Christian Fiction

Almost Destroyed by Lakisha Johnson

May 10, 2022 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Almost Destroyed by Lakisha Johnson

Ava Gentry met Andre, thirteen years ago, when he was the officer who responded the night she was attacked. Years later, he’s still treating her like that scared and broken girl with no self-esteem in need of saving. Every chance he gets, he tries to destroy her with his words and actions leaving her feeling unworthy of love and respect.

The sad reality was it wasn’t the first time she’s felt this way. From being abused by her grandfather to even worse foster homes; suffering has almost destroyed her identity and ability to love herself.

But she’s had enough.

Finally standing up for herself, Andre throws her out, destroying her belongings while almost destroying her. On her own and starting over, she realizes the first thing she needs, besides a place to stay and a job is a relationship with God. Yet, things prove harder than she ever imagined, especially when trouble won’t let go, and neither will Andre.

In Almost Destroyed, follow Ava’s journey from heartache and brokenness to restoration and finding the strength to love herself again.

The Shipyard Man by Ann Streetman

December 24, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

The Shipyard Man by Ann Streetman

The late summer Sunday morning in 1905 appeared to be as boring as ever for Mary Johns Leonard until a stranger slid into the pew in front of her and her daughter Callie.

When the prayer ended, Mary stole a glance at the stranger before turning to the right page in the hymnal. She began to sing. The tenor voice of the stranger singing “Love Devine All Loves Excelling” was the most beautiful male voice she had ever heard. Could he be a professional singer passing through?

Mary’s eyes strayed to his broad shoulders more than once during the sermon. The collar on his shirt was clean, but frayed. Surely no traveling performer would have such a frayed collar. His straight black hair was clean but a bit too long at the nape of his neck. Working too hard to stop for a haircut?

The next day Mary looked up from the counter in her pappa’s general store to see the stranger. By the time he left, she knew he had grown up in Oregon where he worked at a sawmill and later helped build ships. A shipyard man. Clearly not like anyone she had ever known. A very interesting stranger.

Come along with Mary and Bill in their rocky journey of learning more about themselves and each other. This book does not easily fit into a neat category. Mary’s journey of self-discovery is Women’s Fiction. The love story of Mary and Bill is unmistakable Romance. It could be called Christian fiction since their faith is a significant part of their love story. Call it what you will and enjoy the journey of Mary and Bill.

The Shipyard Man by Ann Streetman

September 24, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

The Shipyard Man by Ann Streetman

The late summer Sunday morning in 1905 appeared to be as boring as ever for Mary Johns Leonard until a stranger slid into the pew in front of her and her daughter Callie.
When the prayer ended, Mary stole a glance at the stranger before turning to the right page in the hymnal. She began to sing. The tenor voice of the stranger singing Love Devine All Loves Excelling was the most beautiful male voice she had ever heard. Could he be a professional singer passing through?

Come along with Mary and Bill in their rocky journey of learning more about themselves and each other.

Hope is Born – Anthology

July 27, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Hope is Born

Mountaintop Christmas by Stacy Monson
Like Wool by Eleanor Bertin
Ever Greening by Deb Elkink
A Beautiful Christ-mess by Brenda S. Anderson
The Christmas Sweater by Janice L. Dick
Taste of Heaven by Sara Davison
The Jukebox Cafe by Angela D. Meyer
The Caretaker’s Christmas by Johnnie Alexander
Reno-Vating Christmas by Regina Rudd Merrick

Nine stories. Nine pasts to overcome. Nine futures hang in the balance. Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but what happens when the past threatens to destroy the peace and joy of the season? When the men and women in these stories face overwhelming challenges in their lives, can hope be restored this Christmas?

Desire of My Heart by Heidi Gray McGill

April 24, 2021 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

All Rachel has ever wanted is a family. How could God grant her the desire of her heart, then do nothing to prevent it from being taken away? Can she wait for God’s perfect timing, or will she take matters into her own hands…again?

About to age out of a Missouri orphanage in 1858, shy Rachel listens with terror as the orphanage matron tells her she’s practically auctioning her off to the highest bidder for her hand in marriage. Rachel prays, asking God to help her and her younger brother Charlie escape, but how? When God provides what Rachel believes to be her liberator, the seed of an idea sets in motion an adventure that will bring happiness and heartbreak and nearly cost Rachel her health.

When trouble comes, it comes in a big way and those who care for Rachel wonder if she will ever recover. Rachel and Charlie face danger and sorrow, see new territory, and grow in their faith. They just might even find the desire of their hearts and realize God had bigger plans than they ever imagined.

Targeted Age Group:: 13 to 103

What Inspired You to Write Your Book?
I'm an avid reader, and for years, I happily served as a Beta reader. I realized I enjoyed the process of thinking through the details of whatever book I was engrossed in. I'd read to see if characters were compelling, sympathetic, or someone for whom I found myself rooting. I envisioned the characters to see if they felt real and were three-dimensional, with distinct voices, flaws, and virtues.

I wondered–Can I do this? Can I write the way I like to read?

There was no "story" in my mind when I started. I chose to create a character I could relate to, someone plain and straightforward. Without intention, I wrote my own story through the main character of Rachel. I worked through my own deep heartache of vision loss. Like Rachel, I believe I have come out on the other side gloriously renewed in spirit. This book was healing for my soul, and I pray it helps others as well.

Ghost (The Justice Chronicles Book 1) by Michael Jack Webb

October 29, 2020 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Ghost (The Justice Chronicles Book 1) by Michael Jack Webb

Best-selling, award-winning author and master storyteller Michael Jack Webb weaves a Supernatural Serial Killer tale like none you’ve ever read.

Enter a world where nothing is what it appears to be, and every clue leads an extraordinary young woman deep into the heart of darkness and beyond.

Kate Justice, FBI’s youngest Profiler, is assigned to find a serial killer with supernatural abilities.
The killer is elusive, cunning, and seemingly invincible.

Kate races against time to discover who or what is behind the gruesome murders and prevent another brutal killing.

She soon fears she’s in over her head as stunning revelations about her mysterious ancestry surface.
Hunter becomes the prey as the Ghost in the Darkness killer plays a vicious cat and mouse game, drawing Kate into a deadly confrontation.

Uncovering the truth will challenge her beliefs about the world around her and her understanding of what is real, what is a myth, and what is something in between.

Book 1 of The Justice Chronicles will leave you breathless, wanting more…

Body: or, How Hope Confronts Her Shadow and Calls the Flutter Girl to Flight by Sean Coons

May 13, 2020 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Body: or, How Hope Confronts Her Shadow and Calls the Flutter Girl to Flight by Sean Coons

Hope hates her body. She always has. The fact that she’s a graphic artist who manipulates images of women’s bodies for a living only makes matters worse.

Hope’s teenage niece, Lana, has a physique Photoshop can’t touch. But in her dance world, finesse in motion requires mastery of body, which, for Lana, spirals into obsession.

Looking into the mirror, Hope and Lana have in mind a continually altering ideal of beauty defined always as thinner than they are in the moment.

Hope turns to her preternaturally trim friend, Lilith, for help. Comedy ensues as Hope mimics Lilith’s alpha female style, storming through life “solving” her problems and losing weight—that is until her new inauthentic persona leads to catastrophe. At her lowest, Hope meets Joy, a quirky mentor offering ancient truths of physical health and spiritual peace that will change Hope’s and Lana’s lives forever.

Undercover Amish by Ashley Emma

May 6, 2020 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Undercover Amish by Ashley Emma

She watched her house burn down with her family inside.
She killed her abusive husband in self-defense.

Detective Olivia Mast swore she’d never return to her former Amish community in Unity, Maine, where it all happened. She’d rather run through gunfire than go back there, but she has her orders.

The community refuses to seek justice after a murder, so Olivia must don her prayer kapp once more to investigate. She’s the only one in her unit able to blend in as one of the Amish and get information from them.

Because she’s going undercover, she has to deceive her community and family by letting them think she wants to rejoin the Amish and come home for good.

To top it all off, she must also covertly protect the man she dated as a teenager, Isaac Troyer, who somehow looks even better now than he did back then. But that’s beside the point. They aren’t the teenagers they used to be.

When Olivia returns to Unity, Isaac Troyer believes he’s getting a second chance at love.

Though a plain cabinet maker, he’s a target. And he has no idea Olivia is now an undercover detective carrying a 9mm under her skirts.

When Olivia realizes she needs Isaac help most of all because of his connections to the suspect, she must tell him the truth. Will Isaac be willing to break sacred Amish rules in order to help Olivia stop the murderer?

Undercover Amish was a finalist in Maine Romance Writers Strut Your Stuff Competition 2015 where it received 26 out of 27 points!

Two Steps Forward by Luana Ehrlich

May 5, 2020 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Two Steps Forward by Luana Ehrlich

When CIA operative Titus Ray has an unexpected encounter with a Jihadi terrorist while he and Nikki are on their honeymoon in Morocco, he assumes it’s a coincidence, but when they travel to Israel for the second half of their honeymoon, and Titus encounters him again, he contacts his CIA handler. Within days, Titus is on his way to Iraq to prevent the assassination of a high-profile government official. Is the assassin’s target the Iraqi Prime Minister or could the visiting U.S. President be in his crosshairs? Could it be someone else? Could it be Titus?

Amish Under Fire by Ashley Emma

April 27, 2020 By Book Review Matchmaker Leave a Comment

Amish Under Fire by Ashley Emma

After Maria Mast’s abusive ex-boyfriend is arrested for sex trafficking, she thinks she can safely return to her Amish community.

But the danger has only just begun.

Someone begins stalking her and her young son Carter, and they want blood and revenge.

When Maria returns home to Unity, Maine, Agent Derek Turner goes with her as her undercover bodyguard, trying to blend in with the other Amish men.

The Amish way of life and their solid faith draws Derek in. He hasn’t even prayed ever since his wife died, but living among the Amish makes him long for a stronger relationship with God.

Maria’s secretive eyes, painful past, and cautious demeanor intrigue him.

As the human trafficking ring begins to target the Amish community, Derek wonders if the distraction of her will cost him his career…and Maria’s life.

Amish Under Fire was a semi-finalist in Harlequin’s So You Think You Can Write Contest in 2015.