Friday, December 11, 2015

"All is Calm, All is Bright" by Colleen Coble


{{It’s December and that means Christmas book reviews here on BFCG! Unlike how we did last year with every review day being a Christmas book, this year just Monday & Friday will be reviews of Christmas books. Wednesdays will be reserved for new releases. :) A couple giveaways are also scheduled this month, so keep an eye out!}}



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“All is Calm” by Colleen Coble

About this book:

  “Brendan Waddell needs a place to recuperate. Lauren Everman needs a place to hide. It's going to be an unexpectedly romantic Christmas at Bluebird Ranch.
  Brendan Waddell has always considered Bluebird Ranch a little piece of heaven: an idyllic ranch that pairs abused children with abused horses, run by one of his old Marine buddies. Now, recovering from an on-the-job injury, Brendan thinks the ranch is the perfect place to spend Christmas healing up.
  When Lauren Everman was a seventeen-year-old foster kid, Bluebird Ranch was the safest place she knew. Now it's the perfect hideout for a woman on the run. As the witness to a murder, Lauren needs somewhere to lie low, and her skill with horses means she'll be able to lend a hand with the troubled kids at Bluebird—without answering too many questions.
  Lauren's rich hair, high cheekbones, and dark eyes immediately get Brendan's attention—but so does her secretive behavior. This Special Ops Intel man knows a woman on the run when he sees one, and he's not about to let her put Bluebird Ranch at risk.
  But as Brendan and Lauren get to know each other, their suspicions evaporate and romance starts to sizzle. But this would-be couple has more to worry about than each other—there's a killer on the loose who wants Lauren kept quiet.”


Series: It’s connected to the author’s series titled, “Lonestar”.


Spiritual Content- Mentions of prayers; Mentions of God; Mentions of Christmas, Jesus’ birth & Bible reading; A mention of singing Silent Night.


Negative Content- Mentions of curses that are said but not written; All about a murder & witnessing it (up to semi-detailed); An attack & a bandana (semi-detailed); Mentions of blood, bullets & threats (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of killing, bodies & shooting; Mentions of drugs & shots; Mentions of putting a horse down; Mentions of dead horses (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of abused children & abused horses; A couple mention of cow dung;
              *Note: A mention of hauling someone’s butt to jail.


Sexual Content- a forehead kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed & three detailed kisses; Wanting to kiss (semi-detailed); Touches & Warmth (semi-detailed); Noticing & Smelling (semi-detailed); Mentions of flirts & a wandering eye; Mentions of seducing & stealing a boyfriend; A mention of having the hots for someone; Brendan’s (married) dad had a string of women and his brother ended up the same way; Love, love at first sight, falling in love & the emotions;
             *Note: A mention of breeding horses and a stud.

-Lauren Everman
-Brendan Waddell
                                         P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        97 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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“All is Bright” by Colleen Coble

About this book:

  “A romantic, Christmas wedding at her seaside hotel gives Delilah a chance to shine with her unique gifts. But will her light be snuffed out before the bride and groom say “I do”?
  As manager of the Tidewater Inn, Delilah Carter has been planning a spectacular Christmas wedding for her friends at the grand hotel overlooking the ocean. While picking up still more twinkly lights and some last-minute groceries for the reception dinner, a huge truck runs her off the freezing, wet roads into the dark night. Her car stops just short of an enormous tree and the truck speeds off into the night. Delilah escapes with her life and has almost convinced herself the whole thing was an accident, but then she begins to receive threatening phone calls. With the wedding just hours away, she's distracted and anxious. Then Sheriff Tom Bourne stops by the inn and volunteers to help.
  Tom has always had a soft spot for Delilah, and he's determined to protect her. But he is pulled away by a bizarre Christmas stunt that has the neighborhood reeling, and Delilah is attacked again.
  Will Delilah have to cancel the Christmas wedding at Tidewater Inn? And will Tom's protection be enough to save Delilah from the shadowy figure looming in the background?”


Series: It’s connected to the author’s series titled, “Hope Beach”.


Spiritual Content- Thanking God; Mentions of prayers; Mentions of God & being a Christian; A couple mentions of a church Christmas play; A mention of Heaven & hell.


Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘doggone it’, a ‘heck’ an ‘idiot’, and five ‘stupid’s; Almost drowning & “beating death” (semi-detailed to detailed); Threats, calls & being ran off the road (semi-detailed) An attack, pain & a fire (semi-detailed); Mentions of drownings (semi-detailed); Mentions of attempted murder; Mentions of stalkers; Mentions of drugs & jail; A couple mentions of arson & a fire.  


Sexual Content- Two forehead kisses and a married semi-detailed kiss; Hand holding & Touches (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (semi-detailed); Smelling; Mentions of dating, courting & going out; The beginning of labor (up to semi-detailed); Love, falling in love & the emotions.

-Delilah Carter, age 33
-Tom Bourne, age 37 
                                         P.O.V. switches between them
                                                        82 pages

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

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Pre Teens-

New Teens-

Early High School Teens-

Older High School Teens-

My personal Rating-

Each little novella had a really cute part in it, but I wasn’t a fan of the rest. In the first novella, “All is Calm”, had a cute puppy part, but was so kissy! I’m not a fan at all of love at first sight stories and with all those kisses, I really wasn’t a fan.
The other novella, “All is Bright”, had a cute part (but I can’t say what because of spoilers) and more Spiritual Content, so I liked it a bit better than the other novella in this collection. The Negative Content was a bit too real for me, though, so that I wasn’t a fan of either. “All is Bright” is heavily about others in this series and since I haven’t read that series, I got lost a few times. The ending really was heavy about the “Hope Beach” series as well, though I had a guess who the person was.
Both of these novellas felt like novellas…very short. I think this will be the last book by this author I read, since I haven’t truly enjoyed any books I’ve read by her.


See y’all on Monday with a new Christmas review! :)


*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author.
*I received this book for free from the publisher (Thomas Nelson) for this honest review.

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