Dare to Love Again by Julie Lessman

This book is the second in the series.  Her first book is titled Love At Any Cost.  You can read this book by itself as the main characters are not featured prominently in the first book.  However, you won't really understand all the secondary story lines without starting with the first book.  This book follows Alli McClare who is opening a school for girls with her mother and cousin.  She meets Nick and immediately clashes with him.  Alli has had her heart broken several times and Nick isn't looking for a relationship.  However, there is an attraction that exists between them.  They both have issues in their past that they need to resolve before they can even think about a future together.

I enjoyed this book a lot.  At first, I wasn't sure who was what, but as I gradually got into the story, I remembered what I had read in the previous book and so I was able to put things together.

I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

Smitten Book Club by Colleen Coble, Diann Hunt, Kristin Billerbeck, and Denise Hunter

This book is a follow-up to Smitten and Secretly Smitten.  I've read both of these books and I really enjoyed them.  The four characters in these stories are all part of a book club.  One of the women finds a book while they are sorting old books for a sale to raise money for a friend, Molly, whose husband died.  This book contains romantic advice from a deceased citizen.  It is also suppose to contain clues to a treasure that is buried.  This treasure was supposedly buried by Molly's deceased husbands relative.  The women hope to find the treasure to help Molly.  The first one to read the book is Heather, who is still trying to deal with a past heartbreak.  The next one is Abby who stays busy taking care of her  mother and has little time for anything else because of that.  Lia is the next friend who reads the book.  She is a teacher whose mother gets involved in her love life.  Finally, there is Molly who is trying to save her deceased husbands business.  The stories were all separate but connected to each other as well.  I honestly enjoyed this book and have enjoyed all three Smitten books.

I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

Love's Sweet Beginning by Ann Shorey

This is the third book in the Sisters at Heart series.  I was not familiar with the other books in this series so I didn't know the background of some of the characters.  I think it might have helped to understand Jacob's character a little better.  However, I did not feel like I was missing anything by reading this story before the other ones in the series.

This story centers around Cassie who moves back to Noble Springs with her mother who thinks that her brother is there.  However, when they arrive, her mother's brother is not there.  They are basically penniless and leaving with friends.  Cassie, who has never worked a day in her life, decides that she needs to find a job in order to take care of herself and her mother.  She goes to Jacob's mercantile and diner and talks him into letting her work there.  Lots of misunderstandings occur throughout the story.  One of the twists involving a central character, I didn't see coming until about 2/3's through the book.  Overall, I enjoyed the story and I think I will go back and read the first two books in this series.

I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

This book will be released on February 4, 2014.

Ann Shorey's Site

A Match Made in Texas by Karen Witemeyer, Regina Jennings, Carol Cox, Mary Connealy

I absolutely LOVED this book!  Connealy and Witemeyer are two of my favorite authors and I've enjoyed the books that I've read by Jennings and Cox as well.

A Cowboy Unmatched by Karen Witemeyer follows Neill Archer, the last of the Archer brothers, who is introduced to us in her book, Short Straw Bride.  He ends up helping out a young widow, Clara Danvers, due to an anonymous note left for him about a job.  Even though the story is short, since its a novella, I didn't feel like it was rushed.  I loved that Neill's brothers were there for him in the end.

An Unforeseen Match by Regina Jennings is the next novella in the book.  The main character is Grace O'Malley, one of the former school teachers, who is losing her vision and so the town has set her up in the house that Clara Danvers lived in.  Clayton Weber comes to town to get money so that he can buy a claim.  He goes to the schoolhouse where the town is meeting and ends up with a newspaper article advertising for help for Grace.  There is a misunderstanding that ensues as well as some forgiveness and reconciliation that happens in the end.

No Match for Love is the story that Carol Cox wrote.  Lucy Benson decides to take a job as a companion.  She has been living with friends but she feels like she needs to step out on her own.  She travels and meets Andrew Simms who has hired her to help his Aunt Martha, who he thinks might be going crazy.  When Lucy arrives, at first, she thinks the same thing and then her opinion changes.  Lucy learns that things are not always as they appear.

The finally story is Meeting Her Match by Mary Connealy.  This story centers around Hannah Taylor.  She is the schoolteacher as well as acts as mother to her younger siblings.  This changes when her father marries and they end up kicking her out of the house and setting her up where her new "mother" used to live.  Marcus Whitfield has had a crush on her, but he is too shy to know how to approach her to let her know.  Due to some conspiring by some of the ladies in town, her life takes an unexpected turn.  She also learns that sometimes you just need to open up your eyes and what you are missing may have been in front of you all along.

I received this book for free from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

A February Bride (A Year of Weddings) by Betsy St. Amant

This story is a part of a series of novellas that are being released each month electronically.  The series is called A Year of Weddings.  This is the third novella to be released.

Allie Andrews leaves her fiance, Marcus Hall, standing at the altar on their wedding day.  She was overcome with worries about having a marriage like her grandmother, mother and aunt before her so she decided to run.

You can buy this book from Amazon

I received this book for free from Netgalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck

This is the second in Hauck's Royal Wedding Series.  It picks up the story of the long lost princess that was introduced at the end of Once Upon A Prince.  Reggie quit her accounting job to follow her heart into the car restoration business.  She finds out she is the princess when Tanner, the Minister of Culture, comes to tell her and to take her back with him so that she can claim the throne.  Reggie is thrown into a world of uncertainty and is unsure what God's will for her life is.  She struggles with what she wants to do.

Once I started reading, it took me a few minutes to remember what had happened in Once Upon A Prince.  However, after I remembered the story, I was drawn into what was going to happen with Reggie and what she would decide to do.  I loved the story and will definitely read it again in the future.

This book is scheduled to be released on February 4, 2014.

I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

Favorites of 2013\Books for 2014

Here is a list of some of my favorite books that I read in 2013.
The Governess of Highland Hall by Carrie Turansky
The Alaska Brides Collection by Various
Gunpowder Tea by Margaret Brownley
A Talent for Trouble by Jen Turano
A Bride for Noah by Lori Copeland and Virginia Smith
A Bride for All Seasons by Brownley, Clopton, Conneally, Hatcher
The Miner's Lady by Tracie Peterson
Fired Up by Mary Conneally
Rosemary Cottage by Colleen Coble
Remember Me When by Ginny Aiken
Swept Away by Mary Conneally
The Icecutter's Daughter by Tracie Peterson
The Quarryman's Bride by Tracie Peterson
Barefoot Summer by Denise Hunter
Out of Control by Mary Conneally
Trouble in Store by Carol Cox
Stealing the Preacher by Karen Witemeyer
Once Upon A Prince by Rachel Hauck

Some of my favorite authors:

Colleen Coble
Robin Lee Hatcher
Karen Witemeyer
Tracie Peterson
Ginny Aiken
Mary Conneally

Here are the books I'm excited to read in 2014.

A Match Made in Texas
Princess Ever After by Rachel Hauck
The Headmistress of Rosemere by Sarah E. Ladd
The Dancing Master by
Dare to Love Again by Julie Lessman
Four Weddings and a Kiss by Conneally, Brownley, Hatcher, Clopton
The Heart's Pursuit by Robin Lee Hatcher
Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble
Seagrass Pier by Colleen Coble
Smitten Book Club by Coble, Hunt, Hunter, Billerbeck
A Sensible Arrangement by Tracie Peterson
A Moment in Time by Tracie Peterson

South Carolina Brides by Vicki McDonough

This book appealed to me since it is set in the state that I live in.  I love reading about places that I have been to or am familiar with even though it is set in a different time period.  I loved this book and I am sure I will read it again.

Here is a glimpse from goodreads:

Visit historic South Carolina where secrets disrupt the lives of three women. A cousin’s quest takes a drastic turn when she falls for the man she thought she despised. A young woman’s sheltered world crumbles after she finds a badly beaten stranger on a nearby plantation. And a sister’s heart is torn when the neighbor who killed her brother in a duel returns home a changed man. Between betrayal and lies, is there room for love?
I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

This book will be released on February 1, 2014.

The New England Romance Collection by Various

I love these stories and I find myself going back and rereading them again and again.  It makes it easy when I don't have a lot of time, but I want to read a good story.

A little glimpse from goodreads:

New England is not just colorful in autumn but throughout the history of its states—including Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Through the trials and triumphs of the early years of American history, to the turbulent 1930s, enjoy five stories laced with history, faith, and romance. Will these couples find a place to call home among the northeastern states?

I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

This book will be released on February 1, 2014.

Sadie's Secret by Kathleen Y'Barbo

I have not read the previous two books in this series so some of the characters backstories I was not familiar with.  However, that did not keep me from enjoying the story.  I may have enjoyed it more if I was more familiar with the characters but I would definitely read it again, after reading the first two books.

A glimpse from goodreads:

Louisiana, 1890--Sarah Louise "Sadie" Callum is a master of disguise, mostly due to her training as a Pinkerton agent but also from evading overprotective brothers as she grew up. When she takes on a new assignment with international connections, she has no idea her new cover will lead her on the adventure of a lifetime.

Undercover agent William Jefferson Tucker is not looking for marriage--pretend or otherwise--but his past is a secret, his twin brother has stolen his present, and his future is in the hands of the lovely Sadie Callum. Without her connections to the world of upper-crust New Orleans, Jefferson might never find a way to clear his name and solve the art forgery case that has eluded him for years.

Only God can help these two secret agents find a way to solve their case and uncover the truth about what is going on in their hearts.
I received this book for free from NetGalley.  I was not required to write a positive review for receiving this book.

This book will be released on February 1, 2014.

Kathleen Y'Barbo's Site