Novella Review: An October Bride

Title: An October Bride

Author: Katie Ganshert

Publish Date: September 23, 2013

Genre: Christian Fiction Novella

Why I Read this Book: I love this novella series. I picked up the Audibook version of this novella from my local library.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

A year's worth of novellas from twelve inspirational romance authors. Happily ever after guaranteed.
She wants to make her father's dream come true. She doesn't realize her own dream has been in front of her the whole time.
Emma Tate isn't a risk taker, so everyone in her small Midwest town is surprised when she suddenly becomes engaged to lifelong friend Jake Sawyer. No one but Jake and Emma know the true reason they're getting married---so Emma's dying father can walk her down the aisle.
While Jake and Emma plan an autumn wedding together, it becomes clear that their agreement has a few complications---the biggest being their true feelings for each other.
In this novella by award-winning author Katie Ganshert, a young woman must reconcile her dying father's dreams with her own dreams for love and for her future.

Review

I absolutely love this novella series. Emma and Jake enter into an engagement for all the wrong reasons. Emma hopes to please her Dad by letting him walk her down the aisle before he passes away. Emma and Jake plan a fake wedding, never intending to sign the marriage license, but then God has other plans.

This story is cute, romantic, and full of humor. I loved every moment of this novella. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves Christian fiction and isn't afraid of a really cheesy love story.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 4/5

Novella Review: A February Bride by Betsy St. Amant

Title: A February Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings (Novella 3)

Author: Betsy St. Amant

Publish Date: January 28, 2014

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novella

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Happily ever after guaranteed. Allie left the love of her life at the altar—to save him from a lifetime of heartbreak. When a Valentine’s Day wedding brings them back together, she struggles against her family’s destructive history. Can Allie ever realize that a marriage is so much more than a wedding dress? History repeats itself when Allie Andrews escapes the church on her wedding day—in the same dress passed down for generations and worn by all the women in her family—women with a long history of failed marriages. Allie loves Marcus, but fears she’s destined to repeat her family’s mistakes. She can’t bear to hurt Marcus worse. Marcus Hall never stopped loving Allie and can only think of one reason she left him at the altar—him. When the two are thrown together for his sister’s Valentine’s Day wedding, he discovers the truth and realizes their story might be far from over. Can Allie shuck expectation and discover who she is as a bride and in the Bride of Christ? And if she ever walks down the aisle, what dress will she wear?

Review

A February Bride is one of those pretty much perfect clean romances that I am always looking for. The main character is flawed; she has a fear of commitment because all of the women in her family have been divorced and re-married several times and she is afraid the same will happen to her.  Although this novella is predictable, the writing style makes the journey exciting nonetheless. I read this novella in one day (practically one sitting).

I would recomend this novella to anyone looking for a clean romance story. You do not have to read the first two novella's in the series for this third installment to make sense.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Novella Review: A January Bride by Deborah Raney

Title: A January Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings Novella

Authors: Deborah Raney

Publish Date: December 24, 2013

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novellas

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review of this novella.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Who can work in a house that's overrun by contractors and carpenters? Not Madeleine Houser, a successful novelist who gladly accepts the help of her octogenarian friend, Ginny, to arrange for a temporary office in the charming bed and breakfast owned by Ginny's friend, Arthur. Maddie’s never met the innkeeper––but a friendship grows between them as Maddie and Arthur leave messages for each other each day. To Maddie’s alternate delight and chagrin, she seems to be falling for the inn’s owner––a man who's likely many years her senior––and who she’s never even met.

Review

This novella series has one thing in common: all of the books are incredibly interesting. This romance story started slow, but quickly progressed and I was excited to find out what would happen by the end of the novella. The romance story was cute, sweet, and clean.  I would recommend these novellas to anyone looking for a good romance story.  Each of these novellas can be read as stand-alones or as a series.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Novella Review: A December Bride by Denise Hunter

Title: A December Bride

Series: A Year of Weddings Novella (#1)

Author: Denise Hunter

Publish Date: November 26, 2013

Genre: Clean Adult Romance Novella

Why I Read this Book: I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review.

 

About Book 1 (from Goodreads):  

What started as a whim turned into an accidental - and very public - engagement. Can Layla and Seth keep up the facade in Chapel Springs this holiday season - for the sake of her career . . . and his heart?

Under normal circumstances, Seth Murphy, the best friend of Layla O'Reilly's ex-fiance would be the last person she'd marry. But the news of their upcoming (and phony) nuptials convinces a big client that Layla may be high-society enough to work for his agency, a coup that would put her fledgling home-staging business on the map. Seth has secretly loved Layla for years, even when she was dating his best friend. Maybe she'll never forgive him for the way he hurt her back then, but he has to try. And Layla is willing to keep up their engagement farce until she's landed her client. For Layla, it's the chance to save her career. But for Seth, it's his last chance to win her heart. 

Review

A December Bride is such a sweet romance story. A fake engagement turns into... well you will have to see when you read the novella.

This novella series is a collection of clean adult romance novellas, which are each written by a different author. I love these types of novella series. I read this novella for the first time during the October 2014 Dewey's 24 Hour Readathon.  I was busy at the time and did not get to review the novella. I re-read this novella recently.

An interesting aspect to the novella is that previous events that influence the current story are slowly revealed throughout the novella.  So at first you do not know much about the previous relationships of the characters and this lead me to want to read more of the story.

This clean adult romance is perfect for anyone.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 5/5

Release Day Novella Review: 12 Hours by Hannah Harvey

Novella Title: 12 Hours

Author: Hannah Harvey

Publish Date: April 11, 2015

Genre: Young Adult Contemporary Romance Novella

Why I Read this Book: I received this book for review from the author in exchange for an honest review. This in no way influenced my review.

 

 

 

 

 

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Two months ago, Riley was heartbroken when her boyfriend of almost a year, James, broke up with her on her graduation day, and then left town without saying goodbye.
She hasn't heard from him since that day. Until now.
Now it's two months on. It's midnight, and she's just received a message from him.

I'm outside. I need you.

Three little words she's never been able to resist from him. Over the next twelve hours, follow Ivy on an emotional journey, as she tries to work out why he's back. If he's staying and what she wants now that he's back in her life again.

Review

This contemporary romance is filled with suspense. The story begins two months after Riley's boyfriend broke up with her and left town without giving a reason for his departure. What happened during there relationship and during these two months is unknown at the beginning of the story. For me, the suspense in not knowing the full story was what kept me longing for more of this novella.

The characters were not very well developed, but this is often hard to do in a novella. When I was finished reading the novella, I was left wanting more because there were a lot of questions that were left unanswered.

I would recommend this book for someone wanting an intense contemporary novella.

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any

Overall Rating: 4/5

You can purchase this book on Amazon.

Novella Review: Creeperising (The Post-Creepocalypse Saga Book 1)

Book Title: Creeperising

Author: R.K. Davenport

Series: The Post-Creepocalypse Saga (Book 1)

Publish Date: August 9, 2014

Genre: Middle Grade

About the Book (from Goodreads):  

Felix has never seen Minecraft in its true form. Long before he was born his world was taken over by an evil scientist, Deus. He created genetically modified creepers, and split the world into five unique districts.

Felix and his sister live in the poor district, and they're forced to work as slaves for the wicked King Maximus. He killed their parents, and now he's killing them slowly. Eventually something happens, and these two siblings start a revolution.

Why I Read this Book: I saw this book was free on Amazon during one of the last read-a-thons that I did.  I got it for the read-a-thon and did not end up reading it.  I had some time between classes and decided to pick up a novella and this seemed like it would be a fun read.

 

Review

Overall, this was a very fun read.  This book is filled with action.  Some of the battle scenes were a little too gory for me.  I enjoyed that the author started with a Minecraft-based world, but made it his own.  The story was a little simplistic, but I am hoping that it will get more complex with the rest of the series.

Final Statements

Overall Rating: 3/5

Recommended Age: 13+ due to disturbing fight scenes

Novella Mash-Up Reviews: Glitches, The Little Android, and The Queen's Army by Marissa Meyer (Lunar Chronicles 0.5, 0.6, and 1.5)

I recently read Cinder by Marissa Meyer (see my review here).  It was a wonderful read (4.5/5 stars, my review).  I saw on Goodreads that there are a few free e-novellas that are associated with the series and I decided to read them.  These are my reviews for 3 out of 4 of the currently published e-novellas.  I plan to read Scarlet during next weeks read-a-thon.

Book Title: Glitches

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publish Date: December 5, 2011

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (0.5)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. In Glitches, a short prequel story to Cinder, we see the results of that illness play out, and the emotional toll that takes on Cinder. Something that may, or may not, be a glitch...

 

Review

This is a good novella and a great addition to the series. It is good to learn more about Cinder's family.  I loved learning more about Cinder when she was young and about her early relationships with the family.  Although this talks about Cinder's childhood, I think that this book should be read after Cinder is read.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 13+ for some intense scenes

Overall Rating: 4/5

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Book Title: The Little Android

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publish Date: January 27, 2014

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (0.6)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

The Little Android is a retelling of The Little Mermaid, set in the world of The Lunar Chronicles by New York Times-bestselling author Marissa Meyer.

When android Mech6.0, saves the life of a handsome hardware engineer, her body is destroyed and her mechanics discover a glitch in her programing. Androids aren’t not meant to develop unpractical reasoning or near-emotional responses…let alone fall in love.

 

Review

I felt like this novella added the least amount to the series.  It did show the relationship between humans and cyborgs and androids.  It was nice to have more depth to how the humans felt about the androids and the cyborgs, but it did not add to the main storyline that is in Cinder.  This is a cute and very sad story.  I enjoyed reading it, but I wish that these characters were present in the main story.  In my opinion, this novella can be read before or after reading Cinder.

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: Any age

Overall Rating: 3.5/5


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Book Title: The Queen's Army

Author: Marissa Meyer

Publish Date: November 23, 2012

Genre: Young Adult Dystopian Science Fiction

Series: The Lunar Chronicles (1.5)

Plot (from Goodreads):  

It is time. The boy must leave his family to serve in the Queen's army. To be chosen is an honor. To decline is impossible. The boy is modified. He is trained for several years, and learns to fight to the death. He proves to the Queen—and to himself—that he is capable of evil. He is just the kind of soldier the Queen wants: the alpha of his pack.

 

Review

Although this is a very short novella,  I really felt connected with the characters.  I felt like this novella really adds to the series.  I cannot wait to read more about Z and his brother.

My only complaint is that I really do not understand how the cover matches the series covers (Cinder, Scarlet, ect.).

 

Final Statements

Recommended Reading Age: 13+ for some violence and intense action scenes

Overall Rating: 5/5

Blog Tour, Excerpt, Giveaway, and Review: Immersed by Jennifer Stewart Griffith

Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

Lisette Pannebaker speaks five languages and has a brilliant business plan—personal language immersion. Clients can hire her to shadow them and speak all day in any language they need to learn for business or travel—whatever.
But there’s a major hitch: she’s far too pretty. Clients with less than honorable intentions sign up just have Lisette at their side. Solution? A make-under. Way under.It works like a charm. None of her male clients show her the least bit of interest.
Until… Erik.
Erik Gunnarsson is charming, kind, and smart—everything she’s ever looked for. Even though he seems to have a secret and she swore she'd never date a client, Lisette is tempted to shed her disguise—even if it means jeopardizing her career.

Amazon

Author Jennifer Griffith

Jennifer Griffith studied French, German, Japanese, and a wee bit of Spanish in her school days. Her grandmother was Norwegian, and Jennifer grew up with lots of Scandinavian traditions floating around, including fabulous cardamom laced cookies called Krumkaker, made on a fancy waffle iron. However, she’d never dream of trying to teach someone any of those languages. And she might botch the cookies. Instead, she writes novels in English, drives her five kids a million places, and laughs with her husband, who came up with the plot for Immersed because he’s just a cool muse like that.

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Review

This book was one of my favorites in this novella series.  This is about a woman who believes that she is too pretty for anyone to take her seriously so she does a make-under in which she makes herself uglier, but it seems that Erik is falling in love with her even because she is "ugly".  Although the premise of this book does not seem exciting, this story was really well written.  I read this book in two days.  This whole series has been really great.  I would recommend it to anyone who really enjoys cheesy romance stories.  These books are usually quite predictable, but they are written so well that I did not even care.

Rating: 5/5

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash
Ends 6/9/14
Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.
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Blog Tour, Review, Excerpt and Giveaway: Second Chances 101

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Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver

Thirty seven year old Francie Davis, a recent widow and empty nester, gets to attend college at last. She’s sure her luck has changed when she also lands a job on campus that will pay her tuition, as administrative assistant to a history professor. When her handsome new boss yells at her on the first day of work, Francie worries she will never be good enough.

For Professor Alex Diederik, life is going downhill fast. Not only is his bitter ex-wife trying to poison their only daughter against him, but now his one place of solace—his work environment—is being complicated by his attractive new administrative assistant. She drives home his feelings of failure as a husband and father, and Alex wonders if hiring her was the right thing to do.

Francie will have to put aside her hurt and insecurities or risk her dreams, while Alex must look outside himself if he’s to mend the breach with his daughter. And, perhaps, find someone who can help heal his pain.

Author Donna K. Weaver

Donna K. Weaver has always loved reading and creating stories, thus she’s been ever entertained. An avid cruiser, she’s sailed the Pacific five times. Wife-mother-grandmother-Army veteran-karate black belt-Harry Potter nerd.

Website * Goodreads * Twitter * Facebook * Pinterest

Review

This is a great, sweet romance about two people who were previously married and have children.  It is perfectly sweet, but a little cliche.  The writing style is perfect.  The suspense is eloquently written and it leaves you wanting more.  There were sexual references, but no details were provided.  This was probably one of my favorites in the series, but I do have to give it a 4/5 because this series is supposed to be a clean romance series.

Recommended Reading Age: 16+
Rating: 4/5

Blog Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 5/26/14

Open only to those who can legally enter, receive and use an Amazon.com Gift Code or Paypal Cash. Winning Entry will be verified prior to prize being awarded. No purchase necessary. You must be 18 or older to enter or have your parent enter for you. The winner will be chosen by rafflecopter and announced here as well as emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Rafflecopter or any other entity unless otherwise specified. The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning. Giveaway was organized by Kathy from I Am A Reader and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.

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EXCERPT

The door burst open and a pretty girl with long strawberry blond hair stomped out. Her headlong rush drove her right at Francie, who squeezed against the wall, almost out of the way. Their shoulders hit, and they both stumbled. As Francie steadied herself, she could see tears in the girl’s heavily made up eyes. Staggering for a couple of paces, she managed to stay on her feet and then ran down the hallway.

“Come back here,” a man yelled from inside. He dashed out the door and halfway down the hall before it was obvious the student had made her escape.

Yelling at a student and chasing her down the hallway? That can't be my new boss. Francie couldn’t help staring at the compact but solidly built—almost buff—man who stood with his back to her. The angry energy came off him in waves, and she had to fight a primal instinct to run and hide. Giving a quick glance over her shoulder, Francie began to edge away. Maybe she could pretend she hadn’t seen. Suddenly the man swore and spun around, seeming to see Francie for the first time.

“What are you doing there?” he growled. “Eavesdropping?”

Blog Tour: Silver Linings

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Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin

Drew Westfall wants nothing more than to forget what he had to do in the name of "smart" business. Cutting off all ties with his parents—including handing over the entire contents of his trust fund to a charity—he takes off for Bridger, Colorado where his best friend has an extra room for him. It doesn't take long for him to realize that his business degree won’t do him much good in a town as small as Bridger, but he's broke and has nowhere else to go.

Eden Torresi has every reason to wallow. Not only did she have to sell her house to pay for her mother’s medical expenses, but she also had to drop out of school and is in a relationship with a guy unwilling to commit. But Eden isn't the wallowing type. Instead, she chooses to spend most of her time taking care of the seniors at Silver Linings Assisted Living. When she learns that her boyfriend's new roommate is down on his luck, her caring nature makes her want to reach out to him and offer what help she can. But the more time they spend together, the more complicated things get, especially when the seniors of Silver Linings decide to play matchmaker.

Amazon * Barnes & Noble * Kobo

Review

Silver Linings is a great second novella to the Ripple Effect Series.  It is written by a different author than the one that wrote the first book, Home Matters, and it can easily be read as a standalone.  The plot of this book was super enjoyable to me!  I loved the romance storyline and found it incredibly unique.  I cannot wait to read the third novella in this series!  

Rating
 5/5

Author Kaylee Baldwin

When Kaylee Baldwin isn’t writing, she’s usually chasing after her four children, checking her email, trying to get motivated to train for that race she shouldn’t have signed up for, hanging out with her pretty awesome husband, and reading whatever good book she can find. She graduated from Arizona State with degree in English Lit. Her published books are Meg’s Melody, Six Days of Christmas (part of the All I Want collection) and Silver Linings.

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The Ripple Effect Romance Novella Series

Enjoy this exciting new series of clean novellas by six critically-acclaimed authors.

"Like a pebble tossed into calm water, a simple act can ripple outward and have a far-reaching effect on those we meet, perhaps setting a life on a different course—one filled with excitement, adventure, and sometimes even love."

Book 1: Home Matters by Julie N. Ford

Book 2: Silver Linings by Kaylee Baldwin

Book 3: Righting A Wrong by Rachael Anderson

Book 4: Lost and Found by Karey White

Book 5: Second Chances 101 by Donna K. Weaver

Book 6: Immersed by Jennifer Griffith

Tour Giveaway

$25 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 4/14/14

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