Books read Nov 22

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The Horse I Didn't Want by Hilary Walker
Author had purchased a horse for their neighbor and he is all enthusiastic about it and finds he is not able to jump the horse at all.
He is humiliated when he is tossed before the jumps or over a trench. She takes the horse on and figures out what the horse needs, with time and care.
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I received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

How Not to Rescue a Race Horse by Hilary Walker
Life of the new pony and how he is weaned and hurts himself...
Author uses a lot of different means and advice from the vet in how to care for him.
I received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

A Perfect Christmas by Hilary Walker
Loved this story for many reasons: it not only involves horses but the love the father has for his family and work.
Winter scenes are also so perfectly described with so many details, you can picture yourself in them.
The sleigh arrives at church on Christmas eve with all brightly lit windows as they pass by.
Received this review copy from the author and htis is my honest opinion.


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The End of the tail by Hilary Walker
Rules are very specific when ti comes to competitions. One is accused of a whip too long but they had won the competition...
Rules are brought forth showing about the tail section of a horse...
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

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The Horse Who Dined Out by Hilary Walker
Horse has run into a restaurant at the hotel and by the time she finds him after attempting to fix a flat tire he's in the pool.
No way can she afford to pay for damages and she learns of his widespread antics on the computer...
Love how the report saves them from having to pay for damages.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Cracklin' Ginger by Hilary Walker
Story of a horse waiting to be adopted but others find their antics offensive and they don't want the horse.
Nelson has worked with the horse and formed a bond but now he's heading off to another job...
.Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Felicity's Show Flair by Hilary Walker
Reporter is out after her to take pictures of the escapades of the horse.
She meets a man who is there at every turn and she has no idea who he is til the very end.
Horse has a mind of its own...
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

The Horse Who Went to Church by Hilary Walker

Author rode her horse to church as it was a dressage day after and the horse got away and ended up walking into the church.

Received this review copy from the author and htis is my honest opinion.

The Horse Who Hated Christmas by Hilary Walker

Like this story because Paula and her friend are able to spend a night n the barn to do some investigations.

The horse is fine except at Christmas. The horse totally hates the holiday and they are able to find out why.

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Check Out by Debra Parmley
Betsy is a naive librarian in a small town near Memphis, TN.
Nash is a Marine Vet who wanders into the library one day and she talks him into getting audio tapes rather than books.
They do date but her sister is full of drama and interferes causing their dates to end earlier than usual.
He's only got one eye and has PTSD that he talks to her about-found this interesting as I know others who also suffer.
Betsy has romantic daydreams about him, that's how much he's effected her.
The girls are out and a man attaches himself to her sister who's had too much to drink and Nash and his friends break them apart.
Malcolm is out to get Leann. She returns to college in KY.
High terror as she spots him stalking her but Nash has ideas and tells her how to be safe.
Love when Nash also went into the house and made sure it was safe for her to stay there. He's so protective. Nash has a lot of good techniques to keeping the women safe...
Misunderstandings and you wonder will it ever end.
Great short story. Other works by the author are highlighted at the end.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Wishes on Mistletoe Mountain (Flurries of Christmas Hope Book 1) by Dora Hiers

Book starts out with table of contents, dedication page, praise from reviews and verse from the Bible.

Chase now runs Wishes and his chef is having a baby at the hospital. He had posted an ad for a replacement but no luck so far.

He notices lights on the next door neighbors house, one e has a key for and he goes to check it out. He finds that Camille has come home after she had nailed him in the head with a pan.

They come to an agreement where she will cook for Wishes and he will help fix up her house and help her pack. She's trying to make a decision as to what to do with the rest of her life.

Antonio has asked her to marry him but she's not so sure that's what God wants her to do. She and Chase spend a lot of time together, memories of what they were to one another over the years and how her father sent her away right after graduation. She did get a career in baking and she has no problem fitting it at the center.

Love all the romantic places they visit when they were growing up and now that they are adults. Sounds like a beautiful area.

She knows after a kiss from him what she needs to do and heads back overseas to talk to Antonio. 

She and Catherine-the ex chef have worked together and kept Chase in the dark about some things...

Like how God has a plan for each of them and they pray often to him for guidance.

Love the descriptions, I can just picture this all in my mind. Sounds like a wonderful series.

Excerpt from Christmas on Mistletoe Mountain is included at the end.

About the author and links of where to find her on social media. Other works by the author are highlighted.

Christmas Star Sapphire by Hallee Bridgeman 

Although this is not the first in the series I don't want to spend the time reading the earlier ones.

This one starts out with a table of contents, dedication page, listing of jewel series books than the story.

Madeline arrives at her townhouse and find her parents who are there to unpack her.

She attends meetings for CRU and meets a pastor: Joe. She learns of his background and is able to share some time with him to understand him better.

She also learns of his past, his family's wealth and how he has given it all up to others. Her family is also very wealthy but she doesn't flaunt it and acts normally.

Love time Joe spends with Pastor Larry and the knowledge that he has about relationships and even finds passages in the Bible to share with him.

Love that Joe and Maddy are able to go over his father's estate after his passing. There are many things to learn, as family secrets are revealed.

The time they spend with themselves may be the answer....

Found a bonus recipe during the story for their Thanksgiving meal.

Italian words are translated at the ind along with discussion questions.

Meal plan is also included along with the recipes.

Excerpt for On The Ropes is also included at the end, note from the author, other works by the author.

 and about the author. Sign up for her newsletter link at the end.

Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

After The Tide by Lindsay Harrel

Short story about Elizabeth from AZ who's on an island in Scotland for a relative's wedding, that she's helped out with all day til one makes a comment about her getting married.

She leaves the venue and walks across the causeway not realizing hours later that the tide has come in. Callum finds her after his fishing day and invites her to his house where his grandfather is.

She learns over time that he left college to help out his grandfather's fishing business. She's always been a boring routine person and thinks she should take a risk like her relative that left everything she was familiar with.

After spending some time in the fishing cabin by the water, waiting for the rain to stop before he brings her back they learn more about one another. After the rain she wakes up and leaves to find the causeway and thinks again about her decision to head back.

Will she stay or will she go...

Caught by Karen French

Starts with praise of the author's novels and summaries of the books.

Story of Elle and she's saving money enough to now start looking into her own apartment. As she strolls the city  streets looking in shop windows and  imagines things to buy that would fit in her new place she is abducted, drugged and taken away.

When she wakes up she's in a cage and she hears others talking about sex slave and she knows  she is in harm's way.

Sloanne is the man who took her and Martell is the one who wants to buy her. Next time sh e wakes up she's in a room with a bed and not much more.

She is chained to the bed and Sloanne shows up with food. She learns he is there to help her and also more of why she was taken.

Mystery, action, scary, erotic sex, guns and action are all part of this very short story.

Wounded Wings by Shauna Allen 

Dedication and acknowledgements and location included at the start.

Elijah is grieving her being gone...story goes back in time to when he is at a diner and notices Naomi who's dropped off bakery items...

He ends up being the chef there as the last one had just up and left...

Story also follows Michael and he's on assignment and knows who Elijah is....

Beautiful that others come to her aid to help with health emergencies so she stays above water.

Other medical emergencies bring them together and also make them hesitant to one another.

She does not want the benefit to be rescheduled, it must go on.

When he realizes Naomi has gotten under his skin he knows what he has to do...

Like that there are just a handful of characters, easy to keep them straight.

Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Christmas Shorts by Mimi Barbour, Mona Risk
The book out of the collection that I was given to review:
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The Chocolate Box Christmas by Josie Riviera
This short story is about Maise who's relocated from Alaska to CA and she's taken a job being a food/writer reporter.
On this assignment she must judge the chocolate contest at a nearby shelter. She knows many of the contestants as she's been around town.
She is able to meet Ben and she discovers his secret as to why he is there. He also finds out why she doesn't really want to be a judge, especially with anything to do with chocolate.
Fun Christmas read, enjoyed it.
Book ends with a note from the author, recipes, and about the author, other works by the author in series format but all can be read as stand alone.
Received this review copy from the author and this is my honest opinion.

Wicked by Nikki Duncan (Book 3)
This book starts out with Danica and she's returned to Whispering Cove as a doctor. She likes taking care of those in the community.
She is tending to an elderly man and understands there is a family reunion and she wonders if his grandson will be attending.
She had the hots for Braydon but now he's a jetsetter, taking off in his high class boat and photographing the sights.
They do meet up with one another and there are very erotic sex scenes.
About the author and other works are listed at the end.
Other books have excerpts.

Burned Book 4 by Nikki Duncan
This story is about Vic who's been teamed up with Hauk to work on the festival displays.
She runs the hair salon and hears all the gossip. He runs the bar and has a daughter that he cares very much for.
The mother is no longer in the picture and we learn how and why. Erotic sex scenes.
Love what the daughter, Sophie wishes for every festival.
About the author and her other works are highlighted at the end.
Excerpt from the next book in the series is excerpted.

Get Me Skinny by Tony Arreola
Starts with table of contents then the story.
Aubrey is on the chunky side and is surrounded by skinny girls and wants to know the secret.
She learns from the trainer that she has a long road and she starts. Love the idea of the journal and makes so much sense to write everything down.
We had gone to a nutritionist but she never emphasized the importance of calorie intake. As long as we were eating 5-7 servings of fruits and vegetables a day they were called free food, eat as much as we wanted.
It's just been recently my spouse started making that portion of his daily intake of food a bit smaller as we are both gaining a bit of weight now...
She has days that don't go so well and falls back to her old habits til she starts to see a difference.
I can see where the information would 100% help anybody.  Love movement program in summary and exercise vs food ratios. Testimonials are included along with about the author.
Connect with the author links and other information about fitness seminars and how to make a booking with him.