Review: Montana Rebel (Big Sky Mavericks Book 9) by Debra Salonen

Book Blurb:

Justin Oberman‘s credo for living his adventurous–some might say death-defying–life to the max served him well until the unfortunate outcome of a climb made him walk away from the sport he loved. A lucrative new job offer could pave the way to a more traditional life in Marietta, Montana, where his two best friends have fallen in love with the women of their dreams. But settling down always seemed more daunting than Everest and not worth considering until a mysterious lady in red walks into his life on New Year’s Eve. Suddenly, that happily-ever-after stuff Flynn and Tucker have been raving about looks within reach. 

The first fall is always the hardest. 

Nikki Magnesson Richards has loved Justin Oberman most of her life. First, from the safety of her brothers’ old tree house. Later, with unrequited teen-age angst. Her poorly thought out attempt to get him to notice her cost them both dearly. Now, a dozen years later, her fairy godfather boss has orchestrated the most romantic meeting possible–the Big Sky Mavericks Masked Ball for Charity. A kiss at midnight with her very own Prince Charming isn’t too much to ask, is it? But what are two star-crossed lovers supposed to do when one kiss isn’t enough?

My Review:

I liked the fairy tale feel that simmered beneath the surface in Montana Rebel.  From Prince Charming to a Fairy Godfather, I was intrigued to see where Debra Salonen would take me in Montana Rebel.

I felt like it took a little too long to get into the main story, but once I was there I was there!  I liked Justin and Nikki as a hero and heroine.  I liked that the past met the present in a way that helped them both, and they dealt with what came their way in a mature manner.  I love this characteristic!  It was fun how they started off, and I liked how the relationship evolved.

It took a little while into the story before I had a good feel for the main characters, especially Justin, trying to piece together what made him who he was.  There are a host of secondary characters that we've seen in other book in this series (Big Sky Mavericks), and though Montana Rebel can be read as a stand alone I'd recommend reading the other books to understand all the characters!

Montana Rebel portrays everything from close knit friends and family to a bizarrely dysfunctional family, and it was striking to see how the characters involved turned out.

A story that give love and the future hope, I'd recommend Montana Rebel to any romance reader.

3.5/5 stars

Purchase from Amazon.com

Review: Truth About Love & Murder (Love & Murder #1) by Edie Ramer

Book Blurb:

The truth is that life is uncertain. 

Meg Quinn hasn’t been to war, but her father has, and it changed their lives for the bad—and for the good. Now she has a sharp tongue and a mind to match ... and she doesn’t trust easily. The best person she knows is losing a fight with death, and Meg is guardian of her friend’s seven-year-old son. 

Easy MacLean, the co-guardian, is Meg’s dying friend’s brother. The former Marine has been hibernating in his Colorado mountain home, and Meg lets him know that he needs to be by his sister’s side in Milwaukee now. 

Easy is attracted to his sister’s clever friend, but life gets complicated when he gets involved in a search for a missing veteran. After living alone with his rescue dog for so long, Easy and his dog are now sharing a home with a beautiful woman, a boy, and a cat. Even as he watches his sister die a little each day, he’s finding out the truth about love and life ... and murder. 

My Review:

Wow!!  That pretty well sums up how I felt reading Truth About Love & Murder by Edie Ramer.

Truth About Love & Murder is has a complex, multi focal plot that flowed smoothly, pulled me in, and grabbed my heart in a way few books can.  Edie effortlessly blends together mystery, suspense, love, death, sadness and happiness in Truth About Love & Murder in a way that felt so real, so true.

I liked how she pulled together realistic, life altering circumstances and wrote with believable characters that made me feel.  Edie uses real issues that evoke strong emotions because as I read I knew that these things can and do happen.

Easy and Meg are powerful main characters that quickly worked their way into my heart and mind.  I liked the maturity they both had and the lack of angst.  They are refreshingly real, and what they had gone through and were presently going through was written so well I felt I was right there with them.

The secondary characters in Truth About Love & Murder were just as compelling, and I liked how Edie works in some of their POV's.

Truth About Love & Murder made my heart ache good and bad.  I am so glad I picked this up, then I couldn't put it down.

I'd highly recommend Truth About Love & Murder to any romantic suspense reader.

5/5 Super Stars!

Purchase from Amazon.com

Revew: In the Waning Light by Loreth Anne White

Book Blurb:

Two decades after her sister’s brutal attack and murder, Meg Brogan has finally found happiness…or so it appears. A bestselling true-crime writer, Meg has money, fame, and a wealthy fiancé. But when a television-show host presses her to tackle the one story everyone claims she cannot write—the story of her own family’s destruction—her perfect life shatters.

Determined to finally face her past, Meg returns to her hometown of Shelter Bay. Shrouded in cold, brooding fog, the close-knit coastal town harbors dark secrets and suspicious residents. One of the few people to welcome Meg back is Blake Sutton, her high-school sweetheart and the marina’s new owner. Desperate for clues, Meg digs through her family’s files. As Pacific storms brew outside, her passion for Blake reignites.

But someone doesn’t want Meg digging up the past. And that person will go to deadly lengths to prevent the writer from revealing a terrible truth.

My Review:

Loreth Anne White enthralled me with In The Waning Light!

When Meg heads back to Shelter Bay, a place full of bad memories for her, to write her sister's story, she has no idea what she's about to stir up. Shelter Bay is filled with small town dynamics, secrets, and dangerous undercurrents. Secrets no one wants revealed threaten to come to light as Meg seeks a truth she never knew existed, and some people will do anything to protect their secrets. Blake is the love she left behind when she fled from Shelter Bay. He's also the last person she expects to find working at his father's marina with his young son. They both thought they were over each other, but soon that truth is questionable also. And as danger stalks Meg, Blake will do what it takes to help her and keep her safe...except for revealing the secret he also keeps. Finding out the truth is no easy task for Meg...and if someone has their way, she won't live to tell it.

Loreth gives us a very strong, fearless heroine in In The Waning Light. Meg is determined to uncover the secrets surrounding her sister's death, and at times seems to have no idea of the dangerous situations she's putting herself in! A true crime writer, she still trusts the people she grew up around. I think I was more scared than Meg at times! I liked Meg. I liked what she stood for even as she struggles with a past she'd tried to convince herself she was over. She was real. Full of doubt at times and questions, the way she tries to shut out the past and the people in it was believable. I liked Blake too, and getting to know him and Meg at times made my heart ache for what they went through together and separately. He is a strong hero and really wants to do the right thing, but it is not always that simple. I liked the relationship they developed as adults. I loved the maturity of these characters. This relationship worked well with the very suspenseful plot of In The Waning Light.

The powerful plot of suspenseful mystery kept me on edge through out In The Waning Light. Loreth weaves in secondary characters who are relevant to the plot easily, and the secrets they keep are slow to come out. The mystery is a good one, there are so many possibilities. I had no idea how it would work out and Loreth still managed to completely surprise me.

I liked watching these characters and the plot grow, even as Loreth's writing gave me goose bumps and scared me at times, but also made me teary and hopeful. The past is never truly in the past, it's always part of who you are today, and this is well demonstrated in all of the characters in In The Waning Light. Because the truth always comes out.

Loreth's descriptiveness of Shelter Bay and the storms are vivid and exhilarating! I could feel the wind and rain and see the sea churning, making the danger even more palpable!

I'd highly recommend In The Waning Light to any reader looking for a strong, suspenseful read!

5/5 stars

Purchase from: Amazon.com

Review: A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love by Linn B. Halton

Book Blurb:

Life isn’t all love and cupcakes …

Katie has had her fair share of bad luck, but when she finally realises her dream of opening a bakery it seems things can only get better.

But the reality of running a business hits Katie hard and whilst her partner, Steve, tries to help she begins to sense that the situation is driving them further apart. Could Katie be set to lose her relationship and her dream job?

Then, one winter’s day, a man walks into her shop – and, in the space of that moment, the course of Katie’s life is changed.

But nobody finds happiness in the blink of an eye. Sometimes it takes two Christmases, three birthdays and a whole lot of cake to get there …

My Review:

I really liked that A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love is set over a longer period of time.  There is a lot happening for Katie and it was fun to dive into her life with her for a year.  I watched her struggle, grow, question, and love.  Nothing about this could have been rushed.  The pace of A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love is perfect.

I loved, loved that Ms Halton wrote from various POV's in this book.  I loved knowing what the other characters were thinking, planning, and feeling.  It makes for a very interesting, well rounded read.  She introduces characters to us this way and I could feel so much more for these characters through their words.

Katie and Adam are both going through a lot in their lives, and the time for a new romance is not right when A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love starts.  But as they progress through a year, they both grow and change...and maybe a little time is all they need before they move on to the next step.

Katie is a strong heroine, although a bit frustrating at times.  The relationship she is in at the start of the book left me shaking my head at times.  Katie grows and strengthens significantly though and became someone I really wanted to see things work out for.

I really liked Adam.  He has his priorities and is sticking to them, but at the same time isn't locked in one place.  He is struggling too...but walking into Katie's cake shop might end up being the best thing that happened to him.

The secondary characters all add strength and feeling to the plot.  I especially loved Adam's Grandma.

A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love made me feel a variety of emotions - hopeful, frustrated, sad, and happy.  It was a really good read with memorable characters in realistic situations.  The writing flow was smooth, and easy to read.

I'd recommend A Little Sugar, A Lot of Love to any romance reader.

4/5 stars

Purchase from Amazon.com

Review: The Light of Hidden Flowers by Jennifer Handford

Book Blurb:

Book-smart Melissa Fletcher lives a predictable life in her hometown, working behind the scenes for her charismatic father in a financial career that makes perfect sense. But when her dad is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Missy is forced to step up and take over as his primary caregiver and the principal of the firm.

After her father’s death, Missy finds a letter from him in which he praises her for being a dutiful daughter but admonishes her for not taking any risks in life.

Devastated, Missy packs her suitcase and heads for Italy. There she meets a new friend who proposes a radical idea. Soon, Missy finds herself in impoverished India, signing away her inheritance and betting on a risky plan while rekindling a lost love.

The Light of Hidden Flowers is a deeply felt story of accepting who we are while pushing our boundaries to see how much more we can become. It’s a reminder that it’s never too late to pursue our dreams.

My Review:

I was easily able to sink into the pages of The Light of Hidden Flowers.

I liked the differing POV's that The Light of Hidden Flowers was written from.  I liked feeling like I got to know the main characters below the surface...and these characters are deeper than they first appear.  I struggled between being frustrated with Missy at times, and at other times my heart ached for her.  She is an interesting character and her journey through The Light of Hidden Flowers was one I am glad I took with her!

Where we end up with Missy was unexpected, but it felt good.  There is romance in The Light of Hidden Flowers, but this is mainly Missy's journey about moving on, and finally moving out of her safe zone.

Jennifer writes with wonderful descriptives, especially when Missy ends up in India.  This felt realistic, was educational, and a real eye opener.   

The Light of Hidden Flowers flows smoothly, is emotional and inspiring.  I'd recommend it to any women's fiction reader!

4/5 stars

Purchase from Amazon.com

Review: A Prince in Plain Sight (Happily Ever After Book 2) by Luann McLane

Book Blurb:

After her holiday romance with handsome Nick Worth ends with his disappearance, Anna Lee Brody hopes that he will return to Daleville, Alabama, just as he promised in the love letter he left behind. Even though she wears the rose pendant Nick gave her, she wonders if he will truly return to mend her broken heart… 

Royal Prince Nicholas Worthington despises having to deceive Anna Lee but, for the safety of Calloway Island, he must turn the principality over as a territory under the protection of the United States. But when his life is threatened, her remote home is the perfect place to hide him. Can he convince the sweet southern belle that, even though his name might have been fake, his love for her was, and still is, very real? 

My Review:

A Prince In Plain Sight by LuAnn McLane is a modern day fairy tail about two people brought together unexpectedly in unique circumstances.

Anna and Nick's story was easy to fall into, and LuAnn made it interesting with the twist to this Prince's story!  I felt for Anna and what she experienced after Nick left the first time...she waited, then began to give up hope he'd ever return.  When he does he's full of surprises!  But are the feelings real or just an act for Nick?

A Prince In Plain Sight flows well and I enjoyed this short story.  I did feel like an epilogue would have ended the story neater, there were a few things to come I'd love to have been a part of!

I'd recommend A Prince In Plain Sight to any romance reader looking for a quick, romantic read.

4/5 stars

Review: The Art of Christmas by Jane Lovering

Book Blurb:

What if the memories of Christmas past were getting in the way of Christmas future?

It’s been nearly two years since Harriet lost Jonno, but she’s finally decided that it’s time to celebrate Christmas again.

Then she finds a stash of graphic novels belonging to her comic book-loving husband in the attic, and suddenly her world is turned upside down once more.

With the help of eccentric comic book dealer Kell Foxton, she discovers that the comics collected by Jonno are not only extremely valuable, but also hold the key to his secret life – a life that throws Harriet’s entire marriage and every memory she has of her husband into question.

As Harriet grows closer to Kell, she begins to feel like she could learn to love Christmas again – but first, she needs to know the truth. 

My Review:

Jane Lovering took me on a unique journey in The Art of Christmas, and it was one I enjoyed.

I liked the wide range of emotions that Jane wove into the plot, and it was easy to feel what Harriet was feeling as I read.  The Art of Christmas is a well written novella about the struggle Harriet is having, and the difficulties she faces trying to move forward.

I liked the gradual build up of a relationship between Kell and Harriet.  It wasn't rushed, and I just liked how he was with her.

I felt a lot of hope for Harriet as I read The Art of Christmas, and I really wanted to see her begin to enjoy not only Christmas, but life again.  Reading The Art of Christmas is also a reminder that a lot of people struggle during the holiday season, and I felt that the plot was realistic.

I really enjoyed the unexpected turns that work their way into the plot, this added a lot more emotion and uncertainty!

Well written and easily flowing, The Art of Christmas is a poignant novella that I'd recommend.

4/5 stars