On Love's Gentle Shore - By Liz Johnson, Audiobook Review

On Love's Gentle Shore
Prince Edward Island Dreams Series, Book 3
By: Liz Johnson
Narrated by: Amy Melissa Bentley
Series: Prince Edward Island Dreams, Book 3
Length: 8 hrs and 48 mins
Publisher: Tantor Audio

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5 Stars *****

Audiobook Review by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Somehow I had a big gap between listening to the wonderful first two books in this series and this third one which released a year ago. I highly recommend the entire series! I think I had a lot of life stuff going on and major health issues that got in the way. Then I was off to Mackinac Island for the summer and got the chance to regroup. So I've been catching up on my audiobook listens! 

The narrator, Amy Bentley, really enhances the story! I give her 5 Stars for her narration! Hit it perfectly! A narrator can help your story or spoil it and Ms. Bentley was wonderful.

I loved this story as I did the other two in this series. Liz Johnson has this great author's voice. Having met her in person and been in a collection with her (A Cup of Christmas Cheer, Guideposts Books, now out of print) I wasn't surprised I'd love her voice as she's such a sweet lady. Her characters are so relatable and down-to-earth. And I enjoyed the three very different stories. That really showed her talent in having same story world but completely different story plots. 

In the novel, Natalie has been basically pressured into returning to Prince Edward Island, by her fiancé Russell a wealthy and prominent music producer. Little did he know!!! This isn't where she wants to be. At all!  But Natalie has some healing that can come from this return. Ms. Johnson does a great job of developing the characters and especially with arcs for both the hero and Justin and Natalie's fiancé. I loved that she didn't resort to using some typical things with Russell but had a deft hand in showing us his nature.

I used an Audible.com download for my listen as I have a membership. Delightful romance! Grab all three listens!

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Publisher's Summary
Fifteen years after she left Prince Edward Island, Natalie O'Ryan had no plans to return. But when her fiancé, music producer Russell Jacobs, books their wedding in her hometown and schedules a summer at Rose's Red Door Inn, she sets out to put the finishing touches on the perfect wedding. But she can't possibly prepare for a run-in with Justin Kane - the best friend she left behind all those years ago after promising to stay.

Justin's never forgotten Natalie or the music career he always dreamed of pursuing. He'd been prepared to follow her off the island until his dad died and he was left to run the family dairy farm. He's done the best he can with the life that was thrust upon him - but with Natalie back in the picture, he begins to realize just how much joy he's been missing.

After Natalie's reception venue falls through, she must scramble to find an alternative, and the only option seems to be a barn on Justin's property. As they work together to get the dilapidated building ready for the party, Natalie and Justin discover the groundwork for forgiveness - and that there may be more than an old friendship between them.

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Giveaway: Box of Christian fiction books to one commenter.

Liz Johnson's Where Two Hearts Meet - Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

Where Two Hearts Meet by Liz Johnson

After I finished reading Liz Johnson's The Red Door Inn, Book 1 in this Prince Edward Island Romances series from Revell, I immediately wanted to know more about what happened to the sweet baker/chef, Caden, who was in book 1 and the heroine of book 2. So I ordered Where Two Hearts Meet!

From the Publisher:

Evocative Contemporary Romance Set in a Charming Inn on Beautiful Prince Edward Island

In her kitchen at the Red Door Inn, executive chef Caden Holt is calm, collected, and competent. But when her boss asks her to show off their beautiful island to impress a visiting travel writer and save the inn, Caden is forced to face a world much bigger than her kitchen—and a man who makes her wish she was beautiful.

Journalist Adam Jacobs is on a forced sabbatical on Prince Edward Island. He's also on assignment to uncover a story. Instead he's falling in love with the island's red shores and Caden's sweets.  When Caden discovers Adam isn't who she thought he was, she realizes that the article he's writing could do more than ruin the inn's chances for survival—it might also break her heart.

Readers will discover hope for the hurting, joy for the broken, and romance for the lonely at the enchanting Red Door Inn.

"The Way to A Man's Heart"

Where Two Hearts Meet
by Liz Johnson (Baker Publishing, 2016)

Review by Carrie Fancett Pagels

I read this book as an ebook. What a delightful story!  I hesitated a little because I have a reporter in my own upcoming release, set on another island -- Mackinac Island -- albeit in 1895 and not 2016. I quickly got pulled into the story, though, and charmed thoroughly by the characters. Caden starts out being resistant to showing gorgeous Adam around the island. But a true friendship blossoms as they spend more time together.

There is an antagonist in the story who you'll "love to hate" and with a cool twist at the end of the story. The cooking contest is a really fun element in the story and gives good tension. But will Caden go off on a new path that God has planned for her? Will Adam? Can he turn in his assigned story? Will he find other truths?

The next book in the fantastic Prince Edward Island series comes out in summer, July, 2017! Can't wait to read it!

Bibliotherapy: Caden has some simmering self-esteem issues, some associated with her weight. She is, after all, a chef so we can't be too surprised she samples her food. She has to work through those feelings of self-worth. 

Do yourself a favor -- order a copy and read Liz Johnson's Where Two Hearts Meet. Click here to order from Barnes & Noble or here to purchase from Christian Book Distributors.

Review & Giveaway - The Red Door Inn by Liz Johnson

I had the privilege of working with Liz Johnson several years ago for the Guidepost Books' "A Cup of Christmas Cheer" collection. I loved Liz's short story! And as I have found with other authors and their stories, when I met her in person, she was just as lovely a person as her stories are! When I saw the cover of The Red Door Inn, I had to get the book. 

SPOILER ALERT: Because I do bibliotherapy reviews, I will be addressing a topic that is part of the book.  Skip to the bottom to the comments section if you just want to enter the giveaway!

Review: 
First of all -- I do not normally read contemporary fiction. I don't write contemporary fiction (other than as a favor for a friend for a recent serial.)  But I loved Liz's writing and love the idea of going to Prince Edward Island one day so I ordered the paperback. Then I had two deadlines to complete. Fast forward a few months -- both books turned in to Barbour. I wanted my escape and now I'd acquired the Kindle version of this book. 

The Red Door Inn
Book One in Prince Edward Island Dreams
By Liz Johnson
(Revell Publishing)
Reviewed by Carrie Fancett Pagels

LOVED LOVED LOVED this story!!!

Five Stars *****

Marie Carrington is one of the most fragile heroines I've seen lately, yet she has a subtle tungsten steel thread of strength, in her faith. God is drawing her back to Him after she's betrayed both by her father and by an old school mate. Ms. Johnson does a great job of drawing you into the story by revealing only just enough to hook you and propel you forward in reading.

Seth Sloane starts out as a jerk. But, again, Ms. Johnson infuses enough information about Seth that the reader quickly understands why he's acting so wounded -- because he is. But his reaction to that utter betrayal is to throw walls up. As the story goes on, both Seth and Marie seek to overcome their animosity toward each other and a true friendship and caring grows.

The next book in the series has released and I'm looking forward to reading it! And another book due out in summer, 2017!

Bibliotherapy: I was a psychologist for twenty-five years. Marie's reaction is pretty extreme, but given the rape and then her father's betrayal, and everything else Liz Johnson has set up, her flight to Prince Edward Island is understandable. As is Seth's. These two are shown God's mercy via a widower, Jack, who is setting up a bed and breakfast to fulfill his wife's wishes before she died.  This story would be a good bibliotherapy tool for: emotional abandonment, betrayal, rape, and manipulative relationships. 

Giveaway: A paperback copy of The Red Door Inn. Leave a comment!