Chester County | Susan Baganz

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Marley’s Remarks: Recipes and Redemption (Book Review)

Hi, I’m Marley, a nine-year-old Teddy Bear (Bichon Frise/Shih Tzu) that was recently adopted by Susan. She’s keeping me busy with trying to teach the younger member of the pack how to be a dog, but then she conscripted me to write this review as well. Apparently, it is the job of at least one of the dogs in the pack to do this, but since most of the time I get to sleep under her desk in a comfy bed while she works, I suppose I can oblige her. Maybe, at some point Oliver will be old enough to share the duties. We’ll see.

Karen Malley’s second installment of her Chester County Couples romances is out! What a sweet thing to finally get to read Erin’s story in Recipes and Redemption. Erin was a secondary character in the first book Moonlight and Mystery. You can find the series prequel, Lilacs and Love Letters at her blog and read it for free!!!

Erin is a widow with a young son and now has her brother’s girlfriend, Beth, as her roommate. She’s started a catering business in her home with the help of Beth. Having loved and lost in the recent past she has no dreams of ever finding love a second time around.

Rusty is a friend of her brother. Funny and loyal, he is a fan of her cooking and willing to be there whenever she has a need. But he longs for much more with the lovely widow. He rises to the occasion to rescue her when she turns to him more than once for help.

With yummy food, danger, a near-death experience, unexpected surprises from Erin’s past, difficult choices and a crisis of faith, Karen Malley weaves a tale that will keep you reading and wondering just how, if ever, will the sweet widow realize the man she really loves has been there all along?

Now, I’m only a dog and new at this book review business, but because mom snuggled me while reading it and the responsibility for this review, I will say that it’s a good book worthy of snuggle time with a dog because no dog wants a book that the reader will put down quickly and disrupt snuggles. So, I’ll give it four paw prints… because that’s all the feet I have available. Go get this book and do the author a big favor: if you enjoy it, write a review on Amazon!

Reading Time: 2 minutes

Karen Malley has a new book out and you need to hear about it! It’s part of a romance series Chester County Couples. Moonlight and Mystery is the title and trust me, it’s a book you won’t want to put down. You’ll be eager for the rest of the series I suspect and she has free novella available as a prequel!

Beth Tarrington is living a good life. She’s engaged to a handsome man with a fabulous career. She’s driving a really nice car and lives in a sweet condo. She works doing something she loves and her last name is so prominent it opens doors. And yet, she’s not happy. Sneaking peanut butter is a comfort and life take on a new zing when she tries out and gets cast in a community theater.

When she finally wakes up to the privelged bubble she’s living in, she decides it’s time to stand up for what she wants, a decision that has dramatic consequences for her. Can God help her through the tough choices she has to make as a result?

When Jason Brooks meets Beth there is an instant attraction, but she’s engaged so he knows he needs to run the other way. Getting cast in the play, opposite her, creates sparks no one can ignore even though Jason and Beth both try.

You have to read the book to go on this adventure with Beth and Jason as well as the characters they act out in the play! Ms. Malley does an amazing job weaving it all together.

This is an awesome read and I hope you’ll get it, and sit, and read, and snuggle a dog like my mom does with me when she’s reading a good book. I’ll give it five squeaky tennis balls because other than snuggling, chasing them is my favorite thing. Oh, and bacon. I really like bacon…and oranges…and steak.