"Barking up the Wrong Tree" by Janice Thompson

About this book:

  “A Champion Dog Is Off His Game
    Grab a puppy to snuggle and relax into a delightful small-town mystery in book 3 of the Gone to the Dogs series.
   Inquisitive, detail-oriented, Veterinarian Kristin Keller prides herself on winning over any dog. But has this self-proclaimed dog whisperer finally met her match in a Sheltie named Remington who has just won the Texas state agility course competition? The champion pooch is acting out of sorts—almost as if he is not the same dog. Has he, by chance, been switched out with another dog just before the next big competition? Kristin and the other Lone Star employees will do anything to help the Atkinson family figure out this mystery surrounding their beloved Remington.”

Series: Book #3 in the “Gone to the Dogs” series. Can be read as stand-alones, but would be most enjoyed if read in order. Reviews of Book #1 Here! And Book #2 Here! 


Spiritual Content- Proverbs 12:10 at the beginning; A couple Scriptures are quoted & thought on; Prayers & Thanking God; Talks about God & His will; 'H's are capital when referring to God & Jesus; Mentions of God & Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, Thanking God, & blessings over food; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of testimonies & people sharing their testimony; Mentions of churches, church going, services, & pastors/reverends; Mentions of Catholics, Baptists, & Presbyterians; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of ministries; A couple mentions of someone being so cheap that they wouldn’t pay to see Jesus on a bicycle; A mention of a song that focuses on the love God offers His children; A mention of confessing to a reverend; A mention of a godsend; A mention of a miracle; A mention of a reverend wanting to build an arbor like they had in the Old Testament days; A mention of a cross necklace; A mention of Kristin’s (Baptist) grandmother telling her husband that they don’t speak to Presbyterians; 
             *Note: A couple mentions of a reverend teasing that a certain cat might need an exorcism on occasion, but he knows a thing or two about spiritual warfare, “which comes in handy when the demons begin to dance”; A mention of a guy being Adonis material; A mention of Pandora’s box. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘gosh’, a ‘stinking’, two ‘for pity’s sake’s, two ‘for the love of Pete’/’for Pete’s sake’s, and five ‘stupid’s; A few mentions of curses (said, not written); Sarcasm & Eye rolling; Being pushed into oncoming traffic (barely-above-not-detailed); *Spoiler* A woman says her daughter is wheelchair-bound and on oxygen, but that turns out to be a lie to gain sympathy *End of Spoiler*; All about many mentions of a swapped/missing/stolen dog & who could have done it; Many mentions of sick dogs, a breeder that doesn’t care good take of her dogs, hoarding cases/puppy mills, people abandoning and abusing dogs, dog illnesses (including parvo), & deaths of dogs (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of stealing, thieves, crimes, criminals, & being arrested; Mentions of an aggressive dog & it trying to bite others (because it’s not feeling well); Mentions of alcohol, drinking, addictions, & former addicts; Mentions of manure & animal waste; A few mentions of grief after the death of a loved one; A few mentions of someone smuggling whiskey; A few mentions of being pushed into oncoming traffic; A few mentions of smoking & cigarettes; A few mentions of social media trolls; A couple mentions of a car accident & deaths; A couple mentions of the possibility of getting shot; A couple mentions of a fire (Book #2); A couple mentions of gambling; A couple mentions of lies & liars; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of the Great Depression; A mention of dogs fighting for food; A mention of cheating; A mention of an old TV show not having any bad language; A mention of farting; A mention of the phrase about a terrible smell being enough to knock a buzzard off a death wagon; 
             *Note: Mentions of TV shows, characters, & actresses (I Love Lucy, Golden Girls, & Hoarders); Mentions of a magazine (Southern Living); A few mentions of Woodstock; A couple mentions of car brands; A couple mentions of stores (Home Depot & Walmart); A mention of social media (YouTube); A mention of Boy Scouts.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two cheek kisses, a hair kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, and a border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); 
Touches, Embraces, & Hand holding (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; A ‘babe’; Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of boyfriends/girlfriends, dates, dating, & exes (including a girl’s abusive ex-boyfriend); A few mentions of a father teasing that he and his wife figured out what was causing them to have so many children; A few mentions of seeing couples kissing (barely-above-not-detailed); A couple mentions of a child being conceived on a trip; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a husband slapping his wife on the backside (teasing); A mention of flirting; A mention of a guy’s “Casanova thing”; Some love, falling/being in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Many mentions of breeding dogs (including ones that were bred a lot and their physique being saggy), stud dogs and horses, and a dog that is sterile despite being “fully intact”; Mentions of neutering dogs; A few mentions of a man not wanting to say that a woman looks like a natural in the kitchen because she’s liable to sue him; A couple mentions of miscarriages; A mention of a old TV show not having any “questionable material”; A mention of a dog’s hormones; A mention of expressing a dog’s anal glands.
 
-Kristin Keller
                                1^st person P.O.V. of Kristin 
                                                        256 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

This was so cute, the ending!! My heart! 

One thing that really stands out to me about this series is the importance of the friendships between the staff at the vet clinic. Yes, they’re co-workers, but they all have such a heart for animals and helping them, which brings the group closer together. I love the camaraderie of it all. It was really so heartwarming to read about a group that cares so much about their clients and helping animals, I just love that element. 
Another element that was so fun and continued in this third book was the sweet romance—this time between Kristin and Tyler! It was so precious! I was absolutely tickled pink about it and how sweet (& clean!) it was! 

When I really am enjoying a mystery or suspense book, my brain turns off trying to figure out who did the crime and just goes along with the characters for the ride; that’s definitely how this book was for me. It was intriguing but yet at the same time heartbreaking, because I couldn’t imagine what I would do if my dog was missing or stolen! But I knew with a book written by this author that everything would turn out just, well, peachy! ;)

Ah, I’m doing happy sighs over here now and super-duper excited to read the fourth book!

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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 (Barbour) for this honest review.

"Always Look Twice" by Elizabeth Goddard

About this book:

  “Justice Lies Just on the Other Side of Fear
     At the advice of her therapist, homicide survivor Harper Reynolds has traded her job as a crime scene photographer for a more peaceful life taking photographs of the natural world. But her hopes for a life surrounded by the serenity of the outdoors are dashed when she inadvertently captures a murder being committed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She flees the scene in fear--and loses the camera.
    Former Green Beret Heath McKade is a reserve deputy in an understaffed county who has been called in to protect Harper, a childhood friend he is surprised to see back in the area. When Harper learns that the sheriff's department can't find any evidence of the murder she witnessed, she is determined to do what she can to see that justice is done. What neither Harper nor Heath could know is how many explosive secrets from the past will be exposed--or how deeply they will fall for each other.”


Series: Book #2 in the “Uncommon Justice” trilogy. Review of Book #1 Here! 


Spiritual Content- Proverbs 18:10 at the beginning & also read, remembered, & quoted later in the story; Prayers & Thanking God; A few talks about God; 'H's are not capital when referring to God; Harper hasn’t prayed in a long time, but prays and wonders if God will hear her; Mentions of God; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; A few mentions of faiths; A couple mentions of Bibles & Bible reading; A mention of a come-to-Jesus moment; A mention of a Sunday service; A mention of being a Good Samaritan; 
             *Note: A ‘for the love of Pete’ is said; A mention of the villain thinking that Providence is shining on him.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blast’, a ‘screw-up’, a ‘shoot’, a ‘suck it up’, five ‘stupid’s, and seven ‘idiot’s; Seeing a murder & the killer (and recalling it, all up to semi-detailed); Seeing someone else shot and killed & the blood (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Finding a body that seems to be suicide (up to semi-detailed); Recalling seeing a murder of a loved one (Harper with her father’s death, up to semi-detailed); Pain, Injuries, Stiches, & Blood/Bleeding (up to semi-detailed): Explosions, Bombs, Fires, & Being caught in and near all of these (semi-detailed); Being locked in a moving vehicle (possibly an abduction/murder in progress), jumping out, & injuries (semi-detailed); Being close to a grizzly bear (close call and thinking about possibly having to kill or harm it in self-defense, semi-detailed); The villain/killer’s point of view on why he murdered people (he says he had no choice because they saw something they shouldn’t have) & his plans to kill others (barely-above-not-detailed); *Major Spoiler* The villain wants to die in a bomb instead of from cancer, and does so *End of Major Spoiler*; Harper has PTSD (homicide survivor’s guilt) after a traumatic event as a child (seeing her father murdered) & her job as a crime scene photographer; Per her therapist’s suggestion, Harper is taking a year break from her job after working on a case that hits close to home for her & has triggered grief and depression; Harper and her sister have a couple conversations about their father’s murder & recalling harsh words said to each other; Heath feel like he is to blame for his mother’s death & his father become an angry monster after her death; All about many, many mentions of murders, witnessing a murder (it’s also said that the woman was being chased and hunted by the killer), murderers, shooters, the terror of such an event, violence, crimes, crime scenes, deaths, bodies, pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Many mentions of bombs/explosions, bombers, terrorists, fires, smoke, & injuries (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of a possible suicide & how it happened (barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of car crashes, deaths, drinking, a drunk, possible drunk driving, injuries, seizures, & someone being in a coma; Mentions of having guilt after someone dies; Mentions of a mother leaving her (verbally and physically) abusive and drunk husband & leaving her young children with him (*Spoiler* Heath’s mother and when she came back to try again, there was a house fire and she was killed in it; Heath feels guilt about this because he begged her to come back home *End of Spoiler*); Mentions of being shot, psychological pain, weapons, gunfire, & screams; Mentions of injuries, stitches, passing out, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of missing people; Mentions of the Holocaust & an anti-government group that denies the Holocaust happened; Mentions of a stolen car; Mentions of hunting, hunters, & stuffed animal heads; Mentions of cancer, chemotherapy, & someone being near death (border-line barely-above-not-detailed // semi-detailed); Mentions of nightmares of past traumatic events (childhood traumas); Mentions of lies & lying; Mentions of throwing up; A few mentions of outlaws & robbing a bank; A few mentions of arrests; A couple mentions of 9/11; A couple mentions of women who have been stalked, abused, or traumatized in some way having a look of fear on their faces; A couple mentions of threats; A couple mentions of a child being upset by her parents’ fighting; A couple mentions of abused animals; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a war zone; A mention of a DUI; A mention of drugs; A mention of prison time; A mention of a possible fight; A mention of possible insurance fraud; A mention of a divorce; A mention of animal droppings; 
             *Note: Mentions of car brands; A few mentions of brand names (Nikon & iPad); A couple mentions of someone being on medication for mild bipolar depression; A mention of the author Louis L’Amour; A mention of Wyatt Earp in Tombstone.
 
 
Sexual Content- Two cheek kisses, two forehead/head kisses, an almost (barely-above-not-detailed) kiss, a barely-above-not-detailed kiss, two semi-detailed kisses, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss & an almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss someone (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Hand holding, Nearness, & Smelling; Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing & Staring (including form-fitting jeans and curves, barely-above-not-detailed); Mentions of kisses & kissing; Mentions of dating, dates, boyfriends, & girlfriends; Mentions of flirting, blushes, & winks; A few mentions of crushes; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of a guy being said to look gorgeous; Love, falling in love, & the emotions.
 
-Harper Reynolds
-Heath McKade
                                P.O.V. switches between them, Liam (x3), & the villain (x5) 
                                                        367 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

After devouring the first book in this series, I’ve been eagerly awaiting to read this second book. Mainly because of Heath who we saw in “Never Let Go” and how he instantly intrigued me, but also because of Harper being a crime scene photographer. 

After finishing this novel, I’ll say that I found them both to be fine characters. They didn’t capture my attention like Willow and Austin from the prior book, but I still enjoyed reading their story. I thought it was really interesting, though, that Heath felt different from the first book. I think that may because of the difference in who is viewing him (his younger brother that looks up to him vs himself). With Harper and her job, I found the crime scene photography parts fascinating. There wasn’t as many parts of that aspect like I was expecting, but that’s because she’s been on leave for a year, after a hard case. Harper was actually harder for me to connect to because of her not wanting to accept help from others and her lack of reason about a possible villain, but other than that, she was fine and I thought the ending was different and wasn’t expecting how it would all go. 

I do wish there had been more faith content because there wasn’t much. My main negative, I suppose, would be that Heath and Harper both looked at themselves as “too broken” and not worthy of the other’s love, which I see so much Christian Romantic Suspense that I had to try hard not to be annoyed at them. I wanted them to get over it and lean on their faiths on those parts. Overall, this wasn’t a bad story, I was interested and stayed interested throughout the 300+ pages. I plan to continue the trilogy and read the last book, Liam’s story, soon. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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.

"Catching Christmas" by Terri Blackstock

About this book:

  “This Year, Christmas Comes Just in Time 
   As a first-year law associate, Sydney Batson knows she will be updating her resume by New Year’s if she loses her current court case. So when her grandmother gets inexplicably ill while she’s in court, Sydney arranges for a cab to get her to the clinic.
   The last thing cab driver Finn Parrish wants is to be saddled with a wheelchair-bound old lady with dementia. But because Miss Callie reminds him of his own mother, whom he failed miserably in her last days, he can’t say no when she keeps calling him for rides. Once a successful gourmet chef, Finn’s biggest concern now is making his rent, but half the time Callie doesn’t remember to pay him. And as she starts to feel better, she leads him on wild goose chases to find a Christmas date for her granddaughter.
   When Finn meets Sydney, he’s quite sure that she’s never needed help finding a date. Does Miss Callie have an ulterior motive, or is this just a mission driven by delusions? He’s willing to do whatever he can to help fulfill Callie’s Christmas wish. He just never expected to be a vital part of it.”


Series: No, a stand-alone. 


Spiritual Content- At the end, in the author’s note there is a few pages about the Bible having the answers to happiness & references Scriptures (also a couple mentions of a study that mentions meditating, which the author says “We call that prayer in Christendom”); A few Scriptures are read & mentioned; Prayers & Thanking Jesus; Finn says he’s more of an “ambivalent believer in the events that Christmas celebrates” and that he mom used to take him to church before he “got too smart to believe in Jesus” (in reality, no one answered his questions as a child and that seems to have affected his interest in God); Finn wonders about the first Christmas and details about those involved (Jesus, Mary, Joseph); Finn starts to pray and realize that “Callie’s Jesus” is listening and hopes to trust Him like she does *Spoiler* When Sydney chooses to be with him, he thinks that “with certainty, I know Callie’s God is real” *End of Spoiler*; Sydney has rarely talked to God, but starts and can tell that God “takes notice” of her prayers; 'H's are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; Mentions of God, Jesus; Mentions of prayers, praying, & blessings over food; Mentions of a Bible & someone’s notes; Mentions of churches, church going, a pastor, services, & a hymn; Mentions of Heaven & someone wanting to ask Jesus a lot of questions; Mentions of a prayer room at a hospital, a nativity set there, & those in the Bible; A few mentions of a church’s choir, Sunday School, youth group, & mission project; A couple mentions of someone being older or as old as Methuselah; A mention of a Christian Christmas song; A mention of Christmas being a holy day; 
             *Note: Finn wonders if God is punishing him with some sort of “cosmic what-goes-around-comes-around”; The phrase “God forbid” is used once loosely; A mention of a godforsaken place (by Finn); A mention of someone going to “pitch a holy fit”; A mention of Finn wondering if Sydney would think it’s a mortal sin to be caught crying.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘freakin’’, an ‘oh my gosh’, a ‘sheesh’, a ‘ticked off’, a ‘shut up’, two ‘blasted’s, two ‘idiot’s, and twelve forms of ‘stupid’, Some eye rolling & sarcasm; *Major Spoilers but important content that could be Triggering* About half-way through the book, the main characters and reader finds out that Callie has a late-stage cancer that has spread (which the doctor tells Sydney to set up hospice as she won’t be getting better); A bit later, Callie passes away in her sleep and both Sydney and Finn find her, grieve the loss, and have to plan the funeral (up to semi-detailed) *End of Major Spoilers*; Sydney is representing a college-aged guy who got drunk, did drunk driving, & crashed into a restaurant (he and his rich father are suing the college and restaurant for allowing it to happen; Sydney isn’t thrilled about it but puts together a case saying that the guy is a victim of the college culture that teaches students to drink and party–which she doesn’t believe at all but had to take the case that was given to her); Finn lies a couple times & then tries to avoid lying again; Finn has a pretty bitter outlook on life because of past events; Finn has guilt from not seeing his mother before she passed away & has a nightmare about it (barely-above-not-detailed); Finn feels like he’s inadequate compared to other guys; Grieving (mothers, a grandmother, & friend); Many, many mentions of cancers, illnesses, injuries, deaths, grieving, & guilt (including mothers and a grandmother, barely-above-not-detailed); Many mentions of alcohol, drinking, hangovers, drunks, drunk driving, parties, getting high, & smoking marijuana (in a state where it’s illegal); Mentions of jail, hitting an officer and judge, & a prisoner being putting on suicide watch; Mentions of lies & lying (including someone wanting Sydney to do something illegal/untruthful in court, which she won’t do); Mentions of someone wanting their body donated for science when they die; A few mentions of a possible carjacking; A few mentions of hatred; A couple mentions of Finn being robbed at gunpoint; A couple mentions of cigarettes & smoking; A couple mentions of a custody battle for Sydney after her mother passed away (between her grandmother and father); A mention of someone possibly being an ax murderer & going to decapitate someone; A mention of the mafia; A mention of someone cheating on an exam; A mention of relief flooding over someone like a drug; A mention of Callie saying that she thought her daughter didn’t have “the sense” to take care of her baby and that she made a lot of mistakes; 
             *Note: Many mentions of apps, social media, celebrities, TV shows, fictional characters, brand-names, stores, & restaurants (including Uber, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Michael Jackson, Gilmore Girls, Naked and Afraid, Dr. Phil, Forensic Files, Duck Dynasty, Tupperware, iPad, Spray Net, Kleenex, Sara Lee’s frozen pie, Walgreens, Macy’s, Jiffy Lube, Best Buy, Apple, Walmart, Home Depot, Kroger, Burger King, McDonald’s, Arby’s, & Starbucks); Mentions of Christmas songs (including “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”, “Santa Baby”, and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”); A couple mentions of Patty Hearst & Stockholm syndrome; A mention of Gloria Allred; A mention of a car brand; A mention of People magazine; A mention of a UFC fight; A mention of Boy Scouts; A mention of the elderly commercials about someone not being able to get up from falling on the floor. 
 
 
Sexual Content- Two cheek kisses, two barely-above-not-detailed kisses, and a detailed kiss; Wanting to kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, & Nearness (barely-above-not-detailed); A bit of Noticing; Blushes; Mentions of flirting & Callie trying to set Sydney up on dates (Finn misunderstands and thinks that Callie is being a cougar to younger men); A few mentions of dating, dates, & boyfriends/girlfriends; A few mentions of Callie saying that a man will cheat on his wife because he’s a nice-looking man and she’s let herself go; A mention of kissing; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Both Sydney and Finn think and talk about the dress code expected for female lawyers & how impractical it is as women are not men and shouldn’t have to dress in a similar fashion (ranting); A few mentions of Callie commenting on a woman’s large thighs; A few mentions of Callie not liking yoga pants or men having their pants hanging low (barely-above-not-detailed); A mention of a woman’s tight pants; A mention of a guy abusing his girlfriend (not implied one way or the other—physically, sexually, or verbally). 
 
-Sydney Batson
-Finn Parrish, age 30
                                1^st person P.O.V. switches between them 
                                                        286 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

{Might not be an easy read for those sensitive to deaths of loved ones, seeing the death of a loved one, and/or cancer-related deaths.}

I’ve heard a lot of hype for this Christmas novella from book friends, and in all honesty, I’ve been pushing it off because of said hype. Oops. Sorry, y’all. I’m finally getting around to read it and while I can see why so many friends like this book, I have mixed feelings on it. 

I thought that both Finn and Sydney were very bitter in the beginning half of the story and though they “wake up” if you will after an important event/news, they quickly did a 180. I think that’s because of the realization of what’s truly important in life, which makes sense and we need those reminders every now-and-then. The romance between the felt very rushed and out-of-the-blue in terms of their emotions towards the other and what was happening.  

This was actually my first book by this author (despite having multiple books by her on my TBR) and overall it was fine. I liked the author’s note at the end about the Bible having the true answer for happiness.  

I’ll give this book props that even though it dealt with a sad topic of an older woman dying, it wasn’t very depressing. I think I would have preferred more faith content from her, but there was more towards the end. Personally, I enjoyed “The Extraordinary Deaths of Mrs. Kips” by Sara Brunsvold better, but this one wasn’t bad either, I suppose. 
 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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.

"Under the Texas Mistletoe" by Karen Witemeyer

About this book:

  “Spend Christmas in Texas this year with these charming holiday novellas from bestselling historical romance author Karen Witemeyer, whose writing is spiced with her signature blend of humor, thrilling frontier action, and sweet romance.”

 

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“A Texas Christmas Carol” by Karen Witemeyer
 
About this book:

  “A town's wealthy, Scrooge-like bachelor finds his world invaded by a woman set on earning his donation for helping the local poor, and by the penetrating questions of three mysterious visitors.”


Series: Does not seem to be connected to any of the author’s other books.


Spiritual Content- Nehemiah 8:10 at the beginning; Scriptures are mentioned, read, & quoted; Prayers & Thanking God; Set during Christmas time; Church going & a sermon; Talks about God, those and events in the Bible, His plans for us, joy from the Lord, & praying; 'H's are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; *Spoiler* Towards the end, Evan has a major realization about God & His love for him *End of Spoiler*; Mentions of God, Jesus, & Christmas; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, ministries, services, & hymns; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A few mentions of Heaven; A few mentions of Christian duties; A couple mentions of faiths; A mention of Bible reading; A mention of sin; 
             *Note: In-between the first and second novellas, there is a Christmas devotional on why Jesus came as a baby and references Scriptures; A mention of an item being like a talisman. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘blasted’, a ‘why in blazes’, two ‘forms of ‘idiot’, two forms of ‘stupid’, and three ‘bah!’s; A bit of eye rolling (from a child); Mentions of someone almost being shot & killed (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of an illness & near death; Mentions of Evan’s knee injury & pain (he walks with a cane because of it); Mentions of a man being stuck in a mud hole; Mentions of possibly being thrown from a horse and/or harmed; Mentions of threats & blackmail (one done with teasing, not done with ill intent); A few mentions of injuries, pain, & blood/bleeding; A few mentions of the Panic of 1873; A few mentions of con-artists & being scammed; A few mentions of hunting; A few mentions of emptying chamber pots; A couple mentions of customers cursing at a young Evan or boxing his ears (he was a bellboy); A couple mentions of school bullies & them beating up others; A couple mentions of alcohol & drinking; A mention of prison; A mention of a lie; A mention of jealousy; A mention of someone cheating at a game.
 
 
Sexual Content- a hand kiss, an almost kiss (up to semi-detailed), and a semi-detailed kiss; Recalling a cheek kiss & embrace (including her being pulled into his lap out of danger, barely-above-not-detailed); Wanting to kiss someone (up to semi-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Warmth, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes & Winks; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); At one point, Felicity falls on top of Evan and while it’s an accident and embarrassing for them, Evan does think that that in other circumstances would be a pleasure; A couple mentions of flirting; A mention of jealousy; Love, falling in love, & the emotions;
             *Note: Evan thinks that he doesn’t have plans to “shackle” himself to a woman (because wives are expensive and an upsetting event form years prior); A mention of Felicity not being the type to use her feminine wiles to seduce a man; A mention of hot-blooded young men. 
 
-Felicity Wiggins, age 25 
-Evan Beazer, age 32
                                P.O.V. switches between them 
                                      Set in 1895 
                                          107 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

 

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“An Archer Family Christmas” by Karen Witemeyer
 
About this book:

  “It’s Christmas Eve, 1893, and the entire family has gathered to celebrate the holiday. This day is always bittersweet for Jim and Cassie, who lost a child on Christmas Eve three years earlier. Cassie has devoted herself to being the favorite aunt of the Archer children, whisking her nieces away to a nearby schoolhouse to create decorations for the Christmas tree that the men and oldest boys are venturing out to chop down.
   When an unexpected knock at the schoolhouse door reveals a desperate pregnant woman on the run from a dangerous outlaw, it’ll take a Christmas miracle—and the entire Archer clan—to make sure no danger befalls the child born on this beloved holiday.”
 

Series: Considered to be Book #2.75 in the “Archer Brothers” series by this author. Book #1 (“Short Straw Bride”) has a mini-review Here (and I’ll link another review mentioning the content Here), Book #2 (“Stealing the Preacher”) is reviewed Here, and the bonus novella #2.50 has not yet been reviewed. 


Spiritual Content- Scriptures are quoted & remembered; Prayers & Thanking God; Set during Christmas time; Talks about God; 'H's are not capital when referring to God or Jesus; Mentions of God, Jesus, His will, & Christmas; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches & a preacher; Mentions of blessings & being Blessed; A couple mentions of those who have passe being in God’s hands; A mention of someone thinking that God would have ignored her prayers due to her wrong choices, but that He didn’t; 
             *Note: In-between the second and third novellas, there is a section about Christmas traditions from the Victorian time period that has a few paragraphs about Santa Claus; A couple mentions of an outlaw being called a devil. 
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘I don’t give a flying flip’ and a ‘stupid’; A couple mentions of curses (said, not written); A bit of eye rolling; Shooting at outlaws/criminals, being shot at, fights, flighting, pain, injuries, & blood/bleeding (up to semi-detailed); Thinking a loved one might be shot & dying (and their panic, up to semi-detailed); Mentions of outlaws, gangs, crimes, threats of killing or harming, gunfire, being shot at, shooting at others, fights, & fighting; Mentions of prejudice towards a woman with Comanche blood; A few mentions of lies & lying; A few mentions of an outlaw spitting on the body of someone, cursing her, and calling her a worthless piece of trash; A mention of prison; 
             *Note: Cassie & Jim are both grieving the loss of their infant son who died a couple years prior to the start of the story (Jim tries to hide his grief from her to not make it harder on Cassie; He also found himself coveting a brother’s large family, wishing that they’d been the barren ones instead of him and Cassie, which that sinful thought scared him so badly he dropped to his knees in asking for forgiveness from the Lord; A doctor told them that due to the difficult birthing and internal scarring, becoming pregnant again would be impossible); Mentions of their grief and others’ grief for the loss of loved ones/children. 
 
 
Sexual Content- A forehead kiss, two semi-detailed kisses, and a border-line semi-detailed // detailed kiss; Touches, Embraces, Warmth, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Noticing (including Jim seeing Cassie’s chest area when she’s trying to keep a baby warm, barely-above-not-detailed); a ‘baby’; Mentions of married couples touching, embracing, & sharing a bed; A few mentions of a biological father possibly selling his baby girl possibly to the highest bidder and her ending up in a brothel or “worse”;
             *Note: Jim playfully swats Cassie’s backside; Helping with a(n unmarried) teen girl’s labor (including mentions of pain, screams, & blood/bleeding, semi-detailed; *Spoiler* the mother ends up passing away *End of Spoiler*); A mention of the married main couple wanting to move their sensual kiss into the bedroom, but not having the time at the moment to do so; A mention of a man’s chest hairs. 
 
-Cassandra “Cassie” Archer
-Bowie “Jim” Archer
                              P.O.V. switches between them
                                        Set in 1893
                                              80 pages

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“Gift of the Heart” by Karen Witemeyer
 
About this book:
 

 “A widow and her young daughter move to Hope Springs for a fresh start, but with no money to secure a home, Ruth must convince a wealthy resort owner to accept her heirloom brooch as collateral. Will the pin that brought love to three generations soften the heart of a wounded recluse and give Ruth a second chance at love as the holidays draw near?”


Series: Does not seem to be connected to any other book.  


Spiritual Content- Proverbs 31:1-12 at the beginning; Scriptures are quoted, remembered, & thought over; Prayers, Thanking God, & Praising God; Set during Christmas time; A Christmas performance & hymns; Talks about God; 'H's are capital when referring to God; Mentions of God, Jesus, & Christmas; Mentions of those & events in the Bible; Mentions of prayers, praying, & thanking God; Mentions of churches, church going, & services; A couple mentions of blessings & being Blessed; 
             *Note: A mention of a demon cat; A mention of a magic lamp that has a genie to grant wishes.
 

Negative Content- Minor cussing including: two forms of ‘stupid’s; Saving a child from being stuck in a pond (semi-detailed); Mentions of a child being trapped in a bank/pond & trying to keep her from losing conscious; Mentions of Bo’s injury that “announced his crippled state to all” (which has caused him to be a recluse); Mentions of grieving (Ruth for her husband after his death and also Bo for his mother’s love after his injury); A few mentions of the Civil War; A couple mentions of an illness & death; A couple mentions of a house being foreclosed; A couple mentions of jealousy; A mention of bandits; A mention of lying; A mention of gossip.
 
 
Sexual Content- A hand kiss (semi-detailed), a jaw kiss, an almost kiss (barely-above-not-detailed), and a detailed kiss; Recalling a kiss (barely-above-not-detailed); Touches, Embraces, Warmth, Shivers, & Nearness (up to semi-detailed); Wanting to touch & embrace (plus imagining it, barely-above-not-detailed); Blushes; Noticing (barely-above-not-detailed); A few mentions of kisses & kissing; A few mentions of flirting & women battling their lashes to get a man to do something; A couple mentions of reputations;
             *Note: When her blouse gets wet, Ruth angles herself to not be seen by Bo; A mention of Bo wondering if Ruth slept in his bed and perhaps in one of his nightshirts (she stayed the night at his place because of an emergency while he stayed at a hotel). 
 
-Ruth Fulbright
-Beauregard “Bo” Azlin
                              P.O.V. switches between them
                                        Set in 1890
                                                  99 pages

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Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

 

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Overall Ratings:

Pre Teens- 

New Teens- 

Early High School Teens- 

Older High School Teens- 

My personal Rating- 

A Texas Christmas Carol – Here’s the thing about retellings of classic stories: You know the result, you know the general understand of what will happen at the end. But it’s the journey of getting there with those characters and seeing an author make the story their own that keeps retellings popular and much loved. And with this novella, it was so much fun to see it play out. Especially with all the faith content in this short story. The faith content was just excellent and Felicity was fantastic. I love her heart and her character! The faith content is really what made this novella stand out, though, and was really well done. I loved how the author connected details from the classic tale into this novella. Elsewise, I was already giggly just at the opening few chapters because of the plot and Felicity and the faith discussions made it even better. I really enjoyed this one. 4.5 stars

 

An Archer Family Christmas – Well that little novella tugged at my heart strings and made me tear up much more than I was expecting! While I might not have been a fan of the first Archer Brothers book due to sexual suggestions/marital content, it was really nice to see the family again. I love how this family has each other’s backs and just the importance of family within this novella was really sweet and wonderful to read. Because of all the married couples there were some hints to intimacies and quite a bit of kissing, so I would say this novella would be better for older college-age/high school girls.

 

Gift of the Heart – Okay, that was a really sweet novella! It did feel a bit rushed, but I still really enjoyed it. This author knows how to write loveable children and I just love that! I actually laughed out loud at quite a few times during this little story. The best way I can describe this novella would be sweet because it really was! 

 

Overall, this was a very fun and enjoyable novella collection! I thought the add-ins of a devotional, Victorian Christmas traditions, and the recipes between each story were neat bonus content as well. 

 

 

See y’all on Friday with a new 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.