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To Soar on Eagle’s Wings (Book Review)

Jul10
Reading Time: < 1 minute

ToSoaronEagleWings copyI love a good romantic suspense and Renee Blare delivers with her novel, To Soar on Eagle’s Wings. A sweet romance combined with intrigue, threats and the sometimes confusing love of family.

Starting out in spring, Rachel, a school teacher has some time off, but lots of work to do. Her favorite escape is to ride her snowmobile into the Snowy Range but after reuniting there with an old friend, Steve Mitchell, she finds her life begins to turn upside down.

Between uncertainty about teaching and chaos in her family, there are threats coming at her and she finds her best friend is struggling as well. Add a budding romance and trouble that Steve, the new game warden has to ferret out, will life ever be the same for her? She struggles to find the courage to fight for what she really wants even if it means disappointing others.

The top of her list is seeing where her relationship with the hunky game warden even if it means enduring the scrutiny of her brother.

The greatest peace she has always found, is in the mountains, watching the eagles soar. And maybe, with the help of friends, her renewed faith in God and the love of a good man, she can soar too.

This is the first in a series of novels and I look forward to seeing how the journey’s of the secondary characters progress.

 

 

 

Patriot’s Pride (Book Review)

Jun19
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Patriot's pridePatriot’s Pride is author Penelope Marzec’s fabulous sequel to Patriot’s Heart. 

It is now post war and America is a free nation, but Margaret needs to travel to England for the reading of her grandfather’s will. Although they never knew the Earl of Bancroft, she is eager to learn more of her mother. And she carries with her a deep grief. As a simple baker who clings to her faith, she learned healing arts through the struggles of war.  Confronted with the puffed up consequence of Doctor Fortune aboard ship, attraction and conflict over their opposing belief systems keep them at odds.

Dr. Derrick Fortune can’t understand why anyone would doubt science but even he struggles with the cost of his limitations in understanding how to heal the human body. On ship to further his education as well as to hopefully heal his wounded soul, the feisty milkmaid fights and tempts him at every turn.

Tragedy forces them to band together to ensure the successful conclusion to their trip and in spite of their differences they form a bond that continues once they dock on England. But can the Earl’s granddaughter ever really love a man like Derrick? And could Derrick ever humble himself enough to recognize that God is the greatest healer of our hearts and win the hand of Margaret?

This tale is filled with adventure and conflict and woven well with history. The high seas and British society challenge both characters to grow in ways they never imagined and a far greater gift awaits both Margaret and Derrick. Faith is handled well and it is fun to see Margaret, a secondary character in Patriot’s Heart, get her own story and see her lost dreams redeemed in surprising ways.

The Last Princess of Meigan

May22
Reading Time: < 1 minute

Rachel James hit one out of the ballpark with her debut novel, The Forgotten Princess of Emetia. But she follows up with a unique and wonderful sequel in The Lalast Princessst Princess Meigen.

Princess Alena is a widow with a young son living at the mercy of her tyrannical father-in-law, the King of Meigen. Much to her chagrin she’s been offered as the price of an alliance with another kingdom. She departs, leaving her son behind. Escorted by Ryce the Warrior and Sherwin, a handsome physician, she finds herself developing an affinity for the medical man.  As they journey to Elmetia to meet the king and encounter various trials there, Alena finds herself in love with Sherwin even though she’s duty bound to marry the king. Can she obey the order of her father-in-law and risk the dangers of such an action to follow her heart?

Much like J.R.R. Tolkien, James takes the reader to another time and place with a medieval bent except that Ms. James takes us to real-time and place in the early 600’s AD of Britannia. She accomplishes her magic without elves, wizards, dwarves or mystical creatures. With intense research to give her story authenticity she takes what little is known from that time and tells a fictional tale of romance and adventure to please any lover of the genre. Another wonderful story by a fabulous author.

 

 

From the Start (Book Review)

May8
Reading Time: < 1 minute

from the startMelissa Tagg has scored a field goal with her newest offering, From the Start.

Kate Walker may write romantic screenplays but a broken heart in her past leads her to believe that happily-ever-after is a dream she’ll never achieve. When her career hits the skids she runs back to her hometown of Maple Valley to help out with the aftermath of a tornado.

Colton Greene managed to sideline his own rising star on the football field with one disasterous play leaving him physically unable to return to the game that made him a star. He’s haunted by flashbacks he can’t understand as he tries to work with Kate to write his autobiography. Maple Valley becomes a safe place to heal and sort out his next steps in life.

Neither Kate or Colton were looking for love and direction for their lives and Maple Valley is the flash point for a budding friendship and romance. With starts and stops, working together and time apart, they realize the depth of their love. It’s happily-ever-after you’ll enjoy reading.

Year of Jubilee (Book Review)

Apr10
Reading Time: 2 minutes

Peggy Trotter’s debut novel, Year of Jubilee is an 1850’s historical romance to tug the heartstrings. year of jubilee

 

Jubilee Stallings is isolated and alone, barely surviving. Orphaned and now widowed, she struggles to accept the new property owner, Rafe Tanner, a cousin to the abusive man who had been her sorry excuse of a husband. With his arrival, her dreams of living peacefully in her home are dashed.

Rafe had run away from the betrayal of his fiancée, now married to his best friend. He longs for peace and quiet and had sworn off marriage or any hopes of a wife and family. But meeting the terrorized and skittish Jubilee, he offers her a marriage in name only as they both strive to work together to make the property self-sustaining.

A trip home to visit his family and introduce them to his new bride, he begins to realize that their masquerade of being a young couple in love is in fact truth. But Jubilee lives in fear of her new husband and navigating that along with the families romantic notions and a jealous ex-fiance make the trip a joy and pain.

Rafe determines to win the heart of his wife. Surrounded by new friends communication get snaggled and confused as emotions cloud their relationship. As Jubilee faces her fears, can she love Rafe enough to let him go, much less keep him as her own? Could she overcome her fears and scars from her past to find a new future with a man worthy of her trust and love?

This is a powerful story, filled with gripping realism and heartache and reveals some of the reality of how difficult life was during this period of time, especially for young women tortured, abused and left with no resources. Peggy Trotter handles the story with tender care and deep emotion and gives us a hard-won happy ending that reflects the joy of jubilee, freedom, and Christ’s redemptive power to change our hearts and lives.

Beast of Stratton (Book Review)

Mar13
Reading Time: < 1 minute

BeastofStratton_eBookRenee Blare has written a novella of Beauty and the Beast with a modern twist in her debut offering, Best of Stratton. Miles is struggling with intense physical and emotional pain as a result of injuries suffered in the war. He’s let his hair grow, making him look like the “beast of Stratton” everyone thinks he is. He was seeking treatment when an emergency called him back to his very successful business. Once there he encounters the daughter of his best friend. But is Aimee a spy like many suspect her father is, or can she be trusted to help ferret out the truth? Who has sold out his company? And can Miles overcome enough of the pain of his past to ditch his monster façade and the kind of man Aimee needs?

This  novella is a wild ride. Author Renee Blare writes in a cryptic manner, not giving all the clues away to the mystery and fills the story with compassion and suspense. A delightful read.

Accept this Dandelion (Book Review)

Feb6
Reading Time: 2 minutes

AcceptThisDandelionBrooke Williams has taken a national icon, The Bachelor and served it up with a twist in her delightful romantic comedy, Accept this Dandelion.

Both Renee Lockhart and Ben McConnell go into this localized version of the dating game with hidden motives. Renee wants to boost her popularity as a radio show host, potentially winning the morning co-anchor spot at her station. And she was entered by her co-workers so it’s more a matter of making the best of an uncomfortable situation. Especially when she discovers the identity of the bachelor.

Ben McConnell is wealthy and a popular man on the social circuit with a new girl on his arm at every event. But he secretly longs for a woman who will love him for who he really is, not for what his money can buy. He hopes that among the hopeful women vying or his hand, he can find one who is real and honest.

When mishap after mishap occurs, Renee is amazed that as the least likely candidate for Ben’s hand (and weed) she continues to stay in the competition. But her motives change as time goes on and she gets to know the real Ben.

This is a story that will have you smiling from page to page, and maybe groaning in sympathy for the challenges that Renee seems to find herself in on the way to falling in love. You might even bust out laughing a time or two. Williams has written a fresh and thoroughly enjoyable romp of a romance.

Legitimate Lies (Book Review)

Jan16
Reading Time: < 1 minute

legit lies ebookLegitimate Lies is the sequel to Hush in the Storm by suspense author and abolitionist activist Julie B. Cosgrove. She has a unique story to tell that pulls you into the web of deceit and treachery of the human slave trade that takes place around the world. While Hush is centered in the United States, this book takes the reader to Great Britain because this is an international problem.

Suspense is paramount as Jen’s cover in Witness Protection is blown by the Tom, the man she loves. She is whisked away to Great Britain to undertake a new identity. When her smooth talking criminal husband hunts her and kidnapps her, she fights to hold on to truth in the web of lies keeping her prisoner. Can she escape? And where is Tom? Will he find her? Is there any hope they could be free from the lies, free from her marriage to a criminal mastermind and free from the sins of her past? Only God can lead the way to that as well as providing perhaps healing and hope for others caught in her husband’s web of slavery.

This book is hard to put down. Fast paced and filled with action and drama as well as heart-rending romance, it is sure to satisfy any reader while drawing attention to the very real evils that are currently at play in our world.

Love Takes Flight (Book Review)

Dec5
Reading Time: 2 minutes

LoveTakesFlight copyLove Takes Flight is the latest novel by Lee Carver. Her first offering was a historical World War II novel called A Secret Life. This story, while contemporary romance is no less filled with adventure!

Camille Ringold is an American nurse whose dream of marrying a doctor and living a fine life in the suburbs is destroyed. To escape the shame and give herself time to heal she volunteers to serve for two weeks in the Amazon. She is forced to face the harsh reality of life in the jungle and the desperation of the lost souls she learns to love.

On a mission of mercy the Wings of Hope plane is hijacked and she and missionary pilot Luke Strong barely make it away alive but have to survive in the jungle. Luke has been a challenge for her, a woman used to finer things and afraid of flying. But his faith compels her to dig deeper within to seek God’s leading. Her heart plays tug of war with the growing attraction to the handsome pilot and her struggle to give up on the more comfortable life she temporarily has left behind.

Returning home she is confronted with the persistent pursuit of the rejected lying doctor and she discovers that the dangers of the Amazon are nothing compared to what was waiting for her at home from this man.

Does she have the faith to risk it all for love? Is that even what God is asking of her or is it another escape? And as much as she adores Luke Strong, would he ever consider her as a possible partner in ministry and life?

This is a fast paced book filled with adventure and a realistic look at the hardship faced by those who serve indigenous people groups who desperately need to hear the gospel. I loved the way Camille’s struggles are portrayed. No idealistic dreams of saving the world but the reality of just how much sacrifice is involved is told with brutal clarity. Luke Strong is not a perfect hero either but is steadfast and lives up to his name as he protects and guides Camille . . . only to find him being saved by her dedication.

I loved this story and highly recommend it. Lee Carver is a master story-teller with an eye to detail that will make you feel like you are right there with the characters.

Wishing on Buttercups (Book Review)

Oct31
Reading Time: 2 minutes
buttercups      I managed to snag a free copy of Wishing on Buttercups by Miralee Ferrell. This is book 2 in her Love Blossoms in Oregon series and is a great stand-alone romance.
     Beth Roberts has run away to a small town in Oregon to escape heartache and a painful past. No only does she keep a physically painful secret but she also keeps her profession a secret as well. She doesn’t believe she could trust anyone with the truth of who she really is.
     Jeffery Tucker has run away as well, from family expectations and demands, in order to pursue his own dreams as a novelist. LIving in the same boarding house as Beth and her aunt, he finds himself drawn to the young woman of faith and mystery. He finds himself intrigued not only with who she is, but also her views of a personal God and a living faith.
     Memories surface revealing more and more of the pain of Beth’s shadowy past as two men seek her out. Who can she trust? She finds herself drawn to Jeffery and even more so when her illustrations are part of his debut novel appearing in a series in a national magazine. Little does she know that even with a pseudonym she has drawn attention to someone from her past.
Can she trust Jeffery with the truth? She’s drawn to the man but in her heart believes that no one would ever be able to love her. As the past merges into the present both Beth and Jeffery have ot confront their deepest pains and struggle to forgive. And maybe, just maybe find love she never thought could be hers.
     This is a sweet novel. Some of the dialogue seemed stilted but this is 1880’s West and even in the rough and tumble wilderness of Oregon politeness and proprieties would be observed so I’m not even sure that is an entirely just criticism. The story is well written and the characters make you want to care about them and their potential for a future together. Miralee does a good job at keeping Beth’s past as much a mystery to the reader as it is to her until it is fully revealed toward the end of the story. Sweet title and nice cover. This is a charming inspirational romance.