Black 'n' Gold Girl's Book Spot

It is time for a FIRST Wild Card Tour book review! If you wish to join the FIRST blog alliance, just click the button. We are a group of reviewers who tour Christian books. A Wild Card post includes a brief bio of the author and a full chapter from each book toured. The reason it is called a FIRST Wild Card Tour is that you never know if the book will be fiction, non~fiction, for young, or for old...or for somewhere in between! Enjoy your free peek into the book! You never know when I might play a wild card on you! Today's Wild Card authors are: Mindy Starns Clark and John Campbell Clark and the book: Echoes of Titanic Harvest House Publishers (March 1, 2012) ***Special thanks to Karri James Harvest House Publishers of  for sending me a review copy.*** ABOUT THE AUTHORS: Mindy Starns Clark is the author of many books (more than 450,000 copies sold), which include A Pocket Guide to Amish Life, Shadows of Lancaster County, Whisper...

Your Clash Hostess:   Gail Pallotta Clash of the Titles has a great selection of books in our give away this week. Shelley Adina will donate a copy of Lady of Devices , Keven Newsome offers a choice between a signed print copy of Winter OR two e-books, one of Winter and one of Aquasynthesis . James Rubart gives away a copy of The Chair .  Wow! Vote in order to enter. You'll find the voting box below. You can also leave a comment on any COTT post or on our Facebook page.  Multiple entries encouraged! Many times we hear a word or phrase and another comes to mind. The two go together so well we can’t think of one without recalling the other. Some easily recognized pairs come from life experiences, others from songs, books or movies. Here are a few to complete just for fun. A  song:  “Love and Marriage.” “Love and marriage, love and marriage go together like a  _____ and _____.”  According to Wikipedia, this tune was introduced ...

Hey guys check out this awesome freebie from  Abingdon Press , it's the newly released Always the Designer Never the Bride by Sandra Bricker! I really love this series and I'm so surprised that Abingdon has offered this new title for free already but jump on this deal guys because I'm sure it won't last for long! As always, if you decide to get this "freebie" after reading this post double check before you order to make sure it is still free! Always the Designer Never the Bride by Sandra Bricker To learn more about Sandra visit her: WEBSITE BLOG Happy Reading!

An Uncommon Grace by Serena B. Miller Copyright 2012 Howard Books ISBN: 97814151660302 About the book:  Grace Connor, a military nurse formerly stationed in Afghanistan, hopes that moving to a farm in rural Ohio will help her recover from the ravages of war. Levi Troyer finds his pacifist beliefs challenged when he discovers his stepfather has been killed and his mother wounded by an unknown intruder. Levi and Grace are thrown together when she comes to his family’s rescue and saves his mother’s life. A deep attraction develops—even though a relationship between them is strictly forbidden. Levi belongs to the most conservative and isolated of all Amish sects—the Swartzentruber Amish. Even before meeting Grace, Levi had begun to question some of their teachings. He has considered leaving, but knows he will be banned forever from contact with his younger siblings and widowed mother—who need him to survive. He is torn between his love for Grace and his responsibility to h...

The Wedding Dress by Rachel Hauck Copyright 2012 Thomas Nelson Publishers ISBN: 9781595549631 About the book: One dress. Four women. An amazing destiny. Charlotte Malone is getting married. Yet all is not settled in the heart of Birmingham's chic bridal boutique owner. Charlotte can dress any bride to perfection-except herself. When she discovers a vintage mint-condition wedding gown in a battered old trunk, Charlotte embarks on a passionate journey to discover the women who wore the gown before her.  Emily in 1912. Mary in 1939. And Hillary in 1968. Each woman teaches Charlotte something about love in her own unique way. Woven within the threads of the beautiful hundred-year-old gown is the truth about Charlotte's heritage, the power of faith, and the beauty of finding true love. My Thoughts: I'm probably the world's most romantic human being, I see the beauty in everything and old things are what I love the most. Give me an old Victorian with crumblin...

see more dog and puppy pictures How could I not share this with the blogiverse? I think this is quite possibly the cutest LOLdog I've ever re-posted. :-)

The Maid of Fairbourne Hall by Julie Klassen Copyright 2012 Bethany House Publishers ISBN: 9780764207099 My Thoughts: When it comes to Regency romance nobody does it quite like Julie Klassen. I've come to expect nothing but the best from Ms. Klassen and she has once again delivered it with The Maid of Fairborne Hall . Fans of the hit British drama, Downton Abbey will fall in love with this story where upstairs meets downstairs and love overcomes all obstacles. Margaret Macy who stands to inherit a fortune when she comes of age is at the end of the rope where her conniving and deceitful stepfather is concerned. With seemingly no other option than to flee his household Margaret escapes with her lady's maid, Joan, in hopes of avoiding him for a few months. With no money of her own she not only faces the fierce streets of London but also the prying eyes of society and so disguises herself and takes on a position as a maid at gorgeous Fairbourne Hall. At every...

I don't normally do posts like this but I think it is important to give recognition where recognition is due. Some of these writer's books I admittedly haven't read but those whose books I have read are amazing and they so deserve the nomination. I'm so glad I don't have to choose the winner because I know for sure I wouldn't be able to pick just one! Let me know what you think about the finalists and who you are cheering on! See all the RITA finalists HERE The Christmas Child by Linda Goodnight (Harlequin Love Inspired; Allison Lyons, editor) Deadly Pursuit by Irene Hannon (Revell; Jennifer Leep, editor) Katie's Way by Marta Perry (Berkley Publishing Group; Ellen Edwards, editor) The Ladies' Room by Carolyn Brown (Avalon Books; Lia Brown, editor) Love on the Line by Deeanne Gist (Bethany House Publishers; David Long and Julie Klassen, editors) The Measure of Katie Calloway by Serena Miller (Revell; Vicki Crumpton, editor) M...

I'm so happy to announce the winner of the giveaway from A Bride's Sweet Surprise in Sauers, Indiana  by Ramona K. Cecil and that lucky girl is... Casey!! Casey has been notified and has 48 hours to claim her prize or another winner will be selected. Please remember if you didn't win that this book is available NOW from Amazon and other retailers. :-)

Guest blogger: Jennifer Slattery Sometimes Clash of the Titles highlights great talent. Other times we get to "discover it." This is exactly what happened with our speculative fiction unpub'bed clash. Join me in welcoming Chawna Schroeder to the COTT family! There's nothing like discovering great talent before it goes to print! And I have a feeling we're going to see our latest COTT champion's books on bookshelves very soon. When we do, we can all say, "We saw her on COTT first!" And this clash--a battle for best speculative fiction unpub'bed--was even more exciting because the winner has been invited to submit a full proposal to Asraea Press for immediate review! Her winning excerpt was pulled from the pages of Metamorphosis, a gripping tale of a Beast and her master: Once upon a time there lived a Beast… Not in a shining castle, but among a pack of dogs. For as long as Beast can remember she has lived among her master’s dogs. Wi...