Tag: 2021 Release

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #419 | Reclaiming Hope (Greener Gardens #3) by Carolyn Miller

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m currently reading Carolyn Miller’s republished Greener Gardens series, and Reclaiming Hope is next in line.

Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

Check, check, check, check, check. Was there anything more satisfying than checking off items on a list and seeing just how productive one had been?

 

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

About Reclaiming Hope

Opposites attract—but can they last?

Callie Steele might be a bit…focused on work, but despite what her employers say, she enjoys her well-ordered, productive life. When she’s sent to meet the owners of an estate requiring post-hurricane landscaping, Callie meets their son, Kai Brody, a super-chilled pro surfer, who is as opposite from her as they come. Though initially smitten, Callie knows a relationship with Kai is a bad idea—a very bad idea.

Kai, however, can’t help but be intrigued by someone who challenges him to make something of his life again. He’s determined to pursue her, if she’ll give him half a chance.

The more time they spend together, negotiating the challenges of work, illness, and family, the more their opposing outlooks clash and connect. What do these unlikely friends really want from life? Is it best to focus on work or recreation?

As Kai and Callie seek answers from the Lord, they also must consider if such complete opposites have enough in common to make a relationship last.

Reclaiming Hope is the third of the Greener Gardens romance series, where true love grows.

Find Reclaiming Hope online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #415 | This Life (Murphy Brothers #4) by Jennifer Rodewald

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from This Life, the fourth book in Jennifer Rodewald’s Murphy Brothers series. I’ve found the others to be compelling Christian romances, so I have high expectations.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

The emptiness had weight. Solid, sinking and familiar. Kate Murphy hated it.

 

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About This Life

They’ve been stripped of everything but a refurbished bus and each other. And it may be the best thing that’s ever happened to them.
Driven by jealousy, he’s determined to prove himself.

Jacob Murphy always felt like the invisible brother, until he fell in love with and married the woman who’d dated his younger brother. Then he became the despised brother. Driven to prove himself worthy of respect, he gambled everything on becoming the successful brother, but with his property speculation business falling apart, he’s ready to admit defeat. He’s lost nearly every worldly good, and after years of disappointments and heartache, it looks like his marriage is about to go the same way.

Ashamed of her background, she will do anything to keep it a secret.

Kate Murphy lied her way out of life in a trailer park—a life she felt both trapped in and ashamed of. Only Jacob knows the truth about her background. But keeping up appearances has strangled her life and relationships, and even her marriage is troubled. In desperation, she makes a plan to escape from it all—ironically, in a skoolie. But there’s still a tender place in her heart for the man she married, and in a moment of compassion, she offers to take Jacob with her.

Stripped of pride and pretension and struggling to adjust to their new 160-square-foot mobile lifestyle, Jacob and Kate are forced to confront the deception, hurt, and loneliness that have plagued them both.

Will their strained circumstances be the death knell for their marriage, or will they allow humility to usher in the healing they need to rebuild?

Find This Life online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #414 | Snowed in at Jingle Falls by Kaylee Baldwin

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Snowed in at Jingle Falls by Kaylee Baldwin. Isn’t that a great location for a Christmas romance?

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

Harper Larson hated Santa. It hadn't always been this way.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Snowed in at Jingle Falls

A heartwarming, holiday romance where the path to love is covered in snow…

Snowed in at Jingle FallsHarper Larson has always loved the cozy charm of Jingle Falls, especially her job at Narratives bookshop. Surrounded by books, she can forget the embarrassing mistake that drove her away from New York and the life she thought she wanted.

But then Nolan Fox, her broody yet brilliant former boss, shows up unexpectedly at her shop, and Harper is less than thrilled.

Nolan’s struggling to complete the final book in his bestselling series and can’t finish it without Harper.

When a sudden snowstorm traps them in Jingle Falls over Christmas, they strike a deal: she’ll assist him with his book if he’ll set aside his Scrooge tendencies and help her save the town’s winter festival.

As they work together to bring holiday cheer back to Jingle Falls, the chemistry sizzles brighter than the twinkling lights decorating town.

Sometimes life writes its own plot twists—and love might be just the ending they both need.

Find Snowed in at Jingle Falls by Kaylee Baldwin online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #401 | The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn Green

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn Green, which shares the story of conscientious objectors in the USA during World War II, and their essential contribution as smokejumpers in the Pacific Northwest.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Seems to me that if you have to ring in another year of war, you may as well do it parachuting into a wildfire.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About The Lines Between Us

The Lines Between Us by Amy Lynn GreenA WWII novel of courage and conviction, based on the true experience of the men who fought fires as conscientious objectors and the women who fought prejudice to serve in the Women’s Army Corps.
Since the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon Hooper and his buddy Jack Armitage have stuck to their values as conscientious objectors. Much to their families’ and country’s chagrin, they volunteer as smokejumpers rather than enlisting, parachuting into and extinguishing raging wildfires in Oregon. But the number of winter blazes they’re called to seems suspiciously high, and when an accident leaves Jack badly injured, Gordon realizes the facts don’t add up.
A member of the Women’s Army Corps, Dorie Armitage has long been ashamed of her brother’s pacifism, but she’s shocked by news of his accident. Determined to find out why he was harmed, she arrives at the national forest under the guise of conducting an army report . . . and finds herself forced to work with Gordon. He believes it’s wrong to lie; she’s willing to do whatever it takes for justice to be done.
As they search for clues, Gordon and Dorie must wrestle with their convictions about war and peace and decide what to do with the troubling secrets they discover.

Find The Lines Between Us online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #399 | The Making of Biblical Womanhood by Beth Allison Barr

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’ve recently finished reading the brilliant Becoming the Pastor’s Wife by Dr. Beth Allison Barr, and there were some references in there to her previous book, The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth.

So now I want to read the “prequel”. I’ve just picked a copy up from my local library.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

I never meant to be an activist

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About The Making of Biblical Womanhood

It is time for Christian patriarchy to end.

The Making of Biblical WomanhoodBiblical womanhood–the belief that God designed women to be submissive wives, virtuous mothers, and joyful homemakers–pervades North American Christianity. From choices about careers to roles in local churches to relationship dynamics, this belief shapes the everyday lives of evangelical women.

Yet biblical womanhood isn’t biblical, says historian Beth Allison Barr. It arose from a series of clearly definable historical moments. Barr presents historical insights and shares a better way forward for the contemporary church by:

● giving context for contemporary teachings about women’s roles in the church
● explaining why biblical womanhood is more about human power structures than the message of Christ
● interweaving her story and experiences as a Baptist pastor’s wife
● shedding light on the #ChurchToo movement and abuse scandals in Southern Baptist circles and the broader evangelical world

This book moves the conversation about biblical womanhood beyond Greek grammar and into the realm of church history–ancient, medieval, and modern–to show that this belief is not divinely ordained but a product of human civilization that continues to creep into the church.

Find The Making of Biblical Womanhood online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #384 | Resisting the Rancher by Jen Peters

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from Resisting the Rancher by Jen Peters, the second book in her Black Rock Ranch series.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Caleb slipped a snaffle bit into Misty's mouth, then pulled the headstall over her ears.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Resisting the Rancher

He’s a flirt who won’t commit. She’s a broken-down country singer.

Caleb Black dances and flirts to his heart’s content—that’s all he’s capable of since his high-school sweetheart went off to chase her dreams. He’s made quite a name for himself and the horses at Black Rock Ranch, but watching his older brother fall in love shows him what a hole there is in his life.

Singing and writing music was all Jo Manning ever wanted. But when she breaks down under the relentless schedule and the pressure to produce—and when her manager runs off with all her money—the only place to heal is her family’s small ranch in the Colorado Rockies. Her parents need help, her son needs a place to call home, and Jo? She does not need help from the man she left behind.

Find Resisting the Rancher online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

What was your last five-star read?

Bookish Question #341 | What was your last five-star read?

This question was harder to answer than it should have been.

I read a lot of books. And the more books I read, the harder it is to find stories that stick in my memory after I’ve closed the book (or switched off the Kindle.

The title that sprang to mind for this question isn’t a book I’d normally read, but I’ve seen it mentioned online and have been waiting for it to come on sale on Kindle. Then I saw it at my local library, so checked it out.

It’s not fiction.
It’s not Christian (although the author is a Christian).
It’s nothing like the books I usually read and review.

It’s Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez

(which I did recently feature in a First Line Friday post).

Jesus and John Wayne is probably best described as a history textbook, showing how the modern church has, step by tiny step, morphed the collective understanding of Jesus from the man who healed the sick and ate with sinners to some kind of nationalistic patriarchal authoritarian who was the opposite of politically correct.

Like John Wayne.

Yet Jesus was nothing like John Wayne. Jesus stood up for women, for widows (the single parents of his day), for orphans, for the oppressed, for the immigrants, the refugees (Jesus himself was a refugee in Egypt).

Du Mez makes a compelling argument for how the US Christian church has come to misinterpret Jesus by conflating him with people like John Wayne, and how that has hurt the church in the USA (I would add that it’s hurt the church globally).

You might not agree with everything she says, but it’s a well-researched and strongly written case, and well worth taking the time to read.

It might just make you think.

What about you? What’s your most recent five-star read?

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #343 | Jesus and John Wayne by Kristen Kobes Du Mez

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line.

I’ve recently joined the local library, so this week I’m reading a book I found in the library that’s been on my to-read list since it released: the eye-opening Jesus and John Wayne by scholar Kristin Kobes Du Mez.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

The path that ends with John Wayne as an icon of Christian masculinity is strewn with a colorful cast of characters, from the original cowboy president to a baseball-player-turned-evangelist to a singing cowboy and a dashing young evangelist.

 

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Jesus and John Wayne

Jesus and John Wayne is a sweeping, revisionist history of the last seventy-five years of white evangelicalism, revealing how evangelicals have worked to replace the Jesus of the Gospels with an idol of rugged masculinity and Christian nationalism―or in the words of one modern chaplain, with “a spiritual badass.”

As acclaimed scholar Kristin Du Mez explains, the key to understanding this transformation is to recognize the centrality of popular culture in contemporary American evangelicalism. Many of today’s evangelicals might not be theologically astute, but they know their VeggieTales, they’ve read John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart, and they learned about purity before they learned about sex―and they have a silver ring to prove it. Evangelical books, films, music, clothing, and merchandise shape the beliefs of millions. And evangelical culture is teeming with muscular heroes―mythical warriors and rugged soldiers, men like Oliver North, Ronald Reagan, Mel Gibson, and the Duck Dynasty clan, who assert white masculine power in defense of “Christian America.” Chief among these evangelical legends is John Wayne, an icon of a lost time when men were uncowed by political correctness, unafraid to tell it like it was, and did what needed to be done.

Challenging the commonly held assumption that the “moral majority” backed Donald Trump in 2016 and 2020 for purely pragmatic reasons, Du Mez reveals that Trump in fact represented the fulfillment, rather than the betrayal, of white evangelicals’ most deeply held values: patriarchy, authoritarian rule, aggressive foreign policy, fear of Islam, ambivalence toward #MeToo, and opposition to Black Lives Matter and the LGBTQ community.

A much-needed reexamination of perhaps the most influential subculture in this country, Jesus and John Wayne shows that, far from adhering to biblical principles, modern white evangelicals have remade their faith, with enduring consequences for all Americans.

Find Jesus and John Wayne online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

 

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #313 | Whole Latte Love by Kari Trumbo

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m currently reading the Small Town Love Story collection which released a while back, and I’m up to Whole Latte Love by Kari Trumbo. Isn’t that a great title?

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

Addi Merrick had spent her life waiting for him to show up, or so it seemed.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About Whole Latte Love

Addi Merrick is a matchmaker with no match.

Her past is riddled with friends who married and left her behind.

She’s stuck at a job she doesn’t love with a boss who can’t stand her to put herself through college, but there’s a reason God wants her at the right place, at the right time.

Drew Tanner was left at the altar and doesn’t believe in love.

It’s been a year since the woman of his dreams vanished into thin air on his wedding day. Since then, he’s avoided women like her, certain all quiet women were hiding something. Seeing Addi is like watching his past, and he wants no part of it.

When a dating site matches them, not only as a possible match but a perfect match, they must choose to either risk the pain of rejection or the beauty of a love match.

Find Whole Latte Love online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #263 | All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’m quoting from All That Really Matters by Nicole Deese, a 2022 Christy Award and ACFW Carol Award winner.

Here’s the first line from Chapter One:

I used to marvel at the way my Great Mimi's arthritic fingers would pinch her eyeliner pencil and trace a perfect stroke of midnight black across her upper lash line.

The Kindle version is currently on sale for less than a dollar, so click here to check out the sample.

What’s the book nearest you, and what’s the first line?

 

About All That Really Matters

Molly McKenzie’s bright personality and on-trend fashion and beauty advice have made her a major social media influencer. When her manager-turned-boyfriend tells her of an upcoming audition to host a makeover show for America’s underprivileged youth, all her dreams finally seem to be coming true. There’s just one catch: she has little experience interacting with people in need.

To gain an edge on her competitors, she plans to volunteer for the summer at a transitional program for aged-out foster kids, but the program’s director, Silas Whittaker, doesn’t find her as charming as her followers do. Despite his ridiculous rules and terms, Molly dives into mentoring, surprising herself with the genuine connections and concern she quickly develops for the girls–and Silas. But just as everything seems perfectly aligned for her professional future, it starts to crumble under the pressure. And as her once-narrow focus opens to the deep needs of those she’s come to know, she must face the ones she’s neglected inside herself for so long.

Find All That Really Matters online at:

Amazon | BookBub | ChristianBook | Goodreads

Click here to check out what my fabulous fellow FirstLineFriday bloggers are sharing today.

And you can click here to check out my previous FirstLineFriday posts.

Share your first line in the comments, and happy reading!

Don’t forget to click here to check out my Amazon shop for my top picks in Christian fiction!