Rocky Mountain Oasis, The Shepherd's Heart, Book 1 by Lynette Bonner

Brooke has been sold as a mail order bride.  But the man she ends up married to is not the actual man her uncle sold her to.  This man, Sky, is different than the other men she has had in her life.  Can she learn to trust and learn to love when she is afraid to give her heart away?  Will he hurt her just like the others have?

I really enjoyed this book.  The way she reacts to sudden movement or what she thinks is Sky's anger was just heart wrenching.  I found myself hoping that she would just be open and honest right from the beginning.  Sky's reactions to her and his vows to her were so gentle and sweet that I thought he was the perfect choice to show her what a real husband is supposed to look like.

With a little suspense and intrigue and a touch of romance, this was an enjoyable read.  I downloaded this (Book One) free from Amazon to my kindle and I have purchased book two and three from Amazon, and will read number four when it comes out in the fall of 2012

To Protect and Serve, The Courage Series, by Staci Stallings

I really enjoyed this book (that I downloaded for free from Amazon to my Kindle app). My uncle is a firefighter and often I have wondered how his family handles his line of work. This book gave me a really in-depth look at how both a firefighter and his family can feel. Jeff is a very shy firefighter who has absolutely no interest in dancing or clubs. So when he is dragged there by his friends for their graduation celebration, he resigns himself to just endure the evening. Lisa's little sister is getting married and the bachelorette party is at a little club downtown. Lisa is so focused on her work that had they not come to pick her up, she would have missed it...and she is the maid of honour. Now, that would have been disastrous! Jeff and Lisa meet and, after a lot of second guessing themselves, start dating. When Jeff is in a particular heavy fire, something goes terribly wrong. And after that, nothing seems to go right. His past comes back to haunt him and the life he thought he might have with Lisa slips through his fingers. Working like dogs, Jeff and Lisa think if they can keep their brains occupied, their hearts will eventually get over the unrequited love. This book had me teary, smiling, and even chuckling out loud at times. I think Staci is a great author that can bring such realness to the book that it feels like you're right there in the thick of the action. Her life lessons are deep, though surprisingly simple. You say to yourself, "Duh" (as in 'I can't believe I have never looked at it that way') over and over. I will definitely read more of her work. To compare her to Dee Henderson or Irene Hannon is not a stretch; I can easily see her becoming one of top ten favourite authors if her next book is as good as this one! Definitely recommend.

Free Kindle Books!

I can't believe I haven't mentioned this yet!  Most books I review are books I have downloaded for free. 

On Facebook, if you search "Inspired Reads," you'll come across a page you can 'like'.  This will now allow Inspired Reads to post to your news-feed, free (or severely reduced prices) Christian books.  Some fiction, some non-fiction, self help, etc.  If you search 'Pixel of Ink,' you'll receive notifications of some Christian material and lots of non-Christian material.  So, ya, be careful what you download.....some stuff you just can't unread (or un-see).  Be careful little eyes!

Personally, I have downloaded 431 free e-books since I came across those pages last August (so, that would be about one year).  I downloaded the free kindle app for my PC laptop and have been happily reading ever since.  I would guesstimate that I have easily read 100 of those books.  I have cookbooks, self help, fiction, non-fiction, some biographies etc. 

I have purchased one book during this time and it was reduced to $2.99....

So ya, happy reading!!!  Thank you Amazon!

(To Clarify:  You download by clicking the link on the freebie list page which takes you to the free e-book download made available by Amazon.)