#yearathon wrapup #crammathon

#yearathon theme for this month was Agatha Christie or mysteries

Just Plain Pickled to Death by Tamar Myers


Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay

#crammathon

Words of Wisdom Readathon

This Readathon goes from July 20-26

Mature Monday


Timeless Tuesday


Whimsical Wednesday


Thrilling Thursday


Friday Feels


Series Saturday


Sunday Funday
Read what needs finishing

Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett

About the book:
Beyond the Ashes (Abingdon Press, June 2015)

Where better to rebuild and face one's fears than in 1906 San Francisco, a city rising from the ashes?

Ruby Marshall, a young widow, is certain she'll discover new purpose assisting her brother Robert with his cancer research, but she doesn't anticipate finding new love.

Dr. Gerald Larkspur dreams of filling his empty home with family, but he'd always hoped it would be a wife and children. In the aftermath of the great earthquake, the rooms are overflowing with extended family and friends left homeless by the disaster. When Robert's widowed sister arrives, the close quarters seem close indeed.

Ruby and Gerald's fledgling romance is put at risk when Gerald develops symptoms of the very disease they're striving to cure. Together they must ask---is it worth a second chance at love when time might be short?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1IGu1bg

About the author:

Karen Barnett is the author of Beyond the Ashes, Out of the Ruins, and Mistaken. Named the 2013 Writer of Promise by Oregon Christian Writers, Karen lives in Albany, Oregon, with her husband and two kids. When she's not writing novels, she loves speaking at women's events, libraries, and book clubs.

Find Karen online: website, Twitter, Facebook

My Take:  This book is the second book in a series but you can read it as a stand alone.Ruby Marshall is tired of everyone feeling sorry for her in her hometown so she decides to go visit her brother in San Francisco.  This is shortly after the big earthquake.  Ruby intends to help her brother in the hospital he works in. Her brother was one of the doctors doing early research on the use of x-rays in cancer patients.  She meets her brother's partner in this research Dr. Gerald Larkspur, who has always dreamed of having his house filled with family by that meaning a wife and some children,not his sister, and other family and friends.
I enjoyed this book as I learned abit about how San Francisco rebuilt from the earthquake. I enjoyed all of the characters , they reminded me of holidays when my family and extended family would enjoy getting together.

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.

Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant

About the book:
Love Arrives in Pieces (Zondervan, June 2015)

For so long, Stella was known for her beauty. Now, with her heart stripped bare, she must discover who she really is.

Former pageant queen Stella Varland doesn't trust beauty anymore after her divorce. Her appearance betrayed her and led to brokenness, so instead of being beautiful, now she tries to make beautiful things, but she always falls short. So she keeps her passion for art to herself and focuses on her interior design work. But if she doesn't get another job soon, she'll be stuck living with her parents.

Contractor Chase Taylor is determined to live a life of no regrets after losing his fiancée. Now he lives life at full speed, striving to see how much he can accomplish. He knows if he slows down, he'll fall apart. So he returns home to Bayou Bend to renovate the town's old theater and is shocked to discover that the designer for the project is his old flame, Stella.

Forced to work together, Chase and Stella battle their chemistry and past as they struggle to compromise and work together on a vision for the theater. Their wills clash as they attempt to hide their brokenness---and their unresolved feelings for each other-until Chase discovers the hidden parts of Stella, while losing her trust in the process.

A near catastrophe, a fire, and a small-town gossip mill finally force Stella and Chase to realize that they have a choice---to hold on to the shards of their pasts, or surrender their fragmented pieces to the One who makes a beautiful masterpiece from their brokenness.

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1NfxL7S

About the author:

Betsy St. Amant lives in Louisiana with her young daughter and has a heart for sharing the amazing news of God's grace through her novels. A freelance journalist, Betsy is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. When she's not reading, writing, or singing along to a Disney soundtrack with her daughter, Betsy enjoys inspirational speaking and teaching on the craft of writing.

Find Betsy online: website, Facebook

My Take: I really liked this book. I gave it a four star rating.  the only thing that kept me from giving it a five star rating is the author kept reminding the reader of the two main characters previous relationship like the reader can't remember from one chapter to the next what had happened between them.  I liked that the story incorporated a homeless shelter and some of the homeless population into the story.  The main girl character let others and what she use to be define who she is now.  She had a hard time trying to get people to take her seriously. Both main characters worried to much about how others defined them and they wasted way to much time when they could have been living much happier lives.  Both characters seemed to truly want to live lives that God would want them to live.

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.

Two Roads Home by Deborah Rainey

About the book:
Two Roads Home (Abingdon Press, June 2015)

What if it's too late for dreams to come true?

Minor---but-nagging setbacks continue to sour Grant and Audrey Whitman's initiation into the world of innkeeping, but larger challenges brew when an innocent flirtation leads to big trouble for the Whitmans' son-in-law, Jesse. Jesse Pennington's friendly, outgoing personality has always served him well, especially in a career that has earned him and his wife Corinne a very comfortable lifestyle. But Corinne and Jesse are both restless---and for similar reasons, if only they could share those with each other. Instead, too many business trips and trumped-up charges of harassment from a disgruntled coworker threaten their marriage and possibly put their three precious daughters at risk.

With their life in disarray, God is tugging at their hearts to pursue other dreams. Can Corinne and Jesse pick up the pieces of what was once a wonderful life before it all crumbles beneath them?

Purchase a copy: http://bit.ly/1BdaEcG

About the author:

Deborah Raney's books have won numerous awards, including the RITA, National Readers Choice Award, HOLT Medallion, and the Carol Award, and have twice been Christy Award finalists. She and her husband, Ken, recently traded small-town life in Kansas-the setting of many of Deborah's novels-for life in the (relatively) big city of Wichita, where they enjoy gardening, antiquing, movies, and traveling to visit four children and a growing brood of grandchildren who all live much too far away.

Find Deborah online: website, Twitter, Facebook

My Take:  I really enjoyed this book.  It just proves that we all need to be diligent when it comes to the other sex. Something we might consider minor someone else could think it was something more or can make trouble for an innocent person.  Also they could make trouble for members in your family or target your children.  We must constantly be in prayer for our marriages and our children.  We also must be honest with our spouses about our dreams and goals for our families.  I love that this family is so close.  that is what I strive for for our extended family.  

I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse and the opinions are my own.

June 2015 Wrap up and July 2015 tbr

I had a really good reading month until I hit the last book of the month which took me a whole week to read because I hit a reading slump. It was a good book but I was just read out.

Hear are the book I read this month plus the star rating I gave them on Goodreads.

I started the month with a good book


Cinder by Marissa Meyer ****


Hearts that Survive by Yvonne Lehman ***


The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan ****


Yarn to Go by Betty Hechtman ****


Audio Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl **


The Maze Runner by James Dashner ****


Audio 14th Deadly Sin by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro ****


Two Roads Home by Deborah Raney ****


Love Arrives in Pieces by Betsy St. Amant ****

so I read Nine books this month.  That is good since I used to read about four a month.

My TBR for July is pretty ambitious but I will just work on the books one at a time and read those I don't finish later in the year.

Audio

An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir


Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins

Books


Scarlet by Marissa Meyer


The Power of Praying for Your Adult Children by Stormie Omartian


Remnants : Season of Wonder by Lisa T. Bergren


Frantic by Mike Dellosso


The Year of Reading Dangerously by Andy Miller


The Rising by Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jones

Reread


In Good Company by Jen Turano


Beyond the Ashes by Karen Barnett
Blog Tour


The Yearathon is the first full week of each month with different goals each month. This month's theme is Agatha Christie/mysteries so here are the books I hope to read for that. #AYEARATHON


Just Plain Pickled to Death by Tamar Myers


Death by the Dozen by Jenn McKinlay


Murder Freshly Baked by Vannetta Chapman

#CRAMATHON  is the weekend of July 10-12 so I will be finishing up any of these books that I need to finish and adding more if I need. 

For the rest of the month I will be trying to read these books.


Shadows of Ladenbrooke Manor by Melanie Dobson
Blog tour




Divergent by Veronica Roth


Friend Me by John Faubion


Monument 14 by Emmy Laybourne


The Scorch Trials by James Dashner


The Lazarus Game by Stephen J. Valentine


Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas


A Bride At Last by Melissa Jagears


The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan


The Book Thief by Markus Zusak


Wicked Charms by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton