peepicheep, How old was your cat when he had to have his teeth pulled? Poor baby, he must have been miserable. Lucky he adopted you! Years ago I had a cat that came with the house we bought and he ended up having some teeth pulled. You hate to see them hurt. My male cat came from a no-kill shelter. Both my cats are total inside cats. We live sort of out in the country and tend to have foxes now and then. i don't want anyone to go missing!!
mlover, How did you find a pet psychic?
We went to the no-kill cat shelter looking for our cat. She was scheduled to speak there in 15 mins. My husband formerly volunteered at a nature preserve, he'd met this pet psychic once before. Serendipity.
I think I need to try a few clean romances for a change. I'll even go for inspirational as long as I'm not preached at. When did it become an anathema for characters to be genuinely kind, caring, compassionate people who maybe want to find love and share their lives?
Or maybe it's my mood. I have read and enjoyed books that in which the characters should have been spending life in prison instead of finding an HEA. But I need something easy, high romance, low angst. Preferably a tender, protective H and sweet h. Any recs?
I read Write Me Home by Crystal Walton. It was a good, character driven story and ended up being 4 stars for me. There is a small mystery/suspense plot. Also, there were a handful of mentions of God and the concept of grace, but it was not preachy in any way and not enough to bug me. Clean read, and now that I think about it I'm not even sure if there were any curse words. Possibly? but obviously not enough to register with me. The book is on KU.
I read a lot more HR now than I used to. I don't have much preference between CR or HR anymore. The only thing I prefer is not overtly religious or preachy. (Especially nothing where either MC has to be "saved" or converted before they get their HEA.)
I just finished rereading an older historical romance, Stella Riley's The Parfit Knight. It is a clean romance that I really liked, although it has several "big misunderstandings" so beware. The writing is great with witty dialog, and I also liked the characters.
I just finished rereading an older historical romance, Stella Riley's The Parfit Knight. It is a clean romance that I really liked, although it has several "big misunderstandings" so beware. The writing is great with witty dialog, and I also liked the characters.
I really enjoyed "The Parfit Knight", but I think I liked book 2, The Mesalliance, even better.
You can't get a cup of tea big enough or a book long enough to suit me.
Billionaire Tristan Stone is tired of being used for his money, and pretending to be a regular joe on a cruise seems to be the answer until he meets Belle. Sheās cute and funny with a heart of gold. When she blurts out heās her boyfriend, suddenly being used doesnāt sound so bad, but hiding his identity is a little trickier.
I agree w/ you about avoiding preachiness in my novels. One HR I recently finished had a rude, thoughtless, & hypocritical preacher (minor character) & I just wanted him to go away. I wrote in my review the preacher needed to clean every fireplace and every slop jar in the hero's home.
First, a few disclosures. I don't read inspirational fiction because I am not a religious person. However, in a desperate search to find something that might hold my attention, I have been going way off normal in my reading. The book description caught my attention because of the h being a telegraph operator and I wanted something kind and sweet. So, I went into this book knowing it was a Christian romance and set aside my misgivings. While there is a lot of Christian content, I never felt like I was being preached AT, nor was "salvation" of a main character ever used as a plot device. That played a big part in my being able to enjoy the book despite differing religious views.
Now for the book. I really loved all of these characters, and especially the H and h. He was an awkward, nerdy, big hearted man who managed to get himself into funny predicaments. He was also protectiive and loving, and willing to do whatever it took to keep the h safe and secure despite a lifetime of being made to feel he wasn't very manly. He was honest with himself and her about his abilities and could laugh at himself, and that made him more of a man to me than a big alpha me-Tarzan-you-Jane type.
The h was sweet and kind despite being in danger and not knowing who to trust. I loved that she didn't fight the budding romance with the H, but instead dreamed of being shed of her troubles and being a family with him. She had plenty of reason to hide and push people away, but she didn't. She was cautious, but never let her past turn her bitter or convince her she didn't need love or a husband. She had a quiet strength and resiliance. This is the kind of couple I love to read about and is so hard to find outside of inspirational romance.
I would absolutely recommend this book for anyone looking for sweet romance with a bit of suspense. The story was well plotted, the pacing was good, the characters were interesting and sometimes funny, and the editing was very good. Yes, this atheist is recommending a Christian romance, and I'm very happy to do so.
So glad to read your post as there are many books labeled by Amazon as "Religion" that vary between hardly any religion comments to some authors who are known for more serious religious statements as to Christianity, Judaism and Mormon. I've read Christian romance about preacher's romance that have more tension between the characters and the community who @first do not accept the preacher's love interest without the erotic filler but more into parishoner's character than the spirituality of the religion. When I post "Free Bks" I do note "Religion", but for those who post on this website and previously on Amazon discussion groups always seem offended by these books in their posts, which I believe are missing out on some great books, such as mail order brides and Amish.
Here comes the sun even though I love that rainy day feeling!
So glad to read your post as there are many books labeled by Amazon as "Religion" that vary between hardly any religion comments to some authors who are known for more serious religious statements as to Christianity, Judaism and Mormon. I've read Christian romance about preacher's romance that have more tension between the characters and the community who @first do not accept the preacher's love interest without the erotic filler but more into parishoner's character than the spirituality of the religion. When I post "Free Bks" I do note "Religion", but for those who post on this website and previously on Amazon discussion groups always seem offended by these books in their posts, which I believe are missing out on some great books, such as mail order brides and Amish.
What's funny is that this book was a 5 star-- loved it book for me, and clearly marked as Christian. Whereas very recently, I dnf'd a book that nowhere indicated in the blurb or categories that it was religious, but contained so much preachy Christian content I was sick of it before I got past 25%. It is definitely all in the writing for me. In the book I reviewed above, it was all very seamlessly woven into the characters lives and thoughts as a natural part of them. It just worked for some reason, while that one I dnf'd felt like an agenda by the author to cram in religious themes whether they fit or not.
Another 5 star favorite book of mine is Plain Refuge by Janice Kay Johnson. While the H and h are not Amish, it takes place around the Amish community and the couple, especially the H, clearly have a faith they rely on. It is not a clean read as there is a sex scene and some four letter words, but it has one of my all time favorite Heroes in the characterization of the law enforcement H.