Review: Life After

Synopsis:

          Snow whirls around an elevated train platform in Chicago. A distracted woman boards the train, takes her seat, and moments later a fiery explosion rips through the frigid air, tearing the car apart in a horrific attack on the city’s transit system. One life is spared. Twenty-two are lost.

     A year later, Autumn Manning can’t remember the day of the bombing and she is tormented by grief—by guilt. Twelve months of the question constantly echoing. Why? Why? Why? Searching for answers, she haunts the lives of the victims, unable to rest. 

     Paul Elliott lost his wife in the train bombing and wants to let the dead rest in peace, undisturbed and unable to cause more pain for his loved ones. He wants normalcy for his twelve year-old daughter and young son, to see them move beyond the heartbreak. But when the Elliotts and Autumn are unexpectedly forced together, he fears she’ll bring more wreckage in her wake.  

     In Life After, Katie Ganshert’s most complex and unforgettable novel yet, the stirring prose and authentic characters pose questions of truth, goodness, and ultimate purpose in this emotionally resonant tale.

Rating: 5-stars

Review:

Life After by Katie Ganshert was amazing. Beautifully told. Her story lasts with me even after reading it. The stunning characters and the emotional plot. Being a survivor is a common story. But being the only survivor out of a dreadful nightmare situation…and the story changes direction. Sad, heartbreaking, and intriguing. I was immediately drawn to the main character. She woke up wanting answers. The pain and rollercoaster ride was one that hooked me. I have never read a tale by Katie Ganshert, but after reading this one, I’m tempted to read her other books. Powerful story. The pages went by quickly. Life After tells the story of one woman surviving a deadly train accident. No one else lived. Only her…it was hard to not want to know more. Curiosity got the best of me. I couldn’t stop reading this Christian/ women’s fictional piece. Overall, I highly recommend it to readers everywhere.

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Review: To Have and to Hold

 

Synopsis:

To Have and to Hold: Three Autumn Love Stories

By Betsy St. Amant, Katie Ganshert & Becky Wade

They’ve helped orchestrate the perfect day for countless couples. Now twelve new couples will find themselves in the wedding spotlight in the second Year of Weddings novella collection.

Love Takes the Cake: A September Wedding Story by Betsy St. Amant

Charlotte Cantrell is always the baker; never the bride. When Will, a regular at Charlotte’s bakery, catches her attention, she can only hope that he is the reliable man this single mother has always hoped to find. The problem is that he’s regularly stopping in to buy cookies for another girl. But when Charlotte is hired to bake a host of wedding goodies for a difficult bride and finds out Will is the best man, she has the perfect opportunity to get to know him better—and find out how serious Will is about this other girl in his life.

 

The Perfect Arrangement: An October Wedding Story by Katie Ganshert

Amelia Woods is a small-town wallflower and the proud owner of Forget-Me-Nots, a quaint flower shop. Her love life has always been a bit lackluster—until she ends up in an embarrassing fender-bender with handsome Nate Gallagher. Meanwhile, Amelia’s younger brother, William, has proposed to his girlfriend. Amelia would be excited except she has evidence that the fiancée is not who she says she is. It seems Nate is the only one available for any advice-giving, and he’s good at it—and pretty fun to talk to, too. As Amelia works to craft the perfect flower arrangements for other people, she begins to wonder if real love is better than the dream. And if it is, will Nate still be interested when he learns who she is?

 

Love in the Details: A November Wedding Story by Becky Wade

When Josh returns to his hometown of Martinsburg, Texas, to help his best friend get married, he didn’t intend to run into church wedding coordinator—and ex-girlfriend—Holly. He can’t help but pine after the girl he never got over. Holly broke up with Josh years ago in an attempt to ensure his future success. But she loved him then and still loves him now. As she helps him plan his best friend’s wedding, she longs to be with Josh but doesn’t feel worthy of his big-time lifestyle when she is more comfortable in her small-town world. Will Josh and Holly be able to keep things as they are when their true feelings threaten to surface at every turn?

Rating: 5 stars

Review:

To Have and To Hold: Three Autumn Love Stories is a heartwarming collection that all will love. Three talented writers put together a book that holds a story that will knock readers off their feet and drag them to the altar.

The first story, Love Takes the Cake: A September Wedding Story, is superb. Here readers, get a good clean romance as well as a good dash of humor. A woman who happens to be a single mother and talented baker falls for her customer. Not just any customer but a hottie. He comes into her bakery like clockwork each day. Orders the same cookies every time. Her heart goes into overdrive. Wondering if the man is single or taken. Then fate has a way of interrupting her quiet lifestyle and shakes things up for the baker. The same man she’s falling for happens to be the one to bring a crazy bride to the bake shop. The woman is someone the baker would love nothing more than to kick out of her shop until the bride is convinced to let the baker not only do her wedding cake but the bachelorette party as well as the reception party. This means money and Charlotte would be nuts to let one silly bride get to her. But then that means more quality time with the mysterious man she’s crushing for…plus, there’s the question…is he too good to be true. Overall, I highly recommend this sticky sweet yet hilarious romance read to all.

Next, is The Perfect Arrangement: An October Wedding Story. This story was written in a unique yet casual way. I felt like the characters were real rather than just words stretching across the pages. Here, I go to meet interesting individuals with a common interest. Who would have guessed that a man can love classic romantic movies? I surely didn’t yet the writer, Katie Ganshert, made it appear manly and perfectly normal. I loved the atmosphere in which she created. I couldn’t help to feel the fear and worry creeping up on the florist and the smooth calmness from the stranger who’s car she happened to bump into…at least she gave him her email. Since that day, he has emailed her back and her replying back to every one of his emails. Great, advice he seems to give. Then fate brings up another issue and the suspense is back. Readers will find this story sweet, highly engaging, and funny. Overall, I highly recommend this romance to readers everywhere.

Last but not least, is Love in the Details: A November Wedding. This is the last of the three amazing romantic tales inside this book. I could not stop reading it. Becky Wade has a talent of luring her readers into the story. Imagine loving someone for the longest time…then in finding a wedding coordinator for a friend, that person finds his love again. Only he doesn’t know that she let him go due to her wanting not to drag him down. His success meant she had to let him go…but what if there’s a chance that love is in the air for these two past lovers? Two characters both living entirely different lifestyles. This may be the break it or make it moments for their ultimate test in love, or not. Marriage is for forever and that is a serious game that requires everything one has to win it.  Intriguing, entertaining, and a must-read for all. I loved reading this and recommend it to everyone.

Overall, To Have and to Hold: Three Autumn Love Stories is the best clean and romantic series I have read. Highly recommend it to all.