A Stitich in Crime by Cathy Eliot

About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. 

The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

About the book: 

Thea's first quilt show is coming apart at the seams!

Thea James has accepted an assignment as co-chairperson for Larkindale's first quilt show extravaganza. Juggling the new assignment with running her antique business, she's already feeling frayed when things start to unravel.

Mary-Alice Wentworth, a much-loved town matriarch, respected quilt judge, and Thea's dear friend, is covertly conked on the head during the kick-off Quilt Show Soiree, throwing suspicion on her guests. It also appears that a valuable diamond brooch has been stolen during the attack. The family is furious. But is it because of their mugged mother or the missing diamonds?

When a renowned textile expert goes MIA and the famous Wentworth heritage quilt disappears, Larkindale's reputation as a tourist haven is at risk. Thea attempts to piece the mystery together and save the town's investment in the quilt show before Mary-Alice is attacked again . . . with far worse results.

Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Love website.

About the Author: 

Author and speaker Cathy Elliot nourishes her night-owl habit by creating cozy mysteries and more on her trusty laptop in Anderson, California. Like the protagonist in her new mystery, Cathy is an avid quilter. Besides collecting (too much) cool fabric, she also enjoys hunting for antique treasures.

Connect with Cathy online: website, Facebook

My Take:  i really enjoy cozy mystery books and this book fits that description perfectly.  I am always fascinated by Quilts of Love books as my Mother is a quilter and I see how much of herself she puts into every quilt and these stories show how each quilt is unique and is as individual as the person who makes them and as the person they are made for.  This story centers around a quilting club and the events that follow their Soiree and the assault on one of their more wealthy members. Thea takes on herself to find out who is behind all the weird things that are going on before things get worse.  This is a cozy with a mission to remind us that we need to forgive others and also to include God in all that you do.  Great book. Didn't figure it out till the end.

Hidden in the Stars by Robin Carrol

About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love series focuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

About the book: 

A quilt holds the secret to a killer still at large---and who his next victim will be.

Following an attack that killed her mother and stole her ability to speak, 21-year-old Sophia Montgomery has no choice but to accept her estranged grandmother's offer to return to their family home. Although detective Julian Frazier is working hard on the case, Sophia unknowingly frustrates him because her inability to speak thwarts her eyewitness evidence. The fact that Julian is undeniably attracted to Sophia doesn't help either, so Julian hides his feelings as concern for a trauma victim and focuses instead on finding the killer.

Little do they know, the clues to solving the case may be right in front of them, displayed in Sophia's mother's "special" quilt design. Who will realize the secret Sophia's unwittingly been hiding in plain sight? When the truth comes to light, will Sophia find her voice again? Or will the murderer---still at large---silence her forever?

Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Love website.

About the Author: 

Robin Caroll is the author of 22 published novels. When she isn't writing, Robin spends time with her husband of 20-plus years, her three beautiful daughters and two handsome grandsons, and their character-filled pets at home in Little Rock, Arkansas. She gives back to the writing community by serving as conference director for ACFW. Her books have been named finalists in such contests as the Carol Award, HOLT Medallion, Daphne du Maurier, RT Reviewer's Choice Award, Bookseller's Best, and Book of the Year.

Connect with Robin: website, Facebook, Twitter

My Take:  This book was a different take on murder mystery.  It must be very frustrating that your one eye witness is unable to speak.  Julian Frazier finds this out when he is investigating the attack of  Sophia and the murder of her mother.  This was an interesting mystery that kept me turning the pages to try and find out what the killers wanted and if Sophia would figure it out.  If you like mysteries this would be right up your alley. 

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

A Grand Design by Amber Stockton

About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love seriesfocuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories.

About the book: 

A getaway on a charming island may be just what Alyssa needs---if only she can let go of her past.

When Alyssa Denham, a single career woman, wins a fun getaway for two on Mackinac Island where her grandmother lives, she gives her carefree best friend a call. Together, they tour the old shops and hidden treasures of the quaint island while helping Alyssa's grandmother piece together an heirloom quilt. Their quest gains them entrance into the homes of many longtime residents of the island, parts of the city that are otherwise off limits to tourists.

As the quilt's story takes shape, Alyssa gains amazing insight into her grandmother's life . . . and attracts the attention of the handsome Scott Whitman, an island resident in charge of hotel transportation. Will memories of her past keep Alyssa from letting go? Or will the quest to piece together the heirloom quilt restore Alyssa's fractured heart---and bring healing to her entire family?

Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Lovewebsite.

About the Author: 

Amber Stockton is an award-winning author, a national speaker, and a direct-sales brand partner with Nerium International. She lives with her husband and fellow author, Stuart Vaughn Stockton, in Colorado. They have a daughter and a son, and an Aussie/retriever mix named Roxie. Three of her novels have won annual reader's choice awards.

Connect with Amber: website, Facebook, Twitter

My Take:  This is another great addition to the quilts of love series.  There really wasn't a big mystery to solve but the romance was a sweet one.  This was a sweet book and kept my interest in the story about the gathering of the pieces of for the quilt.  Although I do not quilt my mother does and I know how much time and skill it takes to make a quilt.  I do like the stories that have a little more action than this one had it had enough that kept my attention.

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

Maybell in Stitches by Joyce Magnin (Quilts of Love)

Maybelle In Stitches | A Quilts of Love book.

Maybelle Kazinzki can’t sew. She was after all, the only girl in the seventh grade Home Economics class to sew the zipper in the neck hole of the A-Line dress they were supposed to make. But when she finds an unfinished quilt in the attic of her mother’s house she gets the crazy idea to finish it—somehow, come heck or high water. She thinks it will help fill the lonely nights while her husband, Holden, is serving overseas during World War II.

Her recently departed mother’s quilt is made from scraps of material Maybelle traces back to her mother’s childhood, her grandmother’s childhood and her own childhood. She tries to add one of Holden’s stripes to it but the sewing is not going well and neither is her life. After receiving some harsh news, Maybelle’s faith falters and she puts the quilt away and stops trusting God. But God is faithful- no matter what. And it’ll take a group of neighborhood women armed with quilting needles to help Maybelle believe that.

Learn more and purchase a copy at the Quilts of Love site.

{MORE ABOUT JOYCE MAGNIN}

Joyce Magnin is the author of the Bright’s Pond novels, including the award-winning The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow. A member of the Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers Fellowship, Joyce is a frequent workshop leader and the organizer of the StoryCrafters fiction group. She lives near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Find out more about Joyce athttp://www.quiltsoflovebooks.com/products/31/Maybelle-in-Stitches.

My Take:  Each one of the quilts of Love books is a treat.  Even though this is a series you never know what you will find when you open one of these books except it will be excellent story telling.  This book is set during WWII and Maybelle is doing her part for the war effort by being a welder.  Her mother is a quilter but Maybelle is not.  During several hard events Maybelle finds comfort in a quilt that her mother made and also in learning how to quilt by working on a quilt her mother started.  This book helps you to realize that you can get through anything if you just rely on God.  Another good installment to the series.  

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

A Sky without Stars by Linda S. Clare

Book Info
About Quilts of Love: Quilts tell stories of love and loss, hope and faith, tradition and new beginnings. The Quilts of Love seriesfocuses on the women who quilted all of these things into their family histories. A new book releases each month and features contemporary and historical romances as well as women's fiction and the occasional light mystery. You will be drawn into the endearing characters of this series and be touched by their stories. About the book: In 1951, Frankie Chasing Bear is a Lakota caught between cultures. She wants to raise her son Harold to revere his Lakota heritage, but she knows he will need to become as a white man to succeed. After his father's killed in a barroom brawl, Harold and Frankie move to Arizona, where she begins a Lakota Star pattern quilt for Harold with tribal wisdom sung, sewn and prayed into it. She distrusts Christians, as her own parents were forced to convert at an Indian School, until she meets BIA agent Nick Vandergriff, a half-Lakota who's also caught between cultures. Nick must convince Frankie that white men and Christians aren't all bad as he tries to win her heart in order to put the stars back into her sky. Learn more about this book and the series at the Quilts of Lovewebsite. About the Author: Linda S. Clare is an award-winning coauthor of three books, including Lost Boys and the Moms Who Love Them (with Melody Carlson and Heather Kopp),Revealed: Spiritual Reality in a Makeover World, and Making Peace with a Dangerous God (with Kristen Johnson Ingram). She is also the author of The Fence My Father Built. She has taught college-level creative writing classes for seven years, and edits and mentors writers. She also is a frequent writing conference presenter and church retreat leader. She and her husband of thirty-one years have four grown children, including a set of twins. They live in Eugene, Oregon, with their five wayward cats: Oliver, Xena the Warrior Kitty, Paladine, Melchior, and Mamma Mia! Learn more about Linda at: http://www.lindasclare.com My Take:  I love how each Quilts of Love book is so different and comes at the stories of the quilts from different angles. This story is one that involves how the government interfered in the lives of the Indians and how they tried to take away the Indian.  this is also about trusting others although you have been hurt before.  Great story.  This was really a subject matter that I was awae of but didn't really know much about.  I received a review copy from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.

Aloha Rose by Lisa Carter

Book Info

About the book: When Laney Carrigan's adoptive parents encourage her as an adult to seek out her birth family, her only clue is the Lokelani quilt in which she was found wrapped as an infant. Centering her search on the Big Island, she battles fears of rejection from a family that abandoned her once before while her faith struggles to embrace God's love. Along the path to her true heritage, she meets Hawaiian cowboy/helicopter pilot, Kai Barnes. Kai is determined to protect the people he's come to regard as family against a woman he suspects of being nothing more than a gold-digger, but he finds himself drawn to Laney in spite of his reservations. He's spent his entire life seeking forgiveness from past mistakes and longs for a second chance at happiness.  Laney's painstaking journey to find restoration and a place to belong among the breathtaking allure of the Big Island will lead her closer to her past and maybe even something more. Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/qKmVW Meet the author: Lisa Carter has been published in MomSense and Christian Parenting Today. Lisa is currently teaching music at a preschool and enjoying the enthusiasm and joy for life for which preschoolers are famous. She and David have two beautiful daughters. Find out more at:http://www.quiltsoflovebooks.com My Take:  I have been really enjoying the Quilts of Love series.  Even though the books are not related it is interesting to see how each author fits a quilt into the story line.  My mother is a quilter and I enjoy reading about the various quilts.   The story in this book is a sad one in many respects when it comes to the main characters as they each have been hurt in the past and are afraid to let others in because of feeling that they may be hurt again.  I like reading about Hawaii as I have always wanted to visit there.  I like that these aren't just cookie cutter characters and you can't predict what will happen next.  An enjoyable book that had me wanting to read more by this author.  I received a review copy of this book from Litfuse in exchange for my honest opinion.

A Wild Goose Chase Christmas by Jennifer AiLee

From Goodreads.com
Upon her grandmother's death, Izzy Fontaine finds herself in possession of a Wild Goose Chase pattern quilt that supposedly leads to a great treasure. Of course, once the rest of the family finds out about the "treasure map," they're determined to have a go at the treasure themselves. And, if that weren't enough, Max Logan, a local museum curator, contacts Izzy and says that Grandma Isabella promised him the quilt.

What is it about this quilt that makes everyone want it? Is Izzy on a wild goose chase of her own, or a journey that will lead her to the treasure her grandmother intended?

My Take:  This book was a delight from beginning to the end.  It is part of the Quilts of Love series but can be read alone.  It is center around the holidays of Thanksgiving and Christmas but you could read this anytime of the year and still love it. 

Like with a lot of families now a days Izzy's family is bit dysfunctional.  they come together because they think that the quilt the their grandmother left will somehow lead to monetary gain.  There is a mystery that keeps them looking for the treasure.  And of course there is romance and all the mixups that many times go along with that.  This book will give you that bit of peace you may need during this time of year when you just need to be carried away for a short time to unwind and decompress.  This book is just the ticket you need.  

I received a review copy of this book from Abingdon Press ins exchange for my honest opinion.