This turned out to be such a precious little romance! I loved it!
Greg's mother has recently passed away, and he has inherited her bridal shop. As theThis turned out to be such a precious little romance! I loved it!
Greg's mother has recently passed away, and he has inherited her bridal shop. As the story begins, he has a full day of brides ahead, but no employees available to guide them through the special shopping process. To his rescue comes Tara, a 3rd year law student needing money for survival. With no bridal shop experience, Greg has his hesitations, but Tara issues a challenge. Do you think she's up for it?
All dressed up in love is a novella, so things move along quickly. I was actually surprised at how quickly, but then I remembered how quick my own engagement and marriage came along(though still not near as quick as within this book). ;) In the past, I haven't been the biggest fan of novellas, but these days I'm finding I like them more and more. This sweet story gave me a lovely dose of romantic reading, which I crave occasionally.
Greg has his faults, as every leading man should. He's a workaholic, and he has a great deal of guilt regarding the fact that he lived so close to his mother, but never made time for her. Still, he's sweet and has a heart of gold. Tara is probably a lesson for most of us ladies. She didn't over-react to certain events that took place, and she was determined to not keep a man from his football. She was also on a super tight budget, but didn't whine about it. She didn't mind showing she could eat without embarrassment. On the other hand, she DID over-react to other events, bringing her back to a realistic character.
All Dressed up in Love is the March story within the Year of Weddings Novella. I definitely recommend it for a super quick, yet romantic story. I enjoyed my time with Greg and Tara and all the wedding shop ladies!
*I was provided an e-copy, in exchange for my honest opinion. ...more
I firmly believe that you shouldn’t go through a Christmas season without reading something from Donna Van Liere. Her books are short and sweet, with I firmly believe that you shouldn’t go through a Christmas season without reading something from Donna Van Liere. Her books are short and sweet, with a light romance. They’re clean, and always bring people together in unexpected ways. Small little connections turn into big ones, and heartstrings are always pulled. I’ve yet to make it through one of her books without tears.
I’ve read (and enjoyed) almost everything Van Liere has written. My momma has, too, and she’s not even a big reader. This book has characters and connections from her other Christmas books, but it’s been so long since I’ve read them, that I didn’t recognize everyone like I would have liked. That means I need to spend this Christmas catching up with some re-reads!
In this particular story, the focus is mainly on 4 groups of people, though we DO get to know many more, both old and new. Jennifer has a 6 year old daughter that can’t move past her dad’s death. Ryan and his daughter are looking for a new place to live, while still learning to deal with his divorce. There’s also Kaylee, who is pregnant at 16, and feeling guilty at the changes happening to her family. Stephen and Lily befriend Kaylee and try to cheer her up with all jokes, but she soon learns that the have their own heartbreak happening.
I can easily recommend this book. Add it to your Christmas line-up, for sure!
I'm thrilled I was able to enter into the land of Goldstone Wood once again! It's a land I always miss, and look forward to revisiting. The adventuresI'm thrilled I was able to enter into the land of Goldstone Wood once again! It's a land I always miss, and look forward to revisiting. The adventures never end in this land, and I never know what will happen next.
Goddess Tithe takes place within the book Veiled Rose. One of the characters, Leonard, travels in that book, but we don't see all of the adventures his traveling involved. In Goddess Tithe, we see what took place while he was on Kulap Kanya. The story is told through the eyes of a young man named Munny.
Goddess Tithe is a novella, with about 130 pages. I hate to be negative, however slight, in any way towards any book in The Goldstone series. I truly *adore* these books! I have every one of them, except this one(soon, though, Lord willing)sitting on my bookshelf, and if I ever found myself without my books for whatever reason, these would be first in line for replacements. They are all absolute favorites of mine! That said, I struggled a bit through this book. It didn't hold my attention as these books usually do, and the writing seemed different. Don't get me wrong. I DID still enjoy it, just not as much as I would have expected. I'm sure that's my own fault. Life in my household seems especially chaotic right now, and I'm sure that affected my reading. Plus, I almost never enjoy novellas quite as much as a full book, although I DO still enjoy them. And! I've been spoiled with my favorite character, Eanrin, being in the other books, and he's not in this one. ;)
Goddess Tithe is also the author's first illustrated book. Getting to see her drawing talent alongside her writing was such a pleasure!
I definitely recommend reading this book! I can't imagine you'd have any regrets about it. At the same time, I want to ask you not to let this be your introduction into the series. It's still a beautiful story, but I do think you'd appreciate the whole series more if you read them in order. Of course, I don't think it would hurt if you only read Heartless and Veiled Rose before picking this one up. If you insist on reading them out of order, I recommend Starflower and Dragonwitch. Those have been my favorites, so far, although I adore them all!
*I was provided an e-copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion. ...more
This is a book I read last year, but never wrote a review for. Now I'm attempting to clear my "read-waiting-for-review" shelf. ;)
This is the first booThis is a book I read last year, but never wrote a review for. Now I'm attempting to clear my "read-waiting-for-review" shelf. ;)
This is the first book I read by Lena, but it's the one that made me realize how unique her stories are. I've since read Songstone, which is a full length novel. I loved it, too, and can't wait to read Aire.
"Short and sweet" is the perfect description for this story! I definitely recommend Lena's books for a clean, unique fantasy escape!...more
I just cried all the way through The Christmas Note! If you are emotional, make sure you grab some tissues before you sit down with it. My mo4.5 stars
I just cried all the way through The Christmas Note! If you are emotional, make sure you grab some tissues before you sit down with it. My momma loves the Donna VanLiere books, so I've read several of them. It has been a few years, though, so apparently I forgot just how emotional her books are. My memory of the characters in Donna's other Christmas books is very vague, but I did recognize several of them. Like the other books, we get new characters as the main focus, but the previous main characters are still very much in the background.
In The Christmas Note, we meet Gretchen and Melissa. The chapters mostly alternate from each of their points of view. They become next door neighbors when Gretchen and her two children move into the same condominium as Melissa. Melissa isn't overly welcoming to the family. The story unfolds from there, slowing adding in details about the past. Being a novella, it is a very quick and entertaining read! It will definitely get you into the Christmas spirit, in many different ways!
"She was still as she listened to the reading from Luke and wiped her eyes when all the children sang "O Holy Night" and "Hark! The Herald Angel Sing." I cried, too, and I caught Dad rubbing his eyes. For Kyle's first tour of Afghanistan the soldiers sang "Silent Night" together on Christmas Day, and Kyle said nobody dared look at one another because there wasn't a dry eye in the whole bunch. Seems like the songs of Christmas have the same effect no matter where you are in the world. I cried through the entire service again."
There was just so much to think about in The Christmas Note! I had to set the book aside quite often, because I couldn't see the words past all my tears. That's really not saying all too much coming from me, though. To prove that, does anyone know the "new-ish" Lowe's commercial where a couple is dancing their way through life? I cry...every time! Like I said, that's not saying much! ;)
I still cry thinking about a scene in the book involving cookie dough. It completely breaks my heart at what horrible parents there are in the world. I'm nothing to brag about when it comes to parenting. It's hard!!! But, I can't imagine anyone being so horrible to a child! I know it gets much worse than that, unfortunately. There are just so many hurting children out there, and they need our prayers. Constantly!! I do LOVE the message that the worth of a mother isn't determined by how she cooks. It doesn't matter if the cookies come from a store bought roll of dough or if they are made from scratch out of the pantry. While I am trying very hard to cut most processed foods out of our house(slowly!), it won't make me a "better" mother.
While the story touches on very difficult topics, it is a bit sugary sweet at times. Especially with my Christmas stories, sugary sweet is perfect for my tastes, but if that's not your thing, you might not appreciate the way some things work out in the book. The Christmas Note will be a perfect addition to my momma's Christmas book collection!
*There's no profanity in here, but God's name is used in vain: My ***, etc.
*I was provided a review copy through the Booksneeze program in exchange for my honest opinion....more
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