Her Only Wish Book Review

 I was excited to get to read the next book in this series after having the chance to read the first.  The cover was again set in beautiful Pinecraft but it showed a different character so I was excited to find out who this book was going to follow.  I love all of the books that I have read by Shelley Shepard Gray especially the first book in the Season in Pinecraft series.

 

Return to Pinecraft, Florida, for a Sweet Amish Romance

Sheltered yet adventurous, Betsy Detweiler is on a mission to get out of Kentucky and experience new things in life. She's got a list--a life list. What better place to start than with her friends in beautiful Pinecraft, Florida?

From the moment Betsy walks into the Snow Bird Golf Course to sign up for lessons, August Troyer is mesmerized. Betsy is a mass of contradictions--beautiful yet awkward, outgoing yet unsure, joyful yet hesitant. She's like no one he's ever met before, and as the only child of missionary parents, he's met a lot of people.

As Betsy and August embark on a month of enjoying life to the fullest, they'll encounter several reasons to back off and play it safe. But playing it safe has its own consequences. This tender romance reminds us that life--and love--requires a fair amount of risk.

I was excited to see Betsy return in this book to have another vacation from her small town in Kentucky to stay with her friend Mary Margaret in Pinecraft. Betsy is working on changing her life because she has lived with lifelong medical problems. Betsy has set up a life list of things that she wants to accomplish. She has decided that the first thing that she going to try is learning to play golf.  She has no athletic ability but has decided that she has decided she is determined to learn.  Betsy meets August Troyer who works at the golf course. She was set that during the month in Pinecraft she is going to finish her list but what she learns is even more valuable because she makes many lifelong friends. Betsy is learning a lot along the way but in addition to her list, she is learning more about herself then she ever thought as well as to be independent.  I hope that you check out this book and enjoy it as much as I did but I do highly suggest starting with the first book in the series first.  This was a great follow up book to tell Betsy's story.  I can't even wait to read the next book in the series to follow our last friend through her life changing process.

**I was provided a copy of the book for my review but the review was not required to be positive.

 

Her Heart's Desires Book Review

 I was excited to read another great series by Shelley Shepard Gray.  I thought it looked like a great book just from the lovely cover and I love everything that I have read by this author. I was excited to start another series following different characters in each book as many of her series do. My favorite is to start at the beginning of the series like this which is the first book in the A Season in Pinecraft series.  I have enjoyed reading other Amish fiction that were also set in Pinecraft so I was excited to read this new series.

 

 

 

Mary Margaret Miller needs an escape from her small Amish community. She boards a bus, all alone, for a vacation in Pinecraft, Florida. Meeting Betsy and Lilly on the way, she’s amazed to find two kindred spirits. They become fast friends and determine to have the best two weeks of their lives. For Mary, it starts when she meets Jayson Raber, a handsome and charming carpenter.

Jayson is taken with Mary from the get-go, but he has responsibilities back home in Kentucky—including a girl he’s supposed to marry. And when someone from Mary’s past shows up in Pinecraft, it seems like her perfect vacation is ruined. But that’s nothing compared to what’s coming when she realizes what Jayson has been hiding …

Mary Margaret wants to go on a vacation and get away from her normal life in her small Amish community. She is traveling to Pinecraft, Florida to enjoy the warm weather and a break from her normal life. During the trip, there is a weather delay and she gets to meet Betsy and Lilly during the trip and delay where they have to stay overnight in a hotel. They decide that night that they are all going to change their lives by living their best life while on vacation and leaving their pasts behind them. MAry Margaret meets Jayson while he is in Pinecraft and they become quick friends even though they haven't known each other for very long. Jayson is struggling with the life that he needs to live at home and his responsibility to his sister.  I though that the fight that they have when Mary Margaret discovers the truth.  The end is a surprise and I hope that you read all the way to the end and figure out what is going to happen.  I hope that you enjoy this book and check it out for yourself. The characters were fun and I was really interested to see who would be featured in the next book in the series. Stay turned and you will also find out!!

**I was provided a copy of this book for my review but no positive review was required.

 

Second Time Around Book Review

 I thought that this cover and title sounded very intriguing even before I got to the summary of the book.  I have also read a bunch of different books by this author and I have enjoyed them all.  I can't relate to having an empty nest yet but but I totally think that being overwhelmed by the move and construction is something that I can totally relate to. I tend to prefer the books when I can find something I sympathize with or relate to in the main character. Mallory Farrell was starting over in a new life with what her grandmother left her in her will.

 

 

 

When empty nester Mallory Farrell inherits her grandmother's run-down tourist shop in Seaport, Oregon, it seems the only sensible thing to do is to sell it. But when her former secret crush, Grayson Matthews, wants to buy the property in order to complete his plans to redevelop the funky town's business district into a soulless, cookie-cutter outdoor mall, Mallory digs in her heels and decides to renovate the property herself.

With a lot of hard work and a little bit of help, Mallory makes incredible progress turning the store into an eclectic home décor shop called Romancing the Home--all while trying to ignore the depressing and decrepit apartment she's living in on the second floor. When the shop catches the eye of a popular renovation TV show producer, Mallory is thrilled--until it becomes clear that her apartment is to be part of the segment as well.

She's tempted to abandon her dreams and the town under a cloud of shame. But perhaps there's more to Grayson than meets the eye. Can he swallow his pride, change his plans, and help Mallory romance her own home--and possibly her life?

The story jumped directly into the middle of the big life decision where Mallory was dealing with her grandmothers estate and traveling back to the small town she spent summers at as a child.  I thought it was really interesting to see how Mallory avoided dealing with Grayson based on their history together when she was a child. But she quickly decides to give up her career and house and move to the small town because she has decided that this was exactly what her empty nest life needed.  I am not sure what decision others would make in her place but I thought it was a great story. Mallory has to move all of the stuff out of the shop and quickly finds a great buyer to take all of the things in the shop and starts making big strides to renovate the shop to turn it into the home decor shop that she has envisioned.  All of the fun parts of the story where Mallory is connecting to others in the small town and making her new life is the best part of the story.  The only part that is hard to understand is that she so set on doing things herself and being miserable because things aren't going well.  Although I am sure we can all relate to wanting it to be independent, it is a great improved story when she starts to trust and rely on others. I hope that you check out this book for yourself and enjoy it as much as I did. It was a great story with great characters.

 

**I was provided a copy of the book for my review but I was not required to provide a positive review.