UPDATE: I didn’t complete this challenge. I read 3 of the 6 books I had listed …. Sweet Caroline, My Soul To Keep, & For Pete’s Sake.

===========================

Yeah! Its finally here. I’ve worked all week, looking at all my books, and making my list for Katrina’s Spring Reading Thing 2008. I’ve tried to participate in several others of her past challenges, and my efforts fell by the way side. But because of some other things I’m involved with, I have been spending alot of time with my nose in a book these days. So, I’m combining a couple of committments/challenges here, and having fun along the way. If you love to read, and you love an easy/peasy challenge, head on over to Katrina’s blog Catapillar Days, go over the guidelines, and join us! Anything that involves books is always a good thing!

March 20 - June 19 Join in HERE

SWEET CAROLINE by Rachel Hauck

When a Southern waitress inherits the Lowcountry cafe where she works, she suddenly has to balance more than just her next food order.

Caroline Sweeney has always done the right thing–the responsible, dependable thing–unlike her mother who abandoned her family. But when her best friend challenges her to accept an exciting job adventure in Barcelona, Spain, Caroline says “yes” to destiny.

Then, without warning, ownership of the run-down cafe where she’s been waitressing falls right into Caroline’s lap. While she’s trying to determine the cafe’s future, handsome Deputy Sherriff J.D. Rand captures Caroline’s heart.

But when her first love, Mitch O’Neal, comes back to town, fresh from the heat of his newly-found fame as a country music singer in Nashville, Caroline must make some hard choices about love and the pursuit of the sweet life.

MY SOUL TO KEEP by Melanie Wells

It’s psychology professor Dylan Foster’s favorite day of the academic year — graduation day. And her little friend Christine Zocci’s sixth birthday. But the joyful summer afternoon goes south when a little boy is snatched from a neighborhood park, setting off a chain of events that seem to lead nowhere. The police are baffled, but Christine’s eerie connection with the kidnapped child sends Dylan on a chilling investigation of her own. Is the pasty, elusive stranger Peter Terry to blame? Exploding light bulbs, the deadly buzz of a Texas rattlesnake, and the vivid, disturbing dreams of a little girl are just pieces in a long trail of tantalizing clues leading Dylan in her dogged search for the truth.

FOR PETE’S SAKE by Linda Windsor

Ellen isn’t sure true loe exists. That is until she landscapes the estate of the widower next door, Adrian Sinclair. Adrian has it all — at least on the surface. A successful businessman, he’s engaged to a beautiful woman and he’ll soon have a stepmom for his troubled son, Pete. Yet from the moment Ellen rescues a stranded Adrian on her Harley, his well ordered world turns upside down. With his busines under investigation for espionage and his son pushing for the tomboy next door as his new mom, Adrian’s facade of hapiness shatters.

As Ellen and Pete bond, she realizes that Adrian is about to marry the wrong woman. Despite her resolve to reamin “neighbors only,” Ellen is drawn to Adrian. But how can she be the one when he’s engaged to a sophiscticated beauty who is everything Ellen isn’t?

As Ellen’s three best friends step in to help her navigate this uncharted territory, Ellen must ask herself whether she’s ready to risk the heart that she’s always held close. Will Ellen trust that God brought this family into her life for a reason? Or will fear cause her to turn away from God’s plan and her one true chance at love?

My Review

CHOCOLATE BEACH by Julie Carobini

Bri Stone has it all: the man of her dreams and their surf-ridin’ teenage son, a chocolate-loving best pal, an addorable beach bungalow and a kicky joy as a Southern California bus host.

She also has a few things she didn’t ask for: A know-it-all friend, snobby mother-in-law, and a Fabio-meets-Dilbert boss. All three of them seem eager to share their strong opinions and suspicions about Bri’s relationship with her husband, Douglas.

When Bri’s rose colored sunglasses crack after she finds evidence that Douglas has grown tired of her carefree ways, she resolves to win him back. Can Bri reinvent herself — and recapture his heart?

Three Wishes by Barbara Delinksy

What if wishes really could come true?

It’s the question facing waitress Bree Walker when she awakens in the hospital following a blizzard in sleepy Panama, Vermont. While she can’t recall the near-tragedy that landed her there, she’s overcome with the certainty that she has been grated three wishes. One seems to have come true already: at her side is renowned author Tom Gates, the accident’s only witness, who had come to Panama to make sense of h is fame — and who now makes Bree his cause.

Suddenly, the things Bree has wanted most — a home, a soul mate, a family — are within her grasp. But are the wishes real? And if they are, what is their price? As Bree and Tom consider what their hearts truly require, they discover that to live their dreams, they will have to take unimagined risks.

David: 90 Days With A Heart Like His

You are invited on an intimate, exciting journey through the astonishing life of “the man after God’s own heart”. From shepherd boy, to refugee, to king of Israel, David exhibited the purest virtues and the most atrocious sinfulness. But through it all, his relationship with the Lord continued to grow.

This expanded devotional edition of Beth Moore’s modern classic, A Heart Like His, is designed as a special 90-day experience. Centered on the text of the orginial book, it includes thoughtful questions, journaling space, and an audtion CD from Beth that will guide readers through this character study of David, of God, and even of ourselves.

Seeking to know Bod more, you’ll find the special place He has in His heart for you.