A Simply Enchanted Life

Leslie Gould is back with the latest book, Becoming Bea, in her Shakespeare-inspired series, The Courtships of Lancaster County. Don't miss the other books in the series, Courting Cate (retelling of The Taming of the Shrew), Adoring Addie (inspired by Romeo and Juliet), and Minding Molly (inspired by A Midsummer Night’s Dream).



Leslie is celebrating the series with a Kindle giveaway and a Facebook party on November 11th.

• A Kindle Fire
• One copy each of the entire The Courtships of Lancaster County series: Courting Cate, Adoring Addie, Minding Molly, and Becoming Bea.

Enter today by clicking the icon below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on 11/11. Winner will be announced at Leslie's 11/11 Becoming Bea Facebook author chat party. RSVP for a chance to connect with Leslie and Amish fiction fans, as well as for a chance to win some great prizes!

{NOT ON FACEBOOK? ENTER HERE.}

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK, TWITTER or PINTEREST and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 11th!

Don't miss the first book in Mary Connealy's Wild at Heart series. In Tried & True, Mary is back with her signature humor and heartfelt story-telling.


Mary's celebrating by connecting with readers during a live webcast event and giving away a Kindle HDX.

You are invited to the annual Twitter Fiction Festival!

What is the Twitter Fiction Festival and Who will be there?

I'm glad you asked! The Twitter Fiction Festival is a five day event (March 12th – 16th) where authors of all types and genres will be chatting about fiction on across social media.

How can I participate?

Simply follow the #TwitterFiction hashtag! As this is the first year that Christian authors are participating, make sure to look for the #chrific hastag as well!

What's in it for me?

As a reader when you tweet and/or retweet with the hashtags #TwitterFiction and #chrific you’ll be entered to win over 15 books from across multiple publishers!


Many thanks goes to NovelCrossing for sharing this information! I would love to see you online! Make sure to follow my twitter and I'll be looking for your tweets!!!

Pennsylvania Patchwork by Kate Lloyd

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


I love the cover of this book and I had high hopes! I really wanted to love this story but I just couldn’t get into it.

The book was written first person which I do struggle with but this book was just hard to get through.

I felt like it hopped views and I kept getting Holly and Beth confused. To be honest I would read something and scratch my head and say “okay, wait! Who is Esther?”

I just didn’t connect with the characters so I even had trouble keeping them straight. I don't think the story is bad it just wasn't the story for me. That's life! You're not going to like every single book you read!

Holly has moved to Lancaster to be with her mother and grandmother however, she plans to leave the Amish to be with her fiancé, Zach. There are rumors going around about Zach though, and Holly isn’t sure what to believe. The rumor is that Zach fathered a child with his ex-girlfriend who has suddenly shown up with the child.

Holly’s mother (who I honestly can’t remember her name because I just couldn’t connect with her—Esther maybe?) is engaged to an Amish man and plans to settle down in the community. She hopes that Holly will do the same and it seems there may be a chance for that as a handsome young Amish man and an old suitor have both shown up seeking out Holly.

Of course things wrap up in the end but I won’t spoil it for those of you that haven’t read it but in terms of an Amish love story it was a pretty good ending. I just wish I’d connected more with the characters so that I could have felt the emotions that go into wrapping up a good love story!
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Kate Lloyd is celebrating the release of book two in her Legacy of Lancaster Trilogy, Pennsylvania Patchwork, by giving away an authentic Amish-made quilt!



One "grand" winner receive:

• An authentic Amish-made Quilt
• Pennsylvania Patchwork and Leaving Lancaster by Kate Lloyd

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 29th. Winner will be announced on July 1st at Kate's blog.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

Author Kate Lloyd is a passionate observer of human relationships. A native of Baltimore, Kate spends time with family and friends in Lancaster County, PA, the inspiration for her novels. She is a member of the Lancaster County Mennonite Historical Society. Kate and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest. Kate studied painting and sculpture in college. She's worked a variety of jobs, including car salesman and restaurateur.

Learn more about Kate at http://www.katelloyd.net

I received this book free from the publisher through a fantastic program called Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts and opinions I have expressed are my own. To view other reviews and learn more about the blog tour for Stealing the Preacher please visit the Litfuse group by clicking here

Thank you for visiting A Simply Enchanted Life and for participating in the "A Cast of Stones" blog tour! This post kicks off my portion of the tour and will be followed by an author interview and review! Stay tuned for additional posts throughout the day!

A Cast of Stones



An Epic Medieval Saga Fantasy Readers Will Love



In the backwater village of Callowford, Errol Stone's search for a drink is interrupted by a church messenger who arrives with urgent missives for the hermit priest in the hills. Desperate for coin, Errol volunteers to deliver them but soon finds himself hunted by deadly assassins. Forced to flee with the priest and a small band of travelers, Errol soon learns he's joined a quest that could change the fate of his kingdom.

Protected for millennia by the heirs of the first king, the kingdom's dynasty is near an end and a new king must be selected. As tension and danger mount, Errol must leave behind his drunkenness and grief, learn to fight, and come to know his God in order to survive a journey to discover his destiny.









Author Patrick W. Carr



Patrick Carr was born on an Air Force base in West Germany at the height of the cold war. He has been told this was not his fault. As an Air Force brat, he experienced a change in locale every three years until his father retired to Tennessee. Patrick saw more of the world on his own through a varied and somewhat eclectic education and work history. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1984 and has worked as a draftsman at a nuclear plant, did design work for the Air Force, worked for a printing company, and consulted as an engineer. Patrick’s day gig for the last five years has been teaching high school math in Nashville, TN. He currently makes his home in Nashville with his wonderfully patient wife, Mary, and four sons he thinks are amazing: Patrick, Connor, Daniel, and Ethan. Sometime in the future he would like to be a jazz pianist. Patrick thinks writing about himself in the third person is kind of weird.







Blog Tour Giveaway

$10 Amazon Gift Card or Paypal Cash

Ends 1/31/13

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, Not A Writer http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com and sponsored by the author. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Secretly Smitten by Colleen Coble

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


This book was a bit outside of my normal genre that I usually pick up but the cover is so interesting that I chose to give it a chance. Secretly Smitten is a collection of four novellas written by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Diann Hunt, and Denise Hunter. I was not familiar with any of these authors and honestly, I had no idea that this was considered book two. That doesn’t seem to matter. I was able to read and follow the story without any trouble. I thought this book was okay. It didn’t really jump off the page at me and pull me in but it wasn’t awful. I think it was just outside of a genre I really enjoy. It was romance—JUST romance. No other theme. With it being Christian fiction I was actually a little let down that there wasn’t more of a Christian theme. I never really saw the characters praying or the life lessons that I enjoy from Christian fiction. Overall though—not bad. I’m not sure I would read another part but it wasn’t terrible. It simply wasn’t my style, I think.

Love Between the Lines was the first story in this collection. It was written by Colleen Coble and follows the story of Tess Thomas as she tries to solve a mystery involving her Grandmother’s first love who was supposed to have died during war time sixty years ago. Her questions lead her to the attic of a young widower named Ryan. As time is spent with Ryan and his young daughter, Tess begins to open herself up to the possibility of love.

Then we move on to Make Me a Match by Kristin Billerbeck. The second story in this novella collection follows Zoe Thomas as she opens a matchmaking service for the Smitten community. She is determined to find love for everyone else while she is happy being single. That is—until William Singer makes his appearance in town. Zoe may find out that she is in need of love as well!

Story number three is called Knit One. Love Two by Diann Hunt. In this story we meet Anna, the mother of the Thomas girls. Anna’s husband up and left her for another woman and has nothing at all to do with his daughters. Of course, Anna’s heart is still mending and she is not looking for love when she meets Michael Conners. With her faith and trust shaken—Anna must learn to open her heart if she wishes to find love again.

Concluding this book is Love Blooms by Denise Hunter. I thought Clare Thomas’ story was the most interesting. Her prospective love interest was by far the most interesting and appealing sounding. He had a back story and a bit of angst that appeals to me in a character. I also felt that the spiritual overtone was most prevalent in this last story and I actually enjoy that. Said prospect, Ethan is rugged and interesting. I actually looked forward to the conclusion of their story. We also have the added bonus of an additional side romance. Although, I will say that I find it rather a stretch to believe that six women from the same family would all find love so close together.

Again, I don’t think this was a bad book or that someone else wouldn’t enjoy it. I think it just didn’t click with me the way that I had hoped. I think if you’re into romance and you would like a light happy-go-lucky story with very little drama or anguish then this is the type of book for you!
View all my reviews|Read An Excerpt|Blog Tour on Litfuse
The "gals" are celebrating with a fun Live Webcast on February 5th. They'll be debuting the *NEW* animated Smitten trailer, giving away tons of prizes, dishing on the book and their friendship. They'll also be wrapping up the Secretly Smitten blog tour, answering audience questions and testing your trivia skills. Don't miss the fun and bring your friends. Click here to RSVP and set up a reminder.


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RITA-finalist Colleen Coble is the author of several best-selling romantic suspense novels, including "Tidewater Inn", and the Mercy Falls, Lonestar, and Rock Harbor series. * Christy Award finalist and two-time winner of the ACFW Book of the Year award, Kristin Billerbeck has appeared on The Today Show and has been featured in the New York Times. Her books include "A Billion Reasons Why" and "What a Girl Wants." * Denise Hunter is the award-winning and best-selling author of several novels, including "A Cowboy's Touch" and "Sweetwater Gap." She and her husband are raising three boys in Indiana. * Diann Hunt has lived in Indiana forever, been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, her dog, and, well, chocolate.

Find out more about Coble, Billerbeck, Hunter, Hunt here.

I received this book free from the publisher through a fantastic program called Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts and opinions I have expressed are my own.

Welcome to the12 Pearls of Christmas blog series!



Merry Christmas from Pearl Girls™! We hope you enjoy these Christmas “Pearls of Wisdom” from the authors who were so kind to donate their time and talents! If you miss a few posts, you’ll be able go back through and read them on this blog throughout the next few days.



We’re giving away a pearl necklace in celebration of the holidays, as well as some items (books, a gift pack, music CDs) from the contributors! Enter now on Facebook or at the Pearl Girls blog. The winner will announced on January 2, 2013 at the Pearl Girls blog.



If you are unfamiliar with Pearl Girls™, please visit www.pearlgirls.info and see what we’re all about. In short, we exist to support the work of charities that help women and children in the US and around the globe. Consider purchasing a copy of Mother of Pearl, Pearl Girls: Encountering Grit, Experiencing Grace or one of the Pearl Girls products (all GREAT gifts!) to help support Pearl Girls.



God with Us . . . And Us with Him

By: Susan May Warren



Every year over labor day weekend, the Warren family has a MWE. Mandatory Warren Event. It’s a call to come home and enjoy the long weekend with our favorite people. Since my children have left for college, I relish every second of this weekend—the laughter in the kitchen, the long conversations in the family room, the frenzy of backyard football, the quietness of the morning as we drink coffee on the deck and watch the sunrise. I cherish these people, and when they are with me, I drink in their presence.



I’ve been reading the prophecies about Christ this season and came across Isaiah 7:14, Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.



I am struck by the word Immanuel. God with us. The closest I get to comprehending this is reading about how Jesus’ loved his disciples. Surely they relished the time with him more profoundly after his resurrection, knowing he would soon leave.



Thankfully, he didn’t leave them for long and sent His Holy Spirit. God . . . still with them. 



As I consider the magnitude of this God who would come to earth, who would abide with the disciples, and then with me, I have to wonder not only do I relish God’s presence in my life, but does God relish time with me? Am I committed to embracing His entrance into my life? Am I even making the effort to see Him?



Imagine that during our MWE weekend, I ignored my children, and they, me? I would lose the joy of their presence.



It is not surprising to me that the Jewish people did not recognize their Savior. After all, who would guess that the Almighty might package himself as a baby and appear among them, fragile and dependent? But today, we know the story, we know the miracles, we know the truth, and God invites us into an abundant relationship, one that He wishes to relish, one that will change us. A relationship that will slake our thirsts and satisfy our hungers. One that reminds us that we are never alone.



Because every day we are a mandatory event to our Immanuel.



This season, look for the ways that God is your Immanuel, with you, every day.

A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnn Diorio

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Nothing says Christmas than a sitting down with a cup of hot cocoa, a couple cookies and a quick read from a Christmas novella. This is the first book that I’ve read by MaryAnn Diorio and I am so delighted that this is also my first blog tour with a fantastic review program called Litfuse! I am so honored to be involved with this fantastic program and I hope that this is the first of many reviews and tours that I have the pleasure of participating in! Having said that…Merry Christmas to all my readers and I hope you enjoy this review.

Seven years have passed since Jody left home. Sonia has had her heart broken—her daughter is missing, her husband has passed away and her son is becoming dangerously distant and bitter. Things are not going so well for Jody either. Now living clear across the world in Australia—Jody is now a single mother of twins and has lost her job. Jody has no one to turn to and prays that her parents will accept her after being gone for so long.

This was a quick read and filled with a resounding message of forgiveness. It was pretty short—even by novella standards but it was enjoyable nonetheless. My only complaint was that some of the storyline was lacking. We never found out a reason for Jody’s departure other than she wanted an adventure. It didn’t make much sense why a girl would secretly leave and refuse to call home for seven years—even after becoming a mother herself when her only reason for leaving was an adventure. She didn’t even tell her best friend? Something was very sketchy and lacking in the story there. The ending was also very rushed which was a little bit of a disappointment. Overall the story was pretty good and it had great potential. I think if it were expanded to a full on novella it would be a 5-star story!
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Dr. MaryAnn Diorio loves God, people, children, and dogs, in that order. She also is passionate about story and its power to transform the human heart. Dr. MaryAnn, as she is affectionately called, writes compelling fiction that deals with the deepest issues of life. She is Adjunct Online Professor of Fiction Writing for Regent University and coaches writers on their journey to publication. MaryAnn and her husband Dominic are the blessed parents of two wonderful daughters and a fantastic son-in-law.
Find out more about MaryAnn at http://maryanndiorio.com/.

I received this book free from the publisher through a fantastic program called Litfuse Publicity. I was not required to write a positive review. The thoughts and opinions I have expressed are my own. This giveaway is being sponsored by Litfuse
as part of a blog tour for A Christmas Homecoming. To view other reviews and learn more about this tour please visit the Litfuse group by clicking here

Grab a copy of MaryAnn Diorio's "A Christmas Homecoming" for JUST .99! MaryAnn is celebrating by giving away a Paperwhite Kindle! Details below!

One "merry" winner will receive:

• A Paperwhite Kindle
• A Christmas Homecoming by MaryAnn Diorio

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on December 22nd. Winner will be announced on 12/23/12 at MaryAnn's Blog.

Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.