The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano

 The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple, by Joanna Davidson Politano, is a story with many layers that unwraps slowly while drawing the reader into the intrigue. This author consistently delivers beautiful fiction that is clean and appropriate for all ages. Lily Temple is a silent film star, one wrapped in mystery. Peter Driscoll is an independently hired investigator, his job: to find the truth about Lily's identity. Lily evades questions and, while other outside sources try the same thing, manages to invite Peter into her world and into her heart. Another local mystery teams them to find a missing child. All the while, the gardener friend from Lily's memories lingers somewhere out there...with clues along the way. 

This book was a delight to read. Not one to read quickly, took me about a week to finish it. 

Highly recommended. 

This book provided for review by Revell.  

Never Fall Again by Lynn H Blackburn

 Never Fall Again, by Lynn H. Blackburn, is the first in the Gossamer Falls series by this romantic suspense author. I have really enjoyed Lynn's books in the past and was so looking forward to a new one. This book didn't hook me as quickly as some of her previous ones. There is a gospel theme in it and that was really nice to have in it. The main character, Landry (I kept reading it as Laundry lol) was not as likable as I wanted her to be. She kind of got on my nerves and seemed weak. I did like Cal though. I was rooting for them to get together and was happy when they did. The Haven seemed like an interesting place and I would have liked more of the action to take place there. There seemed to be a lot of filler stuff in this story, stuff that didn't really lead the story forward but was more like dinner at someone's house or shopping. I was hoping for more suspense than this delivered.

This was a clean read and is good for all ages. Nothing in this that I would caution against. Easy to read and a good way to spend a few hours.

This book provided for review by Revell. 

All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

 All My Secrets, by Lynn Austin, is the story of the women in the Stanhope family - heiresses, the grandmother, mother, and daughter. The story takes place over many years in three timelines, going back in time as the character telling her story instead of a separate timeline. I enjoyed the way Austin wrote this, it was very easy to follow. 

As with Austin’s other books, I was drawn in from the first page. I don’t even bother reading the back cover copy of her books anymore, because I know I will love it no matter the topic. 

All My Secrets stays true to the author’s commitment to writing a clean book with strong Christian themes. This went so far as to have the gospel presented fully by the characters. 

This book was a treasure to read and I know the characters will stay with me for a long time. 

Look for it soon from Tyndale  

The divine proverb of streusel by Sara Brunsvold

 The Divine Proverb of Streusel, by Sara Brunsvold, is the second book I’ve had by this author. I really liked her first book a lot more. I could not get into this book at all. I think I got to page 20 and then it just hadn’t grabbed me and I didn’t care about any of the characters at all so I put it aside and forgot about it. I was getting confused as to who was who, so the included family tree Diagram is really needed for this book. The premise sounded interesting to me, but when push came to shove, I found myself disinterested in this altogether.

This book provided for review by Revell. 

2024 Reading List

 

January

1. One Hit Blunder by Christy Barritt (Kindle)

2. Edgewater Road by Shelley Shepard Gray (Kindle)

3. Sycamore Circle by Shelley Shepard Gray (Kindle)

4. Permanently Booked by Lisa Q. Mathews

5. Force of Nature by Dana Mentink 

6. Moonlight, Murder & Small Town Secrets by K.C. Hart (Kindle) 

7. All My Secrets by Lynn Austin

8. A Novel Murder by Elizabeth Penney 

9. Bitter Words by Jan Fields 

10. The Grim Reader by Margaret Welch 

February 

11. Boundaries by Dr. Henry Cloud and Dr. John Townsend

12. A Deadly Chapter by Jan Fields  

13. An Autographed Mystery by DeAnna Julie Dodson 

14. Second Edition Death by Elizabeth Penney

15. A Crime Well Versed by Marlene Chase

16. A Murder Unscripted by Elizabeth Penney

17. Pride and Publishing by DeAnna Julie Dodson  

18. A Literary Offense by Elizabeth Penney

19. Up to Noir Good by Jan Fields

20. On Pens and Needles by Sandra Orchard

21. Ink or Swim by Catherine Dilts 

22. Tell No Tales by Marlene Chase

23. Page Fright by Elizabeth Penney 

24. A Fatal Yarn by Allie Pleiter

25. Read Between the Crimes by Lucy Averill

March 

26. From Fable to Grave by Marlene Chase 

27. A Fateful Sentence by Lucy Averill 

28. Cloak and Grammar by Allie Pleiter

29. A Lost Clause by KD McCrite

30. A Thorny Plot by Catherine Dilts

31. A Scary Tale Wedding by KD McCrite

32. Never Fall Again by Lynn H Blackburn 

33. Leave the Lights on by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

34. The End of the Road by Christy Barritt (Kindle) 

35. Reckless Christianity by Holly Pivec and R Douglas Gievett 

36. A Lady's Guide to Marvels and Misadventure by Angela Bell

37. Stars Over Sunset Boulevard by Susan Meissner

April

38. Betsey. A Memoir by Betsey Johnson

39. The Elusive Truth of Lily Temple by Joanna Davidson Politano

40. Stranger in the Looking Glass by Jan Fields

41.The Secret Letter by Mary Blount Christian 

42. The Christmas Riddle by Susan Sleeman

The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt

 The Warsaw Sisters, by Amanda Barratt, is a stand-alone novel that whisks the reader back to 1940's Poland at the beginning of WWII. Antonina and Helena watch their world unravel as loss affects them both in different ways. This is the first I've read of this author. It took me a while to get into the book and I almost gave up because I was having a hard time with the switching back and forth between the sisters. I just kept reading and then had to go back and find out which sister's story was being told at the moment. I loved how they both did what they could to help during the war time. The book didn't grip me as I had hoped it would (and as others from this era have). It was a clean read, and enjoyable. Just took me a little longer to get into it than I prefer. 

This book provided for review by Revell. 

Summer in the Spotlight by Liz Johnson

 Summer in the Spotlight, by Liz Johnson, is part of the Prince Edward Island Shores series but reads fine as a standalone (which is how I read it). It started off as a cute story with blossoming love between the two main characters, Kelsey and Levi, friends since childhood. The imposing weatherman wasn't a threat at all, unlike what the back cover blurb stated he would be, and the little bits of "did he write that?" amounted to nothing - almost like the author decided not to unwrap that part of the suggested storyline. The story started cute, as I said before, but quickly went downhill for me as the characters became more and more juvenile in behavior. I had to force myself to keep reading. And Mama Potts, took me a while to figure out that she was Levi's real mother and for some reason everyone called her by that name, even her children. Weird. 

Overall, it was okay. I would recommend it if you need a light read. It was clean and sweet.

This book provided for review by Revell.