It's Monday! What Are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is a weekly meme, hosted by Sheila over at bookjourney.wordpress.com, where you post about what you read this past week, what you hope to read this week...and anything in between. This is a great way to find new books to add to your TBR list.

What I read last week:
            

Two Brides Too Many: A Novel

 by Mona Hodgson

Kat and Nell Sinclair are headed west—away from the manicured lawns of Maine to the boisterous, booming mining town of Cripple Creek, Colorado to start new lives for themselves as mail-order brides.

Aboard the train, romantic dreamer Nell carries a photo of her intended close to her heart and imagines an exciting and love-filled future, while her pragmatic older sister Kat resigns herself to marriage as a duty, not a delight.

But when the ladies disembark at the train depot, neither fiancé Patrick Maloney or Judson Archer awaits them with open arms. The well-bred Sinclair sisters find themselves unexpectedly alone in the wild, frontier town—a place where fire threatens to reduce the buildings to rubble, the working women strut the streets, rogues will gamble for the shoes on one’s feet, and God’s grace is found amongst the most unlikely of folks.

Two sisters,
Two missing misters,
A shocking welcome to the wild west that leaves both Kat and Nell Sinclair questioning their dreams­and the hope for true love.
          

Hope Rekindled

by Tracie Peterson

The Anticipated Conclusion to Tracie Peterson's Texas Series!

At long last, Deborah Vandermark is preparing for her own wedding... but the groom suddenly goes absent. Tragedy has befallen Christopher's family in Kansas City, upsetting the doctor's future with Deborah. With five siblings now under his care, can he return to Texas and impose a ready-made family on Deborah?

Deborah herself finds her resolve faltering as her fears about marriage and career start to overwhelm her. How can she marry and be a mother to Christopher's siblings, and still be able to pursue her work and training as a physician? When an old adversary reveals a contract that may spell ruin for Vandermark Logging, Deborah's life seems to be spiraling out of control. How can God possibly work this for good? And can Christopher and Deborah find a way to claim the future they long to share when so much stands in their way?

What I am currently reading:

The Confidential Life of Eugenia Cooper: A Novel
by Kathleen Y'Barbo

This Wild West adventure just might be the life she was meant to live.
The future is clearly mapped out for New York socialite Eugenia “Gennie” Cooper, but she secretly longs to slip into the boots of her favorite dime-novel heroine and experience just one adventure before settling down. When the opportunity arises, Gennie jumps at the chance to experience the Wild West, but her plans go awry when she is drawn into the lives of silver baron Daniel Beck and his daughter and finds herself caring for them more than is prudent–especially as she’s supposed to go back to New York and marry another man.

As Gennie adapts to the rough-and-tumble world of 1880s Colorado, she must decide whether her future lies with the enigmatic Daniel Beck or back home with the life planned for her since birth. The question is whether Daniel’s past–and disgruntled miners bent on revenge–will take that choice away from her.

What I want to read this week:

Anna Finch and the Hired Gun: A Novel

 by Kathleen Y'Barbo

When an aspiring reporter and 
a Pinkerton detective get tangled in Doc Holliday’s story—
and each other—sparks can’t help but fly.

Despite her father’s attempts to marry her off, Anna Finch dreams of becoming a reporter. A chance encounter with legendary gunslinger Doc Holliday gives her the opportunity of a lifetime, but Pinkerton agent Jeb Sanders is about to ruin everything.

Though her father hired Jeb to keep her out of mischief, Anna’s inconvenient attraction to her hired gun only multiplies her troubles. She doesn’t realize Jeb has a score to settle with Doc Holliday, or that her association with the famous outlaw will affect more than just her marriage prospects. Between her father’s desperation to see her wed and Jeb shadowing her every move, getting the story and fulfilling her journalistic ambition just got far more complicated than she ever imagined.

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck: A Novel
by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Unlikely romance is sometimes just an inconvenient marriage away

Charlotte Beck may be entering adulthood, but she can’t seem to keep to her stubborn, independent spirit from bucking social protocol. Fed up with her behavior, Charlotte’s father Daniel pressures her to settle into a nice marriage despite knowing she is set on going to college. Then Daniel sees Charlotte with the handsome but annoying English astronomer Alex Hambly, and everything changes.

Though Alex and Charlotte can barely stand one another, Daniel offers them a deal they can’t refuse: if they agree to marry, he will save Alex’s family from financial ruin and grant Charlotte the freedom to go to college. Reluctantly the couple agrees, but in private they plot to annul the marriage as soon as possible.

But when Alex’s feelings change and he refuses to dissolve their contract, will Charlotte find a way out of her vows? Or will she discover that maybe this marriage isn’t so inconvenient after all?

Wickham's Diary
by Amanda Grange

This prequel to 'Pride and Prejudice' begins with George Wickham at age 12, handsome and charming but also acutely aware that his friend, Fitzwilliam Darcy, is rich, whilst he is poor. His mother encourages him to exercise his charm on the young Georgiana Darcy and Anne de Bourgh in the hopes of establishing a stable of wealthy social connections.

At university, Darcy and Wickham grow apart. Wickham is always drinking and wenching, whilst Darcy, who apparently has everything, is looking for something he cannot find. Wickham runs through the money Darcy gives him and then takes up with the scandalous Belle, a woman after Wickham's own greedy, black heart.

PrayerWalk: Becoming a Woman of Prayer, Strength, and Discipline

 by Janet Holm Mchenry

Ask any Christian woman about her most recent New Year’s resolutions, and you’ll likely find that “exercise regularly” and “pray more” were at the top of her list. We all long to look and feel our best, to live actively and healthfully. More than that, we desire to connect intimately with our God. Yet physical health and spiritual growth often take a backseat to the urgent demands of grocery shopping and bill paying, time with family and friends, and long hours at the office.

It’s Time to Exercise Your Prayer Life.

Three years ago, author Janet Holm McHenry suffered from depression, weight gain, and exhaustion. Then she began a prayerwalk routine that not only transformed her life but also profoundly impacted the lives of those around her.

Learn how you, too, can set out on a journey to increased energy, better health, and greater joy—and experience a rich, full prayer ministry that will have a lasting impact on your loved ones and community—in 'PrayerWalk'.

What Would Mr Darcy Do?

 by Abigail Reynolds

But what if Darcy hadn't immediately left the inn? What if Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy had chosen to speak their feelings rather than to assume the worst about the other? Jane Austen's beloved characters are given the opportunity to reach out one last time before they part. While their path forward is still filled with misadventures and misunderstandings it is rich with humor, romance, and sensuality as they learn about each other and the meaning of love. But there's still a scandal threatening to engulf the Bennet family, and Elizabeth can't be sure that Darcy's love for her could withstand such a blow. Determined to give Darcy up rather than drag his name through the mud, Elizabeth will have to choose for herself between what she believes is right, and what she wants more than anything...





The Seraph Seal

by Leonard Sweet

An epic tale of good and evil based on the four horsemen of the Apocalypse found in the book of Revelation.

Using the four horsemen of the Apocalypse to symbolize the four Gospels, four transcendentals, and four forces of the universe (air, water, earth, and fire), Sweet and Wagner weave a fast-paced, end-times tale of good vs. evil and the promise of a new dawn for humanity.

Set in 2048, when planet Earth is suffering from the damaging effects of years of misuse and abuse, cultural history professor Paul Binder receives a mysterious letter that leads him to examine a lost 2nd-century Diatessaron manuscript. Ancient prophecies, cryptic letters, and strange events set him on a course to uncover the missing clues that could lead humanity into a new age. Each character embodies elements of the four horsemen in a race to save the world from total destruction. Layered with forgotten symbolism from the ancient, Jewish, and Christian traditions, the novel is a type of engaged fiction in which the main character's lost journal serves as a guide to the reader in interpreting clues and understanding the novel's conclusion.