I intended to get this running journey started back in December, but one day turned into a week and a week turned into a month and well, you get the idea. I let the last two months pass without making sure that my daily habits were on track with my goals. I can't even say that is the first time that has ever happened. Far from it. 

I have all sorts of excuses, but the fact is, I just didn't "feel like" doing anything. I gave into those feelings. It's true that we let ourselves down more than anyone else in our lives. I really want to change that about myself.

Today, I chose a simple run that wouldn't ask me to push myself beyond what I felt like I had to give. After not working out or running this past month and most of December, I knew I didn't have much to give. With this run, the fastest RPE (rate of perceived exertion) is a 3-4. It was the slowest I've ever run. Most of the time my RPE of 4 leaves me with at least a 15-minute mile. I have to count this as a win since I completed the run with very little walking. I may not have gone very fast, but I did keep going. I was thrilled to get outside today in the sunshine, even though it was still only 50 degrees. 

On Saturday morning, I will be running a 10K and I know it will not be in the time that I wish it could be. I am not in the shape I need to be in, and I haven't been running consistently to have a time that I will be thrilled with. Is that going to make me quit and just throw in the towel? NO WAY! I am going to give it my very best and come out a winner in my eyes, if no one else's. My family will be proud of my no matter my time. They have always been my biggest supporters. 

This book had a theme of grace and forgiveness running through it. Will everyone who needs to forgive do it? Will everyone who gets forgiven accept it? Can they see through the lies they have told themselves about their worth. Can they move forward trusting that they are worthy of love? 

Some new characters come into play, Sloane and her niece, Ivy who are living in an apartment on Max's property that he is renting out. He and Sloane have a complicated past. Once being as close as any friends and business partners could be to enemies in what appears to be a blink of an eye. The how and why are revealed some chapters in but the deep-down heart of things takes a little more time. It is worth the wait. 

There is a couple of interwoven substories in this book. One is with the mom of Max's two brothers, Fiona. Becky had this story brewing in the first two books, but it finally gets sorted out in this one. It is a HUGE part of the forgiveness and grace theme. I loved how it played out. 

The second one is a missing tiara that has been lost for over 14 years. We don't see a whole lot of page time on this topic but there are underlying facts that must come to light. It reminds us how things can continue to fester in our hearts if we don't forgive those who have hurt us in the past. It can make us bitter, and it can stop us from living the life God has for us to live. 

Suspense and humor make this a page turner that will capture your heart and emotions.

​I am enjoying this series so much! Book one, we got to know two of the three brothers, the oldest more than the middle with just a mention of the youngest. In this book, we get to know the middle brother AND the youngest brother just a bit. The story goes into some detail with the two older brothers' mom in both books. The youngest brother has a different mom. We meet the dad of all three boys in both books but don't get anything from his POV. 

Jude is an FBI agent and such a stickler for the rules and details. Playing it by the book in every way he can. He does not like breaking rules, even in everyday life. When it comes to family, he is there for them any way he can be. They mean everything to him. We saw that in book one, as well. 

Gemma and her family are such a hoot! There are four generations of women that we get to see most with a few other people from the family here and there. I loved getting to see the dynamics of those women. There ended up being a mystery thrown in alongside the main storyline that had to do with the matriarch of the family, Gemma's great grandmother, Gracie. It was just enough of a mystery to keep me reading to find out how it unfolded.

The main storyline was with Jude and Gemma working on a case together, her as a cooperating witness. Her great grandfather came from a family with a 400-year-old perfume recipe and when he moved to American, he gave up his claim to that heritage. He chose the love of a woman over that. ​

They say, "You have to start somewhere." I guess, THIS is my somewhere. On an icy day, I am writing down all "my turn around" plans to share them with you.

​Here is where my turn around began...

I HAD built up my friend's list on my socials with wonderful authors, long time school friends, new friends, family and acquaintances. Those were built up over decades of interactions. I was proud of all the authors I had on my "friends" list and that followed me and I followed back. That was ALL wiped away on every platform a few weeks ago by who knows who or what. It is what it is. I could, and did for a few days, get upset and live in the misery of all I had "lost". 

On the third or fourth day, it came to me that I could make this a beginning, instead of an ending.

A fresh start.

A chance to do things the way I wanted and needed to do them for the purposes and visions I have.

​When I did that, it was like a switch flipped in my mind. Everything became clear and I began reconstructing my thinking and my pages, including my website. I began narrowing down what I wanted to do at this point in my life. I turned 60 this year and that is a GREAT time to re-evaluate one's life, don't you think? 

This is one of the most captivating novels I have read from Becky Wade. I have not read all of her books yet, I think only 4. I will be reading the next two in this series back-to-back, starting tonight before I go to bed. I really enjoy her style of writing and will eventually get all of her book on my "read" shelf. 

Adventure from the first page! The mystery behind him being in the water almost dead, her living in a small cabin away from everyone, who he was and so many other details were slowly revealed as the story unfolded. Kept me on the edge of my seat, not wanting to stop.

Remy really wanted to help him find his family and people who knew him. Family is so important to her. That is a big theme in this book. I feel like the entire series will show that to be true. It has all three brothers, one in each book. 

Remy spends much of the book emotionally "protecting" herself from this good-looking man because his is not for her and she will get hurt if she allows herself to like him. She has some trauma that we don't find out about until a bit later. But it is WHY she won't commit or get close. YET, she is overcome with the need to help him, and it is waring inside her with the need to run as far away from him as she can get. At first, he can't do anything for himself because she dragged him out of the water with a wound on the back of his head, bruised and broken ribs AND amnesia. I enjoyed the snarky banter between them. It did get less as they got to know each other. At first, they got on each other's nerves a lot. 

I have longed to read this book since the movie came out. I was told many times from different people that it is very different than the movie. They are correct. 

“The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexanre Dumas is a complex story that spans 23 years where a man wrongly thrown in prison escapes after 14 years and seeks his revenge on those whose lies put him there. This is a book with over a thousand pages that is filled with rich detail and intertwining storylines that draw you in and makes you want to find out just how far it will go before it ends. 

It became a little overwhelming in some parts because of the audio, I think. If I ever get the time to read it again, I will do it with just the book so I can be drawn into it a bit more. I think even though the audio helps get through it faster since you can listen when you can't read, for me, it sometimes loses some of the depth that comes with being IN the book. 

The characters are very well developed. The details of every scene are incredibly vivid. The author did a great job of diving into so many different lives and situations but managed to bring each one to a conclusion at last quarter of the book. If you have seen the movie, you know that Edmond was betrayed by several men. That part is true in the book, but it is done just a bit differently. Each of those men are in this book, plus one that isn't in the movie. The Count visits those lives and plays a role in how things turn out. We do get to see some of their lives before the Count shows up. 

​Suspense isn’t my first choice of genre, but I have to say that Penny is throwing out some “edge of your seat” reads.

It is well developed and had me hooked fairly quickly. It was also very clever to have the stalker’s view point without giving away who it was. I kept trying to put the pieces together of who I thought it could be. I had a really good guess at around 65% of the book. I was right!!!

Harper is a simple girl who loves people, except one very annoying co-worker. She has a pretty routine life; work, gym, church and I’m not sure there was much more than that. She’s happy and content. She’s not “looking” for a guy but isn’t upset when she discovers she kind of likes the officer handling her case and wonders if maybe they can see each other on a personal level when they catch the guy threatening her.

Kade is a dedicated detective set on solving crimes. Harper’s case is especially important because he doesn’t want a repeat from a former case that didn’t end well. He doesn’t even realize he is falling for her until he’s already down for the count.

The romance didn’t develop until about halfway through the book, which worked out well. It allowed me to focus just on the case and getting to know the male and female leads without that. When it did happen, it was very natural.

​Book five in the Dawn of Alaska series did not disappoint!

I’ve looked forward to Yuri’s story since I first met him in earlier books. He’s such a carefree guy who just wants to make people laugh and find ways to help. He sees the good in Rosalind that others can’t.

Rosalind has been a mystery throughout the series. We’ve seen how everyone has thought badly of her because her father and uncle are so horrible to the Amos family, wanting to cause problems for them and their business. Yuri has seen her differently but his family, especially his oldest brother, Alexei has warned him against spending time with her in any way.

In the entire series, we see how the Caldwell brothers have been underhanded in their business dealings to cause financial hardship on the Amos family while lining their own packets with money they didn’t earn honestly. It even appears they have people in authority on their payroll, if you will, to do their bidding and get them out of legal trouble.

We finally get a closer look at Rosalind. Things are much darker than they appeared. She’s not only a quiet, submissive daughter, she’s forced into that role out of fear. Ever since her mother’s death, her father has been hitting her, leaving bruises that require her to stay out of the public eye until the evidence has faded. No one seems to see that truth until her friend, Bryony, who is recently married to one of the Amos brothers, tells them.

GREAT suspense read! This is book two in this series, and the third suspense book Penny has published, with more on the way! I love the fact that she has branched out from Historical Romance and has contemporary romance and suspense books, as well. I love her writing in all three genres.

I enjoyed getting to go back to Pronghorn Falls and finding out what the Brenneman family has been up to. I'm looking forward to book 3! Just how much trouble can one little mountain town get into? I guess we will find out!

This book had me on the edge on my seat very quickly and I would have finished in in less time, BUT I'm a teacher and couldn't read 24/7!

Brodie is the perfect "cowboy" law enforcement officer and a guy who loves his family and his girl, even when she walks away. He cares so much about the people in his town, too. He was raised with high values by his parents. His father died but his mom is still the matriarch of the family and leading her boys in the right direction.

Londyn is such a great character. Her back story is complex, yet she has a "rescue story". She grew up in a terrible family with a father who never cared to be in her life and a mother who only had time for herself and was busy changing husbands like clothes each season. Yet, she found stability, faith and love with the Brenneman family. She grew up hanging out with them and became more a part of their family than her own. Londyn learned what a family could be and what it meant to love someone and be there for them.​