My 2022 reading goal

 It is the in thing for readers to share their reading goals met for the year, along with their favorite book or books of the year. I set a goal of 200 books, and surpassed it by a bit. It may seem unbelievable the amount of books that I read, but there are reasons for it:

I live alone

I work 4 days a week (4 10's) instead of 5

I rarely go out of my house on days off, except to stores in my little town

I go to work early to get a good parking place, and read in my car and on lunch breaks.

So I hit 554 books, 354 books past my goal. I cannot pick one favorite book, but there are two series that are at the top of my list.

First is the Love and Honor Series by a new author to me, Hallee Bridgeman. There is a short prequel, but the three main books came out in September, October, and November.....unusual for a series. They usually come out 6 or more months apart. Awesome series, and I have read several other books by her. She is good.

The other series is an author who I was familiar with, but really didn't start reading til this year. If I counted right, I read at least 60 books by her this year, and this was the best series: The Fog Lake Suspense Series by Christy Barritt. I read all 7 books on Kindle Unlimited in February. I liked them so much that I bought the paperbacks in June and read them again. She puts books out so fast, I don't know how she does it, but she has become one of my favorite authors. 

I discovered a lot of new authors this year, and here are 26 that I read at least a few books by. There are others that I read one or two books buy and did not list.

1) Hallee Bridgeman

2) Sara Blackgard

3) D.L. Woods

4) Tom Threadgill

5) Lynne Shannon

6) Pepper Basham

7) Penny Zeller

😎 Malory Ford

9) Stephenia McGee

10)  Jo Grafford

11) Edie James

12) Kimberly Rae Jordan

13) Melissa Jagears

14) Leah Atwood

15) Sondra Kraak

16) Michelle Griep

17) Sara Davison

18) Robin Patchen

19) Jerusha Agen

20) Valerie Bodden

21) Jennifer Pierce

22) Taylor Michaels

23) Rebecca Hartt

24) Sharlene MacLaren

25) Bree Livingston

26) Christy Barritt

A Mark of Grace, Secrets of the Canyon #3 by Kimberley Woodhouse Woodhouse

 

Book description:

When everything crumbles, her chance for a new beginning hangs in the balance.

Ruth Anniston survived an injury that left her physically scarred, broken, and angry at God. Now, she finds herself working behind the scenes as a kitchen and dining room supervisor at the El Tovar Hotel, hidden away from curious eyes and with little hope of finding love. When money begins to disappear from the hotel, Ruth's entire livelihood is put at risk when she lands on the list of suspects.

Frank Henderson has at last succeeded in obtaining his dream job as head chef at the El Tovar. But competition in the kitchen is fierce, and one mistake could cost him his future. As the thefts at the hotel continue, and his affection for Ruth grows, Frank's career--and his heart--are in jeopardy.

As tensions run high, Ruth and Frank must work together to save the El Tovar. They find themselves growing closer . . . but can their combined ingenuity overcome the odds against them?

My review:
   No offense to the author, but for some reason I didn't think this book would be as good as the other two were. 

  I was wrong. In my not so humble opinion, this was the best of the three. Of course there is the fact that the setting of the books and the workings of the hotel and Harvey girls has become very familiar, and the reader knows a lot about all that, so the author doesn't have to spend as much time setting up the setting and all that.

  This book was different from the other two in that the two main characters have been in all three books, and did not have to be introduced. Ruth has seemed somewhat of a stern unapproachable character in the previous two books, and that may have played into my thinking that this may not be as good as the other two books. But it definitely gave the author more time for character development.

  I love mystery and suspense, and this book had a lot of both. The reader knows both what is going on and who the bad guy is, but there is a lot of suspense as you wonder what is going to happen next, and if Ruth, Frank, and their boss will ever get to the bottom of things before the hotel is ruined forever. In the labels section of blogger, where I first post my book reviews, I labeled the book as "read in one sitting", and I did read it in one sitting. Once I started reading, I didn't put it down except for a few breaks.

 As much as I loved the mystery/suspense angle of the book, the book has a lot of spiritual "meat" in it. Not only is this author amazing with the historical accuracy in her books, she definitely does not shy away from making her books obviously and unapologetically Christian.

  Ruth struggles throughout most of the book about her injuries and scars from a mountain lion attack. She has built walls and backed off from friends, and has caused Frank to love her from afar as he tries to be her friend. Though Ruth is a fictional character, there is much to be learned about grace, along with the sufferings of Job in the book....enough to make me think on some things I need to think on. Which is most likely the author's intent.

 Slight spoiler: the bad guys are eventually caught, Ruth patches up her relationship with God, and of course the guy gets the girl. And we leave the great El Tovar Hotel....which still exists, by the way.

 This was a great series that had plenty of mystery and suspense, with a lot of Biblical truths and romance all through the series, coming to an end in this last - and best - book of the trilogy.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

Kimberley Woodhouse (www.kimberleywoodhouse.com) is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 30 fiction and nonfiction books. Kim and her incredible husband of 30-plus years live in the Poconos, where they play golf together, spend time with their kids and grandbaby, and research all the history around them.

 A Mark of Grace will be available January 3 from Bethany House Publishers, part of the Baker Publishing House.

 Check out the first two books in the series:

                                                               Book #1

Book #2

 

Beneath His Silence by Hannah Linder

 

Book description:

Will Seeking Justice Lead to Her Own Demise?

A Gothic-Style Regency Romance from a Promising Young Author

Second daughter of a baron—and a little on the mischievous side—Ella Pemberton is no governess. But the pretense is a necessity if she ever wishes to get inside of Wyckhorn Manor and attain the truth. Exposing the man who killed her sister is all that matters.

Lord Sedgewick knows there’s blood on his hands. Lies have been conceived, then more lies, but the price of truth would be too great. All he has left now is his son—and his hatred. Yet as the charming governess invades his home, his safe cocoon of bitterness begins to tear away.

Could Ella, despite the lingering questions of his guilt, fall in love with such a man? Or is she falling prey to him—just as her dead sister?

My review:
  This was one of those books that I thought sounded good, and then wondered about when it came. It got lost in the shuffle of Christmas reads and I got an email reminding me I needed to post a review.

 The book was different. I have come to discover anything that has the description of "Gothic" attached to it is usually different. In this case, different turned out to be a good thing.

 I really liked the characters. The quiet, mysterious, and misunderstood Lord Sedgewick (Henry)......and Ella, trying to find out the truth about her sister while going undercover as a governess to her own nephew, Peter. Peter was also a great character, a very likable and mostly well behaved little boy.

 The author does a great job of spinning the story around the main characters while keeping Ella and the reader in the dark about what happened to Henry's wife/Ella's sister. You get the idea early on that whatever happened was not intentional on his part, which helps the reader like him all the more, but you remain clueless for most of the book as to what really happened.

 It is a suspenseful story full of mystery, but not one of those fast pulse pounding reads with non stop action that has you turning the pages as fast as you can read, but it is more of a slow paced mystery with every day life going on as Ella does her best to quietly uncover the truth of what happened to her sister.

 There is more action and suspense towards the end of the book as another character becomes more involved in the story, and the book did get more interesting and hard to put down as the end of the book became closer.

 Overall, this was a great and interesting read with enough suspense and mystery to appeal to lovers of that genre', and it had a great ending. It would appear this is the author's first published novel, and I definitely liked it enough to read what she writes next.

I was provided a copy of this book for review purposes. All opinions in this review are my own.

About the author:

HANNAH LINDER resides in the beautiful mountains of central West Virginia. Represented by Books & Such, she writes Regency romantic suspense novels. She is a double 2021 Selah Award winner, a 2022 Selah Award winner, and a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW). 

Hannah is a Graphic Design Associates Degree graduate who specializes in professional book cover design. She designs for both traditional publishing houses and individual authors, including New York Times, USA Today, and International bestsellers. She is also a local photographer and a self-portrait photographer. 

When Hannah is not writing, she enjoys playing her instruments—piano, guitar, and ukulele—songwriting, painting still life, walking in the rain, and sitting on the front porch of her 1800s farmhouse. To follow her journey, visit hannahlinderbooks.com. 

Beneath His Silence is available from Barbour Publishing.

Thanks to Barbour for the review copy.