by Crystal Caudill | Mar 31, 2025 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
It’s another month of our challenge: Tackle Your TBR Pile. So go dig through that stack taller than you of books you’ve been meaning to read and start reading away. Since this year is based on your TBR pile, I will not have a recommendations page, but I’m leaving the link here so it’s easier for me to set up NEXT year’s blog posts.
Find recommendations at Reading Challenge Recommendations, Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*
Reading Challenge 2025: Tackle the TBR Pile
If you’re anything like me, you have a TBR pile that is bigger than you can hope to read in a lifetime. This is the year we’re going to try an tackle at least twelve of those books. Head to your shelves and find books that fit each month’s challenge.
This Month: March – Author with the same starting letter as you
Next Month: April – Start or Finish a series on your TBR
Beyond All Dreams
by Elizabeth Camden
Review by: Crystal Caudill
Beyond All Dreams was another fantastic read from Elizabeth Camden. The story masterfully wove together the politics of DC at the precipice before the Spanish-American War, the building of the “new” Library of Congress, and romance that had to overcome great personal obstacles as well as political ones. I want to have Elizabeth Camden’s skill when I grow up. LOL I really appreciated the maturity and growth of the characters as they overcame their personal struggles with anger, scars from the past-both literal and metaphorical, stepping out of comfort zones, and standing up for what they believe. I highly recommend this read to anyone who wants a story with depth, rich history, healthy romance, intrigue, and characters who hang around in your head for days afterward.
Genre: Historical Romance, Edwardian
Plot Overview:
Anna O’Brien leads a predictable and quiet life as a map librarian at the illustrious Library of Congress until she stumbles across a baffling mystery of a ship disappeared at sea. She is thwarted in her attempts to uncover information, but her determination outweighs her shyness and she turns to a dashing congressman for help.
Luke Callahan was one of the nation’s most powerful congressmen until his promising career became shadowed in scandal. Eager to share in a new cause and intrigued by the winsome librarian, he joins forces with Anna to solve the mystery of the lost ship.
Opposites in every way, Anna and Luke are unexpectedly drawn to each other despite the strict rules forbidding Anna from any romantic entanglement with a member of Congress.
From the gilded halls of the Capitol, where powerful men shape the future of the nation, to the scholarly archives of the nation’s finest library, Anna and Luke are soon embroiled in secrets much bigger and more perilous than they ever imagined. Is bringing the truth to light worth risking all they’ve ever dreamed for themselves?
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget. *Giveaway Policies can be found here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Feb 28, 2025 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
It’s another month of our challenge: Tackle Your TBR Pile. So go dig through that stack taller than you of books you’ve been meaning to read and start reading away. Since this year is based on your TBR pile, I will not have a recommendations page, but I’m leaving the link here so it’s easier for me to set up NEXT year’s blog posts.
Find recommendations at Reading Challenge Recommendations, Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*
Reading Challenge 2025: Tackle the TBR Pile
If you’re anything like me, you have a TBR pile that is bigger than you can hope to read in a lifetime. This is the year we’re going to try an tackle at least twelve of those books. Head to your shelves and find books that fit each month’s challenge.
This Month: February – Author of a different generation
Next Month: March – Author with the same starting letter as you
Calico Spy
by Margaret Brownley
Review by:
I can always count on Margaret Brownley to provide a completely satisfying romance blended with mystery, crime, and adventure. This final installment of the Undercover Ladies series is definitely my favorite from her so far.
Katie is a wonderful Pinkerton operative, different from any of the other “Pink” women in her series. Her own set of observation skills paired with the handsome sheriff, and reluctant love interest, is perfect for the hunt of the Harvey Girl Killer. While her observation skills were envious, they were human.
As a woman, she has a strong personality, but with the vulnerable undertone we all try to hide. She is a character who draws you in and molds you into her. Her emotions, thought patterns, and uncertainties are complex and real. She is my absolute favorite character developed by Margaret Brownley thus far.
Sheriff Branch Whitman is his own strong character with a past that emotionally attaches you to him. His is the tall, strong hero who is not really intimidated by an equally strong-minded woman. He is wounded, yet gentle. He is intelligent, but a complete buffoon at times. I love him to no end as a character.
There is a restrained passion that emerges and evolves naturally as the story progresses. Honestly, it made me want to curl up in my husband’s arms and feel that strong connection Katie and Branch have but fear to acknowledge. It is a love that feels real and not just the pat on the back, superficially love found in a lot of romance novels.
The plot is fantastic with several twists, turns, and added layers which hold your attention from beginning to end. While the murder does seem to drag on, it was a realistic drawing out of how murders are not solved in an hour. I don’t wish to give anything away, but let me assure you every layer is addressed satisfactorily, and all loose ends are tied up.
I highly recommend picking up Calico Spy if you like historical crime solving mixed with romance. Margaret Brownley is a master.
Genre: Historical Romance, Western
Plot Overview:
Pinkerton operative Katie Madison’s newest case takes her to Calico, Kansas, where two Harvey House restaurant waitresses were murdered in mysterious circumstances. Calico s sheriff, Branch Whitman, has never met a Pink he liked and is stunned to learn the pretty redhead s true identity as she works undercover as a Harvey girl. A tornado hits town, and a past deception puts Branch s eight-year-old-son in danger. Now the Sheriff has no choice but to work with Katie or chance losing everything he holds dear.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget. *Giveaway Policies can be found here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Feb 1, 2025 | Book Reviews, Reading Challenge
It’s another month of our challenge: Tackle Your TBR Pile. So go dig through that stack taller than you of books you’ve been meaning to read and start reading away. Since this year is based on your TBR pile, I will not have a recommendations page, but I’m leaving the link here so it’s easier for me to set up NEXT year’s blog posts.
Find recommendations at Reading Challenge Recommendations, Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, Avid Readers of Christian Fiction, or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes from my shelf can be found here.*
Reading Challenge 2025: Tackle the TBR Pile
If you’re anything like me, you have a TBR pile that is bigger than you can hope to read in a lifetime. This is the year we’re going to try an tackle at least twelve of those books. Head to your shelves and find books that fit each month’s challenge.
This Month: January – Newest book on your TBR pile
Next Month: February – Author of a different generation
The Misadventures of Miss Adelaide
by Maggie Dallen
Review by: Crystal Caudill
As my brain recovered from a massive writing deadline, my attention was caught by a Facebook ad for a set of clean Regency reads from Maggie Dallen. Since they were clean, the price was right, and my brain was not ready for anything more advanced than a simple, light-hearted plot; this fit the bill. I read a set of Christmas novellas from her before this one, but I think those technically still fell in 2024. So far, of what I’ve read of Maggie Dallen, this story has been my favorite. I love the mix of mystery, adventure, romance, and danger. The characters were fun, Addie’s loyalty to saving her brother admirable, and the earl a silent brooding type of hero, but definitely a hero. I find that all of her characters seem to fall in love too quickly or simply, but that is honestly the nature of these types of reads, so I can’t fault the story for that. It was a quick read at 176 pages, and I might read it again one day, but probably not.
Genre: Regency Romance
Plot Overview:
Three unlucky women find love in the unlikeliest places in this sweet regency romance series…
Miss Adelaide is down on her luck and on the run when she finally collapses at Evercliff Manor. Perhaps it’s exhaustion that has her spilling her secrets to the kind doctor tending to her–or maybe it’s his warm, compelling eyes. Then again, maybe it’s just another case of sheer bad luck.
It turns out the kindly doctor who now knows her deepest, darkest secrets is not really a doctor at all. He’s an earl. Worse, he’s her employer. And he’s decided that Adelaide will be his next project. With his assistance, and the help of her newfound friends at the Lovelace School of Charm, Miss Adelaide might just land on her feet. If only she doesn’t lose her heart…
Purchase Links:
Amazon
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget. *Giveaway Policies can be found here.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Jan 12, 2025 | Reading Challenge
Unlocking the Past: Ecclesiastes 3
Just as Ecclesiastes has two opposites in each verse, most months will leave you with two options to choose from.
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
December Verse: A time for war and a time for peace.
Challenge Theme: A book set at the end of a war
January’s Theme: Newest Book on your TBR Pile
In an effort to just get this post out there to you who are patiently waiting, I’m calling an audible. I failed my own challenge. Between a killer deadline, a family emergency that immediately followed, I got nothing for you. BUT thankfully YOU can still tell me what YOU read for the last month of the 2024 challenge.
This year’s challenge focuses on whittling down your current TBR pile, so grab the book that is either the most recently released or the newest one you’ve added to your pile and get to reading!
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 20th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget.
*Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Nov 30, 2024 | Reading Challenge
It’s another month our challenge: Unlocking Ecclesiastes 3. I’m so excited to join you again this year with guest reviews from our reading challenge participants. If you want to submit a review for upcoming months, feel free to email me using my contact form. If you are looking for suggestions as to what to read each month, may I recommend joining my Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, or visiting Avid Readers of Christian Fiction or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index. I’ll also include a short list at the bottom of this post.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
Unlocking the Past: Ecclesiastes 3
Just as Ecclesiastes has two opposites in each verse, most months will leave you with two options to choose from.
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
November Verse: A time to love and a time to hate.
Challenge Theme: An enemies-to-lovers book
December Verse: A time for war and a time for peace.
Challenge Theme: A book set at the end of a war
Fiancé Finale
by Angela Ruth Strong
Review by: Crystal Caudill
So I might have stretched the boundaries of this month’s challenge, but even though it was a second chance romance, Nicole did start out with not liking Charlie for the way he broke her heart. One of my favorite things about the book was the fact Charlie was neurodivergent. It’s not a hero-type you usually see, but Angela did an amazing job with it. His character was so well done in the way that he sees things as black and white and emotions are difficult to feel or understand. His journey to understanding what love really is and demonstrating it was one of my absolute favorite arcs for a RomCom. Angela Ruth Strong writes RomCom with depth, and I think she’s ruined me for any other type of RomCom. Also, Nicole is believable, a pastor’s kid who has suffered at the hands of a father who made poor decisions but refused to acknowledge them, and had to find her way to forgiveness in order to find love for her father and for Charlie. It was a beautiful story that needed told. I highly recommend the entire series, especially this one.
Genre: RomCom
Plot Overview:
Charlie Newberg is sure about one thing: Nicole Lemaire is the woman God wants him to marry. There’s a slight problem, thoughmdashhe’s already left her once. The day before their wedding. To make a documentary.
But he’s got a plan. The marketing firm she works for is the ideal choice for promoting his new film. Collaborating will give him the perfect chance to propose again, so he conspires with her boss to make sure she runs the campaign for the same kind of documentary Charlie left hermdashbasically at the altarmdashfor.
Despite Nicole’s resistance, the two work well together. But Charlie’s going to need more than teamwork to convince the jilted bride to give him a second chance. In fact, he might need to fall in love in a way he’s never really understood.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget.
*Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Recommendations for December:
- The Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna White
- All Things New by Lynn Austin
- Escape to Paradise trilogy by MaryLu Tyndall
- Daisies Are Forever by Liz Tolsma
- Springtime of the Spirit by Maureen Lang
- Traces of Mercy by Michael Landon, Jr. & Cindy Kelley
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
by Crystal Caudill | Nov 5, 2024 | Reading Challenge
It’s another month our challenge: Unlocking Ecclesiastes 3. I’m so excited to join you again this year with guest reviews from our reading challenge participants. If you want to submit a review for upcoming months, feel free to email me using my contact form. If you are looking for suggestions as to what to read each month, may I recommend joining my Crystal Caudill’s Reading Friends Facebook group, or visiting Avid Readers of Christian Fiction or Inspirational Historical Fiction Index. I’ll also include a short list at the bottom of this post.
Don’t forget to comment at the bottom of the post for your chance to win a book off my prize shelf. *The list of prizes available from my prize shelf can be found here.*
Unlocking the Past: Ecclesiastes 3
Just as Ecclesiastes has two opposites in each verse, most months will leave you with two options to choose from.
“For everything there is a season,
a time for every activity under heaven.”
October Verse: A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
Challenge Theme: A mute/deaf character or a character who advocates for others
November Verse: A time to love and a time to hate.
Challenge Theme: An enemies-to-lovers book
A Thieving at Carlton House
by Erica Vestch
Review by: Crystal Caudill
The delay in this review just proves how crazy my reading life has been, but after many interruptions and long periods of not getting to read, I FINALLY FINISHED A THIEVING AT CARLTON HOUSE!!!! And I should have tossed aside all my responsibilities sooner. LOL Who needs clothes, food, doctor appointments, rides to and from school, or any other thing that stood in the way of my reading pleasure?
Sigh. I absolutely adore the fact that this new series is following Bertie and Philippa. Philippa is a former courtesan (aka prostitute who serves high-class clientele) who is working through the challenges of running a growing ministry that helps rescue women from a similar lifestyle. I love Philippa and her heart for women, and my heart aches as she wrestles to realize her worth not only as a person who can be loved, but as a child of God. Her struggle with forgiving her father is one that I think many of us can identify with, at least in the forgiving of someone who has done us harm–not for their sake but for our own. It’s a hard and difficult road to walk, and I loved walking that road with Philippa.
And then there is Bertie. Oh, good ole loveable Bertie, who has pulled the wool over everyone’s eyes. I am thrilled he gets his own series. That man has so much depth and it was good to see his internal struggle as he begins to come into his own and build his own team. I cannot wait to see how he grows and develops over the next two books . . . and, let’s be honest, how his relationship with Philippa will grow. I’m in a season right now where I am enjoying the romances that actually take several books to build, and this series is top of my enjoyment list. 🙂
I highly recommend this series from Erica Vestch.
Genre: Regency Mystery
Plot Overview:
The Home Office has asked Sir Bertrand Thorndike to head an investigation into stolen royal jewels. And as with everything concerning the Prince Regent, discretion is paramount.
It’s the perfect chance for Bertie to step out of his brother’s long shadow. Unfortunately, his superior, the Duke of Haverly, has a plan that makes him balk. In order to sell his cover, Bertie must play the part of a man looking for love, ready to reform his rakish ways.
Philippa Cashel escaped a life as one of society’s best-known courtesans and now devotes her time to helping other women in dire straits. Her hope is that laboring hard enough at her charity work will allow her to feel worthy of God’s forgiveness of her past. So when Sir Bertrand Thorndike approaches her about becoming an agent of the Crown, she is skeptical. Why her? She’s focused on getting her school for underprivileged women up and running, not on cloak-and-dagger skullduggery.
But when two of Philippa’s rescued girls become targets, Philippa risks partnering with Bertie to find the loot and stop a killer.
Purchase Links:
Amazon | Baker Bookhouse | Barnes & Noble | Christianbook.com
Giveaway
For your chance to win a print copy, comment with what book YOU read for this month. Use the Rafflecopter below for extra entries and to mark that you left a comment. Entries end on the 7th of each month at midnight EST, and the winner will be drawn sometime that week and notified by email. The winner will be announced on the Rafflecopter widget.
*Open to all residents of the contiguous USA, legally able to enter, and an e-book format or Amazon Gift Card will be awarded to those outside that range who are legally able to enter.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Recommendations for November:
- The Letter Tree Rachel Fordham
- Counterfeit Hope by Crystal Caudill
- The Hart of Christmas by Latisha Sexton
- Red Siren byMaryLu Tyndall
- Dauntless by Dina L Sleiman
What did you read for the challenge? What were your thoughts on it? Would you recommend it?
