Book Notes: December 28th, 2021 - Final Book Notes Post of the Year

 Wow! It's my last book notes post and I can hardly believe we finally made it to the end of 2021. I hope you'll see something in this post which piques your interest. I've read a lot of wonderful books this year and discovered some awesome new-to-me authors. Today, there are four reviews waiting for you to check out. Let's go!

Book Review: The Plus One Rescue (Disaster City Search & Rescue) by Jo Grafford

The Plus One Rescue by Jo Grafford
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Moved to Tears

Gosh! I was moved to tears while reading this story. I confess to having a heart for the military and for those troops who've suffered losses like the hero. I guess it's no surprise I was bawling.
Moving on...this was a good story. It was more action than romance. But the romance portions were spot on for a clean read while maintaining some witty banter. There was just the right amount of tension to keep me reading.
If you enjoy clean stories of romance and action, you might enjoy this story.

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Book Review: His to Protect by Jewel Allen

His to Protect by Jewel Allen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Sweet Romance

I hadn't read any of this author's work before. While there were a few things I didn't like about this book, they were mostly technical and didn't detract from the plot. I enjoyed the story. I think Weston might be my favorite secondary character and I'd be interested in reading his story.
If you enjoy clean, sweet romance with a bit of action here and there, then you'll probably enjoy this book.

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Book Review: Rocco (Lantern Beach Blackout: The New Recruits #1) by Christy Barritt

Rocco by Christy Barritt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Enjoyable Suspense Romance

I enjoyed reading this clean suspense romance story. I found it was much better than the first story I read by Christy Barritt, so I'm glad I tried her work again. There is more emphasis on the crisis than the romance, but the way the story unfolds works well, I think.
If you're looking for a pleasant way to spend a cozy evening in, this book might be just the thing.

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Book Review: Hard Landing (Hope Landing #1) by Edie James

Hard Landing by Edie James
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a good book. What kept it from being great was that it seemed a little chopping in some areas. I do like POV changes and the author did that well in this book. But I think some of the hero's feelings seemed forced in places. He was a little hard to relate to, though I was rooting for him and his team to succeed. The heroine was a little easier to relate to and I admired her tenacity and drive. I also liked that these characters were portrayed as living their faith, so the inspirational element is there in an appropriate way. Of course, that's just one person's opinion.
The action scenes were fun, if a couple of them seemed a little "out there." They weren't implausible, just kinda crazy, which is what you might expect when faced with an unexpected situation being thrown in your face. I liked that because it was fun to read. Of all the characters, though, I think Austin (the hero's best friend), is probably my favorite. Gotta love a broken hero, right? I'm looking forward to reading his story as soon as I can.
If you enjoy clean suspence romance with some inspirational themes, then you'll probably enjoy this one.

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Of all these suspense romance books, I think Edie James is my favorite new-to-me author. I like the second book in the Hope Landing series better than the first one, but the writing is good. It's aweome how the author has her characters turning to prayer often and sometimes, just because they woke up or have sat down to a meal. 

Not all of these books are inspirational, but they are all clean reads. If you enjoy stories free from graphic sex and language, then you may enjoy checking out these books. 

I set a goal on Goodreads to read 100 books this year. I figured I could easily hit 150, but I didn't want to pressure myself to meet some far-reaching goal and then be disappointed in the end. Y'all! I'm sitting at 193 today and I hope to hit 200 before January 1st. I don't know if I can do it. I'm not counting several re-reads, so technically, I /have/ read more books. But I decided during the year I didn't want to count books I'd already read. 

Since I've discovered a lot of new authors and there's no way I'll be able to share all my reviews with you when I only show two in a post most of the time, I'll share some of my favorite author finds from this year with you. 

• Edie James - Inspirational Suspense Romance
• Christy Barritt - Inspirational Suspense Romance
• Charlotte Dearing - Inspirational Historical Romance
• Melanie Dickerson - Fantasy/Fairytale Retellings (Inspirational)
• Karen Witemeyer - Inspirational Historical Romance
• Jodie Wolfe - Inspirational Historical Romance
• Becky Doughty - Clean Contemporary Romance (lightly inspirational)

I hope you'll give a few of these authors a try. Some of them are indies like me and we're all just trying to share our stories with the readers of the world. 

Thank you so much for spending a few moments reading my blog this year. Hopefully, I've been able to introduce you to new authors or new books which you've enjoyed. I'll see you again Friday!