Tag Archives: 2017 Romance with Spiritual or Religious Elements nominee
RITA Reader Challenge Review

Close to You by Kara Isaac

Close to You

Firstly, despite the very contemporary cover of 2 people embracing, this is an inspirational romance so physical displays of affection are very limited – 2 kisses over the entire book! Also I thought the cover appeared slightly young adulty. However, it is definitely a story with adult characterisation and plot. The book has a rather unique setting of a luxury tour of New Zealand aimed at Tolkien enthusiasts and is really quite charming. The heroine … Continue reading Close to You by Kara Isaac

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post

Trust My Heart

You could read the book description above and skip reading Trust My Heart as it summarizes the story much better than I ever could. Yes, it is a pretty typical small town story and you know how it is going to end. But you would miss the author’s storytelling skills and her way of keeping you in a bit of suspense until the end of the story. There were many times while reading this book … Continue reading Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post

Trust My Heart

Like many RITA reviewers, I ended up with a book in a genre I rarely read. Not that I haven’t enjoyed “inspirational” books in the past, just that I end up finding them less than inspirational. I went in with few expectations and came out pretty much as expected. Full disclosure: When I signed on for this book I checked availability with the GBPL but failed to notice that the only copy they had was … Continue reading Trust My Heart by Carol J. Post

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher

Keeper of the Stars

Keeper of the Stars was thoroughly unobjectionable. I want to be able to give it higher praise than that, but I cannot do that and still be honest. The thoughts and actions of the characters, their faith expression, and the plot of the book- there was absolutely nothing about which one could object. While this might sound appealing, it was actually just really bland. Reading the book was like eating a dinner that’s not bad … Continue reading Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher

RITA Reader Challenge Review

My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray

My Hope Next Door

Katie Stone is back in Fairfield, the small Georgia town in which she grew up, after four years away to help her parents deal with her mother’s recent MS diagnosis. The problem is that Katie doesn’t want to be back home because she’s filled with all sorts of self-loathing and guilt over the wreckage she left behind when she hightailed it out of town in the middle of the night after doing the very horrible, … Continue reading My Hope Next Door by Tammy L. Gray

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher

Keeper of the Stars

When the RITA finalists were announced, I found I’d already read and reviewed three of the four finalists for my favourite genre, Romance with Religious or Spiritual Elements. And three worthy finalists they are. I will admit to a natural bias in favour of Close to You by Kara Isaac, because she’s a fellow Kiwi and the novel is set in New Zealand. Close to You also finaled in Best First Novel, so I’m not … Continue reading Keeper of the Stars by Robin Lee Hatcher

RITA Reader Challenge Review

Close to You by Kara Isaac

Close to You

“A disgraced scholar running from her past and an entrepreneur chasing his future find themselves thrown together—and fall in love—on a Tolkien tour of New Zealand.” I jumped into this book with enthusiasm because I am a HUGE Lord of the Rings fan and when one of my coworkers went on a LOTR tour of New Zealand last year I thought it sounded amazing. My enthusiasm was dampened rather quickly, though, after the first chapter … Continue reading Close to You by Kara Isaac