Love Inspired Series by Harlequin - A Review

Anyone who knows me knows that I am a HUGE bookworm. On average, I read approximately 40-60 books a year. and I usually am reading at least 5 books at any given time (At the time I'm writing this, my Goodreads shows I'm currently reading 9 books).   One of my favorite genres to read, without a doubt, is romance. I absolutely love vegging out in a nice warm bath after the kids go to bed and immerse myself into a great romance novel.  I really enjoy historical romance novels but I find myself skipping over what my friends refer to as "the juicy parts".. Ripping bodices and heaving breasts just don't do it for me - to me that's not romance.

So it was with great surprise when I found that Harlequin, the biggest publisher of romance novels, had a "Love Inspired" series of books for people like me who want all the romance but not the sex.  Love Inspired books provide wholesome, faith based books that follow Christian values.

Each month Harlequin releases 6 new titles for their Love Inspired series. These stories show that faith, forgiveness and hope have the power to lift spirits and change lives. The six monthly books have a shelf life of only that month and then they are no longer available through Harlequin.   I received May's six selections (which will be on sale from April 21-May 28 )  to read for the purpose of this blog.  

Straight out of the box, the first thing I noticed is the covers of all 6 books.. No shirtless man with his muscles flexed and his arms wrapped around a scantly clad female in the throws of passion. Instead, each cover had couples who looked like every day normal people.

Skimming the back of the books, it was really hard to pick one particular book to read for this review, they honestly all looked pretty interesting.  After a good "ennie meenie minnie mo"  I chose "Winning the Teacher's Heart" by Jean C. Gordon.  It's the story of retired motocross champion Jared Donnelly and his return to his hometown to rebuild his family’s tarnished reputation and to help troubled children in the community by giving back and building a motocross riding school on a parcel of property he inherited.  He is re-united with Becca Norton, a single mother of two who's husband left her and her children for another woman and who's ex-inlaws do everything to make her life miserable.

I really enjoyed reading this book and it was so wonderful not to have to skip over pages of throbbing body parts and other nasty tidbits.  There were a few questions left unanswered but as this appears to be Book 1 of a series entitled "The Donnelly Brothers", I guess I will have to look for Book 2 to get answers ;)

This is easily a series of books that I am happy to have been introduced to and I would also be more than comfortable allowing my teenage daughter to read these.  The story lines are well developed, the characters faith in God is apparent and real romance is the forerunner, not sex.

GIVEAWAY

Would you like to meet Jared Donnelly and read his story for yourself? Or maybe meet any of the other characters in these 6 books? Then I've got great news for you:  One lucky winner will receive the same set of six (6) Love Inspired books!  They would make perfect Mother’s Day gifts! Enter through the Rafflecopter form below.  Giveaway will run from  04/19/2015 until 12:00am 04/26/2015 This giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada.

But first, the important legal stuff:

"Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.

 Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.”

a Rafflecopter giveaway