Top Ten Tuesday: Fall 2021 Diverse Reads on my TBR

Happy Tuesday, reader friends! Today’s topic for Top Ten Tuesday is our Fall TBR lists, so I naturally decided to feature the diverse reads releasing in Fall 2021 that I can’t wait to read! These books have diverse characters and/or are written by authors of color. Fair warning: there are a few more than 10 because there are quite a few great looking books releasing this Fall!

click on the cover to go to the book’s Amazon page!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

What about you? Which of these upcoming diverse reads are on your TBR list too?

Advertisement

Throwback Thursday: The Soldier’s Surprise Family

Happy Throwback Thursday, friends! Today we’re featuring The Soldier’s Surprise Family by Jolene Navarro.

About the Book

Texas state trooper Garrett Kincaid is a lone wolf—until he becomes an instant father of two young children. The former solider never knew he had a son…or that his little boy has a baby sister with nowhere to go.

His landlady, lovely widow Anjelica Ortega-Garza, offers to help, and suddenly Garrett’s life is all about nap schedules and baby bottles and trying to make his traumatized son smile.

Falling for Anjelica isn’t part of the plan.

Yet even Garrett can’t deny that love has begun building a family of four right around him.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

---

About the Author

Jolene’s life, much like her stories, is filled with faith, family, laughter, and all of life’s wonderful messiness. A seventh generation Texan and PW bestselling author, Jolene Navarro knows that, as much as the world changes, people stay the same. Good and evil. Vow-keepers and heart breakers. Jolene married a vow-keeper who showed her that dancing in the rain never gets old. She uses her art degree to teach inner city kids about the world and they teach her about life.

Connect with Jolene: website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

---

What makes you want to read The Soldier’s Surprise Family by Jolene Navarro?

Throwback Thursday: Single Sashimi

Happy Throwback Thursday, friends! Today we’re featuring Single Sashimi by Camy Tang, book three in her Sushi series!

About the Book

Drake Yu. Why would Drake call her after … what, five years? Six?

Venus heard in his voice that resonance that was almost a growl, that titanium-hard determination to get what he wanted. And he usually got what he wanted. The voice said: “I want you to work for me.”

Not this time … If it was a choice between Drake and McDonald’s–she’d choose french fries. She’d never work for him again. It would take an act of God.

Venus Chau is determined to start her own game development company and launch the next Super Mario-sized phenomenon. However, she needs an investor to back her idea. When Drake Yu, an old nemesis, approaches Venus with a contracting opportunity at his sister’s startup, the offer to become Chief Technology Officer tempts Venus to think the unthinkable.

Venus would rather throw away her PS3 than work for Drake again … except Grandma bribes Venus to do this favor for Drake’s wealthy family with a coveted introduction to the most respected investor in the game industry. It’s also a short job–only a few months–so Venus won’t have to stand Drake’s presence for very long.

But one wild youth group, a two-faced assistant, and Grandma’s determined match-making threaten to make them both fail–or go insane. With the encouragement of her three cousins, Lex, Trish, and Jennifer, Venus discovers that even a wounded heart can undergo a beautiful transformation …

GOODREADS | AMAZON

---

About the Author

Camy writes Christian Contemporary Romance and Romantic Suspense as Camy Tang and Christian Regency Romantic Suspense under her pen name, Camille Elliot. She grew up in Hawaii but now lives in northern California with her engineer husband and rambunctious dog. She graduated from Stanford University in psychology with a focus on biology, and for nine years she worked as a biologist researcher. Then God guided her path in a completely different direction and now she’s writing full time, using her original psychology degree as she creates the characters in her novels. She was a staff worker for her church youth group for over 20 years and she currently plays on one of the Sunday worship teams. She also loves to knit, spin wool into yarn, and is learning Japanese. Visit her websites at https://www.camytang.com/ and https://www.camilleelliot.com/ to read free short stories and subscribe to her quarterly newsletter.

---

What makes you want to read Single Sashimi by Camy Tang?

Throwback Thursday: The Preacher’s Promise

Happy Throwback Thursday, friends! Today we’re featuring The Preacher’s Promise by Piper Huguley – the first novel in her Home to Milford College series. In case it looks familiar, I featured the prequel novella last week!

About the Book

1866 – Oberlin, Ohio

Devastated by her father’s death days after her triumphant graduation from Oberlin College, Amanda Stewart is all alone in the world. Her father’s unscrupulous business partner offers her an indecent proposal to earn a living. Instead, to fulfill a promise she made to her father, she resolves to start a school to educate and uplift their race. Sorting through her father’s papers, she discovers he had carried on a mysterious correspondence with a plantation in Milford, Georgia. She determines to start her teaching work with the formerly enslaved. However, when she arrives, the mayor tells her to leave. There’s nowhere for her to go.

Virgil Smithson, Milford’s mayor, blacksmith and sometimes preacher man with a gift for fiery oratory, doesn’t want anything to do with a snobby schoolteacher from up North. On top of everything else, the schoolteacher lady has a will hard enough to match the iron he forges. He must organize his fellow formerly enslaved citizens into a new town and raise his young daughter alone. Still, his troubled past haunts him. He cannot forget the promise he made to his daughter’s mother as she died—that their child would learn to read and write. If only he didn’t have secrets that the new schoolteacher seems determined to uncover.

To keep THE PREACHER’S PROMISE, Amanda and Virgil must put aside their enmity, unite for the sake of a newly-created community in a troubling age, and do things they never imagined. In the aftermath of the flood that was the Civil War, God set his bow upon the earth to show love and understanding for humankind. To reflect God’s promise, these combatants must put aside their differences and come together–somehow.

GOODREADS | AMAZON

---

About the Author

Named in 2015 as a top ten historical romance novelist in Publisher’s Weekly, Piper Huguley is the author of the Reconstruction era “Home to Milford College” series. She is a 2013 & 2014 Golden Heart finalist for two novels in the “Migrations of the Heart” series about the Bledsoe sisters and set in the early twentieth century. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.

Website | Facebook

---

 

What makes you want to read The Preacher’s Promise by Piper Huguley?

Throwback Thursday: The Lawyer’s Luck

Happy Throwback Thursday, friends! Today we’re featuring The Lawyer’s Luck by Piper Huguley – the prequel to her Home to Milford College series. This series is on my TBR list, and I hope this look will have you adding it to yours too!

About the Book

Oberlin, Ohio – 1844

Lawrence Stewart is a rare man. Raised with his grandmother’s Miami Indian tribe, as a Negro he has consistently walked between two worlds most of his life. He devotes his time and study to becoming a lawyer, fully intending to obtain justice for the ousted Miami Indians. No Negro man has accomplished these things before, but he is not daunted. He studies for his exams as he rides circuit through the backwoods of Ohio, handing out justice to people who cannot easily reach a courthouse. His life is perfectly set until one June day….

Aurelia “Realie” Baxter made her way from enslavement in Georgia to the free land Lake Huron in Ohio. Far from happy as a slave doing the bidding of a woman cooped up in a house all day, Realie is a bona fide tomboy with a special gift with horses. Now, she is so close to freedom in Canada, she can smell it, but her plans are interrupted when Lawrence shoots her…by mistake….

Lawrence cannot study encumbered with the care of an enslaved woman, but he’s responsible for her injury…

Realie wants to get to Canada, but Lawrence won’t let her get away in trying to help her…

One chance meeting can change your life from what you thought you wanted….to what you really need.

GOODREADS | AMAZON (currently free on Kindle, but be sure to double check before you one-click)

---

About the Author

Named in 2015 as a top ten historical romance novelist in Publisher’s Weekly, Piper Huguley is the author of the Reconstruction era “Home to Milford College” series. She is a 2013 & 2014 Golden Heart finalist for two novels in the “Migrations of the Heart” series about the Bledsoe sisters and set in the early twentieth century. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia with her husband and son.

Website | Facebook

---

What makes you want to read The Lawyer’s Luck by Piper Huguley?

First Line Friday | If I Believe

Happy Friday & welcome to First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books! Today I’m sharing the first line from If I Believe by Kim Cash Tate, book 2 in her Promises of God series.

Goodreads | Amazon

And the first line is:

I don’t believe in fairy tales

I love that cover & the first line definitely has me intrigued! How about you?

---

About the Book

Sometimes the biggest risk is daring to hope.

Cinda Ellis doesn’t dare to dream. Life has dealt too many blows, and she’s come to expect disappointment. But then a lifelong dream is realized—meeting her dad—and Cinda’s life is finally turning . . . until reality crashes in once again. On the verge of despair, Cinda finds connection with a group of women from Living Hope Church—and an unlikely connection with one of Hollywood’s hottest stars. Her life just might be turning again. But will she only suffer disappointment once more?

Alonzo Coles is living the life of his dreams. On the heels of his first Academy Award nomination, people are already buzzing about his next film. But his choices—from his career to his exploits with women—are starting to bother him. And he’s reminded of a connection he’d made—to Jesus. His quest for answers—about who he is and what he’s called to do—leads him to the pastor of Living Hope Church . . . and a woman unlike any he’s encountered.

Treva Alexander is embracing her new season. A widow turned newlywed, she’s enjoying new love in a new city, in her new role as pastor’s wife. But she’s suddenly challenged when God begins to shake things up. What will she do when her faith is tested like never before?

Faith Langston is on hiatus—from life. An unexpected pregnancy has made her a new mom at twenty. Now, instead of doing big things for God as she’d hoped—or at least working toward her degree—she’s sidelined at home. And though she’d thought she and the baby’s father would rekindle a relationship, she now wonders if she’s even on his mind—or on God’s mind. Has she forfeited the plans He had for her?

---

About the Author

Kim Cash Tate is an author, bible teacher, speaker, and singer/songwriter. As an author, she has written several books, including Cling: Choosing a Lifestyle of Intimacy with God and her fictional Promises of God series. In addition, Kim has an active YouTube channel featuring bible studies and practical, biblical teaching. She has also created and written a scripted web series called Cling The Series, in which she also played a leading role, airing on her YouTube channel.

As a singer/songwriter, Kim wrote the songs on the Cling Soundtrack and performed on the album as well. She has spoken in several cities with Women of Faith and has been featured on national broadcasts such as The 700 Club and Discover the Word. She has also written for Desiring God, Christianity Today, and She Reads Truth. Formerly, Kim clerked for a federal judge and practiced as a partner in litigation with a large Midwest law firm. She and her husband Bill currently reside in St. Louis, Missouri. Kim can be found online at http://www.kimcashtate.com and on social media platforms @kimcashtate.

---

What’s the first line of the book you’re reading?
For more first lines, visit Hoarding Books!

Top Ten Tuesday: A Baker’s Color Palette of Titles

Happy Tuesday! Today’s theme for Top Ten Tuesday is books with colors in the titles. Let me tell you, this post was not as easy as I initially thought it would be. Fortunately, Toni Shiloh suggested that I used color words that might be found on a baker’s color palette – which opened up enough opportunity for me to build this post. Thanks, Toni!

All books listed are written by diverse authors
Linked to goodreads page or feature on this blog

   

   

   

   

Are you hungry for baked goods now? Because I am!

Can you think of any other books by diverse authors that would fit this theme?
Are there any new-to-you authors in this list?

 

Throwback Thursday: Hidden Threat

Happy Thursday! Today’s Throwback Thursday post looks at a romantic suspense that I recently read and loved – Hidden Threat by Connie Mann! It’s the 2nd book in her Safe Harbor series but it can be read as a standalone just fine.

ABOUT THE BOOK

An environmental crisis is the last thing clean-water crusader Eve Jackson expected in her hometown. She’s used to taking on powerful DC politicians in her fight, but when a baby in Safe Harbor, Florida, shows mysterious signs of possible poisoning, the danger hits painfully close to home, stirring memories of her own mother’s death.

Eve’s search leads her to the Sutton Ranch, now run by her high school crush, Cole. Focused on keeping the family business afloat as a series of deformed calves are born to his herd, Cole has no time for Eve’s crusade. But as her unwelcome questioning ostracizes her from locals, Cole’s irritation turns to intrigue—about the source of the poisoned water and the tenacious, loyal, and passionate woman determined to help.

As Eve digs deeper into Cole’s operation, she sees her suspicion of Sutton Ranch may be misplaced. Yet she can’t shake the feeling that his ranch, and perhaps his past, hold the answers she seeks. When the sabotage escalates, the two must work together to uncover the culprit—if they can survive the investigation.

Goodreads | Amazon

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connie Mann is a licensed boat captain and loves writing romantic suspense stories set in Florida’s small towns and unspoiled wilderness. She is the author of Beyond Risk, (Florida Wildlife Warriors #1), the Safe Harbor series (Tangled Lies, Hidden Threat, Deadly Melody), as well as Angel Falls and Trapped! She has lived in seven different states but this weather wimp has happily called the Ocala area home for more than twenty years.

When she’s not dreaming up plotlines, you’ll find “Captain Connie” on the Silver River, introducing boats full of schoolchildren to their first alligator. She is also passionate about helping women and children in developing countries break the poverty cycle and build a better future for themselves and their families. Besides boating, she and her husband enjoy hanging out with their grown children and extended family and planning their next adventure.

You can connect with Connie online at: www.conniemann.com

---

What makes you want to read Hidden Threat?

Book Review: A Deadly Inside Scoop

Happy Monday! I’m delighted today to share my review of the recently-released cozy mystery A Deadly Inside Scoop by Abby Collette!

ABOUT THE BOOK

SERIES: An Ice Cream Parlor Mystery #1
GENRE: Cozy Mystery
PUBLISHER: Berkley Books
RELEASE DATE: May 12, 2020
PAGES: 384

This book kicks off a charming cozy mystery series set in an ice cream shop–with a fabulous cast of quirky characters.

Recent MBA grad Bronwyn Crewse has just taken over her family’s ice cream shop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, and she’s going back to basics. Win is renovating Crewse Creamery to restore its former glory, and filling the menu with delicious, homemade ice cream flavors—many from her grandmother’s original recipes. But unexpected construction delays mean she misses the summer season, and the shop has a literal cold opening: the day she opens her doors an early first snow descends on the village and keeps the customers away.

To make matters worse, that evening, Win finds a body in the snow, and it turns out the dead man was a grifter with an old feud with the Crewse family. Soon, Win’s father is implicated in his death. It’s not easy to juggle a new-to-her business while solving a crime, but Win is determined to do it. With the help of her quirky best friends and her tight-knit family, she’ll catch the ice cold killer before she has a meltdown…

---

MY THOUGHTS

I always love starting a new cozy mystery series, particularly if it’s by an author I haven’t read yet. A Deadly Inside Scoop is one of the better series debuts I’ve read recently, and I’m so delighted to have discovered a new-to-me author that I’ll definitely keep following!

Bronwyn “Win” Crewse has a lot at stake as the book begins. She’s putting the final touches on restoring her family’s ice cream parlor (re-opening in the middle of a blizzard) and preparing to follow her beloved late grandmother’s footsteps, under the loving watchful eye of her Pop-Pop and with the help of her friends & family. Win is instantly likable, if a bit scattered (which is excusable, given how much she’s trying to juggle at the moment. Restart a community favorite business, carry on a family legacy, solve a murder… you know, the usual lol). Her ice cream flavors sound really yummy & I’m looking forward to seeing what she comes up – and how she uses her grandmother’s cherished recipes – as the seasons & series progress.

Win comes from a tight-knit family who make up the majority of the 0.4 % African American population of their tiny town just outside Cleveland, and I loved the diverse characters that make up the supporting cast as well. (Her Pop-Pop has my heart!) Including Win’s two best friends – Riya (half-Sicilian & half-Indian) & Maisie (whose Jewish grandmother owns & operates the town’s Chinese restaurant). Riya is the hotheaded protector; Maisie is the impetuous free spirit. And while we don’t spend much time with Riya in this book, the trio of friends is a formidable force to be sure.

The mystery is nicely layered and moves at a steady pace throughout the story. Poor Win and Maisie aren’t the most seasoned of investigators, opting for a rather madcap hodgepodge of ideas and stakeouts and interrogations, but it’s highly entertaining. A host of suspects cross their paths, along with some motives that range from fairly weak to pretty strong. You sorta get the feeling that, if Win and her crew had just been patient, Detective Beverley would have figured it out before too much longer but goodness it would have been a lot less fun!

Bottom Line: A Deadly Inside Scoop is a fun start to a new series with diverse characters, a strong sense of family & community, and – of course – yummy ice cream! Win is a heroine readers will quickly embrace, and her relatable struggles make her a sympathetic character. Best friend Maisie is the Lucy to Win’s Ethel – if that infamous comedic duo had also solved crimes – and, while you’re tempted to groan at her ideas, her infectious personality & loyalty to Win keeps her likable too. I loved the ethnic & age diversity of this small community & the unique perspective each brought to the book. A well-plotted mystery rounds out the mix, and I’m ready for another visit with the Crewse family & their ice cream parlor!

Reviewer’s note: Readers may want to be aware that there is some casual usage of “God” in this book. It is otherwise a clean book & free from curse words.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher.
All views expressed are only my honest opinion.
This review originally appeared on Reading Is My SuperPower

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Wall Street Journal Bestselling Author Abby Collette loves a good mystery. Born and raised in Cleveland, it’s even a mystery to her why she has yet to move to a warmer place. Author of the two Southern cozy mystery series Logan Dickerson Mysteries featuring a second-generation archaeologist and a nonagenarian who is always digging up trouble, and the Romaine Wilder Mysteries, set in East Texas, it pairs a medical examiner and her feisty auntie who owns a funeral home and is always ready to solve a whodunnit. Abby spends her time writing, facilitating writing workshops at local libraries and spending time with her grandchildren, each of which are her favorite.

website | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

---

What about you?
What makes you want to read A Deadly Inside Scoop?
What’s your favorite flavor of ice cream?

Book Revew: Her Cowboy Sweetheart by Cathy McDavid

Happy Monday!

Today I’m pleased to bring you a review of Her Cowboy Sweetheart by Cathy McDavid, the 4th book in the author’s Sweetheart Ranch series and part of the Harlequin Heartwarming imprint of ‘clean, wholesome romances’.

ABOUT THE BOOK

SERIES: The Sweetheart Ranch #4
GENRE: Contemporary Romance (Clean)
PUBLISHER: Harlequin Heartwarming
RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2020

He’s been a good friend

But can he be her sweetheart?

At Sweetheart Ranch, single mom Carly Leighton finds a fresh start, and a friendly neighbor in former bull rider JD Moreno. Neither are looking for love—Carly must think first of her son, Rickie, while JD is recovering from a career-ending balance disorder. But when her former in-laws demand access to Rickie, Carly turns to JD for support and finds he is becoming more than a friend in need…

Goodreads| Amazon | B&N | Book Depository |IndieBound

---

MY THOUGHTS

First of all – don’t you just love the cover? That little cowboy is stinkin’ adorable! And both he and the dog steal every scene they’re in at some point. So cute!

Her Cowboy Sweetheart continues the Sweetheart Ranch series with another enjoyable installment. I’ve loved each book so far and this one was a perfect fit with the rest. The sweet friendship between JD and Carly makes a believable foundation for their romance. JD’s Latino roots make him one swoony cowboy, while Carly’s genuine heart makes her instantly likable for readers. Add in her super cute son and JD’s energetic puppy, and you have a feel-good story that will leave you smiling. Of course, we have to deal with some pesky people who aren’t as likable, but this just gives JD and Carly more ways to be protective of each other. Win-win. 🙂

JD’s struggles with Ménière’s disease and Carly’s custody battle with her former in-laws (and parents of her abusive ex-husband) add emotional layers to the plot that give the story further depth and dimension. The author does a great job of increasing awareness for both of these issues through Her Cowboy Sweetheart while also not bogging down or overpowering the story.

Bottom Line: Cathy McDavid delivers another sweet & swoony romance set at the Sweetheart Ranch. Engaging characters and compelling subplots immediately draw readers’ interest and keep it for the duration of the novel. Hombre the dog and toddler Rickie add notes of comedy and warmth to break up the more serious undertones that threaten JD and Carly’s budding romance, and you’ll quickly fall in love with both of them. Another great visit to the Sweetheart Ranch – ready for the next!

Reviewer’s Note:
Readers may want to be aware that there are several casual uses of ‘God’ throughout this novel.
This book is otherwise clean.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book.
Review originally appeared on Reading Is My SuperPower.

---

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

As a sophomore in high school, NY Times, USA Today, and Amazon bestselling author Cathy McDavid won a local writing competition with her self-illustrated children’s book. Who knew that small triumph would eventually lead to a career writing contemporary romances with over 1.3 million books sold? With forty-seven titles to date, Cathy is also a member of the prestigious Romance Writers of America’s Honor Roll. This “almost” Arizona native and mother of grown twins recently married her own real-life sweetheart. After leaving the corporate world four years ago, she now spends her days penning stories about good looking men who ride the range or fight fires or hunt creatures all while sweeping the girl off her feet. It’s a tough job but she’s willing to make the sacrifice.

Website | Goodreads | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | BookBub | Amazon

---

What about you?
What makes you want to read Her Cowboy Sweetheart?