Catching up on reading - 'Secretly Smitten' (what a name for a book title lol!)

Do keep reading - this book is better than it sounds!  Honestly!

Secretly Smitten by Colleen Coble, Kristin Billerbeck, Denise Hunter and Diann Hunt is the sequel to Smitten, a town in Vermont which has been reinvented as a romantic destination. I was given it to review through Booksneeze but enjoyed it so much that I intend to buy 'Smitten' and - I hope - any further sequels.

It is, in fact, four books in one, skilfully written by four different authors to read as an entire novel.
The first, Love Between the Lines, is a murder mystery romance; Make Me a Match explores the tribulations of setting up a matchmaking club. Knit one, Love Two is a charming tale of the love and encouragement found among a group of dedicated knitters - and romance in middle age. Love Blooms is set in and around a plant nursery. The novel as a whole is simply a series of gentle romances, with a good mixture of suspense, intrigue and mystery mixed in and an understated Christian angle.

I enjoyed meeting the characters from one 'chapter' in others, seeing them from different viewpoints. I enjoyed guessing the endings long before the authors worked them out - though the twists in the telling kept my interest going. But above all I enjoyed the cosy, 'feel good' atmosphere, the sense of security in a close-knit community and the love - in all aspects of the word - that seeped through the pages.
Such fun!

The Scarlet Cord book review

I often have trouble reading well-known Bible stories which are presented as fiction. As an avid reader of mystery novels, I have difficulty reading a story when I know how it all turns out in the end. Yet This Scarlet Cord, the story of Rahab and the fall of Jericho, is different.
Joan Wolf draws the reader in through the eyes of Sala, a young descendant of Esau. Meeting a very young Rahab in Gaza, he meets her again when he journeys to Jericho. The story unfolds in beautifully told detail, imaginatively recreating the events leading up to the city's destruction. Without 'spoiling the plot', suffice it to say that Wolf creates credible characters who fill in and colour a familiar tale, leading to a beautifully satisfying conclusion.
Reading this book, I really felt drawn into the lives of those living in ancient Jericho, almost feeling that I was living there alongside them. The author evidently has a good grasp of ancient history and Biblical interpretation, although I found the presentation of two of the characters as Hebrew speaking 'Jews', whose families had not migrated to Egypt with Jacob's family, rather hard to understand as I had always understood that 'Israelites' were descendants of Jacob. It has spurred me on to find out more about Biblical genealogy!
I was glad I received this book through Booksneeze  (I recently acquired a Kindle and so an e- version was a great option). This was not just because it was free, but also because I have also read too many poor quality free books recently so This Scarlet Cord was a lovely treat!