by Crystal Caudill | Jun 28, 2016 | Book Reviews
Okay, so life has been a little too chaotic to read for leisure. A crime, I know. Well, I have broken free from jail and am reading again, so first up…
Her Dearly Unintended by Regina Jennings 
5/5
“1870s Missouri –Heavy rain means trouble for Katie Ellen. With her parents away, she’s left to take care of the mountaintop farm alone until Josiah Huckabee happens to check on her. She used to think him charming–used to–but before she can run Josiah off, a stranger appears. The bridge has washed out, stranding a weathered and threatening man with them. Immediately sensing danger, Josiah steps in and claims the place–and Katie Ellen–as his own. His farm, his wife, and this Silas Ruger character better be respectful. Furious, Katie Ellen is forced to play along. Readers of Regina’s Ozark Mountain Romance series will love seeing favorite characters all grown up.” – Blurb from Amazon.com
I loved this story! Regina does a great job of making entertaining and relatable characters. Katie Ellen’s perfectionist tendencies were a source of great enjoyment for me as I see much of myself in her. Well, maybe not the clean house, but the need for perfection in the work I do.
Josiah is a character that grows on me, especially when you find out the reason why the man abandoned their childhood friendship. I won’t spoil anything, but let me tell you it is worth the read.
Regina did a great job of keeping me guessing and giving plot twists I totally did not expect. It was a pure joy to read! I highly recommend buying and reading this novella. Her Dearly Unintended is humor, misunderstandings, and love at its best.
To purchase your own copy, visit:
Amazon.com Barnes and Noble
Visit Regina Jennings at http://www.reginajennings.com/.
by Crystal Caudill | Jun 7, 2016 | Book Reviews
Mail Order Surprise by Lucy Thompson
Mail order bride stories have seemed to become a trend in recent Christian Fiction stories. Each has their own special twist, and Mail Order Surprise follows that trend.
Neither character has a flawless past nor are they prepared for the trouble that seems to follow the duo wherever they go. Barriers create a love that is slow growing and hesitant, especially on Lydia’s part.
Lucy does an excellent job of showing the emotional reactions of an abused woman entering into a new marriage to escape her past and protect her children. Her hesitancy toward love is understandable and realistic.
Beau is a gentleman trying to do his best with what he has been given. He doesn’t always make the right choices, but he is a good and admirable man.
Both Lydia and Beau start off their marriage withholding important information from each other – she has two children and he has a household full of relatives living with him. The intermingling of the two families is entertaining.
The plot moved along nicely and had a few surprises and unexpected twists. While there were some weaknesses to the story, they were easily moved past and the story remained enjoyable.
I would not call it the best story I have ever read, but I certainly enjoyed Lucy’s own take on mail order brides. If you are looking for a twist on the traditional story line, this needs to be put on your TBR pile. (To Be Read, if you didn’t know.)
*I received a free e-copy in exchange for my honest opinion, which you have read above.*
To purchase your own copy, visit:
Amazon.com
Visit the author at https://lucythompsonauthor.com/tag/mail-order-surprise/
BEAU HARDING just wants to keep his family together. Leaning on his own strength, he’s tried to do his best by his siblings and he needs a little help. Okay, more than a little help. Only one thing to do—send for a mail order bride. Widow, LYDIA WALSH, must trust God’s promise to protect her future, despite his silence. With her former abusive mother-in-law, MRS. WALSH, after her children, Lydia puts her hope in what she can see: a fresh start as a mail order bride in the mountain town of Halls Pass.
Can these two survive the wild west to find God’s will for their lives and healing for their hearts?
– Blurb from Goodreads.com
by Crystal Caudill | May 31, 2016 | Book Reviews
This is another delightful, light-hearted romance with all the struggle for love you hope to find in a romance, and for my very busy pre-summer schedule, it was the perfect length! I was able to read this in a couple hours on a day I was playing chauffeur for my family.
Daniel is a former bounty hunter become legend. He despises the dime novels that exaggerate and glorify his former life as Dead-Eye Dan and has led a quiet life for the last five years at a Jonah Hawkins’ ranch. Bound by an oath, Daniel has done everything he can to suppress his feelings for the ranchman’s daughter.
Marietta is in love with Dead-Eye Dan, but not the legend, the real man. When she finds out he is leaving, she is determined to not let him leave without first convincing him to marry her. With Daniel staying behind during the cattle drive to prepare his new mule ranch, Marietta devises a plan that can’t fail.
The struggle between admitting love and being bound by an oath is masterfully and humorously done. The passion is swoon worthy and Daniel’s loyalty to his oath is so admirable. I absolutely love the characters and how they interact together.
This is definitely a book to be read!
You can read this novella on its own at:
Amazon Barnes and Noble
Or you can get the four novella set of proposals gone wrong – With this Ring? at:
With This Ring? Amazon With this Ring? Barnes and Noble
Visit the Author at http://www.karenwitemeyer.com/
Marietta Hawkins has been in love with ranch foreman Daniel Barrett since she came home from school three years ago. Unfortunately, her father’s rule about hands not fraternizing with his daughter has kept him out of reach. She believed patience would prove a virtue in winning him over–until now. He is leaving. Starting up his own spread. To have any hope of maneuvering him into a proposal, she has to act fast or lose him forever. Fans of A Worthy Pursuit will enjoy seeing these characters again!
– Blurb from Amazon.com
by Crystal Caudill | May 24, 2016 | Book Reviews
The Seafaring Women of the Vera B. – Book 1 in the Hearts of Oak Series
Susan Davis and her son, James Davis, work together to bring a story unlike any I have read before. The Seafaring Women of the Vera B is truly a unique piece of work which carries you off to sea. The amount of research that must have been conducted to create this novel is astounding and fascinating, and the plot is intriguing and believable.
This book is not your typical romance from Susan Davis. While there is a possible hint at future love interests, the focus falls solidly in the adventure category. In some sense, it reminds me of the classic adventure stories from my youth like Treasure Island, The Three Musketeers, and Swiss Family Robison. I am just not sure there are any contemporary books I can compare it to. The richness of detail, the characters, and adventure, they all work together to create a magnificent story that reflects back to an era of storytelling which is severely lacking in today’s world of novels.
The first ten chapters really lay the groundwork for the story. It is a little slower paced than many books in the beginning, but it is out of necessity. The number of characters introduced and the necessary foundation of ship terminology would be too overwhelming otherwise. I encourage you to push through even if that is not your cup of tea. It is well worth it.
I struggle with books that follow the viewpoint of more than two characters, but while this story followed the viewpoints of a handful of characters, it is done naturally and not so abruptly as to make you toss aside the book. Believe me when I say I am exceptionally picky about this. I was very impressed with the authors’ mastery of that particular skill for this novel.
Once past the first ten chapters the pace of the story picks up and continues to grow in intensity and speed. How can it not with a mischievous little boy, a stow-away man on a ship full of women, pirates, and all the true struggles that come from that many women together learning to do a dangerous and difficult job? There is fighting and there is death, but the details of it are not gruesome, unrealistic, or overwhelming.
Seafaring Women of the Vera B is a swashbuckling adventure I would highly recommend to men and women alike who love adventure and attention to detail. It is truly a rare breed of book, especially in Christian fiction.
*I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest opinion, which you have read above.*
With the ship’s captain dead in Melbourne, Australia, Alice Packard thinks the worst has happened, until she learns the crew has deserted her husband’s ship in favor of the goldfields. Only one old man, Gypsy Deak, sticks by her, but Gypsy alone can’t raise a crew from the depleted population. In desperation, Alice turns to the only source of plentiful workers: the women of Melbourne. In a bold move, she and Gypsy empty a brothel, promising the escaped women a new life. Her all-woman (save one) crew put their backs and hearts into the voyage, but Alice finds training her sailors much harder than she expected. Her faith is tested to the limit. With a cargo to sell, angry bordello and tavern owners in pursuit, pirates to evade, and a mysterious stowaway, the seafaring women of the Vera B. find their escape in question.
– Blurb from Amazon.com
by Crystal Caudill | May 17, 2016 | Book Reviews
The Liberator Series Book Two
Be forewarned, this is not a stand-alone book. It is necessary to read the first one, Leveraging Lincoln, before reading this one.
In this second installment in the conspiracy to capture Lincoln, several new lovable characters are added and the focus on a love story is more prominent, especially in the first half of the book. However, do not fear, the conspirators against Lincoln raise their ugly heads again and Matthew, as well as Annabelle and the new extended cast, must race to save Lincoln.
The first half of this novel is slower paced than the first book, but it is comfortable and an enjoyable walk through the nuances of non-admitted and self-sacrificial love. Matthew and Annabelle go back and forth between working together and obstinately working alone. As the self-awareness of feelings grows, you long to see the two stubborn characters come together.
Right about the mid-point of the book, the schemes of those seeking to capture Lincoln resurface and morph into plans for assassination. It is once again up to Matthew and Annabelle to risk everything to save the man who was once considered their enemy. The pace picks up and the plot continues all the way to its inevitable end.
Without giving too much away, Mrs. McGee does a very good job of bringing all the details of the conspiracy plot together. I must admit, my history knowledge was not as strong as I thought and I learned quite a bit. It was definitely an ending which had me looking into the history books on my shelves to confirm all the details I hadn’t realized existed.
At the end of the book, you have a sense of closure with still plenty of loose ends to be tied up in the third book. I highly recommend this series. The second book did not disappoint and I am eagerly awaiting the third book.
*I received a free copy of this e-book in exchange for my honest opinion, which you have read above.*
“The time has come when I must change my plan….” She thought she’d saved them all, but now a more nefarious plot emerges, increasing the stakes and threatening to bring a nation to its knees. Displaced, rejected, forsaken… Annabelle finds herself pulled farther from home and ever closer to the malicious repercussions of war. Elmira prison is filled beyond its capacity, and starving men are left shivering in threadbare clothing beneath paltry shelters. Among the thousands of captured and hopeless Confederates, she searches to find the one man who could be the key to saving her inheritance. Wounded, desperate, defeated… Matthew yearns for peace away from Washington. Yet, he can never seem to escape his ties to a frantic madman seeking vengeance. Lurking in the shadows at every turn, the cycle of retribution continually brings yet another danger, and Matthew will do everything in his power to protect the woman he loves – even if it means keeping her from the truth. In the final dark day days of war, Matthew sets his hopes on Annabelle. She could be the lighthouse that guides him out of the ever encroaching sea of chaos – if only they can allow love and trust to overcome their prideful hearts.
– Blurb from Amazon.com
To purchase your own copy, visit:
Amazon Barnes and Noble
