In Front of God Everybody by KD McCrite

If God wanted April Grace to be kind to her neighbors, He should have made them nicer!

Growing up in the country is never easy, but it sure is funny-especially if you happen to have a sister obsessed with being glamorous, a grandma just discovering make-up, hippie friends who never shower, and brand new neighbors from the city who test everyone's patience. From disastrous dye jobs to forced apologies and elderly date tagalongs, you'll laugh 'til you cry as you read the Confessions of April Grace!

Here are just a couple of April's thoughts: On her sister, Myra Sue: "How anyone can be that dumb and still be able to eat with a fork is beyond me."

On senior citizen lovebirds: "What if they started smooching right at the table in front of God and everybody?"

In spite of all the loony characters in her life, April Grace is able to learn from her parents as they share the love of God-to even the craziest of characters!

In Front of God and Everybody is a book about a country girl and her interesting summer. When some strange and rude city folk have to stay at April Grace's house with her and her family, and grandma gets a no-good boyfriend, April Grace is at her wits end with them and her wanna-be older sister.

The book was not what I had expected, but not in a bad way. It was a funny read, and I enjoyed it. The characters were amusing. I thought the book got better as it went along. Personally, I wouldn't recommend the book to anyone under the age of ten because of some of the dialogue, and as realistic as strife can be in families, I'm not a huge fan of reading it. Overall, it was a cute and pretty good book.

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

The Inconvenient Marriage of Charlotte Beck by Kathleen Y'Barbo

Unlikely romance is sometimes just an inconvenient marriage away.

Charlotte Beck may be entering adulthood, but she can’t seem to keep to her stubborn, independent spirit from bucking social protocol. Fed up with her behavior, Charlotte’s father Daniel pressures her to settle into a nice marriage despite knowing she is set on going to college. Then Daniel sees Charlotte with the handsome but annoying English astronomer Alex Hambly, and everything changes.

Though Alex and Charlotte can barely stand one another, Daniel offers them a deal they can’t refuse: if they agree to marry, he will save Alex’s family from financial ruin and grant Charlotte the freedom to go to college. Reluctantly the couple agrees, but in private they plot to annul the marriage as soon as possible.

But when Alex’s feelings change and he refuses to dissolve their contract, will Charlotte find a way out of her vows? Or will she discover that maybe this marriage isn’t so inconvenient after all?

I have to admit, it was a cute book. Loved the cover, loved the title, and loved the story until the end.

Y'Barbo had some very interesting characters. Charlotte was young, fiery, and loved to paint. Alex was an astronomer. Martin had been changed by the war. I would have loved to see these traits more throughout the book. I mean, an astronomer is so cool! You never find those in historical romances. You only saw Martin once, and then he sorta disappeared from the story.

Charlotte was funny and adventurous until near the end. After she came back from college, she was different, but Alex was still the same. I didn't like the change in her character. I liked the old Charlotte full of spunk with tricks up her sleeves.

I didn't like the end because I knew how it was going to end. They made an agreement not to sleep together so that they could annul their marriage. Of course, *SPOILER* they don't annul their marriage. I just didn't enjoy the ending because it was reduced to them finally falling in love and "officially being married."

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.