoyable read in 2012.  Pursued is romantic suspense, and it does have some suspenseful moments. The book opens with Reggie Meyer simply having a bad day, from work issues, to car issues, to house issues.  But the trashed house is criminal and would be terrifying if it wasn't for the fact that the new guy she just met in a little, um, fenderbender is with her and offers her a place to stay — his sister's home.  Really, guys, this is Christian romantic suspense, and he is the hero, not a villain in disguise.

Bad guy ex-boyfriend is probably the one who trashed Reggie's house, but she doesn't believe he would shoot at her. She doesn't know who else would.  But someone is definitely trying to kill her.

Some readers may have a problem with professional lawyer, Reggie, allowing a practical stranger to take charge of her life.  Not me.  The author kept Reggie's disbelief at her own choices so open that I believed circumstances were pushing her to places she wouldn't normally go.

Some readers may have a problem with the lengths our helpful hero, Dylan, took to care for our heroine, a practical stranger, no matter how attractive he found her.  Not me.  He was a good guy, looking for ways to show this woman he cared.

Pursued moved from plot point to plot point as the bad guy attempts to silence Reggie, and Dylan manages to keep her alive.  Oh, perhaps there is more to Dylan than a farm boy who simply wants to make a good impression on an attractive woman.

Compelling story. Interesting main characters and a fun supporting cast. Lots of danger. If I could have asked for anything more, it would have been a deeper building of the romance.  But perhaps that isn't realistic when you are on the run for your life.  I wouldn't know.  Thankfully, I've never been Pursued in that sense.

I have had a farm boy woo me by going out of his way to be helpful, and, like Reggie, I have been pursued by a mighty God who wanted me to see His reality.  But the danger and suspense … I'll take that in my fiction, thank you very much.

My reading choices for 2012 are starting out well.  Shadowed in Silk is another great historical romance read.  Set in India in 1918, this story is filled with flavors and textures, life in a different time and culture, touches of historical figures, and fictional characters who are memorable by the love they show others.  Yep, I enjoyed this one.

The story opens with Abby Fraser heading to India to rejoin her husband now that the war has ended.  Though she has a 4-year old son with the man, it turns out she doesn't have much more except a dream of what being married to the love of her life could be — since she spent precious few days with the man before he returned to his military post.

Major Geoff Richards is also on his way to India, but he is grieving over the loss of his Indian troops during their campaign in France.  Whoa.  Entering another man's point of view, (other than Abby's husband), was a huge clue to this romance reader that things weren't going to go well for Abby's dreams.  POV in a romance novel practically screams, "I'm either the hero or the villain."

So when life goes from bad to worse for Abby in her new home, with her new husband, it doesn't surprise me.  But I respect her for trying to build a new life and rekindle her old love.

All the political intrigue of the era keeps the plot moving.  The secret identity of the bad guy was a cool diversion. The restrained affection between Abby and Geoff played out for me perfectly.  (It reminded me of Jane Austen or Agatha Christie, and how men were gentlemen especially in the midst of love's angst.)

I recommend this book to all romance readers who like to learn — history, interesting facts, and the nuances of human nature.

Oh, my favorite line in Shadowed in Silk was when Abby laid down her demands to her husband, and concluded with, "Remember whose daughter I am."  Though she didn't mean it prophetically at the time, I knew that by the book's end, she would know that she was a daughter of the King of kings.

Stealing Jake is an historical romance set in 1874 in a small town south of Chicago. The romance element is simple, opening with a delightful scene in which the heroine, Livy O'Brien, picks a young pickpocket to return the deputy sheriff's stolen pocket watch — without any of the players realizing she was involved. The deputy is, of course, our hero, Jake Russell.  The pickpocket, Luke, has the supporting role, though he's no more than twelve and carrying the sins of the world on his tiny shoulders.

I liked a lot about this novel.  Clean writing style. Characters easy to care about and cheer on.  A developing love story that had some spark and was believable in the characters getting to know one another. And enough going on in the story to keep me turning the pages.  But what I really liked was the basis of the plot — street kids from Chicago sold into slavery in sweatshops.

Of course, I don't like that this happened then or in other forms still happens today.  But I liked that reading this romance made me aware.  Woke me up.  Challenged me to pray more diligently for widows and orphans.

And I liked that it had a happy ending.  I thought it would.  The story's entire tone was hope and improvement.  But nonetheless, I'm glad that it had more than just a happy love story ending.

Plus, it hit on one of my favorite spiritual themes.  Forgiveness and God's grace, and living in the knowledge of who we are in Christ — new creatures.

All good stuff.  I cannot think of any reason that you wouldn't enjoy this romance.

Book 1 — Nothing but Trouble

After ten years of running from her past, PJ Sugar is lured home by her sister who is remarrying and needs PJ to care for her four-year-old son while she is on her honeymoon.  PJ is a sucker for being needed.

First day back, she witnesses a fight that leads to murder … and runs into her old boyfriend who was the cause of her disgrace ten years earlier.  And things move into more trouble from there.

Susie has an entire cast of colorful and wacky characters who keep PJ busy — her mom, her sister's new in-laws, Davy, the nephew, and then the men in her life. The men in her life caused more unease in this romance reader's soul than the mystery.  Boone, PJ's first love and highschool sweetheart, has been keeping the torch burning for her all these years.  The physical spark is still there.  What is going to keep them from getting together?

Enter PI Jeremy Kane.

Book 2 — Double Trouble

PJ Sugar continues to get into trouble (really, it isn't her fault, nor is it trouble in the sense of causing it — but after so many years of getting blamed, PJ has trouble distinguishing the difference.)

Now she works for Jeremy Kane while she is training to get her own PI license.  Boone has proposed, and she's not sure what holds her back from accepting.  Thankfully another mystery needs solved.

Book 3 — Licensed for Trouble

PJ hasn't received her PI license yet, so she intends to solve a mystery all on her own to fulfill the requirements and become a professional.  But in this hunt to find out if she can actually amount to more than trouble, PJ inherits the "mushroom house," an ancient Kellogg estate that instead leads her into a hunt of her own heritage.

Both Jeremy and Boone remain in the picture, but it's now obvious where her affections rest.

This theme of trouble … of living messy lives before God … is interesting. Susie gives the easy answer of "know God and know who you are in Christ," but PJ has a long journey to be able to even begin to grasp those truths.  She needs to learn how to distinguish her old self before Christ with the new one she now is in Him.  She needs to be able to separate her old life in Kellogg from the new life she now wants to live.  She needs to extend grace and forgiveness on so many levels (her mom, Boone, her biological family) before she is free to see where God wants her next.  And she needs to learn to let go of the familiar (PJ Sugar = trouble), before she can grasp her new life, which truly cannot be separated from her past.

All good stuff.

The writing was easy to read and the stories easy to follow.  The characters were funny, tender, and broken.  The mysteries were convoluted enough between the main mystery and side mysteries to keep me guessing to the end.  (Well, except a few points that I figured out before PJ, especially in book 3.)  My only style complaint was a few flowery discriptions that reminded me I was reading a book rather than living in PJ's skin.  I have yet to be disappointed in a Susan May Warren book and this series is no exception.

I'm sure you could find a copy if you are interested.  I don't think you'll be disappointed either.

Okay, so I read this story two weeks before Christmas and then didn't get around to a review in a timely manner.  I read it on my Kindle and that remains a different reading experience for me than paperback.

This story was a simple Amish slice of life, except we add in one heroine who went out into the world as a teenager, got a degree, became a nurse, and might well have pushed through her Christmas season homesickness to continue on in her half "English" lifestyle … if her father hadn't been in an accident and nearly died.

So Anne returns home and finds herself working with Samuel, an Amish man who doctors the Amish with basic medical needs. Though they begin with a rocky start when caring for Anne's father, they find common ground in working together at the medical clinic and delivering a baby.  Their love deepens over the month of December.

Simple.  Amish.  Christmas.

Sweet romance.