Sailing Through Time & Secrets: “Across the Ages” Is a Heart-Racing Treasure

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Gabrielle Meyer’s Across the Ages is everything I want in time travel fiction—heart, history, high stakes, and a dash of holy hope. Caroline is a gifted time-crosser living two lives: one as a disguised cabin boy aboard a pirate ship in 1727, the other as a preacher’s daughter caught up in Prohibition-era drama in 1927 St. Paul. The twists are fun, the romance is swoony, and the tension never lets up. As a Minnesota native, I loved the Twin Cities references—every landmark was familiar and warmly nostalgic. Meyer, who once worked for the Minnesota Historical Society, knows her stuff. That comes through loud and clear, especially in the informative author’s note. […]

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Twists, Truths, and Tupelo Grove: Where Secrets Lie is a Must-Read Mystery

If you’re looking for your next binge-worthy suspense read, put Where Secrets Lie by Colleen Coble and Rick Acker at the top of your list. I just finished it—five stars, no hesitation. I couldn’t put it down. The story follows Savannah Webster, a professor at Tupelo Grove University who’s trying to move forward after a painful divorce. But when her ex-husband Hez shows signs of slipping back into trouble, and a dangerous smuggling ring threatens the university her family founded, she finds herself caught in a high-stakes tangle of secrets, lies, and buried history. What really stood out to me? The intricacies of the plot. Coble and Acker clearly did their research—this […]

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The Lady’s Mine by Francine Rivers: Grit, Guns, and God in the Gold Rush

⭐️⭐️⭐️½ (3.5 stars) I normally wouldn’t pick up a book like The Lady’s Mine, but it was a book club selection—and I’m glad I gave it a chance, even if it didn’t completely win me over. Set in the rugged mining town of Calvada, California, Francine Rivers introduces us to Kathryn Walsh, a fiery suffragette exiled from Boston by her stepfather. She inherits her late uncle’s newspaper and quickly finds herself shaking up a corrupt and chaotic community. The setup has all the makings of a satisfying Western: a gutsy heroine, a brooding saloon owner (hello, Matthias Beck), and the kind of moral showdown that’s become a Rivers signature. I […]

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A Stirring Journey of Faith, Friendship, and Finding Peace After War

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Long Way Home by Lynn Austin is a beautifully written novel that tugs at the heart and offers a hopeful message about healing after trauma. Set in the wake of World War II, the story follows Jimmy Barnett, a shell-shocked veteran confined to a VA hospital, and Grace, a quiet young woman determined to uncover the truth behind his silence. As Grace digs into Jimmy’s past, she uncovers a moving tale of love, sacrifice, and the unseen wounds soldiers carry home. The book also weaves in a second powerful storyline: that of Gisela Wolff, a young Jewish woman trying to survive the horrors of Nazi Germany. Her family’s journey—from […]

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A Time-Crossed Tale of Duty and Destiny

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️½ Book One in the Timeless series What if you had to choose between two lives? I’ve always been a sucker for time travel—especially when it’s wrapped in history, heart, and just enough tension to keep you flipping pages past bedtime. Gabrielle Meyer’s When the Day Comes does exactly that. I loved this story so much. The setup is gold: Libby lives two lives—one in 1774 Williamsburg, the other in 1914 New York. On her 21st birthday, she has to choose which life to keep living. I mean… talk about a high-stakes birthday. Both timelines are richly drawn. In colonial Virginia, Libby faces an arranged marriage and the sparks of revolution. In […]

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Say Yes to This Book: A Sweet Road Trip You’ll Be Glad You Took

Okay, so I rarely fall into the chick-lit camp. But The Summer of Yes by Courtney Walsh got me good. It’s quirky, heartfelt, and just the kind of book you want to read with your feet up and something fruity in hand. Kelsey Worthington is a junior editor who’s all about routines and playing it safe—until she gets smacked by a car and ends up in the hospital. That’s where she meets Georgina Tate, a powerhouse businesswoman with a terminal illness and more regrets than she’ll admit. Kelsey, fresh off her brush with death, pitches a wild idea: say “yes” to life. Georgina rolls her eyes… then goes along for […]

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A Captivating Time-Travel Tale of Love, Sacrifice, and Destiny

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️✨ (4.5 stars) Book Three in the Timeless series Two sisters. Two timelines. One impossible choice. I liked this book so much, I actually hit pause and went back to read books one and two. (Totally worth it.) Gabrielle Meyer’s For a Lifetime is the third in her Timeless series, and it’s a wild ride through two very different eras—1692 Salem and 1912 New York City. This one follows twin sisters, Grace and Hope, who time-cross between those two worlds. On their twenty-fifth birthday, they’re faced with a gut-wrenching decision: stay in one timeline forever and leave the other behind. No take-backs. The Salem timeline is intense. Like, witch trial […]

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A Riveting Return to Connilyn Cossette’s King’s Men Series

“We serve the God who spoke the universe into existence. The God who split the sea to rescue his people. The God who conquered death with an empty tomb. There is nothing at all that he cannot do. So keep your eyes on the Lord, my friend, for he is at your right hand. Do not be shaken” (Psalm 16: 8).—Connilyn Cossette, Shield of the Mighty. 4.5 rounded up to 5.Connilyn Cossette’s latest addition to the King’s Men series delivers a powerful story of love, loyalty, and redemption set in ancient Israel. Zevi, a seasoned captain in King Saul’s army, returns to his hometown of Maresha on a mission to […]

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A Maritime Disaster in 1915 Chicago

“If we’re honest with ourselves, I think we’d find that much of what we love has a lot to do with the memories we’ve attached to it.”—Jocelyn Green, Drawn by the Current. Jocelyn Green’s Drawn by the Current takes you on a harrowing journey aboard the ill-fated SS Eastland, which capsizes while tied to a dock in 1915 Chicago. Olive Pierce, an insurance agent, takes her best friend on an excursion on the ship to celebrate her birthday when the unthinkable occurs. With Claire missing amid the chaos, Olive’s escape is just the beginning. The wreckage is more than the twisted steel and the chilling waters of the lake—it’s the […]

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Just Once

“But it was another reminder to hold tight to today. The gift of this one sunrise and sunset. God alone knows what the future holds for any of us, but He has called us to appreciate this life, and to thank Him daily for it. While we still can.”—Karen Kingsbury, Just Once. Just Once begins when Irvel Holland Myers receives an Alzheimer’s diagnosis. Knowing she has just six months before the disease ravages her brain so badly that she forgets everything, her husband records her memories, including those of her time serving as a code breaker, a secret she has kept from her entire family. Set against the backdrop of […]

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