Love Finds You In Lonesome Prairie, Montana : A Book Tour and Review

Title: Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana
Author: Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss
Publisher: Summerside Press
Publication Date: December 1, 2009
Paperback: 348 pages
ISBN: 978-1935416296
Genre: Fiction, Christian, Romance



About the Book:

In 1890, Julia Cavanaugh travels west from New York City to unite orphans in her care with new families.

Imagine her horror when she discovers that she's to be "delivered," too--as bride to an uncouth miner! But with no return fare, Julia's options are bleak.

What does God have planned for her on the lonesome prairies of Montana?

A more detailed excerpt is here!

My Review:

A murder trial, a mail order bride, orphans and a confused preacher are just a few elements that make Love Finds You In Lonesome Prairie, Montana not the traditional Christian western romance; rather the novel is a multi-layered novel of love, hope and belonging. Goyer and Fleiss take the reader through a beautifully descriptive novel to Lonesome Prairie, Montana, where homesteading has recently begun, and through a variety of characters, the reader learns what it truly means to belong, to have a home. I found this novel to be a quick, sharp, and heart-warming read and believe it will delight many a reader, especially ones looking for a rich novel filled with an unforgettable cast of characters, beautiful prose, and meaningful life lessons. This is indeed a novel to pick up.

About the authors:



Tricia Goyer is the author of several books, including Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights, both past winners of the ACFW's Book of the Year Award for Long Historical Romance. Goyer lives with her family in Montana. To find out more visit her website.





Ocieanna Fleiss is a published writer and has edited six of Tricia Goyer's historical novels. She lives with her husband and their four children in the Seattle area. Connect with Ocieanna on Facebook!

I have been informed there is a fantastic contest underway!

The authors, Tricia and Ocieanna, have put together one humdinger of a contest for this blog tour! Enter the Fall in Love With Lonesome Prairie Contest and WIN a perty Montana Gift Basket!

To enter, simply fill out the entry form (then tell 5 or more friends about the contest)! The winner will be announced December 14th, just in time for an old-fashioned Montana Christmas. Giddy-up!

The Winner of our ‘Fall in Love with Lonesome Prairie’ giveaway will receive a fantastic Montana Gift Basket, including:
*Winter fleece throw
*Huckleberry chocolate bar
*Paula Dean candle
*Burt’s Bees gift set
*Wild Huckleberry taffy
*Montana stationary notebook
*Montana greeting card set
*Montana ball cap
*Montana apron
*Montana refrigerator magnet
*Charlie Russell 2010 Montana Calendar

For more fun and reviews follow the book tour.

I received a free copy of Love Found Me In Lonesome Prairie, Montana by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss from LitFuse Publicity Group. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

Lonesome-Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Here is mine:
"Why did I let myself hope? I has no right to expect a happy future-not for me, a poor orphan with no family but a flighty headmistress."

~Page 211, Love Finds You in Lonesome Prairie, Montana by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss
Tour and Review

What are you reading?

What Are You Reading Mondays?

I adore this meme, which was created by J. Kaye at J. Kaye's Book Blog . It is the perfect way for me to begin the week by helping me to focus on what needs to be read and to see what I have or have not accomplished the previous week. I also enjoy discovering new books by visiting other participants blogs.

I Read:

• The Sugarless Plum by Zippora Karz (277 pages)- Review
  
• The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate (330 pages)- Review
  
• Eat Your Way To Happiness by Elizabeth Somer (276 pages)- Review
  
• Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell (431 pages)- Review

This Week I am hoping to read:

• No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer (364 pages)
  
• Love Finds You In Lonesome Prairie, Montana by Tricia Goyer and Ocieanna Fleiss (320 pages)- Review 11/24
  
• Sometimes We're Always Real Same-Same by Mattox Roesch (317 pages)- Review 11/26
• Dear Coach: Letters Home from WWII by Lois Herr (152 pages)-Review 12/4
• Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace by Margaret McSweeney (192 pages)- Review 12/5
  

Check back next Monday to see how well, or not so well, I accomplish my reading goals.

Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell - A Book Review

Title: Perfect Timing
Author: Jill Mansell
Publisher: Sourcebooks Landmark
Publication Date: November 2009
Paperback: 448 pages
ISBN: 9781402226748
Genre: Contempory Fiction/Chick-Lit



About the Book:

When you meet the man of your dreams on girls night out, it's hardly…Perfect Timing

In this fresh and funny contemporary romance by bestselling author Jill Mansell, Poppy Dunbar's whole life gets turned upside down after a chance encounter with a handsome stranger...

Never a troublemaker, Poppy had always been content with the way things were supposed to be done—which included marrying predictable Rob McBride. But that was before she met Tom Kennedy the night before her wedding. Could she really be falling in love with a stranger?

Unable to forget Tom, or go through with the wedding, Poppy runs off to London. Her new life and colorful friends are anything but predictable. Misunderstandings, family secrets, and jealous quarrels ensue, but can Poppy stop running long enough to figure out what—or, rather, who—is in her heart?

My Review:

Reading Perfect Timing is a brilliant way to spend an afternoon. Mansell writes with such an effusive manner that one cannot help but be enthralled and at times appalled at the cast of characters and their adventures and misadventures. From painfully shy and awkward Jake to the wildly outlandish and equally stylish Angie Slade-Welch, there is a character for every reader to love, admire and despise. Poppy, Casper, and Claudia make for the most intriguing of flatmates each seemingly different and yet underneath all of the primness, entitlement, flash, and eccentricities are they each not ultimately looking for the same thing, to be accepted and loved. Perfect Timing is an extraordinarily witty and at times wickedly sarcastic look at family, love, loss, betrayal, heartbreak, and true friendship. The characters come alive and the settings are so descriptively written one can easily imagine walking into a party on Cornwallis Crescent.
Perfect Timing is indeed a page-turner, and in this reviewer's opinion, not the run of the mill chick-lit. I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, I surprised myself and I look forward to reading Mansell's other novels. I would recommend this novel to anyone looking for lovely read.

About the Author:

Jill Mansell is an internationally bestselling author, with over 4 million copies sold. She has written nearly 20 romances with multi-generational appeal. Perfect Timing is her fourth book released in the U.S., with Rumor Has It coming in Spring 2010! Mansell’s cheeky writing style is loved by fans both here and abroad and has been compared to Sex & the Cit and Bridget Jones’s Diary. Jill currently lives in Bristol, England, with her partner and their children.

I received a free copy of Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell from Sourceboks. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.

Awesome Author Challenge 2010

The Awesome Author Challenge 2010 is hosted by Alyce of At Home With Books. Why did I choose this challenge when I am already signed up for several? This challenge requires me to choose authors I have been told great things about, but have yet to read.

The Rules are quite simple to follow.

• Challenge begins 1 January 2010 and ends 31 December 2010
• Cross-overs from other challenges are allowed
• The books to not need to be predetermined and can change throughout the year.
• The authors can be from any genre, you must have heard great things about them and have not read their works.
• You must sign up here.
  

As with most challenges there are several levels of participation.

• Easy: Choose three authors and read at least one title from each author.
• Moderate: Choose six authors and read at least one title from each author.
• Challenging: Choose ten authors and read at least one title from each author.
• Over-Achieving: Anything over ten authors.

I am going to aim for Over-Achieving, I cannot help myself! The authors I propose to read are (yes I realise I have 11, not 10):

1. Shilpa Agarwal
2. Shobhan Bantwal
3. Yasmine Crowther
4. Sarah Dunant
5. Ru Freeman
6. Diana Gabaldon
7. Susan Higginbotham
8. Kathleen Kent
9. Juhmpa Lahiri
10. Kathryn Stockett
11. Jeane Westin

If you think this sounds fun for the new year, check out the official page and join in!

The Sunday Salon

This past week four reviews went up:

• The Wildest Heart by Rosemary Rogers
  
• The Sugarless Plum by Zippora Karz
  
• The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate
  
• Eat Your Way to Happiness by Elizabeth Somer
  

I am hoping to read:

• To read Perfect Timing by Jill Mansell (431 pages), review posted (hopefully) this week.
  
• To begin No Wind of Blame by Georgette Heyer (364 pages) review (hopefully) posted this week.
  

Happy Reading and please feel free to leave comments or suggestions.

All are welcome to join The Sunday Salon.

Faith 'n Fiction Saturdays- Gratitude

I have read Amy's Faith 'n Fiction Saturdays posts, but never joined in until today. I think I chose the perfect day based on the question.

Directly from Amy:

"With Thanksgiving coming up, I thought I'd keep it simple today and just ask what you're thankful for this year. Every year is so different, and we learn to appreciate different things in different seasons of life. If you have a favorite Thanksgiving book or passage from Scripture you'd like to share with us as well, please do! Or maybe even just a photo. All I'm asking is that you take a couple of minutes and let the gratitude well up in your heart and onto your blog! :)"

My Answer:

I am so very grateful first and foremost to my loving and supportive husband and three sons. Their strength and love keeps me going. Being a stroke survivor is not easy nor is being in chronic pain, yet they truly help make my journey easier. I am extremely grateful for my Skype Sisters, even if they move on, they are sisters of my heart and I am blessed. My best friend Deb, who has always stood by my side in good times and in the darkest hours. Finally, I am grateful for finding "me" in the world of Book Reviewing and for all of the tremendous support and kindness that has been extended toward me. I pray I get to know each of you better in the coming year.

Thank you Amy for this fantastic prompt! I know that I need reminders to be thankful, especially when I am struggling.

So, what are you thankful for?

2010 100+ Reading Challenge

In 2010 I am hoping to keep far better records of the books I read, as I completely lost track in 2009, granted I still have a little over a month to try and recall all I red, but honestly I just do not have the energy. I shall be trying a new method to keep track of all the books I read during the new year.

The challenge runs from 1 January 2010 until 31 December 2010. Anyone may join and any genres are allowed. For more information about the challenge or to sign up, visit J Kaye's Book Blog.

Happy Birthday-Aloha Friday

Seeing how it is Friday, today's question is going to require as little brain power as possible.

The question for today: What, if anything, do you do to celebrate your spouse's/significant other's birthday?

Today is my husband's Birthday! Happy Birthday Darling!! We will be going out to dinner followed up with a play.

Visit An Island Life for more fun Aloha Fridays.

Thriller & Suspense Reading Challenge 2010

Book Chick City is hosting the 2010 Thriller and Suspense Reading Challenge which begins 1 January 2010 and ends 31 December 2010. The goal is to read 12 thriller and/or suspense novels. On the information page there helpful lists of sub-genres. The books do not need to be chosen in advance and can be changed. This looks to be a fun reading challenge!

My proposed list:

1. The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
2. The Woman in White by Wilke Collins
3. City of Shadows by Ariana Franklin
4. Grave Goods by Ariana Franklin
5. Breathing Water by Timothy Hallinan
6. The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
7. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson
9. Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell
10. Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson
11. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs
12. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

Ramblings From A Migraine Addled Mind

I have been cycling at a pain level of 8-9 for over 24 hours now. I write this not to elicit sympathy, rather in hopes to explain what I anticipate to be an oddly formatted post.

• Many people have been kind enough to compliment me on the layout of my bog. The credit for everything cute goes to my friend Amy. Some noticed my header was all jazzed up for Christmas, the thanks for that goes to my dear friend Speedy. They both do beautiful work!
  
• Sheldon (my son's Bearded Dragon) now has a tunnel, it is being installed as I type and hopefully Sheldon will fuss with it just enough to make it a happy place for brumation. As I wrote in an earlier post, brumation is related to hibernation, but in brumation the reptile does not sleep, rather the eating and metabolism slows for the winter.
• My twin babies turned 15 yesterday and my husband's birthday is tomorrow (Friday) which means CAKE today! Where do I get my delicious cakes? The Sneaky Cat Bakery thanks to my Skype Girls! I ordered a Buckeye Cake (all three birthday guys agreed upon this one) and then 3 Birthday Cupcakes and they are huge, the picture is deceptively small, so we shall not want for CAKE! I ordered three birthday cupcakes; Mocha Mocha, Key Lime, and German Chocolate. I will post pictures later.
  
• Coffee is keeping me from wanting to crawl back into bed, not that bed helps my head much, I was up all night.
• Tomorrow, as I mentioned is my husband's birthday and to celebrate we are going out to dinner and then to the play my one son is involved in. I pray the pain level is lower by tomorrow.
• I have approximately 5 hours to feel better before we are do at the neighbours for CAKE!
• I am very thankful for coffee, ice-packs, heated rice bags, and a devoted cat to keep me company.

South Asian Author Challenge-2010

S. Krishna is hosting a South Asian Author Challenge which begins 1 January 2010 and ends 31 December 2010. On the challenge page, S. Krishna gives examples of books to choose from as well as an extensive list of authors to choose from as well. Some books I already had in my TBR pile, others I looked up and found interesting, which is how I chose my books. The challenge offers several different options of commitment for this reading challenge and I am opting for the highest level, 10 novels.

The 10 novels I have chosen are:

1. Saffron Dreams – Shaila Abdullah
2. Haunting Bombay – Shilpa Agarwal
3. The Forbidden Daughter – Shobhan Bantwal
4. The Sari Shop Widow – Shobhan Bantwal
5. A Disobedient Girl – Ru Freeman
6. The Namesake – Jhumpa Lahiri
7. A Breath of Fresh Air – Amulya Malladi
8. Rooftops of Tehran – Mahbod Seraji
9. The Girl From Foreign – Sadia Shepard
10. The Space Between Us – Thrity Umrigar

This challenge looks to be a lot of fun and will expose me to many different cultural novels. Anyone can join by visiting the South Asian Author Challenge.

Happy, Happy Birthday! Wordful & Wordless Wednesday

It seems like only yesterday I was taking this picture of both of you, my miraculous baby boys!


You have both grown up so very quickly, I want time to slow down, for both of you to stay younger for a while longer. I know that time moves forward and I want you both to know that I am so very proud to be your mother. You two are becoming fine young men and I am so very proud of both of you. Happy Birthday! I love you both so very much!
For more WW participants head to:

To view other Wordful Wednesday blogs head over to: