Agatha Raisin and The Wizard of Evesham

The local ladies all deem Mr John a wizard, so when Agatha finds a few grey hairs on her head - and the rinse she tries at home turns her hair purple - she makes a beeline for the handsome Evesham hairdresser. And as well as sorting out her hair it soon becomes clear the charming man also has designs on her heart - but their future together is cut short when Mr John is fatally poisoned in his salon.

Once again Agatha finds herself embroiled in a murder case. Was it one of Mr John's many customers, all of whom divulged to him their darkest secrets?


Book eight in the Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton is a delight.


With James Lacey away, and Mr. John being such a handsome, charming man, what choice does Agatha have but to cozy up to him - especially when mystery surrounds him? Is he just a nice man who genuinely cares for his customers, a womanizer or a blackmailer? Agatha sets a trap to find out for sure - only to have Mr. John murdered right before her eyes. 


Agatha sets out to solve the murder with the help of Sir Charles Fraith and Roy Silver by her side. But can she find the killer before the killer finds her?


A great story.

Jody

Agatha Raisin and The Wellspring of Death

When Agatha finds the council chairman murdered at the basin of Ancombe village spring, tongues start wagging. 

Agatha Raisin's neighbouring village of Ancombe is usually the epitome of quiet rural charm, but the arrival of a new mineral-water company - which intends to tap into the village spring - sends tempers flaring and divides the parish council into two stubborn camps.

When Agatha, who just happens to be handling the PR for the water company, finds the council chairman murdered at the basin of the spring, tongues start wagging. Could one of the council members have polished off the chairman before he could cast the deciding vote? Poor Agatha, still nursing a bruised heart from one of her unsuccessful romantic encounters, must get cracking, investigate the councillors and solve the crime.

The seventh book in the Agatha Raisin series by MC Beaton does not disappoint. Agatha still longs for James Lacey to return her affection as she tries to solve another murder. Roy Silver makes an appearance as he draws Agatha into the water company PR. And Mrs. Bloxby, as always, adds a bit of reason to the mix. 

Wonderful addition to the series. 

Jody

Texas Wildflowers

Texas Wildflowers by Anita Higman is a collection of four short stories that are all connected by the main characters being sisters.

The four McBride sisters risk their hearts for love in the islands, canyons, mountains and bayous of Texas.

Deserted at the altar, a devastated Rosy McBride heads back to Galveston Island and begins working at her mother’s scrapbooking business. Will spending time with Larson Brookfield help mend her broken heart, or will she merely wind up pasting away?

Christian counselor Lily McBride relies on her quirky common sense and God’s wisdom to help her clients. Will she be successful at her new career or break the most solemn of counselor/patient vows by falling for the handsome, eccentric, and impossibly irresistible Rubin McCall while hiking the Palo Dura Canyon?

In the mountain town of Alpine, Violet McBride owns Romantic Images, a business that teaches people how to live romantically. Will Morgan Jones, a geek she meets online, show her the real meaning of romance and the art of love?

Heather McBride’s picture-perfect life has unraveled in the bayou. Will the free-spirited Evan Finch not only reawaken her artistic passion but also give her the courage to fall in love—without her day-planner?

Will God help give these women the pluck to love the least likely of soul mates?

An Interview with Anita:

Tell us a bit about Texas Wildflowers.
Texas Wildflowers is a 4-in-1 novella collection through Barbour Publishing. Each novella is set in an exotic location in Texas. They are lighthearted romances, and they’re all tied together with the four McBride sisters.

Which of the four novellas was the most fun to write?
They were each fun to write in their own way, but my favorite character was Lily, the counselor, in Forget Me Not Lily. She was quirky and fun, relatable and loveable. At least that’s what I hope readers will feel.

All these novellas are set in Texas. Are the towns and parks real?
Yes, in fact one of the novellas is set in Big Bend National Park, where my husband and I went on vacation. So, when you read about the characters on certain trails, they’re real, and we hiked them!

Did you have a favorite book when you were a child? I loved fairytales. Cinderella was my favorite.

Do you have a vacation spot you’d love to visit?
I’m dreaming of Ireland. My husband and I plan to travel there next summer. Can’t wait! Then I’m going to use the emerald isle as a setting in one of my novels.

What are 5 things that your readers might not know about you?
1. While I was in college I tried working in a pillow factory. I was terrible at it. I got so weary with the repetition I started yakking with the woman next to me. We got reprimanded over and over until I quit. I discovered one thing from that college job—talking is something I excel at.
2. I once won a hog-calling contest at a banquet. I was not embarrassed, but I should have been.
3. I have a bird phobia, and yet I love birds! (That is, from a distance.) My house is filled with the fake kind—prints on the walls, statues, and general bird doodads. Go figure.
4. I keep some interesting treasures near me when I write—a wooden jewelry box my son made me when he was in school, a candle from the 1960s, a hat once owned by a famous mystery writer, the inner parts of a music box, a birthday card that plays The Twilight Zone theme song, and an old family toy helicopter that says, “Going up.”
5. Thirty-four years ago I rappelled off a cliff alongside the man I was dating. We kissed in mid-air while dangling off that cliff. I ended up marrying that man, and we've celebrated our 33rd wedding anniversary!
What awards have you won?
I’ve won two book awards. One of my co-authored books entitled, A Tribute to Early Texas, won a San Antonio Conservation Society Citation as well as a Westerners International Book Award. Also, I was given three honors by readers: I was a Favorite
New Author in the 15th Annual Heartsong Presents Awards, and my co-authored novel, Castles in the Air, was a Favorite Contemporary Romance in the 16th Annual Heartsong Presents Awards. My most recent award is a 2011 RWA Readers Choice Award (first place) for my novella, Once Upon a Christmas Eve.

When readers finish the last page of Texas Wildflowers, what do you want them to come away with?
I would love for them to be inspired, challenged, and entertained. If I accomplished even one of those things I would feel my writing time wasn’t wasted.

These four short stories are a great little diversion from a busy day. Short enough that they can be read quickly but long enough to get to know the characters and root for the love connections to work out.

Jody

My copy was provided by Cathy Carlton Willis Communications for my honest review.

Christmas Stories

Christmas Stories by Max Lucado is a heartwarming collection of short stories based on how God demonstrated His love for us over the Christmas season.

These stories—like your favorite Christmas ornaments—come in all shapes and sizes. They unfold in a variety of settings, from ancient Bethlehem to rural England. From a small Texas town to the heavenly realms. Some are short. Others many chapters long. Some offer reflections. Others imagine Christmas through the eyes of a burnt-out candle maker, a lonely business man, or heavenly angels.
Yet all are vintage Lucado, and all resonate with the wonder of the season.
"In the mystery of Christmas," Max writes, "we find its majesty. The mystery of how God became flesh, why he chose to come, and how much he must love his people. Such mysteries can never be solved, just as love can never be diagrammed. Christmas is best pondered, not with logic, but imagination."
That's what each of these unique Christmas stories help us do. In the midst of the bustle and hurry that often distracts us this time of year, these stories free us to explore the ways in which Christ's coming has forever changed history—and us.

Enjoy Max's unique view on Christianity and God's love - it will warm your season.

Jody

My Kindle copy of this title was provided by Book Sneeze for my honest evaluation.

An Amish Kitchen

The Amish Kitchen is the Heart of the Home – and the Ideal Setting for Stories of Love and Hope.
Fall in Paradise, Pennsylvania always brings a brisk change in the weather. This time also provides unexpected visitors, new love, and renewed hope for three women.
Fern has a green thumb for healing herbs and flowers, but longs for love to bloom in her life. The next-door neighbor’s oldest son Abram comes running into Fern’s kitchen seeking help for his little sister. The crisis soon leads to a promise of romance—until an incident threatens to end their growing attraction.
Nearby, Hannah runs her parents’ bed and breakfast, Paradise Inn—but her life feels nothing like Paradise. She longs for a man of integrity to enter her life, but never expected him to knock on the front door looking for a room. Will she be able trust Stephen with her future once she discovers his mysterious past?
When a storm blows a tree onto Eve’s farmhouse, she has little choice but to temporarily move her family into her parents’ home. Outside of cooking together in the kitchen, Eve and her mother can’t agree on anything. But this may be just the recipe for hope in healing old wounds.
Three Amish stories—each celebrating love, family, and faith—all taking place in a tight-knit community where the kitchen truly is the heart of the home.

These three stories are a wonderful way to spend a few hours taking a break from a busy life. Stories of love and redemption with characters that overlap in small ways through the other stories. Nothing here to give away what happens in the other stories so they can be read in any order.

I enjoyed all three stories although I did feel one of them ended rather abruptly, just when it seemed like it was building to something, it was over. But all in all, they were all enjoyable.

There are recipes in the back of the book as an added bonus.

Jody

My Kindle copy of this book was provided by BookSneeze for my honest review.

Courting Cate

Courting Cate is the first book in the Courtships of Lancaster County by Leslie Gould.

When Amish farmer Pete Treger moves to Paradise Township, Pennsylvania, seeking a better life, he meets sisters Cate and Betsy Miller. Both are beautiful, but older sister Cate is known more for her sharp tongue and fiery temper than her striking appearance. Betsy, on the other hand, is sweet and flirty--and seems to have attracted most of the bachelors in Lancaster County!

However, the sisters' wealthy father has made one hard and fast rule: elder sister must marry first, before the younger can even start courting. Unfortunately for poor Betsy, and for the men who want to court her, her older sister, Cate, doesn't have any suitors--until Pete comes to town, that is.

Though he finds both sisters attractive, something about Cate's feisty demeanor appeals to him. Soon the other bachelors in the district convince Pete to court Cate. She hardly seems receptive to his overtures, though. Instead, she's immediately suspicious of his interest.

Is Pete courting Cate because of the other bachelors? Is he interested in her wealthy father's money? Is it possible he really is interested in Cate for herself?

I enjoyed this book. The thing with the "bonnet romances" is that you know where they're going to end up. The fun thing is how each individual author chooses to get to that ending. Cate and Pete faced some unusual challenges that I don't normally see in these kinds of books but I enjoyed the telling. I'm looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

Jody

My Kindle copy of this book was graciously provided by Bethany House publishers.

A Wreath Of Snow

Liz Curtis Higgs' Christmas novella is a wonderful way to get yourself into the Christmas spirit.

All Margaret Campbell wants for Christmas is a safe journey home. When her plans for a festive holiday with her family in Stirling crumble beneath the weight of her brother’s bitterness, the young schoolteacher wants nothing more than to return to the students she loves and the town house she calls home.

Then an unexpected detour places her in the path of Gordon Shaw, a handsome newspaperman from Glasgow, who struggles under a burden of remorse and shame.

When the secret of their shared history is revealed, will it leave them tangled in a knot of regret? Or might their past hold the threads that will bind their future together?

Follow Margaret and Gordon through the detour on the road to redemption and forgiveness. Can they find a place of peace and happiness at Christmas or will the past threaten their future?

Mrs. Higgs' is a wonderful author and this book certainly does not disappoint.

Highly recommend.

Jody

My Kindle copy was generously provided by Waterbrook Multnomah for my honest review.