Category:

E-Book Review - From Rome With Love by Kate Lloyd

2/27/2021

Genre:
Romance

From Rome With Love
by Kate Lloyd

-From Goodreads-

Lucy Goff's new job caring for the quirky daughter of a wealthy Seattle couple comes with an unexpected perk: being whisked off to Rome the week before Christmas. Putting up with fifteen-year-old Tabatha's mood swings, not to mention Lucy's own fear of flying, is worth the opportunity to explore The Eternal City.

But Lucy's dreams of a relaxing European vacation are upended almost as soon as they arrive. Tabatha's parents disappear, and Tabatha herself turns out to be more than a handful. The only person Lucy can turn to is Mario, the smooth and handsome Italian who volunteers to be their personal tour guide. Can she trust him? And what about Brad, the old boyfriend who wants to pick up where they left off?

When a mysterious painting opens up painful family secrets, it seems as though Lucy's romantic holiday is over for good. Instead, she must confront not only her employers, but also her own feelings about love and loyalty. Is she ready to see that Christmas is just the beginning?

ASIN: B08K2VDYKC

Will she find more than she expected in Rome?

This Book received a 4 Bark rating.

Kate Lloyd

Rome is a city that I've just not thought very much about, ancient and full of history as it is, but author Kate Lloyd brought The Eternal City to life in such a vivid way that I now can't help but want to visit it. Though, if I ever do I will watch my suitcase like a hawk so there won't be any odd surprises!

At times I had a mixed reaction to Lucy. She is stronger than she thinks and I loved her determination to not make the same mistakes again. She genuinely cares for Tabatha even when the teen is being a real pill, which is frequently. But, oh! She made me so mad when she wouldn't put a stop to the way one of the men in her life treated her. Girl, get some backbone!

From Rome With Love was an enjoyable read. It's a bit romance, a tad women's fiction, a touch of suspense, and more of a clean read than anything else. The setting is fascinating, the characters are flawed enough to be real, and I just like Kate Lloyd's straightforward tone in her storytelling.

If you are looking for an escape from all the tough stuff going on right now and want a chance to travel, even if it's only through fiction, may I recommend From Rome With Love, it's a fun read!

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives From Rome With Love by Kate Lloyd a 4 Bark rating.

0 Comments

E-Book Review - Stage Fright by Kate Lloyd

9/9/2020

0 Comments

Genre:
Contemporary

Stage Fright
by Kate Lloyd

-From Goodreads-

Jessica Nash loves to sing but is paralyzed every time she gets on stage. After blowing an excruciating audition, she wonders if she should give up on her dream. She’s already committed to a weeklong choral tour of England with her church choir, though, and as a single mom with a limited income, this might be her only chance to travel.

The trip gets off to a rocky start when Jessica has to sit next to Martin, a once-famous British tenor whose career plummeted in a scandal, on the flight to London. Is it her imagination, or does he seem to aim his bitterness toward womankind specifically at Jessica? And to make things worse, once they arrive Jessica discovers she has to room with the choir’s thorny lead soprano.

When Nick, their handsome tour guide, takes a special interest in showing Jessica the sights, things finally seem to be falling into place. She starts to relax and let herself be wooed against the backdrop of the charming English countryside. But is she ready to give him as much as he’s asking for?

Things aren’t as simple as they seem. Almost every person on the tour, it seems, is hiding a secret, and before her English holiday is over Jessica will find herself stretched and tested in every direction—including the soloist’s place center stage.

ASIN: B08D9WZS9T

It started out as a simple trip to England...

This Book received a 4 Bark rating.

Kate Lloyd

Author Website

I've read several of Kate Lloyd's Amish novels, and I liked them, so when she came out with a novel in a new genre I was eager to check it out. That new book was, of course, Stage Fright. And I'll tell you right off that I was not disappointed at all.

I fell for Jessica and all of her insecurities and flaws right off. And her friend Roxanne was the friend we all wish we had. The two possible love interests were, at least to me, very unprepossessing. As in, I was not favorably impressed with either one of them. At least for awhile anyway...

I really liked Kate Lloyd's voice in this story. She had that delicate balance between blunt honesty and Christian, well, morality, down pat. It made the story so much more relatable and, in my opinion, flat out more enjoyable. I also loved that Stage Fright was a cross between women's fiction, romance, and even a surprising bit of suspense near the end.

Stage Fright may have been a different genre than usual for Kate Lloyd, but, in my opinion, she aced it and I wouldn't hesitate to read any of her books whether they are Amish or not. Now I just have to impatiently wait to find out what she has next in store for readers...

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Stage Fright by Kate Lloyd a 4 Bark rating.

0 Comments

Book Review - An Amish Christmas Kitchen by Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, Kate Lloyd

12/26/2019

0 Comments

Genre:
Amish / Holiday

An Amish Christmas Kitchen
by Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, Kate Lloyd

-From Goodreads-

As the weather grows cold and the nights grow long, the cheer and warmth of the Christmas season is one thing all readers can find comfort in. This collection from bestselling Amish fiction novelists Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, and Kate Lloyd finds the beating heart at the center of the holiday and offers three novellas that celebrate family, faith, and especially the sights and smells of a bustling holiday kitchen.

Leslie Gould tells the story of how, in the wake of a heartbreaking loss, a young Amish woman finds unexpected comfort and hope in a yearly baking tradition surrounding the local Lancaster Christmas market. Jan Drexler offers a sweet tale of a shy Amish woman who decides to use her gift for sweets to woo a local Amish boy with her beloved Christmas cookies. And Kate Lloyd offers a heartwarming tale of a woman's unexpected discovery about the truth of her past, and the warm and welcoming Amish family table she finds herself invited to on Christmas.

ASIN: B07NNPLFV1

Can 3 girls find love during Christmastime...?

I've waited awhile to read, An Amish Christmas Kitchen, I've had it on my Kindle since it released, but somehow it seemed fitting to read this book at Christmastime. So I waited, even though two of the three authors, Leslie Gould and Kate Lloyd, are favorite Amish fiction authors of mine, until now with snow on the ground and the smell of freshly made fudge floating through the house.

This novella collection was enjoyable to read on a cold and snowy day. The heartwarming stories chasing the cold back outside where it belongs. I liked all three of the novellas in this collection, not just from my favorite authors, but also from somewhat new-to-me author Jan Drexler. They are sweet, easy to read, shorter than a full novel, like a cookie is to an entire cake.

This Book received a 4 Bark rating.

Leslie Gould

Website

Kate Lloyd

Website

Jan Drexler

Website

If you are looking for a good holiday read for yourself or want to give a book to an Amish fiction loving friend An Amish Christmas Kitchen would be a great choice. You'll fall in love with the characters, find the Amish Christmas customs interesting, and be charmed by the variety of settings. Oh, and you'll seriously drool over the food mentioned. It's a good thing each story has an accompanying recipe because you'll be hungry by the time you finish the book!

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives An Amish Christmas Kitchen by Leslie Gould, Jan Drexler, and Kate Lloyd a 4 Bark rating.

0 Comments

Book Review - Starting From Scratch by Kate Lloyd

5/6/2018

0 Comments

Genre:
Amish

Starting From Scratch
Lancaster Discoveries book 2
by Kate Lloyd

-From Amazon-

An Old Flame Brings a Spark of New Hope

En Alt Maedel—an old maid.

At age twenty-nine, that's what Eva Lapp considers herself. And who could argue with her? Finding a good Amish husband at her age will be next to impossible. Plus, Eva's unwarranted bad reputation in Lancaster County precedes her. Maybe living the Englisch life would be better.

Squeezed out of her childhood home by her brother's boisterous family, Eva finds lodging and a new job managing a small café at a local plant nursery. But the challenge of her new position isn't enough to distract from her current predicament.

To Eva's surprise, her first love, Jake Miller, suddenly returns to Lancaster County. Flooded with emotions and filled with questions about Jake's past, can Eva trust what she's feeling?

Jake and Eva face many obstacles in their quest for a fresh start in the community, but perhaps with God's help, they can find the redemption they both desperately need.

ISBN-13: 978-0736970235

Their past and their future are coming together...

This Book received a 4 Bark rating.

Kate Lloyd

Author Website

Amish stories come and go, many of them disappearing into the river of Amish fiction, and then, there are the semi-rare ones. Ones that stand out from the others. Ones like Starting From Scratch.

To be honest it had been quite awhile since the last time I read a Kate Lloyd book but Starting From Scratch sounded like a pretty good book. And I must say that I was pleasantly, surprised isn't quite the word but it's close enough I suppose, to find that it really was, indeed, a step above the average Amish novel.

In many ways this book was a coming-of-age story, despite the heroine's actual age, with romance and even a dash of danger and mystery. At first, Eva is a bit naive and fearful but with the help of some unexpected friends she begins shine.

If Amish is your favorite genre or if you just want to try it out Kate Lloyd's books, especially this series, would be a great choice.

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Starting From Scratch by Kate Lloyd a 4 Bark rating.

0 Comments

Winner!

2/14/2014

0 Comments

The winner of Leaving Lancaster by Kate Lloyd is...

Lori Weller
Entry #62

Congratulations Lori! Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog!

Please email your mailing address to me at telltalebookreviews(at)gmail(dot)com,
just replace the (at) with an @ and the (dot) with a . and I will get your book out to you.

0 Comments

Birthday Giveaway - Week #2

2/7/2014

12 Comments

UPDATE:
And the winner is...
LORI WELLER
Entry #62
.

Our second giveaway is for...

V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V
V

One Print Copy of Leaving Lancaster by Kate Lloyd

Can a splintered Amish family reconcile?

More than anything else, thirty-something Holly Fisher longs for family. Growing up in Seattle without a dad or grandparents, she wonders what it would be like to have a heritage, a place of belonging. Holly is furious when her mother, Esther, reveals a long-kept secret: Holly’s grandmother and uncles are still alive and begging Esther to return. And Holly is shocked when she learns that the family she’s never known lives on a Lancaster, Pennsylvania, farm—as part of an Amish community her mother once abandoned.
Guilt-ridden Esther, terrified to see her mother and siblings, begs Holly to accompany her on a visit to Esther’s mother before she dies. But can their journey to a conflicting world heal their emotional wounds and finally bring them home?
Set in the heart of contemporary Lancaster County, Leaving Lancaster explores the power of forgiveness, family reconciliation, and love where least expected.

Giveaway

To enter the giveaway please use the Rafflecopter below.
Before entering please click the Terms and Conditions button at the
bottom of the Rafflecopter and read them.

*** If you have any trouble seeing the Rafflecopter form please
let me know and I will get the link to you so you can enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Terms & Conditions

PLEASE sign up to receive our emails OR follow us on our Facebook fan page, buttons are on the right.

I'd like to remind everyone entering the giveaway that
I will NOT be contacting the winner, it is up to the winner to contact me.

If you win please send your mailing address/email address to me at telltalebookreviews(at)gmail(dot)com, just replace the (at) with an @ and the (dot) with a . and I will get the info to the correct person.

Thank you to David C Cook (Publisher) for providing the book for this giveaway!

12 Comments

Book Review - Pennsylvania Patchwork by Kate Lloyd

9/7/2013

0 Comments

Genre:
Amish

Pennsylvania Patchwork
Legacy Of Lancaster Trilogy book 2
by Kate Lloyd

-From the back cover-

One choice can change
a destiny …

When Holly Fisher finally meets the Amish family her mother has kept hidden from her, she comes face-to-face with her real-life legacy – and it's very different from the life she led in suburban Seattle. She loves it.

And she loves Zach, a handsome Mennonite veterinarian who proposes marriage. He seems to be everything she has ever wanted in a husband. But her mother and Amish grandmother think she's rushing into a commitment with a man she barely knows and who harbors a dubious past. When Holly meets a charming Amish man and an old suitor shows up, so do a myriad of doubts. Will Holly figure out what – and who – truly matters before it's too late?

A sweet Amish story with some far-reaching secrets...

Pennsylvania Patchwork isn't quite your typical Amish romance. Instead of focusing on a young Amish, usually girl, who has to decide if she will leave her community or stick with the Amish faith this book features 3 generations of women in different places in their lives.
(Mommy) Anna has never left her Amish faith and wants nothing more than to see her daughter and granddaughter join the church as well. She is also starting to have some health problems that concern her loved ones.
Esther was raised Amish but left as a young woman to marry the former Amish boy she loved. After many years in the Englisch world - and some secrets, she has returned to the church and will soon be marrying Amish man Nathaniel.
Holly is in her 30's and still lives with her family. Until recently she had no idea about her Amish heritage and she now has to decide whether she wants to join the Amish church or continue as an Englischer. AND she has to choose between three, very different, but good men.

.
.
.

This book earned a 3.5 Bark rating.

.
.
.

Kate Lloyd

Visit Kate's Website
HERE

I hadn't had a chance to read the first book in this trilogy yet and after reading Pennsylvania Patchwork I would love to do so. In many ways this book can be read as a standalone but I think some references would make more sense with the background of Leaving Lancaster.

Since I was new to Kate Lloyd's work I didn't really know what to expect. I was pleasantly surprised to find a story that did have many of the elements familiar to readers of Amish fiction but also some different twists in the plot-line that made this book an interesting and fun read. This book through some expected and also unexpected curves to the story that kept me reading through a couple of spots that lagged a little. In some ways the ending seemed a little rushed but for the most part it really wasn't, the resolutions for Esther's and Holly's romances were quick but very good.

Pennsylvania Patchwork is enjoyable read for lovers of Amish fiction and those that enjoy a good story about a simpler life - one that has the odd habit of becoming complicated at times.

Tell Tale Book Reviews gives Pennsylvania Patchwork by Kate Lloyd a 3.5 Bark rating.