Pieces of the Heart by Bonnie S. Calhoun

Quilts of Love series (Book 9)

Cordelia Grace watched Bernard Howard, the love of her young life, go off to fight for our country in WWII. And she has spent the last three years creating the Pine Cone quilt that will grace their marriage bed when he comes home. Each row of triangles signifies a layer in her life, sets of memories, hopes, dreams, and prayers for her future, enough spoken words to cover them forever. Her image of their “happy-ever-after” grows proportionally as the quilt expands.

But is the man that returns from the war, the same man that she remembered? Are the dark shades of color that she had to use for the outside edges of the beloved quilt prophetic of her life to come? Can love and faith overcome all?

My Review:
Bernard and Cordelia are a young couple in love, and much like Romeo and Juliet, circumstances prevent them from marrying as early as they'd like. Frustrated, Bernard enlists. They both endure a time of testing. Much research on WWII African-American soldiers is evident. Separation from white soldiers must have been extremely humiliating for soldiers like Bernard, who had enjoyed mixed company all his life.

Cordelia's love for Bernard as he wrestles with battle fatigue makes this reader ache.

There's so much to the story that it seems choppy at times.

The theme and history of a Pine Cone quilt carries throughout the story. I like the way the quilt becomes an intricate part of Cordelia's life.

Discussion questions included.

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Abingdon for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.

Cooking the Books: A Sloane Templeton Mystery by Bonnie S. Calhoun

After her mother dies from a heart attack, Sloane Templeton goes from Cyber Crimes Unit to bookstore owner before she can blink. She also "inherits" a half-batty store manager; a strange bunch of little old people from the neighborhood who meet at the store once a week, but never read books, called the Granny Oakleys Book Club; and Aunt Verline, who fancies herself an Iron Chef when in reality you need a cast iron stomach to partake of her culinary disasters. And with a group like this you should never ask, “What else can go wrong?”

A lot! Sloane begins to receive cyber threats. While Sloane uses her computer forensic skills to uncover the source of the threats, it is discovered someone is out to kill her. Can her life get more crazy?

My Review:
What a fun read! The protagonist, quirky Sloane Templeton, who just inherited her mom's bookstore, has a snappy answer for everything. I love the dialogue! Unfortunately, Sloane makes bad decisions when choosing men. With one divorce under her belt, she next aligns herself with an abuser. Leaving him, she connects with Dr. Andreas Comino, a perfect guy, but her mother did not like him.

The novel contains: an elderly book club group who never read, but do take their guns to a shooting range; real estate agents harassing Sloane to sell; two doctors vying for a rare book; email death threats; and a foul smelling UPS package containing a dead rat.

This is a fast paced novel that had me smiling and gasping as I read.

I'm looking forward to the next installment of Sloane Templeton. I hope she sees more of the Denzel Washington clone, Detective Griffen Justice who has "a voice as smooth as Godiva chocolate."

Thank you to Bonnie at Christian Fiction Blog Alliance and Abingdon Press for my copy.

If you would like to read the first chapter, click here.

If you would like to buy a copy, click here.