Tag: Beth Moran

Book Review | You Belong With Me by Beth Moran

When a developer arrives on the Isle of Siskin to build a mega-resort, podcaster Blue Beddoes and her mother Goldie, the unofficial Mayor of Siskin, form an action committee to find a way to prevent the development. They have two possible ways to foil the plan, both involving finding the truth behind old island rumours. Do rare natterjack toads live on the farm known as Jack’s Place? And is Sienna Griffin the rightful owner of Jack’s Place?

Blue teams up with Jonathan White, the attractive and very personable environmental consultant hired to search for the elusive toads. She’d be interested in him if it wasn’t for her disastrous relationship history, and the fact she doesn’t need a man to be happy. Her (many) declarations to this effect add several comedy moments, particularly as she is pursued by some less than desirable men and more than a few zealous fans of her podcast, Only on Siskin.

That’s the present story. You Belong With Me is a dual timeline novel, and the past timeline is set in the late 1950s and shows Sorrel falling in love with Calvin Griffin, who inherited Jack’s Place when his parents died when he was seventeen. This story is beautiful yet bittersweet, because we know from the present storyline that Calvin lives and dies alone.

I loved everything about You Belong With Me.

I loved the tiny Isle of Siskin, home to just over 3000 people, which means everyone knows (or knows of) everyone else. I love Beth Moran’s writing style–full of humour and emotion that brings her characters to life. And I loved her characters, especially Blue and Jonathan in the present timeline, and Sorrel and Calvin in the past.

While You Belong With Me isn’t overtly Christian fiction, it’s an excellent novel with characters who are quietly Christian, and with no inappropriate language or content.

Recommended for readers who love a little mystery and a little romance in a British setting full of quirky characters.

About Beth Moran

Beth Moran is the award-winning author of women’s fiction, including number one bestseller Let It Snow and top ten bestseller Just the Way You Are. Her books are set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most mornings walking with her spaniel Murphy. She has the privilege of also being a foster carer to teenagers, and enjoys nothing better than curling up with a pot of tea and a good story.

Find Beth Moran online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About You Belong With Me

Three times a fiancée but never a bride is not a claim to fame Bluebell Beddoes is proud of. But she is taking it as a sign…

Sworn off romance, instead the love of Blue’s life is the beautiful Isle of Siskin. Her home from birth, her community and now her job with the wildly successful podcast Only on Siskin. Her life is full and her future is set.

So, when the peace on Siskin is threatened with being destroyed forever, Blue knows she has to act. There are secrets from the past that may be able to save the future of the island, and only Blue can get to the bottom of them.

When handsome and mysterious Jonathan White arrives on Siskin, Blue is unsure if he’s here to help or hinder. But when it becomes clear Jonathan holds the key to unlocking the past, Blue will have to learn to trust again or risk losing everything she loves…

Find You Belong With Me online at:

Amazon | Goodreads

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

Book Review | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran

Pregnant and alone, Mary Whittington has no one to call when her labour pains start in the middle of a snowstorm. She calls a taxi, but they can’t get to the hospital because of an accident, so the driver takes charge and she ends up giving birth in the local New Life Community Church, assisted by the taxi driver and a local equine vet.

Beckett Bywater is a doctor who gave up medicine six years ago and became a taxi driver so he could take care of the grandfather who raised him. Gramps is getting more and more belligerent, and Beckett has become as isolated as Mary in his own way.

The two form a friendship as Beckett helps Mary with her newborn son, then Mary returns the favour with Gramps. At the same time, both are being befriended by the people of New Life Community Church.

I loved watching Mary and Beckett get involved with the church community (sometimes unwillingly) at the same time as they are falling for each other.

It’s not immediately obvious why Mary is living alone, in an isolated house with no family or friends nearby. That does come out through the course of the story, in short flashbacks from Mary’s past. This means we’re kind of reading two stories at the same time, the present and the past, and they both come to a climax at the same time. This dual storyline makes for a satisfying read.

Beth Moran’s first couple of novels were published as Christian fiction but never quite hit the mark (perhaps because they were and are quintessentially English and therefore didn’t appeal to the US-dominated Christian market). Personally, I loved the Englishness of the writing–the vocabulary, the traditions, the Doctor Who reference.

Moran has since switched to general market romance/rom-com.

I’ve read several and loved them all. Stories like The Most Wonderful Time of the Year are not Christian fiction as such, but they all feature Christian characters or a Christian community, but in a low-key way that brings an authenticity to the stories. They don’t have any on-the-page swearing, sex, or violence. They also don’t mention God, Jesus, or anything even vaguely theological.

They’re simply feel-good stories that show people with problems overcoming those problems with the help of their (often Christian) friends.

I recommend The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (and other Beth Moran titles) as object lessons in how to weave Christianity into a novel without leaving non-Christian readers feeling as though they’re the victim of a bait-and-switch.

If you’re looking for a sweet Christmas novel in a small-town setting, I think you’ll enjoy The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

About Beth Moran

Beth Moran is the award-winning author of women’s fiction, including number one bestseller Let It Snow and top ten bestseller Just the Way You Are. Her books are set in and around Sherwood Forest, where she can be found most mornings walking with her spaniel Murphy. She has the privilege of also being a foster carer to teenagers, and enjoys nothing better than curling up with a pot of tea and a good story.

Find Beth Moran online at:

Website | Facebook | Instagram

About The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Mary never planned to stop running.

With a past she’s desperate to leave behind and a baby on the way, she’s found a new home, deep in the forest, hidden from the world. But when the time comes to go to the hospital, she has no idea that Beckett, the quiet, steady taxi driver who braves the blizzard to reach her, will change everything.

As Mary adjusts to life with her newborn, she finds herself drawn into a local close-knit community she never expected to be part of. Beckett is always there ­– dependable, patient and offering a friendship she doesn’t know how to accept but slowly comes to rely on.

In a place she thought she’d only ever be passing through, Mary finally learns what it truly means to belong. And as Christmas approaches, she begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t have to do this alone, and that this could be the start of something wonderful…

Find The Most Wonderful Time of the Year online at:

Amazon | BookBub | Goodreads

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 #417 | The Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Beth Moran

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 Most Wonderful Time of the Year by English author Beth Moran.

Here’s the first line of Chapter One:

I'd spent the last few hours trying to convince myself that this couldn't be happening.

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

About The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Mary never planned to stop running.

With a past she’s desperate to leave behind and a baby on the way, she’s found a new home, deep in the forest, hidden from the world. But when the time comes to go to the hospital, she has no idea that Beckett, the quiet, steady taxi driver who braves the blizzard to reach her, will change everything.

As Mary adjusts to life with her newborn, she finds herself drawn into a local close-knit community she never expected to be part of. Beckett is always there ­– dependable, patient and offering a friendship she doesn’t know how to accept but slowly comes to rely on.

In a place she thought she’d only ever be passing through, Mary finally learns what it truly means to belong. And as Christmas approaches, she begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, she doesn’t have to do this alone, and that this could be the start of something wonderful…

Find The Most Wonderful Time of the Year 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!

If you could have a meal with three living authors, who would you choose and why?

Bookish Question #393 | If you could have a meal with three living authors, who would you choose and why?

I have attended a lot of writing conferences over the years, which means I’ve been lucky enough to share meals with many New Zealand and Australian authors, and even a few US authors. Highlights would be my fellow Trinity Lakes authors—Narelle Atkins, Amanda Deed, Rose Dee, Carolyn Miller, Lisa Renee, Meredith Resce, and Jessica Wakefield. I would love any opportunity to get together with these ladies (and Sara Beth Williams, who I haven’t met because she lives in the US).

So I’m going to pick three Christian authors I haven’t met:

Gabrielle Meyer, to get an insight into how she comes up with the ideas for her fabulous Timeless series (and tops on how she manages not to get stuck in endless internet rabbit holes while researching).

Beth Moran, a UK author who writes contemporary romance with comedic elements, often set in or around Sherwood Forest. I love her characters and the subtle way she weaves Christian elements into general market stories.

Roseanna M White, because I love her English spy novels—I love the characters, the settings, and the seamless way she weaves in an authentic Christian faith.

What about you? Which three living authors would you like to share a meal with … and why?

First Line Friday

First Line Friday #342 | Lean on Me by Beth Moran

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

I’m a little late getting my post up this week because I opened Lean on Me by English author Beth Moran, read the first line … and kept right on reading.

Faith is barely getting by financially, supports her drug-addict brother, and is engaged to a self-made millionaire (which wouldn’t be so bad if it wasn’t for his mother and the hideous wedding dress she insists Faith wear).

At first, it felt like Faith was a bit of a doormat, something that is common in rom-com or women’s fiction stories told in first-person point of view, as Lean on Me is. But the further I got into the story, the more I realised I was wrong.

Faith is a survivor who is doing her absolute best with the rubbish hand she’s been dealt in life. She’s a strong character, but it takes her a while to realise how strong she is.

It’s an excellent story (although I would add trigger warnings for off-the-page implied abuse).

Anyway, here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

When, in my younger days, I idly contemplated the time I might one day go wedding dress shopping, it never crossed my mind that it would be a covert operation, accompanied by oversized sunglasses and a floppy hat.

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

 

About Lean on Me

As Faith tries on her future mother-in-law’s wedding dress in preparation for her own wedding, her tears are not of joy. The hideous frock is nicknamed ‘The Ghost Web’ by Faith’s best friend Marilyn, who can’t understand why Faith would even consider wearing it. But there’s a lot Marilyn doesn’t know about Faith – not the least of which is that Faith is just the latest of the names she has called herself.

Faith and her brother Sam survived a traumatic childhood which included having to change their names to hide from the past, but surviving has left scars. Faith’s generous fiancé Perry doesn’t just promise to be a partner, he offers freedom and security, and enough kindness to keep Faith squashing down any doubts on what ‘being in love’ really means.

It’s not until she meets an extraordinary group of women at the Grace Chapel choir, that things start to become crystal clear. As choir-leader extraordinaire, the indomitable Hester, holds a mirror up to her ragtag group of singers, all with their own burdens and insecurities, and teaches them to see how magnificent they are, so Faith can dare to dream of a future where she and Sam can stop running and she might even be ready to accept the love that she deserves.

Find Lean on Me 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 #309 | Always On My Mind by Beth Moran

It’s First Line Friday! That means it’s time to pick up the nearest book and quote the first line. I’ve read a couple of Beth Moran in the distant past, and just found she has switched from writing Christian fiction to clean and wholesome romance. This looks like a fun read.

Here’s the first line from the Chapter One:

When Isaac and I left home exactly one month after our eighteenth birthday, I swore to myself I’d never live with him again.

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

About Always On My Mind

Sometimes when you can’t see the way forwards, the best thing to do is to look back…

When Jessie left home at eighteen, she swore she’d never go back. But when life takes a turn for the complicated, she’s forced to move in with her twin, Isaac, and his two best friends. To her dismay, one of these is Elliot, the boy Jessie once loved, until his life was changed forever by a terrible accident that Jessie still blames herself for.

Cohabiting with three alarmingly unhouse-trained males was not in Jessie’s life plan so when Isaac, Elliot and Arthur offer her a generous rent discount if she’ll help them with their ‘Boys to Men Project’, designed to end years of disastrous dating, she reluctantly accepts the challenge.

As Jessie embraces the comfort of being home, revelling in her new job at her parents’ day centre full of people determined to grow old disgracefully, she realises her housemates aren’t the only ones needing to make some changes. And maybe, if she can finally forgive herself for Elliot’s accident, she can start to look forward to a future, with or without him by her side.

Reading Beth Moran’s fabulous novels makes every day better. Heart-warming, soul-nourishing, with smart characters and irresistible romances, it’s impossible not to fall in love with a Beth Moran story.

Find Always On My Mind 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 did you read in September 2016? (and a giveaway)

Well, I’ve (mostly) caught up on my reading and even managed to get some writing done (you can track my progress using the MyBookProgress counter to the right of the screen).

It’s been a great reading month, with some excellent choices. Here are my top four picks for September:

Favourite Reads

And here are the links to my reviews:

The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran (click here to read my review)

My Hope Next Door by Tammy L Gray (click here to read my review)

A Lady Unrivaled by Roseanna M White (click here to read my review)

The Wedding Shop by Rachel Hauck (click here to read my review)

 

And I promised you a giveaway … so here it is. Click here if you’d like to enter to win a Kindle copy of My Hope Next Door by Tammy L Gray.

What have you been reading this month? Leave a comment and let me know!

This is off-topic, but I have to share: this is where I live, and where I’m setting my stories. Read the article, and you’ll understand why 🙂

http://www.theloop.ca/theres-a-beach-town-in-new-zealand-that-will-make-you-forget-the-caribbean-ever-existed/

Book Review: The Name I Call Myself by Beth Moran

Beth Moran Gets Better and Better

Amazon DescriptionCover image: The Name I Call Myself

All Faith Harp wants is a quiet life – to take care of her troubled brother, Sam, earn enough money to stop the wolves snapping at her heels, and to keep her past buried as deep as possible. And after years of upheaval, she might have just about managed it: she’s engaged to the gorgeous and successful Perry is holding down a job, and Sam’s latest treatment seems to actually be working this time.

But, for Faith, things never seem to stay simple for long. Her domineering mother-in-law-to-be is planning a nightmare wedding, including the wedding dress from hell. And the man who killed her mother is released from prison, sending her brother tumbling back into mental illness.

When secretly planning the wedding she really wants, Faith stumbles across a church choir that challenges far more than her ability to hold a tune. She ends up joining the choir, led by the fierce choir-mistress, Hester, who is determined to do whatever it takes to turn the motley crew of women into something spectacular. She also meets Dylan, the church’s vicar, who is different to any man she has ever met before.

My Review

Beth Moran is an English Christian author. The Name I Call Myself is her third novel, following Making Marion and I Hope You Dance. If you’ve read either of those and didn’t like them for any reason, then I doubt you’ll enjoy The Name I Call Myself, so you can skip this review. But if you liked them or haven’t read them, read on.

I will admit I found The Name I Call Myself a little difficult to get in to. It had a lot of similarities to her previous novels, in that it centres around a young woman discovering her true self. This isn’t helped by some early scenes which reminded me of Bridget Jones at her least intelligent. Faith isn’t an easy character to get to know (even though the book is written in first person). But once we get past the awkwardness that is Faith’s engagement party, the novel really picked up both pace and interest.

Faith is a complex character.

She was raised by her grandmother (now dead) and her older brother, Sam, after their mother was murdered by her partner … as Sam watched. That experience drove the teenage Sam down a trail of alcohol, drugs and mental illness. And he’s never recovered. It left Faith with … well, ‘issues’ almost begins to describe it. She is a very private person, and it takes a long time before I understood enough of her history to really understand the reason she didn’t share a lot.

The Name I Call Myself is about Faith’s relationships. Her with relationship with Perry, her fiance. Her relationship with her brother and his new girlfriend. And her non-relationship with her future mother-in-law (who takes controlling passive-aggressive to new levels). Then there is her relationship with the Grace choir, including Hester the bully conductor. And her almost-relationship with Dylan, the pastor. It’s in her relationships with these supporting characters that we get to know the real Faith …

The Faith perhaps not even Faith knows.

Yes, there are touches of romance, of comedy and of suspense. But The Name I Call Myself is really about Faith’s search for love, acceptance and identity, a search many of us can relate to.

Recommended for fans of contemporary Christian fiction with an edge.

Thanks to Lion Fiction and NetGalley for providing a free ebook for review.

Book Recommendation: Making Marion by Beth Moran

Making Marion by Beth Moran

 

An Outstanding Contemporary Christian Romance Novel

If you’ve signed up for my monthly Newsletter, you’ll already have receive my entirely biased list of 50 novels from my favourite Christian authors. Today I’m reviewing Making Marion by Beth Moran, a contemporary Christian romance novel I enjoyed for the characters, the writing, and the memories of living in England. This review previously appeared on my reviewing blog, Iola’s Christian Reads.

Book Description

(from the back cover, as there doesn’t seem to be a description on Amazon)Contemporary Christian Romance Book Recommendation - Making Marion by Beth Moran

Where’s Robin Hood when you need him?

Marion Miller comes to Sherwood Forest to uncover her father’s mysterious past. She is looking for somewhere to stay, but instead finds herself on the wrong side of the reception desk at the Peace and Pigs campsite. Despite her horrible shyness, she promptly lands herself a job working for the big-hearted and irrepressible Scarlett.

It takes all of Marion’s determination to come out of her shell and get to grips with life on a busy campsite, where even the chickens seem determined to thwart her. Then an unfortunate incident with a runaway bike throws her into the arms of the beautiful, but deeply unimpressed, Reuben.

Can Marion discover her father’s secret? And will she find peace, and perhaps even love, among the pigs?

My Review

Making Marion isn’t a novel for the ultra-conservative Christian reader. It has a distinctly British flavour in terms of language, content, and plot. Marion has a lot of issues in her past, and these are addressed through humour (like Bridget Jones) rather than angst (as used by, say, Karen Kingsbury). I found the sometimes irreverent humour made the hard parts easier to read, but some readers might find that same humour to be disrespectful or offensive.

The plot was good, and the characters, especially Marion and Scarlett were excellent, and the writing was probably the best I’ve come across from a British author, with a subtle theme of love and forgiveness. The present story was regularly interspersed with flashbacks to Marion’s past, which showed us something of the events which had shaped her, and how much she had to forgive.

Recommended for those looking for the depth of Sally Bradley and Varina Denman with the humour of Bridget Jones.