Category Archives: Just Read Tours

With You I Am by Cleopatra Margot – Charming and Romantic

Posted in Christian Fiction, Cleopatra Margot, Faith to Love Publishing, Family Relationships, Friendship, Just Read Tours, JustRead Tours, Romance, With You I Am by

It was the beautiful cover of With You I Am by Cleopatra Margot that got my attention.  After reading the storyline, I wanted to read this book.  Cleopatra Margot is a writer whose work is new to me. 

Noelle Carter is the CEO and events coordinator of Carter, Inc., a business started by her grandparents.  Her curiosity is peaked when the Mayor of Balsam Falls, Nebraska, contacts her about planning the town’s spring event.  Perhaps some time away will help reignite her creativity and allow her to connect to the place where her grandmother had come from.  She will be working with Wynn and Marshall from Bryant Brother’s Construction to make the venue ready for the Spring Fling.  Noelle’s life will be impacted by the town and its people, the Bryant family, and one special man. 

With You I Am is a charming and romantic story.  The reader will fall in love with the small town of Balsam Falls and the Bryant family.  It’s the kind of place you wish really existed and filled with people you would like to know.  Not perfect people, but people who are kind, caring, and giving.  People who have had hard times, but by God’s grace and through faith they have persevered.  As much as this book is about a love story, more than that, it is about relationships.  The Christian faith is an important element in the story. 

I really loved this book.  With You I Am is long and goes at a slower pace, which is kind of nice.  You get to know people as the characters are developed.  I loved the Bryant family, their friends, and would love to visit a town like Balsam Falls.  You won’t want to hurry through this book, but instead, enjoy the journey. 

Faith was an integral part of the characters’ lives.  Some of the theology was sound, and some of it was more motivational rather than doctrinal. 

I really loved this book, and then I got towards the end, and there was a turn of events I wasn’t expecting.  Honestly, that change in the story made me mad.  The character was irrational, wasn’t thinking, was selfish, and overly dramatic.  At no time did this character pray about the circumstances or seek wisdom from the Lord.  I hated this part of the book, and thankfully that wasn’t the end of the story.  But I felt manipulated by the writer for dramatic purposes.  The emotions that the character was working through could have been handled in a much different scenario which would have better fit the story.

Also, the physical attraction between the two main characters was focused on too much, with the repeated references throughout the book.

Would I recommend this book?  Yes…I loved the relationships in With You I Am, the family interaction, and their friendships.  Even though the romance was a huge part of the story, the other relationships were the meat and backbone of the story.

I would like to thank Faith to Love Publishing and JustRead Tours for the opportunity to read a complimentary copy of With You I Am by Cleopatra Margot.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review. 

Clear Confusion by Kathy M Howard – Book Review, Review Tour and Giveaway

Posted in Ambassador International, Book Giveaway, Book Review, Book Tour, Christian Faith, Clear Confusion, Gospel, Just Read Tours, Kathy M Howard, Mystery, Suspense, Uncategorized by


Welcome to the Blog + Review Tour (and Giveaway!) for Clear Confusion by Kathy M. Howard, hosted by JustRead Publicity Tours!

ABOUT THE BOOK

Title: Clear Confusion
Author: Kathy M. Howard
Publisher: Ambassador International
Release Date: July 1, 2019
Genre: Inspirational Suspense/Thriller

What am I going to do, God? Who am I?

Charlotte Hallaway needs to come to terms with her father’s death. He had been her only family, and she wasn’t handling her grief well. It was just supposed to be a few weeks of peace and quiet to process it all, but then she saw them-a drug deal and a murder within seconds of each other.

And they saw her.

Now running for her life, Charlotte boards a bus to escape her pursuers and wakes up the next morning in the woods of Jennings, Georgia, without a memory of how she got there or of who she is. All she knows is an underlying fear she can’t seem to shake.

When two hunters find her battered and scared, can she put aside the clear confusion she’s experiencing to trust them? She wants to trust them, especially Nicholas, but fear is holding her back. Trust is incredibly hard when one is so clearly confused. Could it be he and his friend are not who they claim to be?

Who are they really . . . and who is she?

PURCHASE LINKS*: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository | Christianbook

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Clear Confusion Excerpt

5:30 a.m.

The woman awoke to the sound of wind dancing rather loudly through the treetops and a strange sense of fear. Underneath her, a cool, hard ground gave off a scent of wet mud, causing her nostrils to crinkle.

Inside, her head pounded with her heartbeat. She squeezed her eyes shut, giving herself a minute. It didn’t do much good. Her mind was too fuzzy to successfully decipher her bearings. Somehow an internal fog blocked her ability to reason.

God, where am I?

Although she heard evidence of early morning hours, it was dark, practically pitch black. Nothing visible beyond a few feet, and even that was blurry. Another gust of wind blew, bringing a breeze across her left cheek. A few goose bumps appeared. The other side of her face, shielded from the gust, remained impressed in dried mud. Although it was hard, it felt icky pasted against her skin. She tried to gently pull herself out of the crusted grime but found the movement harder than she’d expected.

The muscles in her arms and legs were sore—really sore. But why? She sat up tenderly, placing a hand on her forehead. The effort to lift her body proved difficult. Carefully and ever so slowly, she stood the rest of the way. With one hand steadying her head and the other out­stretched, she inched her feet forward, searching for something sturdy.

Why do I have on only one shoe? Where is my other shoe?

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My Review – Clear Confusion by Kathy M Howard – Gripping Suspense, Romance and Grounded in Faith

Clear Confusion is the first book I’ve read by Kathy M Howard and what a great introduction into this author’s work.  I loved this book!

Just who is Charlotte and what in the world did she see that caused her to flee?  How did she end up in a tree in the forest, scratched, bruised and hurting?  Who are these men that awakened her?  Friends or foes?  Most of all why can’t she remember anything?  Not even who she is or where she came from?

From the get-go, the reader will be dropped into the middle of a suspenseful story that will grip you until the very end.  The truth about what happened to Charlotte will be unveiled as she has to trust and depend on Nicholas Nelson and his family as they provide a safe haven for her.

I love mysteries and suspense and this book is filled with both.  But it doesn’t stop there, the story and characters are well developed.  I loved that the Nelson family were kind, decent and caring people that come alongside Charlotte when she is vulnerable, hurting and doesn’t know who she is.  Romance is a part of the story and developed slowly as Nicholas is interested in Charlotte, but he doesn’t rush her, instead he gives her the time to heal and remember first.

What I appreciated most about Clear Confusion is that the Christian faith and the Gospel are woven throughout this story.  Though Charlotte didn’t know who she was, she knew that God and Jesus Christ were part of her life.  Even in her fear, she knew she should pray and read the Bible.  Faith is a big part the Nelson family’s life too.

I appreciated that Kathy Howard didn’t have the characters make stupid decisions that put themselves in danger to advance the story or heighten the suspense.  Her characters were smart and reasonable.  I loved that the Gospel of Christ was clearly presented in this book and how faith was lived out by the characters in what they said and prayed and how they lived their lives.

While I suspected who the bad guys were, there remained some mystery because, until the end, I didn’t know who two of the villains where and how they were connected to other characters.

Clear Confusion by Kathy M Howard was a great story.  Interesting, filled with suspense and made just right by characters living out their Christian faith.  I give Clear Confusion a big thumbs up and look forward to reading more of author Kathy M Howard’s books in the future.

I would like to thank Ambassador International and Just Read Tours for providing a complimentary copy of Clear Confusion.  I was under no obligation to give a favorable review.  The views expressed are solely my own.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathy M. Howard resides in south Georgia with her husband and two children. She has been involved in some form of education since 1998 as an elementary school teacher, a private school principal, and presently as a homeschooling mom. As a child, she despised reading, dreading every assignment the subject gave. As an adult, Kathy finally learned to appreciate the written word, so much so that she is rarely seen without her nose in a book.

She loves the Lord and wants to share Jesus where she can, using words written and spoken. By God’s goodness and with the support and love of her family, she has written two novels, From Dishes to Snow (October, 2014), and its sequel, From Driftwood to Sapphire (August, 2015).

CONNECT WITH KATHY:  Website | Facebook | Twitter

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TOUR GIVEAWAY

(1) winner will receive a print copy (US only)
plus (1) additional winner will receive an ebook

Full tour schedule shown below. Giveaway will begin at midnight July 23, 2019 and last through 11:59 PM EST on July 30, 2019. Winner will be notified within 2 weeks of close of the giveaway and given 48 hours to respond or risk forfeiture of prize. Print US only. Ebook available internationally.

Giveaway is subject to the policies found here.

ENTER GIVEAWAY HERE

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Follow along at JustRead Tours for a full list of stops!

*NOTE: This post contains affiliate links.