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Book Review: The Blooming of Delphinium

  The Blooming of Delphinium by Holly Varni      As far as hidden talents go, Delphinium Hayes is blessed with one of the more unique ones. With the slightest passing whiff, she knows someone's most admirable or weediest characteristic. This peculiar perception never fails to give her an advantage in life--until she meets two men who turn her world upside down.      Mason McCormack has agreed to help her with a group of seniors who have taken over her flower shop as their hangout. But his assistance is not without its price, and Delphinium agrees to compensate him with beautiful bouquets that seem to possess a bit of dating magic.      Elliot Sturgis, director of The Gardens Assisted Living Facility, is determined to discover why a group of his residents keeps sneaking over to Delphinium's shop to play poker in the walk-in refrigerator. He soon finds himself as enchanted by Delphinium as everyone else. But his devotion to following the r...

Book Review: Meddling With Mistletoe

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  Meddling With Mistletoe by Liz Johnson      Whitney Garrett is preparing to enter culinary school in the spring, but first she has to sell enough homemade pies at the local Christmas markets to pay her tuition. When her oven breaks, Whitney asks Marie Sloan, proprietor of the Red Door Inn, if she can use the inn's kitchen to keep up with her orders. Marie agrees, with a catch: Whitney has to watch the three Sloan children and cook breakfasts for the Red Door in return.      The inn is busy with holiday guests--including Aretha Franklin Sloan's perpetually single nephew Daniel and Ruby, a businesswoman in town to purchase Aretha's antiques store. Intent on making a Christmas match for the two, Aretha enlists Whitney's help in her schemes. But the deeper Whitney gets, the more she realizes that Ruby is definitely not the right woman for Daniel--and the more she thinks that  she  just might be his perfect match.      Cuddle up f...

Book Review: The Warsaw Sisters

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The Warsaw Sisters by Amanda Barratt On a golden August morning in 1939, sisters Antonina and Helena DÄ…browska send their father off to defend Poland against the looming threat of German invasion. The next day, the first bombs fall on Warsaw, decimating their beloved city and shattering the world of their youth. When Antonina's beloved Marek is forced behind ghetto walls along with the rest of Warsaw's Jewish population, Antonina turns her worry into action and becomes a key figure in a daring network of women risking their lives to shelter Jewish children. Helena finds herself drawn into the ranks of Poland's secret army, joining the fight to free her homeland from occupation. But the secrets both are forced to keep threaten to tear the sisters apart--and the cost of resistance proves greater than either ever imagined. Shining a light on the oft-forgotten history of Poland during WWII and inspired by true stories of ordinary individuals who fought to preserve freedom and h...

Book Review: The Long March Home

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  The Long March Home by Marcus Brotherton Jimmy Propfield joined the army for two reasons: to get out of Mobile, Alabama, with his best friends Hank and Billy and to forget his high school sweetheart, Claire. Life in the Philippines seems like paradise--until the morning of December 8, 1941, when news comes from Manila: Imperial Japan has bombed Pearl Harbor. Within hours, the teenage friends are plunged into war as enemy warplanes attack Luzon, beginning a battle for control of the Pacific Theater that will culminate with a last stand on the Bataan Peninsula and end with the largest surrender of American troops in history. What follows will become known as one of the worst atrocities in modern warfare: the Bataan Death March. With no hope of rescue, the three friends vow to make it back home together. But the ordeal is only the beginning of their nearly four-year fight to survive. Inspired by true stories, The Long March Home is a gripping coming-of-age tale of friendship, sacrif...

Book Review: Everything is Just Beginning

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  Everything is Just Beginnin by Erin Bartels Michael Sullivan is a talented lyricist and a decent guitarist, but since he was kicked out of his band (and his apartment), he's not sure he'll ever get a record deal. Living with his loser uncle in a beat-up trailer and working a dead-end job, Michael has little reason to hope for a better future. Until the invitation for a swanky New Year's Eve party shows up in the mailbox. It's for his uncle, with whom he shares his name, but his uncle is going out of town . . . On the effervescent night of December 31, 1989--as the Berlin Wall is coming down, the Soviet Union is inching toward democracy, and anything seems possible--Michael will cross paths with the accomplished and enigmatic young heir to a fading musical dynasty, forever altering both of their futures. Award-winning novelist Erin Bartels enchants with this story of two lonely souls who have exactly what the other one needs--if they could simply turn their focus from ...

Book Review: The Secrets of Emberwild

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The Secrets of Emberwild by Stephania H. McGee A gifted trainer in a time women are not allowed to race, Nora Fenton prefers horses to men. They're easier to handle, they're more reliable, and they never tell her what to do. After her father's passing, Nora is determined to save her struggling horse farm, starting with entering her prize colt into the harness races at the 1905 Mississippi Fair. If she wins, she may have a chance at independence. But when a stranger arrives and starts asking disconcerting questions, she suspects he may have other motives than unseating her in the training job that is rightfully hers. Silas Cavallero will do whatever it takes to solve the mystery of his father's death--even if it means training an unwieldy colt for Nora, who wants nothing more than to see him gone. But when mysterious accidents threaten their safety and circumstances shrouded in secrets begin unlocking clues to his past, Silas will have to decide if the truth is worth ris...

Book review: The Rose and the Thistle

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  The Rose and the Thistle By Laura Frantz Amid the Jacobite uprising of 1715, an English heiress flees to the Scottish lowlands to stay with allies of her powerful family. But while castle walls may protect her from the enemy outside, a whirlwind of intrigue, shifting allegiances, and temptations of the heart lie within. I'm going to be completely honest when I say that I was not able to completely read through this book in time for the book review "due date". I accidently had it sent to school and by the time I got to school, I had less than a week to read it and another book...oops! :) Anyway, I am pretty sure this was the first book I read by this author (although I could be wrong...I don't really remember), and she did not disappoint! The writing style kept you interested throughout the whole story and the characters felt so real! ~Katelynn *I received a free copy of this book from the publisher (Revell) in exchange for an honest review.