Reprinted with authors permission:

Her high school sweetheart–the one who broke her heart, not once, but twice–is now a respectable cop. He’s back in town and wants another chance at love.

Taysia Green nearly chokes on her water when Officer Kylen Sumner shows up in her office claiming he’s back in town because he loves her. Since he’s broken her heart more than once, and she recently started dating youth pastor Blaine Pittman, she wants absolutely nothing to do with Kylen. But he’s been asked to stand in as the mediator between Taysia and wannabe model Sophia Clinesmith, who twisted her ankle in the parking lot of Taysia’s business and is threatening a lawsuit.

If she didn’t need him to help save her gym, Taysia would tell Kylen to take a long midnight walk on a short cliffside trail.

She’s perfectly happy with her life just the way it is.

So why is it that just the sight of Kylen Sumner sets her traitorous heart to dancing faster than it did the time Blaine kissed her?

my point of view:

One of my very favorite tropes is second chance at lost love….even before I ever knew love on a personal level! So naturally, I adored this story from the very beginning. This is the first book I have read of Lynnette Bonner’s, and I was very pleased. Taysia is absolutely precious in her own way, she had me laughing and crying right along with her!

Kylen is a force to be reckoned with, for sure. He has made up his mind there is no way he is letting Taysia go again…..unless that is God’s will for their lives. I especially liked how Taysia knew she truly never stopped loving Kylen, but was fearful of having her heart broken again. It’s only when she finally let’s God be in control that she breaks down her walls….but of course, even then there are still bumps in the road ahead for them!

Each time these two main characters interact is entertaining in itself! Add all the secondary cast of the story and it makes for an excellent read! I am definitely looking forward to reading more about Marie, Reece, Blaine and hopefully Brice too! 

As I heard just recently, it’s not always about the destination, but more about the process of the journey! I believe that is one of the reasons I love to read Christian fiction so much, we all kind of know where the destination will end up, but – oh the journey!! Thank you, Lynnette, for taking us readers on this glorious journey!

About the Author:

Born and raised in Malawi, Africa. Lynnette Bonner spent the first years of her life reveling in warm equatorial sunshine and the late evening duets of cicadas and hyenas. The year she turned eight she was off to Rift Valley Academy, a boarding school in Kenya where she spent many joy-filled years, and graduated in 1990.

That fall, she traded to a new duet–one of traffic and rain–when she moved to Kirkland, Washington to attend Northwest University. It was there that she met her husband and a few years later they moved to the small town of Pierce, Idaho.

During the time they lived in Idaho, while studying the history of their little town, Lynnette was inspired to begin the Shepherd’s Heart Series with Rocky Mountain Oasis.

Marty and Lynnette have four children, and currently live in Washington where Marty pastors a church.

Lynnette has been so generous to offer a free e-copy of this amazing book to one of our readers! Simply comment here and tell us what part of the world you currently live in! Giveaway will be open for one week from today and winner will be notified via email!

Waiting on Tuesday
Bethany Foley spends a lot of time waiting—waiting in parking lots for kids, waiting for her husband to change his mind, waiting for her heart to heal, and waiting on God to work a miracle and save her marriage. Her husband has left her for another woman, and she’s facing a daunting future of running her ballet studio alone and raising two small children part time. There’s nothing Wyatt Foley wants more than to finalize his divorce and move on with his life. He’s got a new girlfriend, his construction business is booming, and he’s about to put a deposit down on a new life. He’d like to put his past in the rear view mirror, but his children are a constant reminder of what he’s leaving behind, and he can’t shake the feeling that somewhere along the way, he took a wrong left turn. Through a series of divine connections and well-timed revelations, God intervenes. Wyatt’s world is turned upside down. Bitter truth forces his face to the mirror and his knees to the floor. And just a few miles away, his wife discovers something sacred about silent spaces of trust: God is in the waiting. With the girding support of some amazing friends, an unexpected opportunity to rescue a girl, and divine intervention from an unlikely source, she learns that with God, there’s nothing broken beyond repair and it’s never too late for a happy ending.

my point of view:

One word for this book – ah.maz.ing. Seriously powerful story about how God is truly the Great Rescuer. I fell in love with Lea Sims’s writing when I read Running from Monday (you can see review if you search the archives) and have been not so patiently ‘waiting’ for Waiting on Tuesday to be released. You first meet Bethany in Running from Monday, but I promise you – this book can completely stand on it’s own. A little background on me – I will be perfectly honest with you, I am divorced and married to my second husband since 2004. I never looked back once, but my circumstances were entirely different!

I was completely pulled into Bethany’s story from the first page, so much so that I was completely and utterly prepared to not like Wyatt….at all….ever, lol. That, of course, turned out not to be the case, because Lea has a way of writing that simply tugs at your heart strings and makes you see things and circumstances – and people – as God wants us to see them. There were times I had to literally pause while reading to just absorb the written words….or just catch my breath and dry my eyes. At one point my coworkers were asking if I was okay, as tears streamed down my face while I read this on my lunch hour – which actually turned into a lunch hour and half because I could not stop reading….shhhhhh. 

Then there were the sessions that both Bethany and Wyatt experience with the pastors ring with such honesty and truth, it was a joy to read this book! I also know zilch, zero, zip about dance…but again, the way Lea writes, I could see the dancing in my mind, and it actually brought real tears to my eyes…how does that happen? Fantastic writing is how, trust me!

There is so much I could keep saying about this beautiful story, but I want you all to experience the joy of reading it yourself, and don’t want to spoil it for you! Lea has a way of tackling very hard issues for women, issues that most people do not want to talk about. But this is her ministry, really, reaching so many people she couldn’t otherwise. I truly believe that through her writing, Lea is helping women heal from past issues we may never even have known were still being carried around by us. I know I am speaking on behalf of myself when I say I can truly hear God’s Spirit speaking to me through her stories…..and I believe in my heart I cannot be the only one who has experienced this through Leas Sims’s novels.

About Lea Sims

Lea Sims is an author, teacher and ministry leader living in Jacksonville, FL, who writes Christian fiction books, study guides, and biblical resources designed to help women unlock their personal narratives and find freedom, identity, and purpose in God. A professional writer for 25+ years, she has published books, articles, white papers, and resources in the technology space, and has spent the last 10+ years writing women’s ministry resources for Celebration Church in Jacksonville. A self-declared “ambulance driver for the Kingdom,” Sims has a passion for rescuing women from broken places and seeing them walk out of pain and into their purpose.

Love’s Redemption:

Tragedy sent Holden Armstrong to the bottom of a liquor bottle. He spent a year there before coming to his senses and has been fighting the addiction since. But giving up alcohol is easier than forgiving the man who took his family away from him. And then there’s Izzy. She calls him every time she needs a designated driver. He’s happy to pick her up any time she needs a ride, but the alcohol causes her to cross the line every time. It’s obvious that she needs help, but he can’t be her solution. God is the only one who can fix Izzy Tanner, if only she’d let him.

Izzy Tanner does whatever she wants, says whatever she thinks, dates whomever she wishes. There is nothing wrong with her casual way of living—at least, that’s what she tries to convince herself and others. Only one man could tempt her into something more serious, but nothing will ever come of it. Holden Armstrong is too good for the likes of her. When a date goes terribly wrong, it changes everything. Unwanted memories from the past resurface, leaving her broken and ashamed.  She begins to question her life and the choices she has made.

What will it take for Izzy to accept God’s calling?

my point of view:

Have your box of tissues handy when you get to read this third installment of the Walden Beach series by Andrea Boyd – you are going to need them! Elizabeth Tanner is first introduced to us in Irresistibly Yours, book one of the Walden Beach series as Vivian’s baby sister. I knew from the first that Izzy was going to need her own story, thank goodness, Andrea Boyd thought so too!! Everyone has a past, and everyone has regrets, things we are ashamed of, etc, but it’s so hard when YOU are the one that is in living with the heartache. How does one become worthy of God’s love and forgiveness? I am sure we all know the answer to that one – we don’t! We aren’t worthy, that’s why grace is such a blessing!

What I found so interesting in this story was the unexpected story of Holden. I knew Izzy was going to have a rough road….and believe me, it is. But Holden was a bit of surprise! While Izzy struggles with her journey, Holden wants to be a help to her, but he also has his own issues to deal with. Holden’s story is one that could stand on it’s own, and needs some tissues as well, but when you put Him and Izzy together, well, it just melts your heart!

I cried, I laughed, I screamed, I smiled…..but most of all I found understanding once more, just how lucky we are to have a Lord and Savior who does not count our every fault and mark it against us….but who always welcomes us with open arms as soon as we are ready to accept Him! The main take-away I get from this story is forgiveness….not only do we all need God’s forgiveness, but we need forgive those around us who have hurt us or failed us in so many ways, but we need to forgive ourselves too! Honestly, it was as if this story was written for me, I have struggled with forgiveness and worthiness all my life, and as often as I can tell myself different, our hearts need reminding now and then, and this story from Andrea Boyd does that reminding in the most beautiful way!

All I can say is thank you, thank you, thank you for writing this book for me….lol, okay, I guess you wrote it for many people, but it felt personal to me! Did I mention that a Mustang convertible is my DREAM car too??

Please, friends, if you are reading this review, get this book!! I truly believe you too, will be blessed from reading it!

Inspiration behind Love’s Redemption in Andrea Boyd’s own words:​

Let’s talk about Izzy Tanner.

I don’t know how it is for other authors, but I don’t plan out how things will go for my characters. For me, characters march through my mind telling me their own story. I first wrote Izzy into existence as Vivian Emerson’s sister in Irresistibly Yours. Right from the beginning, I knew there was something different about Izzy. She had the same parents, the same upbringing, so what caused her obvious brokenness?

Then she whispered it to me. My initial response—God, please no, I don’t want to write about that. Izzy’s story is not my story, but that thing that happened to her, it happened to me too. I won’t spoil the story, but it involves a #metoo #churchtoo situation. I had healed from the ordeal, but I avoided reading about it. I certainly never planned to write about it. But above everything God knows my heart. He knows my greatest desire is for his will to be done, not mine.

Right after this, every book I picked up had something to say about the subject. I knew what God was up to, so I powered through. There was a lack of hope and of healing in some of these stories. It became clear to me why God meant for me to write Izzy’s story.

And let me tell you, this wasn’t an easy story to write. I’ve never cried so much over a book, ever. There were some parts where God would give me the words and tell me, “Write it just like this.” He used this story to minister to me and my hope is it does the same for you.

Andrea is being so kind as to offer a free ebook to one of our commenters on this post, please tell us what YOUR dream car is? Contest will be open for one week from today and winner will be notified via email! 

In a dangerous search for his missing daughter, will a reserved math teacher and a rough-around-the-edges ranch owner find love-or lose their lives?

After her fiancé died in her arms, Liv Knox gave up on romance and dedicates her life to her ranch. But when a friend needs her expertise as an ex-runaway and a former PI, she agrees to help Diego Laguardia find his missing daughter. Now not only does Liv have to draw on her traumatic memories, she also struggles with her untimely attraction to reserved and kind Diego. When someone makes it clear they might die if they don’t stop the search, can she solve the mystery in time and hope that God will restore her heart?

Math teacher Diego Laguardia is desperate to find his daughter before something bad happens to her. Enough people dear to him have paid for his mistakes. Though he’s drawn to rough-around-the-edges cowgirl Liv, he has no time for romantic feelings.

my point of view:

I am so blessed to have found this amazing author – Alexa Verde – and to be able to call her friend! She writes some of the most amazing stories that go straight to your heart, well, my heart, anyway! I don’t know how she manages to capture the depth of pain and suffering these characters go through, but I can tell you, she is spot on. I say it all the time, I love a book that can make me FEEL….I have my reasons for that. I know what it is like to blame oneself for other’s sufferings, and I know what it is to have a wall built so solidly around your heart for so long you cannot even remember the last time you felt something….but I digress.

Lets talk about Liv and Diego! Liv was first introduced in Heart Healed to us as the tough rancher that prefers horses to humans. I knew even then that this woman would eventually have a special place in my heart! Liv has been through so much, from childhood through her teens, and as an adult, that most people would be broken beyond repair! It takes the disappearance of Kylie, a teenager she does not even know to break through her shell and force her to help in the search, knowing what the young girl faces being a runaway on her own.

Diego is such a mess himself, with his own heartaches from a past he’d rather forget, now just when he finds out he has this amazing daughter, she runs away and is in possible danger! Diego is way out of his element here, I mean what’s a math teacher to do? There are no algorithms to solve this problem. When his half brother, known to us as Rat, sends Liv to him because God said to, well, who is he to argue with that? But does he have to be so attracted to Liv, all the while trying to find his daughter, and keep everyone from being hurt by death threats?

The journey these two have to take is both heart wrenching and beautiful at the same time. Being believers does not make us all knowing with wisdom and light, sometimes we really need to dig deep into ourselves and take a step out in faith, and this story is a reminder to all of us that there are times when we all need to have a little more faith in ourselves, just as we place so much faith in our Lord and Savior!

Thank you for another wonderful book, Alexa Verde!!

About Alexa Verde: