A Tree, A Book, and A Breeze

The Word Changers Ashlee Willis Conquest Publishers Her parents’ marriage is falling apart. Fifteen-year-old Posy feels her life is falling apart with it. Retreating to an old library down the street, she selects a mysterious book in a secluded corner and is magically drawn into its story... Posy finds herself in a kingdom ruled by a cruel and manipulative king and queen who have attempted to usurp the role that belongs only to the Author of their story. The princess has fled and the kingdom is teetering toward rebellion. Posy is joined by the Prince Kyran as they fight with the characters of the story against their slavery to the Plot. Posy and the prince search beyond the borders of the story for the runaway princess. They visit mysterious places, face horrifying monsters, and fight fierce battles. They make both friends and enemies as their journey leads them into many dangers. But some of the worst dangers, Posy soon finds, lie deep within her own heart.  Now Posy must

Annie's Stories Cindy Thomson Tyndale The year is 1901, the literary sensation The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is taking New York City by storm, and everyone wonders where the next great book will come from. But to Annie Gallagher, stories are more than entertainment—they’re a sweet reminder of her storyteller father. After his death, Annie fled Ireland for the land of dreams, finding work at Hawkins House. But when a fellow boarder with something to hide is accused of misconduct and authorities threaten to shut down the boardinghouse, Annie fears she may lose her new friends, her housekeeping job . . . and her means of funding her dream: a memorial library to honor her father. Furthermore, the friendly postman shows a little too much interest in Annie—and in her father’s unpublished stories. In fact, he suspects these tales may hold a grand secret. Though the postman’s intentions seem pure, Annie wants to share her father’s stories on her own terms. Determined to prove hers

Murder at the Mikado Julianna Deering Bethany House   Just as Drew Farthering thinks his life has found smooth waters, Fleur Landis, an old flame, reappears in his life. She's married now, no longer an actress, and he expects she'll soon disappear--until she comes to him in dire need. The lead actor in her old troupe's production of The Mikado has been murdered, and Fleur is the police's number one suspect.   Drew would love nothing more than to just focus on his fiance, Madeline, and their upcoming wedding, but he can't leave Fleur in the lurch--even if she did break his heart once. As Drew, Nick, and Madeline dive into the murder, they discover more going on behind the scenes of the theater troupe than could ever have been imagined. Nearly everyone had a motive, and alibis are few and far between. It's Drew's most complicated case yet I love the “feel” of this series. The books themselves aren’t faultless, of course, but there’s s

Sincerely Yours Laurie Alice Eakes, Ann Shorey, Amanda Cabot and Jane Kirkpatrick. Revell From my earlier rant on novellas you’d think I’d stay away from them…alas, I can be somewhat of a hypocrite at times. But it’s not novellas or short stories themselves I have a problem with; it’s just that if they’re not done well I get easily annoyed with them. But when I saw this anthology, I was attracted to the lovely cover…and pretty covers are defintely my downfall. Not to mention, after reading some very large, thick classics, I needed an easy read.  The first story, A Moonlight Promise (by Laurie Alice Eakes) was a whirlwind romance aboard a riverboat-neither my favorite plot nor setting, I'll admit. There was some typical romantic daydreaming that I always get impatient with, and I found it about average in regard to its quality, but it was passable.  The second, Lessons in Love (by Ann Shorey), was my favorite- instead of being border-line annoyed by the romant

A Place in His Heart Rebecca DeMarino Revell Anglican Mary Langton longs to marry for love. Puritan Barnabas Horton is still in love with his deceased wife and needs only a mother for his two young sons. And yet these two very different people with very different expectations will take a leap of faith, wed, and then embark on a life-changing journey across the ocean to the Colonies. Along the way, each must learn to live in harmony, to wait on God, and to recognize true love where they least expect to find it. This heartfelt tale of love and devotion is based on debut author Rebecca DeMarino’s own ancestors, who came to Long Island in the mid-1600s to establish a life–and a legacy–in the New World. Judging from the cover and title, I admit I was expecting a full-out romance from this book. In fact, the main reason I got it was because I learned the story was supposed to be based on the author's real-life ancestors, and that was just too cool to pass up reading, if y

Blades of Valor Sigmund Brouwer Waterbrook  Thomas is finally in the Holy Land and reunited with Sir William, but is forced to travel on his own from the coast through Nazareth, and finally to Jerusalem. The road is a dangerous one—especially to a lone traveler. Bandits masquerade as slaves, traitors appear to be allies, and once again, Thomas doesn’t know whom to trust. He must rely on his own resources to discern friend from foe, and to finally discover the final key to the Druids' master plan before returning home to expose them.  Back in England, a final storm is brewing against Thomas, for the Druids are much more powerful than the Orphan King can even imagine So these books have always been facepalm-and-stress-inducing because they’re always wavering back and forth with, “this is a bad guy…no wait, he’s a good guy. Nope, he must be a bad guy, yeah we’re all sure he’s a bad guy…oops. Nevermind. He’s good.” Please, someone just TRUST someone, okay! I kind o

Full Steam Ahead Karen Whitemeyer Bethany House Nicole Renard returns home to Galveston, Texas, to find her father deathly ill. Though she loves him, Nicole's father has always focused on what she's  not . Not male. Not married. Not able to run Renard Shipping. Vowing to find a suitable husband to give her father the heir he desires before it's too late, Nicole sets out with the Renard family's greatest treasure as her dowry: the highly coveted Lafitte Dagger. But her father's rivals come after the dagger, forcing a change in Nicole's plans. After a boiler explosion aboard the  Louisiana  nearly took his life, Darius Thornton has been a man obsessed. He will do anything to stop even one more steamship disaster. Even if it means letting a female secretary into his secluded world. Nicole is determined not to let her odd employer scare her off with his explosive experiments, yet when respect and mutual attraction grow between them, a new fear arises. How