Audio Book Review: Back in the Saddle: A Novel (Double S Ranch Series, Book #1) by Ruth Logan Herne

I totally enjoyed this inspirational, contemporary western romance.
Back in the Saddle: A Novel (Double S Ranch Series, Book #1)
by Ruth Logan Herne
Narrator Anna Salinas
Runtime 9.25 Hrs. - Unabridged
Publisher Recorded Books
Downloads ZIP M4B MP3
Release Date February 15, 2017
Genre: Christian, Contemporary, Romance, Western
My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0 Story and Narration.

Here comes a captivating western romance and family-centered drama with a heart of gold, featuring plenty of cowboys and family drama, from prolific author and networker Ruth Logan Herne. Colt Stafford's winner-take-all personality clashed with his father's similar temperament and led Colt to pursue his own success far from the Double S ranch. The opportunity came in private equities once he earned his way to a desk on Wall Street. But timing is everything and Colt's financial demise coincided with his father's illness. God's perfect timing doesn't always seem all that perfect, but Colt needed a job, the Double S needed Colt and Sam sent his prodigal son a ticket. and Colt came home. He rediscovers his love for ranching, for Washington and for the great outdoors. His father's change of heart seems surreal, and by the time Colt realizes he belongs with his family, he's lost his heart to a Latina cop whose gone undercover to protect her child and her mother. Through the accidents of timing, God has brought multiple facets together at the Double S, just in time for healing, hope and home.

Review:
Colt was raised on a ranch by his father, Sam, who had a strong take control attitude. As a young man they began to clash so Colt headed off to the city to make his own brand of success. He was doing great at private equities until a situation lost him his career and savings. He headed home to try to help with his father’s illness. Colt is surprised when he arrives to find Sam’s attitude has softened.

Colt’s first meeting with Angelina is at the end of a gun. It is rather strange behavior for a housekeeper but Colt is quick to learn that Angelina has secrets. At least Angelina’s tough love and trust God philosophy is helping Sam to seek a relationship with God and with his estranged son.

Colt and Angelina are doing the clashing now with Angelina inclined to think Colt is a city slicker who will be heading back to the bright lights as soon as he can. Colt thinks Angelina is bossy and antagonistic and he is determined to uncover the secret she is hiding.

I really enjoyed this from beginning to end. Ms. Herne shares thoughts from the characters which makes them very real. She also unabashedly shares Godly themes - resistance (prodigal) to redemption to reliance - which I greatly appreciated. There is good chemistry between Colt and Angelina and the secondary characters (including Sam, Angelina’s adorable son, Noah, and her dedicated mother) add more depth and richness. There are family issues and a touch of suspense and danger.

There is strong description and easy flow to the writing. I have read Ruth Logan stories years ago and always like them. I have to add more of her to my reading. I recommend this to readers who enjoy heartwarming family interaction, sweet romance and Christian themes.

Audio Notes: Anna Salinas does a fine job with the narration as her voice fit the tone of the story. She doesn’t give strong voice changes but enough to distinguish plus she manages the pacing well to reflect appropriately the aside thoughts. The narration added to my enjoyment of the story.

Source: Audiobook.com 2017 Sale Purchase. This qualifies for Audiobook Challenge.

Sunday Post November 25, 2018/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday November 26, 2018

I am linking with Sunday Post at Caffeinated Book Reviewer.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading now at The Book Date (at Wordpress).

What Are You Reading, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

I didn't get my office pics up yet. We are hoping to get the building tarpped this week but we have had rain again so more wet inside.
I had been trying to locate the new egg stash for the chickens and found it inside a potted plant on our porch. They had another spot but some bubblewrap had been pushed in the way so they stopped using that one. I hope they will continue to use the ones I know as there are so many places for them to run off and hide the eggs!
We had a nice Thanksgiving lunch with daughter, son-in-law and the three local grandchildren. Hubby bought a meal kit that worked out great. The visit seemed to go so quickly and we never turned on the TV for parades or football!
Hubby is struggling with inactivity and lots of joint pain that is keeping him from sleeping soundly. :-(

Oh - I forgot to mention I have completed my Goodreads Challenge with a month to spare!

My listening and reading was good this week. I am still managing with short reading times on my old kindle. I finished three audio books and two ebooks. I posted three reviews on blog, and four at Goodreads. I am back to posting my usual memes.

I got to visit 23 blogs again last week.
Shout Out this week to Under the Boardwalk. Nise' reads lots of titles I like and I like her short review summaries.
Thank you to all the nice people who visit me.

These were last week's posts:

• Sunday Post November 18, 2018/It's Monday! What are You Reading? Plus Mailbox Monday November 19, 2018.

• NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Unwritten by Tara Gilboy; Children's Books, Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths; My Rating: 4.25 of 5.0.

• NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: For Us Humans by Steve Rzasa; Aliens, Christian, Futuristic, Sci Fi; My Rating: 4.5 of 5.0.

• Happy Thanksgiving 2018.

• NG2018- #NetGalley Book Review: Light’s Dawn: A Novella (Light in the Darkness) by Yvette Bostic; Alternate History, Fantasy; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

• A2018- Goodreads Audible Book Review: An Uncommon Protector (Lone Star Hero, #2) by Shelley Shepard Gray, Nan Gurley (Narrator); Historical Romance, Sweet; My Rating: Overall 4.25; Story 4.25; Narration 4.25.

• eTBR- Goodreads Book Review: Haunted: Ten Tales of Ghosts
  by Rayne Hall, Sera Hayes, Jonathan Broughto, Grayson Bray Morris, Kiersten Hartrim, Carole Ann Moleti, Douglas Kolacki, William Meikle, Tracie McBride; Ghosts, Paranormal, Short Stories; My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0.

• Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway November 23, 2018.

• ATBR- Goodreads Audible Book Review: The Year of the Hare: A Novel by Arto Paasilinna, Herbert Lomas (Translator), Simon Vance (Narrator); Comedy, Fiction; My Rating: Overall 4.0; Story 3.5; Narration 5.0.

• A2018- Goodreads Audible Book Review: The Ghost and the Graveyard (Knight Games, #1) by Genevieve Jack, Brittany Pressley (Narrator); Ghosts, Fantasy, Romance; My Rating: Overall: 4.0; Story 3.75; Narration 4.0.

• Sunday Words of Encouragement November 25, 2018.

Finished Reading:

1. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

29 Gifts
How a Month of Giving Can Change Your Life
By: Cami Walker
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
This is very well done and inspiring. 
 Source: June 2017 Audible Daily Deal $1.95.
Click on book title for full description.

2. eBook/Kindle Fire (TBR)

Christmas at Draycott Abbey (Draycott Abbey Romance)
by Christina Skye
I enjoyed this suspenseful, ghost Christmas story.
Source: 2012 Free Kindle; "C" title.
Click on book title for full description.

3. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

Uncommon Protector
Living an Extraordinary Life One Day at a Time
By: Shelley Shepard Gray
Narrated by: Nan Gurley
Length: 8 hrs and 14 mins
This is charming!
Source: October 2018 Credit Purchase for a "U" title for 2018.
My review is linked above.

4. eBook/Kindle and Smartphone (NG2018)

Somewhere The Bells Ring (Somewhere in Time Book 3)
by Beth Trissel
This is another engaging Ghost Christmas story.
Source: NetGalley 2018.
Click on book title for full description.

5. Audible Smartphone (AB2018)

Zoe's Tale
Old Man's War, Book 4
By: John Scalzi
Narrated by: Tavia Gilbert
Length: 10 hrs
I am enjoying continuing this series.
Source: 2018 October Credits; 2018 "Z" title.
Publisher's Summary
"How do you tell your part in the biggest tale in history?
"I ask because it's what I have to do. I'm Zoe Boutin Perry: A colonist stranded on a deadly pioneer world. Holy icon to a race of aliens. A player (and a pawn) in a interstellar chess match to save humanity, or to see it fall. Witness to history. Friend. Daughter. Human. Seventeen years old.
"Everyone on Earth knows the tale I am part of. But you don't know my tale: How I did what I did - how I did what I had to do - not just to stay alive but to keep you alive, too. All of you. I'm going to tell it to you now, the only way I know how: not straight but true, the whole thing, to try make you feel what I felt: the joy and terror and uncertainty, panic and wonder, despair and hope. Everything that happened, bringing us to Earth, and Earth out of its captivity. All through my eyes.
"It's a story you know. But you don't know it all."
©2008 John Scalzi (P)2008 Macmillan Audio

Currently Reading:
1. eBook/Kindle and Smartphone (NG2018)

Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff
by Dana K. White
This has been on my NetGalley shelf since spring. 
I hope to start implementing the suggestions before the end of year.
Source: NetGalley 2018.
You don't have to live overwhelmed by stuff--you can get rid of clutter for good!
While the world seems to be in love with the idea of tiny houses and minimalism, many of us simply can't purge it all and start from nothing. Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralyzing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress.
In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, in her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out--for good!
But more than simply offering strategies, Dana dives deep into how to implement them, no matter the reader's clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering. She helps identify procrasticlutter--the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn't seem urgent--as well as how to make progress when there's no time to declutter.
Sections of the book include
Why You Need This Book (You Know Why)
Your Unique Home
Decluttering in the Midst of Real Life
Change Your Mind, Change Your Home
Breaking Through Your Decluttering Delusions
Working It Out Room by Room
Helping Others Declutter
Real Life Goes On (and On)
As long as we're living and breathing, new clutter will appear. The good news is that decluttering can get easier, become more natural, and require significantly fewer hours, less emotional bandwidth, and little to no sweat to keep going.

2. Audible/Smartphone (ATBR)

We'll Always Have Christmas
By: Jenny Hale
Narrated by: Helene Maksoud
Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins
I never got to this one last Christmas 
so I'll listen now.
Source: September 2017 Credit Purchase.
Publisher's Summary
An enchanting story about the magic of Christmas, the importance of family, and the joy of falling in love during the most romantic season of the year....
Christmas has always been a special time for Noelle Parker. Winter evenings spent with family and friends, drinking hot chocolate and eating cookies at her family's cozy bakery have shaped her love for all things festive. But this year everything is changing....
The beloved bakery is facing closure and Noelle needs a miracle to save Christmas.
Determined to raise funds for the family business, Noelle sets about revamping the bakery while juggling a surprise new job, caring for the elderly and cantankerous William Harrington in his luxurious, sprawling mansion.
As Noelle melts the frostiness of the house with cake baking, snowball fights and glittering decorations, she helps William to reconnect with a romance that has spanned decades and unexpectedly finds herself falling for his grandson - the gorgeous but mysterious Alexander Harrington...
In the countdown to Christmas, can Noelle save the bakery, reunite a family and create some magical memories of her own along the way?
Unwrap the feeling of Christmas in this beautiful novel celebrating friendship, family and love that lasts a lifetime. We'll Always Have Christmas is the perfect treat for fans of Karen Swan, Susan Mallery, and Sue Moorcroft.
©2017 Jenny Hale (P)2017 Bookouture

3. eBook/Kindle and Smartphone (NG2018)

A Chance at Christmas
by Beppie Harrison
This is a Christmas book I picked up.
Source: 2018 NetGalley.
Christmas is coming, and Catherine Woodsleigh and her crippled brother John have no hope of celebration until an invitation to spend Christmas with an old friend and her family arrives. But after the holiday, worse misfortune looms before them. Living on the diminishing number of coins drawn from a jar left by their dead father and mother, a dire future seems inevitable. Will this chance to share a wondrous sparkling Christmas not only provide a glorious holiday but a new turn in their futures and the astonishing possibility of romance?

November 25, 2018 - I am up to date and enjoying the One Year Bible plan reading through You Version App. Although I am on track on my smartphone I haven' t been steady for each morning and find myself finishing the reading at the end of the day instead of beginning. I need to get back to starting my day with scripture.
I am up to date on the additional reading plan started 11/12: Names of God, Thanksgiving and Christmas.
[You can check out audio of the One Year Bible Plan on the companion commentary online.]

I completed five books and posted seven reviews. I still have 12 reviews to post but the list is getting smaller slowly.
I am slowly adding these reviews to Goodreads, Amazon and Audible.  I still have older ones to catch up on too.
My NetGalley shelf is now at 7 as I am reading 2 while working to get these completed. I may be requesting a few more before the end of year. I still have one author title in queue - I think. Still many through InstaFreebie and many new author requests I haven't replied to.

Welcome to Mailbox Monday.

Mailbox Monday is a gathering place for readers to share the books that came into their house last week and explore great book blogs. This Meme started with Marcia at A Girl and Her Books (fka The Printed Page) and after a tour of hosts has returned to its permanent home at Mailbox Monday. Thanks to the ladies sharing hosting duties: Leslie of Under My Apple Tree, Serena of Savvy Verse & Wit and (yours truly). Warning: Mailbox Monday can lead to envy, toppling TBR piles and humongous wish lists.
I didn't add any new review titles.
I resisted the week's Daily Deals but picked up four titles on sale for total $23.80.
I didn't pick up any Kindle paid titles.
I only picked up 27 free kindle titles. (Note these are in my Amazon library, NOT on my Kindle until I download and transfer them.)
Are your mailbox and TBR piles blooming?

Review Titles

NONE

Won

NONE

Purchased

11/25/18 Four Books on Sale
Radiance $4.95
Wraith Kings, Volume 1
By: Grace Draven
Narrated by: Gabrielle Baker
Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
This was new to me but sounds like a fantasy romance I will like.

Grim $5.95
Tornians Book 1
By: M.K. Eidem
Narrated by: Commodore James, Laura Jennings
Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins
This is another fantasy romance that took my fancy.

The Fifth Season $6.95
The Broken Earth, Book 1
By: N. K. Jemisin
Narrated by: Robin Miles
Length: 15 hrs and 27 mins
This has been on my wish list for some time.

The Handmaid's Tale $5.95
By: Margaret Atwood
Narrated by: Claire Danes
Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
I have been meaning to get this one for a while too.

Free

I added 27 free titles to my Kindle library over the past week. Titles found linked through Bookbub, Bookfun, Ereader News Today, Free Par-tay, Ignite Your Book, Inspired Reads, Pixel of Ink or Kindle ebooks.

Sunday Words of Encouragement November 25, 2018

We had a good morning at church with Sunday School and Service. SS covered 1 Corinthians Chapter 5. Paul was addressing the church leadership for failing to handle a local problem of sin. The church has to be careful that it doesn’t begin to reflect the world instead of being distinctly different.

We started service with lovely praise and worship. Our Youth Pastor gave the sermon message titled Unexpected Answers based on the prayers of Habakkuk. Habakkuk lamented and whined: “How long, Lord, must I call for help but you do not listen?” He was praying with complaints that the world around him was full of violence and wickedness. Habakkuk 1:2-4.
God replied: “Look at the nations and watch— and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.” Habakkuk 1:5.
God’s answer basically says: I am present. I know what is going on and I am in control.
We can be assured that God is Always in control, in every season of life.

We get so many blessings, provision, protection, healing, deliverance. And we get the awesome right to pray even though the answer isn't always what we expect. We think we know what we need but God sees a bigger picture.

Often we get focused on wanting an answer from God rather than focusing on God's presence. The scriptures tell us to ‘Seek Him’ and the reset will come. We need to pray for His presence and then recognize that He is in control.

Habakkuk's complaint turns into a song in Chapter 3:3-6.
Although these other verses were not mentioned specifically, I have four verses highlighted in my Bible: Habakkuk 1:5 (above); Habakkuk 2:4, 20 and 3:18 (shown below the video).

I had a couple songs on God is in Control and chose this video for today.

Verses for Today:
Habakkuk (NIV)
Habakkuk 2:4
“See, the enemy is puffed up;
his desires are not upright—
but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness—”
Habakkuk 2:20
The Lord is in his holy temple;
let all the earth be silent before him.
Habakkuk 3:18
yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
I will be joyful in God my Savior.

Lord, I pray that You would help me to seek Your Presence and allow that to be the right answer for me.

Martha's Bookshelf***Friday Pick Giveaway November 23, 2018

Happy Friday and Welcome to a month of Thanksgiving and November Anniversary of Friday Pick! Every November I pick 4 random winners to celebrate the anniversary of Friday Pick.

The week turned out too disrupted to pull together another set of books at office. I thought I had a picture of some boxes that I had set aside but I didn't find the picture. I set together a box at home but the picture wouldn't email so it will have to wait. I have added titles to all existing lists though.

TO ENTER FRIDAY PICK

US Entrants: Leave a comment and tell me WHICH BOOK you would like to get from the Friday Pick lists.

INTERNATIONAL: Leave a comment indicating "Gift Card" (see further comments near the end of the post.)

CUT OFF TIME IS THURSDAY NIGHTS AT 9:00 PM CENTRAL so I do not have to stay up too late to do the winner post! I will randomly pick two winners to announce Friday mornings with the next Pick post.

Thank you to all who entered the November 16 Pick. There were no automatic wins this week. Automatic wins are those who requested the book four times without other people asking for that book during those weeks. No titles were blocked.

CONGRATULATIONS
to Random.org picked Winners from November 16 Pick:
ASHFA and MARYP each get a GC and
BN100 gets End Game and BECKY gets The Leopard's Woman/White Wolf

All winners please fill in the Winner's Acceptance Form or email me to confirm your win, send your snail mail address information and let me know if you would like bookmarks - sensual, sexy or sweet bookmarks. {The form is new because Google changed their forms and the old one wasn't letting me print out the responses.}

Of course this bulletin board fits for Thanksgiving week. :-).
Image found at Shopswell.

New Book Group #82 November 9, 2018

Pairs:
Stella Cameron: French Quarter and Key West
Jude Deveraux: Mulberry Tree and Wild Orchids
SINGLES:
Magic Strikes by Ilona Andrews
Unmasked Anthology - Jennifer Blake, Janet Dailey and Elizabeth Gage
Plum Lovin' by Janet Evanovich
Killing Time by Linda Howard
The Finer Things by Brenda Joyce
Wicked Promise by Kat Martin
Countess of Scandal by Laurel McKee
The Leopard's Woman by Linda Lael Miller and White Wolf by Lindsay McKenna
Eagle and the Dove by Victoria Morrow
To Love Again by Bertrice Small
The Wedding Night by Barbara Dawson Smith
Primal Obsession by Susan Vaughn

New Book Group #81 August 17, 2018

There are three audios at the top:

No One Left to Tell is MP3
Kisscut is Cassettes
Dark Summer is CDs
Pairs:
Kay Hooper and
Carla Neggers Red Clover Inn
SINGLES
Cold Pursuit by Carla Neggers
Best Laid Plans
Bound For Murder
Asking for Murder
Pretty Poison
Darkness Tell Us
Last Writes (A Jaine Austen Mystery Series Book 2) by Laura Levine
Don’t Tell a Soul by S. K. McClafferty - MSE has on Kindle 2013
Zombies of the Gene Pool
Cooking More Deadly


New Book Group #80 August 17, 2018

Note: The Final Judgment and
The Book of Fate are Audio Cassettes
PAIRS
Fern Michaels and James Patterson
SINGLES:
Summer’s Moon
The Green Trap
End Game
Night School
The Red Tent
The Final Judgment Audio Cassettes
Secrets of Paris
Linda Goodnight
Irish Charmers, the Mighty Quinns
Firebird
No Getting Over a Cowboy
The Book of Fate Audio Cassettes


New Book Group #79 July 13, 2018
I found this box of books buried under some other boxes.

The Vanishing Act of Esme Lenox by Maggie O’Farrell
P.S. by Helen Schulman
Her Sexiest Surprise by Dawn Atkins (personally autographed)
The Maverick Preacher by Victoria Bylin (personally autographed)
The Broken Window by Jeffery Deaver
The Doctor’s Forever Family by Marie Ferrarella
Dakota Child by Linda Ford
Branded by the Sheriff by Delores Fossen
The Italian’s Inexperienced Mistress
Calling the Shots by Ellen Hartman
Promises, Promises by Amber Miller
This Time for Keeps by Jenna Mills
Rhapsody in Time by Judith O’Brien
A Daughter’s Legacy by Virginia Smith
Another Man’s Baby by Kay Stockham
The Cowboy’s Christmas Miracle by RaeAnne Thayne


New Book Group #78 April 27, 2018

PAIRS
Johanna Lindsey Pair
Judith Krentz Pair
SINGLES
Midnight Rainbow
Blackberry Bush
Breaking Point
A Tangled Affair
To Wicked to Love
Betrayed
My Dark Prince
Roses are Red Audio Cassettes
Brothers of Gwynedd
Fatal Defect
Bones of the Sea and Other Stories
By a Spider's Thread



New Book Group #77 February 16, 2018- All gone

New Book Group #76 November 3, 2017
13 books remain of the original 37:

I finally Have them Listed!
Boots & Booties by Kristine Rolofson
Saucer the Conquest by Stephen Coonts
Echo Burning by Lee Child
The Scorpion Seducer by Bonnie Vanak
Hell On Earth by David L. Porter
Tempted All Night by Liz Carlyle
Day of the Dead by J.A. Jance
White Night by Jim Butcher
Five Gold Rings Anthology Constance O’Banyon and three others
Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey
The Glimpses of the Moon by Edith Wharton
Depraved Heart by Patricia Cornwell
Crisscross by Harmon Henkin
Wizard’s Daughter by Catherine Coulter
Pearl Beyond Price by Claire Delacroix
Maelstrom by Anne McCaffrey
The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks
The Wicked Wyckerly by Patricia Rice
Inhuman Condition by Clive Barker
Night Whispers by Judith McNaught
101 Commonsense Rules for the Office by John R. Brinkerhoff

This shelf of 35 books are what is left from Groups #1 (11/27/09) through Group #75 September 29, 2017

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 14 titles.)
Rehabilitation
Secret Blessing
Named of the Dragon
Daring
Aunt Erma's Cope Book
JoAnn Ross: Confessions
The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
The New Birth Order Book by Dr. Kevin Leman
A Kiss Before Dawn by Kimberly Logan
The Fireman’s Fair by Josephine Humphreys (Hardcover)
Bound by Destiny by Rayka Mennen
Rainbow Mars by Larry Niven
There Was A Little Girl by Ed McBain (Audio Cassettes)
Love's Brazen Fire by Betina Krahn 

(Title list reads left at bottom to right at top - 21 titles.)
Plan of Attack by Dan Brown
(*Three more very old books from my Gothics box.)
*The Man in the Garden by Paule Mason (1969 - yellowed)
Fire Dancer by Ann Maxwell
*Four books are very old; pulled from a box of gothic novels I found.
*Maggie – Her Marriage by Taylor Caldwell (1953 very old, yellowed pages, some stain damage doesn't effect reading)
First Things First by Stephen R. Covey- Audio Cassette
Trilogy Of Mysteries Audio Book Shadow Prey, There Was A Little Girl, Smokescreen Audio Cassettes (NOT CDs)
Raintree Haunted by Linda Winstead Jones (spine creases)
The Shadowing by Joan Overfield
The Sweetheart Dance by Patti Ann Colt
BOX 4 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 47-53)
Undateable by Ellen Rakieten & Anne Coyle
Jezebel by Katherine Sutcliff
The Hidden Truth of Cytech's Randall Forty by Vickie Kennedy
Breakfast in Bed by Sandra Brown - Audio Cassette Tapes (link is for mass media version)
BOX 3 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 39- 47)
Shetland Summer by Janet Lynnford
BOX 2 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 24- 38)
The Trailsman: Texas Lead Slingers by Jon Sharpe
A Courtesans Guide to Getting Your Man by Susan Donovan and Celeste Bradley -- NOTE This book has dog bite damage; it is missing half back cover and the edges of pages in the back third of the book... it does not effect the text but I will understand if no one wants this one
An Honorable Man by Rosemary Rogers (spine creases)
The Willful Widow by Valerie King (spine wear)
Foundation (Foundation Novels) by Isaac Asimov
BOX #1 2015 (reboxed from Boxes 1- 23)
Ghost Writer (Shivers #3) by M.D. Spenser
Alien Chronicles - The Crimson Claw by Deborah Chester

If you saw the pictures posted of my bookshelves and boxes you know I do have lots of books! And that doesn't include the other eight or so boxes at my office!! And more books as I find deals too good to pass up! I am sharing my book bounty by these Friday Pick Giveaways.

I started Friday Pick on November 27, 2009 and in almost EIGHT years I have posted 82 groups of 16 plus an additional 21 totaling 1,333 books to find new homes! (as of November 9, 2018).

I am happy to say that so far about 1,198+ books have found new homes through this feature! YAY. [A year or so ago I posted I had reached 2000 books given away. As I calculated the numbers 11/2/17 I realized that had to be an error. I realized I went from 1098 to 2001 instead of 1101. Guess I was tired; sorry for the error.] I have to update my print out to check the exact number sent out - a few were never claimed. I periodically update the lists - deleting those won. You can still go to the Friday Pick list link to see older posts and the older lists book pictures if you want!

Note rules here regarding international entries.

Because postage to overseas can be prohibitive I am willing to give a $5.00 book certificate to international winners - Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, ARe, TWRP, ClassAct Books, eTreasures, Desert Breeze, etc....you tell me where and I'll set it up. So for my overseas visitors your comment may indicate a smaller book and I'll check postage or note your choice of gift card.

I learned that The Book Depository does not ship to everywhere. The postage for some of the books to far away places runs between $7.00 and $10.00 and up. Since I would award $5.00 for The Book Depository to an international winner, as an alternative you may choose a smaller book and we will hope the postage will not exceed $6.00. If the postage is more, or if you want to pick a larger book and you are willing to pay any extra postage beyond the $6.00 I will work with you on that. This may not make a difference to many but if it helps one or two of you to give one of my books a home that will make me happy too. :o)

Repeating this helpful blog tip: You can right click on a link and you will be given the choice to open the link in a new window or tab so you do not navigate away from the screen you are on!! I use this all the time!

#NetGalley Book Review: Light’s Dawn: A Novella (Light in the Darkness) by Yvette Bostic

This is an interesting alternate history, fantasy prequel that sets up the series.

Light’s Dawn: A Novella (Light in the Darkness)
by Yvette Bostic

File Size: 358 KB
Print Length: 107 pages
Publication Date: April 24, 2018
Sold by: Amazon Digital Services LLC
ASIN: B07C1WNLJ8
Genre: Alternate History, Fantasy
My Rating: 4.0 of 5.0

Mikel, a young merchant with the East India Trading Company, always considered fortune to be his mistress...until the Amboyan Massacre. The Dutch spare his life, but he’s forced into the deep jungles of South America to act as bait for a hidden menace picking off their scouts one by one. It works all too well: a demonic horde, drawn into the open, annihilates the entire Dutch battalion, leaving Mikel running for his life.
As he flees from the grisly battlefield, he falls in with the only other survivor of the demon attack, a Portuguese army scout named Raphael. Together, they scramble to escape the dangers of an impenetrable jungle, the pursuing demons, and their masters, a shadowy group of cultists intent on destroying the world.
Exhausted and disoriented, Mikel and Raphael are drawn to a mysterious stranger. But his gifts come with a choice: accept their destiny to fight against the darkness or allow it to consume humanity.
Light's Dawn is a stand-alone prequel to the Light in the Darkness historical fantasy series.

Review:
Mikel and a friend Harry are caught up in a massacre by the Dutch against the East India Trading Company and others on Ambon Island. Mikel and Harry are sent away as prisoners by ship then forced into military service in the jungles of South America. As a scout Mikel watches in total fear as demonic beasts wipe out the Dutch battalion.

Meanwhile, Raphael, an expert scout for the Portuguese army who were about to face off with the Dutch, witnesses the destruction of his army unit by the demons. Raphael and Mikel end up escaping together. The pair are reluctant to work together but a mysterious vision tells them that they must work together to survive and fight on a humanitarian mission.

The pair stumble into a village and a group of warriors fighting the demons. The Amazon leader of the warriors is drawn together on the ‘Godly’ mission and they all have to decide if they are willing to take the challenge to fight against an ancient evil cult.

There is plenty of action and interesting divine involvement in this historical fantasy. The story is presented in chapter scenes focused on the different characters. This was a little confusing at first but was an interesting technique once I understood what was happening. The characters are well developed, complete with strengths and weaknesses. I liked how the story climaxed, setting up the next books in the series. I recommend this to fantasy readers who enjoy good versus evil battles.

Source: NetGalley 2018. This qualifies for NetGalley Challenge.