Fools Rush In by Janice Thompson

★★★★☆
Ever wonder how Italian sounds with a Southern drawl? Bella Rossi's life is just starting to get interesting. When her Italian-turned-Texan parents hand over the family wedding-planning business, Bella quickly books a Boot-Scootin' wedding that would make any Texan proud. 

There's only one catch—she doesn't know a thing about country music. 

Where will she find a deejay on such short notice who knows his Alan Jackson from his George Strait? And will Bella ever get to plan her own wedding? Fun, fresh, and full of surprises, this flavorful combination of Italian and Tex-Mex highlights the hilarity that ensues when cultures clash. 

Fools Rush In was a really cute book!  It started off a little slow, but I really grew to love the characters.  There is such a sweet little love story between DJ and Bella.  I loved reading about their interactions with each other.  This book is a Christian fiction book, and the author did a really great job handling the characters' reactions when something drastic went wrong.  It makes me think, "Oh!  I would have probably never handled that situation in a good way, but here is an example of someone who did!  Next time something happens, I can do better!"  It's funny that a fiction story can make you do that, but it's true!! 

Blue Moon Bay by Lisa Wingate

★★★★☆

Every Once in a Blue Moon Your Heart Waits at a Crossroads.

For Seattle architect Heather Hampton, a trip back to tiny Moses Lake, Texas, is hardly in the plan. Yet because a promotion hinges on the sale of the family farmland, Heather heads to the last place she ever wanted to go. She's determined to return home, signed contract in hand, the next day.

But the currents of Moses Lake take visitors on unexpected journeys. As Heather's stay lengthens, she discovers a family steeped in secrets and an unexpected connection to local banker Blaine Underhill, despite his opposition to Heather's project. With each new revelation and question, Heather can't help but wonder if the handsome banker—and the family she has come to know again—are crooks or crusaders. Somehow she must find out the truth before she loses everything she has worked for and everything she's found on the shores of Moses Lake.

I really ended up liking Blue Moon Bay.  It was something a little different than what I usually read... it had some suspense and a little mystery, but thankfully there was also a love story.  :)  There were some depressing undertones at the beginning of the book, as the main character is trapped in a life where she is glued to her job and gets her satisfaction from her lifestyle... where she lives, what she wears, etc.  For her job, she has to go back to a town she hates, where she spent a year of her life in high school and where terrible tragedy had fallen on her family.  She is dreading the trip back, and everyone seems to be keeping secrets once she gets there.

Overall I enjoyed this book.  It definitely got good near the end, even though I wasn't positive it was going to!  It was a freebie for me, and I'm glad that I ended up reading it.  It turned out to be a really good book!

Glorious Mess by Mike Howerton

★★★★★
We all spend a significant portion of life running, chasing down our own plans and desires. Despite God's call on our lives, we, like Jonah, are often found rowing against the storms that God is using to pull us back on course. But God's relentless grace is always there, in the midst of the messes we make and no matter how far we've strayed. In Glorious Mess, Mike Howerton clearly reveals God's perfect love for imperfect people. He shows you how to hear God's voice, how to embrace God's calling, how to make the most of your messes, and how to see God working through them. Howerton encourages, inspires, and challenges you to be your best self before God and others.

I really loved Glorious Mess!  On the front cover, Rick Warren, Author of Purpose Driven Life (which is awesome!), says, "This book is pure gold!"  I decided I needed to read it!

The main theme of the book is that God can and DOES use you, no matter what your situation is.  So many times we think we are such messes of individuals, that we're not ready to be used.  Howerton takes Jonah's response to God's calling (Jonah initially runs away from what God is asking him to do), and he likens it to our own reaction when God calls us to do something.  We don't feel ready or equipped to walk out God's calling on our lives.  But the great message is this... all those people in the Bible that we read about were messes, too!  None were perfect.  God is simply asking us to be obedient... he can use us in all our Glorious Mess.

Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God by Francis Chan

★★★★☆

God is love.  Crazy, relentless, all-powerful love.  Have you ever wondered if we're missing it?

It's crazy, if you think about it. The God of the universe—the Creator of nitrogen and pine needles, galaxies and E-minor—loves us with a radical, unconditional, self-sacrificing love. And what is our typical response? We go to church, sing songs, and try not to cuss.

Whether you've verbalized it yet or not, we all know something's wrong.

Does something deep inside your heart long to break free from the status quo? Are you hungry for an authentic faith that addresses the problems of our world with tangible, even radical, solutions? God is calling you to a passionate love relationship with Himself. Because the answer to religious complacency isn't working harder at a list of do's and don'ts-it's falling in love with God. And once you encounter His love, as Francis describes it, you will never be the same. Because when you're wildly in love with someone, it changes everything.

Crazy Love is a really good book to put our time here on Earth in perspective.  We aren't here strictly to be comfortable, happy, and occupied.  We are here to love others.  The author argues that the 'American Dream' most people strive for is the exact thing that can keep us away from God.  He talks about the fact that the lukewarm Christian isn't a Christian at all, and what God promises to do those that are lukewarm.  He argues that there is plenty of grace for us when we fall down and sin, but that having a relationship with Him simply does not allow us to be lukewarm.  This really is a great book!

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride by Sandra D. Bricker

★★★☆☆

As a wedding planner, Sherilyn Caine should have the perfect wedding experience...

After all, she just landed her dream job at the wedding destination hotel, The Tanglewood. The rest should be a piece of cake for Sherilyn's Type A personality.

But while everything else goes smoothly, her own wedding plans start to sink right before her eyes. One way or the other, Sherilyn is determined to make this wedding work—until the latest development threatens to call the whole thing off. Is it possible that Sherilyn is allergic to her fiancé?

Always the Wedding Planner, Never the Bride was a cute story.  It was kind of simple and a little bit trite.  It wasn't a story with lots of depth, but it was a cute, semi-quick read.  I got it as a freebie and am glad I had a chance to read it.  I would probably read another of Bricker's stories if they were freebies, but I'm not sure I would actually purchase one.  I'm glad I read this, though.  :)

Becoming Fearless by Michelle Aguilar

★★★☆☆
Michelle Aguilar’s inspiring story goes beyond her grand-prize victory on television’s immensely popular The Biggest Loser. Becoming Fearless is about having faith in God when you’ve lost faith in yourself. It is an encouragement to “feel the fear” in any obstacle in life without being paralyzed by it. Finally, it is a story about reconciliation between Michelle and her mother, an exploration of the difficult and freeing work of forgiveness, and a reminder that what you learn on the journey is even more important than the destination.

This book is a story by Michelle Aguilar, one of the winners of the TV Show The Biggest Loser.  It was a decent book, but I thought it would be more about her journey of faith throughout the process based on the summary!  It was more about the Biggest Loser process and the issues she had (still has?) with her mom.  It was a decent book, but I guess I was hoping for something more!

Pillow Talk by Freya North

★★☆☆☆

By day, Petra Flint is a talented jeweler working in a lively London studio. By night, she's a sleepwalker troubled by a past she can't put to bed and a present that leaves her clinging to an unsuitable boyfriend. Arlo Savidge was once a budding heartthrob musician. Then tragedy struck and he chose to forsake stardom and all future affairs of the heart for a quiet life in the countryside as a music teacher.

Petra and Arlo haven't seen each other since they were teenagers-when their feelings ran deep but the timing wasn't right. Now, seventeen years later, they run into each other once more. Might first love get a second chance-or will what keeps them up at night keep them apart forever?

I don't know if it's because I had just finished reading Fifty Shades of Grey or what, but I could NOT get into this Pillow Talk.  It is one of the few books I have stopped reading mid-read.  I was probably 80 pages into it, and I just decided to abandon ship.  The storyline was silly, the characters weren't all that interesting, and I was bored reading it!  It is about a girl who sleepwalks and doesn't know she's doing it (hence 'Pillow Talk'), but that's all I really got out of it.  It was a flub.  :(